"That's strange — there's no reward for passing the test?"
Soon, the joy on Little Fishy's face faded as she realized she hadn't received any benefits.
Meanwhile, both Chu Feng and Little Fishy were carefully observing their surroundings.
It was a vast world, and they could no longer see the palace from before.
In every direction, there was nothing but a boundless sea of white mist.
The mist was peculiar — it blocked out the sides but left the sky and earth unobstructed.
So they could look up and see the sky and down and see the ground, but nothing in the distance was visible.
"What is this place?" Little Fishy asked curiously, her eyes growing bright at the same time.
It was a special observational technique — not a barrier skill, but a method exclusive to martial cultivators.
At the same time, Chu Feng activated his Heavenly Eyes to observe more closely.
Soon, under the gaze of his Heavenly Eyes, the mist began to part.
Chu Feng could see that the palace was still there, far behind them.
But the palace doors had already closed. If they wanted to return, they would clearly need a special method.
And directly ahead in this world stood a barrier that pierced from earth to sky.
That barrier was extraordinarily solid — one glance was enough for Chu Feng to know it was something he could not break through in a short time.
However, under the gaze of his Heavenly Eyes, the barrier gradually shifted from solid to transparent.
"That is…?"
But once the barrier became something Chu Feng could see through, his heart clenched.
Behind the barrier was a massive sealing formation.
The formation was so enormous that Chu Feng's line of sight couldn't reach its end in a single glance.
And beneath that formation lay a colossal creature, flames raging around its body. Those flames bore a strong resemblance to the ones behind the bronze gates, only far, far stronger — stronger by an untold measure.
But the creature's body was too vast for Chu Feng to see its entirety. Within his field of vision, he could only make out a portion of it.
Still, Chu Feng judged that it must be lying prone, and the part he could see was likely its face.
For although he couldn't see its full body, he could see a pair of impossibly enormous eyes gazing directly at Little Fishy.
And those eyes — Chu Feng recognized them. They were the very same gaze that had appeared when he underwent the trial.
Just then, a figure materialized before the barrier.
When this figure first appeared, it stood a hundred thousand meters tall, its form humanoid, wreathed in the same flames that engulfed the sealed creature.
Most importantly, the moment this figure appeared, the colossal sealed being closed its eyes.
However, the gaze locked onto Little Fishy remained — only now it emanated from the flame giant instead.
More than that, Chu Feng sensed an identical aura radiating from both of them.
It was an aura older than antiquity itself. They had existed for countless ages, and were very likely beings that had been present since the Primordial Era.
After this figure appeared, it too kept its eyes fixed on Little Fishy while striding swiftly toward her.
Simultaneously, its body began to change — shrinking continuously until it not only assumed the size of a normal human, but even the flames upon its body dissipated.
In the end, it transformed into a woman wearing a fiery red dress. Her skin was fair and luminous, her legs long and slender, her figure curves in all the right places — absolutely stunning.
What was more, she had a head of flame-red hair, with currents of air rippling through it. At first glance it didn't even look like hair — it looked like fire itself.
Her appearance could best be described with the word "enchantress."
But the dangerous kind — the kind that bewitches souls and harbors malice.
From a hundred-thousand-meter flame giant to this alluring woman, everything about her had changed. Only that gaze remained the same.
Still fixed on Little Fishy, still harboring ill intent.
"What's going on — is that the sealed creature? How did it get out?" The Queen had seen everything Chu Feng saw, and felt a deep sense of unease.
"I don't know, but it feels like the same being. Could it be that its true body is sealed, but a wisp of its power escaped?" Chu Feng guessed.
Little Fishy had used her own observational technique, but it wasn't as clear as what Chu Feng could see.
She was glancing around, her eyes filled with curiosity and uncertainty.
But as the woman drew closer, Little Fishy sensed her approach and turned her gaze in that direction.
Soon, the figure passed through the mist and appeared within Little Fishy's line of sight.
With this woman's arrival, Jie Tian also snapped out of his daze and studied the stunning, fiery figure before him.
"My, little girl — you truly are something. You're the only one who passed the test."
"Then this fortune shall be yours." As the words left her lips, the woman's figure began to grow translucent.
"Wait."
But at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Little Fishy — it was Chu Feng.
"I can complete the test as well," Chu Feng said.
"Oh?" The woman's gaze shifted slightly upon hearing this.
"Heh." Jie Tian let out a contemptuous laugh. "When there's something to be gained, so much for bonds of friendship."
Not knowing the full picture, he assumed Chu Feng was trying to seize the fortune that rightfully belonged to Little Fishy, and was merely asking for another chance at the test for that reason.
But Little Fishy showed no anger. Instead, she rushed straight in front of Chu Feng and blocked him behind her with her small hands.
Her eyes burned like torches as she stared down the woman, as though facing a mortal enemy: "Come at me. That's all you need to do."
"Little Fishy, you…" Chu Feng realized that Little Fishy had also understood — what this woman intended to offer her was no fortune, but danger.
She knew that Chu Feng wanted to face this danger on her behalf, and that was precisely why she wouldn't let him take her place.
"Little one, I can give you one chance," the woman said to Chu Feng.
"But if you fail to complete it, you will die."