Chu Feng knew Xiao Yueya wasn't lying to him. That power was something beyond imagination — the primordial state of the bloodline's force. Forget him; no matter how powerful a martial cultivator was, they couldn't withstand it.
"Does this count as an ancestral rite?" Chu Feng asked.
"I suppose it does," Xiao Yueya replied.
"As long as I pass the trial, you'll save her?" Chu Feng asked.
"So long as you dare to step inside, I will save her." The reason Xiao Yueya said this was because she didn't believe Chu Feng could pass the trial either. She was merely seizing an opportunity — a slim possibility — but she knew the chances of success were vanishingly small.
Chu Feng said nothing more. He walked up to Xiao Yueya and reached out his right hand, gently caressing the black aura that Her Majesty had transformed into. His eyes were brimming with tenderness and reluctance to part.
After making this gesture, he turned to Xiao Yueya.
"Xiao Yueya, I trust you." With those words, Chu Feng stepped through the great gate.
"Aagh—"
The moment he set foot inside, an utterly bloodcurdling scream tore from Chu Feng's throat.
In the span of a single heartbeat, a tremendous force dragged him deep into the starry expanse.
At the same time, every bloodline beast in that boundless world detected what seemed like prey, and they all began converging on Chu Feng.
Those colossal, indescribable titans — each one brimming with the limitless power of the bloodline — unleashed their strength simultaneously, bombarding Chu Feng's frail body from every direction.
In an instant, Chu Feng's flesh was torn apart and his soul shattered.
Yet strangely, his shattered soul did not disperse right away. It held on, clinging together through sheer force of will.
It was Chu Feng's willpower that sustained him.
"This fellow... he can still stay conscious in this state?"
"Is it because of that girl?"
Xiao Yueya found it hard to believe. Normally, anyone subjected to such agony should have lost consciousness long ago — and once consciousness was lost, death would follow swiftly. But Chu Feng's willpower was unlike anything she had ever witnessed.
It wasn't just willpower, either. There were convictions — certain beliefs — that held him up.
Regardless, Chu Feng had endured. His soul hadn't scattered into nothingness immediately, and that alone made him the strongest person Xiao Yueya had ever seen.
As she spoke, a surge of power rose from her palm and poured into the ball of black energy that was Her Majesty.
Under that influence, the black aura began to shift, and before long it had taken on Her Majesty's original form.
But there were differences. The Her Majesty that appeared now was surrounded by roiling black flames and was not a physical body — she was formed entirely from energy.
The moment Her Majesty materialized, she heard Chu Feng's screams and peered through the great gate. Her expression changed drastically.
"What are you doing to Chu Feng?" Her Majesty glared at Xiao Yueya with fury.
During the days Chu Feng had been unconscious, Xiao Yueya had been working tirelessly to keep Her Majesty alive. The reason Her Majesty could now possess awareness and take on this form was entirely thanks to Xiao Yueya.
As such, Her Majesty had learned certain things about Xiao Yueya — that she was unfathomably deep and thoroughly dangerous.
"I told him that if he was willing to enter and undergo the trial, I would save you," Xiao Yueya said.
"You!!!" Her Majesty's eyes blazed with hatred, but she made no move. Instead, she turned to rush toward the great gate.
But before she could get close, a force repelled her.
"In your current state, you cannot enter. Besides, cherish your life — Chu Feng is suffering this pain because of you," Xiao Yueya said.
"I don't need Chu Feng to save me. Let him come out. I'm willing to die," Her Majesty declared.
"That won't do. I've been waiting for someone like this for a very long time. The odds may be slim, but there's still a chance. What if he succeeds?" Xiao Yueya replied.
"Don't you understand how Chu Feng has treated you?"
"Why would you use him like this?" Her Majesty demanded in a rage.
"He's kind, and he's good to me — that's his business. What does that have to do with me? You expect me to be eternally grateful just because he showed me a little kindness?"
"I'm not as foolish as you, nor as noble," Xiao Yueya said dismissively.
Her Majesty was beside herself with anxiety. Then a flash of resolve crossed her eyes, and her body began to change.
But suddenly, a powerful force bound her, halting the transformation.
"You really are courting death — using that power now, burning your life?" Xiao Yueya rebuked.
"Let me go. What I do is none of your concern," Her Majesty said.
"That won't do. I promised Chu Feng I'd save you," Xiao Yueya replied.
"I don't need you to save me! Let Chu Feng come out!" Her Majesty screamed.
But Xiao Yueya paid her no heed.
Seeing this, Her Majesty had no choice but to look toward Chu Feng and keep shouting.
"Chu Feng, come out right now! Your Queen doesn't need you to save her!"
"Are you a fool?"
Her Majesty screamed until her voice was hoarse, but Chu Feng didn't seem to hear a thing.
That was to be expected. His physical body had long since been torn apart, and his soul was in fragments. The pain he was enduring was beyond anything anyone in the world could imagine.
Chu Feng had likely lost consciousness already, sustaining himself purely through willpower and belief.
Her Majesty was consumed with worry. She turned back to Xiao Yueya, the fury still burning in her eyes — yet, with tremendous effort, she forced it down.
For the first time, a look of humility appeared on Her Majesty's face.
"I'm begging you. In my entire life, I have never once knelt before anyone of my own will."
"I'm begging you. Please let Chu Feng go."
With that, Her Majesty moved to kneel before Xiao Yueya.
To save Chu Feng, she would not hesitate to kneel and plead.
Slap—
But before she could kneel, a hand caught her and held her up. It was Xiao Yueya.