"Rest assured, I won't be taking on the four great powers alone. However, neither will I remain hidden here within Cloud Crane Mountain," Chu Feng said firmly.
"There's really no talking you out of it, is there? But no matter what, you must stay safe. I hope that when I return, you'll be standing before me unharmed."
"No — not 'hope.' It has to be."
"You absolutely must be standing here safe and sound."
"Chu Feng, Wang Qiang is my husband, so he doesn't count as my friend."
"That means I, Zhao Hong, have only you as a friend. And I will only ever acknowledge you as my friend."
"I hope that for the road ahead, the three of us can walk it together." By the time these words left her lips, Zhao Hong's eyes had grown slightly misty.
The gaze she turned toward Chu Feng was filled with genuine concern.
This woman — she truly was no longer the cold-hearted demoness she had once been. She had feelings of her own, and the affection she seldom gave so freely had been placed upon Wang Qiang and Chu Feng.
What she felt for Wang Qiang was love.
What she felt for Chu Feng was friendship.
In that moment, a pang of warmth struck Chu Feng's heart.
As Zhao Hong's only friend, he could sense just how much weight he held in her heart.
"Very well, then let's make a pact today. When Wang Qiang wakes, both of us will be standing before him, safe and sound."
"Whether it's the Upper Realm or the Starfield — from now on, the three of us will venture out together," Chu Feng said to Zhao Hong.
"Mm." Zhao Hong gave a firm nod.
After that, Zhao Hong departed, and Chu Feng — after bidding farewell to the Golden Crane True Immortal — left as well.
Zhao Hong was heading to those ruins.
As for Chu Feng, he naturally had his own destination: a place called the Demon Abyss Cave.
He was traveling to the Demon Abyss Cave to find someone — a woman named Zi Xunyi.
Back within the Bereaved Calamity Mountain Range, Chu Feng had not only obtained the inheritance of the Kong Heavenly Clan but had also encountered a man — the lord of Hero City, the hero who had shaken the Hundred Refinements Ordinary Realm a thousand years ago: Ying Mingchao.
Ying Mingchao had been ambushed by the Kong Heavenly Clan and the Zhou Heavenly Clan working in concert, forcing him to use a forbidden technique to escape at a critical moment. But the price was that he became trapped within the Kong Heavenly Clan's forbidden zone in the Bereaved Calamity Mountain Range.
Chu Feng had promised Ying Mingchao that he would find someone to rescue him, and the person capable of rescuing Ying Mingchao was that woman called Zi Xunyi.
…
As long as Chu Feng could successfully rescue Ying Mingchao, Ying Mingchao would surely seek his revenge.
And so, the most pressing task at hand was to free Ying Mingchao.
When he had bid farewell to the Golden Crane True Immortal, Chu Feng had already obtained the route to the Demon Abyss Cave.
Though the cave was dangerous, Ying Mingchao had provided Chu Feng with a safe path, so this journey was one Chu Feng was determined to make without the slightest worry.
However, what Chu Feng did not yet know was that while he was making his way toward the Demon Abyss Cave, the patriarch of the Kong Heavenly Clan, the sect master of the Sword Immortal Sect, and the abbot of the Buddha Light Temple had all arrived at the Zhou Heavenly Clan.
Within the most magnificent main hall of the Zhou Heavenly Clan, the Zhou patriarch and several of the clan's senior elders were all present.
Though there were not many people in this hall, every single one of them was a True Immortal realm expert.
At this moment, these True Immortal powerhouses stood gathered before three coffins.
All three coffins were crafted from crystal — they not only preserved the corpses within from decay but also allowed one to see the bodies directly through the coffin walls.
The corpses inside the three coffins belonged to Dugu Jianxu, the Wine-and-Meat Monk, and Zhou Fukong.
"Gentlemen, have you still not made up your minds?" Suddenly, an elder spoke up from among the crowd.
This elder had a broad, towering build. The hair at his temples was snow-white, while the rest remained thick and black.