Although the word "scheme" was clearly written all over Bai Ruochen's beautiful face, Chu Feng was a proper man — how could he be afraid of a delicate little girl like her?
So Chu Feng puffed out his chest, raised his head, and wore a relaxed smile, putting on the air of a man who knew there were tigers in the mountains yet charged straight into them. With perfect composure, he asked, "Miss Bai, may I ask what this is about?"
"That door up ahead — go open it. After you open it, you walk in front. Can you do that?" Bai Ruochen pointed toward the end of the tunnel.
Looking carefully, Chu Feng discovered that a large door had appeared at the end of the tunnel. It wasn't a barrier gate, but an ordinary wooden door. However, the wooden door had been imbued with a barrier — probing it with Mental Power, one couldn't see through it, so there was no way to know whether what lay beyond was fortune or misfortune.
At that moment, Chu Feng cursed inwardly. This girl was no pushover — she was afraid of danger, so she wanted Chu Feng to be her shield. But Chu Feng was a man after all, and it was only right and natural for a man to protect a woman. So even if Bai Ruochen hadn't asked him to walk in front, Chu Feng would have done so anyway.
"Come, come, come — stand back. Dangerous business like this is for men to handle." Chu Feng thumped his chest and strode forward. Suddenly, his figure blurred and he vanished. When he reappeared, he was already standing before the wooden door. Most importantly, the moment Chu Feng appeared, a loud bang rang out — the wooden door had been opened.
The instant the door swung open, a blinding radiance spilled forth from beyond. When the light gradually faded, Chu Feng and Bai Ruochen saw that the other side was nothing but a vast expanse of white.
It was a boundless space — no horizon, no ceiling, no ground, and no visible danger. But far off in the distance within that vast space, a single chest was floating.
It was a wooden chest — ancient, worn, as though it had endured countless ages. The wood had rotted to the point of nearly crumbling apart, yet despite its decrepit state, the chest hadn't actually broken. It simply floated there in the depths of the space, brimming with an irresistible allure.
"If I'm not mistaken, inside that chest should be the relics left behind by Senior Ouyang."
"Miss Bai, I'm afraid those relics won't be easy to retrieve. Wait here — I'll go get them for you." As Chu Feng spoke, he walked straight inside.
Whoosh! But just as Chu Feng stepped into the space, a figure darted past and landed right in front of him — it was Bai Ruochen.
"Miss Bai, you…?" Seeing that Bai Ruochen had followed him and was now standing in front of him, Chu Feng couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.
"Don't get touched — I'm simply afraid you'll run off with the relics our Yuhua Sect's founding ancestor left behind." Bai Ruochen shot him a glance.
"What a contradictory girl." At Bai Ruochen's behavior, Chu Feng curled his lips. He could tell that on one hand she was afraid of danger, but on the other hand she didn't trust him. Still, Chu Feng asked:
"You were the one who told me to open the door and walk in front. Now you've gone and walked ahead of me — so how exactly are we counting this? Is Miss Bai going back on her word? Breaking her promise?"
"I did indeed reach the ninth floor. As for why I said I only reached the sixth floor — it's because I didn't want to deal with that corpse." Bai Ruochen answered Chu Feng's question.
"Is that really so?" Chu Feng's face was full of doubt.
"Believe it or not." Bai Ruochen didn't bother explaining. With a flash of movement, she shot directly toward the wooden chest. Her speed was astonishing — she intended to reach the chest in the blink of an eye and grab it.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish! But the moment Bai Ruochen set off, the space in front of the chest rippled, and immediately, dozens of figures materialized standing before the chest.
They were humanoid figures made of light, yet they radiated powerful auras — a full fifty-six of them, all at the fifth level of Martial King. The light lances in their hands emanated power on par with royal-grade weapons.
Most importantly, the moment these fifty-six humanoid light figures appeared, they all unleashed fierce killing intent and attacked Bai Ruochen without hesitation.
Moreover, their method of attack was far from ordinary. It wasn't a blind assault — their strikes were interwoven in a coordinated pattern, working in perfect concert like a grand formation. They swarmed Bai Ruochen from all sides, and given how close they were and how swift their onslaught, the two sides were locked in battle in the blink of an eye.
Don't let the fact that these humanoid light figures were lifeless, like killing machines, fool you — their combat power was nothing to scoff at. They were far more than ordinary fifth-level Martial Kings. If it had been just one or two, that would have been one thing, but facing a savage onslaught from a full fifty-six of them, even Bai Ruochen showed a hint of alarm. She quickly drew her Platinum Dragon Serpent Whip and launched a counterattack.
"Miss Bai, need a hand?" Seeing this, Chu Feng wore a mischievous grin but didn't rush to join the fight.
"Help or don't — I don't care." But to his surprise, Bai Ruochen was incredibly stubborn. Not only did she refuse to ask for Chu Feng's help, she shot him a fierce glare. Yet from her words, it was clear that she actually did want him to help.
Truth be told, with Bai Ruochen's strength, she could certainly deal with these humanoid light figures if she went all out. But clearly, she didn't want to expend too much of her power and techniques on these light figures.
"You really don't know how to talk, girl. But for your father's sake, I'll help you out." Chu Feng chuckled, drew his Demon Sealing Sword, and plunged into the fray.
Chu Feng had never intended to stand by from the start. His earlier behavior was simply to tease this beautiful yet taciturn young girl.
After all, at her age, life should have been bright and full of sunshine. But on Bai Ruochen, none of that was visible. Chu Feng felt sorry for her and simply wanted to draw out her hidden potential.
Still, everyone had their own way, and personality was something that couldn't be forced. So Chu Feng decided to act decisively. Once he made his move, he was like an unstoppable god of war, tearing through everything in the battlefield.
At that moment, Bai Ruochen's pressure immediately eased. Though the two fought independently with zero coordination, they quickly cut down every last humanoid light figure.
"What did you just say? My father — who is my father?" After clearing out the humanoid light figures, Bai Ruochen spoke up.
"The Yuhua Sect Master — Senior Zhou. Isn't he your father?" Chu Feng said.
"Listen carefully — he is NOT my father. If you dare make up false relationships like that again, don't blame me for being harsh." Bai Ruochen's gaze sharpened as she corrected him with utmost gravity. As she spoke, a thick killing intent welled up in her eyes.
At that moment, Chu Feng was stunned. Though he knew that Bai Ruochen was definitely not the Yuhua Sect Master's biological daughter, her mother had remarried the Yuhua Sect Master. By all rights, Bai Ruochen should have called him father.
Yet not only did she not do so, she flatly denied the relationship — and with such a hostile attitude at that. This made Chu Feng grow suspicious, and he thought to himself, "Something's not right about Bai Ruochen's reaction."