Silence blanketed heaven and earth.
Everyone wore expressions of utter shock.
Not only the cultivators of the Nine Soul Heavenly River — even Wang Yuxian, the Dao Sea Fairy, and Jiang Taibai all reacted the same way.
Chu Feng's sword strike just now had been far too bizarre. It had suddenly become astonishingly fast, as though his combat power had undergone a massive surge.
And such a surge defied all reason.
As for Chu Feng, he did not press the attack any further. In his eyes, this duel was already over.
At least, this so-called "fair duel" — where cultivation was suppressed to the fourth grade of Martial Venerable, no martial skills or secret techniques were permitted, and only the same type of weapon could be used — was over.
"It looks like I win."
Chu Feng resumed his stance and grinned at Jiang Yuantai.
But Jiang Yuantai stood frozen in place. Blood continued to stream from his severed hand, yet he made no move to treat his wound.
He simply could not accept what had just happened.
He... had actually lost?
Even if he had only taken a single forbidden medicine, his combat power — combined with his mastery of the spear — should have been more than enough to block that last strike from Chu Feng.
And yet, he had failed to block it. That was why he now stood defeated.
"What kind of trick did you use?"
Jiang Yuantai glared at Chu Feng, his voice strained.
From the look in his eyes, Chu Feng could tell just how unwilling Jiang Yuantai was to accept this outcome.
"Brother, he took my forbidden medicine."
Before Chu Feng could even open his mouth, Jiang Kongping spoke up first.
"Forbidden medicine?"
At those words, Jiang Yuantai whipped his head around to face his younger brother.
"The day I was captured by this Chu Feng, he took my Universe Bag as well. Inside that Universe Bag were three forbidden medicines from our Alchemy Immortal Sect."
"This Chu Feng must have opened my Universe Bag and found those three forbidden medicines."
"The reason he was suddenly able to exceed your limits in both speed and power just now — it must have been the effect of the forbidden medicine."
Having said this, Jiang Kongping shifted his gaze to Chu Feng.
"Chu Feng, you may have beaten my brother today, but in truth, your victory was anything but honorable."
"You only won because you relied on our Alchemy Immortal Sect's forbidden medicine."
Jiang Kongping said to Chu Feng.
"So by that logic, you're essentially admitting that your brother's victory over me last time was also due to taking forbidden medicine?" Chu Feng asked.
"You have no proof that my brother took any forbidden medicine."
"So this is nothing but slander," Jiang Kongping shot back.
He knew his brother well — he knew how prideful the man was.
There was no way his brother would publicly admit that his previous victory over Chu Feng had come from taking a forbidden medicine.
"Slander?"
"Your brother's sudden surge in cultivation this time is no different from last time."
"And if your brother truly took a forbidden medicine, it won't be long before the backlash kicks in."
"So why don't we just wait? We'll wait until the backlash hits him — and then the truth will speak for itself. Let's see how stubborn you can be then."
Chu Feng said.
And with those words, the members of the Alchemy Immortal Sect began to panic.
They had been prepared to argue, but if they truly kept waiting, Jiang Yuantai would indeed suffer a backlash.
Even if the backlash from that forbidden medicine was not particularly severe, it would still manifest eventually.
And once it did, there would be no way to keep this hidden.
"So what if he took a forbidden medicine? Didn't you take one too?"
At that point, others from the Alchemy Immortal Sect could not help but chime in.
If they could help it, they would have preferred not to admit anything at all. But seeing that the truth could no longer be concealed, they latched onto the fact that Chu Feng had also taken a forbidden medicine — anything to preserve the so-called fairness of this duel.
"Regardless of whether I took a forbidden medicine or not, I still won."