"Chu Feng, you freak, are you some kind of monster?"
Ling Sheng'er looked at Chu Feng, bouncing up and down, her excitement radiating pure innocence — like a child who had just discovered a treasure.
It even made Chu Feng wonder once again whether this really was the havoc-wreaking little demon king that Jie Yu had described.
"Miss, this guy is definitely a monster."
Yao Luo chimed in from the side with a beaming smile. Though she was agreeing with Ling Sheng'er, her eyes remained fixed on Chu Feng, a gleam shining within them.
"All right, you two, that's enough."
"Otherwise the two young masters are going to think we've never seen the world." At that, Ling Mo'er spoke up with a smile.
"Well, haven't we? Sis, have you ever seen anyone like this? His talent is truly monstrous," Ling Sheng'er asked.
"Young Master Chu is indeed without peer in this era," Ling Mo'er said.
Truthfully, being acknowledged so readily by the prodigies of the Seven Realms Sacred Temple brought a peculiar sense of satisfaction to Chu Feng's heart.
Not for any other reason than that these three were no ordinary geniuses — they were the chosen heirs of the Seven Realms Sacred Temple.
After all, the Sacred Temple regarded him as a disgrace, which was why it had imprisoned his mother.
As for him and his father, the Sacred Temple had sentenced them to death outright.
Why? Simply because they were not Spirit World Masters of the Seven Realms Sacred Temple, and so the Sacred Temple deemed that they had tainted its bloodline.
How tyrannical was that? How absurd!!!
And one day, Chu Feng would make the Seven Realms Sacred Temple understand exactly whether he, Chu Feng, had tainted their precious bloodline.
Forgiving the Sacred Temple — that was one matter.
But making them realize that he was far from worthless — that was another entirely.
"Young ladies, if you keep this up, I'm afraid I might think you've fallen for me," Chu Feng said jokingly.
"Oh, Chu Feng, you've got some nerve. No matter how talented you are, I'm not going to fall for you that easily."
To this joke, Ling Sheng'er pouted, but the smile on her face not only remained but actually grew even wider.
She knew, after all, that Chu Feng was only teasing.
Given how things had gone, a little joke was perfectly natural. Besides, she could tell that Chu Feng was a man who didn't like being confined by formalities.
But unlike Ling Sheng'er, Yao Luo's cheeks actually flushed red.
"Wow, Luo'er, what's going on? Your face is red as a monkey's backside!"
"You're not actually falling for Chu Feng, are you?" Ling Sheng'er pointed at Yao Luo and burst into laughter.
"I — I'm not! Miss, please don't say such things!" Yao Luo covered her face with both hands, not daring to lift her head.
"Still saying you're not?" Ling Sheng'er grinned mischievously. She knew Yao Luo well — she knew that blush had to be for a reason.
"All right, all right, enough fooling around."
"Young masters, why don't you go on ahead? I just thought of some family matters I need to discuss with Sheng'er and Luo'er," Ling Mo'er said.
"Very well. We'll head on then."
As he spoke, Chu Feng led Bai Yunqing toward the barrier gate leading to the next checkpoint.
But just then, Ling Mo'er seemed to recall something and hurriedly called out.
"Oh, one more thing, young masters. Although we've only made it this far, our mother, as well as Lady Jie Ranqing, both passed through this place."
"Lady Jie Ranqing?"
"You mean Lady Jie Ranqing also entered through the same gate we did?" Chu Feng asked.
"She did." Ling Mo'er nodded.
"What a coincidence!" Hearing this, Chu Feng was secretly delighted.
He hadn't expected that the entrance he'd taken happened to be the very same one his mother had walked through.
"When Lady Jie Ranqing was still young, she came here many times to train and explore."
"And I might as well tell you, Young Master Chu, that Lady Jie Ranqing reached the very last level of this ancient temple."
"To this day, she remains the only person from our Seven Realms Sacred Temple to have ever set foot on the final level."
"At that time, our mother accompanied her. Although my mother did not reach the final level, she did not stop at this checkpoint either," Ling Mo'er continued.
"Miss Mo'er, is there a reason you're bringing this up now?" Chu Feng asked.
Ling Mo'er had never mentioned this before, so the fact that she was doing so now meant there had to be a reason.
"Because both my mother and Lady Jie Ranqing reached the later checkpoints, I want to let you know —"
"We have not walked the later checkpoints ourselves, but we do know how to get through them. Whatever is written on that stone wall, do not look at it."
"If you do, it will disturb your mind. In mild cases, you'll fall into an illusion. In severe cases, you'll suffer qi deviation — and there will be real danger to your lives," Ling Mo'er warned.
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Chu Feng's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he smiled. "Understood."
But he quickly asked another question: "Since Lady Jie Ranqing once entered this passage and reached the final level, why didn't Jie Zhou and the others take this entrance?"
Chu Feng truly couldn't understand. After all, he already knew that Jie Zhou was the Chosen One of Prophecy. If he was the Chosen One, then all the best resources should have been given to him.
"Jie Zhou — he is actually no ordinary individual." Thereafter, Ling Mo'er explained to Chu Feng the matter of Jie Zhou being the Chosen One of Prophecy.
She also shared more details about the prophecy itself, one clause of which stated that Jie Zhou must not walk a path already trodden by others.
And since Lady Jie Ranqing had once reached the final level through this entrance, it stood to reason that for Jie Zhou to succeed, he could not take this same entrance.
"I see. That makes sense."
Chu Feng smiled and turned toward the barrier gate, but before turning away, he glanced at Ling Sheng'er.
Chu Feng and Bai Yunqing passed through the barrier gate and found themselves in a cavern.
The cavern offered two possible paths, both through barrier gates, and right in the center stood an enormous stone wall.
Carved upon the stone wall were intricate runic patterns.
Any Spirit World Master could tell that these runic patterns concealing something within.
"What incredibly complex runes."
"Any normal person would study them closely, wouldn't they? This kind of trap is truly devious."
Bai Yunqing took one glance and couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Chu Feng, however, immediately activated his Heavenly Eyes and began examining the stone wall with care.
"Brother Chu Feng, didn't Miss Mo'er tell us not to look at this wall?" Bai Yunqing's face was full of surprise.
But Chu Feng signaled him to stay silent, then continued his careful observation.
After a moment, Chu Feng waved his great sleeve and directly set up a concealing barrier that enveloped them both.
"Brother Chu Feng, what are you doing?"
Bai Yunqing's expression turned grave.
"Come with me back, and you'll understand soon enough." With that, Chu Feng headed toward the great hall they had just left.
Bai Yunqing didn't fully understand, but he was no fool. He immediately sensed that something was off, so he followed close behind.
The two passed through the barrier gate and returned to the great hall. Because Chu Feng's concealing technique was far more sophisticated than an ordinary array, Ling Mo'er — despite being a Purple Dragon Sacred Robe — detected nothing at all.