"Brother Tie Fan, look quickly — isn't that the brat who stuck his nose in our business before?" Suddenly, from the back half of the queue, someone pointed at the sky and cried out. It was the group who had clashed with Chu Feng earlier, and they had spotted him and Jiang Wanshi.
"Hmph, serves them right for meddling. Looks like they'll be sleeping outside the Ethereal Immortal Peak tonight," Tie Fan said with a smug grin.
The entrance to Ethereal Immortal Peak would be sealed before sunset, and judging by the length of the queue and the speed of the screening, the group would make it inside just in time. But if Chu Feng and Jiang Wanshi joined the line now, there would be no chance for them to get in.
Still, if Chu Feng and the others hadn't meddled earlier and had come straight to the queue, they would have been ahead of the group right now. That was why Tie Fan and his companions were gloating — they figured Chu Feng and Jiang Wanshi had brought this on themselves.
"What's that brat holding in his hand?"
"Holy crap, isn't that an Ethereal Immortal Token? That woman must've given it to him."
"It really looks identical to ours. You don't think he's going to try to sneak in with a fake token, do you?"
"Probably not. Even if he's stupid, he can't be that stupid." Tie Fan and the others stared at the token in Chu Feng's hand, whispering among themselves.
"Sister Jiang, typically speaking, how long does Senior Ethereal need to deal with the demonic creature?" Chu Feng asked Jiang Wanshi from the sky.
"That's really hard to say. Sometimes it's just a moment, other times it can take days. According to my master, even though Senior Ethereal's strength is overwhelming, she once spent several days battling a demonic creature and returned wounded." Jiang Wanshi replied.
"That powerful?" Chu Feng was genuinely startled. If what Jiang Wanshi had told him was true, then the demonic creature sealed within Ethereal Immortal Peak was terrifyingly strong. Even its projected phantom had managed to injure Senior Ethereal — how powerful would the real thing be?
Startled as he was, this kind of matter was far beyond what someone of his cultivation level could involve himself in. So he said to Jiang Wanshi, "Sister Jiang, in that case, there's no telling when Senior Qiushui will return. If she doesn't come back today, does that mean we have to spend the night outside?"
"That's..." Jiang Wanshi was stumped. She genuinely had no idea when Qiushui Fuyan would return.
"In my opinion, why don't we just try this Ethereal Immortal Token?" Chu Feng said with a smile, producing the token from his hand.
"Junior Brother Chu Feng, you absolutely cannot! Do you actually believe that token is real?" Seeing this, Jiang Wanshi's face changed drastically, and she hurriedly tried to stop him.
But Chu Feng simply smiled. "Real or fake, there's only one way to find out. I don't think that girl would try to harm me."
"And even if it's fake, so what? At worst, I'll be mocked by everyone and then humbly get back in line. Sister Jiang, you care about what others think, but I, Wuqing, don't. You don't need to come with me — I'll go on my own." With that, Chu Feng launched himself toward the entrance.
"Junior Brother Wuqing, wait—" Jiang Wanshi wanted to follow, but after biting her lip, she pulled back the foot she had already lifted. She didn't chase after him because she was absolutely certain the token was fake.
Compared to the geniuses gathered here, Jiang Wanshi might not be anything special, but she had trained under a prestigious master. Among the numerous secluded disciples of Yuantai Platform, she was still someone of note. She wasn't about to humiliate herself like that.
"Brother Tie Fan, look — that guy is actually flying toward the entrance! Is he really going to try sneaking in with that fake token?" The first-rank Wu Lord who had been knocked back by Chu Feng earlier pointed toward the sky.
"There's no way. Unless his brain got squeezed by a door, he wouldn't do something that stupid," Tie Fan shook his head. He didn't think Chu Feng seemed like the type to be that lacking in judgment.
"He is, look — he really went!" the other continued.
"No freaking way. Don't tell me he really is an idiot?" When they watched Chu Feng land at the very front of the line with their own eyes, even Tie Fan was shocked, his face full of disbelief.
"Hey, what's your deal? Why aren't you in line? You just cut in front of me! Get your ass to the back of the queue!"
Standing at the very front of the line was a first-rank Wu Lord. The person ahead of him had just entered, and it was his turn to present identification for the screening. He never expected Chu Feng to suddenly drop from the sky and land right in front of him. He was furious.
"Exactly! Where did this ill-mannered brat come from? Can't you see everyone is waiting in line? Who do you think you are, cutting like that?" The people behind the man were equally enraged. They had all worked hard to get to this point, enduring long waits.
The one guarding the barrier entrance was a white-haired elder. He was also a Wu Lord, but with far greater cultivation — a sixth-rank Wu Lord, one rank above even the supreme genius Yafei of the Immortal Execution Archipelago.
He sized up Chu Feng and didn't believe someone with his level of cultivation could have received an Ethereal Immortal Token. His tone was severe: "Get back in line immediately. If you try to break the rules, I don't care where you come from — don't blame me for being unkind."
"Oh? I have an Ethereal Immortal Token. Do I really have to wait in line?" Despite the elder's rebuke, Chu Feng simply smiled and held up the token in his hand.
"Ha ha ha! An Ethereal Immortal Token? Someone like you actually received an Ethereal Immortal Token? My guess is you bought it from that beggar woman just now!" The moment they saw the token, the people waiting in line burst out laughing before the elder could even speak. They all assumed the token was fake.
The elder didn't even bother to look at the token properly and barked coldly, "Truly shameless. I already warned that fake tokens would not be tolerated here, yet you persist in this foolishness, treating my words as wind past your ear. It seems I must teach you a lesson today."
As he spoke, the elder's sword-like brows shot upward, and a tremendous wave of oppressive pressure surged forth, crashing toward Chu Feng.
But Chu Feng showed no fear in the face of danger. He held up the token and said to the elder, "You haven't even looked at it, and you're already sure it's fake?"
*Buzz!*
At that very moment, the token in Chu Feng's hand emitted an invisible shockwave. The force not only swallowed the elder's pressure in an instant but also sent him stumbling back several steps.
The elder's face changed dramatically. He stared at the token in Chu Feng's hand again, his eyes filled with shock. Then he hastily straightened, stepped back to his original position, and bowed deeply to Chu Feng:
"This old man was blind and failed to recognize the genuine Ethereal Immortal Token. Please forgive me, young hero!"