"Why can't we save him?" Chu Feng asked, his face full of confusion.
"Isn't that obvious? He's our rival — he'll compete with us for the treasures here," Zi Ling explained.
"I won't! I won't compete with you for anything! Just save me, Chu Feng — save me, and I'll leave right away!" Jiang Wushuang begged. Facing death, this noble young man finally showed the fear within his heart.
"Don't trust him. If I'm not mistaken, he's from the Jiang Dynasty. Even if he leaves now, he'll definitely come back for revenge later," Zi Ling cut in.
"No — Chu Feng, you have to believe me! I swear I won't take revenge, and I won't tell anyone about what happened today!" Seeing that Zi Ling truly intended to leave him to die, Jiang Wushuang panicked completely.
At that moment, Chu Feng's brows furrowed tightly, his gaze sharp as a blade. His thoughts raced as he weighed a great many things.
Finally, fixing Jiang Wushuang with a stare as piercing as a hawk's, he spoke: "Jiang Wushuang, if we save you today, it will be a kindness. I trust that you are not the sort of person to bite the hand that feeds him."
Whoosh!
With that, Chu Feng pressed his palms together once more, and another chain of barrier energy shot out from the massive barrier array before him, wrapping around Jiang Wushuang's body a second time.
This time, Zi Ling's eyes flickered, and the look she directed at Chu Feng was laced with resentment. But she did not move to stop him again — she simply watched in silence.
In the end, Chu Feng succeeded in pulling Jiang Wushuang free. True to his word, Jiang Wushuang did not attack either of them. However, once he was rescued, the humility he had shown earlier faded away, replaced by his usual arrogant bearing. That said, it was still plain to see that he felt genuinely grateful to Chu Feng.
"Chu Feng, I, Jiang Wushuang, will remember this kindness. When the chance comes, I will repay you."
"However, I would advise you — this is not a place you or I should be exploring. You should leave with me." Jiang Wushuang said to Chu Feng.
"I appreciate the concern, but since I'm here, I, Chu Feng, will not leave empty-handed. Go, and I hope you'll keep your word — don't tell anyone about today," Chu Feng replied.
"Rest easy. I, Jiang Wushuang, always keep my promises. Since you won't heed my advice and insist on pressing forward, then take this. It may prove useful to you."
Seeing that Chu Feng would not be dissuaded, Jiang Wushuang stopped trying. Instead, he produced a rolled-up sheet of sheepskin parchment from his Universe Bag and handed it to Chu Feng. Then he turned and walked back the way he had come.
Only after watching Jiang Wushuang disappear from sight did Chu Feng unroll the parchment. He found that it was a map — though not a complete one.
The map showed the entrances to this underground palace, the locations of certain traps, and methods for disarming them. But it did not include every mechanism. The mud pit they had just encountered, the illusion array from before — none of that was marked, which explained why Jiang Wushuang had fallen victim to it.
"This map is nice to have, but we'll still have to rely on ourselves," Zi Ling said, walking over to take a look. Then she began setting up a barrier formation on the ground. When it was complete, the formation transformed into a streak of rainbow light that coalesced into a bridge spanning the mud pit and connecting to the other side.
"There's a suction force inside this pit. Trying to fly over it would only pull you in. Better to be cautious," she said. Zi Ling stepped onto the rainbow bridge first — having been careless once already, she was not about to make the same mistake again.
After that, Chu Feng and Zi Ling pressed onward, breaking through trap after trap. Eventually they noticed something: the mechanisms recorded on the map were quite ancient, clearly dating back a very long time.
These traps had the ability to self-repair a short while after being disabled — a remarkably sophisticated technique. Without the map, even someone as capable as Zi Ling would have had tremendous difficulty breaking through them, and might not have succeeded at all.
At the same time, there were many traps that bore no record on the map — like the illusion array they had encountered earlier. These mechanisms appeared to have been set up more recently. While still clever, they were not nearly as refined as the ones described on the map.
This pointed to one conclusion: two different people had laid traps here in two different eras. Moreover, if there truly were treasures here, it seemed excessive to have erected so many layers of defense.
If anything, these mechanisms seemed less like deterrents against intruders and more like tests for them. The deeper they went, the harder the traps became — yet none of them were truly impossible to overcome.
Most importantly, while many of the mechanisms were lethal, they also left a sliver of a chance at survival. The mud pit was a perfect example — if it had been some other kind of trap, Zi Ling and Jiang Wushuang might well have perished on the spot.
Fortunately, Zi Ling's Mental Power was formidable, her strength was considerable, and her Spirit Realm world spirit boasted overwhelming combat power. Under the circumstances, the two of them finally reached the end point marked on the map.
Before them stretched a vast hall — enormous, like a public square, large enough to hold hundreds of thousands of people.
Its overall structure was nearly identical to the resplendent golden hall they had glimpsed earlier.
The difference was that this hall's center held no treasure whatsoever. Far from being a grand, gilded chamber, it was in a state of disrepair. All of the walls surrounding it had been destroyed.
"These walls are extraordinary. Even with my current strength, I can't damage them in the slightest. Whoever destroyed this place must have been incredibly powerful," Zi Ling said, examining the walls closely with an expression of astonishment.
"There seem to have been markings on these walls. Whoever destroyed them probably didn't want anyone else to see what was written here," Chu Feng observed, having noticed certain clues as well.
"How infuriating! If I'm not mistaken, what was inscribed on these walls was the legacy left behind by that cultivation master."
"And the one who destroyed it must be the demon king that was defeated by the ancestor of the Jiang Dynasty all those years ago. After all, legend has it that it grew so powerful precisely because it had obtained some form of inheritance."
Zi Ling clenched her pearly teeth, her face tight with anger. The demon king's selfishness had destroyed a priceless inheritance left by a predecessor, robbing all future generations of its benefits — it was maddening to think about.
"Wait — this isn't the end of the underground palace," Chu Feng said suddenly.
"What makes you say that?" Zi Ling asked curiously.
"Come look at this." Chu Feng pointed to the map in his hands.
"This — this is—!!" When Zi Ling stepped closer and looked carefully at where he was pointing, her expression changed in an instant.