The Sacred Ruins
chapter-322

Chapter 322: Where the Radiance Wanes

Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy

The rising sun over the snowless Wudang was especially brilliant. It washed over the rocks and fell between the Taoist temples. Chu Feng had woken up early and stood at the summit.

Purple mist spiraled upwards around the cliff. The energy on all the famed mountains had become much denser after the rapid upheaval.

He welcomed the morning glow and circulated his breathing technique. He wanted to recover and, once again, step into the king realm. He was somewhat nervous on the tenth day because he no longer wanted to lead a mundane life.

Golden light surged and appeared on the surface of his body but ultimately dispersed without entering.

There was a small grinding stone, about 10 centimeters in radius, in his body. The two different colored pieces of the grinding stone, one white and one black, turned slowly, crushing any and all energy apart.

Chu Feng sighed. He was very much unresigned. It was already the tenth day—could he still not change his situation!?

Soon afterwards, he switched to another breathing technique, the complete Thunderous Breathing Technique. Thunder reverberated and raged throughout his body. His bones and organs resonated with the thunder and toughened his muscles.

But unfortunately, the energy that was just drawn in was still ground apart by the black and white grinding stones, ultimately spilling out of the body.

"Still not working. Could it be that I’ll become a cripple?"

It was neither possible nor practical for him to not feel frustrated. Although there were twists and turns since he started on the path to evolution, and although he had come close to dying several times, he had come through in the end. Everyone in the world knew his outstanding fame.

Such fame once filled him with spirit and delight. That was because he was young and possessed his own style and temperament. After being struck down from the skies and falling into the dirt, the difference was simply too great.

Especially since he had risked his life to obtain an ultimate Buddhist breathing technique. He had planned to move one step forward and evolve once more, transforming into a higher leveled expert.

But everything had been overturned this day. He was unable to evolve and could no longer walk his original path.

Chu Feng tested repeatedly that day but everything failed. He was somewhat dispirited at the unprecedented setback. He felt that, unlike in the past, he could no longer climb up again after falling down.

"I have just obtained the ultimate technique of the Thunderous Monastery, but it has lost its meaning." Chu Feng’s chest felt tight.

The Buddhist race was one of the ten strongest races and occupied the Sumeru Heavenly Realm, one of the ten most powerful heavenly realms. The Thunderous Monastery was their highest temple and contained supreme techniques.

Chu Feng stood on the mountain peak from dawn till dusk. He bathed in the splendor of the sun and was showered by the moonlight. From the beginning till the end, no energy could be retained within his body.

The grandmaster came numerous times to console him, telling him not to rush and that there would surely be a way.

Chu Feng returned to his room only late at night. He began to think about the future—what should he do?

At dawn on the second day, Chu Feng got up early once again and climbed onto a different mountain peak. This place was enshrouded in white clouds and steep precipices. There was only a single Taoist temple standing at its summit but it took up most of the space therein.

Unfortunately, the results were the same. He drew in the dense energy into his body, but there wasn’t the slightest sign of his strength improving.

Chu Feng kept on trying resolutely throughout the following days. By now, 20 days had already gone by. He let out a soft and disappointed sigh. He could hardly accept this outcome.

He had once casually said to Ouyang Qing, Ye Qingrou and the others about how he would live free and unrestrained after being crippled. However, he felt different when such a day actually came.

Many people came to call upon Chu Feng during this time but he tactfully declined all of them with the excuse that he wasn’t feeling well. For instance, he knew those corporate agents were here to probe his condition.

He also saw some people such as Xiong Kun, Hu Sheng and a few other beast race members who had come to see him even after realizing his worsening condition.

Xiong Kun was extremely grateful towards Chu Feng for saving his grandpa from the ancient temple in the Himalayas.

"Take care. We’ll come visit you again in the future." In the end, Xiong Kun, Hu Sheng, Lu Qing and the others all left.

Chu Feng also heard a lot of news during this period. For instance, the Bagua School, the Xingyi School, and the Baji School appeared in succession. These ancient inheritances had never broken off since the beginning.

Especially since these ancient sects consisted of certain old grandmasters and young inheritors who were brimming with talent. These people rose to water rapidly during this era of evolution, like fish in water.

Even the Wudang Grandmaster couldn’t help but sigh. He hadn’t imagined some of his "old friends" were still alive. Some among them were even one whole generation older than him, having lived for dozens of decades!

They hadn’t appeared in the past because they hadn’t found great fortune and weren’t able to become top-grade kings. They only caught up this time after the rapid upheaval.

There were astonishing changes taking place all over the world. The five grains became spiritual food and experts were appearing in droves. A new host of experts appeared and were poised to overtake the predecessors at the first opportunity.

The Vajra, White Tiger, Silverwings and Fire Spirit—the four great mutants of the past didn’t fail to live up to expectations. Some among them improved rapidly, their strengths increasing by a huge margin.

No one had expected them to shine once again after being in decline for a certain period. That was because they had certain major corporations and famed mountains behind them.

Bodhi Biogenetics held Mount Putuo, Deity Biomedicals had occupied Mount Julao... great changes occurred around the world during the recent couple of months as certain famed mountains were occupied in succession.

"Boss, don’t be sad. We believe you’ll recover one day." Ouyang Qing’s group arrived to see Chu Feng.

"If all else fails, just marry me and I’ll take care of you," Ye Qingrou said while playing with her natural locks of hair. Her eyes were charming and her figure was fiery, revealing a small part of her snowy white waist below her t-shirt.

Chu Feng was happy to be with old acquaintances. It helped to relieve much of the melancholy in his heart. They chatted for a long time after the meeting.

During this time, they also mentioned the Hollow Jade Temple. The group wanted to withdraw from the temple because they were disappointed after seeing how the temple master had treated Chu Feng during his departure.

"Boss, we’ll go visit the numerous famed mountains in search of fortune. Perhaps we might encounter some miraculous medicine to heal you," said Du Huaijin.

Reportedly, someone had mistakenly ingested an odd grass. It didn’t help at all with evolution but was able to treat his late stage cancer. People discovered that some medicinal herbs possessed unfathomable and astonishing effects.

Yet another dawn. Chu Feng was practicing a fist art with relaxed movements. This was the Taiji Fist—not only could it be used in actual combat, but it could also be used for maintaining health. The old grandmaster had him practice this once every morning and also passed him the Taiji Breathing Technique.

Chu Feng was extremely moved. The Taiji Grandmaster treated him extremely well. He had never forgotten how the old grandmaster had confronted peerless experts for him on several occasions, even before his meteoric rise.

During this period, Chu Feng also passed on the Xingyi Fist and the twelve true forms to the grandmaster, hoping it would be of some assistance to him.

One had to know that the old man was no ordinary person. He was already a fist art grandmaster even before the upheavals, an expert among experts.

He was already an extraordinary talent even before evolution.

After giving the grandmaster a complete inheritance of extraordinary might, Chu Feng believed the former would be able to grasp its essence within a short period.

Before long, Chu Feng taught the old grandmaster the part of the Thunderous Breathing Technique recorded within the Thunderous Bow.

He didn’t dare pass on the complete version because he feared it would bring calamity upon Wudang when the outer realm Buddhist Race appeared.

He could pass on the latter part when it was safe to do so later on.

Twenty-odd days had passed. The time had long since passed Yellow Ox’s ten-day prediction, but there was no change in Chu Feng’s body. There was still no energy flowing within.

He practiced fist arts every day. He had grasped the essence of the Taiji Fist and had gained a certain level of mastery over it. Unfortunately, he was unable to inject energy into the art and was thus unable to bring out its true worth.

The old grandmaster was somewhat astonished and nodded inwardly. He felt Chu Feng was simply too suited for practicing fist arts. The latter had already comprehended the essence of the art and practiced it to perfection.

He was also feeling sorry for Chu Feng. If only the latter could recover to a king level realm, he would be able to form an extraordinary ability from the Taiji Fist, much like the golden bell.

At this time, geniuses were appearing in large numbers everywhere within a short time—in the east, west or the ocean—all of them possessed unique talents.

For instance, a young man from the West had found the legendary Holy Grail. He walked among men like a god for that holy item could help him evolve.

A certain marine human had found a true dragon’s lair within the ocean. He entered and came out alive with the legendary dragon blood grass. It increased his strength explosively and allowed him to become a local powerhouse of the sea.

The sect master of the Bagua School found an ancient tablet near the Yellow River bank. On it was a blurry painting of the river which allowed him to comprehend the Bagua Fist to an extraordinary level close to deification.

The successor to the Baji School was a young peerless king. He ate eight lightning fruits on Mount Zhongnan, after which his strength became increasingly frightening and his Baji Fist almost reached the skies.

Additionally, there were rumors that Divine Children and Saintesses from the other realms might come over. They would soon pass through the hardships and perils of the starry road to appear on earth!

Commotion rose throughout the world as many new geniuses rose and old experts improved once more.

Even certain legends had appeared. Some people were suspected to have seen a demonic god who had come into being from a legendary era.

"Have the people from the outer regions finally arrived?"

The outside world was brilliant. There were various legends and talented creatures on the rise, attracting everyone’s attention.

Earlier, there were people discussing Kunlun and Chu Feng, but as time went on, other dazzling characters and the possible appearance of life forms from the outer planets gradually became the focus of attention and conversation.

Chu Feng had become relatively faint compared to the old days. There were few who paid attention to him as if he was a lamp at the end of its radiance.

Although the corporations didn’t act rashly by coming to trouble Chu Feng, they no longer had any goodwill and decided to ignore him temporarily.

As a month passed, Chu Feng’s heart gradually became calm. He went from depression to tranquility. This was a process of adjustment to pain.

Everyone could claim to be strong before personally experiencing it, but only after going through things would they begin to understand the true feeling.

Right now he was calm—although some disappointment remained, he had already gotten over it. As things stood, he had to move on and extricate himself from the past!

He thought about that dream he had under the Bodhi tree in the Himalayas. During the time he had fallen asleep after being devoured by the Buddhist vortex, he was told that evolution was empty and fake. There he married, had children and lived an ordinary life full of serenity.

"Was that dream an omen?"

Consequently, when he thought back, he actually found that his wife from within the dream was so indistinct. Originally, the dream was extremely realistic, as if he had experienced a whole lifetime. However, that person had become quite hazy when he tried to recall.

He was still able to recall everything else quite realistically. Only that lady had transformed into specks of flowing light and dispersed.

Lin Naoi arrived several days later. She had contacted him several times via the communicator to ask him about his condition.

Golden light poured over the mountaintop with its blue pines and green cypresses. The mountain rocks stood unmoving amidst the strands of purple mist. The Taoist temple there was simple but vast. White smoke curled up from halfway up the mountain.

Beautiful scenery could be found everywhere on Mount Wudang.

Chu Feng wandered along the mountain paths together with Lin Naoi. They spoke very little.

After understanding Chu Feng’s condition, she asked him what his plans were and if he planned to stay on Mount Wudang.

Chu Feng told her that he might return to his old home after getting used to the life of an ordinary person. Of course, he would have to wait until everyone had forgotten him.

Lin Naoi asked him if he considered marrying and raising children, to live an ordinary person’s life.

Chu Feng nodded and told her that he would probably choose to do so.

Lin Naoi consoled him, telling him that perhaps a simple life was more practical. She told him not to overthink things and that an ordinary life was also good.

She told Chu Feng that she had contacted a number of good young ladies before she came here and wanted to introduce them to him.

"Let’s think about that later," said Chu Feng. He gazed at the nearby sea of clouds and then again at the overflowing sunlight. The surging clouds and luxurious radiance of this place were extremely beautiful.

The two walked for a very long time and only spoke a few words now and then, talking mostly about the past. The years flowed by like a river—Chu Feng felt that perhaps they wouldn’t have many opportunities to meet again.

In the end, Lin Naoi left.

Chu Feng’s heart became increasingly calm. He gazed at the rise and fall of the cloudy sea. He stared at the surging red sun and the evergreen pines and cypresses on the mountain, etching the beautiful scenery in his heart. He really wanted to travel everywhere.