Chapter 198: Evolution of Ancient Beasts, Level 9 Colossal Beast (II)

Lost in thought, the Thunder Fiery Colossal Beast shifted its focus inward.

After absorbing that drop of ancient blood, there had been no sudden surge in energy, significant increase in strength, or crazy growth in size. It was as if the Thunder Beast hadn't ingested the blood at all, but merely taken a sip of seawater.

However, despite the lack of outward change, something was still happening. After four evolutions, the Thunder Beast was able to sense that profound changes were taking place deep within its body.

After the blood had merged into its body, some genes containing ancient information were being activated. The once stable gene sequence began to change, affecting the cellular structure of its entire body. This change had simply started off slow and faint, so weak that it couldn't be perceived.

I feel so sleepy.

The Thunder Beast's eyes closed slightly, but it immediately and forcefully opened them, pushing back the sudden surge of exhaustion.

Under full exertion, the Thunder Beast covered over eight hundred kilometers in just two hours on its return journey, then plunged into the scorching flames of the lava lake with a loud roar.

Now that it was back at its lair, the Thunder Beast finally relaxed, slowly sinking deeper into the lava as it curled up its massive body and closed its eyes.

An invisible powerful suction emanated from its body, wildly absorbing the endless heat energy around it and causing flames to leap on its body. Meanwhile, between its dorsal fins, blue lightning crackled and roared, causing continuous explosions in the surrounding lava.

However, the Thunder Beast had no energy to spare for observing these occurrences. At the moment, its consciousness was muddled and plunged into sleep, many unfamiliar scenes vaguely flashing through its mind.

An endless amount of flames descended from the sky, turning the world into a fiery hell and burning everything to ashes.

The thick earth collapsed with a thunderous roar, cracking open rifts that stretched for thousands of kilometers. The sky collapsed and countless massive creatures roared and wailed.

In the distance, giants thousands of meters tall roared to the sky, uprooting a mountain peak and hurling it into the heavens...

As these blurry images continued, a faint sense of desolation and ancient wilderness permeated from the Thunder Beast, as if it was a creature from ancient times.

***

In a valley, people gathered around a bonfire, roasting mutated beast meat for dinner.

This place had served as a stronghold for the scaled mutated beasts. After long-term hunting, there were few mutated creatures within a radius of a dozen kilometers, so Chen Chu and the others could rest relatively relaxed.

However, when Luo Fei tried to hand Chen Chu a skewer of grilled meat, coated with golden honey and sprinkled with cumin and chili powder, he didn't react.

Luo Fei softly called out, "Chen Chu. Chen Chu..."

"...Ah! Oh

,

thank you." Chen Chu came back to his senses and took the grilled meat.

The girl blinked curiously and asked, "What were you thinking about just now? You seemed so lost in thought."

Chen Chu pondered for a moment and replied, "I was just thinking about whether there were ancient creatures and civilizations in our world in the past. Perhaps over time, those creatures disappeared, the civilizations collapsed, and they eventually became the myths and legends passed down through generations."

On the opposite side, Xia Youhui had just taken a big bite of meat, his mouth full of oil as he mumbled unclearly, "Aren't those myths and legends just made up by the religious and folk people?"

"Hey! Old Xia, I disagree with you on that." Liu Feng shook his head and said, "If those ancient people hadn't seen those ancient creatures or immortals, how could they have made up those legends? I think they might have seen some primitive lifeforms, and then passed that down with bad descriptions.

"Of course, another possibility is that many years ago, the mythical world was connected to our world, and the monsters recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas were actually creatures from the mythical world."

Li Meng nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Old Liu sounds like he’s on to something. Actually, I've thought about this question before.

"I think there might have been rifts connecting the mythical world to our world in ancient times, and they were discovered by ancient people who absorbed the transcendent energy to cultivate and become stronger. That would explain those immortals who could fly and control the elements in the legends.

"And the Daoist legends of paradises, they might be places similar to the mutated beast battlefield, just smaller, and eventually collapsed for one reason or another. As for those immortals, they might have gone to the mythical world through the rifts, and then those rifts disappeared before they could return."

Yuan Chenghuang sat on his heavy sword and smirked. "If that's true, wouldn't we humans still have forces in the mythical world?"

Bai Mu shook his head. "How is that possible? If those mythical legends really existed and those immortals really went to the mythical world, we would have discovered it long ago."

Xia Youhui shook his head. "Not sure about that, Old Bai. Not discovering something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And don't you think our martial arts development was too fast? In just a few decades, we've built a complete system and produced experts even stronger than the Ninth Realm.

"Maybe those pioneers inherited something ancient, then combined it with modern information to create the true martial arts system."

"That's indeed possible." Li Meng nodded thoughtfully.

Xia Youhui exclaimed, "When I break through to the Ninth Realm and become a king-level powerhouse, I'll explore the mythical world. Who knows, I might find heaven and the immortal realm!"

"Count me in!" Li Meng also expressed interest.

Liu Feng also exclaimed, "Brothers, when we find heaven, I want to see if Chang'e[1] is as beautiful as the legends say."

"You guys, aren’t you focusing on the wrong things? If those people really exist, how strong would they be after cultivating for thousands or millions of years?"

Watching the guys quickly get off topic, Chen Chu shook his head.

Aren’t they thinking too far ahead?

These guys were only at the Third Heavenly Realm and were already thinking about becoming king-level experts. It was already a problem to break through to the Ninth Heavenly Realm, to say nothing of the king level.

But what they said did make sense,

Chen Chu pondered. If those ancients really were the earliest pioneers of cultivation, many ancient myths and legends would make sense.

Lost in thought, Chen Chu took a bite of the grilled meat. The rich flavor filled his mouth, and he couldn't help but offer praise. "Delicious! I didn't expect you to be such a great cook, Luo Fei."

The girl smiled. "As long as it tastes good. Do you want more?"

"Yes." Chen Chu nodded decisively. If someone was offering to grill meat for him, he wouldn't refuse, especially when it tasted so good.

Li Meng looked over with envy and shouted, "Luo Fei, we want some too! You can't favor Ah Chu like this."

Xia Youhui said irritably, "Li Meng, if you want to eat, grill it yourself. Luo Fei is just one person with two hands, and the meat she grilled isn't even enough for Ah Chu. Right?"

When he finished speaking, he gave Chen Chu a sly look and a slightly lecherous smile, as if saying,

How's that? I'm such a good brother right?

Chen Chu nodded without hesitation. "Indeed, what Luo Fei grilled isn't enough for me to eat. You guys have to grill your own."

While the group was joking around, Li Hao’s burly figure was sitting cross-legged by the fire. In front of him, he had arranged some stones into a small stove with a flat stone slab for the top. Pieces of mutated beast meat had been placed on it, emitting a sizzle in the intense heat.

He had taken out some seasoning from his bag, and from time to time, he sprinkled cumin, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and chili powder. Then, he added some sauce, and the meat instantly emitted a rich aroma.

When it was almost done, Li Hao slowly took out a pair of chopsticks made from tree branches and picked up a piece of meat, savoring it slowly in his mouth.

It was surprising to see that this burly giant-like person, so ferocious in battle, would eat so delicately.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group divided the night watch duties before finding places to meditate. Suddenly, the valley fell silent, with only the gentle night breeze blowing through.

But in the distance, the occasional roar of mutated creatures reminded everyone that this place was still the extremely dangerous Yunwu Mountain Range.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

1. Chang'e is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. She is one of the major goddesses in Chinese mythology, appearing in folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism ☜