Chapter 277: Peerless Ambush
Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy
Outside of Gusu City at dawn.
Chu Feng and the others walked out of the city on foot.
If the Golden Condor King had transformed to reveal its 70-meter body before flying away, it would definitely cause a state of panic.
The colorful and radiant morning clouds were overflowing with vitality.
Vast desolate mountains were lined up adjacent to Gusu City, and the cries of apes and tigers there almost never stopped.
Chu Feng's band didn't leave immediately but instead walked at a steady pace, basking in the glow of the red sun and enjoying the fresh air while circulating their own breathing techniques.
The Manchurian Tiger was extremely delighted as his bones and joints made crackling sounds. Having a breathing technique was really too important for him. Now that he had the Xingyi Breathing Technique, he felt as if he was about to be reborn.
He could sense the changes within his body as his blood energy was becoming more vigorous. The difference between someone with a breathing technique and one without was indeed quite evident.
"When the tiger kung-fu knows, everyone shall bow!" he cried out loudly as he continued to circulate the breathing technique, finally finishing with a round of Xingyi Tiger Fists.
The black yak now knew two breathing techniques. First was the Thunderous Breathing Technique, and now the Xingyi Breathing Technique. He also felt his physique improving.
Only Yellow Ox and Chu Feng grasped three. The technique taught by Yellow Ox was complete and peerless, its effects, truly overwhelming.
It could be said that Chu Feng's current success was deeply related to this breathing technique.
The Donkey King's eyes were red with envy. His cowardly self hadn't received Chu Feng's complete trust and as such hadn't received any breathing technique. He could only practice the Xingyi Stallion Form which Chu Feng had passed on to him.
"Heavenly Stallion Meteor Fist!"
The Donkey King cried loudly as he launched his fists with style, kicking up loud winds around him. His form and temperament were quite astonishing.
The Golden Condor King was dumbfounded after seeing this spineless old donkey and felt somewhat uncomfortable in the stomach. He, on the other hand, didn't stay idle either and proceeded to practice a round of the Falcon Form.
They hung around the place in a leisurely manner and weren't in a rush to set out. They stretched their muscles and bones, practiced their arts and circulated their breathing techniques. They only planned to set out on their journey after gaining some distance from Gusu City.
Suddenly, Chu Feng's hairs stood on end. He let out a growl and his whole body erupted with bright light like a blazing sun rising from the horizon, spewing out speckles of gold.
Despite such defensive maneuvers, it was too late. They had been ambushed.
A terrifying gigantic claw suddenly descended from above. The incomparable sharp talons managed to swipe at Chu Feng's back, leaving a large bloody area.
Chu Feng had been wounded. The terrifying attack came too suddenly for him to react.
The claw was as large as a bamboo wicker and would've torn any other king into pieces. It was absurdly sharp and emitted a frightening aura.
That single attack shook the whole mountain woods as if an earthquake had struck.
Chu Feng moved sideways. Parts of his clothes had been torn to shreds. One had to know that the inner layer of this robe was reinforced with beast skin in order to prevent it from being ruined in battle, but now his beast skin vest had been torn to shreds and a bloody defect had even appeared on his back. The shocking wound was so deep that even his bones were visible.
At the critical moment, he had to rely on his extraordinarily sturdy physique to resist the great claw and the fate of being torn apart.
Buzz!
Blinding light erupted from Chu Feng's body as a large golden bell materialized around him. The dragon, tiger, bear and falcon forms appeared to circle around him before transforming into seals on the great bell.
The indestructible body enveloped by the golden bell.
This powerful defensive technique was one of the profundities Chu Feng had comprehended after reaching a higher level with the Xingyi Fists.
Dong!
The claw descended once more and clashed with the golden bell, causing it to shake violently. The bell pensively tolled while Chu Feng remained unharmed.
It had to be said that the Xingyi Technique was truly profound and mysterious. The golden bell formed of energy looked extremely corporeal as its metallic vibrations reverberated throughout the mountainous woods.
"Kill!"
Chu Feng's eyes burned like a torch. His body was emitting vast amounts of blood energy akin to the waves in the ocean. He erupted with peerless energy as he bombarded this mysterious assailant.
"Meow!"
A shrill ear-piercing cry was transmitted from the distance. It carried along a spiritual attack which could shake one's soul. A gigantic cat appeared out of thin air, its gigantic claws stained with blood.
Chu Feng had forced it to reveal its true form.
"The Nine-lives Cat!"
Chu Feng had guessed its identity at a glance. The Nine-lives Cat shared a close relationship with the Peacock King and was among one of those rare powerful experts who could wound Chu Feng.
He had long since heard that the Nine-lives Cat's wondrous stealth technique was the best in the world. Now that he had personally experienced it today, Chu Feng found that the fame was certainly well deserved. He had almost suffered badly in its hands.
Chu Feng raised his awareness. There were many lifeforms with distinctive abilities and shouldn't be underestimated. He couldn't afford to be careless even if his extraordinary strength allowed him to kill experts with six severed shackles.
In truth, the Nine-lives Cat was even more astonished then Chu Feng was. His lethal premeditate attack had actually failed.
He had planned to sever Chu Feng's neck and take away his head.
"Aou!"
Off to one side, the Manchurian Tiger and the black yak roared in fury as they were also ambushed.
At that moment, the immoral Manchurian Tiger had stepped out to block the vicious attack in a rare moment of chivalry.
Naturally, their assailant's power couldn't compare to the Nine-lives Cat. It only pounced during the chaos of the Nine-lives Cat's initial attack.
"Dammit, that hurts! Aou…" the Manchurian Tiger howled.
Chu Feng was shocked. He thought the tiger was in mortal danger but was dumbfounded after stealing a glance in his direction.
The Manchurian Tiger was frantically kicking with his hind legs while crying out continuously. Quite a few terrifying feathers were stuck in his butt.
These feathers were not to be trifled with. The golden yellow feathers burned with raging flames and were several meters long. When they pierced deep into the Manchurian Tiger's butt, the distress was no different from being pierced with swords.
"Damn your father, you Golden Crow! Are you still a bird?! Come down and fight with me for a few hundred rounds if you dare. How do ambushing people count as being skilled? Damn your mother. How long have you had your eyes on my butt? Scram down here and I'll beat you black and blue!"
The Manchurian Tiger couldn't stop spitting out obscenities as he was absolutely furious. In truth, no one could stand having their butt pierced by such gigantic burning feathers.
The furious black yak also grimaced in pain. "That really hurt your father! Come down birdman! You like shooting feathers, don't you? I'll pluck them all off one by one and let you run around naked!"
A single feather was stuck on his butt which emitted a crisp metallic sound when flicked with the finger.
Yellow Ox and the Donkey King were slightly behind them and had thus escaped harm. The Golden Condor King was standing even further and was likewise unharmed.
"Idiots! You want to contend against me with just you lot? I can easily slaughter you lot if I want!" a golden yellow bird calmly replied from midair.
He was only paying attention to Chu Feng because he felt the latter was extremely powerful!
The Golden Crow and the Nine-lives Cat had arrived. They were the Peacock King's most trusted allies and were also the leaders of the forces attacking the Pilgrimage Grounds.
"Ah, you dare ambush me! From here on out, we're absolutely irreconcilable!" Chu Feng proclaimed.
He had long since known that the two kings had rushed south to help the Peacock King get rid of him but he never met them in the end as they never made a move. Only today did they meet officially.
The Nine-lives Cat spoke, "Interesting, your strength and keen senses far exceed my expectations. If it was that Manchurian Tiger with six severed shackles in your place, he should be dead by now."
The gigantic cat's manners were elegant as it strode forth in a very feline manner. The whole mountainous region shook as it circled around Chu Feng.
"Little Kitty, that's no way to speak!" The Manchurian Tiger turned to glare at the cat with great hostility. "In any case, we look quite alike. Why are you spouting nonsense instead of coming to greet your elder brother?"
"That cat is much stronger than you." The Donkey King's cowardice had flared up. His legs had almost gone limp after witnessing an ambush consisting of two peerless experts and almost wanted to immediately surrender. He shouted, "Golden Crow King, Cat King, we're all family. Let's talk peacefully. Don't get angry!"
"Scram to one side!" The black yak gave him a slap and chased away the humiliating donkey.
Dong!
Chu Feng's large bell began to move, emitting a peaceful toll.
His body was emitting resplendent lights and his gaze was fiery as he circulated his breathing technique, swiftly healing the wound on his back. His vitality was astonishing after severing the shackle on his heart. The power he had gained from that severing was a regenerative ability which allowed him to swiftly heal his sounds.
Within moments, the wound on his back had completely disappeared.
This scene shocked the Nine-lives Cat. He felt things had turned quite troublesome and was feeling quite pressured even as the number one assassin in the world.
The enemy's regenerative power was simply too terrifying. It didn't lose out at all when compared to his own abilities.
The Nine-lives Cat spoke, "The Extraterrestrial Research Institute had reached out to us, asking our aid to ambush and kill you here. We wanted to see the extent of the institute's resources but, regretfully, we didn't get to see that in the end."
He had immediately sold out the elder with the wheelchair and began to incite Chu Feng, hoping he would go back and torment them once more.
"The corporation's resources, huh?" Chu Feng detected something with his keen senses.
"Yes, the corporations were the ones earliest to know about the changes in this world and for a good reason. You can investigate in greater detail. It's been said that the corporations are the ones who will be unrivaled in the end."
The Nine-lives Cat smiled. He didn't mind doing the extra explanation. His tone was quite enticing and was obviously hoping Chu Feng would return to investigate in detail and perhaps encounter a terrifying setback.
"I'll think about that after killing you first!"
Chu Feng let out a growl and charged towards the enemy. He had begun to take action.
Boom!
The air exploded and shook the whole mountainous woods. Large rocks were blasted away and disintegrated.
Chu Feng employed the Xingyi Fist's ultimate move amidst the roar of tigers and draconic cries. The Dragon and Tiger Contend for Hegemony! He didn't hold back since the first blow and wanted to kill the Cat King swiftly.
Roar!
The Cat King ferociously roared like a tiger and caused many beasts to tremble in fear. The mountains and forests were thrown into turmoil as a silvery ripple spread out from its mouth and shot towards Chu Feng.
Clang, clang, clang…
The protective golden bell surrounding Chu Feng rumbled incessantly as the silver ripples crashed upon it.
At this same moment, his dragon and tiger fists interweaved to display the scene of a dragon and tiger struggling for supremacy. A scaled true dragon and a black primordial tiger appeared and immediately pounced forward.
The dragon and tiger formed of energy intertwined and amplified each other, erupting with extremely powerful fluctuations.
Meow!
The Nine-lives Cat was deft and agile. He swiftly evaded and didn't try to defend head on.
However, the dragon and tiger were terrifying. The attack swept over the whole mountain with tyrannical momentum and left no place for the opponent to dodge.
Boom!
The Cat King turned to attack, but in the end, he was forced to retreat, trembling and with blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth.
"Hand over your life!"
Chu Feng loudly shouted as he rushed over like a sun tearing through the skies. His whole body was spewing out faint golden radiance. Every step took him a few kilometers forward.
"You're indeed powerful!" The Nine-lives Cat grumbled before vanishing with a swoosh.
When he reappeared, he had arrived at Chu Feng's back and swiped down with his claws amidst a blinding cold flash. He appeared and disappeared unpredictably as if he was traveling through the void.
This was the ability he had gained after severing his sixth shackle, which allowed him to hide within a certain area. It was extremely difficult to detect his presence.
Unfortunately, Chu Feng's defense was simply too astonishing after mastering the Xingyi Fist. The golden bell around him acted like an indestructible barrier, making it difficult to hurt his actual body.
The two exchanged rapid blows at lightning speed. The combatants both excelled in speed and agility. They had crossed blows hundreds of times within that single moment.
Chu Feng and the Nine-lives Cat were engaged in a fierce battle.
The Cat King was almost outrageously powerful. Any other king without Chu Feng's impenetrable defense would've long since lost his life.
The golden energy bell seemed indomitable in the face of myriad attacks and inherently restrained assassins such as the Nine-lives Cat.
The Cat King sighed—he and Chu Feng had crossed hundreds of times, but he was still unable to kill the latter.
This was the first time he had come across such an opponent who seemed to have been born to restrain him. His stealth and backstabs had no effect at all. No matter where he appeared and from which angle he attacked, he still couldn't penetrate the golden bell at all.
At this time, he decided to turn around and leave. He didn't want to drag this one because it would become dangerous for him in the long run while the enemy remained unbeatable.
"You want to leave? It isn't that easy!"
Chu Feng's aura rapidly changed. He circulated his breathing technique and deployed a combination of the demon ox and demon flood dragon fists. The attack was incomparably fierce and tyrannical.
It was his most powerful attack to date and was also the one he had practiced the longest.
He stopped practicing his Xingyi Fist and switched to his most proficient technique to blast the Cat King.
On the other side, the Manchurian Tiger had begun to cross blows with the Golden Crow. With several feathers stuck in his butt, he swore and fought at the same time.
In the distance, the seemingly harmless black yak lifted his Buddhist staff and injected it with energy. He was prepared to erupt with a sudden attack and kill off the Golden Crow!