Chapter 303: The Present Truth
Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy
Chu Feng, Yellow Ox, and the others were in a small town within the Henan region. Every breath they exhaled would release white mist that even turned into ice dregs.
Originally, Chu Feng had wanted to bring them all to the Greatwoods Temple on Mount Song, but the black yak absolutely refused. He didn't want to meet the monkey who had, in the past, beaten him black and blue.
"Has the evil heavens gone mad? Won't he leave any way out for the ordinary people?" the Manchurian Tiger lamented. He was quite resistant to the cold because he originally lived amidst the ice and snow.
But now, even he was starting to feel uncomfortable. One could imagine how the other living beings would feel.
However, they were living quite comfortably at the time. They were cooking hotpot with king level ingredients in this world of ice—the food was piping hot and delicious—add to that a pot of aged wine. It was indeed a happy thing.
But they were somewhat regretful. Chu Feng had killed no small amount of sea beasts in the mysterious space but all of them had been abandoned. He didn't have time to collect them.
Chu Feng frowned. They had it relatively better as the extreme cold wasn't a big problem for them. But for how many days could the ordinary people survive under such circumstances? If this went on, it would be a huge disaster.
Even the sea had been frozen solid. How terrifying was this? The cold air was now spreading towards the continent. Wind and snow intersected, causing the weather to grow increasingly hostile.
"Why do I feel as if the heavens are trying to eradicate this world, leaving only mutants and killing off the rest?"
"That makes sense. A new era of gods and demons is about to begin!" The Donkey King nodded. His buck-toothed human form was wearing a solemn expression.
Even Chu Feng and Yellow Ox were alarmed. Things were indeed difficult to predict—this was like an apocalypse for ordinary people. The end seemed nigh.
Judging from their present circumstances, if this situation persisted for over a month, even the taller buildings would be covered in snow.
At that time, food and electricity supply would break. How could they survive after a period of time?
"This isn't scientifically sound!" Yellow Ox's words caused Chu Feng to be quite speechless.
"The world is no longer scientifically sound since the day you appeared," Chu Feng couldn't help but retort.
Yellow Ox also became silent. He gazed at the snowy town through the glass windows and observed the fluttering snowflakes which filled the boundless sky. The calf's large eyes were blinking as he pondered ceaselessly.
"Can it be that a certain power is interfering with evolution? Has an invisible hand joined the fray?" Yellow Ox mumbled.
"Do you know something?" Chu Feng asked.
Yellow Ox sighed. "I'm worried if a sacred land from another realm is planning to descend forcefully. They might be using forbidden methods to send their disciples over, thus affecting the weather."
"Do they really need to go so far? Can't they just come down directly?" Chu Feng was puzzled.
"Earth isn't a simple place. I've told you before. This place used to be the residence of a supreme orthodoxy and was once dyed with sage blood. There are also numerous sage sacred trees capable of causing the eyes of those from the outer realms to turn red."
Yellow Ox mentioned what he had told Chu Feng before.
"This place used to be incomparably splendorous. There were rampaging demons and Taoist progenitors passing on. Can you imagine such a scene?" Yellow Ox shook his head.
These few words were sufficient to explain the issue—the earth was very special.
"It's not that those great religions don't want to come in but that they can't come in. Even though the earth has declined, it's still very mysterious. Everything has to conform to the rules of this place."
Yellow Ox informed them that this shriveled land had many bizarre aspects to it.
"You lot also witnessed this. Not to mention other worlds, even those living beings from earth's folded spaces have to pass through these ordeals in order to cross over. Any mistake and they would be burnt to ashes," Yellow Ox lamented.
This was earth. It was once glorious but had declined greatly.
But there were still numerous fortunes here. Those shriveled divine trees could still germinate and revive even after millions of years.
Once they fully revive, even those sacred lands from the starry skies would covet it.
At present, these things were all ownerless.
Additionally, there were other orthodoxies from the outer regions that want to come here in search of the remnants buried under these bloodstained mountains and rivers.
"Let's put it this way. If this world fully revives, the world can definitely produce a number of sacred grounds. One has to know that the divine trees in other worlds all have owners. They are all within the great orthodoxies. Only this world is a land waiting to be developed."
They chatted for a long time and about many things.
Finally, Chu Feng mentioned the lady from Mount Longhu. He asked Yellow Ox what level she was at.
Yellow Ox shook his head. It seemed he, too, couldn't see through this lady. He only felt she was outrageously powerful.
"Didn't you say that those who've reached the unfettered realm in this world are already at the extreme? Is she not within this category?" The Manchurian Tiger's eyes went wide.
Yellow Ox's little face turned serious and replied, "What I said was for the current world. It doesn't include the past world nor the future world where all the sacred trees have revived. That woman is clearly from the ancient era and not someone born in this environment."
Chu Feng's expression also turned solemn. He wanted Yellow Ox to explain in greater detail about the realms above the unfettered realm.
The black yak and the Manchurian Tiger were also looking forward to it.
"I didn't tell you all about this earlier because I didn't want to affect your enthusiasm. But now that you're all in the shackled realm, it's fine to explain some things lest you get complacent," said Yellow Ox.
"The earth has shriveled up and all its energy had dispersed. It has been a long time since the world was no longer suitable for cultivation. Even the soil had lost its spirituality and is no different from a brittle dried log." This was Yellow Ox's evaluation. It could be said that the grades were quite low.
"Furthermore, the soil from other worlds contain spirituality and is many times sturdier in comparison. The vitality there is denser and contains an astonishing amount of energy. A lifeform born of such a world is naturally exceptionally powerful." Yellow Ox's words became more and more shocking—everyone was startled.
In the end, Chu Feng and the others even felt quite helpless and defeated.
That was because a mouse from some of the more powerful worlds could kill an ordinary human in this world. Was the difference so shocking?
This really was quite a blow to the self-esteem of the people on earth. Chu Feng and the others couldn't find words to respond.
"Stop thwarting us. Tell us how unfettered realm experts, the highest possible in our world, would fare in those formidable worlds?" the Manchurian Tiger asked furiously.
Yellow Ox had once mentioned that three great realms were enough to encompass all living things on earth: awakened, shackled, and unfettered.
Among them, unfettered realm experts couldn't be found anywhere at the moment.
"Unfettered? They're only minor demons," Yellow Ox replied in all due seriousness.
"Impossible!" The black yak was nervous.
They were called kings right now and were bound by the shackles on their body. They were already the most powerful life forms on this planet, but in the end, they weren't even small fries in other worlds?
The Manchurian Tiger was angry. He had suffered quite the setback. "Unfettered. This is a realm where we can move unhindered through the skies and wander proudly through the four seas? A being that is truly unfettered like this can only be a minor demon!?"
"You will indeed be called unfettered in this world. In truth, there are also many other worlds similar to our own. You will still be experts in such worlds," Yellow Ox replied calmly.
The group truly didn't know what to say because the knowledge came as a huge blow to them.
"The differences are so great… I refuse to believe this," the Donkey King kept on complaining.
"I told you before. This world has declined and its energy has dried up like a shriveled tree. A simple push would cause it to shatter. On the other hand, those strong worlds are comparable to sturdy trees or metals, incomparably firm and full of energy.
Yellow Ox also didn't want to set them back and explained patiently.
According to him, those in the unfettered realm would be able to fly in the sky and pass through the earth, but they won't necessarily even be able to fly when they go to those formidable realms.
"That's because in some of those frightening worlds, the great dao is diffused across the ashen universe while the earth is sturdy and spiritual. Unfettered realm experts are very powerful in our world, but there they might not even be able to shatter a mountain."
Yellow Ox then took Chu Feng as an example. He could run at five and a half times the speed of sound right now, but when he arrives in those formidable realms, he wouldn't even be able to catch up to sonic speeds and break through the sound barrier.
"Don't tell me I won't even be able to lift a rock weighing a few thousand kilograms in those worlds?" Chu Feng glared at Yellow Ox. He had already become accustomed to tossing such rocks as if they were sandbags.
Yellow Ox revealed an expression of sympathy. "You won't be able to lift it."
"Dammit, this isn't just a setback. It feels like all our hopes and dreams have been destroyed." The Manchurian Tiger appeared rather tragic.
No matter how one puts it, here, he was still an overlord who could look down on everyone in his region. Once they went to some formidable realms, they wouldn't even be comparable to the minor demons.
"That's why I never told you about these things even though you asked me. It's indeed quite a setback," Yellow Ox replied.
But he added that the earth was reviving and fortunes were abundant. They could rise together with this world because there were many ownerless fortunes that would allow them to grow rapidly. A year of cultivation here was equal to tens if not hundreds in other worlds.
The earth had indeed declined and was brittle like a piece of rotten wood but the divine trees here weren't fake.
"How many levels stand between a minor demon and a demonic saint? How many levels until we go from being a minor demon to a Bodhisattva level?" the black yak asked.
"Not many," Yellow Ox replied but he refused to explain in detail no matter how they urged him. Everyone was dumbfounded at this point.
That was because they knew Yellow Ox didn't want to make them depressed.
"There really isn't many, but the difference between each realm is somewhat bigger. It's better I don't tell you all." Yellow Ox smiled bashfully.
In the eyes of the others, this was simply the smile of a demon that could hurt people.
"Then tell us, is the world you're from considered formidable?" Chu Feng asked.
Yellow Ox was rather modest. "It's not considered very powerful. We can only be ranked in the middle among that group. It can be considered quite glorious compared to many other worlds, but we can't compare to those more formidable realms."
According to him, the strength of energy in different worlds isn't the same. The lifeforms born to different worlds were also differentiated by strength. Since there were so many worlds, the strength levels were also quite numerous.
"You said an adult mouse from some worlds can kill an adult man here. How about you? Are you an adult?" The Manchurian Tiger wanted to worm more information out of Yellow Ox.
"My nominal age is five years old and my actual age is almost four," Yellow Ox said shyly.
"Are you pulling our leg? You're really intent on giving us a shock?!" The Manchurian Tiger's expression was quite upset.
Chu Feng consoled him with a hand gesture and asked Yellow Ox how strong the experts from those sacred lands were.
"The worlds are different in strength and the orthodoxies in them also have obvious strength differences. The most powerful orthodoxies are naturally rooted in the most formidable worlds but they naturally have branches in other worlds too." Yellow Ox gave them a simple introduction. He didn't want to go too deeply into this topic.
That was because those were colossal entities. They were like tiny ants gazing at a divine heavenly dragon.
"How powerful is the most powerful world?" The black yak wasn't about to give up and pressed on with his questions.
"I've also never been to them. I've only heard some rumors that in those most formidable worlds, even the soil contained strands of primal chaos and was extremely sturdy. Beings from other worlds wouldn't be able to damage their mountains and rivers at all. An ant from their world, assuming there are ants there, could come to our world and become an overlord."
Yellow Ox informed seriously.
"I don't want to live anymore!" The black yak wanted to lie down and roll about.
Yellow Ox comforted him. "Don't be depressed. I've told you before that the earth contains fortunes that would allow one to become saint ancestors. As long as we find them, we'll have a chance to be on equal footing with those demonic saints."
"How powerful was earth in the past?" Chu Feng asked.
"Very powerful. At the peak of its splendor, the earth could be ranked among the top 100 worlds." Yellow Ox replied solemnly.
The Manchurian Tiger didn't know when to stop. "It was never the most powerful?"
"The top ten most powerful worlds have been constant since time immemorial," Yellow Ox said seriously.
Chu Feng became somewhat worried about the future. There were many worlds in decline like the earth—creatures who descend from such worlds were naturally insignificant. However, if a lifeform from a more powerful realm decided to come over, how would they defend?!
"Earth is very odd. There's naturally a reason why even demonic saint blood had flowed through this land in the past. I've told you all before that the stronger the entity, the harder it was for them to cross over. The difficulty would increase by many times." Yellow Ox wasn't quite worried.
At least, this situation wouldn't change in the short term.
"Both the world and living beings are evolving. There are power differences between worlds, but the earth is still reviving at the moment," said Yellow Ox.
"Stop thinking too much and work hard to become a minor demon as a first step! It's too difficult to use a minor demon identity to fool around with fairies, saintesses and suppress divine children!"
Chu Feng, black yak, and the Manchurian Tiger were all drunk. That was because after realizing the truth before them, they came to understand that they had only started on this path. The future road was still very long.