That sword strike had pierced through quite thoroughly, yet it did not take Xu Tianjian's life.
"You... you dare cripple my cultivation?!"
"My Master will never let you off — he will never let you off!"
Seeing his cultivation truly beginning to dissipate, Xu Tianjian ignored the pain and erupted in furious roars.
His expression was utterly twisted, as if he wanted to tear Chu Feng apart with his bare hands.
"Well, your Master won't let me off either way, so why should I bother keeping you alive?" Chu Feng asked.
Hearing those words, Xu Tianjian suddenly froze. A wave of dread rose from the depths of his heart.
"D-don't kill me, I'm begging you, don't kill me."
"If you kill me, then my Master really will never let you off." Xu Tianjian performed a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal in attitude.
He... did care about his cultivation, but... he was also terrified of death.
"If you're afraid of dying, then tell me about your Master," Chu Feng said. He still wanted to know what kind of background this so-called Evil Monk possessed.
After all, Xu Tianjian didn't seem to be lying. If a genuine crisis were to emerge, then Chu Feng should prepare accordingly.
Xu Tianjian didn't dare hesitate and immediately recounted the grudge between the Evil Monk and the Totem Dragon Clan, and also revealed information about the Sacred Dragon Ruins.
It turned out the Evil Monk had long known that the Totem Dragon Clan was preparing this Ultimate Trial in order to unlock the Sacred Dragon Ruins.
"So this door leads to the Sacred Dragon Ruins?" Chu Feng asked Xu Tianjian.
"I'm not sure either. The Sacred Dragon Ruins are only speculation — there's no confirmed information yet."
"Brother, please let me heal my wounds. My cultivation can't just be allowed to dissipate like this. If it's completely gone, then I'll have no more use to my Master, and you won't survive either."
Xu Tianjian was actually crying as he said this — he truly cared about his cultivation.
Chu Feng, however, felt that Xu Tianjian had a point. The words "useful value" were very much in keeping with the kind of underhanded methods his Master employed.
"You're a clever enough person, so why not walk the righteous path? Why must you associate with the forces of evil?" Chu Feng asked.
"I... I had no choice. I was forced into it."
"The Evil Monk is ruthless and vicious — he doesn't even put the Totem Dragon Clan in his eyes. How would I dare oppose him?" Xu Tianjian said with a pitiful, aggrieved tone.
"Chu Feng, he's putting on an act. They're two birds of a feather."
"Just kill him."
Egg saw through it — though Xu Tianjian looked wronged now, his earlier arrogance had been genuine, which meant his current display of misery was fake.
"Forget it. Let him live. If that Evil Monk really is as formidable as he sounds, then having Xu Tianjian around gives us at least a sliver of a chance."
"What if the Evil Monk actually cares about him? What if he genuinely still sees him as useful?"
Chu Feng figured he could keep Xu Tianjian as a hostage. Whether or not it would prove useful, it was still a card worth holding onto.
"Mm..." Egg considered this and felt Chu Feng had a point. "Then it's your call."
After that, Chu Feng actually allowed Xu Tianjian to heal, stopping his cultivation from continuing to dissipate — because he believed what Xu Tianjian said made sense.
Regardless, the Evil Monk had chosen Xu Tianjian precisely to make use of him. But if he truly lost all his cultivation, he would lose all his value, and keeping him around would be pointless.
However, while Chu Feng stabilized Xu Tianjian's cultivation, he still kept him in a severely weakened state so that he posed absolutely no threat. After stripping him of every treasure on his person, Chu Feng bound him up tightly, then produced a special artifact designed for imprisoning living beings, preparing to lock Xu Tianjian away.
"Brother, please, please don't lock me in there! Take me along with you — let me see the world. I might even be able to help you!" Xu Tianjian pleaded.
"Brother, you really don't know your place, do you?" Chu Feng said.
"What?" Xu Tianjian was taken aback.
"You're a prisoner. You don't deserve to explore these ruins with me."
With those words, Chu Feng deposited Xu Tianjian directly into the imprisonment artifact. He certainly wasn't going to give him that opportunity.
Then, stepping forward himself, Chu Feng passed straight through the white-light barrier gate.
Hummm—
The moment he crossed through the barrier gate, Chu Feng found himself within a space filled with runes. The runes formed a labyrinth that stretched out before his very eyes.
A test — this was a trial. To leave this place, one had to solve the labyrinth.
Chu Feng had encountered this kind of situation many times before and possessed ample experience to draw upon. What's more, his formation power had actually recovered here, and his Heavenly Eyes could be used once again.
This put Chu Feng right in his element. In the blink of an eye, he had already unraveled the labyrinth.
After solving it, a new barrier gate materialized. Chu Feng stepped through the gate, exiting the labyrinth and entering a stretch of jungle.
This jungle felt exactly like the one outside — if not for the fact that Chu Feng's formation power had been restored and he could now use formation techniques here, he might have believed he was still in the jungle of the Ultimate Trial.
But he knew full well that they merely resembled each other. They were definitely not the same jungle. Regardless of whether this was the Sacred Dragon Ruins or not, it was certainly some kind of ancient ruin.
Hummm—
At that moment, the barrier gate began to close. But after it shut, a ray of white light remained, drifting of its own accord toward Chu Feng. Looking closely, it was actually a token.
As the white light faded, the token could be seen to be golden, bearing the phantom image of a dragon. Though it was only a phantom, it still writhed and squirmed, radiating an overwhelming aura of power.
It was merely a phantom, yet it seemed as though it could annihilate everything in its path.
"What an incredible token. Chu Feng, do you think this place really is the Sacred Dragon Ruins?" Egg asked.
Although Xu Tianjian didn't know much about the Sacred Dragon Ruins either, according to what he'd said, these ruins dated back to ancient times and were an extraordinarily powerful site. Even Egg couldn't help but feel curious.