Chapter 991: Golden Years, A Brand New Me

“Why?” Chu Feng’s soul trembled. He had a profound realization that felt more like a truth than an illusion: everything in the world—every blade of grass, every tree, the entire universe, and all of time and space—was contained within a single painting. They were all figures and objects within that painting.

But who was looking down upon them?

This thought was horrifying, sending a shiver down his spine!

Was it a single pair of eyes, or countless eyes, peering through the firmament, tearing through eternity, gazing down upon everything?

He shook his head vigorously, finding it hard to believe this was a genuine revelation. He told himself it must be a delusion, a disorientation of time and space, not reality.

While Chu Feng’s mind was unsettled, wandering through the void, a thunderous roar echoed outside, shaking the wooden city.

It was at this moment that the stone box began to glow. He noticed it becoming increasingly crystalline and dazzling, emitting a surge of white mist that enveloped itself.

This was somewhat strange. The stone box’s form was chaotic and indescribable; its previous square shape might not have been its true form.

Now, shrouded in mist, the divine object obscured itself.

In every direction, silent scenes unfolded, one after another. Chu Feng felt as if he were traversing ancient, mottled scrolls, each scene representing an epoch, walking through the accumulated history of countless eons.

The stone box vibrated gently, emitting peculiar sounds, like the genesis of heaven and earth, the initial evolution of chaos, the sprouting of all things. It also seemed to signify a new beginning, with past and present revolving anew, pointing the way back.

Finally, while he was lost in thought, a massive thud startled him. He looked up in alarm, peering through a crack in the stone box, and saw a place where dense fragments of time surged. Right before him was a withered yellow sheet of paper.

The stone box was about to collide with it!

At this moment, Chu Feng felt even more strongly that his past life, the universe, and all of time and space were condensed into a single painting, and someone was looking down upon it all.

A final, massive explosion-like sound erupted as the stone box collided with the letter. Dazzling light surged, scattering the fragments of time, and runes engulfed the area.

Chu Feng was dazed. The stone box closed completely, and the last remaining crack vanished.

In that final instant, what did he see? The withered yellow letter melted, transforming into streams of light that entangled with the stone box.

At the same time, he saw a figure and a magnificent, indescribable battle beyond imagination. Ultimately, he saw that towering figure sweep out with a single sword stroke, engulfing the past, present, and future!

Until, heaven and earth stood still.

Such powerful beings fought valiantly, bathed in blood, their fates unknown.

Then Chu Feng saw imperial characters hovering in the air, swords and cauldrons resonating in unison. Later, others broke free from their constraints and entered the battlefield. Were these powerful individuals from another pivotal point in evolutionary history?

Or was it all a cycle, with only one person?

Utter darkness; he could see nothing. The stone box had closed.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. The violent tremors outside ceased, and Chu Feng remained with his eyes closed.

In a single breath, which felt like eons, a tempest raged within him. Some unbelievable, fragmented scenes appeared before his eyes, only to quickly fade from his memory.

Was this the cycle of a great era, or his own reincarnation? How could all these scenes inexplicably appear? His experience today was utterly inconceivable to him.

“Is it this stone box or that letter, trying to project something into my mind?” Chu Feng rationalized.

Once the stone box dimmed, stopped glowing, and stabilized completely, Chu Feng felt he should be out of the danger zone.

He gently opened the stone box and, as expected, found himself outside the wooden city’s range.

The stone box remained unchanged. Looking back, the letter was gone.

He turned and left this mystical place.

Along the way, his spirit wandered in the void, his soul light shimmering. The scenes he had just witnessed gave him significant insight, enough that he unexpectedly broke through the final barrier into the God King realm.

Mysterious and complex patterns began to interweave within his body, covering his flesh, bones, and even his soul light. This was the power of a God King.

Perhaps it could also be said that it was the manifestation of order, his own insights transforming into fragments of the Great Dao.

His body was undergoing a metamorphosis; all his cell activity was rapidly increasing and transforming!

“No!”

Chu Feng immediately hid inside the stone box, then controlled it to rush towards chaos at top speed, using the ultimate treasure to completely conceal his aura.

This was because he didn’t want to attract the attention of the beings descending from the Yang Realm, nor did he want to face his tribulation at this moment!

He still had big plans, grand schemes to execute. How could he expose himself now?

Moreover, the God King tribulation was no trivial matter. If it truly appeared, it would likely bring immense suffering, even near-death. Even in the Yang Realm, many quasi-God Kings would perish without protection during such a tribulation.

The stone box, dim and unlit, streaked like a speck of dust through the starry sky of the fragmented universe, rapidly plunging into chaos.

Not long after, Chu Feng found a suitable spot and emerged from the stone box. All his cell activity surged dramatically, furiously absorbing the divine particles and Dao Ancestor substances he had accumulated within his body.

When he was at the peak of the Divine General stage, he hadn’t just killed one or two gods, but two batches, or two groups, of them, including quasi-God Kings. By employing the Lesser Six Paths Time Art, he had absorbed everything, leading to a profound accumulation.

The divine particles and Dao Ancestor substances he couldn’t utilize before were now fully activated.

This time, Chu Feng’s evolution was not merely breaking through to the God King realm; his cultivation soared continuously, and his physique became somewhat terrifying.

It was as if he was undergoing a complete metamorphosis. He had experienced a century of vicissitudes in another realm, but now he was undergoing reverse growth, almost returning to his youth. However, he ultimately managed to forcefully stabilize his appearance at the age of twenty.

He certainly didn’t want to become a naive youth again; he needed a physique in its prime.

Intricate patterns like lightning streaked across all his cells, evolving to their peak. The order of the God King grew and was imprinted within his body.

At the same time, Chu Feng confronted a problem: there was a “seed” within his body, representing a new self. It was being nourished, regenerating, and was destined to emerge as a divine embryo.

Furthermore, he felt an incredibly strong urge originating from that seed, as if it wanted to burst forth from his body at that very moment.

Simultaneously, his current physical body and original soul light emitted a sense of sorrow, making his scalp tingle, as if anticipating their eventual demise.

Having resolved to walk the path of the strongest, wasn’t this the best choice?

But why was his heart filled with sorrow, mourning for himself?

For a moment, Chu Feng stood dazed in the chaos, his heart heavy with sorrow.

The heavenly tribulation arrived, exceptionally terrifying, striking him and sending him sprawling.

Fortunately, this was a God King tribulation, not the destructive lightning born from chaos itself. Otherwise, no matter how powerful he was, he would turn to ashes if he hadn’t reached the Heavenly Venerable realm.

Chu Feng began to undergo the tribulation, simultaneously filled with an inexplicable sorrow, his heart in great anguish as he examined himself.

Was that seed truly about to emerge? The path of the strongest was fundamentally about breaking the old self, with a divine embryo emerging to forge an ultimate, strongest new self.

“I can’t hold back!”

Ultimately, Chu Feng channeled the heavenly tribulation into his body, directing it to destroy that seed!

He didn’t know if this was because the cultivation method he practiced was incomplete, causing his state of mind to be unstable and ultimately leading to a failure in his cultivation.

Or was there another possibility: was his intuition warning him, telling him that he absolutely had to end this path?

Whatever the reason, he was now taking action himself, intending to destroy that seed!

He wouldn’t wait for a new self to be born; he only wanted his current self.

The God King tribulation entered his body, all of it blasting towards the seed. At the same time, he himself was enduring the most terrifying impact, not a baptism, but a true life-or-death ordeal.

He didn’t know how long passed, but the surrounding chaos was shattered, turning into a void.

Chu Feng’s body was in tatters, having been reshaped countless times. He regenerated from a drop of blood, reconstructed broken bones, performing the miracles of a God King.

However, he was repeatedly struck, leaving him in a dreadful state.

Fortunately, this wasn’t deep within chaos, so it didn’t attract the supreme lightning. It was only his own God King tribulation.

Finally, he persevered. The seed shattered, and as he circulated the Robbery-Inducing Breathing Technique, streams of light, like surging oceans, expanded outwards from the broken seed. There were so many divine particles and Dao Ancestor substances that they merged into his current physical body and soul light.

He was being nourished in return!

“The path of the strongest has been interrupted. What other way do I have to become the strongest?” Chu Feng sighed softly, feeling the changes within himself.

His physique was improving, and on the path of evolution, he leaped forward, surging past the mid-stage of the God King realm!

This speed of evolution was nothing short of legendary in the cultivation world!

However, he also knew that this was not the path of the strongest, and he might be suppressed by many geniuses after entering the Yang Realm, which made him frown.

Yet, just now, he truly couldn’t control himself. An instinctive premonition compelled him to destroy that seed within himself.

To use his own flesh, blood, and soul light as strange soil to cultivate a seed, giving birth to a new self and severing the old self... why would he do that?!

“Is this the old self’s unwillingness, leading to a backlash, or a true instinct warning me? I... don’t know!”

Chu Feng fell silent. He didn’t know if what he had done was right or wrong, but his path of evolution had changed today. He needed to carefully plan his glorious future after entering the Yang Realm.

Those called geniuses in the Yang Realm were truly terrifying. How would he contend with them? He had to plan every step carefully!

Chu Feng survived the God King tribulation without major mishap.

He meditated for two days in the chaos, contemplating the changes within himself.

On the third day, he rose and entered the fragmented universe, heading directly for the final battlefield, the last trial grounds. Could he pass through unnoticed and enter the Yang Realm?

There, Chu Feng saw some familiar faces: Ying Wudi, the silver-haired loli, Ying Zhexian, Yuan Shicheng, Yuan Yuan, Vermillion Bird Fairy, and others.

Additionally, there were old acquaintances from the Dao Race and the Buddhist Race.

All the geniuses from the netherworld had gathered here, walking alongside their respective clansmen from the fragmented universe—such as those from the Immortal Banishing Cave, Amitabha Temple, and Primordial Devil Hall—to undergo the final trials and enter the Yang Realm.

For these individuals, the challenges weren’t too great; ninety percent of them were expected to be brought into the Yang Realm.

Chu Feng arrived, dressed in white, radiating an otherworldly aura. His displayed cultivation was at the Saint realm, his demeanor outstanding, truly in his prime, ready to command the world.

His most crucial moment was approaching; everything would soon come to a head.

“Brother, which race are you from?” someone approached him, greeting him warmly. They were astonished to see Chu Feng was already a Saint at such a young age.

Was his talent even more astonishing than the Nine Young Saints of the fragmented universe, perhaps comparable to the geniuses from the various orthodoxies in the Yang Realm?

“I am Shi Fan,” Chu Feng replied calmly.

“Shi Fan?” Someone was surprised, recalling that Ye Hao had mentioned having an older martial brother named Shi Fan earlier. So, such a person truly existed.