An Old Friend Awakens

Chapter 8: An Old Friend Awakens

Back at the crater, a man lay unconscious amidst a field of dry bones and withered trees.

As time passed, the man's face contorted into several ugly forms due to the nightmare he had fallen into when the strange sphere began to buzz.

Yun Feng had fallen into a land covered with mountains of bones and countless lifeforms. The sea surrounding it was a deep shade of red, constantly emitting the putrid stench of blood. He couldn't help but break into a cold sweat as he quickly observed his surroundings. The aura of slaughter and similar lingering killing intent made it the worst feeling he had ever experienced.

This place had no sun or moon, but a crimson red light poured over it, making everything appear eerie and unsettling. From the red soil to the red sea surrounding the island, to the ever-present aura of death in the atmosphere, it was as if the entire atmosphere was built to please death.

Then, there were some 'others' present.

The monstrosities that walked this land were as red as burning lava and had distinct features that made it hard to call them humans. Undoubtedly, these creatures were at least three times taller than Yun Feng, with crimson eyes that glowed, especially since it was being enhanced by the red blood River. The closest creature standing tight in front had four hands with biceps as big as Yun Feng's head, and every arm held one weapon - a big wooden cudgel, an axe, and finally, a massive hammer.

~tcccch~~

Suddenly, one of the monstrosities stopped some twenty yards from Yun Feng and locked eyes with him, sending waves of chill down his spine.

The feeling he got from that stare was not pleasant at all. It felt like several thousand ghosts were pressing down on him, the pressure became so unbearable that all seven orifices of Yun Feng began to bleed as he fell down on his knees in agony..

soon his bones gradually began to break under the sheer force the stare was exerting on him,, Yun Feng was reminded of how much of a weakling he truly was , he was so sure this creature could easily kill ten thousand full powered elder Duanmu with just a flick of his finger if he wanted to all, in the face of such power there was no room for tricks or any way of excape even death was a luxury that only that monster could afford him now.

luckily for him as the pressure persisted hus body reached the height of his pain threshold and he passed out, no he was jolted awake.

"thank God it was just a dream" Yun Feng sighed in relief loking at the familiar moon above him, and feeling the dry sand behind his back.

Although these things happened for only a moment, Yun Feng was totally shaken. Why would that creature be able to make him feel so insignificant and weak with just one look? Even now, his back was drenched with cold sweat, and his eyes were still trembling with trepidation.

[Greetings, Master!!]

Suddenly, a cold metallic female voice reached his ears, dragging him out of his temporary shock.

"Zenki!¹ Is that you?" Yun Feng found it hard to believe his ears and could only seek confirmation.

[Yez, Master, it is I.]

"Thank the gods you are here. Wait, how are you here? Shouldn't you have been destroyed along with my old body?" Yun Feng's excitement was off the charts, but soon was replaced with confusion.

.

[I should be, after all According to records gathered from the notes of researchers, preachers, and clairvoyants from the old worlds, there are speculations that after death, one would be sent to another life - a reincarnation. This should have turned the host into someone else with no attachment from the past or memory meaning there shouldn't be me too. However, it is clear you still remember everything clearly due to some unknown irregularities. Hence, my presence is likely due to the anomaly in these predictions... You.]

"I see." Yun Feng had a look of realization and relief. Since he reincarnated into this world, there wasn't anyone who could provide him with greater assistance than the 'Mechanized Organism designed for enhancing the quality of its host' Zenki he created back on earth.

Living this new life without Zenki helping him was frustrating and time-consuming since he had relied heavily on it in his past life. Now that Zenki was awake, he couldn't contain his joy.

"Wait, since you've been here all this while, how come you didn't say anything despite me spending over 30 years in this world?"

["Apologies, Master. Although I have been present in your host body since your reincarnation, my core had completely run out of energy, leaving me dormant until a sudden outburst in this place allowed me to safely restart my system. Please forgive me for taking so long, Master," Zenki said, his voice low and respectful.

"Okay, Zenki. That's all in the past now. I'm just happy you're here. Now everything is set," Yun Feng said, a slight smile on his face.

"Indeed," Zenki replied simply.

"Thank the heavens I came here, or I wouldn't have been able to get Zenki back," Yun Feng said, ecstatic as he recalled what had happened just before he passed out. But then he noticed something that made him nearly jump up with fright: a vast amount of information he hadn't come across before was now present in his mind. Judging from the depiction of martial artists and several strange patterns inscribed in his mind, he quickly concluded that this was a cultivation technique.

What was even more peculiar was that the creatures who seemed to be practicing those techniques present in his mind looked so much like the frightening figures he had witnessed in his dreams... or was it not a dream?

"How did this get into my head?!" Yun Feng was scared of those monstrosities walking in that bone island and wanted nothing to do with them, especially a cultivation technique that related to them, no matter how badly he wanted to cultivate.

"Wait! I should really get back to the girls. I'll leave it all for Zenki to figure out later on. I just need to get as far away from all this as possible," Yun Feng furrowed his eyebrows as he gathered his thoughts and prepared to stand up.

"Hey, how many hours was I asleep for?" Yun Feng asked Zenki.

"It's been 17 days and 13 hours since you passed out after touching that sphere," Zenki replied.

"What? Why didn't you tell me that earlier?! Why the hell didn't you wake me up?!" Yun Feng was alarmed by Zenki's words. The faces of two bright girls looking at him in worry surfaced in his mind. Adding to the over three days he had spent traveling all the way here, Yun Feng had been away for nearly two weeks!

"[Apologies, Master. Zenki tried, but no matter how hard I tried, you couldn't be woken up]," Zenki explained.

Zenki's words fell on deaf ears, though as Yun Feng was already preoccupied on getting out of here.

"I have to get out of here," Yun Feng sprang to his feet and sped east. His heart was in his throat, a bad premonition lingering in his mind as he moved.

He was very worried that all those wild beasts he had seen weeks back would have come out of their hibernation after being transformed by the red pillar of light from before and would most likely have brought trouble to neighboring villages.

Although the old chief and hus wife had given their word to protect the girls , they were just mortals after all, and old ones at that, they were no use against those powerful monsters he saw these past few days, and carrying two ten year Olds along while retreat would slow them down making their situation even worse.

"You girls have to be okay. You have to be," Yun Feng kept praying as he ran like a madman wanting nothing more than to appear in front of his daughters with a single stride.

In his haste and covered with worry, he didn't notice how much faster he was moving compared to before

He also didn't notice the malevolent spirits that might be lurking in the shadows and several large red eyes glowing in the darkness looking straight at him with fervent gaze as if desiring to pounce unto him any moment.