"Young friend Chu Feng, right now the only person in the entire Martial Continent who can deal with the Master of the Dark Hall is the Moon Immortal. If even she falls, then no one will be able to restrain him. The whole Martial Continent — apart from inside this Gate of Illusions — will have no place left untouched."
"Unless the Master of the Dark Hall leaves of his own accord, we absolutely cannot step outside the Gate of Illusions. Surely you understand this — so why are you still trying to go out? What exactly are you planning to do?" Tongtian Immortal asked, thoroughly puzzled.
"I have a senior who is still standing guard at the Eastern Sea's Heavenly Road exit. I cannot leave him trapped in a snare without lifting a finger." Naturally, Chu Feng had not forgotten about Compass Immortal, who had gone to the Eastern Sea's Heavenly Road entrance and was keeping watch there, waiting for a spatial rift to appear.
"So that's how it is." At these words, a flicker passed through Tongtian Immortal's eyes. He was still wavering — still debating whether or not to let Chu Feng leave.
Whoosh—
But just then, a streak of golden light suddenly appeared in the distance. In the blink of an eye, it arrived right in front of Chu Feng.
The moment he saw that golden light, Chu Feng's eyes lit up — for it was a Golden Flash Bird, and it was circling around him at that very moment.
That meant the Golden Flash Bird had come looking for Chu Feng.
Upon seeing it, Chu Feng's gaze immediately brightened with joy. By this point, virtually everyone connected to him who owned one of these precious messenger birds had already retreated inside the Gate of Illusions.
But there was still one person who held a Golden Flash Bird that Chu Feng had marked — and that was Compass Immortal.
Chu Feng reached out and took the Golden Flash Bird. The instant his finger touched its forehead, a stream of information flooded into his mind.
"Young friend Chu Feng — the spatial rift to the Eastern Sea has appeared. Come quickly!"
Once that message had fully poured into his mind, a brilliant smile bloomed across Chu Feng's face.
It really was from Compass Immortal. Compass Immortal had managed to wait until the spatial rift opened — but what Chu Feng had not anticipated was that the rift would appear at precisely this critical moment.
As long as the spatial rift existed, Chu Feng now had a path back to the Eastern Sea. He could return to the Nine Provinces Continent and unlock the Emperor's Tomb and the secrets that Qing Xuantian had left behind.
"Heaven itself is lending me a hand." Even Chu Feng — who had never been one to put his faith in the heavens — could not help but sigh with gratitude toward the sky.
He had already accepted that, facing the Master of the Dark Hall, their only option was to sit and wait for doom, pinning every shred of hope on the Moon Immortal.
If the Moon Immortal could defeat the Master of the Dark Hall — well and good. If she could not, then as Tongtian Immortal had said, all of them would have to remain inside the Gate of Illusions for a very long time, making their lives here until the Master of the Dark Hall had exterminated every living soul in the Martial Continent and chosen to leave — only then could they set foot in the outside world again.
But now, with the spatial rift open, Chu Feng had been given a second road. A second chance.
Setting aside for the moment whether he could actually obtain anything from the Emperor's Tomb that Qing Xuantian had left behind — simply opening it would be enough. Once the tomb was unsealed, Chu Feng could awaken the four great Sacred Beasts: the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, Bai Hu, and Xuan Martial.
If he could find them physical bodies, they would be restored to the Sacred Beasts of old.
And when Qing Xuantian had defeated the Lava Emperor, those four Sacred Beasts had played an indispensable role.
What realm their cultivation had truly reached remained an unknown. Not even the Half-Ancestor realm was beyond the bounds of possibility — after all, Qing Xuantian himself had already been that formidable.