"......"
After hearing the conversation between Yan Xie and Chu Feng, Chili Pepper and the other two also began to feel uncomfortable, their faces full of guilt.
Although they didn't possess Yan Xie's powers of observation, after listening to the exchange between the two, they gradually came to realize, in hindsight, just how formidable that oppressive pressure truly was.
They knew that they had gotten Chu Feng into trouble, yet instead of telling them how dire the situation was, Chu Feng had shouldered the entire burden alone — all to spare them from feeling guilty.
At that moment, none of them spoke, but deep in their hearts, they etched into memory everything Chu Feng had sacrificed for their sake.
Chu Feng endured the crushing pressure. While he could still hold on, he didn't dare slacken in the slightest — he had no intention of being eliminated and making this trip for nothing.
So right now, only one thought occupied Chu Feng's mind: grit his teeth and push through this trial with everything he had, as fast as possible.
Yet just as he was about to leave this area, he suddenly noticed a fork in the path up ahead.
"Really? At a time like this, they still pull little tricks like this." Chu Feng chuckled softly. The fork was painfully obvious — anyone with half a brain could see that the left path was the real one and the right was a decoy.
Even though he knew full well that the left path was correct, and that simply following it would let him pass this trial and reach the heart of the fortress, he couldn't help but glance at the right path as he passed.
Along the way, he had come to realize that whoever designed these trials was exceptionally clever. Many of the challenges had been cunningly set up, concealing hidden mechanisms beneath their surfaces.
And now, at what was arguably the most important trial of all, they had placed such an obvious choice? Clearly, that didn't make sense.
Chu Feng felt that there might be a deeper meaning to it, so he wanted to take a look at what the so-called fake path on the right actually had to offer.
"That's—?!"
"Am I seeing things?"
"That can't be real, right?"
One look was all it took. After that single glance, Chu Feng's eyes lit up, his expression turning to shock. A moment later, a look of wild elation spread across his face as he exclaimed, "It's actually real — the Heavens truly smile upon me!!!"
Seeing Chu Feng's reaction, Yan Xie and the others curiously turned their gaze in the same direction.
Only then did they notice that at the end of that path, beneath a great tree, a cluster of golden flowers had appeared.
Golden stems, golden leaves, golden blossoms — and the shape of the stems and leaves resembled a tiny humanoid figure, vivid and lifelike.
Viewed from a distance, it looked as though a golden figurine forged from pure gold was standing there, gleaming brilliantly, dazzling and radiant — so resplendent it was almost blinding.
"What is that?" Chili Pepper and the others narrowed their pupils. They didn't recognize the flower, but after a single glance they could tell it had to be some kind of treasure.
"It's a special type of flower called the Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower," Chu Feng explained.
"The Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower?" Chili Pepper and the others still didn't quite understand.
"In short, it's extremely useful to me." As he spoke, Chu Feng began walking toward the Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower.
The path was long, and reaching its end cost Chu Feng a considerable amount of time. This was genuinely risky — wasting so much time could very well mean he fell behind and failed to be among the first twenty to enter the heart of the fortress.
But even so, Chu Feng had to obtain this Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower.
According to records in the Nine Spirits Divine Map, the Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower was a supreme nourishment for realm spirits. It contained power identical in origin to that of martial cultivators, and could cause a realm spirit's cultivation to surge dramatically.
Chu Feng knew with absolute certainty that once he obtained this Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower, he would not only be able to awaken the sleeping Egg, but might even be able to push Egg's cultivation to an entirely new level.
Even though every second counted in the race for those twenty spots, compared to Egg's safety, what did it matter if he missed this competition?
After all, no one knew better than Chu Feng himself just how much Egg had sacrificed for him.
"It really is the Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower." At last, Chu Feng arrived before the Golden Leaf Realm Spirit Flower.