Hearing those words, the expressions of all eight elders darkened further, but none dared to speak. Helplessly, the remaining seven all turned their gazes toward Elder Xue.
At that moment, the corner of Elder Xue's mouth twitched twice, but ultimately he steeled himself and said in a humble tone, "My Lord, we were ordered by the President to guard this place. Now that someone has breached the forbidden zone, we cannot simply turn a blind eye…"
"There's no need to say more. Leave this matter to me. You will stay here and act as if nothing happened."
"Remember — if anyone dares interfere, I will not be merciful." From within the purple aura, that cold and merciless voice rang out once more.
Whoosh—
The moment those words fell, the purple aura streaked out from the ancient tower and vanished into the distance, heading straight toward the ancient ruins.
"What do we do?" The old woman turned to look at the remaining seven elders.
"Let it go. Even the President has to tread carefully around it — we certainly can't afford to provoke it."
Even Elder Xue, who was known for his fiery temper, now closed his eyes. He was unwilling but dared do nothing. His pride had taken a blow, and all he could do was shut his eyes and compose himself.
"Elder Xue, look quickly!" Suddenly, one of the elders pointed at the formation and cried out in alarm.
"Have you forgotten your status as an elder of the Green Wood Holy Society? Can't you stay calm when something happens? What's with all the shouting — have you lost all decorum?" Elder Xue snapped, having been startled awake. His expression was none too pleased, but he still turned to look at the formation.
"Heavens — how is this possible?!!" And when he saw the formation, a look of utter shock spread across his aged face.
At that moment, the flickering figure on the formation had already vanished — as if it had never existed at all, disappearing completely and utterly.
Yet they all knew just how formidable that formation was. Once triggered, every movement of the target would be inscribed within it. Disappearing from it should have been impossible.
And yet the target had vanished. That meant this was no ordinary individual. At the very least, no disciple of the Nine Powers could have neutralized this formation.
"He's neutralized the tracking formation — this is absolutely not something a disciple could accomplish. That person is definitely not a disciple participating in the Nine Powers' hunt. A true expert has breached the forbidden zone. Elder Xue, what do we do?" The elders present were all in a panic.
Despite the many things they had experienced — and despite being elders of the Green Wood Holy Society, who should have maintained the composure of one who would not flinch when Mount Tai crumbled before them, nor waver when the Yellow River burst its banks — this matter was simply too critical. They truly could not remain calm, unhurried, and detached.
"You all stay and hold this position. I will return to the Society to report to the President." As Elder Xue spoke, he rose to his feet.
"But that being told us not to interfere…" The other seven elders were worried.
"Which is worse — offending it, or offending the President? Don't you understand that?"
By the time his words reached their ears, Elder Xue had already shot off into the sky, covering a thousand miles in the blink of an eye.
The faster he flew, the more unsettled his mind was…
---
Within the ancient ruins, Chu Feng suddenly opened his eyes. Using his extraordinary barrier technique, he had already dismantled the tracking formation within his body. The people of the Green Wood Holy Society could no longer sense his movements.
But Chu Feng did not feel happy about this. Instead, his brows furrowed tightly as his cautious gaze swept across his surroundings.
Several miles away, through the misty haze, pairs of red lights had appeared — each one the size of lanterns. They were ancient creatures.
"I deliberately suppressed my aura, yet you still caught my scent. It seems I underestimated you."
"Since there's no time to flee, then let me see what these ancient creatures are truly capable of." Chu Feng's gaze turned sharp and cold.
He had long known that ancient creatures roamed these surroundings, but the area where he currently stood was not their nesting ground. He had believed that as long as he concealed his aura, even if he lingered here for a short while, they would not detect him.
But now it was clear that Chu Feng had been wrong. These ancient creatures possessed an incredibly keen sense of smell — even more formidable than Mental Power. No matter how refined his concealment techniques were, they still could not escape detection.
Now, Chu Feng had no choice but to face them head-on. Fortunately, although these ancient creatures were not weak, they were only at the First-rank Half-Emperor level. With his current mastery of barrier techniques, that was a level he could handle.
"Awoooo~~~~"
Low growls began to sound in succession, and as the creatures drew closer, Chu Feng finally caught sight of their full forms.
They stood over three meters tall and measured more than ten meters in length — larger than full-grown elephants. Yet compared to demon beasts of the same rank, this size was not particularly imposing.
Though their bodies were not especially large, their appearance was highly unusual. They looked very much like grey wolves, yet they had no fur whatsoever — instead, their entire bodies were covered in scales.
Moreover, they had no eyes and no noses on their heads. All they possessed was a gaping maw filled with razor-sharp fangs.