Chu Feng executed the Soaring Dragon Nine Heavens technique, flying at full speed, but after only two hours, the forbidden pill's power began to fade, and the backlash surged violently.
In this situation, Chu Feng didn't dare continue his journey. Instead, he chose a relatively small mountain range nearby and hid within it.
The saying "the most dangerous place is the safest" indeed held some truth.
Such an inconspicuous mountain range was definitely not the best place to hide. But precisely because of that, it might often be overlooked by those searching, so Chu Feng felt this was actually a good spot to conceal himself.
*Rumble...* After entering the mountain range, Chu Feng gripped the Shura Ghost Axe and swung it wildly, forcefully carving a cave into a rocky mountain face.
Once the cave was dug, he first placed several detection barrier arrays outside, then set up a concealment barrier at the entrance to hide the cave from others' discovery. Only after completing everything did he finally retreat into the cave with a sense of security.
"Ughhh~~~~~~~~"
Quickly, the backlash force of the forbidden pill intensified. Even though Chu Feng had already swallowed the healing pill gifted by Vice President Gao, the excruciating pain was still almost unbearable.
It felt like countless ants burrowing into his body, biting and gnawing everywhere—from his blood vessels and skin to his internal organs, every part of him—itching maddeningly, pain beyond measure.
But soon, this piercing pain vanished, only to be replaced by a scorching heat, as if Chu Feng had fallen into a furnace, enduring the torment of a sea of fire, or as if a furnace burned within his very body, incinerating his flesh.
Under this terrifyingly hot torment, Chu Feng tore his clothes to shreds, rolling naked inside the cave. But even that couldn't alleviate the searing sensation.
Finally, the heat subsided, but what Chu Feng didn't expect was that the forbidden pill's torture continued. This time, it was a bone-piercing cold, making him shiver uncontrollably, unbearable, as if he had plunged into a frozen cavern.
And so, Chu Feng alternated between drenching sweats and violent shivering, between clawing at his own chest and pounding his fist on the ground, tortured between life and death.
In the beginning, Chu Feng could still shout loudly to vent his agony, but as time went on, he lost even the strength to cry out, collapsing weakly onto the ground, occasionally convulsing.
It had to be said, the backlash of this forbidden pill was truly excruciating. It wouldn't render one unconscious from the pain; instead, it kept one fully conscious to experience every ounce of suffering with their entire being.
This was the price. To seize power that wasn't originally one's own demanded a corresponding cost—such was the nature of a forbidden pill.
Chu Feng was now paying that price, and it was the most unbearable physical agony he had ever experienced in his life.
Yet Chu Feng felt no regret, because he had survived. Furthermore, he had obtained one million and fifty thousand Mystic Pearls.
These Mystic Pearls would significantly boost his cultivation, bringing him closer to the seventh level of the Xuan Wu Realm. In other words, it also brought him one step closer to rescuing Su Rou and Su Mei, the sisters. So for Chu Feng, everything was worth it, no matter how painful or how long this backlash lasted.
It had to be said, Purple Xuan Yang's deterrence had worked. Peng Jie truly left and did not secretly tail Chu Feng, so Chu Feng was temporarily safe.
However, while Chu Feng suffered wave after wave of torment from the forbidden pill's backlash inside that cave, the factions that had each lost one hundred and fifty thousand Mystic Pearls were not willing to swallow this silent loss. They were making moves.