Chapter 217 – Sacred Mountain
The endless wasteland; in the mountain woods, just how many ancient tribes were there, nobody could say for sure. Their numbers were practically endless. This was a mysterious land brimming with countless unknowns. There were many ancient secrets buried in this land.
Ancestor god Suirenshi, Youchaoshi, Fuxi, etc. had once touched upon this land. These countless thousands of miles of territories were not only the sacred lands of the Beastmen and Jungle Tribes, it was also the land many practitioners in the Middle Earth yearned for. Over the years, many daring adventurers would come explore this dangerous yet fascinating primal region. However, the majority of them were never seen again.
The Jungle Tribe and Beastmen were not that hostile towards the outsiders, but they also didn’t have any good impressions of them. There were many ancient tribes deep in this land, they wouldn’t permit the outsiders to probe too deeply. In fact, many adventurers were only wandering around the outer region, and they were already endlessly shocked.
The beastmen’s sacred mountain that Xiao Chen and Oxman were heading towards, was definitely one of the most terrifying and mysterious places within this thousands of miles of land.
At present, they had already travelled for two days. Their current location was roughly two thousand miles from the Pure Land. For an ordinary person, this might be a really long distance, but to Xiao Chen, who possessed the Undying Wings, and Oxman, who was riding on the Black Dragon, it was nothing.
If they didn’t visit the various ancient tribes on the way, as well as spending more than half of the day greeting those elders who had returned from the dragon island, Xiao Chen and co might have already arrived at the sacred mountain.
The Black Dragon King still remembered Xiao Chen very vividly. It might be proud, but it still allowed Xiao Chen to ride of its back. While carrying the both of them, the black dragon skipped from the tips of the branches as if it was flying. It transformed into a streak of black light as it advanced at high speed.
It was truly shocking. Even among the many human experts, they might not have this kind of strength to skip on the leaves and flowers.
Fatty Oxman’s Black Dragon King and Lan Nuo’s Amethyst Dragon King were one of the very first Dragon Kings to be born on dragon island. Naturally, they should also be one of the strongest Dragon Kings. Even if they were unable to rise up as the Ancestral Dragon, they would become an existence on the same level as those legendary Primal Dragon Kings that didn’t get sealed in the dragon island.
In these countless miles of territory, there were endless wastelands and primitive mountain woods.
At the moment, Xiao Chen and co was crossing a scarlet red wasteland. Where as far as the eye could see, not even a blade of grass was growing. Legend has it that a terrifying battle with god took place here. This land was once encroached upon by the blood of god and accumulated an inexhaustible amount of baleful aura. Thus, no blade of grass was able to grow in this place anymore.
Fatty Oxman explained, “I don’t know whether the legend is true or not, but Blackie and I have once encountered a bloody corpse here. If not because Blackie was fast enough, we brothers wouldn’t be able to meet anymore.”
“It was that terrifying?” Xiao Chen was a bit shocked as he asked, “Shouldn’t we be more careful when making our way through this place?”
“Don’t worry. It’s fine as long as it’s still daytime. The old man from the beastman tribe once told me, to never come here at night time. I didn’t listen to his advice at that time, and as a result, I really encountered a bloody corpse at midnight. I saw it with my own eyes when the bloody earth split open. There were so many corpses under the ground, so many I tell ya! The scene at that time was so scary! I was so scared that the hair all over my body was standing up. It was practically the personification of hell. Although we retreated quickly, we were still nearly hit by a bloody light beam. At that time, my divine wolf soul was torn from my body by a demonic power. It left my body forcefully and disintegrated in an instant. Just like that, we barely made it out of this bloody wasteland with our life.”
As they were talking, they had already covered a hundred miles of distance. Blue fog lingered ahead, the hazy and indistinct silhouette of a mountain could be seen within the fog.
Xiao Chen couldn’t refrain from frowning. The ancient Beastman Tribe and Jungle Tribe’s territory was really a land filled with mystery. On the way, there were many similarly bizarre and unknown scenes.
Oxman pulled his neck back like a turtle and said, “We should take a detour. This is the Blue Nebula Mountain. It is said that this mountain is just as bizarre regardless of day or night. They say that a lot of progenitors with blue blood died on this mountain. The baleful aura is too thick and has never dispersed since the ancient times. The elders said not to disturb them, otherwise…!”
Like this, Xiao Chen’s party was getting closer to the beastmen’s sacred mountain after travelling for three days. Although they were still hundred miles away, they could already feel its abnormality.
However, the scene was completely different from Xiao Chen’s imagination. In his imagination, since the sacred mountain was once a Cypreus Furnace that could smelt anything in the world, there should still be black smoke rising to the sky even if the fire has already died out. Moreover, since it had already become the gathering place of saintly souls, there ought to be black fog lingering around at the very least.
And yet, everything before his eyes betrayed Xiao Chen’s expectations. It was emitting hundreds and thousands streak of multicolored light. Although they were still tens of miles away from the sacred mountain, they could clearly see the flowing lights and overflowing colors rising to the sky. It was as beautiful as shooting stars streaking across the night sky.
Moreover, an indistinct tinkling and jingling sound of the heavenly music could be heard. It was like the performance of a passionate woman.
“Don’t ever get tricked by the scene before your eyes.” Fatty Oxman reminded.
Xiao Chen expressed his understanding. After all, Oxman had been here before, so he knew what he was talking about. Although the little fatty appeared to be silly-looking, he was, without a doubt, very shrewd. Otherwise, how was it possible for the elders in the Pure Land to be so fond of him.
After arriving in this region, the Black Dragon King had clearly become more cautious. It slowed down its pace and was no longer forging ahead with extreme speed.
When they were fifty miles from the Cypreus Furnace of legends, they could already see its visage, even if just barely. After advancing for another ten miles, the mountain body could clearly be seen.
Xiao Chen was shocked speechless by the scene in front of him, was this really a mountain? Its width was as boundless as the massive earth, and its height was already far above the skies. The majestic sacred mountain occupied the entire space in front of them. If one really had to describe the mountain’s body, it can only be described as “wide and boundless”.
In front of such a presence, it made people dreadfully aware of their own insignificance, like they were little ants looking up at the blue dome of heaven. Every individual felt so very insignificant in front of this huge mountain.
“Such a strange feeling, it’s clearly just a huge mountain, but why do I feel that it is even bigger than the world itself?” Xiao Chen harbored doubts, this was his true feeling.
The black dragon cautiously came to a stop. Fatty Oxman jumped down from the dragon’s back and said while looking up at the boundless mountain, “The Pure Land’s Elder Turtle once told me, this was a Cypreus Furnace. Not only can it smelt every corporeal thing, it can even smelt the whole world itself.”
“There was such a legend?” Xiao Chen was a little amazed. It’s not like he didn’t believe in those legends, maybe there might be a hint of truth hidden among the legends.
They were already within twenty miles of the sacred mountain. Everything could be seen clearly. The flowing lights and overflowing colors were whirling around the mountain, it was gorgeous and magnificent.
Of course, if they were to concentrate their spiritual sense and gaze at it attentively, they could still see the mountain body clearly.
The imposing mountain was majestic. There were many areas on the mountain that were laid bare, with no traces of life. On the ash gray body of the mountain, there were many areas mottled with bloodstains. That’s right, looking from afar, those scarlet red regions were like bloody scars. There was some wispy fog lingering in those regions.
There were also many regions with glorious golden light, as if a molten mass of copper was boiling and giving off blazing rays of light.
And there were some other regions which were all pitch black. Like a bottomless pit, one was unable to clearly see their depths. Those regions swallowed up all of the radiance from the outside world. No light could be seen in those regions but an endless darkness.
Of course, it’s not like there were no traces of life to be found on the tall and huge mountain. If one looked carefully, they could discover a few green areas isolated on the boundless body of the bare mountain.
“Fatty, just wait for me here.” Xiao Chen didn’t want Oxman to take his chances with him.
“What are you saying, how can I not go after coming this far? You don’t need to worry about me, I am not that weak. We also have Blackie with us, we will be just fine.”
Oxmen’s strength could even be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds. While still on the dragon island, he might have been weaker than Xiao Chen, but after leaving the island, the little fatty has had many opportunities to grow. His growth caused the elders of some big tribes to be fond of him and granted him two powerful beast souls. In addition to his initial beast soul, as well as the ones he seized from Chaos on the dragon island, he already has five beast souls altogether. Unfortunately, he didn’t listen to the elder’s advice and went to the bloody plain. Although he managed to escape with his life, the divine wolf died in his place. Half a year ago, when he was stuck at the last bottleneck to break into the Historia realm, he arrived at this sacred mountain and gained a huge benefit. He was able to obtain a primal beast soul and break into the Historia realm after fusing the five souls into one. To sum it up, the little fatty now was not any weaker than Xiao Chen.
After learning about his training course, Xiao Chen lamented. Nobody was the heaven’s only pet, There was a Historia level fatty like this on the solitary mountain, and he didn’t have any reputation in the outside world. Within the many thousands of miles of the Jungle Tribes and Beastmen’s territory, who knew if there were any other freaks like Oxman.
“A few months ago, you already came here and obtained the things that you need. There’s no need for you to put yourself at risk again, I understand your intentions and I appreciate it.”
Oxman shook his head and said, “Even if it was not for you, I would still come to the sacred mountain again by myself. The beastmen’s training method is different from others. We must find a compatible beast soul with unlimited potential if we want to train till the peak stage. Although five of my beast souls have fused together, only the primal beast soul I obtained from the sacred mountain is strong enough. However, it is definitely not the one with the best potential out there. It can help me advance smoothly at the present stage, but it might turn out to be a burden in the future. Thus, I want to come here to search for a beast soul that is truly compatible with me.”
Since he was unable to dissuade him, Xiao Chen didn’t continue to argue needlessly. Men were like this, one word was enough.
The two already arrived at the foot of the mountain. Since arriving here, all they felt was an oppressive feeling that shook their very bones. Looking from afar, there were multicolored lights lingering around the mountain. The view from close up was not the same at all. The multicolored lights were all high in the sky, winding far away from the sacred mountain. In the vicinity of the sacred mountain, there’s only an empty and desolate land. There’s nothing beautiful about it.
Oxman said, “The elders of some big tribes once said, back in those days, the ancestor god Suirenshi had failed to completely refine the Cypreus Furnace and abandoned it here. Had he succeeded, there might be a world-changing event taking place in history. After all, legend says that the ancestor god’s furnace could smelt the world itself! Afterwards, for some reason, many powerful saintly souls would gather here like the moths flying into the flame. Even now, nobody knows why.”
The wispy fog was drifting around the desolate mountain foot, hints of black gas were gushing out from the ash gray earth. Xiao Chen and company had no choice but to protect themselves with a layer of qi.
They began to climb the huge mountain and advanced more than three hundred meters. Rather than climbing, it’s more like they were walking uphill. Primarily because the sacred mountain was too grand, too wide, too tall.
Not long later, they were already one kilometer above sea level. They were finally about to enter the dangerous zone. From time to time, a bloody mist would drift past them and cast a wide expanse of shadow. The stench of blood was very obvious.
“It is very dangerous ahead, I was made to stop here last time.”
In this Cypreus Furnace, a desperate battle would also take place occasionally. The powerful souls that were defeated would frequently be chased all over the place. Last time, the little fatty was waiting here for opportunities. He used the technique the elders taught him to absorb the powerful beast soul who lost its natural instincts.
“Shhh!”
Xiao Chen heard some strange sound and hastily hinted Oxman to stay on guard. The Black Dragon King on the other hand, was already on high alert.
At first, the sound was very small and weak, then it became louder and louder. It sounded like a herd of steeds galloping at first, then the rumbling sound became so loud that it was as if a landslide or a tsunami was taking place. It was as if a dam had broken and the furious tide was rushing down the mountain while carrying the mud and stones.
“Oh my god! Run for it!” The fatty pulled Xiao Chen and jumped onto the black dragon’s back, it turned around just as soon and ran away.
Above the mountain, a black ocean wave was crashing down while covering the sky. It was spilling an endless amount of baleful aura. The torrents of demonic flames rushing down was very much like an unrivalled great demon stirring up havoc.
“Oh f—! This is definitely the battle between superior saintly souls. Let’s not say us, even the elders at the Pure Land might not necessary be able to confront them!” Fatty Oxman looked like he already wanted to cry as he bewailed, “Why are we so unlucky!”
The boundless black ocean wave enveloped more than half of the sky and swept away every resistance. They could vaguely see a few sinister huge monsters within, roaring and fighting fiercely.
Such tyrannical power, they were actually capable of causing this region of the sacred mountain to tremble! One must know that this was the Cypreus Furnace refined by the ancestor god Suirenshi, your ordinary power wouldn’t even be able to make it tremble in the slightest.
“Quick, change direction!” Xiao Chen shouted loudly. If they ran perfectly straight towards the mountain foot, they wouldn’t be able to get away from the black ocean wave no matter what.
The Black Dragon King left behind a streak of black light and ran towards the right side like a bolt of lightning. The dragon represented the fastest creature under the heavens, although the Black Dragon King was still in its infancy stage, it couldn’t be looked down upon.
It was a close call, the inexhaustible black billows roared right past them. The malevolent souls were like giants as they battled it out in the black energy wave.
“Oh my god!” Fatty Oxman cried out in alarm, “Just now, I saw a Tyrannical Dragon in there! There was actually a dragon’s soul. It’s too inconceivable. Moreover, there’s a few other saintly souls just as powerful! If… I can refine one of these great souls, ahhhh… my future would no longer be a dream!”
The eyes of the Black Dragon King were fixed on the boundless black energy waves that just rushed past them. Obviously, it had also seen the Tyrannical Dragon’s soul.
“With your current strength, you won’t be able to handle that kind of abnormal soul. It should be good enough if you can find the soul of a beast king with unlimited potential. You still have to rely on yourself when it comes to training.”
“I know, I was just deeply moved.” Speaking until here, fatty Oxman’s face suddenly changed color as he shouted in fright, “Not good, they are back!”
The path to the mountain foot was cut off, and the saintly souls with unfathomable power were advancing towards their direction with the endless black billows.
Xiao Chen wanted to carry the fatty and fly towards the sky, but he found that it was impossible. Although those brilliant lights whirling on the mountain top were some distance away from the mountain itself, the space was still confined by them. He was unable to charge up to the high altitude.
“There’s no other choice, let’s charge towards the mountain top for some distance!”
“Fine, Blackie, go faster!”
Going up the sacred mountain was undoubtedly dangerous. The higher they go, the amount of powerful saintly souls would increase in number.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen saw a piece of greenery appearing in front. He yelled, “There’s an oasis of life ahead, let’s hide there for a while!”
The oases on the desolate ancient mountain were definitely not any ordinary places. Just now, it didn’t get destroyed when the black billows brushed past, that was enough to show its uncommonness.
However, it was an emergency situation, Xiao Chen’s party had no other choice but to think about these problems after they were rid of the dangers behind.
This was an extremely quiet forest. The ancient trees reached high into the sky. Each and every tree needed at least twenty people to wrap their arms around it. Nobody knew how many years had they been growing already.
It was eerily quiet. Although the black billows were rumbling behind them, it felt like they could hear it clearly even if a needle was dropped in this place. The quietness made people feel very lonely and frightened.
After Xiao Chen’s party rushed in, they discovered the endless black billows behind actually took a detour and didn’t invade the forest.
“This place is very bizarre! Those powerful souls actually didn’t invade, we should get out of here as soon as possible.” Oxman’s face was very ugly. At this time, he felt like he could hear his soul trembling.
“That’s right, we should leave without delay!” Xiao Chen also had a bad premonition.
However, for some reason, the Black Dragon King’s entire body burst out with black light. The reverse scales under its neck even spread out, and its eyes were emitting two terrifying rays of light as it scuttled into the depths of the ancient forest.