"Heh heh…"
Looking at the Barrier Saintess, whose face had turned livid and who looked as though she wanted nothing more than to smack him dead with a single palm, Chu Feng offered a smug grin. Then, right in front of everyone, he sketched out the layout of a grand formation.
The moment this formation diagram appeared, every Spirit World Master present felt their expressions shift, and undisguised disappointment crept into their eyes.
"Ha ha ha ha ha…"
"And here I was wondering what sort of formation it would be. After all that, it's nothing but this lowly thing?" The Barrier Saintess let out a contemptuous laugh, as though all the frustration weighing on her heart had finally found release. She held nothing back as she began to ridicule Chu Feng.
"Young friend Chu Feng, are you truly certain you want us to set up this formation?" At the same time, even the other Serpent-marked Immortal Robe Spirit World Masters began to voice their doubts.
"Senior, this formation simply needs to be constructed by all of you, following my diagram. That's all." Chu Feng offered no further explanation, but a look of unwavering confidence remained on his face.
"Everyone, this formation is child's play — how could it possibly break through Grandmaster Kaihong's guardian grand formation?"
"Moreover, although the formation Chu Feng has proposed is very weak in terms of its breaking power, it demands an enormous amount of barrier energy. If you help him complete it, you will certainly drain a great deal of your own barrier force."
"Are you truly willing to exhaust your barrier energy on a formation that will accomplish absolutely nothing?" The Barrier Saintess drove the wedge deeper, stirring dissent among them.
"This…" The Serpent-marked Immortal Robe Spirit World Masters did, in fact, hesitate.
"If this formation of mine fails to break through that guardian grand formation, then my life — Chu Feng's life — is yours to do with as you please," Chu Feng declared.
The moment those words left his lips, a fresh wave of astonishment rippled through the crowd.
Confidence — what astonishing confidence. He was so confident he was willing to wager his very life.
"How absurd. Do you think your life is worth anything? You're nothing more than a half-step Ancestor. In the Hundred Refinements Mortal World, cultivators at your level are a dime a dozen. Forget your life — even a hundred of your lives wouldn't equal the barrier energy these Spirit World Masters would waste." The Barrier Saintess scoffed.
"Whether my life is worth anything or not, I dare to make the bet. Do you?" Chu Feng turned the question on the Barrier Saintess.
"What?" She faltered, momentarily caught off guard.
"I said — I'll wager against you. If my formation fails to break through that guardian grand formation, my life is yours."
"But if my life can break through that guardian grand formation, then your life is mine."
"Do you dare to bet?" Chu Feng pressed.
"How laughable. Why would I bet with you?" the Barrier Saintess sneered.
"Didn't you just declare with absolute certainty that my formation can't break through? If you're so certain, why won't you place the bet?" Chu Feng continued.
"Utter nonsense." The Barrier Saintess's face darkened with humiliation — because she truly did not dare to take Chu Feng's wager.
"Cowering is cowering. No need to find excuses," Zhao Hong jeered.
"That's… that's right! If you can't be sure my brother will fail, then you're just spewing lies. Truly despicable." Wang Qiang chimed in with his own insult.
"Seniors, I don't actually need your help. If you don't believe in me and are afraid of wasting your barrier energy, then I'll just set it up myself." Having said this, Chu Feng began constructing the formation on his own.
"Well…" At that moment, the Spirit World Masters found themselves at a loss for words.
Like the Barrier Saintess, they didn't really believe that the formation Chu Feng had provided could break through the guardian grand formation.
After all, the formations they had attempted before — including the one the Barrier Saintess herself had set up — had been hundreds of times more sophisticated than this one.
If even those had failed, how could Chu Feng's formation possibly succeed?
And there was another reason they were unwilling to act, one the Barrier Saintess had already pointed out.
Although the formation Chu Feng proposed was weak, it consumed a tremendous amount of barrier energy. Before the guardian formation was broken, before Grandmaster Kaihong's inheritance and treasures were claimed, no one was willing to squander their own power for nothing — least of all on a formation doomed to fail.
"Chu Feng, I'll help you." Zhao Hong stepped forward and began assisting Chu Feng with the formation's construction.
"I-I'll help too!" At the same time, Wang Qiang hurried up as well.
"Those two kids — they're both Immortal Robe Spirit World Masters too?"
When Wang Qiang and Zhao Hong revealed their own barrier techniques, the people present were struck with even greater astonishment.