"It works — it really can be taken off."
"Boy, do you take this deity for a fool?"
"That trick of yours won't work at all."
"I have plenty more restraint armors like that one here."
"Even if you take that one off, it won't do a thing. It won't truly save that girl."
The mysterious existence spoke.
"Of course I know this won't really free
"But
As he spoke, Chu Feng took the restraint armor he had removed from Zi Ling's phantom and placed it onto the wooden effigy shaped in his own image.
Ugh—
The moment the armor was in place, Chu Feng clutched his chest with both hands.
An unbearable pain was radiating outward from his chest, spreading through every inch of his body.
And it was strongest at his heart — so intense that even Chu Feng could barely endure it.
"Boy, have you lost your mind?"
"You're layering a second restraint on your own soul? You clearly don't want to live anymore!"
The mysterious existence was genuinely shocked by Chu Feng's actions.
"Senior — this doesn't count as a violation, does it?"
But Chu Feng gritted his teeth against the pain and asked once more.
"No, it technically doesn't. But boy, doing this will kill you."
"Are you really willing to sacrifice yourself just to win that girl's freedom?"
"Boy, is it worth it?"
The mysterious existence asked.
"So if I do this, Zi Ling will truly regain her freedom?"
Chu Feng pressed again.
He needed to be certain.
"You're bearing the restraint in her place, so of course she'll be free. She is already free."
"But boy, didn't you hear what I said? Wearing two layers of restraint, your soul can't withstand it."
The mysterious existence replied.
"That doesn't matter — as long as Zi Ling can break free."
After saying this, a faint smile actually tugged at the corner of Chu Feng's lips.
Chu Feng raised a single hand and formed a series of seals, and a formation matrix materialized from his fingertip.
He pointed it at his chest, and the tormenting force vanished instantly.
Not only did the armor on Chu Feng's own soul disappear — the armor on the wooden effigy phantom vanished as well.
"That's…"
"Boy, did you actually—???"
Seeing this, the mysterious existence's voice carried an unmistakable note of shock.
But this reaction was exactly what Chu Feng had anticipated.
During the first five days in the labyrinth, he had only been focused on finding a way out. But after five days had passed with no exit in sight, Chu Feng had shifted his attention to the patterns on the labyrinth walls.
The patterns appeared at regular intervals, but most were repetitions. In truth, there were only eighteen distinct designs.
Each pattern concealed a secret. On its own, none of them served any purpose. But eventually, Chu Feng discovered that if they were arranged in the right order and combined, they could form a complete formation matrix.
And the method of arrangement was also inscribed on the walls — a method Chu Feng had found as well.
Once he obtained the formation, he knew it could dissolve the restraint of the armor.
So from that point on, he had formulated this plan.
If he truly could not escape the labyrinth, he would place Zi Ling's restraint armor onto his own wooden effigy and use the formation to dissolve both restraints at once.
But that was the last resort. Given the choice, he still wanted to find a way out on his own.
In the end, Chu Feng had not managed to escape the labyrinth.
That was why he had repeatedly asked the mysterious existence whether what he planned to do would count as a violation. He was afraid that if he simply used the dissolution formation outright, the mysterious existence might deny him the right.
But now, that problem was gone.
"So you actually figured it out."
"That formation isn't easy to discover."
"Seems I need to take back what I said."
"You're no reckless fool."
Once the mysterious existence confirmed that it was indeed the formation it had left behind, its voice took on a note of admiration.
"Thank you for the kind words, Senior. Then — are Zi Ling and I both free now?"
Chu Feng asked.