As Chu Feng spoke, his hands moved in a blur as he set up another Opening Barrier Array. Compared to the one he had previously arranged together with Chunwu, this barrier formation was far simpler, so in just a short while, Chu Feng had it completed.
Then, with a soft shout of "Open," layers of golden light surged upward from the ground, ultimately coalescing into a small barrier gate.
Though this barrier gate was only large enough for a single person to pass through, four characters were inscribed above it — "Sacred Nurturing Palace."
When the gate appeared, not a trace of surprise showed on Chu Feng's face. However, the smile at the corners of his lips grew a little brighter.
The reason he had neither fought for nor claimed a spot earlier, allowing shameless people like Zhan Feng and his group to kick him — the one who had done all the work — to the curb, was that Chu Feng had known from the very beginning that this Sacred Nurturing Palace had two entrances.
The first gate, which could accommodate ten people, was indeed the entrance to the Sacred Nurturing Palace. However, it required one to endure various trials and tests before ultimately obtaining any reward.
This second gate also led to the Sacred Nurturing Palace, but unlike the first, the gains one could acquire after entering it were far greater. This was the true shortcut to the Sacred Nurturing Palace — and it permitted only a single person to pass through. That person was whoever could decipher the hint within the light beam and who was the true destined one of this Sacred Nurturing Palace.
Wearing a smile, Chu Feng stepped through the gate. The moment he entered, the barrier gate vanished without a trace.
At the same time, Chu Feng's vision blurred, and he found himself in another space. When he made out his surroundings, even Chu Feng's pupils contracted and he froze for a moment, a look of shock coloring his eyes.
That was because Chu Feng was now standing in a sea of corpses and mountains of bones. Endless white skeletons blanketed the ground as far as the eye could see — some lying flat, others piled into towering mountains that pierced straight into the clouds.
The bones here were simply too numerous, beyond anything one could imagine. But one thing was certain — not a single one of them was human. Their shapes were quite bizarre, clearly belonging to beasts.
Some of the skeletons were unimaginably vast, like colossal peaks lying prone upon the earth. Their sheer size reminded Chu Feng of the figure he had glimpsed deep within the golden mist — that terrifying humanoid creature.
Most importantly, skeletons of that magnitude were also countless. Heaven knew how many bones were buried here; even Chu Feng couldn't begin to count them.
Beyond the mountains and seas of bones on the ground, the sky above was also shrouded in eerie dark clouds. They were called eerie because, though the clouds were black, they seeped with a golden glow. In short, this entire realm was permeated with an indescribable sense of oppression.
"What exactly is this place? How can there be so many bones? What on earth happened here?" Chu Feng was stunned. With his sharp Mental Power, he could discern that these bones were authentic — at least given his current level of strength, every last one of them was real.
"Oh, how tragic. Such a catastrophic battle took place here, burying so many extraordinary beings. What a pity — all their origins have been drained. Otherwise, this Queen's cultivation would have surged dramatically."
Eggie cried out in astonishment as well. Though she was deeply regretful that all the remains here had been hollowed of their origins — leaving her unable to extract any benefit — her sense of shock far outweighed her regret.
Because with her experience and knowledge, not a single one of the beings whose bones lay here had been ordinary in life. Even though their origins were gone, the mere sight of their skeletons was enough to reveal how powerful they had been.
And that so many extraordinary beings had perished here — one could well imagine what kind of terrifying battle had taken place in ages past. The fact that such a secret was hidden within this Ethereal Immortal Peak only deepened Chu Feng and Eggie's sense that this peak was no ordinary place. The formations inherited from the ancient era truly defied imagination.
It was said that the current martial cultivation methods had already evolved to their peak. But it seemed that the warriors of the ancient era were even more formidable. At least ever since Chu Feng had entered the Eastern Ocean, everything he had encountered relating to that ancient era had been nothing short of extraordinary.
"Whooooosh~~~"
Just then, the eerie dark clouds above began to churn violently. Amidst their rolling, they started to shift and reshape, ultimately condensing into a colossal face that blotted out the entire sky.
The face was bizarre in the extreme — its features shifted ceaselessly, never settling into a final form. By all rights, such a face should have been terrifying, yet Chu Feng felt no such fear. Instead, he found the face to be utterly sacred, as if it were a god.
Weak — an unprecedented sense of weakness. Even within the Imperial Burial, Chu Feng had never felt himself to be so feeble. Facing that enormous face formed from the dark clouds that covered the sky, he felt like a speck of dust — utterly insignificant, not worth a single mention.
But at this very moment, a pair of colossal eyes from within that enormous face was fixated upon Chu Feng’s frail silhouette. It then emitted a voice more piercing than thunderclaps, as if it would tear through the very heavens.
“I never imagined that humans of this era could have grown so weak. After waiting so long, the one capable of seeing through my formation is such a pitiful existence.”
“Very well, very well. Regardless, you have discerned some of the secrets. Since that is the case, I must grant you a reward.”
“However, the path of martial cultivation is one that, without enduring hardships and dangers, is destined for insignificance. I shall bestow upon you temporary strength, but I will not grant you power that overrides all else. Whether you can claim everything within the Sacred Hall of Nurturing Objects… that will depend on your own efforts.”
The sky-shaking voice fell silent, and a beam of golden light descended from above, striking directly into Chu Feng’s body.
In that instant, Chu Feng felt a surge of warmth flow through him. His aura skyrocketed, abruptly climbing to the level of a Third Rank Martial Lord.
Yet Chu Feng knew that this cultivation level was not genuine, but temporary. At this very moment, a golden gas swirled around his body, and the enhancement to his cultivation came entirely from this gas. If the golden gas were to dissipate, his cultivation would revert to that of a First Rank Martial Lord.
But what shocked Chu Feng the most was that after receiving the golden light beam, the surrounding scenery had transformed in the blink of an eye. He was no longer in a boundless sea of corpses, but now stood within an exquisitely ancient palace.
Chu Feng swept his gaze around and discovered that this palace was actually sealed shut and completely empty, without a single object inside.
“Strange. Since he granted me power, it should be for me to contend for the treasures here against people like Zhan Feng.”
“But why grant me strength only up to the Third Rank Martial Lord? Could it be that he knows with a cultivation of the Third Rank, I can fight those of the Fifth Rank? That if it were any higher, Zhan Feng would absolutely be no match for me?”
“But if that is truly the case, does it not mean he has seen through everything about me? That is far too terrifying. What exactly is that entity? Is it the founder of this Misty Immortal Peak, or some ancient demon imprisoned here?”
Chu Feng’s heart trembled with shock. Everything had happened too quickly just now; he barely had a chance to speak with that powerful existence before he found himself here. But regardless, Chu Feng knew that giant face covering the sky was absolutely terrifying to the extreme.