"A barrier technique?"
When those words left Leng Wuzui's mouth, it wasn't just the Cold Family Ancestor who was stunned—even Chu Feng was deeply surprised.
A barrier technique was the means of a Spirit World Master. If the strange wall before them truly was a barrier technique, it meant there was a Spirit World Master helping them at this very moment.
"Thump!" Suddenly, Leng Wuzui dropped to his knees and began kowtowing relentlessly.
Between heavy, forceful bows to the ground, he pleaded, "Master, Wuzui knows his mistake! Please give Wuzui one more chance. He will never dare do it again!"
Leng Wuzui's actions left everyone at a loss. Just then, the ancient voice spoke once more: "Knowing you shouldn't do something, yet doing it anyway... You truly do not hold me in any regard."
A figure materialized outside the barrier like a phantom—completely soundless, as if he had been standing there from the very beginning, yet no one had noticed him.
Upon seeing this person, Chu Feng and the others were shocked. Because they all recognized him—whether it was Chu Feng, Su Rou, or even Leng Wuzui.
The long white robe was covered in runes, enveloping his entire body, revealing only a pair of deep, profound eyes. This was the Azure Dragon Sect's guest elder, Zhuge Liuyun.
"Elder Zhuge!" Su Rou was the first to speak.
"What? He's Elder Zhuge?"
Chu Feng's heart lurched with surprise, because he had recognized this man as the Spirit World Master from the tomb of the Elder of Void Flight.
Yet Chu Feng could never have imagined that this Spirit World Master would be the Azure Dragon Sect's Elder Zhuge—the very elder that even the Sect Master did not dare to offend.
"Master, I truly know my mistake! Please, give me one more chance."
Leng Wuzui continued to beg for mercy, his face filled with terror. His forehead was already bloody and bruised from the kowtowing. Because he knew this old man all too well—this man's methods were several times more ruthless than his own.
"I gave you the chance, you simply failed to seize it. If you had done as I said, I would have formally taken you as my disciple today and taught you the barrier technique."
"However, it's a pity. In the end, you could not pass my test and chose the path I did not wish for you to take."
"Actually, I gave you more than enough warnings. I told you to stop making moves against Chu Feng, but you were foolish. Until the moment I revealed myself, you never even considered that the person secretly protecting Chu Feng was me."
As he spoke, Elder Zhuge's palm clenched slightly, and the barrier sealing Leng Wuzui began to contract at an accelerated pace.
Facing this situation, the Cold Family Ancestor began to desperately launch attacks, yet they remained utterly ineffective.
Seeing that Zhuge Liuyun was determined to take his life, Leng Wuzui stopped begging. Instead, he stood up, pointed at Zhuge Liuyun, and began to curse loudly: "Zhuge Liuyun! I, Leng Wuzui, have followed you for three whole years! I served you loyally, without complaint! And now you would kill me for the sake of some brat!"
"Have you no heart at all? You're worse than a beast! You're a cold-blooded monster!!!"
However, no matter how Leng Wuzui hurled insults, Zhuge Liuyun's expression did not waver in the slightest.
Not until the barrier had crushed the two figures into two streams of bloody water did he wave his sleeve, summoning the blood-filled barrier to hover before him.
Then, a bizarre scene unfolded: the barrier containing the remains of Leng Wuzui and the Cold Family Ancestor merged directly into Zhuge Liuyun's body.