Sure enough, the same lightning that coursed through Zhou Dong's body was now radiating from Chu Feng and the long sword in his hand.
"What the— Big Brother Chu Feng, what did you do?" Bai Yunqing stared at Chu Feng in disbelief.
Chu Feng, with a fourth grade Half God's cultivation, had critically wounded Zhou Dong, a sixth grade Half God.
And at that moment, the Queen's voice also rang out.
"Chu Feng, have you lost your mind?" the Queen delivered a harsh reprimand.
She knew exactly how Chu Feng had managed this — he had unleashed the second slash of the Nine-Fold Heavenly Thunder Slash.
But Chu Feng was no longer supposed to be able to use that technique. The backlash would be fatal to him.
"You bastard — just you wait," Zhou Dong snarled at Chu Feng through gritted teeth. Then he spun around and stepped through the teleportation barrier gate to flee.
Though he was unwilling to accept it, having been struck by that blow, he had completely lost the ability to fight. He had no choice but to retreat.
Chu Feng said nothing, but the thunder runes, the thunder armor, and the thunder wings all faded away at the same time.
"Chu Feng, what's wrong with you?"
It was the white-haired woman who reacted the fastest. She swooped down and steadied Chu Feng before he could collapse.
If she hadn't caught him, he might have crumpled straight to the ground.
Even so, the Primordial Hero Sword slipped from his grasp and clattered to the earth — he no longer even had the strength to hold it.
"Big Brother, what happened to you? Is it the backlash?" By now, Bai Yunqing had realized what was going on and rushed over with concern.
"Mm." Chu Feng nodded with difficulty. The backlash from the Nine-Fold Heavenly Thunder Slash was growing faster and stronger with every passing moment, and even he could barely endure it.
"Big Brother, take this. It can ease the pain of the backlash."
Bai Yunqing produced a medicinal pill and handed it to Chu Feng.
Bai Yunqing himself had suffered backlash earlier and had taken a pill to relieve the pain at the time. But that pill was nowhere near as valuable as this one — this one's power was clearly far greater.
It was a pill Bai Yunqing had been reluctant to use on himself, yet without a moment's hesitation, he offered it to Chu Feng.
"I have some too," the white-haired woman said, producing two pills identical to Bai Yunqing's.
Seeing those pills, Bai Yunqing blinked in surprise and seemed about to say something, but held his tongue.
Chu Feng swallowed all three pills, and a powerful healing energy began to radiate around his body.
Chu Feng then turned his gaze toward the great gate. The boy-shaped statue carved into his forehead began to glow, and a beam of light shot from it straight into the keyhole.
BOOM—
The massive sealed gate groaned open.
Beyond it lay another barrier gate.
But Chu Feng's condition was growing worse by the second.
"This is bad — three Holy Pills and they can't even ease it. This backlash could kill him," Bai Yunqing said, his body trembling with anxiety as he grasped just how dire the situation was.
The white-haired woman said nothing, but her expression had gone hollow.
She hadn't expected that Chu Feng would resort to a life-threatening technique just to save her.
"Get her out of here first. The Ancient World may have healing methods," the white-haired woman said after a stunned pause.
And so, Bai Yunqing and the white-haired woman carried Chu Feng through the barrier gate.
Passing through it, the three of them reappeared directly in the main square.
But the square was empty now — all the citizens of the Ancient World's various tribes were gone. Only the Ancient World's leader and the many elders remained.
It was worth noting that Jia Chengying and Qin Shu were also present.
Zhou Dong, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"Whoa, what happened to Chu Feng? Is he about to die?" Jia Chengying burst into laughter at the sight of Chu Feng's wretched state. Qin Shu said nothing, but a look of schadenfreude played across her face.
The white-haired woman had no patience for these two clowns. She turned straight to the Ancient World's leader: "Elder, please save Chu Feng quickly."
But before she even finished speaking, the leader had already begun walking toward Chu Feng. He didn't start treatment, however — instead, he fixed his gaze on Chu Feng's forehead.
"So it was Young Hero Chu Feng who passed the final trial after all," the leader said.
"It was, but he used some kind of power and suffered a terrible backlash. Please save him," the white-haired woman urged.
Ahhhhh—
The Ancient World's leader let out a long, heavy sigh, as though mourning something.
Then he produced a box — an exquisite thing that was itself a priceless treasure. But when he opened it, inside lay what appeared to be an ordinary, unremarkable stone.
The leader picked up the stone, and his eyes blazed with a strange light. At the same time, the stone in his hand began to glow with a similar radiance.
Then he pressed it against Chu Feng's forehead and pulled sharply.
Graaah—
Chu Feng, who had been on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness, let out a piercing scream.
A beam of light formed between the stone and Chu Feng's forehead, as though the leader were trying to forcibly rip the statue imprint right off his skin.
"What are you doing?" The white-haired woman realized something was wrong — the leader wasn't helping Chu Feng at all. It looked far more like he was doing something sinister.
She moved to stop him, but an overwhelming wave of pressure erupted from the leader, pinning both her and Bai Yunqing in place so they couldn't move a muscle.
"What do you think you're doing? Let me go — do you have a death wish?" The white-haired woman's eyes blazed with killing intent.
"Release my Big Brother! My Master is the Guest Grand Elder of the Totem Dragon Clan! If you dare harm my Big Brother, I will never let you off!" Bai Yunqing shouted his own fierce threat at the same time.
The Ancient World's leader ignored Bai Yunqing entirely, but he did glance at the white-haired woman.
"Miss Xiao Bai, I have no desire to offend you. In truth, I hold young friend Chu Feng in high regard."
"But… this concerns the fate of our Ancient World. I have no choice but to do this," the leader said.
It turned out that words had appeared on the blank stone stele inside the great hall. And the message carved there was a warning to the Ancient World — a catastrophe was coming.