But Chu Feng had been prepared long in advance — how could he give it any chance to escape? With a mere thought, the sealing barrier contracted rapidly inward. The Martial Mark had nowhere to flee and could only drift obediently before Chu Feng, where he plucked it from the air as easily as anything.
"Hum—"
The moment the Martial Mark touched his palm, Chu Feng closed his hand slightly and felt it vanish in an instant, transforming into golden light that seeped through his skin into his body, finally coming to rest in his arm.
Rolling up his sleeve, Chu Feng couldn't help but beam with delight. The Martial Marks on his arm had gone from two to three. The rune array hidden on that hill was truly the Martial Mark they had been searching for all along.
"Haha, I never imagined the Heavenly Eye could have such miraculous effects — it can actually track down where Martial Marks are hidden."
In that moment, Chu Feng was practically bursting with joy. At such close range, he had already found one Martial Mark, and in a Martial Mark Immortal Realm this vast, there were surely many more waiting to be discovered.
What's more, he figured that if even Mental Power proved useless, he was probably the only person capable of finding Martial Marks hidden inside these hills. This would give him a tremendous advantage in the Martial Mark Immortal Realm — like a fish in water.
After that, Chu Feng scanned the area once more with his Heavenly Eye. Finding no other rune arrays nearby, he returned to Xia Yu and the others without a fuss, simply closed his eyes, and took a brief nap.
"Wuqing Junior Brother, wake up! We only have ten days, and one has already gone by. We need to use every spare moment to search for Martial Marks. Come on, you lazy pig — wake up!" It felt to Chu Feng like he'd barely shut his eyes before Chun Wu's voice was ringing in his ears without pause, accompanied by a sharp sting.
He opened his eyes to find Chun Wu cheerfully twisting his ear with her delicate hand, while Xia Yu, Dong Xue, and Qiu Zhu had all woken up and were sorting food a short distance away. Seeing his bleary expression, they couldn't help but giggle.
Chu Feng stood up and gazed into the distance. The sky had only just begun to lighten — not yet bright. By his estimation, he had slept for less than half an hour.
But it didn't matter. At their cultivation level, going several days and nights without sleep was perfectly fine — the worst that could happen was a bit of mental haze. So half an hour's rest was more than enough to leave him fully refreshed.
"Let's move out. After a full day of searching, I'm sure plenty of people have figured out that the Martial Marks are hidden in the windblown sand. If we want to find more than everyone else, we'll have to work harder than everyone else." After finishing their pre-packed rations, the four of them soared into the sky and set off to continue the search.
"Wuqing Junior Brother, fly higher. Martial Marks are cunning — they won't hide in sand at low altitudes. They tend to be concealed in the sand swirling up high." Noticing Chu Feng flying unusually low, Dong Xue couldn't help but offer a reminder.
"Ladies, to be perfectly honest, I discovered a new method for finding Martial Marks last night. If you follow me, I guarantee you'll reap even greater rewards." Chu Feng said with a smile.
"Wuqing Junior Brother, don't be ridiculous. The fact that Martial Marks hide in high-altitude sand was something our Master told us personally. So the best way to search for them is up high. Flying so low, how could you possibly find one?" Dong Xue said with a smile, though there was more than a touch of sarcasm in her words.
"If you ladies don't believe me, take a look at this." Rather than arguing against Dong Xue's skepticism, Chu Feng simply rolled up his left sleeve and presented his arm to the four beauties.
In truth, if Chu Feng searched on his own from here on, he wouldn't have to split his Martial Mark haul four ways. His personal gains would be beyond imagination.
But because Xia Yu and the others had never looked down on him and had unconditionally shared their bounty, Chu Feng couldn't very well turn his back on that camaraderie. In his heart, friendship outweighed profit.
That was precisely why he hadn't kept his unique method to himself and had decided from the very start to share it with them.
"No way — Wuqing Junior Brother, when did you catch a Martial Mark by yourself?" Sure enough, the moment they saw the three Martial Marks now branded on Chu Feng's arm, all four beauties were struck with astonishment.
"Ladies, this is a Martial Mark I caught on my own last night. But my method is completely different from the one you used yesterday. I believe I'm the only person who knows it, so it's far more efficient." Chu Feng explained.
"Wuqing Junior Brother, stop joking around. Martial Marks are incredibly cunning — even the four of us have to work together just to guarantee a catch. Catching one alone is far too difficult. Unless you're extraordinarily lucky, it's simply impossible." Dong Xue still didn't buy it, convinced that any Martial Mark Chu Feng had caught alone was the result of sheer luck.
"Dong Xue is absolutely right. Martial Marks fly at incredible speeds. If you spot one in the air, you need multiple people working in concert to block off all its escape routes before you can hope to capture it."
"But if you already know in advance where a Martial Mark will appear, and you set up a sealing barrier ahead of time, then when it shows up you can capture it directly — eliminating any chance of escape." Chu Feng said with a smile.
"Heh, Wuqing Junior Brother, don't tell me you somehow knew in advance where a Martial Mark was going to appear!" Dong Xue regarded Chu Feng with suspicion, the sarcasm in her gaze deepening further.
"Seeing is believing. It's perfectly natural that you doubt me right now, Dong Xue, but if you watch me demonstrate it firsthand, you'll be convinced." Chu Feng replied with a grin.
"Demonstrate? This Martial Mark Immortal Realm is only open for ten days, and one has already passed. From here on, every second counts — where would we find time for you to play around?" Dong Xue said irritably. Her patience was clearly wearing thin.
Because in her view, barrier techniques were utterly useless in this Martial Mark Immortal Realm, and with Chu Feng's level of strength, there was no way he could catch a Martial Mark on his own. The third mark on his arm had to be luck — Chu Feng was simply talking big.
"My arm already proves everything. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do about it. In that case, we'll have to go our separate ways, because my method of finding Martial Marks is fundamentally different from yours." Chu Feng was growing increasingly displeased with Dong Xue's distrust.
"Wuqing Junior Brother, surely you don't think I'd be afraid of parting ways with you? Take a good look at the Marks on your arm — fine, you caught one on your own, but don't forget where the other two came from. If we hadn't handed them over to you, you wouldn't have gotten a single one."
At those words, Dong Xue's expression changed in an instant. The warmth she had shown earlier was gone entirely, replaced by a face brimming with anger and hostility. This woman was clearly far more complicated than she appeared on the surface.