Hearing these words,
"Haha, don't worry. I am not as arrogant as those others. I don't mind sharing a master. However, to obtain my abilities, I must first test your courage," the Black Tortoise Shield Technique said.
"How will you test it?" Chu Feng asked.
"Go straight ahead from here. There is a stone castle. Deep within that castle, there is a sealed box. Bring that box to me, and I will pass on my abilities to you."
"Of course, getting that box won't be easy. You have five hours. If you fail, it simply means we are not fated to be together. Hahaha..."
Suddenly, the Black Tortoise Shield Technique let out an eerie laugh. As the laughter echoed, the mist surrounding Chu Feng began to dissipate. When it completely cleared, Chu Feng found himself back in the vast cavern world, though the Black Tortoise Shield Technique had vanished without a trace.
"
At that moment, Chu Feng turned his gaze in the direction indicated by the technique. There was a passage formed by rock walls, somewhat similar to the passageway leading to the Imperial Tomb beneath the Vermilion Bird Mountains.
Without hesitation, Chu Feng took out his Spirit Realm Compass and began walking forward, unable to resist the allure of the secret technique.
"Chu Feng, I think that secret technique might be deceiving you,"
"Eggy, what do you mean?" Chu Feng asked.
"I sense that this technique is cunning. It won't so easily hand over its abilities to you. Leaving aside that what it asks for might be extremely difficult to obtain, even if you do get it and bring it back, it might not acknowledge you. It could even devour you," Eggy cautioned.
"Really? What benefit would it get from using me like this?" Chu Feng was puzzled.
"It's simple. It's likely trapped here. What it wants you to retrieve might be the key to its freedom."
"You must understand, secret techniques are very proud. Unless facing a truly powerful individual, they are unwilling to submit. This leads some techniques, after leaving their first master, to choose no one else."
"Instead, they roam the world as free entities, unless they encounter a super powerhouse who forcibly subdues them. Otherwise, they won't serve anyone."
"The technique we just encountered is different from the White Tiger Attack Technique. It deliberately claimed it wasn't arrogant, which makes it seem even more suspiciously arrogant. I just don't feel it will submit to you so easily. Instead, it seems more like it's using you," Eggy explained.
"True, something that seems within easy reach often feels suspicious. But right now, I have no choice. Besides, the box it's asking me to get probably won't be simple to retrieve either." Chu Feng had already entered the massive rock passage, and before his eyes, intricate giant rune patterns appeared.
"This is actually a Demon-Subduing Rune. Are there evil spirits guarding this place too?" Even Eggy was taken aback now. Demon-Subduing Runes were used to bind evil spirits. To become an evil spirit, the weakest possessed at least the cultivation of the Heaven Martial Realm—far beyond what Chu Feng could handle.
"It seems the Black Tortoise Shield Technique has really set a difficult problem for me," Chu Feng said with a bitter laugh. He became even more cautious but did not stop advancing. Five hours was time he couldn't afford to waste.
After an hour of traveling, the rock passage grew larger, and the Demon-Subduing Runes became denser. This meant Chu Feng was getting closer to the evil spirit.
Finally, after two more hours, the runes disappeared. Before Chu Feng loomed a massive castle. Its shape resembled a humanoid skeleton, ferocious and terrifying, giving off an extremely eerie feeling.
To avoid detection, Chu Feng had to put away his Spirit Realm Compass and conceal his aura, carefully entering through an entrance that looked like a gaping mouth.
"Chu Feng, listen to me. With your current strength, encountering an evil spirit means certain death. Evil spirits command the power of barriers. Although they lack Mental Power, if they lock onto you, escape is nearly impossible."
"So, if we meet one, you must let me take control of your body. Otherwise, both of us will die. If we're devoured, not only you but even I will perish completely, consumed and refined like pure essence," Eggy warned gravely.
"Mm."
Chu Feng nodded. He had seen an evil spirit before and knew its terror. As Eggy said, it was truly something he couldn't fight. This was no time for bravado. So, when necessary...
He would let Eggy control his body, even if it burdened her greatly. As long as they survived, there would still be a way to help Eggy recover. But if they died, everything would be lost.
After making his decision, Chu Feng continued deeper into the castle. The further he went, the more uneasy he became. To his surprise, the castle had only one passage. To avoid being discovered by the evil spirit, he dared not use his Mental Power to scan.
This left Chu Feng at a disadvantage, but he had no choice but to keep moving forward. Finally, he reached the end. There, a vast hall appeared before him.
The hall's style could be summed up with one word: bizarre. Unsettling vibes seeped from every corner, as if a terrifying evil spirit could appear at any moment.
However, Chu Feng had no time to dwell on that, for his gaze was immediately drawn to a huge throne at the far end. Upon that throne sat a strange box.
The box was large and oddly shaped, resembling a coffin—but one riddled with holes and ten times larger than an ordinary coffin.
"Damn, there's a barrier on this chair." Seeing that the evil spirit was not inside the castle, Chu Feng quickly approached the enormous chair. To his dismay, he found a powerful protective barrier set around it.
"Don't panic. The barrier techniques you've mastered should be able to break it. But the evil spirit could return at any moment, so you must hurry," Eggy reminded him.
"Right, I have to take the risk." Chu Feng gritted his teeth. To obtain the secret technique, he had to brave the danger of being caught at any moment to break the barrier on the giant chair.
However, the more he worked on breaking it, the more uneasy Chu Feng felt. He kept sensing eyes watching him from behind. But when he glanced back, there was clearly nothing there.