163 Slay Hades! Begin the Trial of the Ancient Gods
Chu Feng strode ahead, noticing that Ah Yin behind him looked dazed and rather haggard.
"What is it?" Chu Feng asked coolly.
"Do you think the future will turn out the way we hope?" Ah Yin mumbled.
"Cut the mumbo-jumbo. There's a little shrine up ahead—let's settle in for the night." Chu Feng had no ear for big truths; alive was good enough for him.
The temple ahead looked brand-new, the scent of fresh wood still natural—clearly built only recently.
"Here are some herbs; let me refine a few pills to get your blood moving." Ah Yin sounded exceptionally gentle.
"Thanks." Chu Feng had grown up a lot.
The whole place had only three or four guest rooms; the rafters were carved with ancient ferocious beasts—Taotie, Taowu—no ordinary sanctuary.
Apart from faint whispers from the inner hall, not a single worshipper came down the road. The instant Chu Feng sensed something off, his brows locked tight.
Inside, an Old Woman leaned on a cane, pacing back and forth before the brazier, never offering Chu Feng a greeting.
Seeing the Old Woman give him the cold shoulder, Chu Feng naturally returned the favor—no incense, no prayers; he simply headed for the side chamber to rest.
In that side room stood an unknown bronze statue, broken at that. Chu Feng found a stick inside and began tapping it.
Might be treasure, after all!
"Boy, what do you think you're doing, messing around in my temple?" the Old Woman finally came over.
"Your temple? So new—did you build it alone? You think I'm three?" Chu Feng sneered.
"Stay the night if you must, but anger the gods of these statues and you'll regret it." The Old Woman slammed her cane on the floor for emphasis.
Ah Yin happened to return with gathered herbs; the Old Woman hurried out as though hiding some secret.
Chu Feng's eyes stayed on the broken statue, cobwebs draped over it, completely out of place in the otherwise immaculate hall.
Buddhas and ghosts don't share a room.
"Do you know that Old Woman?" Ah Yin asked.
"No worries—just get some rest." Chu Feng already had his suspicions.
Deep in the night, a bright moon hung overhead, painting a scene of perfect stillness.
A soft breeze rustled the grass; Chu Feng stepped out with light, silent paces.
He meant to find out the truth.
But just before the main hall he sensed black shadows flickering behind him.
Chu Feng curled his lips: "Ghost tricks."
He strode into the inner sanctuary. As expected, another broken bronze sat there, its lower body riddled with holes.
This place was no decent temple at all.
Might as well devour it. Looked unappetizing, but no big deal.
Chu Feng opened his mouth and swallowed only the statue itself; every beam and tile of the building stayed put, as if some force resisted.
Swallowing the idol had somehow sharpened his hearing—could it have been the Ear-Listening God?
Whatever. He could now hear whispers a hundred li away.
"Hurry and report to the boss: we've spotted the Holy Maiden and that brat—tell him to come."
"Ten years—sure you saw right?"
"Quit stalling; if they find us we're dead."
"…Right—you're already close to death." Chu Feng sprinted a hundred meters, startling the whisperers.
But it wasn't the Old Woman.
"Kid, you could've lived cushy inside the Seal, yet you came out to die—"
Before the two lackeys could finish, Chu Feng's blade rose and fell; they were dead.
He grinned: "Talk too much."
But then he wondered—why were such weaklings out here in the wild?
Damn—was it a decoy? Ah Yin!
Back at the temple he found only rubble—and three broken statues.
"Who dares show yourself!" Chu Feng shouted.
The three statues suddenly shook, crimson light blazing from their eyes; muffled voices babbled inside.
Three Elders?
Chu Feng's eye for people was keen, but weren't these three supposed to have fled back to the Heavenly Dao Sect? Why appear here,
sealed inside these strange statues, just like that dead cat earlier?
"Reaching the Ten Thousand Monster Forest won't be so simple," the Old Woman's voice drifted over.
Chu Feng had no choice but to strike—sorry, Elders.
At the Nascent Soul Stage his aura could sense every blade of grass in a thousand li, yet the statues showed only surface; their insides were blank.
He still lacked a handy weapon, and while he hesitated the three idols pounced.
Three-meter statues hovered in the air, iron chains lashed around them, whipping at Chu Feng like living arms, trailing sparks.
Chu Feng took the blows head-on, wanting to test the might of the Nascent Soul Stage. Strong indeed—the chains merely jolted him,
not a single wound on his body.
Inedible things—might as well punch them. Each strike rang like a temple bell, blasting waves, yet the statues stood unharmed.
The one who'd empowered the statues was the real terror. Chu Feng saw his shortcoming, but wiping blood from his lips, he had a plan.
When the chains lashed again he caught them in his hands and began biting as he walked.
In moments his iron-stomach talent devoured every chain.
Then he spat out a single chain dripping with spiritual power—one meter short or a hundred meters long, ten meters thick at will.
Black-violet light rippled along it like flame, dazzling to the eye.
This was the trick he'd devised after devouring the inner elixir—refining treasures with spiritual energy.
He owed thanks to Ah Yin for last time: swallow a poison pill, spit out a spirit pill. Pass matter through the body's aura and craft your own artifact.
Disgusting, yes—but it was his own aura, so mastery came easy.
He swung the massive chain; the statues could no longer resist. The enchanted bronze's aura was no match for his own.
The three idols exploded into rubble at once.
Then the Old Woman fell silent, and Ah Yin vanished. Chu Feng was truly enraged—dare touch his goddess and he'd make every creature of the Ten Thousand Monster Forest pay.
On my Patreon, I have several advance chapters available if you're interested in more than 100: For $1, you get 20 fewer chapters than the $2.50 tier. For $2.50, you get 40 fewer chapters than the $4 tier. And for $4, you get them all.
The number of chapters is updated every 7 days and increases by 7 to 8 chapters.
My Patren: paroncom/FanTranslator