Hummm—
Just as Bai Yunqing stood in confusion, the array Chu Feng had laid out had already begun its assault against the wall, working to break through.
Rumble rumble rumble—
Under the onslaught of Chu Feng's formation, the wall began to tremble violently, and all of it stemmed from Chu Feng's command.
The strength of a formation was one factor, but when a Spirit World Master wielded it skillfully, the power of that formation would be greatly amplified.
In that moment, Bai Yunqing looked at Chu Feng once more, and a different light shone in his eyes. If he had submitted to Chu Feng before solely because Her Majesty had defeated him and he acknowledged her power—
Then now, he was genuinely impressed. He had discovered that whether it came to laying formations or utilizing them, Chu Feng's skill surpassed his own by no small margin.
But who was he? He was Bai Yunqing—the foremost genius among the current generation of Spirit World Masters. By all rights, no one should have been able to outclass him by this much.
Boom—
With a thunderous roar, the wall shattered apart. Chu Feng had broken through it using his formation.
"Less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn—less than an incense stick's time!"
"Hero Chu Feng, you're incredible! The disciple of the Totem Dragon Clan's guest grand elder couldn't break through this wall even with two incense sticks' worth of time, and you did it in one!"
"And aren't you a White Dragon Divine Robe? How were you able to accomplish this?"
The juniors of the Ancient Realm showered Chu Feng with praise, and the girls among them had stars in their eyes.
In their view, they had witnessed a miracle.
Who had ever said Chu Feng was unworthy of being their leader?
If he wasn't worthy, then no one was!
Chu Feng offered them a slight smile and didn't say much more. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Bai Yunqing.
"So? Does the title of leader suit me or not?" Chu Feng asked.
"I underestimated you. Who is your master?" Bai Yunqing asked.
"Why so many questions? Call me Big Brother," Chu Feng said.
"That's right—call him Big Brother!" the juniors of the Ancient Realm chimed in, egging him on.
Though Bai Yunqing was clearly reluctant, he still managed: "Bi… Big Brother."
"From here on, I'll handle breaking the formations. You assist me," Chu Feng said.
To this, Bai Yunqing surprisingly did not object. He too had realized that the formations ahead would only grow more difficult.
Chu Feng's mastery of formation deployment and his skill in breaking arrays both surpassed his own, and his observational abilities seemed no weaker either.
Setting aside personal grievances, if they wanted to pass the examination as quickly as possible, cooperation between the two of them was the best course of action.
Afterward, Chu Feng, Bai Yunqing, and the rest of the group pressed forward. With the two of them working together, breaking through formations did indeed become much easier.
Until, ahead of them, an enormous barrier gate appeared.
"Everyone, stop here first."
Chu Feng studied the barrier gate carefully. Not only did he sense an aura of danger, but he also spotted certain telltale signs.
Beyond this gate lay not only an illusory formation but other arrays as well—it was genuinely fraught with peril.
Thus he made a decision: "Everyone, only Bai Yunqing and I will enter through this barrier gate. The rest of you wait here."
"Understood." The juniors of the Ancient Realm agreed immediately. Having traveled with him this far, they had long witnessed Chu Feng's capabilities—he was practically a god in their eyes, and naturally they followed his every instruction without question.
"No objections?" Chu Feng looked at Bai Yunqing.
"A mere illusory formation—of course I have no objections," Bai Yunqing said with a smile before stepping through.
"This guy is still so arrogant. I think he needs another beating," Her Majesty remarked.
"Setting aside his character and that foul mouth of his, his attainment in barrier techniques really is impressive. No wonder Taishi Xingzhong took him as a disciple," Chu Feng said.
"That assessment sounds… unexpectedly favorable?" Her Majesty said, somewhat surprised.
"Setting aside our enmity, after spending real time around him, I get the impression he's not all that bad."
Chu Feng offered this assessment based on his observations along the way.
Initially, in order to guard against Bai Yunqing, Chu Feng had covertly laid down a formation and kept it primed—should he ever be attacked, the Spirit World gate would open automatically and Her Majesty would strike out directly to put Bai Yunqing in his place.
But Chu Feng had noticed that Bai Yunqing, despite having many opportunities to make a move, never did.
That proved he had never intended to ambush Chu Feng.
Seeing that Bai Yunqing had already stepped through, Chu Feng followed close behind.
The moment he passed through the gate, Chu Feng found himself inside a magnificent palace. The palace was vast, and the entire hall was suffused with an extremely dense barrier force. It was a grand hall—and a grand formation all at once.
"This illusory formation is quite realistic," Chu Feng said to Her Majesty.
But he received no response. Her Majesty was unable to speak.
"Cut off? This illusory formation has severed my connection with Her Majesty?" Chu Feng attempted to enter the Spirit World space, only to find that he couldn't get in either.
A sense of foreboding settled over Chu Feng. This illusory formation was far more powerful than he had anticipated.
Creak—
At that moment, the doors of the great hall swung open, and several powerful Spirit World Masters walked in.
They were all True Dragon Spirit World Masters, and even among their kind, they were of a very high level.
Chu Feng noticed that each of them wore an identical token at their waist.
Seven Realms Sacred Palace!!!
"So it's the Seven Realms Sacred Palace."
"Is this illusory formation able to read my inner demons? Did it deliberately arrange all of this just for me?"
Chu Feng laughed inwardly. He had seen many illusory formations before—this was all an illusion, designed to deceive and lure him into a trap.
As long as he held firm to that truth and reminded himself it was fake, he could mitigate a great deal of the risk.
And soon enough, another figure walked in.
It was a woman. Her figure was exceptionally graceful, her bearing otherworldly, though her face was veiled. Yet even though he could not see her features, the moment she appeared, a strange surge of emotion welled up in Chu Feng's heart.
"Mother? Could it be my mother?"
Chu Feng immediately activated his Heavenly Eye, wanting to see the woman's face clearly—but it was no use. His Heavenly Eye had no effect whatsoever.
"What's going on?"
With his Heavenly Eye rendered useless, Chu Feng grew increasingly anxious—especially when he noticed that his mother's wrists were bound with peculiar chains.
Chu Feng took a tentative step forward.
Ssssss—
But the instant that step landed, a multitude of blood-red worms burst from the ground. They were worm-like in shape, similar to earthworms, only far larger than any ordinary earthworm.
Yet now, they suddenly opened their mouths, revealing rows of crimson teeth, and savagely bit down toward Chu Feng's leg.
Chu Feng hastily deployed a defensive barrier, covering his leg.
Crack—
But it was useless. Those worms simply chewed straight through Chu Feng's formation and bit into his flesh.