The golden tree, now several meters tall, was jingling with metallic melody. The tree was fully populated with little golden words, producing ear-pleasing sounds as they swayed despite the lack of strong winds.
At the crown of this tree, a shoot had appeared—a single flower bud. It gradually grew bigger like a treasured bottle, transparent and exquisite.
No matter how one looked at it, the bud appeared more like a weapon than a flower.
A bottle grew out of it? Chu Feng was puzzled. He gazed at the tree while pondering over the peculiarity of the object.
The black yak opened his mouth wide in surprise. Wasn’t it supposed to be a flower? But, what it had there was a resplendent little bottle.
Yellow Ox’s expression immediately changed; he was very sensitive to such objects. Back at his world, flying knives were just conventional weapons—there were also mirrors, pagodas, and bells. If such weapons possessed any divinity, they would become terrifying weapons.
Naturally, this treasure bottle was also an unfathomable weapon; once refined, it would possess unimaginable might comparable to, or even more terrifying than godly abilities.
It slowly grew from the size of a finger to the size of a bird’s egg. With it sparkling and being suffused with hazy mist, it appeared rather mysterious.
Chu Feng stood beneath the tree, observing every change while feeling deeply puzzled. Could this be the final form of the seed?
As the bottle grew to the size of a palm, patterns started to appear on its body. They were fine, detailed and complex. Finally, a loud metallic clang resounded.
As a result, those patterns started to form into fine cracks.
"Eh? It’s still a flower bud!" Chu Feng was astonished.
Those cracking patterns cut the treasure bottle into many petals, like a flower waiting to bloom.
"What a relief!" He let out a long sigh. He had wanted to evolve along with the flower after it bloomed and was not willing to see it turn into a mere weapon.
The treasure bottle was about to bloom!
The red sun hung high in the air as the time approached noon. Today, Mount Kunlun was not in peace because the great battle would begin any moment now.
Experts such as Schiller, Fanlin, the Elder Lion King and the Black Dragon had all arrived together with over a thousand experts. They were ready and stationed outside Kunlun—no one could tell just when they would charge in.
The good news was, reinforcements had also started to arrive in succession.
"Old Ox, where are you? Your palace was shining with red lights throughout the night and… wait, why has the roof been dismantled?" some king level entities came around to inquire.
The black yak rushed out in a hurry; Chu Feng was at a critical juncture of his evolution and could not be disturbed.
Before long, he had dealt with the guests and returned to the palace just in time to see the flower mature.
A soft crack sounded from the crown of the golden tree as the petals on the bottle came to the verge of blooming. The cracks between them were steadily growing.
Noon—the fiery sun was scorching.
This was the time of the day when the sunlight was strongest. At this moment, the tree was undergoing extreme changes; within a moment, the whole tree became radiant like the sun and extremely brilliant.
Additionally, its color started to change. From golden, it changed into three colors—green, white and gold—which encircled and flowed around this gorgeous tree.
Finally, from the trunk and roots to the leaves, the whole tree was bathed in these multicolored lights.
Yellow Ox was dumbfounded; it was his first time seeing this kind of differential color change.
As for the black yak, he had long since gone silent; a single seed had grown overnight into a large tree, and finally, as it bloomed, its colors had undergone changes. This was truly miraculous.
At this time
, their expressions all changed because as the light surged out, it was too resplendent. Three colored lights converged and interweaved above the Ox King Palace, forming a field of bright colors.
The whole tree, including the flower bud, had undergone the same color changes!
Pop!
At this time, the flower bud bloomed with a crisp sound. The treasure bottle started to disintegrate as it cracked all over. The gaps enlarged throughout its body, all the way down to its base.
Clang! Clang! Clang…
Suddenly, akin to the cry of swords, all the flower petals burst into full bloom, extending outwards. They were bathed in three interwoven colors, their resplendence surging into the sky.
Beam after beam of sword light shone through the Ox King Palace, a truly eye-catching sight.
At this moment, Chu Feng was in a daze. After the flower bloomed, one could see that it was fully formed from blades. The dense patterns upon it were as frightening as it was mysterious.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Beam after beam of sword light tore through and lit up half the skies.
"I have never seen such a strange flower!" the black yak mumbled in the distance.
Yellow Ox squinted his eyes as he carefully observed despite the bright light. Everything he had witnessed today was simply too odd. Even where he was from, this kind of mysterious tree would be a great rarity.
These types of trees would normally be held tight in the hands of those supreme dao lineages with millions of years of heritage.
Chu Feng stood beneath the tree and gazed upwards with a feeling of deep puzzlement. How come the pollen hadn’t scattered down?
Dang!
Suddenly, the petals all retracted, once more forming the palm-sized treasure bottle. It hung there while brilliantly shining, akin to a vehicle that had achieved a consummate great dao.
"Why had the petals closed up?" The two oxen were shocked.
Suddenly, a great change occurred!
The closed up flower bud started to overflow with vibrant colors—mist started to diffuse outward from the opening of this "bottle", becoming increasingly dense and concentrated.
At this point, the opening of the bottle was like a small waterfall from which mist streamed down and fell upon Chu Feng’s body. This misty stream formed from pollen completely enveloped Chu Feng within.
Chu Feng had long since removed his clothes and tossed it to the side as he bathed in this waterfall—the misty pollen diffusely entered his physical body.
His mouth and nostrils were filled with dense fragrance, sending him into a state that was close to that of ascension. It was as if his feet had left the ground as the clear fragrance invaded his senses.
"What situation is this?!" The black yak’s eyes went wide and his mouth was agape. This was almost unbelievable.
"I had originally wanted to catch some of the excess!" he mumbled. If there were any drifting pollen, it would be a complete waste. He and Yellow Ox stood there, ready to absorb anything that would, otherwise, scatter to the wind. Who would’ve thought that the mist did not spread out at all?
All the pores on Chu Feng’s body were open; he circulated the special breathing technique as he absorbed the shocking pollen mist. He was starting to break through.
This was a type of luxury for him—the fragrance entered his body and turned into stream after stream of warm energy which diffused throughout his being. It seeped into his organs, bones, muscles and activated all of his meridians.
He felt that the misty pollen was extraordinarily mysterious; it was as if it was innately made specifically for the evolution of lifeforms. Once it entered the body, it would be absorbed almost instantly.
Even the organs and bones were not able to stop the advance of this warm flow from seeping through the marrows and throughout the whole body. It was comparable to a sauna in the bitter cold of winter, making his whole body comfortable and at ease.
Chu Feng sat there in a daze, enshrouded by the hazy mist of pollen. The three colors blended together within the mist which hung in the air.
The two oxen were flabbergasted as they had never seen a flower bud which poured misty pollen out of a bottle. The glowing mist vertically fell as if it were a miniature waterfall.
Chu Feng circulated his breathing technique as its penetrative brilliance reached even his inner organs. After which, a thunderous sound came through as all his inner organs shone with bright light akin to a small sun.
Additionally, his innards started to vibrate, causing his blood to run wild, flowing at extreme speeds. His muscles also started to fall into the rhythm, and his whole body was beginning to resonate. This was a sign of intense evolution!
Following that, his bones all started to creak and groan as if they were all being struck by metal and stone. The bones were extremely resplendent and pure white akin to suet jade.
The marrows were suffused with a fiery glow as they suddenly became activated a hundred times over—a great upheaval had occurred within him.
The whole marrow system was pumping out new blood to replace the old.
The two oxen were astonished; Chu Feng’s changes were too intense. With every absorption of the pollen mist, his pores would eject some sticky material, and his whole would be trembling.
At the same time, there was also a layer of unknown material mixed with unclean blood, presumably the so-called "impurities", being ejected visibly from his body. This proved that his evolution was proceeding at a fearsome rate.
Chu Feng’s body was shaking, but he was not surprised at this because he had previously gone through it and was prepared.
"I finally realized why this brat was able to kill the Golden Lion King despite being a level lower than him. If his every evolution was this intense, then it would be a wonder if he didn’t become powerful!" The black yak sighed in admiration.
The Golden Lion King had severed four shackles and was famed as being unrivaled in the same realm. It was said that even those fierce experts one level higher than him were not his match.
In the end, he fell in Chu Feng’s hands.
"Damn, after he severs four shackles, maybe even I won’t be his match anymore," the black yak mumbled. Originally, he was extremely confident that after breaking through five shackles, apart from the Weaver King, he would be unparalleled.
Now, it seemed that Chu Feng was about to become a fearsome opponent, not necessarily weaker than himself.
The small "waterfall" flowing from the treasure bottle enveloped Chu Feng in its brilliance, entering his muscles, inner organs, and bones. His whole body was shining brightly.
At this moment, his body was trembling with a certain rhythm, and his innards were sparkling and resonant while his blood flowed at incredible speeds.
His marrow was suffused with a radiant glow, and his flesh was as if it was refined from divine metal. Hidden within its translucent radiance was an aura of firmness and immortality.
"Ol Blackie, little yellow, what’s going on in there? Did you discover a treasure? Don’t forget your brothers at such a time."
A group of beast kings had gathered outside the Ox King Palace and was being held back by the palace guards. If not, they would have rushed in immediately.
The black ox’s expression changed as he rushed out immediately.
"We’ll keep them at bay. Chu Feng, take care of yourself!"
The odd phenomena were too evident, and with the roof of the palace gone, the resplendent flowing lights had alarmed all the other king level entities.
Fortunately, this took place in the daytime while the sun was high. If it was at night, then it would be even more alarming.
Within the palace, Chu Feng was secretly thinking how fortunate it was. After this flower bloomed, the glowing mist had encased him within, and the dense fragrance had not spread out. Otherwise, he would’ve been discovered long ago.
However, it was still very dangerous; if the noisy group outside barged in, the outcome would be disastrous.
"Ol Blackie, what secrets are you hiding from us?"
The king level guests this time intended to barge into the halls, unable to suppress their curiosity.
"My brother is in seclusion and should not be disturbed. After a while when he recovers, I’ll take you all inside!" the black yak replied. He stood there with his shoulders stretched out, blocking the path with boiling murderous intent.
"I’m feeling that something’s off. Let this brother go in and see!" someone suggested. Even a large section of the Ox King Palace roof had been removed—there was obviously something wrong there.
"Pheasant, this doesn’t concern you. Stay away, this is my palace—are you trying to charge into my palace?!" the black yak roared.
Yellow Ox stood his ground. "I shall not hold back against anyone who dares to trespass into our home!"
They could not let anyone enter at this time no matter what.
Originally, these people were just curious. Now, after seeing the two oxen’s stances, they did not really want to lose decorum with the two. They all laughed it off and stood outside the palace to observe.
"Old Black, what has happened?"
At this moment, another batch of king level entities had come over after hearing the commotion. They were now halfway up the mountain and would arrive soon.
This caused the two oxen to be anxious; if too many people arrived, it would be difficult for them to block the road.
Within the palace, Chu Feng was breathing deeply, taking in the glowing mist with every inspiration. His pores were also drawing in the pollen with all their might. He had heard the commotion outside and knew that he had to hurry.
Finally, he violently sucked in as the last bits of the glowing mist disappeared into his body. The fragrance caused him to be greatly relaxed.
At the same time, the treasure bottle bloomed once again, its petals opening up completely and glowing resplendently.
"Eh? There is definitely a treasure within your palace. Don’t worry, we brothers won't snatch it from you. We are just curious and want to take a look!" someone shouted.
The Ox King Palace had, once again, become shrouded by extremely brilliant lights.
The two oxen secretly swore—they knew it was about to become troublesome. The beast kings from midway up the mountain were also about to arrive. If they all barged in, Chu Feng’s secret would surely be exposed, and even worse, people might even become covetous and scheme against him.
"Crack!"
Within the palace, the resplendent lights had receded with the wilting of the flower following its full bloom. Then, a small item emerged from the wilted portion—it was translucent and radiant, surrounded by white mist.
It looked every bit like a fruit in its nascent stage. What would it be this time? Chu Feng observed closely!
At this moment, the second group of king level entities had arrived. Among them were close friends as well as strangers.
"Heh, I heard the two oxen and Chu Feng were good friends?" an unacquainted king level experts asked, laughing.
"True, they have a close relationship." Another nodded.
"Ah, then I guess the two oxen must be heartbroken. That Chu Feng is simply too high-profile; being hunted by the West with full force, he is destined not to live long." That man coldly laughed, his friends chiming in at the same time.
The people who came up with them were shocked and did not know what to say. They immediately understood that these newly arrived reinforcements held no small amount of enmity towards Chu Feng.