The Sacred Ruins

Chapter 505: Engagement

Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy

The surface area of Fangzhang Island was fairly big and it was flowing with hazy lights, reflecting prismatic colors on the nearby ocean surface. The vicinity surged with spiritual qi and looked fairly extraordinary.

A mountain was faintly discernible on the island, beautiful and enshrouded in surging rosy lights. Even the sky was enveloped in resplendent halos, causing the entire scene to appear rather hazy.

A large ship was traveling steadily across the sea and drove unhurriedly into the sea region of the Fangzhang Island—Chu Feng and party had arrived.

The Fangzhang Island emerged in earth’s space as the heaven and earth awoke and, just like Penglai, it was classified as a secret realm.

On the ship, Zhan He was driving the ship with full concentration. He didn’t dare run away anymore.

Chu Feng was feeling quite leisurely. Before him was a jade table with a number of side dishes and a bottle of wine. He was facing the sea breeze, gazing at the jade sea and immortal island as he took small sips of wine.

Zi Luan was humming a song from earth with some grievance as though she were a punching bag. She was normally used to being proud and arrogant. How could she have ever worked as a maid? How could she know how to pour wine and sing?

Saintess Li Feng stood straight on the deck. She was tall and slender, almost 180 centimeters in height and her curvatures rose and fell with great elegance. But now she was a maid who was in charge of pouring wine occasionally.

As for Yuan Mo, he lay on the deck with worsened injuries. That was because Chu Feng had given him yet another beating.

The reason was simple—the other three were driving, singing and pouring wine respectively while only Yuan Mo was disobedient. He refused to comply with anything.

In the end, Chu Feng beat him up directly. The stately demonic-son-level character had just recovered slightly from his injuries when he was beaten up yet again. His nose and mouth were bleeding while his face was completely bruised.

After witnessing this scene, Zhan He, Zi Luan, and Li Feng were fairly cooperative. None of them dared rebel and acted like extremely loyal guards and maids.

As it happened, Chu Feng said with great self-satisfaction, "I subdue people with integrity!"

Zhan He, Zi Luan, and Li Feng wanted to curse out loud but could only do so secretly. This was clearly because they were afraid of his demonic might—how could he say such words? What a thick face!

Yuan Mo provoked Chu Feng once again. He wasn’t satisfied despite already lying on the ground. "Integrity?! That’s something you’re lacking!"

"Li Feng whip him with the big halberd!" [1] Chu Feng instructed.

Li Feng’s eyebrows twitched but she moved in the end. She picked up the halberd and began smashing randomly with the handle. As a result, Yuan Mo was once again sent into a wretched state—his broken bones had just mended, but now they were displaced yet again.

Yuan Mo cried out, "Demon King Chu, I won’t be convinced even if you beat me to death. I’m still a demonic son of the generation and am not afraid of you if only I wasn’t injured. Even if I can’t win you, I’m not that much weaker. How can I become your servant?!"

Chu Feng took the halberd from Li Feng and immediately aimed it at his neck. He then spun it downwards.

"Stop, what are you doing?!" Yuan Mo shouted.

Chu Feng replied, "Chopping off your head to fish for a flood dragon. I heard a flood serpent has appeared in the region and I haven’t had one in a long time. I must fish one out today!"

"Don’t!" Yuan Mo was indeed very powerful and didn’t fear death. However, he was scared of being tormented like so because he wouldn’t die immediately after being decapitated. Having his head thrown into the sea to feed a sea beast—this scene was simply too miserable and made him tremble without feeling any cold.

In the end, Yuan Mo submitted and began to discuss terms with Chu Feng. He said that he could fight for Chu Feng but wouldn’t become his servant.

Chu Feng nodded and placed some more profound magnetic needles in his body in order to prevent him from running away. He warned Yuan Mo that the needles would explode upon his betrayal and that the outcome would be his own responsibility.

In outer space, many people were paying attention to Chu Feng. Presently, all of them wore peculiar expressions—this fellow was truly undisciplined, free and unrestrained. He took in divine sons as lackeys and made saintesses pour tea for him. This was simply... doing whatever he pleased. How envious!

"Brother Chu, please start selling divine sons and saintesses again. This time I’ve prepared sufficiently and I guarantee a high price. Oh right, has the transaction for Zi Luan been completed yet? If there are no follow-ups, can you consider selling her to me?"

"I want to buy the supermodel saintess Li Feng!"

"I want to buy Yuan Mo. I’ll beat him up every day afterwards!"

The group of buyers was fairly passionate.

"Wait for a while. I’ll prepare a small store later on. I’ve even thought of the name: Chu Family Store. When the time comes there will be divine sons, saintesses and demonic sons, everything you can ever want. All will be for sale. Additionally, there will be bounty hunter services. For instance, you can place an order if you dislike a certain divine son or saintess on earth and I’ll help you take action on the condition that I also have an enmity with them. I won’t accept orders for people I have no qualms with because I always convince people with integrity."

"To hell with your convincing with integrity!"

"Convince with integrity, my ass!"

"Oh right, there’ll also be beating performances. For instance, whoever wants to see me beat up Yuan Mo can contact me. I’ll definitely arrange a show for him. Yes, anyone who wants to beat up Zhan He, Li Feng, and Zi Luan can also sign up and offer your price. Everything is within limits."

Yuan Mo, Zhan He, Li Feng, and Zi Luan were absolutely infuriated but none of them dared voice their dissent. This was preposterous!

"Don’t worry, you four. If you perform well, I can choose not to accept those orders and lose out on some business. But if you disobey me here and there, there’s nothing left to discuss. I’ll first open up with a beating of my own and then sell you off!" said Chu Feng.

Afterwards, he added, "At the same time, this small store will hold concerts from time to time. For instance, Zi Luan and Li Feng will perform with all their hearts. Naturally, for the right price, I can also invite star-level characters like Lan Shi and have her sing for everyone.

This was truly a store with all-encompassing service. It was an odd mixture but they were all somewhat connected—all of them were built around the divine sons and saintesses.

Everyone was dumbfounded. After hearing him say that he would invite Lan Shi over, they immediately began to suspect that he was planning to harm Lan Shi.

Many people let out wolf howls immediately and fought to place orders. So much so that some people shouted how they would buy the rising star, Lan Shi.

In the end, Chu Feng said, "Mn, our place also sells ’inner armors’ of famous people. Good are limited and will be sold to the highest bidder."

He wasn’t satisfied because it had been two days and Lan Shi still hadn’t contacted him. It would be better to just auction off her undergarments directly. He reckoned the price would be astonishing.

"Chu Feng!" As expected, the photon computer flickered as Lan Shi contacted him immediately. She tried to negotiate with him secretly in hopes of getting her skirt and "inner armor" back.

"My Chu Family Store is about to open. Why don’t you come and help me out first? We’ll hold a small concert in passing. What say you?"

"Impossible!"

"Then I’ll go and sell inner armors now. Speaking of which, the material is pretty good. It’s made of star devouring silk, right? It’s impervious to fire and water, resistant to swords and spears while soft and comfortable to the touch. This is indeed a rare item and I’m sure I can sell it for a hefty profit.

"Don’t touch my things!" Lan Shi almost screamed out. She reprimanded in a low voice and, despite the thousands of kilometers between them, she still felt uneasy and her hair stood on end.

"Halt!"

It was at this time that someone on the Fang Zhang Island spoke. That was because their big ship was approaching rapidly and had almost docked.

Chu Feng got up and glanced at the front. He hadn’t even said anything but the other party had already recognized him and revealed an astonished expression.

"Brother Chu, how come you’re here?" Someone greeted. At the same time, one of them left toward the island to report this matter. This startled Chu Feng—how come the other party treated him with such importance? Had he killed his way to fame?

But if his expectations weren’t wrong, there were old monsters both on Fangzhang and Penglai. They definitely wouldn’t fear a carefree realm entity like him and it would definitely be dangerous if he went onto the island.

"Chu Feng!" At this moment, Lan Shi was still trying to contact him from the photon computer.

"Come, Fairy Lan. Let’s enjoy the beautiful scenery and talk through the night under the moonlight." Chu Feng replied casually and then switched off the photon computer. He wanted to see what was going on with Fangzhang Island.

"Last time, didn’t you say that a certain young princess on Fangzhang Island fancies me? So I have hurried over." Chu Feng said at the right time.

"Brother Chu, you jest. Such jokes shouldn’t be said at this time when our princess is about to be married." The man replied.

"Sigh, how sorrowful. I’ve even prepared to escort the bride, but it turns out that the groom isn’t me. How can I endure this?" At this point, he brought out a command token and showed it to the people on the island. It was precisely the one the person from Fangzhang had given him so that he could enter the island.

The moment he struck such a pose, the people on the island turned solemn as though they were meeting a great enemy. Afterwards, many people began to speak and explain this matter.

What situation was this? Chu Feng noticed something fishy was going on. How could they care about this so much? He was only spouting nonsense in passing and certainly wouldn’t steal the bride.

Even the wild Yuan Mo who cared little for meticulousness had already sensed the flickering expressions on their faces. There was definitely a problem.

Within the island, a middle-aged man broke into a frown after receiving the report. His name was Li Kai, one of the deputy island lords and the person in charge of daily affairs while those old monsters were in cultivation.

He said with great solemnity, "He actually came knocking on our doors. But Princess Qing Qi can’t be married to him since that major character from the star passage has taken a liking to her. We can’t break that line no matter what. One has to know that he’s a noble character who normally cultivates on Deity Planet and enjoys an extraordinary status. Ordinary people don’t even know how to get there, to speak nothing of approaching the planet. It’s one of the Ten Greats!"

"But, our original plan is to have Qing Qi marry Chu Feng. Now that he’s come knocking on our doors, how can we turn him away? It’ll be such a waste! We can’t turn him away because I’m eight parts confident that he has the Robbery Induction!" An old woman said. She was thin and frail but her spirit was hearty.

The middle-aged man Li Kai said, "Mn, we naturally can’t let him leave. He’s finally come to visit our island so we must find a way to make him stay. But he’s always been cautious and probably won’t come onto the island. And while you and I can suppress him, we can’t go out."

"Why don’t we let Qing Qi deal with this. Have her feign civility, pretend to flatter him and then invite him onto the island.

"That won’t do. Qing Qi’s character isn’t suited for such a job. Moreover, if the noble in the star passage gets wind of this by any chance, he’ll like be dissatisfied. Qing Qi must marry him and there mustn’t be any accidents. This is related to the Ten Greats and forming a relationship with them is of the utmost importance. As for Chu Feng, we’ll think of some other way. Right, are there any suitable ladies of the same age. She must be of outstanding appearance and status."

The old woman replied, "There are no ladies of that age with high status, but there are some with appropriately good looks. Qing Qi’s maid, Ruo Lan, for instance, is young and beautiful, only slightly inferior to Qing Qi.

"Mn, then say that Ruo Lan is the island lord’s other daughter and that if Demon King Chu is really interested, we will marry her to him." Li Kai spoke thus.

He was one of the deputy island lords and thus possessed significant authority.

"Not bad, let’s settle him first."

"Right, we definitely can’t let that noble from the star passage be dissatisfied. This is of vital importance. We must form a relationship with the Ten Great Planets!"

"This Chu Feng, we naturally must not miss either. If he has the Robbery Induction on him, he’ll be able to change everything. It’s something we need and must obtain!"

"There’s no mistaking it. Two days ago, Huang Cheng and Wei Lan of the Xilin clan died in battle. Chu Feng killed the two visualization realm experts as a carefree realm entity. This must be related to the breathing technique. How otherwise can he be so strong? He’s almost shoulder to shoulder with those descendants from the peerless clans!"

Outside of the island, Chu Feng unexpectedly received news that the island lord admired him a lot and was told that the latter had another pampered daughter at an age suitable for marriage whom he wants to betroth to Chu Feng.

Chu Feng’s expression turned odd. He was just saying it casually. How could the people of Fang Zhang take it so seriously and solemnly? There was definitely something fishy about this!

However, the characters on the island received news at different times and their reactions were also different.

An extremely beautiful maid came over and said with great arrogance, "Chu Feng right? Let me persuade you to give up. How can our family’s Princess Qing Qi fancy you? Leave quickly and don’t disturb other people’s wedding!" She spoke with great revulsion.

Chu Feng really had no other notion, but after was being disrespected like so he retorted with a sidelong glance, "Didn’t your Fangzhang invite me here saying your princess fancies me? How come you’ve made an about-face this time?"

"Don’t spout nonsense. Our family’s Princess Qing Qi already has someone she likes." The maid scolded frantically."

Very soon, some other people appeared on the island and a young man among them said with a smile, "Chu Feng, right? My family’s master has taken a liking to Princess Qing Qi. There’s nothing for you here, so scram!"

This was an absolute and undisguised provocation, spoken with intense enmity.

Chu Feng’s expression turned dark. How could there be something like this? This originally had nothing to do with him, but he was angered after being treated with such hostility.

"Who’s your master?!" he asked.

The young man provoked once again, "My master is unspeakably noble and hails from the top-ten planets. You have no right to know, so go back to whence you came and stop thinking you’re all that. Compared to the Ten Greats, you’re just a savage native!"

"Go, slaughter him," Chu Feng instructed Zhan He, Li Feng and Zi Luan.

The three moved out and charged into the island in formation.

Boom!

A blinding light surged and domain runes flickered as the three were pushed back. The defenses of Fangzhang Island were indeed extraordinary.

"Yes, let me tell you. My master decided to interfere precisely because he knew Fangzhang hopes to marry their daughter to you. What can you do?" This young man sent this message secretly and seemed fairly delighted in his provocations.

Apparently, he was trying to provoke Chu Feng to enter the island.

"A mere servant like you dares to speak to me in this manner!?" Chu Feng’s expression was cold.

"Who says I’m a servant? I’m also a saint child of a certain planet!" The young man felt humiliated and was furious. "My master comes from the Ten Greats and naturally he is worthy of that title. But how dare you humiliate me?!"

"Humiliate? I’ll even slap you to death." Chu Feng took action. He knew the other party was well-prepared—there was likely a hidden trump card and they were just trying to provoke him into entering the danger zone. But he didn’t care because he was capable of both attacking and retreating after reaching such a level.

Boom!

As expected, the place was fairly extraordinary. Five flags rose from the ground, all of them were lustrously black and made of profound magnet. One of them was even a divine magnet.

Every small flag was only a meter long, but now they were moving continuously with countless runes which covered the entire area. Moreover, they soon hid themselves and formed a killing zone.

"The reverse five elements flag?" Chu Feng was astonished. This was an unconventional domain that could oppose the Seal of Domain Suppression. It was definitely prepared for him specifically.

One has to know that the other party was merely a servant and it was easy to look down on him. But in the end, he had taken out such a killing weapon.

Bang bang bang!

Chu Feng moved while holding a broken bronze seal and blocked the attacks of numerous beams of profound black light.

Sizzle...

At the same time, he shot out the tattered painting scroll to protect himself and resist the reverse five elements domain.

Immediately, hundreds of profound beams shot out to annihilate him on the spot.

Chu Feng’s expression was solemn. Was this the foundation of the Ten Greats? They even possessed such powerful killer weapon. How did they bring it over?

"The power of the Ten Greats isn’t something you can imagine. Die!" The young man sneered. He was no longer careless but had grown serious. He shot out an array of magnetic crystals to bolster the Reverse Five Elements Domain.

Chu Feng used the tattered painting scroll to protect himself and open the way with the broken bronze seal. He wanted to kill his way out. He clearly felt that the air around this place was in chaos and it was becoming increasingly dangerous.

He stared fixedly at the Reverse Five Elements Flag with his Fiery Eyes and began to decipher them rapidly.

Not only had he been evolving rapidly in the recent days, his domain attainments had also upgraded. Comparatively, his gift in the field of domains was almost extreme.

Normally, domain research was ten times more difficult than evolution, but he was able to forge ahead. This was a clear indication of how terrifying a level he had reached. Otherwise, how could the energy pagoda on the moon sigh in admiration? How could he shake such an inheritance pagoda?

Recently, Chu Feng had clearly noticed that his domain attainments had advanced and that he had reached the master level. This was the reason why he dared to enter the island.

Now, he was observing with his Fiery Eyes and finally found the exit.

Boom!

Chu Feng charged out directly and smashed forth with the bronze seal. The earth split apart and the five black flags appeared. With a wave of his painting scroll and several swooshing sounds, the flags had fallen into the painting and changed owners.

Bang!

Chu Feng kicked the startled young man out of the island and caused him to cough up large mouthfuls of blood. He then stepped out and kicked him again. Great waves rose to the sky as the man was sent flying into the air. In the end, he fell onto the big ship, drenched in blood.

"The Ten Greats is it? Say again?!" Chu Feng said coldly while looking down at the man with a foot on his chest.

Beside him, Saintess Zi Luan was shocked out of her wits. She had grown even more fearful of this Demon King Chu before her.

Yuan Mo also wore a complicated expression because he felt that his demon king was incredibly powerful.

...

[1] The ji (Chinese: 戟) was a Chinese polearm used in one form or another for over 3000 years, from at least as early as the Shang dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty. They are still used for training purposes in many Chinese martial arts. The ji was initially a hybrid between a spear and a dagger-axe. It was a relatively common infantry weapon in Ancient China, and was also used by cavalry and charioteers.

[2] Jiaolong (simplified Chinese: 蛟龙; traditional Chinese: 蛟龍; pinyin: jiāolóng; Wade–Giles: chiao-lung) or jiao is a polysemous aquatic dragon in Chinese mythology. Edward H. Schafer describes the jiao: Spiritually akin to the crocodile, and perhaps originally the same reptile, was a mysterious creature capable of many forms called the chiao (kău). Most often it was regarded as a kind of lung – a "dragon" as we say. But sometimes it was manlike, and sometimes it was merely a fish. All of its realizations were interchangeable. (1967:217-8)