"Strange. Who could have built a palace in a place like this?"
"This is forbidden territory. Has someone really been living here for years? Or is this just a temporary resting spot?!"
"But the elders of the various sects aren't supposed to venture this deep. This is already the inner reaches of the Hundred Winding Gorge — logically, no one should be here." Staring at the exquisite palace perched on the distant mountain peak, Chu Feng kept guessing.
To satisfy his curiosity, he hid among the clouds, extended his mental power to its absolute limit, and crept forward cautiously, determined to investigate.
"This is..."
Before he even drew close to the peak, Chu Feng's pupils contracted sharply, and the curiosity on his face was instantly replaced by shock.
"Such a powerful hidden barrier! The force of this barrier is far beyond my own grey-level barrier."
Just outside the mountain peak, Chu Feng had discovered a hidden barrier formation — a trap-type ward that wouldn't harm anyone who triggered it, but would alert its creator.
That meant one thing: the owner here was very likely a Spirit World Master. More importantly, Chu Feng could feel that the barrier force here far surpassed his own, which meant the Spirit World Master who laid this barrier was probably no ordinary grey-robed Spirit World Master, but rather a...
"It's a blue barrier. The owner here is definitely a blue-robed Spirit World Master," Eggy answered for Chu Feng.
"A blue-robed Spirit World Master? How would someone like that end up here?" Chu Feng was stunned.
In all of Qingzhou, the strongest Spirit World Masters were grey-robed, and there were only two of them. For a blue-robed Spirit World Master to appear here was absolutely astonishing. Just how powerful would a blue-robed Spirit World Master be? That was the kind of figure who would be considered a big shot even in the Spirit World Master Guild.
"Chu Feng, run! The owner here is someone you can't afford to cross. Hurry — retreat now!" Eggy's voice grew increasingly tense.
Seeing that, Chu Feng didn't dare hesitate. He spun around and fled at full speed. It was only after Eggy explained things later that Chu Feng understood why she had been so nervous — the power of a blue-robed Spirit World Master far exceeded what he had imagined.
A blue-robed Spirit World Master, never mind their mental power, commanded barrier techniques that dwarfed those of grey-robed Spirit World Masters. In terms of martial cultivation, the requirements were equally strict. According to Eggy, wielding blue barrier force required at least a Heaven Martial realm expert.
That meant inside this palace, there wasn't just a blue-robed Spirit World Master — there was also a Heaven Martial realm powerhouse. Heaven Martial realm — that was the strongest realm on the entire Nine Provinces Continent. How could a person of that caliber be hiding here in Qingzhou's Hundred Winding Gorge?
Chu Feng couldn't make sense of it all, but he knew one thing for certain: there was a supreme expert in this gorge, and that expert was someone he absolutely could not offend, because he truly didn't stand a chance.
Facing a peak Xuan Martial expert, even if Chu Feng couldn't win, he could still use the Void Flight Technique to escape. But in front of a Heaven Martial realm powerhouse, he wouldn't even get the chance to run.
After putting plenty of distance between himself and the peak, Chu Feng stopped using the Void Flight Technique. The clouds in the sky were limited, and he couldn't keep hiding among them indefinitely. If someone spotted him, it would cause an uproar.
Besides, the Hundred Winding Gorge was brimming with Spirit Herbs and Yuan Medicines — even Mystic Medicines were to be found here. Although Chu Feng hadn't managed to kill Gong Luyun, he certainly wasn't going to leave empty-handed.
The Hero Hunt had a set time limit — eighteen days. Those eighteen days didn't start counting from when they entered the deep parts of the gorge, but from the very day the gorge opened. So in truth, they only had fifteen days.
These fifteen days, Chu Feng intended to go on a killing spree. He wanted to see just how rich the resources in this gorge truly were. On top of that, it was said that many demon beasts lurked within the Hundred Winding Gorge, and Chu Feng wouldn't mind crossing swords with those legendary creatures.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Deep in a valley of the Hundred Winding Gorge, thick trees blanketed the ground. Here, the foliage was especially lush, and vines grew everywhere, blotting out the sky and making passage extremely difficult.
Yet through this very terrain, a figure moved as if unburdened, leaping between tree trunks and vines like a nimble monkey, soaring through mid-air at breathtaking speed. One could only catch a blur of his silhouette — his face was impossible to make out.
That figure was none other than Chu Feng. Ten days had passed since the start of the Hero Hunt, and thanks to his abilities as a grey-robed Spirit World Master, Chu Feng had been like a fish in water throughout the gorge, reaping enormous rewards.
During these days, he drank spring water when thirsty and ate roasted meat when hungry. He didn't bother with ordinary Spirit Herbs — only Yuan Medicines were worth stopping for. In ten days, he had even harvested several dozen Mystic Medicines, treasures that most people could only dream of.
They were only low-grade and mid-grade Mystic Medicines, but even these were far beyond what ordinary people could gather. These Mystic Medicines had long since developed spiritual awareness, making them extraordinarily difficult to capture. Only Chu Feng, as a grey-robed Spirit World Master, could harvest them so effortlessly — spotting one meant catching it, with no escapees.
"One high-grade Mystic Medicine, one ninth-level Yuan Martial demon beast, and one first-level Xuan Martial human. Looks like someone struck first."
As Chu Feng sprinted through the jungle, he murmured to himself. He was tracking a high-grade Mystic Medicine, but with his keen mental power, he could detect that the area where it was located held far more than just the Mystic Medicine — there were also demon beasts and a human presence.
Tap.
Passing through layer upon layer of trees, Chu Feng finally landed on a thick branch and gazed downward, taking in the entire scene below.
Several dozen meters away, a fierce battle was raging. Countless sturdy trees had been cleaved in half, and the flower-strewn ground had long since been blasted into a devastated wasteland of craters and destruction.
A blood-eyed giant bear demon beast stretching ten meters in length and a two-meter-tall monster shaped like a human but covered in vines were both launching ferocious assaults on a young man.
The young man was a first-level Xuan Martial expert. The giant bear and the vine monster were only at the ninth level of Yuan Martial, but under their combined assault, the young man was being driven back steadily and looked as though he might collapse at any moment.
"So that's the true form of the high-grade Mystic Medicine. Impressive — it's teamed up with a demon beast to attack a human. And both of them are combat-capable at the first-level Xuan Martial standard. No wonder that pockmarked guy is struggling."
Wood splinters rained down around Chu Feng like a storm, yet not a single one touched him. He observed everything, waiting for the pockmarked man to cry out for help before he made his move. He was determined to secure that high-grade Mystic Medicine.
But the pockmarked man had discovered it first. Unless the man voluntarily gave up the Mystic Medicine, if Chu Feng helped him deal with the demon beast and the medicine only for the man to refuse to hand it over, it was bound to cause friction. After everything he had been through recently, Chu Feng had begun to temper his nature — he didn't want to make enemies so easily anymore. What he needed were friends.