The Sacred Ruins
chapter-200

CLONK!

Thunder and lightning struck the main mountain . A coal-colored vine swung overhead . It was at least one and a half thousand meters in length . It shone brightly like a lightning bolt, then hastily descended to the earth, drawing a splendid electric arc in the air as it struck at its enemy .

The Manchurian Tiger was fighting with the vine on the hillside . He leapt aside just in time to dodge the bolt of lightning . The lightning bolt struck the earth, and the earth shattered . It looked almost as if the vine were a whip used by Zeus, the god of thunder, so there was nothing that could stand in its way . 1

Of course, the clap of thunder that came soon after the lightning was threatening too . Even the Manchurian Tiger had scruples about the thunder, daring not to come close to it .

ONG!

The air vibrated . There were three other vines that suddenly pierced through the dirt and started swinging . They were coal-colored as well . As they swung left and right, they were coated in eye-piercing electric light . The light dissipated the clouds and mists that were hovering over the hillside, then it began striking at the Manchurian Tiger .

"Son of a b*tch! Let me teach you a lesson!" The Manchurian Tiger was infuriated . His striped body began glowing as his roar trembled the earth of Mount Olympia . His bloody mouth was wide open, and from within that bloody mouth, a radiant ray dashed out . The ray then became a giant lustrous sword . The sword raced forward, striking towards the coal-colored vine .

CLONK!

Electric light fried the air, and sparkles splattered . Both the tiger and the vine had six severed shackles, so the fight between them was beyond epic .

WHOOSH!

The Manchurian Tiger leapt into the air then landed a few hundred meters away . He then started charging at the main mountain again .

In the meantime, Chu Feng, Yellow Ox and the others were clambering up the mountain from the other side . They had withstood the attack by Apollo and were about to step foot on the sacred soil .

"BOOM!"

Suddenly, torrents of flames came rushing down the mountain like a tempestuous tide . The flames shone with great brilliancy . Rocks were molten to lava then came seething down the slope . It looked as if a volcano had just erupted .

Everyone was taken aback . The flames looked extraordinary . They were not blazing red, but rather they were as black as coals . The beasts felt scorched by this black flame .

"Don’t tell me this is doing of Hephaestus, the god of fire!" the black yak shouted .

There was a plant at the peak of the mountain . The plant was covered in flames, looking a tree scorched in flames . Its leaves and branches were dripping with black balls of fire . The temperature was unbearably high .

"Apollo the god of Sun was the sunflower; the god of fire is a bloody tree! Goddamn!" the kings cursed . Were all the gods on Mount Olympia plants?

"The plant had only severed five shackles . It’s not a big deal!"

Chu Feng was standing at the very front, being the vanguard of this team of beast kings . His blood and flesh became sparkling and crystal-clear after using the special breathing technique . He was charging ahead, and Yellow Ox was right behind him .

"Brothers! Charge!" the black yak shouted .

Those who had severed at least four or five shackles were also charging . Mysterious energy flowed out of the pores of their skin, protecting them against the scorching flames . They were now once again en route to the mountain’s peak .

"Quickly, brother tiger!" the black yak shouted .

"Zeus" was on the main mountain . Those coal-colored vines were too horrifying . Without the tiger, they were no match against the vines .

"ROAR!"

The Manchurian tiger was furious . The stripes on his body were glowing . The glowing stripes became chains made of light before detaching from the fur . The tiger violently shook his body, and those chains were hurled towards the vines .

Wind whistled as the chains traversed the air . They struck down four of the six black vines . Then, the tiger leapt into the air and landed at the peak of the mountain .

Chu Feng, Yellow Ox and the Snow Leopard King quickly climbed up the mountain . They had successfully broken through the first line of defense .

At this moment, the coal-colored vines and the golden sunflower both retreated, then the blazing tree followed . None of them launched another attack on the invaders .

The main mountain of Mount Olympia was surrounded by mists and clouds . The mists spread to other areas, making the entire mountain range look dusky and overcast . But beast kings had sharp eyes . They could still see through the mists .

The region around them was full of life and vigor .

There was a lawn of sacred plants ahead of them . If any of those sacred plants were to be taken to the outside world, it would be sensational . Every single plant had the pulse of a king or an expert .

"There are twelve plants here . No more and no less . Does each of them represent a god?"

The plant in the middle was a black vine . The vine was only as thick as a pail and was as long as ten meters, but when it started swinging, the vine grew as long as one and a half thousand meters in length .

This coal-colored vine was a sacred plant alright . It could grow big or small; it could master the power of lightning and thunder . It could call on the power of nature to strike at its enemy, and this ability alone made it an astonishing plant .

The vine was surrounded by many other sacred plants . There was a golden sunflower, a flaming tree, a coral tree whose roots and branches both had a deep blue color…

People were flabbergasted . Some voiced their own guesses .

"The sunflower is Apollo the god of sun!"

"The flaming tree is Hephaestus the god of fire!"

"The coral tree is Poseidon the god of sea!"

…

People began to see the light . These twelve plants each corresponds to one of the twelve Lord Gods from Greek Mythology .

"People, we have always been busy minding our own business, walking on our separate paths . Never has there been any bad feelings or bad blood between us, so why would you invade Mount Olympia today?" The black vine was communicating with them via brain wave .

"We’re looking for opportunities to evolve," the black yak said . He was rather frank about it .

"Are you the owners of this mountain?" Chu Feng asked . He still couldn’t believe that these plants were originally born here .

Other people also had the same doubt . These plants didn’t seem like the original residents on Mount Olympia . They must have come from other places and seized the mountain for themselves .

"I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there are no strange fruits or sacred flowers here . If you’re looking for opportunities to evolve, then I’ll have to tell you that there is none . We were born at this place," Zeus said .

People were disappointed .

"Huh?"

Yellow Ox was sharp-eyed . He saw through the dense fog and perceived the presence of something hidden deep behind the veil of the fog . The look on his face immediately became solemn .

"What is that?" Chu Feng saw that thing too .

It looked like a door there was a door behind the twelve plants, but it was covered by the plants .

After a moment of silence, Apollo the god of sun said, "This is a door, but nonetheless, you have to go . Please do not disturb the peace of this mountain . "

"Let me have a look!" the Manchurian Tiger was quite interested .

WHOOSH!

He dashed towards the door without any scruples .

BANG!

The plants suddenly began to glow . Zeus was especially luminous . The vines became tangled with lightning bolts as the deafening sound of thunder exploded .

The war was suddenly re-ignited . No-one in the Western Punitive Expedition was a weakling . They were all kings, and they were all fearless . Seeing the plants suddenly burst into violence, the kings all went charging at the door . They then surrounded the door to have a better look at that peculiar door .

It was a stone door, standing in the middle of nowhere . It hovered above the ground, three inches from the earth . The pupils of the kings constricted; they were very astounded by this .

"What’s happening?!" the Manchurian Tiger shouted .

Chu Feng was having a guilty conscience just then . Through the conversation, he learnt that Mount Olympia was the home of those plants . It certainly wasn’t nice to invade someone’s home without the host’s permission . But now, after discovering this peculiar stone door, he realized that there must have been something more to it .

"It’s not really a big deal to tell you guys what this is . It’s a door that opens to heaven . None of you will be able to open it," Zeus said .

Yellow Ox looked solemn . He was carefully observing the door, then he said, "We don’t have to try to open it . This door is a rare treasure . It opens to a road, a road that will lead to a vast world!"

People were taken aback by the calf’s words . They turned their gazes at Yellow Ox all at the same time .

"This door is for those who are lacking self-confidence . These people usually can’t make their way to our world through the usual path, therefore they will choose the easy way for the sake of convenience and their safety . This door was built in pre-historic times . This is a backdoor connecting our world to the other one, but in my opinion, I think it is actually harder to succeed on this path," Yellow Ox said .

Yellow Ox guessed that this backdoor was not the work of a single person . Behind this door, there might even be a very big pilgrimage ground that had been abandoned since ancient times . The pilgrimage ground was shut down as the door was closed, and now someone was trying to reopen it .

"Are you the seeds left by people from the Holy Sect of Heavens?" Yellow Ox was very suspicious .

After a moment of silence, Zeus said, "The stone door broke through the soil like a bamboo shoot, and since then, it has always been hovering in the air . The stone door brought us from underground as well, and since then, we’ve been gaining consciousness and developing intelligence . "

Everyone looked astounded by the vine’s words .

"Be careful, you guys . There are a lot of people wanting to come over from the other side of the door . Be careful or one day, you guys might become the sacrificial offering for them before you even know it," Yellow Ox said .

Chu Feng sighed . He remembered that a long time ago, Yellow Ox had warned him that for every famous mountain, there must be a path leading to the other side of the world . Now it seemed that these words had started to become a reality!

Yellow Ox said, "Let’s go . It’s a waste of time to be here . These plants have extracted all the sacred essence of the mountain, and I don’t see how those holy tree roots buried underneath the ground will regenerate its essence for the time being, so let’s get going!"

In the end, everyone left .

Yellow Ox was laden with anxiety . He wouldn’t mind if everyone from "the other world" came to this world through the same way as he did . There would have been equal opportunities for everyone if that were the case . But the competition wasn’t always fair for everyone, and today’s encounter proved the point . Not everyone was competing fair and square; some other Holy Sects have a trick or two up their sleeves or a short-cut to allow them an easier route . For Yellow Ox, this was not good news .

If one day, an entire ancient Holy Sect befell through a backdoor, things would not look good for the calf!

On their way back, Yellow Ox was surrounded by questions from the other beast kings . They all knew that Yellow Ox was a living encyclopedia . Yellow Ox patiently answered their questions . He said, "Actually, we are not going to fear anything even when that day comes . As long as we stay ahead of other mutants and beast kings in this game of evolution, we’ll be fine . When someone from another Holy Sect comes, we’ll fight back, and hopefully, we’ll prove to competent enough . "

On that same day, the old Vampire King was killed . This was another sensational news .

In fact, the white cranes from Mount Shu should have killed the vampire days ago, but the vampire was a sneaky bastard . He claimed that he could help the cranes find Schiller .

As a result, the vampire got to live . He then brought the cranes to Europe before trying to escape amidst of all the chaos of war in Europe .

Obviously, no matter how fast he ran, he could never run faster than a pair of flying swords . The swords split the vampire in half, his body plummeting from the sky and landing on a city street . This created a great stir throughout the world .

Many Westerners were clapping with joy . This vampire was a terrifying fiend . In certain aspects, he was even worse than the black dragon .

On that same day, another news spread throughout the world . Fanlin was killed at Himalayas . He was a powerful king . Having the superhuman ability to run underground, he almost managed to escape his pursuer . Although he had lost an arm, he still ran fast under the earth .

Although the Peacock King and the Golden Crow King could fly at supersonic speed, they still almost lost trace of Fan Lin . In the end, they found him at a snow-capped mountain then killed him .

The two bird kings also managed to seize the instruction for the breathing technique that Fanlin was practicing . It was called the Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique .

It was also said that the Peacock King and the Golden Crow King were injured . They found a mysterious site of sacred ruins at the snow-capped mountain, and they called upon other beast kings to join their investigation of this site .

It was said that underneath that thick layer of snow, there was an ancient temple . Although it was buried by snow and ice, one could clearly hear the sound of thunder from the outside .

Up to this point, Schiller was still on the run, while the Elder Lion King had been converted . All the other beast kings in the Eastern Punitive Expedition had been killed . The war was over .

The sect masters of Eight Vision Temple, Void Jade Temple, and Roaming Jade Temple concluded their westwards journey and were on their way home .

Later, the Elder Ape, the Golden Roc, the Mountain Tortoise, the White Cranes and the old sect master of Wudang were also heading eastwards .

This was the first war between the West and the East ever since the beginning of the post-civilization era . It shook the world, but now it was finally over .

Everyone vented out a sigh of relief . As those experts with six severed shackles left for their home in the east, the European tycoons felt as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders . Only god knew how much pressure they were under for the past few days!

The Western Punitive Expedition had set out on the journey home . They exited Greece via that foggy passageway then entered Qaidam Basin .

Chu Feng, Yellow Ox and the black yak were staying behind . They wanted to go on a tour to Vatican City . They wanted to know if they could break up some of the forbidden places that were buried underground . They might even be able to run into something good and unexpected .

The Manchurian Tiger was still a thick-skinned bastard . He wanted to come along .

The three didn’t seem to mind this at all . The tiger might lack moral integrity, but he was a powerful fighter alright . His addition would greatly increase the overall combat effectiveness of this team .

"Is this Vatican City? Everything had fallen into ruin . We’ll never be able to find anything good here . " the Manchurian Tiger sounded very disappointed .

The two cows gazed at Chu Feng with their little eyes . Chu Feng glanced back . He knew exactly what they meant with that expression in their eyes .

"If there are no ruins, there will never be anything new . Buildings may have fallen, but spirits are imperishable!" At this moment, an old man suddenly came out of nowhere . He wore a kindly expression, but he looked very old and feeble .

"Who the &*#& are you?!" The Manchurian Tiger was scared sh*tless . He shouted at the top of his lung while glowering at that old man . The tiger’s fur glowed like an overheated incandescent lamp . This eerie glow also released energy to his surroundings . This energy drew the rubbles and debris around him to the air then crushed them into a puff of fine powders .

The old man’s eyes shot a pair of golden rays . The energy of the rays neutralized the energy unleashed by the tiger . Soon, the place returned to its initial calmness .

"I harbor no malice, young men," the old man said . He was surrounded by a layer of holy light . He then continued, "The Vatican will be rebuilt on top of the ruins . Darkness can never persist, but light will linger for eternity and beyond . You lot are not allowed to step feet on this land, but today, I’ll not punish you because you and I are not enemies . "

Chu Feng was astounded because he had sensed that something about this man made him seem a lot stronger than Schiller, so he asked, "Have you already severed the seventh shackle?"

"My name is Zoah!" the old man introduced himself . His body was surrounded by a divine halo, looking like a demigod . To Chu Feng’s question, he shook his head . He said, "So far, there has not been a single creature with seven severed shackles in our world, unless he's someone who doesn't belong to our world . "

Yellow Ox looked astounded . He then secretly nodded in agreement .

Chu Feng was surprised by how much this old man seemed to know . His power and knowledge, together, should place him on the same level as the old llama .

"Our future will never be short of disputes and wars . The legends will return; gods will try to rule this world again . I only wish that when that day comes, we can all pull together and join hands in face of our common enemy," Zoah said . He then turned around and walked away . Soon, he disappeared behind the ruins and rubbles .

"This old man looks very bizarre to me . I can tell that he is very strong . In fact, he may be stronger than Schiller," the black yak said . He looked earnest .

Yellow Ox nodded . This old man must know a lot of truths .

Since Zoah had already issued them the warnings, it was impossible for them to stick with their plans any further . Eventually, they set out on a homeward journey . At last, they decided to take the short-cut through the passageway as well .

Finally, the four came out from the other side of the fog, but when they landed their feet on the Qaidam Basin, they saw a person watching them from inside the dense fog .

"HUH? He’s from the ‘other world’!" Yellow Ox instantly realized the danger they were in . The hair on his back stood on their ends . The calf told Chu Feng and the others to stop while he was taking every precaution as if he were anticipating a fierce enemy attack .

Yellow Ox was from the "other world", so he knew how strong and horrifying this creature must be . Yellow Ox was poised for a fight .