Having made this decision, Chu Feng turned to look at Qin Changhong.
"Qin Changhong, do you still remember what I told you back then? That I could have killed you — only you weren't worth it."
"Actually, it wasn't just you. None of you... are worth it," Chu Feng said.
"Chu Feng, you still dare to talk tough?"
"Tell me, where is Xia Xingchen right now?"
"If you refuse to speak, I'll let your friends experience the methods of this old man — the Hall Master of the Punishment Hall of the Firmament Immortal Sect."
"I know your skin is thick and tough, but are your friends here just as tough as you?"
Qin Changhong's face twisted with viciousness. Then, with a sweep of his massive sleeve, countless objects floated into the air around him.
Even from this distance, the thick stench of blood assailed their nostrils.
Those... were all instruments of torture!!!
Seeing those instruments, every junior member of the Totem Dragon Clan present — aside from Long Chengyu and Long Muxi — wore expressions of terror.
They were all terrified of being tortured by such instruments.
"Hall Master Qin, Dragon Scale must have used some method. It seems he is using Chu Feng to refine some kind of special treasure."
"Don't kill him. Let Dragon Scale complete his technique. I want to see what kind of treasure it will produce."
The elder leading the Firmament Immortal Sect communicated through secret voice transmission.
He intended to reap the rewards without lifting a finger.
"Rest assured, Immortal Venerable. I won't lay a hand on Chu Feng. I just want him to reveal Xia Xingchen's whereabouts before he dies."
After speaking, Qin Changhong pointed a finger at the Totem Dragon Clan crowd.
Swish, swish, swish—
Several instruments of torture simultaneously shot toward Long Chengyu, Long Muxi, and the other juniors.
He... was going to torture the juniors!!!
The instant Qin Changhong made his move, the three Immortal Venerables all released powerful auras, but the bulk of their martial power was concentrated beneath their feet.
Their gazes also sharpened, locked onto the Totem Dragon Clan Chief.
They were prepared.
They were on guard.
They were not certain whether the Totem Dragon Clan Chief could still use his cultivation.
If he could, they would flee immediately.
Qin Changhong's strike appeared to target the juniors, but in truth it was also a probe...
Testing whether the Totem Dragon Clan Chief still posed a threat.
The instruments of torture drew closer and closer to Long Chengyu, Long Muxi, and the others. Though the Totem Dragon Clan Chief's face was suffused with killing intent, he made no move to counter.
Until the moment the instruments were about to enter the bodies of Long Chengyu, Long Muxi, and the others—
Craaack—
A bolt of lightning swept across. The instruments of torture, forged from supreme-grade materials, were reduced to ash in the blink of an eye.
The moment this happened, everyone's first thought was that the Totem Dragon Clan Chief had acted.
But they quickly realized that the Totem Dragon Clan Chief had not moved at all.
"Him?"
But the next instant, everyone was struck with shock.
A powerfully overwhelming aura had indeed appeared — but it did not come from the Totem Dragon Clan's experts.
It came from Chu Feng!!!
At that moment, lightning crackled around Chu Feng's body. The lightning was small in area, clinging only to Chu Feng himself.
But the instant it appeared, the ground beneath them trembled violently, the void warped and twisted, and even the dragon whiskers restraining him began to shake wildly, as though they were afraid.
Under this overwhelming might, the earth beneath Chu Feng's feet collapsed in an instant. Countless fissures spread outward across the world!!!
Yet Chu Feng and the others did not plummet — they stood suspended above the sunken ground.
"What is that?"
Seeing the lightning around Chu Feng now, forget the Firmament Immortal Sect members — even the Totem Dragon Clan Chief and the others were utterly astonished.
They could all sense that the lightning around Chu Feng harbored an extraordinarily terrifying power.
Such power should not exist within Chu Feng.
"That guy... could it be that he... he really..."
Watching the lightning coiling around Chu Feng's body, Qin Changhong's expression turned extremely ugly. Instinctively, he took several steps backward.
Only now did he realize that Chu Feng's words — that he could have killed him — had not been boasting.
Chu Feng truly possessed power sufficient to annihilate him.
"Immortal Venerables." Qin Changhong looked to the three Immortal Venerables.
Because he was certain that the lightning around Chu Feng represented a power he could not contend with.
What he did not know, however, was that the three Immortal Venerables were equally uncertain in their hearts.
……
At the same time, within the Ancestral Dragon Forbidden Ground.
Dragon Scale was desperately activating the forbidden technique. Due to its enormous cost, his appearance had already changed drastically.
He was no longer a middle-aged man but had become a wrinkled, white-haired old man.
Yet at this moment, he had no concern for his changed appearance, because he had detected a problem with his forbidden technique.
The power that was supposed to refine and absorb Chu Feng showed signs of being disrupted.
"Why is this happening?"
Dragon Scale's eyes flickered with disbelief.
This was not merely the Ancestral Dragon's secret art — he had activated the Ancestral Dragon's forbidden technique at the cost of his own life force.
This power should have been impossible to break. Chu Feng could only wait for death.
Yet he could clearly feel that the formation's power could no longer restrain Chu Feng, and might even be completely shattered at any moment.
He could not imagine what kind of power could possibly disrupt the Ancestral Dragon's forbidden technique.
That... was a secret formation the Ancestral Dragon himself had exhausted all his remaining power to create before his death!!!
"No — I cannot fail."
Dragon Scale glanced at Long Xue, and a vicious gleam appeared in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he began to frantically drive the formation with even greater intensity.
Dragon Scale's body aged further. All of his white hair began to fall out, and his life force drained away rapidly.
Meanwhile, the dragon whiskers restraining everyone indeed grew stronger and stronger.
The members of the Totem Dragon Clan suffered ever greater pain.
But Chu Feng's expression remained unchanged. The dragon whiskers around his body were also growing stronger, yet they could not restrain him at all — on the contrary, they teetered on the verge of collapse.
Because within him burned an even greater power.
The lightning released from within his body!!!
All thirteen True Gods of the Firmament Immortal Sect were using their own methods to scrutinize Chu Feng.
They all sensed the threat, yet they were somewhat reluctant to believe that a mere half-god could truly pose a danger to them?
Their first reaction was that Chu Feng was putting on an act.
The leader among them even activated his special observational technique to carefully examine the lightning surrounding Chu Feng.