Chapter 272: A Startling Change
"Anomalies likely exist outside ancient sect ruins as well."
Li Fan made the most reasonable inference.
"Throughout the Xuanhuang Realm, there have been scattered incidents of anomalous attacks on people."
"The human-faced fruits, Heart Monkeys, and Intent Horses may all be products of these anomalies."
Judging by the Heavenly Secrets Hall's behavior, it seemed that anomalies were kept under strict surveillance at all times.
Presumably, the same was true for the Five Elders Association.
...
Li Fan thought for a moment, shaking his head inwardly, "It's good to know about this, but it's not my concern as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"Compared to anomalies, the powerful figures of the Xuanhuang Realm are even more frightening."
The association of the Intent Horse to the possible existence of anomalies in the Xuanhuang Realm was just a minor incident.
Soon, Li Fan put it behind him.
Following Zhang Zhiliang's instructions, while cultivating quietly in the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan absorbed the power of the Intent Horse, strengthening his own soul.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
At the bottom of the Cong Yun Sea, Ye Feipeng, who had been sleeping all this time, finally began to slowly awaken.
A loud and distant whale cry echoed from the depths of the sea.
It continuously spread to the surrounding sea areas.
Countless marine creatures, upon hearing this sound, trembled as if they had encountered a natural enemy, shivering and unable to move, instantly losing their resistance.
Above Ye Feipeng's head, the phantom of a whale monster appeared along with the sound.
The monster opened its huge mouth, as if starving for a long time, and suddenly sucked in.
A huge vortex was thus created.
The surging seawater, along with countless unfortunate marine creatures, was swallowed into the monster's mouth.
After a long time like this, the whale finally felt full after swallowing a vast amount of seawater.
Letting out a satisfied high-pitched cry, it raised its huge tail high and suddenly slapped downwards.
The giant whale then re-entered Ye Feipeng's body.
After that, Ye Feipeng's eyes twitched slightly, gradually waking up.
First, he froze in place, looking around at the environment he was in, feeling a bit bewildered.
Gradually, scenes flashed in his mind one after another.
He gradually became aware of what had happened to him before he fell into a coma and during the coma.
Subconsciously, Ye Feipeng touched his belly and muttered to himself, "I'm truly a fortuitous man with a heavenly destiny. Not only did I survive a great calamity, but I also awakened the bloodline of the ancient beast Kun Peng."
His gaze flashed, looking towards a huge rock not far away on the seabed.
With a slight movement, he appeared next to the huge rock in an instant.
Without mobilizing the spiritual power within his body, relying solely on the strength of his physical body, he casually threw out a punch.
"Boom!"
Cracks appeared on the giant rock, and after a moment, the rock shattered.
"The power of Kun, the speed of Peng..."
Ye Feipeng stared at his own fist in amazement, seemingly unable to believe it.
"The power of the ancient beast is truly terrifying. Now, with just the power I can erupt from my own body, I should be able to compete evenly with my past self before my coma..."
Immediately after, Ye Feipeng frowned, "But I am a direct descendant of the Ye family. How could there be this so-called power of ancient beasts within my body?"
"Could it be that my family's ancestors were not human?"
Even though the power hidden within this bloodline brought him unspeakable benefits, Ye Feipeng found it difficult to accept for a while.
A hint of blue light suddenly appeared in his eyes as Ye Feipeng examined some vague memories that came along with the power of the bloodline.
"Rescuing a severely injured Kun Peng and escaping..."
"So that's how it is."
After a long time, Ye Feipeng breathed a sigh of relief.
According to the memories passed down by the bloodline, many, many years ago, his ancestors had coincidentally saved a severely injured Kun Peng.
At that time, for some reason, all the demonic beasts in the world were fleeing in panic.
Out of kindness, his ancestors concealed the Kun Peng from everyone and chose to take good care of it.
After the Kun Peng recovered from its injuries, before leaving, it gave a drop of Kun Peng Essence Blood to his ancestors as a token of gratitude.
"No wonder most of my family ancestors were robust and powerful, endowed with immense strength. It turns out to be the effect of this Kun Peng Essence Blood."
"Unfortunately, they were only passively borrowing the power of the blood essence. They failed to truly tap into its potential."
"Finally, with the help of the Canghai Pearl, I can fully unleash its effects."
After experiencing a life-and-death calamity, Ye Feipeng became much calmer.
If he had suddenly gained such good fortune before, he would certainly have been overjoyed.
Now, he had a calm expression, testing the inheritance of the Kun Peng Essence Blood.
"At present, the inheritance I have mainly consists of three aspects."
"Kun Devouring, Peng Soaring, and Kun Peng Transformation."
"Kun Devouring can swallow all substances between heaven and earth, transforming them into nourishment to strengthen me."
"Peng Soaring allows me to soar upwards thousands of miles in an instant. Its speed is as fast as any escape technique."
"Kun Peng Transformation bestows the power of the bloodline upon my body. My human form will revert to its ancestral form, and Kun Peng will reappear."
A glint of brilliance flashed in Ye Feipeng's eyes.
With a single thought, his originally somewhat obese body swelled another round.
Behind him were two bulging masses on his back, rising high.
With the initial transformation, Ye Feipeng seemed to be in some pain.
His face twisted in agony, veins like gnarled dragons constantly roaming beneath his skin.
"Ah!"
With a furious roar, two brown feathered wings extended from behind Ye Feipeng.
At the center of his eyebrows, a soaring Kun Peng image simultaneously appeared.
The transformation consumed a tremendous amount of energy, and the fatty gasped heavily as he recovered.
After resting for a moment, he stood up proudly.
The wings on his back flickered slightly.
His figure turned into a thin line, and in the blink of an eye, Ye Feipeng appeared more than ten miles away.
It was several times faster than the speed he had always been proud of!
"Kun Peng rides the wind and swims ten thousand miles in a day."
"I can still be faster!"
Ye Feipeng's heart moved, and the Green Wind True Intent within his dantian surged instantly.
Around the brown wings, faint traces of green light appeared.
After another test, Ye Feipeng found that the Green Wind and Kun Peng transformation synergized: their combined effect was greater than the sum of its parts.
His flight speed doubled more than twice!
"Speed is strength! With my speed and the strengthened flesh enhanced by the Kun Peng Essence Blood, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn't be able to withstand my blows..."
Thinking like this, Ye Feipeng erupted with all his speed and rushed towards an underwater mountain range below.
A streak of light flashed by, and the mountains collapsed.
He stirred up turbid seawater currents.
Unsatisfied, Ye Feipeng continued his momentum and rushed towards the distance.
A deep and long trench was carved out on the seabed.
Only after his strength was exhausted did he finally stop his destructive behavior.
Opening his large mouth wide, he swallowed the surrounding seawater once again.
Not long after, Ye Feipeng became lively and energetic again.
"If I had this speed back then, I wouldn't have been caught by Zhang Zhiliang."
He sighed inwardly.
Recalling the scene back then, the fatty's complexion couldn't help but darken.
*****
T/N: a Kun Peng is basically a whale that can transform into a bird. Roughly, Kun translates to whale, and Peng translates to bird, except their corresponding Chinese mythical variants.