At the end of the corridor, there was also a barrier gate.
Passing through the gate, Chu Feng entered a grand hall.
Although the hall was massive, it was completely empty — there was nothing inside, save for Bai Yunqing standing alone at its center.
Yet Bai Yunqing, standing here, not only looked lonely but also wore a deep frown.
He was observing carefully, but it seemed he hadn't discovered any clues.
For the moment, he had no idea what to do.
At the far end of the hall, there was a door, but it was shut.
Clearly, Bai Yunqing had already tried to open it, but he hadn't succeeded.
Chu Feng, too, had been observing intently, and he found that the door was beyond even his ability to open.
The current situation was that this hall had only one door that could not be opened, and apart from it, there were no clues to be found whatsoever.
In this way, Chu Feng had fallen into the exact same predicament as Bai Yunqing.
They were trapped inside this hall. Even though Chu Feng had already obtained the method for breaking formations from the murals…
There was no formation here at all, which meant that even though he possessed the art of breaking formations, there was nowhere to apply it.
For the moment, he had no idea where to go or what to do.
But suddenly, the walls surrounding the hall began to glow with surging light.
Then the light converged together, coalescing into the figure of an elder that hovered above the hall.
The elder's snow-white hair and long beard swayed without wind, and the radiance emanating from his body made him appear thoroughly sacred.
As though an immortal had descended.
"Young friend Bai Yunqing pays respects to the True Dragon Lord."
Upon seeing the elder, Bai Yunqing immediately dropped into a deep kneeling bow.
From his reaction, it was clear he had seen paintings of the True Dragon Lord before — otherwise he would not have been so certain that the figure before him was the True Dragon Lord.
Yet Bai Yunqing's prostration received no response from the True Dragon Lord, who didn't even glance at him properly.
Seeing this, Bai Yunqing quickly rose to his feet, and the respectful expression he had worn moments ago faded noticeably.
He had realized that while this was the True Dragon Lord's appearance, it was not the True Dragon Lord himself — merely a formation left behind by the True Dragon Lord.
But that was only natural. After all, the True Dragon Lord had long since passed away.
"Young friends, welcome to the ruins that this old man has left behind."
Sure enough, the True Dragon Lord spoke, his tone flat and mechanical, like a pre-programmed voice.
But even though it was a formation, this was no ordinary one — it could assess the current situation and determine exactly how many people had entered the hall.
Chu Feng finally understood why this formation left by the True Dragon Lord had only manifested now.
It must have been because the third person who had seized the initiative had entered the hall even later than Chu Feng.
It was only when that person stepped inside, bringing all three who had seized the initiative into the hall, that the True Dragon Lord's formation had been triggered.
"Three?"
At the same time, Bai Yunqing frowned once more, his eyes gleaming as his sharp gaze swept across the hall.
Clearly, before this, he had not detected Chu Feng or the other person at all.
Now, upon learning that there were others besides himself, he immediately grew tense.
But Chu Feng's concealment was highly sophisticated — even Bai Yunqing's keen method of observation couldn't locate him.
The same was true for the third individual.
BOOM—
But suddenly, a half-god's oppressive aura erupted from within Bai Yunqing.
And Chu Feng noticed that the aura Bai Yunqing released was not that of a second-rank half-god, but a fourth-rank half-god.
A divine character thunder pattern appeared on his forehead, and thunder armor materialized around his body.
It turned out that, like Chu Feng, he was a possessor of Heavenly-grade bloodline, and had also cultivated the Divine Punishment Mystic Art. He could even deploy both the thunder patterns and thunder armor while at the half-god realm.
This elevated his cultivation from the second-rank half-god realm to the fourth-rank half-god realm.
He intended to use his oppressive aura to eliminate his opponents directly, and to guard against any surprises, he had unleashed his full power.
However, although his aura was released, it could not cover the entire hall — it could only radiate around his own body.
Uwaagh—
Immediately afterward, his face twisted in agony and he collapsed to his knees.
An immense pressure had seized and bound him.
"No violence may be used in the trial grounds."
The True Dragon Lord's formation spoke.
It turned out that the True Dragon Lord's formation had restrained Bai Yunqing.
Seeing this, Bai Yunqing hastily withdrew his aura. Once the aura was pulled back, the pressure he had been under dissipated instantly.
This left Bai Yunqing visibly displeased. He glared around the hall with fury in his eyes.
"The two of you, since you've come, why not show yourselves?"
Bai Yunqing called out in a stern voice.
But there was no response whatsoever.
Chu Feng had no intention of revealing himself…
And neither did the other person.