Chapter 148: The Kunlun Realm
Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy
All these world-shaking events took place because of Chu Feng’s simple visit to the Black Bear tribe.
However, the main culprit, accompanied by the Black Bear, was nonchalantly entering their secret grounds: the Medicine King Mountain.
This mountain was extremely famous in the Tibetan region, situated close to the Potala Palace [1]. Recently, after the great change, this mountain’s size and height had greatly risen, becoming even more scenic and majestic.
The mountains of the Tibetan region were originally vast, grand and full of vigor. At present, the Medicine King Mountain was surrounded by a veil of misty clouds, akin to a heavenly realm.
Following the small trail through the mountains, Chu Feng passed through forests of pines and cypresses, sparkling with translucent radiance akin to shining agate. A heavenly white mist suffused the whole area and a vigorous aura of vitality filled the air—it was as marvelous as it was mysterious.
The Black Bear had changed into his human form, appearing as a 40 to 50 year-old man with a strong and sturdy build, even more muscular than Xiong Kun. However, he was continuously wiping off cold sweat under the pressure of being in the presence of this demon.
Earlier, before understanding the situation, he was ready to fight to the death against Chu Feng. He truly thought that Chu Feng had come to eradicate their race and destroy their stronghold.
However, he had only let out a strand of murderous intent when a scarlet flying knife came whistling over through the air, stopping just short of piercing his neck.
At that moment, the Black Bear understood that he was not this demon king’s match. If he were to battle him, there was no doubt that he would fall then and there.
This terrifying psychic energy was even more powerful than his own strength with two shackles severed and Chu Feng’s Imperial Sword Technique was unfathomable.
It was a great relief to him that, after he had lowered his stance, Demon King Chu did not continue to fight him and only asked for a guide towards Mount Kunlun.
The Black Bear had an impulse to wildly curse, wasn’t it just for a guide? Why cause such a huge ruckus and let everyone know that Chu Feng was on his way to eradicate him.
At the same time, the Black Bear swore that as soon as he gets his hands on that little bastard bear, he would give him a good beating. His false information had caused a huge misunderstanding, almost killing him in the process.
If he had truly believed and acted on this information and fought Chu Feng to the bitter end, he would already be dead by now.
"This bastard bear dares to harm his own grandfather. Just wait and see how I’ll deal with you!" The Black Bear thought in fury.
He reckoned that, by now, the outside world must be crazy with news of Chu Feng.
At least, he now had to think of a way to smooth things over. Te couldn’t subtract Chu Feng’s limelight, yet he also had to retain some face. This was quite the headache inducing dilemma.
That day, the Black Bear announced that, he had gained the forgiveness of god king Chu, who was magnanimous enough to forget past misunderstandings and that they had begun a new chapter of friendship as brothers.
Naturally, he would not address Chu Feng as demon king, instead calling him god king.
The news quickly spread, surprising everyone.
"This Black Bear is too weak, he’s been conquered by this young human expert!" the beast races responded with disappointment.
Heated discussions and debates were also taking place in the human world, no place was calm.
"Deity Chu is simply too valiant, he was able to conquer the enemy even without a battle. He can be said to have gone from the path of a tyrant to the path of a king!"
"Deity Chu is too powerful, killing a beast king then causing another to surrender. This kind of deterring might proves that the combined path of king and tyrant is the best policy."
This incident had a huge effect on the people of various regions—everyone was talking about it.
It became an extremely hot topic and the waves did not die down quickly.
All the various corporate powers had to reassess Chu Feng’s power at this point.
Actually, Chu Feng did not even care about the excessive attention he was subjected to. His thoughts were mostly on reaching Mount Kunlun and entering that underground palace.
"King Chu, this way!"
Finally, after eating a hearty meal on the Medicine King Mountain, Chu Feng boarded a silver-furred bird along with the Black Bear.
The bird was several tens of meters long with bright feathers that jingled with every movement as if they were refined from metal.
The bird carried a small but refined pavilion on its back, enough for a few people to lounge within. The interior was also attentively decorated and comfortable.
The silver bird spread its wings and, carrying Chu Feng and the Black Bear, flew towards Mount Kunlun. This was much faster than going on foot.
After all, no matter how fast he ran, there would be various obstacles and impenetrable mountainous areas which he would have to go around. All these problems did not exist when traveling by air.
Deep in the night, he arrived at Mount Kunlun.
In front, the mountain range was extremely vast, and many separate mountainous veins were woven together like a hidden dragon, which had been sleeping since ancient times.
A forceful and desolate aura covered the earth and skies, such was the majesty of Mount Kunlun.
"King Chu, this is the Kunlun Realm. Beyond it is a separate world, akin to paradise—normal beast kings like me do not have the right to enter. I can only accompany you up to this point," he said, laughing dryly. The Black Bear did not dare to trespass this sanctuary.
Chu Feng nodded as he dismounted from the silver bird.
After flying for such a long distance, this avian was already exhausted. It sank to the ground, gasping for breath, looking dispirited—it had actually flown 4000 km straight, any other bird might have died of fatigue.
The Black Bear frowned; he knew it was not possible to begin his return journey without resting for the night.
Chu Feng also did not want to begin his trek at night—finally, he returned to the pavilion on the bird’s back and, in the company of the Black Bear, meditated through the night.
At dawn, as the first beams of morning light shone from the east, the whole Mount Kunlun was covered in a hazy golden hue—a truly divine and magnificent scene.
Furthermore, a huge patch of purple cloud [2] suffused the air around Mount Kunlun, adding to the mystique of the mountain. A sublime spirituality was diffused throughout the whole place.
All the mountains were crystalline and lustrous after absorbing strands of purple mist; the scenery was comparable to the abode of gods.
The Black Bear was extremely envious as he stood drooling just outside the Kunlun Realm. However, he did not dare to approach this holy land, lest he rouses the ire of the vicious group residing within it.
Chu Feng glanced at him, saying, "What’s the use of staring in envy? You should just charge in and take a mountain by force. With your abilities, you are very much qualified to try."
The Black Bear shook his head and said, "I’ll pass on that. Failure means death, I had better take things slow and steady. King Chu, you should be cautious once you enter. Even if you have friends within, you should not let your guard down as the situation within Mount Kunlun is rather complicated."
The Black Bear boarded the gigantic bird as soon as he had finished his words and, in a cloud of dust and pebbles, left the area.
Chu Feng strode into the Kunlun boundary!
As soon as he walked into the mountainous area, he felt an extraordinary vitality in the air—even the cliffs and rocks were glimmering lustrously in the morning mist.
This was completely different from the Mount Kunlun that he remembered!
"With so many purple clouds approaching from the sun, the whole place feels auspicious, peaceful and noble. What kind of energy was this? Was this the so called ‘Purple clouds rising from the east’?"
Purple clouds rising from the east; this was something worth paying attention to.
Chu Feng felt extremely comfortable after breathing in this air. Strands of purple mist, containing dense spiritual energy, entered his body—although only a scarce amount, the effects were amazing.
As the small amount of purple air diffused throughout his body, the activity of his physique was greatly increased and, astonishingly, filled him with vigor.
Many thoughts ran through his astonished mind.
He did not delay any longer as he stood on the spot and activated his special breathing technique. Strand after strand of purple air was inhaled until, soon afterward, he felt "full"!
At that moment, Chu Feng was bathed in the morning mist as his whole body was covered by a golden radiance which flowed along with the purple clouds before returning to his flesh and blood.
After a long while, he exhaled a long breath, feeling extremely comfortable.
"Mount Kunlun truly is a great place!" Chu Feng nodded.
He found that this "purple mist" was just the beginning. As the sun climbed higher, the dense purple clouds no longer came and the morning mist became normal.
Kunlun, claimed to be the number one divine mountain of ancient China, was indeed fitting of its name.
Here, there was the legend of Hsi Wang Mu, the queen mother of the west along with myths of saintly beasts and many other stories.
From "Records of the Grand Historian" to "Classic of the Mountain and Sea", Han literature, etc., many volumes on history contained rich records of Mount Kunlun.
"Evolution, everything was due to the advanced evolution of organisms!" Chu Feng reminded himself against the influence of these myths.
"Who is it?!" As he proceeded into the depths of the Kunlun area, some beasts appeared on the tall mountains, overlooking the whole area.
This was one of the entrances into Mount Kunlun, and as such, there were beast race experts standing guard.
It was an azure wolf. It stood on its hind legs in its true form. It was not a beast king, but it was capable of human speech—it must have ingested a mysterious fruit.
"Chu Feng, I come to Mount Kunlun to meet old friends," Chu Feng reported.
"You’re that Demon King Chu?!" the azure wolf cried in alarm; he had also heard of Chu Feng’s name even in this remote Kunlun region.
He looked at Chu Feng with green light slowing through his eyes, saying, "Go straight ahead until you see a temple. From that point onwards, there will be someone to give you further instructions."
Chu Feng nodded, continuing forward.
He was greatly surprised; he had read about the Myriad God Temple in history books.
During ancient times, Taoist Hu of Gansu and Taoist Zhang Liqing once came to Mount Kunlun in search of the legendary "country of myriad gods". However, in the end, they failed to find it and instead they built a Taoist temple there.
Eventually, this temple came to be known was the Myriad Gods Temple.
With the passage of time, this temple deteriorated and broke down. However, the people were able to excavate its remains and, surprisingly, restore it to glory.
Chu Feng went forward until he finally found a Taoist temple; it was largely unadorned but gave off a vast and majestic aura.
There were some entities within the temple, all of them from the races of Western China; antelopes, snow panthers, Tibetan mastiffs, all mystical and powerful.
Their skin and fur were smooth as silk, lustrous and spiritual.
Chu Feng felt odd since a whole Taoist temple was filled with beasts.
What caused him to shiver was that among those beasts were two king level entities, sitting within the depths of the temple. Their powerful and terrifying aura could be felt from far away.
Very soon, he was received by one of those kings; he came in human form, greeting Chu Feng with a warm smile.
The other was a beast; a strange bird. Its body was about two meters long, enshrouded by strands of purple mist. It was as if he was refined from purple gold, even its beak was radiating a golden luster.
It looked very much like a woodpecker. However, it was emitting a king level vital energy and was no doubt a dangerous entity.
These two kings did not go to the newly discovered underground palace to fight for fortunes because they deemed it too dangerous.
"You must be Chu Feng? The king level entities who enter Mount Kunlun have to follow some rules specific to this area. Follow the road beyond the Myriad Gods Temple and keep advancing through that area; once you’re through, someone will be waiting to lead you to the Demon Ox," the woodpecker calmly Instructed.
Chu Feng nodded and proceeded to go along the small mountain path.
"Is this really suitable?" the human shaped beast king said, "didn’t Demon Ox tell us to send him directly to the Ox King Palace?"
"Don't worry, I have plans. No matter what, this person should follow the rules," said the purple gold woodpecker, seemingly very friendly.
Not long afterward, the human form beast king left to continue his cultivation.
The purple gold woodpecker spread its wings and flew into the depths of the mountain with a swoosh. It landed on a mountain peak, a cold gleam shone in its eyes, staring at Chu Feng’s disappearing silhouette.
At the same time, two more mutant birds arrived on that mountain peak. One was a peacock, and the other was a golden yellow falcon; they both greeted the woodpecker with great courtesy upon arrival: "We pay our respects to the Bird King."
"That’s enough. Since the falcon race and the peacock race has asked for help, I will naturally lend a hand since we are all of the bird race. However, I advise you not to deceive me; are you certain he has the Imperial Sword Technique on him?" The purple woodpecker had a resplendent glow within the depths of his eyes, he truly longed for this.
"It is a certainty. The Mount Pan Lineage and our peacock race have a close relationship. We are thoroughly knowledgeable about the details of their battle," the peacock replied with great certainty.
The golden falcon praised, "Our old ancestor, the Falcon King, also fell to a flying knife. The White Crane of Mount Shu vanquished him with a single move. I was looking on from afar and have felt that kind of power. If you were to get your hands on this Imperial Sword Technique, I’m certain you will be unrivaled in the Kunlun Mountains!"
This falcon was actually the grandson of the late Falcon King; their race had always had a good relationship with the peacock race. It was also under the Peacock King’s orders that the Ash Wolf and the Falcon King made their move.
"Very good, it’s worth the work!" The purple woodpecker nodded.
"Bird King should be careful; if he had successfully cultivated the Imperial Sword Technique, his power will surely have increased by a level. It won’t be easy to handle him."
The purple woodpecker coldly laughed, saying, "Don’t worry, I have a plan. Within Mount Kunlun, there is actually a place where his Imperial Sword Technique would be restricted. Once he goes in, there will be no return."
At this moment, a mutant bird came flying over and reported from mid air: "Reporting to the Bird King, the human has entered the danger zone."
The purple woodpecker revealed a delighted expression, saying, "Very good, he’s sure to die now; let’s go and take a look. After I gain the Imperial Sword Technique, I will no longer stay at Mount Kunlun and instead join the Peacock King’s camp to help him take over the Pilgrimage Grounds."
"Ha ha, very good—his death should serve as a warning to those who are starting to get restless." The peacock heartily laughed, feeling extremely satisfied.
He immediately contacted the people from the outside world, letting his race know that Chu Feng was about to fall shortly and that he was on his way to claim his head.
Not long afterward, an explosive news was circulated among the beast races: news of Chu Feng’s possible death. The news stated that he would die in at most a quarter of an hour and that people could wait to see the livestream where his head would be presented.
This naturally caused great waves!
It was said that he had been trapped within the depths of Mount Kunlun and would soon be butchered.
"Ha ha, that demon is finally about to die? I knew his life wouldn’t be long. He’s always so tyrannical; does he really think that he is unrivaled? Now it seems that someone is about to deal with him!"
"Heh, heh, I had guessed that he would meet this fate. Sooner or later, he would be done in by a great beast king. And indeed, my speculation was on the mark!"
Many among the beats race were discussing this incident, laughing with great delight.
This news, similarly, caused a huge quake within the human communities; although it was still unclear whether it was the truth, any news regarding Chu Feng received great attention nonetheless.
"Damn, has Chu Feng been schemed against?"
"The situation doesn’t look good. Since the beast race is so certain, Chu Feng is likely in trouble!"
Many people were worried, noticing that the situation was abnormal.
"What are you afraid of? Chu Feng has faced so much adversity and bitter battles, yet every time, he would rise to the top after beating down his enemies. I think this time won't be any different, he would probably make a name for himself at Mount Kunlun in the end!"
"Right, I also have this kind of feeling. Chu Feng is most likely going to cause a huge uproar again, just wait and see. Those beast races will be dumbfounded again!"
On the human side, many were confident in Chu Feng; most of them refused to believe Chu Feng would be in any sort of danger. They were quite positively awaiting the imminent breaking news."
"Ha ha, I’m looking forward to Chu Feng’s massacre! The scene of him bathing in king blood would be incomparably shocking!" Some people were very optimistic.
The beast race members were all dumbfounded. What was this situation? Was Chu Feng so awesome that he could sway everyone like this?
However, some of the beast race members were very calm.
"I think Chu Feng is probably dead by now. It has been an hour since the news was released; that expert has long since made his plans. It is not possible for him to release the news without absolute confidence. The human race can only wait to collect Chu Feng’s corpse."
"I agree, Chu Feng is dead. Ha, ha…" Some beast race members were laughing merrily.
So much that some of them were unable to sit still—they could hardly wait for the good news.
...
[1] Potala Palace — used to be the residence of the Dalai Lama.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potala_Palace
[2] 紫雲- Purple Cloud is deemed an auspicious sign. The explanation in the following link is consistent with the explanation on the Chinese wiki.
Link: https://immortalmountain.wordpress.com/2017/02/11/purple-qi-from-the-east/