Chu Feng had no idea what had transpired after he left.
He believed he had narrowly escaped death — pulled back from the gates of hell itself.
It wasn't that Chu Feng was cowardly or timid; it was simply that the elder from the Sacred Valley was absurdly powerful relative to his current strength, an existence he stood no chance against.
However, after leaving, Chu Feng did not rush to depart from that world. Once he felt he was safe, he found a quiet place and devoted himself wholeheartedly to studying the bead.
Chu Feng craved power desperately. He wanted to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible, wanted to enter the Crouching Dragon Martial Sect as soon as he could, and wanted to see Zi Ling again.
Of course, his desire to improve his cultivation wasn't solely about rescuing Zi Ling.
It was also for his family.
After all, only with sufficient strength could he investigate the truth about his grandfather and grandmother.
Yet that level of power was still hopelessly far beyond his current reach.
"Is it really this difficult?"
At this moment, Chu Feng sat atop the clouds, the bead floating before him.
Just looking at it, however, Chu Feng felt somewhat helpless.
The Sacred Valley elder hadn't lied to him.
The power within this bead was clearly abundant — Chu Feng could sense it vividly.
But harnessing that power for his own use was no simple task.
The bead seemed to have developed a life of its own. Though it was a cultivation resource, it possessed its own will.
Using its power for cultivation wasn't impossible, but it required the bead's acknowledgment.
And gaining that acknowledgment was easier said than done.
Chu Feng needed to continuously channel his own power and aura into it, over and over.
But this was not something that could be rushed — it could only be done gradually. When exactly the bead would acknowledge him, Chu Feng had no way of knowing.
That depended entirely on the bead's own will.
Though somewhat disappointed, Chu Feng wasn't overly disheartened.
The bead's power, while difficult to obtain, was at least obtainable. The only difference was how long it would take.
It was still far better than that Divine Tree Seed inside his body.
That seed was something Chu Feng truly had no control over.
Whether it could ever serve him remained unclear.
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he simply didn't know.
Whenever his bloodline power attempted to refine the Divine Tree Seed, the seed would resist.
And the result of that resistance was a regression in his cultivation.
Each regression caused him no small amount of trouble.
So for the time being, the Divine Tree Seed had only brought Chu Feng harm.
As for any benefit — none was yet visible.
"Sigh. The path of martial cultivation truly is not easy."
Chu Feng sat among the clouds, gazed at the bead, let out a sigh, then used his barrier power to seal it so its energy wouldn't leak out.
But rather than placing it into his Universe Bag, he tucked it inside his body.
The reason was simple — he needed to continuously channel his power into the bead.
Keeping it in his pocket made it easy to expose. Should he encounter a cultivator stronger than himself, the bead would inevitably be stolen.
But hidden within his body, it would be far harder for anyone to detect — considerably safer by comparison.
With all of this done, Chu Feng rose to his feet and prepared to leave.
He had already decided where to go.
The Younger Generation Strongest Tournament, hosted by the Sacred Light Clan — he was definitely going.
His reason for going wasn't to make a name for himself. It was primarily to obtain the cultivation rewards the Sacred Light Clan was offering.