Chapter 152: Heavens and the Abyss
Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy
A single photo with a simple caption caused the net-wide clamor to suddenly die down completely.
Before this, the whole world was in an uproar—the beasts were not trying to hide their delight, while the humans could only curse in their hearts. Every camp was discussing this matter.
However, everyone turned as stiff as clay statues; the whole world entered a state of deathly stillness.
Everyone was dumbfounded!
"Ao…" Ouyang Qing howled; he was excited beyond words. At first, he had thought that Chu Feng had fallen victim to the beast race’s schemes, however, with this photo status, all rumors were immediately dispelled.
The next moment, the whole internet was shaken. The silence was abruptly broken as countless people commented on that photo, their passions thoroughly ignited.
The masses were astonished. This time, Chu Feng had, indeed, held back his killer move, only to release it at the climax.
Not long before this, there were still people lamenting his fate, thinking that he had fallen to the enemy’s malicious tricks. Who would’ve thought he still turned it around in the end.
"Immortal Chu, you are truly mighty! Were you really undergoing a tribulation? It seems that even old heavens cannot handle you!"
"I’ve been thinking those beast races were wildly celebrating just now. I wonder what their current feelings are?"
"As expected of Demon King Chu. Did anyone notice that apart from the marks from lightning strikes, there were also many scattered pieces of that so-called peerless Bird King. Where are those just now that we’re boasting of the Bird King’s might? I wanna see their expressions… haha…"
It was as if the whole online community had exploded. Countless messages appeared at the same time as people rushed to express their thoughts.
Within a short period of time, Chu Feng’s photo had received tens of thousands of comments, and the number was still climbing at an alarming rate.
Not to mention normal people, it was even enough to make famous celebrities jealous. This kind of explosive fame was enough to cause the whole media platform to boil over.
All the major corporates were stunned. Even they had concluded, after much analysis, that Chu Feng was in mortal danger. The beast race must have held the absolute advantage in the beginning, else they would not have so confidently released such photos.
Who would have thought that things would turn around so fast?
Agents from every power felt their scalps go numb; they had all judged wrongly. Not only had Chu Feng survived, but he had also killed a beast king with great momentum.
This would be the second king level entity that he had killed after the ancestor of Mount Pan!
Even the humans were now feeling his title of Demon King Chu made sense. Chu Feng was simply too valiant; defying a lightning storm, killing the Bird King and living to tell the tale. This was truly the way of the hegemon.
Since the day he stepped onto the dao, he had always risen amidst the peril—killing those seemingly untouchable old experts, dragging them off their high horses.
Suddenly, all the netizens were passionately discussing this incident.
The corporates were all forced to reassess Chu Feng’s power, raising his estimated strength by a whole step. He had exceeded their expectations.
At this moment, all the beast races could only keep silent. There was no way for them to clean up the mess.
After much time had passed, some of the beast race experts were still frozen with stiff expressions. They were unable to accept such an outcome; it was too great a shock.
Originally, this was their time, and they had everything under control. They gradually promoted this incident and attracted the public attention. Just as they were about to vent all the resentment in their hearts, they were struck down from the heavens into the endless abyss below.
The discrepancy between expectation and reality was so large that they were all left in denial.
For instance, the Peacock Race was still in a state of deathly silence even after a long while had passed.
One had to know that the great hall of the Peacock Race was filled with a large group experts of various beast races. Everyone was petrified.
Everyone was smacked silly by that one status. Where was the promised decapitation? They were even starting to countdown, fully prepared to celebrate Chu Feng’s miserable death.
But in the end, things developed into such a grievous state.
These beast race members were all full of grief—a fire of indignation burned deep within them and tore them apart.
They had planned everything from the start, gradually building up the suspense until the ultimate finale.
However, a terrible mishap befell with one foot over the threshold.
This was worse than lifting a rock to smash one’s foot. They had actively participated in all this, only to face such an outcome. They were extremely frustrated.
In the end, they were greatly successful in grabbing everyone’s attention, building up the mood and momentum. However, in the end, it only served to emphasize Chu Feng’s regicidal accomplishments.
They had busied themselves in the recent days, only to give a huge boost to Chu Feng’s fame and prestige.
They were feeling extremely uncomfortable as they had brought all of this shame upon themselves.
"Ah…"
The room burst apart as a horde of beasts frantically charged out. They were all about to go crazy with anger.
"Where is the one that delivered the news?"
Even the elders were angered to the point of bursting their lungs. They were all trembling, almost suffering from a heart attack. They roared in fury as they tried to contact the peacock and the golden falcon, to ask them what exactly had happened.
Not long after their message was sent, they received a reply in the form of a photo.
With Mount Kunlun as backdrop, within a huge pot, a plucked peacock and a skinned falcon were being cooked. Amidst the steam, the fowls were golden brown and apparently almost done.
"Ah…" A quasi king expert of the peacock race shouted: "Demon King Chu, you’ve gone too far!"
The group of old fogeys stamped their feet in anger, fuming from their seven orifices. Today’s incident was an absolute humiliation to them. They were choking with resentment to the point of bruising themselves.
Two of those old fogeys even fainted due to the intense anger.
At this time, they were not the only ones who had gone from being ultimately delighted to supremely angered. Xu Wanyi was also thoroughly dumbfounded; she had even opened a bottle of celebratory wine.
The beast race members of the various regions had gone through both great joy and sorrow like a roller coaster ride. Where was the promised head of Demon King Chu? In the end, that Bird King who had claimed that Chu Feng was not even able to take one hit from him was not even left with a whole corpse.
Jiang Luoshen was practicing yoga at that moment; her slender jade-like arms supported her as her beautiful legs were raised off the ground. She was in the middle of a difficult maneuver, her long black hair spread out over her shoulders. After hearing the shocking news, she fell down completely, letting out a pained cry.
"This guy can really pretend, it's no wonder he was struck by lightning. However… he’s killed yet another beast king? He’s really fierce!" she mumbled.
Shuntian, the Imperial Entertainment Club.
Xiong Kun’s eyes and mouth were both opened wide, but no sound came out. Is that Chu Feng really a demon? This is too miraculous!
Lu Qing and the others were also flabbergasted. They were all secretly rejoicing that they had not posted anything overly aggressive.
They all had Hu Sheng to thank for this. Looking towards him, they found him with his mouth sealed tight, not saying anything. This vow of silence was definitely miraculous.
At this moment, Xiong Kun’s communicator rang—it was from the Black Bear. Once the call was through, a rough voice was transmitted through the communicator: "Little bastard bear, you didn’t cause trouble for us this time, did you?"
"Nope, grandpa, this time, I didn’t cause any trouble. I swear!" Xiong Kun was full of confidence.
At this moment, there was no calm in every region. All the races were discussing how Demon King Chu killed two king-level entities. He had once again proven his path of hegemony with splendid battle accomplishments.
All the beast kings across the land were shaken. Some of them were unable to accept the outcome of the last battle, but with this battle, apart from top experts like the Peacock King, who else would dare to provoke Chu Feng?
This was glory built from killing, a fame earned from battle. Before moving against him, one had to reassess if he had the qualifications to do so.
Mount Kunlun; Demon Ox Palace was situated on a vast and majestic mountain. This was one of the best places in Kunlun.
A silver waterfall hung from the mountain, flowing down with great magnificence.
On the cliff side, an ancient tree stood, welcoming the guests, spreading its verdant branches glowing with a translucent green radiance.
Atop the towering mountain, there were various types of trees, none of them ordinary. The fragrant vegetation suffused the air with a dense fragrance.
"Chu Feng!" Zhou Quan cried out. Recently, he had been in secluded training. After being notified that Chu Feng had arrived, he rushed out like a whirlwind, excited beyond compare.
"God, I’m finally able to see a human!" Zhou Quan loudly shouted as he hugged Chu Feng. He still wore a shiny swept-back hairstyle, and his horns had grown even more prominent.
The Ox King Palace, situated at the summit, was extremely grand. It overlooked the scenery of the four directions as well as the various lesser mountains.
"Right now, the depths of Mount Kunlun are inaccessible, sealed by a bewildering mist. This peak is currently one of the best ones available," Yellow Ox introduced.
Although he was quite young, he was trying hard to act like an old and experienced man. His golden skin and hair were comparable to satin.
"Yellow Ox, the other beast kings have all transformed into human forms. How come you haven’t? Let me see," Chu Feng urged.
Yellow Ox glanced at him sideways with a disdainful expression and said, "This king is upright and fair, there is no need to change my true form."
However, one word from Zhou Quan thoroughly tripped him.
"I know how he looks like after transformation!" Zhou Quan excitedly said.
Chu Feng was immediately delighted as he turned to Zhou Quan. "Quick, tell me!"
"The profound take simple forms!" The Yellow Ox shouted, smacking the back of Zhou Quan’s head with his hooves. With a painful thud, the latter fainted.
Yellow Ox was fairly calm as he strolled away without a second glance.
On the side, the great black yak was entertaining his other guests, showing them into the Ox King Palace. He ordered his servants, "Brats, prepare fine food and wine with all haste. Today, I have to throw a welcoming party for my brother as well as entertain the other beast kings.
Chu Feng was surprised after seeing the great black yak order a group of impressive experts around with a kingly attitude.
The great black yak reminded, "Carefully clean out that woodpecker’s remains. Stew a portion of it and roast the other. It has to be tasty; if it suits my palate, there will be great rewards."
At this moment, the other beast kings turned back to look at him.
The great black yak, feeling a bit guilty, explained, "My brother here has been struck several times by lightning and is greatly weakened. He requires nourishment. Either way, leaving such king level meat to rot is also a complete waste. Tonight, everyone should have a taste."
"Very well, that’s reasonable." Some ferocious beast kings were looking forward to it. Nobody cared about a dead Bird King.
Only the Chiru sighed, feeling rather sorry for the woodpecker. Even in death, he was eaten.
At this moment, his body glowed and trembled slightly, transforming into a middle-aged man with a turban. This was because both his horns had been cut by virtue of Chu Feng’s flying knife.
Within the Ox King Palace, many delicacies were being brought out of the kitchen in succession. The great table could fit all the beast king guests even if they did not transform into their human forms.
"Mao Tai?" Chu Feng was stunned, realizing that the wine being served was one of the most reputed brands of white wine. [1]
"Heh, heh, this is something I have stored in the cellar for over 50 years." The great black yak merrily laughed. No one knows how he got his hands on such a thing.
"Great, old ox is truly generous. We love this kind of rare old wine; the taste is very traditional!" A bald man with bronze-colored skin loudly exclaimed, knocking on the table.
He was very tall and had a sturdy build. His physical body was as if it was refined from brass; extremely solid and radiant.
At this point, he laughed merrily laughed and, while showing all his white teeth, said, "Brother Chu, I like your character a fair bit. I have a daughter and she’s quite the beauty. How about I introduce her to you?"
Hearing this proposal, Chu Feng vigorously shook his head. How would the daughter of a baldy look like? Was she also 3 meters tall? If she also had no hair, that would be a terrifying sight to behold.
"Ah, don’t misunderstand. This is the Horse King. He was quite handsome when he wore his hair long. Currently, he had shaved his head after following a llama in cultivation," the great black yak explained.
"I didn’t become a llama, I’m just learning from him. Meat and wine are not forbidden!" The Horse King loudly laughed.
Chu Feng was rendered speechless with surprise. Just what kind of llama could convince a beast king to voluntarily follow him to learn martial skills?
"You should not underestimate the Horse King. He came from Western China and is one of the Ferghana horse race; his speed is simply divine," Yellow Ox introduced.
Chu Feng was stunned, Ferghana horse? This was certainly a Tibetan race.
At this time, a man with silver hair, seemingly about 30 years old, also walked over to join in on the discussion. "Brother Chu, I feel like you’re not bad. This king also has a beautiful daughter. What do you think about marrying her? I’ll go and call her over."
Naturally, their intentions might or might not be sincere.
"This is the Snow Leopard," Yellow Ox introduced.
Chu Feng greeting everyone with smiles and laughter.
"Heh, heh, we should all be regarded as experts of the same generation. Why are you all trying to introduce your daughters? I think I’m more suited for Brother Chu, right?" The lady in court attire came over, her skin most fair and her beauty truly bewitching.
"She's the Weaver King," Yellow Ox introduced.[2]
"Greetings," Chu Feng greeted politely.
"After the reception ends, little brother should follow me back to the silken web cave," the Weaver King said with a sweet smile.
Chu Feng was petrified—weaver king, silken web cave, so was she a spider spirit?
"That’s enough, stop scaring the little brother!" the Mastiff said, his dark hair swaying behind him and his blood energy almost flooding out from the restraint of his body. No doubt, this was a top-level expert.
The reception began with the guests all happily talking and eating. They were all friendly and familiar with each other, at least on the surface.
Suddenly, a beast suddenly ran in. Excitement was written all over his face as he reported: "Great Kings, the legendary tree has come into being. It is now blooming with myriad auspicious lights and the whole mountain peak is covered in its radiance!"
…
[1] Mao Tai is a famous brand of Baijiu.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maotai
[2] Not sure if I should be translating female king level experts as KING or QUEEN. But in the end I decided to keep using KING for all genders to avoid confusion. This particular weaver king is a reference to the 盘丝洞 from journey to the west.