Chapter 965: Return to the Underworld

Chu Feng fled the forbidden zone, feeling a deep, innate dread towards the hunchbacked old man. That was psychical gray matter, yet it had manifested into a human form. For some unknown reason, the old man’s seemingly peaceful smile sent a chill down his spine, from head to toe, leaving him feeling genuinely horrified and unnerved. If he had a choice, he truly wouldn’t want to see that hunchbacked old man again. So, he remained silent throughout his escape from the underground world, distancing himself from the abyss until he neared the Ferocious Beast Plateau before finally stopping.

“Senior, did you see that old fellow in gray?” Chu Feng asked the Crippled Heavenly Venerate. The Stone Fox had remained silent the entire way, seemingly apprehensive itself, not uttering a single word. As for Little Vermilion Bird, its bright red feathers were puffed up and bristling, looking quite scared, with wide eyes filled with panic; it hadn't yet calmed its nervous emotions.

“I saw him. Were you scared?” the Stone Fox asked him.

“How could a true paragon of manhood be scared? I’d never back down, no matter what!” Chu Feng declared, gripping a golden spear in one hand and a sharp divine sword in the other, divine-level energy permeating and shaking the entire wasteland!

“You’re just putting on a brave face. If you were truly calm, you wouldn’t be so bothered; you’d be peaceful,” the Stone Fox remarked unhurriedly, glancing at him.

“Don’t talk about me; what about you? Weren’t you running away with me? What’s the background of that hunchbacked old man?” Chu Feng grew increasingly curious about the secrets of the first forbidden zone.

The Crippled Heavenly Venerate spoke indifferently, “Heh, if he saw my true form, he’d cry. He’s just an old servant!”

The Stone Fox’s demeanor annoyed Chu Feng. He also adopted a nonchalant air, saying, “Did you see his expression when he saw me? He was smiling at me. That’s charismatic appeal—he cries for you, but smiles for me.” The Stone Fox was trying to project the image of an otherworldly master, appearing serene and detached, intending to use this contrast of "crying and smiling" to highlight its own transcendent superiority. The result... upon hearing such shameless words from Chu Feng, the Crippled Heavenly Venerate’s face immediately fell. Even Little Vermilion Bird was speechless, tilting its head and looking back and forth between the two with its ruby-like eyes.

Although Chu Feng spoke lightly, his heart was heavy. The hunchbacked old man’s smile upon seeing him had caused him intense unease, and a chill still ran down his back. He grew increasingly wary of the strange substances, resolved to cleanse his body of them if given the chance, reinforcing his determination to pursue the path of decay. One day, he vowed to transform into a divine fetus, eliminate all flaws, and embark on the strongest path. However, doing so felt too cruel to his former self, even to his current self. Each time he considered it, for some unknown reason, his heart would stir, feeling as though he hadn't fully thought things through, leaving him unsettled.

“Forget it, no need to overthink now. Nothing is absolute in this world; perhaps I’ll take a different path,” Chu Feng muttered. Now, it was time to leave. He had no lingering attachment to the foreign realm; this world was saturated with strange substances. Even though Little Vermilion Bird hadn't practiced exotic techniques, being born in this world meant it was still tainted. As the Crippled Heavenly Venerate put it, this was the sorrow of all living beings in this world, a world that instilled despair.

“Senior, don’t you want to say more?” Chu Feng asked.

“There’s nothing more to say. It won’t be too late to understand when you can truly venture into the deepest part of the forbidden zone someday,” the Stone Fox shook its head, reluctant to elaborate, showing great apprehension towards the so-called first forbidden zone. Chu Feng knew, in fact, that even a Heavenly Venerate would perish attempting to forcibly assault such a forbidden zone. This time, he had only explored the fringes of the Nine Heavens, not daring to delve deeper.

“You are fortunate; for endless ages, no one has risked their life entering the Nine Heavens to seek a chance at rebirth,” the Stone Fox sighed. Chu Feng considered the four talismans he acquired to be his greatest gain, something that would make even Heavenly Venerates and patriarchs in the yang-realm envious. Unless under special circumstances, even the ancient beings and top powerhouses of the yang-realm generally wouldn’t attempt to forcibly attack those forbidden zones. No one had ventured deep into the foreign realm’s first forbidden zone for too long, forcing the hunchbacked old man to almost completely send out the talismans. According to the Stone Fox, these talismans were originally located in the very core of the forbidden zone! Chu Feng immediately understood why, even though there were multiple forbidden zones in the yang-realm, the talismans remained so precious.

Next, Chu Feng sat cross-legged on the wasteland and began cutting the divine cores in his hands with his sharp sword. He planned to absorb all of them before returning to the netherworld. These items contained some strange substances and were not suitable to be taken back; it was best to process them in this realm. He selected a few divine cores from divine beasts that hadn’t practiced exotic techniques and gave them to Little Vermilion Bird.

“Senior, would you like to act as the Heaven-Overturning Seal and smash these divine cores for Little Vermilion Bird?”

“Get away from me!” The Stone Fox was furious that this kid dared to bring that up again. What Heaven-Overturning Seal? He was clearly treating it like a stone hammer!

In the end, Chu Feng continued cutting. He absorbed various divine cores there, having more than twenty in his possession, including some fragmented Divine King cores! This was an astonishing advancement. Shortly after he fully unleashed the Lesser Six Paths Time Technique, the heavenly tribulation arrived! It was all because he had absorbed too many divine particles, incurring divine punishment. Fortunately, he didn't absorb them all at once; he would wait a while after each absorption and observe the sky. On the plateau, lightning had constantly flashed and thunder descended recently, but no one dared to disturb him, as all parties knew who was undergoing the tribulation. Now, Chu Feng possessed absolute power and confidence; he didn't even need to find a secluded cultivation spot, unafraid of external threats or the divine-level creatures of this world. He could look down upon the foreign realm!

One day, after he had also absorbed the three fragmented Divine King cores, he would be just one step away from entering the Divine King realm! His evolution had been rapid recently, with various sticky, bloody secretions on his body daily, a result of his intense metamorphosis and incredibly rapid metabolism. Now, all his cells exhibited astonishing vitality, containing terrifying energy. With just a slight circulation of his breathing technique, his internal organs glowed, and his bones subtly vibrated with thunderous sounds. His physical body was flawless and pure, having evolved to an incredibly astonishing degree. Unfortunately, the three Divine King cores were too severely damaged; if they were even slightly more complete, he could have advanced further!

In these past few days, Little Vermilion Bird had also made rapid progress. It had been nourished by several fragmented divine cores, evolving quickly, and finally entered the divine realm! Chu Feng cast a sideways glance at the Stone Fox. When he asked the Stone Fox how to break through a bottleneck at a critical moment, the Crippled Heavenly Venerate evaded the question. Yet, when Little Vermilion Bird faced the same issue, it gradually enlightened her and provided positive, guiding assistance.

However, Chu Feng was also a bit worried. Little Vermilion Bird’s true age was not small; it was already over 230 years old. But, to this day, it remained incredibly naive. In this state, no matter how high its strength became, it would suffer greatly in the future!

“Its path is different from yours. You still don’t wish to reincarnate, but it is destined for rebirth,” the Stone Fox explained in detail, holding nothing back. It wanted Little Vermilion Bird to temporarily maintain its innocent heart and comprehend the divine realm, so it spared no effort to personally guide her, preach to her, and help her thoroughly grasp it. Because, in the Stone Fox’s arrangement, Little Vermilion Bird was ultimately meant to start anew; everything it did in this life was merely accumulation!

“Once you reach the netherworld, let it experience the mortal world, with its deceit and struggles. Anyway, realms are suppressed there, so it won’t be able to achieve divinity, and it won’t be able to cultivate either. Give it enough time to experience things.” In the foreign realm, the Stone Fox believed that all time here was precious. Chu Feng suddenly understood completely, no longer saying anything more. Little Vermilion Bird now had the talismans and was to reincarnate from the netherworld into the yang-realm. The Stone Fox made it clear that even if she hadn’t cultivated exotic techniques, the strange substances in her body had accumulated to a certain extent, and it currently had no way to help her resolve them.

“We will eventually meet again in the yang-realm. Reincarnation is a rare and highly desired opportunity for the descendants of many powerful beings. To have life restart and reshape oneself is the greatest fortune and opportunity!” Chu Feng, seeing tears in Little Vermilion Bird’s eyes and its reluctance to part, comforted her thus.

Finally, they set off. There was no time to delay; Chu Feng had achieved his objectives in the foreign realm, so there was no need to stay longer. “Remember, the netherworld is very dangerous. You must seal yourselves and absolutely not reveal any divine-level energy fluctuations, or you’ll be swallowed by the Great Abyss and die horribly!” Chu Feng emphasized repeatedly, fearing a major incident. He was very serious; one lapse could lead to his own terrible demise, and he certainly didn’t want to be devoured by the Great Abyss.

“But don’t worry too much or be afraid. Back then, even a Heavenly Venerate’s decree was fine when not activated and could appear in the netherworld universe.” The Taifu Heavenly Venerate’s avatar was killed because he was too overbearing, daring to cause trouble near the Great Abyss, which was fatal even when suppressing his realm. He was annihilated, dragging some followers to their deaths as well!

Chu Feng took out the Soul Bell, letting Little Vermilion Bird enter, and prepared to stuff the Stone Fox inside too.

“Are you sure I can pass through as well?” the Stone Fox didn’t believe him.

“Senior, you must trust me. This is the first step to breaking the shackles your powerful master placed on you. If I can take you into the netherworld universe, your turning point might just arrive.”

Finally, the Stone Fox agreed and was also stuffed into the Soul Bell by Chu Feng. Chu Feng then feigned putting his own physical body inside, leaving only his soul light outside. Afterwards, a priceless piece of magnetic marrow appeared in his hand; he intended to use it to seal the mouth of the Soul Bell, completely isolating it from the outside. Magnetic marrow was a true treasure, the most coveted item for field researchers. Chu Feng had accidentally discovered it while inspecting the spoils from the divine being’s cave. This substance could isolate everything; even a god’s spiritual power couldn’t penetrate it. He estimated that, given the Crippled Heavenly Venerate’s current state, its soul light also couldn’t pass through the magnetic marrow.

Moreover, he tried to scare the Stone Fox, saying, “Senior, you must be extremely careful. After all, you were once a Heavenly Venerate, and your master left various restrictions within your body. Crossing between the two realms will be more dangerous for you than anyone else. You must stay calm and use your stone fetus to protect your soul light. Even if your stone body disintegrates, it’s better to retain your spirit than to die outright.”

“You little brat, are you actually confident? I’m not going with you!” The Crippled Heavenly Venerate was actually very afraid of death; otherwise, it wouldn’t have stubbornly endured in the foreign realm for so long. So, upon hearing Chu Feng’s intimidation, it immediately bristled.

“It’s fine. At most, you’ll lose an arm or a leg, and half your stone body might be damaged, but most of your soul light will definitely be preserved.”

“Get out! I’m not taking this ride! I’m not going to the yang-realm with you!”

“Too late, we’ve already set off, Senior, we must go!” With a clang, Chu Feng jammed the magnetic marrow in, sealing it completely, then vigorously shook the Soul Bell, making it violently jostle. Inside the Soul Bell, the Stone Fox bristled but could only glare helplessly. It was very afraid of death and decisively retracted all its spirit, concentrating it in the core of its stone body, not daring to probe.

Chu Feng frantically shook the Soul Bell with his soul light, hurrying to the rendezvous point agreed upon with the Demon Ancestor’s Cauldron, calling out to it, and receiving a response. During this process, he had already taken out the stone box, putting himself and the Soul Bell inside, preparing for his return through this special world node. With a hum, the stone box traversed, emitting terrifying light along the way, passing through the boundary membrane, and successfully returned to the Undying Mountain. Chu Feng returned to the netherworld!

In an instant, the stone box dimmed, returning to its original state. This supreme treasure was ordinarily quite unremarkable; even someone as powerful as the Crippled Heavenly Venerate had never noticed it because it gave off no unusual sensations and had always been overlooked.

“I’m back! I’ve finally returned! I wonder how the netherworld is now, and what has become of Earth!” Chu Feng clenched his fists. After a hundred years of change, he had finished his cultivation journey and finally returned completely!