Chapter 318: Moment of Awakening
Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy
A Bodhisattva sitting beneath the bodhi tree and emitting a clear fragrance while a demonic sage had also descended. This was too bizarre!
Chu Feng's mind was shaken. He felt a shocking aura that could drown out the world rushing at him from the front. This caused even him to be unable to bear it. He probably wouldn't be able to stand if he hadn't inscribed a certain symbol on the ground at the critical juncture.
This was a domain method. The ineffable force he was subjected to flowed down his two feet and was guided into the ground. At this time, he and this Buddhist sacred ground had seemingly come together to resist this pressure.
Across from him, there was a Bodhi tree, which even half a dozen people could not wrap around, but unfortunately, it was already dead. There wasn't a single leaf on it and even the branches were about to rot away.
In the past, this was likely a divine tree but it had suffered this mysterious energy for all this time and became extremely weak. One could see that the branches were decomposing and had broken off.
Why was it like this?
Chu Feng observed and found that the Golden Bodhisattva and the demonic sage didn't move at all. They were frozen in place like a painting.
The terrifying aura hid the sky and covered the earth. If not for the talisman below his feet, he probably wouldn't be able to stand it at all and would be pressed to the ground.
"Eh?!"
At the thought of this, he looked at the surroundings. The great demons of Kunlun were strewn across the ground. Could they have been suppressed similarly? Did they encounter mortal danger?!
Chu Feng was somewhat anxious but he forced himself to calm down. That was because he knew that, after so long, everything would've already happened if there was truly any danger.
Chu Feng stepped forward. He would carve a symbol with every step he took, afraid that he would be unable to bear the inexplicable suppression.
The source of it was naturally from the Bodhisattva and the demonic sage!
There were masses of flaming lights along the way. Those were all Buddhist radiances and yet they were burning like bonfires.
Very soon, Chu Feng was greatly surprised because after approaching, he found what those masses of Buddhist lights were. They were all tiny crystalline granules that were almost invisible. All of them were burning and hadn't been extinguished for thousands of years.
Could these things be Buddhist relics?
There was once a Buddhist relic which had erupted and scattered pieces everywhere, transforming into Buddhist radiance. After the passage of vicissitudes, this relic still has some residues and hadn't yet been extinguished.
This was somewhat terrifying. Just how powerful was this relic back in the day? Even the residues were able to form such astonishing energy. This was shocking to see!
Chu Feng scanned in detail and had already sensed that most of the energy in this Buddhist ruins was supplied by the remnant Buddhist relic.
Fortunately, the energy was gentle and didn't contain murderous intent. Otherwise, this place would certainly become a dangerous area.
Chu Feng drew in a breath of cold air. He had experienced just how powerful the ancient evolved beings were. Compared to them, his strength was simply too lacking.
He stared fixedly at the masses of Buddhist light. There seemed to be a vague image of a golden monk sitting within them.
"A golden arhat!"
Chu Feng guessed that the relic belonged to a golden arhat and not to a Bodhisattva. Even so, the relic was able to reach this state. This instilled a sense of helplessness in him.
He recalled Yellow Ox's words. The so-called unfettered realm cultivators would only be minor demons when they go to realms with higher energy intensity.
A war must've occurred here in the past!
Finally, Chu Feng was able to see the horse king after approaching them. Right now, he had transformed into a red Ferghana horse. It was completely bald but its build wasn't too exaggerated and was only a couple of heads taller than the average horse.
At the same time, he also saw a translucent spider with a body like jade stone whom he recognized as the Weaver King. She was only the size of a human head.
And then he saw a three-meter tall black bear, likely Xiong Kun's grandfather the Black Bear King.
"All of them have reverted to their true forms?!"
Chu Feng frowned—he crouched down after approaching them and found that they were still breathing. None of them had died and were only in a deep sleep.
At the same time, their bodies were completely empty and devoid of energy.
Chu Feng felt a bad premonition. Had these demon kings been forced back into their true forms, deprived of their cultivation realms and completely become ordinary beasts and birds?
This caused his heart to sink. He felt greatly distressed.
That was because, after detailed investigation, he found that the numerous kings were all lacking energy within their bodies. They had completely dried up and were no different from ordinary beasts.
"Yellow Ox!"
Chu Feng finally found Yellow Ox. The little fellow was also no longer in human form. He was a meter long and completely golden. His fur was smooth and glossy as if he was refined from gold.
Yellow Ox was breathing peacefully and wouldn't wake up no matter how he was shaken. Additionally, there wasn't even a shred of energy within his body and the spirit was also very weak. He wasn't quite different from normal beasts.
Chu Feng was frightened—he glanced at the demon kings strewn across the ground and then again at the immobile Bodhisattva and demonic sage under the Bodhi tree.
Following which, he glanced at the Mastiff King. This was a strong and muscular Tibetan mastiff with shiny fur. His symptoms were similar to all the others and had become an ordinary beast.
There were birds and beasts all over the floor, lying amidst the debris. They were all unable to maintain their human shape and had reverted to their true forms.
There was only one exception, and that was the old llama. He was a human to begin with, and as such, he sat there cross-legged with the monastic robe draped over him. His body was dried and his skin loose. His eyes were tightly shut, showing no signs of movement at all.
The old llama had also fallen into this trap despite being a high ranking Buddhist monk. Although he was still breathing, his peerless energy had waned completely.
This could be considered as being forced back to his original form, his body degenerated and his abilities thoroughly vanished.
A fierce lion lay motionless beside him.
"What had happened here?" Chu Feng's heart was heavy. He had an ominous feeling about this. Could it be that the famous host of kings from Kunlun had all been crippled?
This was simply too terrible! None of them were awake and not one of them had retained their powerful evolved energies.
"Old Blackie, Brother Hu, wake up!" Chu Feng arrived near the black yak and shook his body and then patted the Manchurian Tiger's head.
Following which, he trampled on the Donkey King a few times. The latter had reverted to his original form and was now an ordinary donkey.
Unfortunately, none of them moved. It was useless even when they were lifted up or beaten. They simply wouldn't wake up.
Similarly, it was ineffective when Chu Feng reached out with his spiritual energy and entered their bodies to awaken them.
He was completely distressed. Just what could have happened to so many demon kings?
Chu Feng rose, lifted his head and gazed towards the Bodhi tree in front. Perhaps the root of everything lay there? With the Thunderous Bow on his back and the diamond chakram in his hands, he moved forward.
Boom!
Suddenly, his eyes went wide and his body turned rigid. He could hardly believe it.
A shocking change took place before him as if the heaven and earth had come apart.
The originally dry and rotten Bodhi tree that couldn't be completely wrapped around even by half a dozen people was now reviving with vigorous vitality with green light surging to the skies.
Additionally, there were Buddhist lights appearing on the Bodhi tree which illuminated the surroundings—golden lights were shining through the jade green leaves.
What happened?!
Chu Feng's mind was fluctuating intensely and he couldn't pull his eyes away. Ancient books appeared between those branches and leaves and the pages began to flip over on their own.
Following which, the sound of scriptures shook his ears, causing his spirit to surge and connect to the ancient tree.
"Mysterious breathing technique?" His eyes were spirited as he stared fixed at that ancient tree.
Following which, he was perplexed because all of his spirit was about to be drawn in and merged with the ancient tree.
"Incorrect, my physical and spiritual energy is about to be sucked into the ancient tree. This is…"
During this period of absent-mindedness, he recalled the state Yellow Ox, the old llama, and the others. He hurriedly and forcefully extricated himself from the guiding power and broke free from the vortex of Buddhist light.
"This won't do!" he shouted.
However, the vortex of Buddhist radiance gushed forth, intent on swallowing him.
"Little Feng, wake up!" He heard, vaguely, someone calling out to him with a sentimental voice.
Chu Feng opened his eyes after god knows how long. He saw the sunlight shining through the windows and he was lying on a bed. The whole place was white and clean like a hospital.
Chu Feng sat up and felt puzzled. How did he get here? His head felt painful and his memory seemed fuzzy.
"Ah, little Feng, you've finally woken up?!" It was his mother, Wang Jing, who had entered the hospital ward. The item she was carrying fell to the ground as she approached Chu Feng rapidly with both tears and smiles on her face.
"Mom, what's wrong? Don't cry, I'm fine," Chu Feng consoled.
"Child, you've made me worried sick. You ran off to the Tibetan area to travel alone and fell unconscious beside the desert. We were shocked!" Wang Jing said while crying.
"Ah!?"
Chu Feng was shocked. He went on a journey and then fell unconscious in Tibet?
"Yes, an old shepherd saved you, and afterwards, we hurried to the western region and brought to you to the hospital. You've been unconscious for half a year!" Wang Jing's emotions were fluctuating violently as tears streamed down.
Chu Feng was stunned. What had happened?
He had indeed gone to Tibet on a journey. Some memories appeared—he went to Mount Kunlun in the end, and later on, the upheavals took place. Many things happened after that.
"Mom, something is wrong. I fell unconscious in an ancient temple flooded with Buddhist lights. Oh right, how are Yellow Ox, the black yak, and the others?"
"What are you talking about? You were calling out some weird names while you were unconscious, but now that you're awake, how come you're still the same? Son, how are you? Do you still remember me?" Wang Jing's expression was one of worry.
Soon afterward, the doctor arrived.
"The patient's skull was injured and there is some psychological disability due to the intense excitement. Don't rush. He'll recover eventually."
After the doctor arrived, he helped Chu Feng perform an examination and then said these words to Wang Jing.
"Where's the energy in my body? Where's my flying knife and the black substance that's been plaguing me?" Chu Feng was completely bewildered.
Later on, Chu Zhiyuan also arrived.
Chu Feng was completely dumbfounded in the following days and strongly requested to be discharged. He understood that this world had never undergone the upheavals—the only thing that had changed was himself—he was wounded in Tibet and fell unconscious.
His parents had a heart to heart chat with him after half a year of coma.
"Child, don't think too much. You'll recover slowly. Perhaps there really is such a thing as reincarnation. Maybe you experienced such a cycle while you were in a coma."
During the following months, Chu Feng was somewhat depressed. He went everywhere to find any signs of the upheavals but failed to find any in the end.
This was a true world and not a dream. Nothing here was fake—he was a modern-day person—Yellow Ox, black yak and everything else did not exist.
One time, Chu Feng wanted to use the pain from cutting his wrist to confirm whether or not he was in sort of ineffable state. The result was that a shocked Wang Jing had to send him to the hospital.
"Child, why are you so foolish? Don't be so depressed over such things. Suicide is the conduct of a coward!"
Chu Feng was bewildered. The dream he had regarding Yellow Ox, the road to evolution and his final journey to the Himalayas—everything was fake. None of those existed in reality.
"There are parallel universes. Maybe your spirit had traveled to another space-time before finally returning."
In the end, a professional person thus said to him during their conversation.
"Impossible. Impossible. This is impossible!"
Chu Feng could no longer bear it and shouted continuously.
However, the breathing technique in his memory had no effect. There was no such energy within his body and he couldn't evolve in this world.
With that, he went through a period of muddle-headedness. In the end, he accepted the truth that he had once gone through an inexplicable experience—although it felt real, everything was just an illusion.
Before long, Chu Feng started to work. Everything about his life was like a normal person. He married, got a child and slowly grew old.
After many decades, his hair was white but still, he couldn't forget the realistic experience he once had. It was a knot in his heart.
"This is life. Ordinary and real."
Even after he could no longer walk, he still felt regretful and still couldn't release the thought. However, he had no other choice but to sigh softly—only the current experience was normal and real.
"It's not so! This shouldn't be so!"
During his last moments, on his deathbed, he was still not satisfied. He tried hard to cry out. Although his voice was very weak, his spiritual fluctuations were incomparably intense.
"Return! I want to return to reality. Damn this dream world!"
He threw caution to the wind at the last juncture. Even though the end of his life was near, he firmly believed that what he had once experienced was real.
With a thump, Chu Feng's body shook as he opened his eyes. He found himself not so far from the Bodhi tree. His body was still young and the beasts were still on the distant ground.
"The Bodhi tree, also called the enlightenment tree, can help one reach illumination."
Chu Feng glanced at the ancient tree. At this moment, its leaves were falling and rotting. It was once again returning to its withered state.
"The Bodhi tree had been reversed by someone. The enlightenment tree had become a tree that caused one to doubt his own path and reason. There had always been doubts in my mind about the path to evolution. Today, it was magnified many times over." Chu Feng muttered to himself.
That was because he was a modern day person and used to believe only in science.
The episode of reincarnation caused his heart to race. It gave him joy, shock, and complex emotions.
He could imagine that Yellow Ox, the old llama, and the others were also experiencing their own reincarnations. The doubts they had towards the dao were being magnified boundlessly and had become lost in the struggle.
He gazed at the deviant race members such as the black yak, the Manchurian Tiger, and the Elder Lion. Their greatest doubt was that they used to be ordinary animals. Why were they able to evolve and become high-level life forms?
That was why they had reverted to their true forms. Perhaps they were trying to deny themselves? This caused Chu Feng to be astonished.
The whole place seemed peaceful but it was extremely dangerous!
The golden Bodhisattva could be seen under the Bodhi tree. He was very young and appeared merciful. His body had been pierced through by a spear. The tall and strong demonic sage was dripping blood from his forehead where the former's finger had struck. However, it wasn't pierced through.
Why were they frozen here?
At this time, Chu Feng's black substance transformed into the silver substance but then it reverted rapidly. The frequency was shocking.
At the same time, he heard the sound of scriptures. It was the Thunderous Breathing Technique. Was there really a complete inheritance here?!