In order not to provoke Chu Lingxi's terrifying mother, Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Ruoshi — the two who had been desperately hoping for Chu Lingxi to die — dramatically began doing everything in their power to save her.
However, with Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Ruoshi's strength, treating someone as gravely injured as Chu Lingxi was no easy task.
In the end, it took the intervention of the two Supreme Elders to pull the critically injured Chu Lingxi back from the edge of death.
Naturally, the two Supreme Elders deliberately concealed the traces of their involvement, and credited the rescue to Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Ruoshi.
After pulling Chu Lingxi back from the brink, they ventured outward to search.
At first, they were puzzled about where Chu Haoyan, Chu Huanyu, and the others had gone. It wasn't until they reached the mouth of the cavern and found Chu Huanyu and the rest gathered there that, after stepping forward to ask, they finally understood.
As it turned out, when Chu Youyuan had been fighting earlier, the commotion had been so great that even the cavern itself had trembled. The younger generation had assumed the cavern was collapsing and fled outside in terror.
Upon learning this, the two Supreme Elders couldn't help but silently mock the younger generation's ignorance. The rock walls here were incredibly sturdy — they themselves couldn't shatter them, let alone cause the entire cavern to collapse.
Of course, the first ones to ask hadn't actually been the Supreme Elders, but Chu Haoyan and the others.
Although Chu Haoyan's grandfather had been involved in the affair, Chu Haoyan himself was completely unaware of it.
He had no idea that his grandfather was one of the two who had been gravely injured, so he showed not the slightest concern for their condition. The only thing he cared about was the treasure deep within the cavern.
And so, naturally, Chu Zhiyuan and the others fed the crowd the lie they had long prepared.
"How despicable! I knew that Chu Feng wasn't this kindhearted. Bringing us all here — he clearly intended to hoard the treasure for himself!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Haoyan chose to believe it without a moment's hesitation. Not only did he believe it, he immediately began slandering Chu Feng.
After all, he was one of those present who most wanted Chu Feng dead. Learning that Chu Feng had supposedly died brought him great joy.
But even so, he still wanted to drag Chu Feng's name through the mud. Even in death, he refused to let Chu Feng off — he wanted Chu Feng's reputation destroyed far and wide.
"I can't believe I actually trusted him. Who would have thought Chu Feng was that kind of person?"
"Good riddance. People like him deserve to die. This is the price he paid for his greed."
"What a shame. He got us to come all this way for nothing."
In an instant, aside from the still-unconscious Chu Lingxi, every person present was cursing Chu Feng. This was hardly surprising — they had always been fair-weather followers, siding with whichever party benefited them most.
"But now that Chu Feng is dead, how are we supposed to leave this place?"
Suddenly, one of the younger generation members spoke up.
"Good point — it was thanks to Chu Feng that we made it here in the first place. Now that he's dead, how do we get back?"
"That damned Chu Feng! Isn't this just his way of screwing us over?"
The moment those words left the young man's mouth, the others snapped to attention as if waking from a dream. Panic, confusion, and fury surged through the crowd, and they began cursing Chu Feng once more.
As though all the blame should fall on Chu Feng's shoulders.
Even though coming here had been entirely their own choice.
Amid the chaos, with everyone floundering in a state of helpless panic, Chu Zhiyuan seized the opportunity and stepped forward. "I remember the way we came in," he said.
"You?" The moment Chu Zhiyuan spoke, he was met with immediate skepticism from the crowd — not just skepticism, but looks of contempt as well.