Zhou Dong's body was already trembling as he scrutinized Chu Feng.
After repeatedly confirming that Chu Feng's cultivation was that of a first-grade Half God, he found himself in a daze.
"Just now — what was that pressure?"
He was certain that the terrifying pressure moments ago had come from Chu Feng. There was no mistake about that.
But how could a mere first-grade Half God make him feel fear?
It wasn't just Zhou Dong. Bai Yunqing and the white-haired woman both looked at Chu Feng with odd expressions.
They had felt the same pressure that Zhou Dong had — a pressure unlike anything they had ever experienced before.
Swoosh—
At that moment, the little boy transformed into a streak of light and shot toward Chu Feng's forehead.
The next instant, Chu Feng entered a boundless world.
This world had originally been pitch black, yet he could feel that it was enormously vast. In that moment, Chu Feng felt as though he were standing in the midst of an immense starry sky — except there were no stars here, only endless darkness.
But suddenly, a blinding light appeared. Looking closely, an impossibly enormous phantom was rising from the distance.
"What is that?" Even the Queen grew tense upon seeing the phantom.
It was far too massive — its body was incomparably larger than countless worlds combined.
Chu Feng's tiny human body would not even qualify as a speck of dust before it. He was truly, insignificantly small.
Even though the entity was clearly very far away, Chu Feng could not make out its full form. Its sheer size was beyond imagination.
It was humanoid yet not entirely human. Chu Feng could not see it clearly — only its general outline. But from it, he sensed the aura of the Ancient World, along with an overwhelming pressure.
This might be the most powerful existence Chu Feng had ever faced.
Suddenly, it raised one of its boundless hands and pointed a single finger at Chu Feng.
A beam of light flew toward him, eventually coalescing into a ball of radiance that landed before him.
Upon closer inspection, the light contained the key — the little boy.
But the little boy now bore none of his earlier innocence. His eyes were filled with savagery.
His appearance hadn't changed, yet that gaze was enough to send a chill down one's spine.
"I am the Ancestor of the Ancient World. The Ancient World was created by me."
"This is a strand of my power. Only by merging with it can you leave safely."
A voice echoed, as if it came from the very edge of the world — deep and powerful, yet immeasurably ancient, as though it commanded all things under heaven and earth.
The pressure this being exerted on Chu Feng was truly immense. It felt as though he were a god.
But even so, Chu Feng did not simply obey. Instead, he asked, "Senior, if I merge with this power, what benefit will I receive?"
He asked this because from within the little boy's body, he could sense no benefit whatsoever for himself. All he sensed was danger.
"A benefit?"
"If there's no benefit, you won't merge?" The being posed the question.
"If there's no benefit, this junior does not wish to merge," Chu Feng answered honestly.
"Hahahaha…" Suddenly, the being laughed. The laughter did not shake the earth or the sky — it shook the entire world, the boundless world in which Chu Feng stood.
After the laughter subsided, the being spoke again, its voice laced with frigid malice: "If you refuse to merge, not only will you die, but all of your friends and loved ones will die as well, and the spirit within your body will die too."
"It's threatening you? What is this Ancient World playing at?"
"It invited you here for a trial, you exhausted yourselves to pass it, and now there's no reward — instead it threatens you?"
"Chu Feng, don't merge. I want to see what it can really do."
"At worst, we'll go down together," the Queen was furious. She too had felt the terrifying pressure from this being, and she too was somewhat afraid.
But when Chu Feng was threatened, her rage overpowered her fear. She could not bear it — could not bear Chu Feng being threatened like this.
"It's fine. It's just merging with the little boy. He's cute enough — there's probably some benefit to it." Chu Feng hurried to soothe Egg.
"Are you sure?" The Queen studied the little boy more closely. Even she could sense that the boy offered no benefit whatsoever. On the contrary, she felt an intense sense of danger.
It gave the feeling of a wicked seed. If it were to enter one's body, who knew what horrifying consequences it would bring.
At this moment, Chu Feng seemed to understand why his father had chosen to withdraw. His father must have sensed long ago that the Ancient World harbored danger.
And indeed, the Ancient World did harbor danger.
"Chu Feng, this thing is too dangerous. Don't merge with it. Maybe there's another way," the Queen urged.
"Afraid?"
"You passed the test of courage. I thought you feared nothing in this world." The being let out a mocking laugh, then continued:
"Decide now. Either merge, or die."
With those words, a cataclysmic gale swept through the entire world. Chu Feng could feel killing intent within it.
The other party was no joke. It truly seemed to possess the power to annihilate everything.
"I'll merge," Chu Feng made his decision.
Though Chu Feng was no pushover, he would not throw his life away for nothing.
He wanted to live. He still had far too much to do.
At the very least, he could not die here.
He knew full well that the little boy was dangerous, but that was a problem for later. Whatever dangers lay ahead, he would deal with them then. Right now — he wanted to live. He wanted the Queen to live. He wanted the white-haired woman and Bai Yunqing to live.
And so, Chu Feng began merging with the little boy.
The little boy wore an evil smile and emanated a deeply unsettling aura as he walked toward Chu Feng, preparing to enter his body.
AAARGH—
The next moment, even Chu Feng — whose endurance was extraordinary — was wracked with unbearable agony. It was the pain of his entire body being torn apart.
Inside the world, Chu Feng let out a piercing scream.
But from the outside, he simply stood motionless. They could detect nothing out of the ordinary, and the barrier of light emanating from the little boy remained intact.
So neither Bai Yunqing nor the white-haired woman felt any concern for Chu Feng. Instead, they were reflecting on the pressure they had sensed from him moments ago.
"Miss Xiao Bai, did you feel that too?"
"I mean — just now, it seemed like a terrifying aura was emanating from my big brother's body."
Bai Yunqing asked in secret. Though it had lasted only an instant, the memory still sent a chill through him.
"Mm." The white-haired woman nodded.
"Miss Xiao Bai, you're well-informed — do you know what that was?"
"Could it be the pressure from the Divine Thunder Tribulation? When it merged with Big Brother Chu Feng, maybe it didn't fully dissipate, so it felt like the pressure came from him, but it was actually the Divine Thunder Tribulation?" Bai Yunqing asked.
"It wasn't the Divine Thunder Tribulation. That was a different kind of pressure. It came from Chu Feng himself," the white-haired woman said with certainty.
Just then, a mark appeared on Chu Feng's forehead — the imprint of the little boy's statue.
Chu Feng, who had been silent for a long while, suddenly moved. He placed both hands on his knees, gasping for air in great heaving breaths.
It was as though he had just endured an ordeal and paid a tremendous price.
In truth, this was the cost of successfully merging with the little boy. Just moments ago, Chu Feng had experienced pain akin to the reconstruction of his very soul.