"Zhou Dong, what… what are you doing?"
Someone suddenly spoke up — it was Jia Chengying.
During the final trial, Zhou Dong's poison had been the first to dissipate.
After that, Zhou Dong had told Jia Chengying and Qin Shu that they were unworthy of being his teammates any longer.
Right after, Zhou Dong made an astonishing move — he opened a barrier teleportation gate and stepped through it, leaving.
The two of them had assumed Zhou Dong was giving up on the trial and departing early.
After all, the formation that Chu Feng and Bai Yunqing had opened together had reappeared. To chase after him, they would need to break the formation again, which was clearly no easy task.
But after they regained their freedom and showed no intention of breaking the formation for quite some time, a barrier gate appeared before them.
They understood it as the trial grounds giving them permission to leave since they had given up.
Sure enough, when they stepped through the barrier gate, they returned to this plaza — only to find that Zhou Dong was nowhere to be seen.
At that point, something had felt off.
And now Zhou Dong had reappeared, not only injured but carried out by this group of people. On top of that, the tone of his voice was all wrong.
It was as if Zhou Dong was in cahoots with that old man who had defeated everyone from the Ancient Realm.
"Qin Shu, Jia Chengying, don't be afraid."
"I know the two of you are rather mediocre."
"But I'll spare your lives." Zhou Dong turned his head to look at Qin Shu and Jia Chengying.
His attitude was supremely arrogant and conceited, as though he were the master of this place.
"Young Master Zhou, it's about time. Open the gate," Yuan Jiang said to Zhou Dong.
Once he finished speaking, Zhou Dong dragged his injured body forward, produced an ancient compass from within his robes, and activated it.
The people of the Yuanmai Tribe also began to help, and in order to assist Zhou Dong, they actually drew upon the power of their bloodlines.
Meanwhile, Chu Feng was still enduring tremendous pain, yet he was gradually adapting to it, no longer letting out the agonized wails he had before.
Instead, he began analyzing the current situation.
"So the people you've been conspiring with are the Azure Moon Divine Temple," Chu Feng said to Yuan Jiang.
The reason Chu Feng said this was because, just moments ago, Little Crescent had brought him to meet Yuan Jiang.
While inside the cave where Yuan Jiang had been, Chu Feng had discovered a teleportation formation — a peculiar one, capable of sending messages out of the Ancient Realm.
At the time, Chu Feng had suspected that Yuan Jiang might be in contact with outsiders, but since he had no desire to meddle in the affairs of the Ancient Realm, he hadn't thought much of it.
Now, however, Chu Feng was nearly certain that the people Yuan Jiang had been in contact with were the Azure Moon Divine Temple.
The fact that Zhou Dong had been able to open a teleportation barrier gate during the final trial must have been due to Yuan Jiang's assistance.
Indeed, this entire final trial had been orchestrated for Zhou Dong from the very beginning. No wonder the fellow claimed he was the chosen one.
But Chu Feng hadn't anticipated that Yuan Jiang possessed such formidable influence — enough to suppress everyone in the Ancient Realm single-handedly.
"Oh, you noticed my connection with the outside world, did you? You must have seen that formation."
"That formation isn't easy to see through. You're a clever little brat — just like your father."
"Even though you won't admit it, I know you're his son," Yuan Jiang said with a grin.
"You must have reaped quite a few benefits from the Azure Moon Divine Temple to have achieved what you have today?" Chu Feng asked.
"Heh…" Yuan Jiang didn't answer directly, but that smile of his was as good as confirming Chu Feng's guess.
"Yuan Jiang! You've been colluding with outsiders — are you trying to betray our Ancient Realm?"
By now, the Ancient Realm's leader had caught on and began shouting accusations.
"You fools — for generations, you've been sealed within the Ancient Realm. No freedom, and on top of that, every Sacred Temple Pearl the Ancestral Statue bestows, you must hand over to outsiders according to its instructions."
"Not only are we barred from using the Sacred Temple Pearls, but even our very survival depends on the Ancestral Statue's whims. We must carry out perpetual ancestral worship — true slaves, all of us."
"My lifespan is nearly at its end, and I refuse to let my descendants continue living like this. I will break free from the Ancestral Statue's control. I will seize everything it possesses — the Sacred Temple Pearls within it and its power will all be mine to command."
"I will forge the Ancient Realm into the most powerful clan in the entire cultivation world."
"When that day comes, every one of you will be grateful to me and will submit to me of your own free will," Yuan Jiang declared.
"You've lost your mind — you're insane." Forget the Ancient Realm's leader — every elder present thought Yuan Jiang had gone mad.
The Ancestral Statue was a god in their eyes.
To destroy the Ancestral Statue was tantamount to challenging a god. This wasn't merely a betrayal of the Ancient Clan — it was blasphemy against the divine.
Daring to challenge the Ancestral Statue in the Ancient Realm? They all figured Yuan Jiang was as good as dead.
"Cowards, all of you — born to be slaves."
"Can't you see? What rests upon Chu Feng's forehead is the Ancestral Statue itself."
"Did you really think the Ancestral Statue had been letting outsiders enter the Ancient Realm all these years just for ancestral worship?"
"It was simply searching for a suitable person to possess. Even the Ancestral Statue itself wants to leave this wretched place — and yet you're content to remain here?" Yuan Jiang said.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" the Ancient Realm's leader demanded.
"Nonsense? Think about it — weren't these trials clearly designed with a purpose?"
"I'll tell you this: back then, Chu Xuanyan was a suitable candidate, but the man sensed something was wrong, so he skipped the trial and fled."
"And now this Chu Feng is equally a suitable candidate."
"He's passed the trial and earned the Ancestral Statue's recognition, which is why it has possessed his body. The Ancestral Statue is about to leave this place with him."
"But when the Ancestral Statue departs, it will never take us with it. We'll remain trapped here, and without the Ancestral Statue, all we can do is wait for death," Yuan Jiang said.
"Utter nonsense! Go see the stone tablet in the temple for yourself — that is the Ancestral Statue's own message," the leader shot back.