"Chu Feng, don't go in!"
Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out as two figures rushed forward.
Those two figures were Ling Sheng'er and Yao Luo.
It was Ling Sheng'er who had cried out, but upon seeing her, Chu Feng and his two companions all froze for a moment before studying her carefully.
They noticed that while Ling Sheng'er's body was clearly radiating the power of the Blue Dragon Barrier, it was intermingled with purple aura.
That purple aura was her bloodline, and it was precisely because of this intertwining of purple aura that she, clad in the Blue Dragon Divine Robe, had gained power comparable to that of the Purple Dragon Divine Robe.
Her barrier combat strength had risen by an entire tier.
"Sheng'er, you!!!"
"When did you awaken your bloodline?"
Ling Mo'er looked at her younger sister, equal parts delighted and stunned.
"Sis, part of my bloodline had awakened long ago, but I didn't want to tell anyone, so only Yao Luo and I knew," Ling Sheng'er said.
"You told even Yao Luo, yet you hid it from me, your own sister?" Ling Mo'er's words carried an unmistakable note of jealousy.
"Miss Mo'er, I happened to be present when Miss Sheng'er's bloodline awakened — it wasn't that she told me deliberately."
"And the reason I didn't tell you is that Miss Sheng'er instructed me not to inform anyone, which is why I stayed silent."
"Miss Sheng'er carries far too much on her shoulders. It weighs on her greatly, which is why she didn't want you to know."
"Please don't blame her," Yao Luo hastily explained.
But compared to Yao Luo's gentle reasoning, Ling Sheng'er paid her sister no heed. She darted forward, placing herself between Chu Feng and Ling Mo'er.
Then she turned back to face Ling Mo'er with a look of confrontation.
She understood her sister's personality — once Ling Mo'er made up her mind, it was nearly impossible to sway her. If her scheme failed, she might resort to force.
Seeing this, Ling Mo'er was so furious her mouth twisted.
"You ungrateful little thing."
"How long have you known him, and already you protect him like this — an outsider?"
"Can't you see that my barrier powers have been sealed?"
"The one you should be protecting is your own sister."
Ling Mo'er rarely lost her temper with Ling Sheng'er, but now she couldn't hold back her anger.
After all, just moments ago she had felt she might actually die — and she was afraid of dying.
Then her little sister appeared and, using her barrier bloodline, raised her own barrier combat strength by a tier, giving Ling Mo'er a sliver of hope for survival.
She had assumed her sister would protect her, but now here she was — standing on the enemy's side.
As an older sister, this stung deeply.
"Sis, don't even think about scheming."
Yet Ling Sheng'er refused to believe a single word Ling Mo'er said.
"You… what kind of sister have I raised?" Ling Mo'er's face had turned purple with rage.
"Give this to your sister." Chu Feng spoke up, handing a jade vial to Ling Sheng'er.
"Could it be? You…" Seeing the jade vial Chu Feng offered, Ling Sheng'er realized that things had apparently moved faster than she had imagined.
Had her sister truly been restrained?
She had assumed that by coming out now, before Chu Feng had entered, her sister's scheme could not possibly have succeeded yet.
As long as she blocked her sister, she could keep Chu Feng in the dark and preserve the harmonious atmosphere they had shared before. Her sister's image wouldn't be tarnished either.
But now… everything seemed completely different from what she had expected.
Yet in such a short time, she had awakened her bloodline and broken through her sister's prison.
In so brief a moment, her sister's barrier powers had been sealed — what on earth had happened?
Seeing Ling Sheng'er's bewildered expression, Chu Feng smiled and proceeded to explain the whole affair.
Upon hearing the full story, Ling Mo'er's face flushed with shame.
She had known only that Chu Feng possessed extraordinary talent — she hadn't realized his powers of observation were this sharp as well. It made her feel that her scheming had been utterly clumsy.
And it truly had been clumsy. Her current predicament was the best proof of that.
"So, do you forgive my sister?" Ling Sheng'er glanced at the antidote in her hand and asked Chu Feng.
"Forgiveness might be too strong a word, but for your sake, I won't make things difficult for her."
"Regardless, the fact remains that she tried to set me up. I need to impose some form of punishment," Chu Feng said.
"What kind of punishment?" Ling Sheng'er asked — she was still worried about her sister.
"Your sister will enter through the barrier gate on the right."
"The three of us will enter through the barrier gate on the left," Chu Feng said.
Hearing this, Yao Luo instantly grew nervous to the extreme and couldn't help blurting out: "This… isn't a punishment for Miss Mo'er — it's a punishment for us!"
Ling Mo'er flew into a rage at Chu Feng: "Chu Feng, if you want to punish someone, punish me! Don't drag my sister into this!"
"Shut up. I'm punishing you."
As he spoke, Chu Feng moved to forcefully push Ling Mo'er through the barrier gate on the right.
But Ling Sheng'er darted forward and planted herself directly in front of Ling Mo'er.
She was still her biological sister, after all. While she didn't want Ling Mo'er to harm Chu Feng, she equally didn't want Chu Feng to harm Ling Mo'er.
"Sis, I believe Chu Feng won't lie to us. If he says this is the antidote, then it must be the antidote."
"But take it only after you've gone inside."
With those words, she led her sister to the entrance on the right.
Ling Mo'er knew she was powerless to change the situation, so she turned to look at Ling Sheng'er and transmitted a message through a private spiritual channel:
"Sheng'er, don't trust this Chu Feng so easily. He's nowhere near as harmless as he looks — he's despicable."
"Isn't my current fate proof enough?"
"When you go in with him later, don't just listen to everything he says. You must learn to protect yourself."
"Sis, don't worry about me." Even as she said this, Ling Sheng'er still pushed her sister through the barrier gate.