When Chu Feng came to, he found himself inside the belly of the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beast.
He didn’t see Long Daozhi with him.
Using his Heaven’s Eye to look outside, he saw Long Daozhi was unharmed.
The beast seemed to have targeted only Chu Feng, swallowing him before leaving.
Relieved that Long Daozhi was safe, Chu Feng’s own situation was dire.
Inside the beast’s stomach, he was trapped by a gas.
The gas reeked, corroding his skin, flesh, and threatening his soul.
The beast was truly treating him as food, intent on digesting him alive.
Chu Feng struggled, using every technique he knew.
But it was futile.
The beast was too powerful, leaving him no chance to resist.
As pain engulfed him, the aura of death seeped in.
He could feel himself nearing death.
Gradually, his consciousness faded.
…
“I’m not dead?” Chu Feng opened his eyes to find himself in a room.
He was dressed in new clothes.
His Qiankun Bag lay by the bedside.
Examining it, he found its contents intact, its protective array untouched, meaning no one had tampered with it.
“Was I saved?” Chu Feng looked around and saw an old woman outside the room.
She was squatting in a courtyard, simmering something in a clay pot.
Chu Feng hurried out to ask what happened.
“Young man, you’re awake. Drink this soup. It’ll help your injuries,” the old woman said, pouring soup from the pot into a bowl as he stepped out.
She had already noticed him awaken.
But what struck him wasn’t her quick perception.
The soup’s rich aroma seemed delectable, yet he could tell it contained precious medicinal herbs, ideal for healing the soul.
The old woman had infused the soup with array power to cool it, preventing it from scalding.
Through that array power, Chu Feng deduced she was a Dragon Mark Saint-cloak World Spiritist.
But her cultivation level was beyond his ability to discern.
She gave him four words: unfathomably profound.
“Thank you, Granny,” Chu Feng said, drinking the soup in one gulp.
It refreshed him, greatly easing the lingering pain in his soul.
“You must be wondering how you survived the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beast,” the old woman said. “Follow me, and I’ll give you answers.”
She walked out of the courtyard, heading deeper along a path.
Chu Feng followed, observing his surroundings closely.
This was a vast complex of palaces, numbering in the tens of thousands.
It could easily be called a city.
Yet, aside from Chu Feng, the only person here was the old woman.
Following her, he entered a grand hall.
The hall housed several memorial tablets and was filled with an ancient aura.
Its stone walls were covered in murals.
The murals depicted martial cultivators fighting a beast.
Though the cultivators’ appearances varied, the beast was consistent: the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beast.
“Senior, who are you?” Chu Feng couldn’t help but ask.
“Call me Granny, it’s more familiar,” she said with with a smile, then continued, “The world you’re in now, you’ve likely never heard of. It’s within the Heaven-Devouring Star Field, but it’s a hidden world. Cultivators of your era probably don’t know it exists. This place is called the Heaven-Devouring Beast Realm.”
“The Heaven-Devouring Beast Realm? Is this the habitat of the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beasts?” Chu Feng asked.
“Yes, this is indeed their habitat. They reside in that Flame Cliff,” the old woman said, pointing into the distance.
Using his Heaven’s Eye, Chu Feng looked where she pointed.
Far away, he saw a cliff with flames soaring skyward.
The distance was too great for even his Heaven’s Eye to see clearly, only catching a vague outline.
But even that glimpse conveyed the immense danger within the cliff.
“Granny, did you save me?” Chu Feng asked.
“No, my granddaughter saved you. She even changed your clothes,” the old woman replied.
“What?” Chu Feng felt a twinge of embarrassment.
A girl had changed his clothes?
Didn’t that mean she’d seen him entirely?
If she was beautiful, it might be fine.
But if she was unattractive, wasn’t he at a loss?
Chu Feng meant no disrespect.
He held deep gratitude toward the old woman.
Whether she saved him or not, her healing soup made her his benefactor.
But on this matter, her appearance was indeed quite unappealing.
She wasn’t just ordinarily unattractive.
Judging by her current look, she must have been exceptionally unappealing in her youth.
“Young man, what’s that expression? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of repaying my granddaughter with your hand in marriage?” the old woman teased with a sly smile.
“No, no, no. Granny, I’m just grateful, nothing more,” Chu Feng stammered, startled by the idea.
“Good, then. My granddaughter is kind-hearted but extremely unattractive. Even I, her grandmother, can’t bear to look at her. I’m sure you wouldn’t fancy her either,” she said.
Chu Feng was stunned.
The old woman’s appearance could already be described as extremely unattractive.
Yet she used those same words for her granddaughter.
Just how unattractive must she be?
Truthfully, Chu Feng was curious.
He wondered what this supposedly hideous girl looked like.
She might be the most unattractive woman he’d ever seen.
“Granny, who exactly are you?” Chu Feng asked, curiosity overwhelming him.
He was astounded that the legendary Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beast still existed.
But he was puzzled why it suddenly appeared and targeted him.
From the hall’s murals, he had guesses.
This old woman and her family were no ordinary people.
They seemed to have a deep connection with the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beasts.
From the murals, it appeared her family were their sworn enemies.
