"Damn it."
At last, Chu Feng opened his eyes.
He gazed upward at the colossal hand descending slowly from the void.
Two kinds of light surfaced in his eyes.
One was refusal — refusal to let things end like this.
The other was despair.
Watching that titanic hand fall from the heavens, Chu Feng knew it was a force he simply could not defeat. No matter what he did, he could not defeat it. Not now.
"It seems this is where it ends."
Despite his unwillingness, Chu Feng didn't hesitate for long. Instead, he produced a talisman paper — the one Yuan Shu had given him earlier.
Chu Feng activated the talisman, and it instantly transformed into a wave of energy that enveloped him.
After wrapping around Chu Feng, the energy began rapidly shrinking, and soon it vanished entirely.
When the energy disappeared, so had Chu Feng's figure.
At the same moment, outside the formation, a burst of energy materialized beside Yuan Shu.
It was the power born from the talisman — though its behavior now was the opposite of what it had done inside the barrier formation.
Inside the formation, the energy had gone from large to small.
But now, upon appearing, it was tiny — and then it began expanding.
Once it had grown to a certain size, it popped like a bubble, and Chu Feng's figure emerged from within.
It was worth noting, however, that the moment Chu Feng appeared, the barrier gate returned to its normal state.
It no longer displayed the situation inside the barrier world as it had before, reverting instead to its original appearance.
As though deliberately hiding the truth from Chu Feng.
"Brother Chu Feng, are you alright?"
Yuan Shu rushed over the moment Chu Feng came out, asking with concern.
Though he could see that Chu Feng appeared mostly unharmed on the surface, he had no way of knowing whether Chu Feng's soul had been damaged.
"I'm fine, Brother Yuan."
"It's just that Great Master Tang Chen's formation is far too powerful. Right now, I simply can't break it."
Chu Feng said with a bitter smile.
"That formation really is absurdly difficult. You've been put through the wringer."
As Yuan Shu spoke, a trace of guilt flickered behind his eyes.
After all, he knew it wasn't that Chu Feng was incapable — this formation was inherently unbreakable. It was a grand array with no solution.
Unless Chu Feng's strength surpassed that of his own master, Great Master Tang Chen, there was simply no way to shatter it.
Chu Feng had been set up, which was why Yuan Shu felt so ashamed.
Yet he couldn't betray his own master, and that only deepened the guilt he carried toward Chu Feng.
"I've lost this time, but I won't give up easily. I will break through this formation."
When Chu Feng spoke those words, the determination in his eyes laid bare his unyielding resolve.
"Brother Chu Feng, this formation can only be challenged once. If you lose, you lose — there is no second chance."
Yuan Shu said.
"Brother Yuan, I understand the rules. This time, I challenged it on behalf of the old ox-nose."
"But next time, I'll challenge it as Chu Feng himself."
Chu Feng replied.
"Ah…"
Looking at Chu Feng like this, Yuan Shu didn't know what to say.
After all, even if Chu Feng tried ten thousand more times, he would never break that formation.
After that, Chu Feng chatted with Yuan Shu for a while before deciding to take his leave.
Yuan Shu personally escorted him to the outskirts of the Seven Sun Mountain Range.
But just before departing, Chu Feng suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly turned back.
"Oh right, Brother Yuan Shu — when Great Master Tang Chen returns, please be sure to thank him on my behalf."
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, his expression shifted, and he laughed.
"Forget it. I'll thank him in person myself when the time comes."
"Brother Yuan Shu, farewell."
With that, Chu Feng clasped his fists in a respectful bow and departed the Seven Sun Mountain Range.