She wore a green robe. Though she was no junior, she looked remarkably young and quite beautiful.
Her legs were long, her figure exquisite, and her bearing alluring.
Despite bleeding from all seven orifices, her beauty was still striking. Lying on the ground in that pose, she carried a certain enchanting charm.
For an ordinary man, encountering such a situation would have made it difficult to remain a gentleman.
Fortunately, Chu Feng had strong self-control. And even if he hadn't, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on this woman.
This woman was no ordinary person.
Her name was Xia Xingchen, and she hailed from the Firmament Immortal Sect.
Chu Feng had seen her before, back in the Ancient Realm.
At that time, the Alchemy Immortal Sect had also come to the Ancient Realm, putting on quite the show of arrogance.
But they had been met with Xia Xingchen's disdain and humiliation.
Though the Alchemy Immortal Sect was inferior to the Firmament Immortal Sect, they weren't willing to swallow the insult. Under Xia Xingchen's contemptuous attitude, they had eventually clashed with her.
This Xia Xingchen, despite her young appearance—only a few hundred years old—was already a True God realm powerhouse.
Perhaps because she had targeted the Alchemy Immortal Sect from the very start, and her strength was more than sufficient, Chu Feng actually had a fairly decent impression of Xia Xingchen.
He never expected to run into her here.
But on second thought, it made sense. This place might very well be the Firmament Star River.
Suddenly, a violent wind swept in from the distance, so fierce that the bamboo forest swayed as if it might collapse at any moment.
But this bamboo forest was extraordinary. Even as the gale churned the winds and clouds, the bamboo merely swayed with the wind, refusing to be torn from the earth.
Soon, a woman's shrill voice carried over from far away.
"Lord Xingchen, stop hiding. You can't escape."
"You took my poison. Your cultivation will only continue to deteriorate. You're no match for me, and you can't possibly flee. Just come back quietly."
"With your talent, as long as you obediently admit your wrongs, the Sect Master will forgive you."
The voice came from above the ocean. It was most likely the one who had fought Xia Xingchen.
Whoosh—
Seeing this, Chu Feng quickly set up a concealment formation, hiding both himself and Xia Xingchen from view.
Though the distance was considerable, the other party was a True God realm cultivator. If they searched in earnest, they would find this place before long.
Chu Feng glanced at Xia Xingchen, then at the stone dagger beside her, and a plan formed in his mind.
He picked up the stone dagger, then carried Xia Xingchen away from the bamboo forest.
…
Xia Xingchen's eyes fluttered open in a daze. She found that her chest no longer hurt as much.
That was because she was inside a healing formation.
"You're awake."
Suddenly, a man's voice reached her ears.
She focused and saw that it was Chu Feng.
Her first instinct was to subdue him on the spot.
But she quickly realized she was completely powerless—she couldn't even leave this healing formation, let alone harm Chu Feng.
"Don't waste your strength, Senior. You've taken a poison that degrades cultivation, and it's a rather potent one. Until the poison's effects wear off, your cultivation will only grow weaker," Chu Feng said.
Seeing that she lacked the strength to overpower him, Xia Xingchen began to study Chu Feng more carefully.
Suddenly, her beautiful eyes lit up.
"Kid, it's you! I recognize you," Xia Xingchen said.
"Oh? You must have seen me in the Ancient Realm," Chu Feng replied.
"That's right. You're that kid named Chu Feng, weren't you? We've met before."
"Even though I wasn't looking at you when you looked at me, and you weren't looking at me when I looked at you, we still crossed paths, right?"
Xia Xingchen flashed a grin, her manner easygoing and carefree. The wariness from before had completely vanished, as if she'd run into an old acquaintance.
But then something dawned on her, and her expression stiffened. She looked at Chu Feng once more. "Kid, you… you're not dead?"
She remembered well that when the Ancient Realm had been attacked by the Azure Moon Divine Temple, her Firmament Immortal Sect hadn't intervened, given the Azure Moon Divine Temple's strength.
They had simply taken the Firmament Immortal Sect's geniuses and departed.
In her view, everyone still inside was as good as dead—Chu Feng included.
"Of course I'm not dead."
"It seems Senior isn't very well-informed. You haven't even heard about what happened to me afterward," Chu Feng said.
Hearing this, Xia Xingchen grew intrigued. A charming smile appeared on her delicate face. "Oh? What else happened to you? Tell me about it."
"There's quite a lot. If Senior wants to know, perhaps we could make an exchange."