"This..."
Upon hearing those words, Ma Chengying and the others didn't know how to respond.
They had to admit that the Supreme Elder's reasoning did make a certain amount of sense.
If that Chu Feng's strength had truly reached such heaven-defying heights, they wouldn't have been alive right now.
After all, what they had done to Chu Feng previously could be described as utterly despicable. And Chu Feng's hostility toward them — they had felt it keenly. Given the chance, Chu Feng absolutely would not have let them go.
"This formation was personally arranged by the Sect Master."
"Beyond the main formation, there is also a protective barrier."
"That barrier is extraordinarily powerful. Apart from the Sect Master and that old madman, no one can enter."
"A fellow who couldn't even escape a canyon — one sealed shut because a formation anomaly activated its barrier-sealing art — there's no way he could break into the main formation."
"All of you, go back. Continue doing what you're supposed to do. Once you've rested, return to the formation's core and help keep the grand formation running."
"Before the Sect Master returns, you must successfully refine the Heaven and Earth treasure."
"Otherwise, that would be a true crime."
The Supreme Elder, after learning about Chu Feng, didn't take the matter particularly to heart.
He wasn't even willing to leave this place to search for Chu Feng.
In other words, he had absolutely no regard for Chu Feng whatsoever.
"Supreme Elder, we..."
But the Flying Flower Sect disciples all wore troubled expressions.
Once they had reported everything they knew to the Supreme Elder, they no longer worried about whether Chu Feng might infiltrate the main formation. After all, they had said their piece — they could no longer be accused of withholding information.
What they feared now was their own safety.
They were afraid Chu Feng would come back for revenge.
If they returned to their resting spot and Chu Feng showed up to settle the score, what then?
"Useless bunch."
The Supreme Elder saw through their concerns, so he turned around and called out to those behind him.
"Li Rui."
As soon as those words left his lips, a handsome young man stepped out from the formation behind him.
This was the Supreme Elder's personal disciple, named Li Rui.
"Your disciple is here."
The man called Li Rui stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the Supreme Elder.
"I don't need you here for the time being. Go with them."
"If that one called Chu Feng truly dares to come back, don't bother capturing him alive — just kill him on the spot."
"Setting aside the fact that he killed Lu Xiong, his mere trespass here alone is a capital offense," the Supreme Elder declared.
"Understood," Li Rui answered.
"Supreme Elder, then your disciples will take their leave."
At this point, Ma Chengying and the others finally felt safe to depart.
The reason they no longer feared Chu Feng was precisely because of Li Rui's accompaniment. Though Li Rui was still a junior, his cultivation was already extraordinarily powerful — a Six-star Martial Emperor.
Though they were all at the Six-star Martial Emperor level, his combat strength far surpassed others at the same rank. For instance, the Six-star Martial Emperor surnamed Lu — the one Chu Feng had killed earlier — had once clashed with Li Rui. In just a single blow, Li Rui had critically wounded him.
In other words, though both stood at the Six-star Martial Emperor realm, their strength was not remotely in the same league.
So with Li Rui accompanying them, they no longer feared Chu Feng.
After all, they already knew that Chu Feng's barrier arts could rival the power of a Six-star Martial Emperor.
But barrier arts were, in the end, merely barrier arts.
"Rival" was only "rival."
They could not be compared to true, direct power.
Chu Feng might be able to rely on his barrier arts to...