Mmm— Just as the Queen was puzzled, Chu Feng began letting out soft grunts once more.
She knew that Chu Feng was enduring some kind of pain. He couldn't cry out, so he was clenching his teeth and bearing it forcefully.
But because the pain was nearly unbearable, these grunts still escaped him.
"This guy — even if he's lying to me, he's putting on quite the act," the Queen thought to herself.
Despite believing that Chu Feng was deceiving her, she didn't disturb him. Her reasoning was simple — what if he was actually telling the truth?
After another stretch of time, Chu Feng finally opened his eyes.
"Eggy, I really did it. My cultivation is now at Rank four True Immortal. I withstood the refinement of the Divine Thunder and successfully stepped into Rank four True Immortal," Chu Feng said.
"Huh? Seriously? But I didn't see even a flicker of lightning, let alone hear any rumbling of thunder," the Queen replied, thoroughly astonished.
"Indeed — forget about sound, I didn't even see a shadow of it. But I could feel the Divine Thunder descending, and it did refine me."
"However, the force of the Divine Thunder this time was significantly weaker, so my breakthrough was quite easy."
"In any case, this was truly bizarre. Could it be... related to this Burial Spirit Pool? Did the Burial Spirit Pool conceal my Divine Thunder and diminish its power?" Chu Feng analyzed.
"That's not impossible. This Great Thousand Upper Realm really is something else. Last time during the hunting competition, the Divine Thunder vanished halfway down."
"And this time was even more extreme — you yourself couldn't see the Divine Thunder or hear it. You could only feel it descending through sheer sensation."
"If it really is being influenced by this Burial Spirit Pool, then this place is truly extraordinary," the Queen said.
"Now that my cultivation has risen, my spirit power has also grown. Let me use my Heavenly Eyes to take a closer look at this Burial Spirit Pool and see just how remarkable it really is."
As he spoke, Chu Feng activated his Heavenly Eyes and gazed downward.
With the Heavenly Eyes active, his range of vision extended a bit further, but he still couldn't see the bottom of the Burial Spirit Pool.
However, Chu Feng spotted something.
"What's that?"
The Queen had noticed it too — something floating against the rock wall.
But because it was so far away, neither Chu Feng nor the Queen could determine exactly what it was.
"I'll get a bit closer," Chu Feng said. He continued his descent, and as he drew nearer, he finally made out what it was.
Three paper talismans, caught in crevices on the wall, were drifting aimlessly with the underwater currents.
"That looks like it might be a treasure," the Queen said.
"I think so too. They might be some expert's treasures that were washed up by the erupting pool water," Chu Feng replied.
They had good reason to think so.
The three talismans were white, and their surfaces were densely covered with spirit formation runes — practically every inch inscribed.
Moreover, those spirit formation runes were of an extremely high level, far beyond what an ordinary Spirit World Master could inscribe.
"Hurry, grab them and take a look," the Queen urged.
"Alright." Chu Feng extended his palm, and a tremendous pulling force instantly enveloped the area below.
Splash—!
The water surged toward him like a column, but the three talismans, though they swayed even more violently, showed no sign of falling.
"I don't believe it." Chu Feng refused to accept this. He twisted his wrist and opened his palm once more.
This time, brilliant golden light shone forth — a torrent of martial force that extended from Chu Feng's palm, forming the shape of a giant hand that shot toward the three talismans.
In no time, the martial force hand reached the three talismans and gripped them firmly.
But when Chu Feng tried to retract his martial force hand, his brow furrowed deeply. To his astonishment, he couldn't pull it back.
To be more precise — even though his martial force hand had clearly seized the three talismans, he still couldn't move them in the slightest.
"This is too strange. It doesn't seem like they're simply stuck in the wall," Chu Feng murmured to himself.