Chu Feng descended through the entrance with barely any obstruction, and before long, he reached the bottom.
It was remarkably smooth sailing.
But the bottom turned out to be quite different from what Chu Feng had imagined.
He had assumed, based on what Tao Wu said, that all the entrances would ultimately lead to one place — most likely some sort of grand hall. Even if this was a trial, everyone would be facing it in the same arena.
Instead, Chu Feng found himself in a bewilderingly complex underground labyrinth, with no other cultivators in sight.
Rather than a constructed underground palace, it was more like a natural subterranean cavern — there were no signs of excavation or craftsmanship. It had clearly been formed by nature.
In simple terms, it resembled an anthill: a tangled web with countless passages.
Although all the entrances fed into this same underground complex, each one deposited travelers in a completely different spot.
Chu Feng activated his Heavenly Eyes to gain an early advantage.
But he discovered that they were useless. The cavern looked utterly unremarkable, yet it possessed the power to resist his Heavenly Eyes.
Chu Feng remained calm and brought out the Celestial Master's Fly-whisk.
After all, this was a legendary tool for exploring ancient ruins and uncovering hidden treasures.
"What the hell — this place is seriously weird?"
The moment he activated the Celestial Master's Fly-whisk, Chu Feng's surprise only deepened.
The fly-whisk showed no response.
But this was different from before.
In the past, the Celestial Master's Fly-whisk would decide whether or not to help Chu Feng based on its own mood — there had been occasions when it served no purpose whatsoever.
This time, however, the difference was that the fly-whisk hadn't simply chosen not to help. It had lost its power entirely.
Not only were Chu Feng's Heavenly Eyes rendered useless — even a treasure like the Celestial Master's Fly-whisk had been suppressed.
One could only imagine the terrifying level of the individual who had set up this formation.
"Looks like I'm on my own."
Despite the string of setbacks, Chu Feng felt not discouragement but growing excitement.
The more powerful the person who had established this formation, the more formidable the demonic entity sealed here must be. If Tao Wu's words were true and the creature's refinement would leave behind a wealth of benefits, then the rewards in this place would be truly extraordinary. Otherwise, why would the formation's creator have deliberately left behind a trial?
He had clearly anticipated everything and designed it all in advance.
With no clear objective, Chu Feng could only search for clues within the cavern.
As he walked, he suddenly noticed a faint blue glow ahead. Upon closer inspection, he found a blue stone embedded in the cavern wall.
The stone emitted a blue light and was clearly no ordinary object.
Looking more carefully, he saw patterns etched across its surface.
Though Chu Feng didn't know what the stone represented or precisely what power it contained, he knew one thing for certain — he absolutely could not pass this up.
He reached out to grab it.
BOOM —
A wave of force surged toward Chu Feng without warning.
He reacted swiftly and managed to dodge.
Looking closely, he saw that a small protective formation had been set up around the blue stone, shielding it.
Clearly, to obtain the stone, he would need to break through this guardian formation.
The formation was complex — the kind that didn't demand raw power from a Spirit World Master but rather demanded finesse and technique.
In simple terms, a Spirit World Master of any level could attempt to unravel this formation, but a Spirit World Master of any level would also find it difficult.
For Chu Feng, however, the difficulty was manageable — especially after he had acquired the legacy left behind by the Ancestor of Yue Ling.
Before long, Chu Feng broke the formation.