"Who goes there?!"
At that moment, the Golden Crane True Immortal's gaze turned vigilant in an instant, and simultaneously, he let out an angry shout.
Clearly, he too had heard that eerie laughter and realized that someone else was present.
"This aura!!!"
While the Golden Crane True Immortal roared, Chu Feng's expression shifted as well.
He could feel the Golden Crane True Immortal's pressure — it was immensely powerful, powerful beyond description.
Chu Feng didn't know exactly what cultivation level the Golden Crane True Immortal possessed, but he had a lingering suspicion that the Golden Crane True Immortal's strength likely far exceeded what was expected of the True Immortal realm.
After all, Chu Feng had encountered True Immortal-level powerhouses before, and the pressure radiating from the Golden Crane True Immortal right now was countless times more terrifying than any True Immortal he had ever faced.
The Golden Crane True Immortal released his pressure to display his strength and deter his opponent. But precisely because he sensed hostile intent from the newcomer, the moment he unleashed that pressure, he was already lunging toward Chu Feng, intending to protect both Chu Feng and the God-Sealing Bamboo Slips in his hands.
BOOM— Yet, just as the Golden Crane True Immortal drew near to Chu Feng, an invisible yet overwhelming force struck him and sent him flying backward.
"Senior!!!"
Chu Feng's jaw dropped in disbelief.
He had watched with his own eyes as the incomprehensibly powerful Golden Crane True Immortal was blown away.
This most likely meant that the owner of that eerie laughter was far more powerful than the Golden Crane True Immortal.
WHOOSH— Just as Chu Feng was reeling from the shock, violent gusts of wind suddenly erupted around him. The howling gales carried crimson energy that swiftly enveloped Chu Feng entirely, sealing him within.
"Insolent."
The Golden Crane True Immortal was seething with fury. As he bellowed, the winds shifted and the clouds churned, the sun and moon lost their brilliance, and the very heavens and earth trembled under his wrath.
Before long, blinding golden radiance poured from his body, like a sun illuminating all directions.
In this moment, his aura was far more formidable than what Chu Feng had sensed before. His robes billowed as he strode forward, each step causing the ground beneath him to quake — even the void itself shuddered at his presence.
He looked nothing like a man. He looked more like a sovereign ruling over heaven and earth.
"Get lost."
But right then, that eerie voice spoke once more.
Immediately after, from within the swirling crimson energy that was sealing Chu Feng, a bolt of scarlet flame shot outward, hurtling straight toward the brilliantly glowing Golden Crane True Immortal.
The Golden Crane True Immortal swept his wide sleeve, golden light flashing, intending to block the crimson energy.
BOOM— However, before he could complete his motion, the crimson energy had already slammed into him, striking him squarely in the chest.
"Ugh—"
The Golden Crane True Immortal was blasted away once again, but this time he was not unscathed. When he landed, his mouth was already drenched in blood.
A powerhouse as mighty as the Golden Crane True Immortal — and yet he was utterly helpless against that crimson energy.
"Try anything again, and I'll take your life."
The eerie voice rang out yet again, but this time it was no longer eerie. Instead, it was domineering and awe-inspiring, as though the speaker truly could end the Golden Crane True Immortal's life at any moment he pleased.
"Damn it."
The Golden Crane True Immortal's sword-like brows bristled with rage, his face twisted with fury. He was about to strike once more when— "Golden Crane, don't be reckless. This is not someone we can contend with."
At that moment, a voice came from beside him, and simultaneously a figure descended next to him, blocking the Golden Crane True Immortal who had been about to rise.
This person, of course, was the cloth-robed old monk who had been concealed alongside the Golden Crane True Immortal all along.
"Old fiend, those are the God-Sealing Bamboo Slips! Are we really going to let someone else just snatch them like that?" The Golden Crane True Immortal's face was filled with unwillingness.