Chapter 124: The Pilgrimage Grounds
Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy
This was Mount Tai—stalwart and vast, towering majestically over the land.
During ancient times, it was believed that all life began here!
After the great change came about, Mount Tai had also undergone innumerable changes. It had grown boundlessly vast, which was now an extremely majestic sight to behold.
Chu Feng walked out of the airport and was escorted by the local agents and transported to the city at the base of Mount Tai. It was arranged for him to rest there for the night.
But, how could he be willing to wait idly? He wanted nothing more than to begin the hike immediately since the situation at hand was critical.
Although Lu Tong had guaranteed his parents’ safety within the Hollow Jade Temple, he felt somewhat restless.
Apart from his parents, there was also Ye Qingrou, Du Huaijin and Chen Luoyan and the others. Would they be in danger?
He had already told them all to stay within the Hollow Jade Temple until his return.
He kept on worrying about other people who were related to him; there were just too many.
"We really cannot climb the mountain tonight, a huge battle is taking place right now. The beast race experts led by the Peacock King are revolting!"
Xu Ming’s information brought him up to date on the serious circumstances.
"Just what had happened?" Chu Feng asked.
Xu Ming was also a mutant from the Hollow Jade Temple. Recently, he had been assigned to assist Chu Feng arrange various matters.
He replied. "It can be said that an inch of blood was spilt for every inch land!" [1]
The battle of Mount Tai was simple too intense; corpses lined the path from the base to the peak of the mountain as death permeated the air.
Just a while ago, a host of firearms carpeted the mountain and mowed down the beast race occupants. However, it was of little effect against the beast king.
Casualties on the human side were also high.
"Do we only have 3 top level experts on our side?" Chu Feng frowned as he felt a sense of danger. Would they be able to conquer this mountain?
"We also have quite a few beast kings on our side," informed Xu Ming.
Some beast kings decided not to side with the Peacock King, and instead fought alongside the human race. If not for that, the human losses would be even greater.
Chu Feng listened in all seriousness, acquainting himself with the local situation.
Recently, the battles had escalated at a rapid pace—even some beast kings had fallen. Mount Tai was stained with blood.
Tonight, the final battle was expected to take place!
In that battle, the master of the Hollow Jade Temple would go head on against the Peacock King and settle things once and for all.
Additionally, all the other beast kings were expected to participate. It would be a world shaking battle! Naturally, king level casualties cannot be avoided.
"What is so special about the peak?" asked Chu Feng.
He wanted to know why the Peacock King was so fixated on this mountain, going so far as to clash head on with the human race. This place, in his opinion, was a holy land belonging to the humans.
The peacock king made his rise to prominence in the southwestern lands. There, he had once come across some ancient carvings which recorded that the peacock race’s saint ancestor had visited Mount Tai at one point, and that it was highly possible that he had left some form of inheritance there.
And thus, the Peacock King became determined to conquer this place at all costs.
"What other prominent characters are up there?" asked Chu Feng.
Since the masters of the Hollow Jade Temple, the Eight Visions Temple and the Roaming Jade Temple had all joined hands for this battle, it couldn't just be the Peacock King alone on the enemy side.
He reckoned there would be other beast king level experts present.
Xu Ming nodded, saying, "There is also a crow, but he’s no ordinary one. He’s currently in the process of shedding his feathers with golden feathers growing out to replace them. People speculate that he would evolve into a golden crow soon!"
In truth, this crow had already been honored as the Golden Crow.
It has been said that he had also discovered records of his Gold Crow ancestor meeting his end at Mount Tai, and thus had come to join the battle.
"The Cloud Panther and the Jiuming Cat [2] have also arrived after hearing that their ancestors had once visited Mount Tai."
Chu Feng listened attentively, beginning to get a good idea about the battle.
It seemed that many races, including even saint level entities had visited this place before. Just what was hidden at the peak of Mount Tai that could attract such attention?
Since time immemorial, the three kings and five sovereigns began the tradition of offering sacrifice to the heavens at this place. Since then, successive human dynasties have maintained this heritage.
After the beast race awakened and discovered that their ancestors were recorded to have travelled here, they decided that they needed to investigate thoroughly.
Chu Feng asked. "With all this battle taking place on the mountain, these experts should have poked around by now. Did they not find anything?
"Naturally, they had gone up to the peak staining the whole area with blood. However, it’s been reported that the area is very mysterious, none of them have found any great fortune so far.
The mountain peak was always enshrouded in a translucent mist, within which were flowing prismatic lights. No one could see through it at a glance.
Both human and beast race experts have charged up to the peak before, but what they found up there was a boundless landscape.
"The peak is not simple at all. There are dilapidated underground palaces and majestic hallways!" Xu Ming added, "So much so that the Golden Crow claimed that he had sensed a perfectly pure Golden Crow egg there. He wanted to pierce through the mist and search the whole place, but he was unsuccessful, and from then on, he could no longer sense it."
"What a mysterious Pilgrimage Ground!" Chu Feng muttered to himself after recalling the number of races that wanted to occupy this place.
"Just what kind of divine flora could be found here?" Chu Feng pondered.
Xu Ming said, "After the peak expanded during the great change, more than just one mysterious ancient tree appeared. However, some were withered and still have not recovered their vitality, while some are still sprouts."
Chu Feng frowned; it appears he had not come at the right time.
"Some ancient trees lie deeper within the bewildering mist. Occasionally, one could smell a faint fragrance coming from them. They were apparently blooming but none had ever found their way to any of the trees."
After hearing the narration, Chu Feng realized that the mist was not simple matter—even beast kings were unable to pinpoint the source of the pollen within it.
Chu Feng’s thoughts were burning in excitement. It was not critical to him if he could find the source of the pollen or not since he had the snow white seed with him.
Chu Feng wanted to borrow the power of Mount Tai’s peak to let his seed sprout. Perhaps if he was successful, he would be able to break through to the realm of kings.
He had great faith in that seed. After the initial growth phase, its appearance was completely different from when it was first found.
This time, perhaps it would grow into an astonishing tree!
That night, Chu Feng gazed out of his window towards the vast and majestic mountain.
After the great change came about, Mount Tai had expanded by several times its original size, and according to Xu Ming, it was still expanding.
In other areas, many wild and desolate mountains had appeared, but the original mountains never underwent such drastic changes.
However, the pattern did not apply here. The expansion came about with Mount Tai at its center, constantly transforming the land into a majestic peak that pierced through the clouds. At this rate, it would probably tower over the skies.
Boom!
Through the night, a flash of lightning tore through the empty skies and lit up the mountain. The great battle of Mount Tai had begun.
Chu Feng saw a multicolored peacock approach majestically through the skies. It hovered in mid air looking down on the human race before commencing his ferocious attack.
The final battle had arrived. Tonight, he would face the master of the Hollow Jade Temple in battle and the final victor would be determined.
Boom!
It transformed into a young man in mid air. He was even more handsome than Kong Sheng, with a heroic yet surreal aura around him.
And just like that, he swept down towards the human experts and the battle began.
Boom! Boom!
The heaven and earth were shaken to the point of being torn apart, and the whole place was covered in brilliant light. The Peacock King had received an ancient inheritance, and he was currently using the Ming Wang fist to battle against a man on the ground.
Unexpectedly, he was not using his true form to battle.
The battlefield was exploding with resplendent lights of various colors. The power of this fist technique was sufficient to tear the mountain apart and pulverize everything.
However, Mount Tai itself was not like it was before. It was as sturdy as it was vast, so the various attacks did not seem to have much effect—truly an odd sight to behold.
With the beginning of the endwar, the master of the Hollow Jade Temple faced the Peacock King in battle!
Chu Feng wanted to watch the battle closely, but unfortunately, he was not allowed in the vicinity. This could also be considered a form of protection for him. Non-king level beings had all been withdrawn from Mount Tai in advance.
With his current power, he could not see the battle very clearly. In addition to the long distance, the two combatants were emitting bright flashes of brilliant light with every exchange, akin to two divine monarchs vying for dominance.
Before long, their battle had shifted to the other side of the mountain peak and Chu Feng could no longer see them.
Following that, Chu Feng saw a bright and terrifying golden crow appear over the horizon. It brought raging flames as he dived towards the battlefield to face off against the master of the Eight Visions Temple.
After that, several other beast kings also made their appearance and a massacre ensued.
The roar of beast kings shook the realm, and even the incomparably sturdy Mount Tai appeared to be swaying.
The battle taking stage at Mount Tai was one of the biggest and cruelest battles in history—every death produced great ripples for the distant future.
It was not until past midnight that the sounds of battle and the roar of beasts slowly died down.
"How’s the condition?" Chu Feng asked.
Xu Ming had just returned, bringing up to date news.
"The top experts of the Eight Visions Temple, the Hollow Jade Temple and the Roaming Jade Temple have all sustained injuries and are recovering at the moment."
"What?" Chu Feng was overwhelmed.
"The Peacock King, the Golden Crow and their party have painted Mount Tai with their blood, receiving similarly grievous wounds. In the end, the victor is undecided. The battle will probably continue tomorrow. You should patiently wait for an opportunity."
Xu Ming told Chu Feng that the more these experts battled desperately, the more they were wounded, and the greater his chances were. According to past experiences, the duration that the top experts were in recuperation was a time where others could go in search of fortuitous encounters.
Up till now, there hasn’t been a single power that had fully taken control of the Pilgrimage Grounds.
The following day, the battle commenced once more, and the experts killed each other relentlessly.
Unfortunately, even after the second battle, the victory was no evident.
During this time, Chu Feng switched on his communicator and caught up with the news of the outside world.
Many people were searching for him, but they were unable to reach him.
"You’re all looking for death!" Chu Feng saw a post, it was actually Huang Xiaoxian. He directly addressed Chu Feng saying that if he did not come out of hiding, his parents would be targeted.
Anger flashed across Chu Feng’s eyes.
Following that, he saw another report.
According to internet rumors, the peacock race is planning to cooperate with Bodhi Biogenetics to attack Mount Putuo [3].
It had been reported that Jiang Luoshen was seen entertaining an entourage led by Kong Sheng at the Bodhi Biogenetics headquarters.
Additionally, it was reported that Kong Sheng had gone to Jiang Ning City and visited Deity Biomedical, asking to see Lin Naoi by name.
"Are you trying to intentionally humiliate me?" Chu Feng muttered to himself.
That was because almost everyone knew that Lin Naoi had a history with Chu Feng, and not long ago, there had been rumors of a budding romance between him and Jiang Luoshen.
"Resorting to petty and treacherous schemes, just wait till I break through and return to Shuntian. I will kill every last one of you!" Chu Feng immediately switched off the communicator, regaining his composure and returning his focus to the task at hand.
On the third day, Xu Ming returned and informed him that they intend to climb the mountain tonight. It appears that the curtains were about to fall on the battle between the top level experts.
Just as expected, the great battle was brought to an end late that night.
Chu Feng’s steps were incomparably resolute as he began his hike.
...
[1] 一寸山河一寸血: Literally means an inch of mountains and rivers, an inch of blood. The meaning is that every inch of land was paid for in blood and death. The word originated from a Taiwanese documentary of the Japanese invasion into China, of the same name.
[2] 九命 — means nine lives literally.
[3] 普陀山 — is actually an island, southeast of Shanghai which is a famous Buddhist site which is believed to be the home of Guanyin.
Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Putuo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokite%C5%9Bvara