"What do you mean?" Chu Feng asked with a frown, instinctively sensing that Xue Ji was not joking.
As for Xue Ji, she did not answer Chu Feng. Instead, she smiled faintly — a smile that was alluring yet utterly inscrutable.
"Xue Ji, where are you?! Come here immediately!!!"
However, at that very moment, the Master of the Dark Hall let out an ear-splitting roar, calling out to Xue Ji.
Chu Feng was even more stunned. Xue Ji was standing right in front of him — if the Master of the Dark Hall could lock onto Chu Feng's position, how could he not know where Xue Ji was?
After all, the Master of the Dark Hall already possessed cultivation approaching that of a Half Ancestor. With such power, he still couldn't pinpoint Xue Ji's location?
Still reeling from the shock, Chu Feng turned to look at Xue Ji and found her still gazing at him with that same smile. But that rare, alluring grin struck Chu Feng as infinitely dangerous.
"Chu Feng, for old times' sake, I'll tell you a secret."
"This so-called Master of the Dark Hall has cultivated a demonic art. The art grows stronger every time it devours a living being. The level of the being's cultivation doesn't matter — anything alive will do. However, how quickly his power increases depends on the number of lives he devours."
"Put simply, the Master of the Dark Hall is about to devour every living creature on the Martial Sacred Land. The more he devours, the faster his cultivation will rise. This will be his method of advancement going forward."
"There are two ways to stop him. First, try to keep living things out of his line of sight."
"Second — and this is the better option — kill him as quickly as possible. The longer you delay, the stronger he becomes. Right now he isn't a true Half Ancestor yet, but once he fully masters this demonic art and the ancient Fierce Beasts that have merged with his body — once he has complete command of both — his mastery of barrier arts will make it trivial for him to locate every living creature on the Martial Sacred Land. And when that time comes, I fear no one will be able to stop him." Xue Ji said all this to Chu Feng.
"Why are you telling me this?" Chu Feng asked.
To Chu Feng's question, Xue Ji simply smiled again. Then her figure flickered, and she vanished.
Chu Feng immediately turned his gaze toward the clash between the Master of the Dark Hall and Yue Xian.
That area had already become a killing field. Even the Elven King — the strongest being on the entire Martial Sacred Land — could only retreat in the face of it.
But at that moment, a massive surge of black energy pressed straight through the Half Ancestor's overwhelming pressure and forced its way to the Master of the Dark Hall's side.
"What is that?"
Everyone present was startled. They could all feel that the black energy was a living being, yet they couldn't fathom what kind of creature could withstand such violent ripples of power and approach the Master of the Dark Hall.
When the black energy dissipated, those who were already shocked were left absolutely dumbstruck. Even the Elven King furrowed his brow, his expression growing far more uneasy.
Because the figure revealed was none other than Xue Ji — the same woman who had just left Chu Feng's side.
At this point, not only Chu Feng but nearly everyone present had realized that this woman called Xue Ji was far more terrifying and far more powerful than any of them had imagined.
"Yue Xian, remember this — the next time we meet, I will make you the prey in my belly."
And then, from within the Master of the Dark Hall's body, an extraordinary radiance suddenly burst forth. It spread outward from within, instantly enveloping his colossal form.
But what shocked everyone most was this: the Master of the Dark Hall was wreathed in billowing demonic energy, yet the radiance emanated an aura of righteous virtue. The two should have been completely at odds, yet that righteous glow was now shielding the Master of the Dark Hall.
No matter what methods Yue Xian employed, she could not break through the light that covered him.
Then, without warning, the radiance blazed to blinding intensity — so bright that everyone was forced to shield their eyes, as though the sun itself had descended to the ground. A searing, piercing heat washed over them in its wake.
But this lasted only an instant. In the blink of an eye, it was gone.