Chapter 682: Chu Feng Takes Responsibility

The young Daoist priest grew increasingly disturbed by the thought. Raising him on dog's milk? Wasn't that essentially calling him a son of a bitch—and literally, at that?

And it would be literally true!

Finally, he let out a furious cry, declaring, "You can't bully me like this! With a heartbroken spirit, I, your Daoist master, solemnly declare that I will fight you to the very end! We'll go down together, I'll risk everything!"

He then cried out, "Father, dear father, where are you?!"

Far away, in the outer space of a dead star on the edge of the distant Xilin Galaxy, Chu Feng sneezed loudly. He felt a moment of suspicion. His recent actions were akin to a demon king, suppressing all foes. Was someone cursing him behind his back?

But he quickly dismissed it. Hadn't he just recently "chopped down" some geniuses in the Chaotic Divine Sea and on this dead star? To him, it was a mere trifle.

"Why do I feel like I'm straying further and further down the path of a demon?" he muttered.

However, reflecting on the brilliant young talents and seasoned geniuses he had slain, he felt no remorse. He believed they all deserved death.

"It's done?!"

Uncle Ming, visibly excited, approached Chu Feng and asked about the outcome of his journey. It had been incredibly fast; Chu Feng had returned to space in less than a day.

Young Miss Xi teased, "You didn't run back with your tail between your legs, did you? Wait, no, you've already entered the 'Meal of Radiance' realm! Your aura is so potent!" She was quite surprised.

Chu Feng made no attempt to conceal his power from his companions. The dense energy from his recent promotion radiated from him, making even his hair shimmer with a crystalline glow.

"Mission accomplished!" Chu Feng said with a smile and a nod.

"Let's go, we need to leave here first!"

Uncle Ming, wielding the Heavenly Dao Umbrella, had consistently masked their presence, ensuring the saints on the moon orbiting the dead star remained oblivious. Even after the trio had departed, there was still no reaction from that location.

"Alright, you wait for me in this star system," Uncle Ming declared. "Once I return, I'll teach them a bloody lesson!"

Far from the Xilin Galaxy, somewhere deep in the cosmos, Uncle Ming's killing intent soared. He had just seen the individuals Chu Feng had rescued.

Uncle Ming's heart bled at the sight. These individuals, raised in captivity, possessed excellent innate potential, but they had been utterly ruined, reduced to mere shells of their former selves. Only two of the children still had a spark of life in their eyes.

For these people to recover even partially, it would take at least several years, and some were likely ruined for life.

"How pitiful," Young Miss Xi sighed softly.

As he departed, Uncle Ming took the rescued individuals with him. He planned to settle them on a remote, untamed planet at the edge of the universe, seeking a peaceful sanctuary.

"Uncle Ming, be careful!" Chu Feng cautioned.

Afterwards, he began to cultivate, further comprehending the subtleties of the 'Meal of Radiance' realm.

"Go into the sun!" Young Miss Xi suggested.

"Good!" Chu Feng replied, as he had intended to do just that. Upon entering the 'Meal of Radiance' realm, one could absorb higher-grade energies, such as the purple qi found in dawn's light.

The saying "Purple Qi from the East" traditionally referred to cultivators gathering the first wisp of qi that emerged with the morning glow. Now, Chu Feng intended to draw it directly from the sun itself.

Most people wouldn't dare attempt this, as this higher-grade purple energy was exceptionally dense and overwhelmingly potent.

"Eating the radiance, consuming the qi—the ancients truly did not deceive me!"

Chu Feng sighed softly. As he neared the sun, he began to breathe, inhaling the light and consuming the ethereal qi. These were the purest energy particles, allowing him to abstain from food.

As he entered the sun, his entire body transformed into a blazing fireball, enveloped by a luminous mist. He purged impurities and absorbed new energies, his whole being glowing with a crystalline radiance.

During this process, the small millstone within him rotated furiously, further purifying and refining the most essential energy substances for Chu Feng.

Soon, purple qi filled Chu Feng's mouth and nostrils. As he circulated his breathing technique, the swirling purple radiance he had absorbed surged within his body, condensing into a ball of light. It resembled a purple-gold elixir pill, brimming with explosive power.

One could imagine that a casual exhale from Chu Feng now could kill like a flying sword. This was the true power of "eating the radiance and consuming qi," having access to a far higher level of energy.

"The Biographies of Immortals, the legends of the Divine Path—they truly have some basis," he mused. "When breathing techniques are cultivated to their peak, aren't they just what mortals perceive as gods and immortals?"

However, he soon found it somewhat unbearable. The purple qi in the sun was overwhelmingly potent, swirling and filling every part of his body, making his skin feel as though it would tear and he would explode.

"To consume the six energies and drink the clear dew, to rinse with pure yang and contain the morning glow," Chu Feng murmured, finding wisdom in the ancient verse.

The ancients chose to practice breathing exercises in the early morning, facing the dawn, which was relatively "scientific." At other times, the energy was simply too fierce for those new to this path.

As for directly entering the sun, that was courting death—only Grand Cultivators could possibly attempt it!

At this moment, compared to Earth's past periods of decline, Chu Feng could indeed be considered a Grand Cultivator.

After a period of cultivation, Chu Feng left the sun. He then chose to absorb the starlight from across the heavens, finding its energy to be balanced and serene, unlike the sun's overly intense yang essence.

However, to Young Miss Xi, it felt eerily sinister, something only ghosts would appreciate. She insisted on staying hidden within the sun for warmth, complaining that it was too cold outside.

Chu Feng contacted the Yellow Ox and his companions using a secret code. To his surprise, he discovered that the Big Black Ox was injured, with one arm in a sling!

He was immediately alarmed and asked what had happened.

"It's nothing, just some minor injuries from clashing with the invaders who came to Earth," Big Black Ox replied. "It's not serious; we'll get our revenge later!"

Chu Feng finally relaxed. His companions had been navigating their decaying great ship, challenging various masters, and it was inevitable that they would occasionally suffer setbacks.

Two days later, a piece of news that shook the entire star sea erupted: a section of the Black Prison, located on a dead star in the Xilin Galaxy, had been blown open, releasing a group of incredibly vicious prisoners!

"How is that possible?" exclaimed one. "The Cosmic Black Prison was forged from the most durable materials! Generally, even saints can't break it. How was it breached?"

"My heavens, a group of the most terrifying convicts has escaped! This spells big trouble!"

"More accurately," someone else chimed in, "it's a massive problem for the Xilin race. That Cosmic Black Prison was entrusted to them, and it housed many of the colossal criminals *they* had imprisoned. Now, they've been rescued. I imagine the Xilin are facing an enormous headache."

This was major news with far-reaching implications. The breach of the Cosmic Black Prison had a severely negative impact, causing widespread panic among cultivators in the vicinity.

Without a doubt, this was Uncle Ming's doing. Wielding Young Miss Xi's Heavenly Dao Umbrella, he forcibly blasted open a section of the Black Prison, releasing a number of ancient, powerful beings.

However, Uncle Ming did not rendezvous with the freed prisoners. Instead, he quietly departed, doing good deeds without seeking recognition.

Of course, before his departure, he used the Heavenly Dao Umbrella to utterly obliterate a Xilin race saint who had swooped down from the moon, destroying both their body and spirit.

The other two saints were shocked and enraged. Before they could launch a more vigorous counterattack, the horde of prisoners erupted from the Cosmic Black Prison and immediately set their sights on the two of them.

Alas, despite their formidable strength, the two saints could not escape; they were besieged, killed, and torn to shreds.

"Damn you, Xilin race!" one prisoner roared. "All I did was have a minor disagreement with one of your saints, and you framed me, threw me into the Cosmic Black Prison, and tortured me for my secret techniques! From this day forward, it's an endless war!"

"Haha!" another exclaimed, "I'm finally free! Three hundred years, and I see the light of day again! Although my cultivation has declined and my body has suffered from the corrosive energies here, I will eventually recover. Tremble, Xilin race, and await my return—I'm coming for you!"

The galaxy erupted into chaos. The Xilin race was utterly frantic and in a state of extreme distress, as this group of escapees consisted solely of dangerous individuals. Even if only a few managed to flee, they posed a considerable threat to their future generations.

Among the escapees were not only genuine cosmic prisoners but also individuals the Xilin themselves had framed. The consequences of their escape, therefore, were unimaginable.

The incident's ramifications were dire. Wei Xilin, the Xilin race's foremost master and a legion commander whose power could illuminate the heavens, was alerted from his seclusion and immediately rushed to the scene.

Under his vast and unfathomable power, he pinpointed the escape routes of some prisoners, then forcefully captured them. Even saint-level convicts proved no match for him!

However, a significant number of individuals still managed to escape. After all, Wei Xilin was merely a cultivator who had reached a profound level, not an omnipotent deity.

"What a tumultuous time! Who could have done this?" some Xilin exclaimed, utterly furious. They knew they would inevitably face retaliation from a horde of vicious criminals.

Chu Feng mused that Uncle Ming's actions would likely deny the Xilin race peace for a long time, forcing them to constantly guard against invasions from a host of old, formidable villains.

Soon after, the Xilin race, following various clues, deduced that Uncle Ming was responsible. They immediately issued a bounty throughout the universe, increasing the price on Uncle Ming's head by more than tenfold!

Then, the Xilin race descended into another frenzy. Upon meticulously searching the dead star, they discovered that all their clan's geniuses were dead, utterly annihilated with not even a trace of flesh remaining.

"Chang Ming, you're insane!" howled a Xilin saint. "To lay such a vicious hand on our descendants, don't blame us for being ruthless and seeking mad revenge!"

This saint's fury was personal; among the slain geniuses were two of his own descendants, whom he had considered his chosen successors.

Wei Heng's face was equally grim, practically dripping with gloom. His highly esteemed Wei Changhe had also been slain, dying a horrific death.

"This old man would never stoop to such a deed!" Uncle Ming declared.

Then, Chu Feng made his appearance, his body crackling with energy. He had absorbed numerous energy particles, causing his joints to shift and his height to increase. His face, no longer youthful, forcibly changed, reverting to that of a man in his twenties.

He used this opportunity to test his domain manipulation techniques, checking if he could truly alter his "human body topography," a subject he had been researching extensively.

In fact, the results were excellent. After forcibly drawing more energy into his body, he adjusted his physique, shedding his youthful appearance and becoming almost indistinguishable from his previous self.

Then, Chu Feng publicly claimed responsibility for the complete annihilation of the Xilin Galaxy's geniuses, his statement infuriatingly concise.

"I..." a group of people exclaimed, utterly dumbfounded.

Soon, the starry heavens erupted in an uproar.

Many within the Xilin race were beyond furious, practically driven mad. Chu Feng's nonchalant declaration of responsibility, as if he were a member of some terrifying force, was nothing short of blatant provocation.

"Chu Feng, I'll exterminate your entire lineage!" cried out members of the Xilin race, who were all seething with indignation and immense frustration.

Meanwhile, the younger generation's morale plummeted; they were utterly crushed.

First, their divine sons had been slain by Chu Feng, which was already a blow. But this time, even their seasoned geniuses were killed, effectively crippling this entire generation.

Undeniably, no one from the current Xilin generation could stand against Chu Feng. Their talents had been completely decimated; all their supreme geniuses were dead, slain by a single individual.

Chu Feng appeared in a different star system, using an alternative interstellar network and a different optical computer to contact the Yellow Ox and his companions.

"Haha, brother, well killed! That's satisfying!" Big Black Ox said, grinning.

However, Chu Feng couldn't bring himself to smile. He saw Big Black Ox wincing in pain. This time, not only was his arm in a sling, but there was also a horrific, previously pierced wound on his chest!

Moreover, one of his horns was broken; his condition was dire.

"Old Black, what happened to you?!" Chu Feng asked, his voice filled with anxiety.

Then he saw the Yellow Ox, whose golden fur was stained with blood, and whose youthful face was pale. There were clear bloodstains on his body, which had taken a powerful hit, nearly tearing him to pieces.

Ouyang the Toad's condition was equally dire: one eye was nearly necrotic, bloodshot with a ruptured membrane, and a foreleg hung limply, deformed.

At the same time, Chu Feng saw the old donkey slumped on a decaying ship, covered in blood, barely more than a pile of mush.

"What happened to all of you?" Chu Feng's expression changed completely; he was horrified that everyone was severely wounded.

Ouyang Feng said with a voice full of hatred, "Damn it! We fought a fierce battle and were both wounded, but then we were ambushed by the 'Unfettered Divine Body'—that accursed Earth True Son! I wish I could flay him alive!"

In an instant, Chu Feng's rage surged. It was Zhou Shang again, the so-called Earth True Son—that ungrateful wretch—who had once again attacked the native cultivators.

"Just you wait," Chu Feng snarled, gritting his teeth, "I'll return to Earth and flay him alive!" He longed to immediately rush back.

Big Black Ox said, "Brother, your main mission is more important; you don't need to come back. We're not in a hurry here; we'll settle accounts with him another time. But this person is truly insidious. This isn't the first time he's attacked us; my arm was broken last time when he suddenly ambushed us."

"I actually need to travel around anyway to try and obtain a golden invitation," Chu Feng replied, his mind made up. "So I'll head back this time and settle some scores first!"