"Of course not — how could I possibly craft such powerful barrier armor?" Chu Feng denied immediately.
At this moment, if he admitted to it, Jie Tian might very well kill him on the spot.
And regarding this lie, Jie Tian not only didn't suspect a thing, but instead said: "Naturally, you couldn't have made such powerful barrier armor."
"This guy actually believed it?" the Egg Queen was somewhat surprised.
"He probably never thought it was forged by me from the start," Chu Feng said.
"Then wasn't that question completely unnecessary?" the Egg Queen asked, confused.
"He probably wanted to confirm something else," Chu Feng guessed.
Sure enough, after a moment of thought, Jie Tian turned his gaze toward the skinny old man.
"It seems the Chief Elder doesn't entirely trust me either."
"On one hand, you say you'll give me the best resources, yet on the other, you helped Little Fishy forge barrier armor capable of unleashing her bloodline power."
That was Jie Tian's guess — he believed Little Fishy's barrier armor had been crafted by the Chief Elder.
Of course, compared to it being made by Chu Feng, it did make far more sense for the Chief Elder to have forged it.
After all, that man practically held control over the entire Star Sea World.
Hearing Jie Tian say this, the skinny old man also panicked slightly, clearly feeling that this guess was entirely reasonable.
"Could it be that the Chief Elder discovered we've betrayed him too?"
"That's why he helped Little Fishy forge such powerful barrier armor without our knowledge?" The skinny old man's face was filled with worry.
"What's there to fear? The Sacred Lord will manifest soon, and once he unifies the Star Sea World, the Chief Elder will be nothing to worry about."
"Exactly — the Star Sea World will soon be ours."
The other two old men spoke up one after another.
Compared to the skinny old man, the other two showed absolutely no fear of the Chief Elder whatsoever.
But sensing their auras, while weaker than Jie Tian's barrier armor, they were roughly on par with the skinny old man.
Based on this strength, Chu Feng judged that they had likely been chief elders themselves at some point — they had simply betrayed their positions long ago.
And precisely because they had been traitors for so long yet remained safe, they had no reason to fear the Chief Elder.
Hearing the two of them speak, the worry on the skinny old man's face did diminish somewhat.
"For Little Fishy to possess such barrier armor — that's truly troublesome."
"Lord Jie Tian, why don't you lure her out, and we'll help you deal with her?" the skinny old man suggested.
"You lot? Could your strength possibly surpass my barrier armor?" Jie Tian's face was filled with scorn.
"Uh..."
That single retort not only left the skinny old man utterly speechless.
The other two old men also looked rather uncomfortable.
"I can handle Little Fishy on my own."
"That gate — I can open it as well. The task the Sacred Lord entrusted to me, I, Jie Tian, will absolutely complete."
"However... how is your task coming along?" Jie Tian asked.
"Lord Jie Tian, the grand formation has been completed. It won't be long before the Sacred Lord can see the light of day again."
After the three old men finished speaking, they walked deeper into the area.
Before long, they passed through another barrier gate.
Beyond this barrier gate, an enormously vast space came into view.
But that vast space was entirely occupied.
It was a grand formation — an extraordinarily massive one that filled virtually all the visible space.
This grand formation was not only immense in size but also quite peculiar.
It was connected to the formation power deep underground in the Star Sea World, and it was that formation power which drove this grand formation.
Within the formation, it was like an ocean — filled with churning black water that exuded an extremely potent aura of evil.
And with his Heavenly Eye, Chu Feng could clearly see...
Deep within that black water, there was a colossal monster ten thousand meters long.
The monster had a vaguely humanoid form, yet its body appeared to be made of dead wood — withered and gaunt. Though it had only two legs, it possessed eighteen arms.
In short, it looked bizarre, eerie, and terrifying — one glance and one's blood would run cold.
The evil aura didn't come from the black water. It came from this monster.
However, at this moment, for some reason, it bore no trace of life.
"It's finally complete."
Looking at the functioning grand formation and the colossal monster within, Jie Tian nodded with satisfaction.
But compared to the pleased Jie Tian, the Egg Queen's brow was deeply furrowed.
"Chu Feng, that monster inside — that's the evil power, isn't it? The one they call their Sacred Lord?"