After locating the cultivation resource, Chu Feng immediately sat cross-legged before it and began refining it using his own methods.
Since the cultivation resource had already reached maturity, refining it wasn't actually difficult — finding it was the hard part.
But that most difficult task had already been accomplished by Chu Feng.
In truth, it was mainly thanks to his grandfather. Without the formation his grandfather had left behind, Chu Feng would have had a far harder time locating this cultivation resource.
…
Approximately three hours had passed since Chu Feng began refining the cultivation resource.
Above the resource, within a palace nestled inside the cavern, there was a majestic formation. Powerful heaven and earth energy surged within it, and at the formation's center sat a cross-legged figure.
That person was none other than Wuma Shengjie.
At this moment, Wuma Shengjie's complexion was extraordinarily pale, as though bearing grievous injuries.
The blood-colored patterns across his body, though they had faded considerably, still flickered intermittently with an eerie glow.
Every time those blood-colored patterns lit up, Wuma Shengjie's brows would furrow.
It was as though the pain he was enduring at that moment was being inflicted by those very patterns.
But suddenly, Wuma Shengjie's tightly shut eyes snapped open, a trace of alarm surfacing within them.
Whoosh— In the next instant, Wuma Shengjie rose to his feet and plunged straight into the depths of the cavern's underground.
He arrived right beside Chu Feng.
Wuma Shengjie's abrupt appearance caught Chu Feng off guard, and a hint of tension surfaced on his face.
After all, Chu Feng's refinement of this cultivation resource was being done in secret — he was hiding it from Wuma Shengjie.
Because, in his current state, Chu Feng was no match for Wuma Shengjie.
Yet, Wuma Shengjie was less than ten meters away from Chu Feng.
And he was scanning the surroundings with a grave expression in his eyes — but… he appeared unable to see Chu Feng at all.
"Strange. Why do I feel the heaven and earth energy here is decreasing?"
"Could it be that the power of this extraordinary place is finite, and it will eventually dissipate as we cultivate?"
Wuma Shengjie muttered in a low voice, his brows deeply knit.
Though his words were spoken softly, every syllable reached Chu Feng's ears.
"He really can't see me."
At that moment, Chu Feng confirmed that he was safe.
With that reassurance, Chu Feng grew entirely unbothered and simply continued refining the cultivation resource right beside Wuma Shengjie.
"It's happening again — it's disappearing so quickly. It seems the heaven and earth energy here won't last much longer before it's completely gone."
Suddenly, Wuma Shengjie's frown deepened further.
As Chu Feng continued his refinement, the power of the cultivation resource was draining at a rapid pace, and Wuma Shengjie could feel this change.
Wuma Shengjie was growing anxious. He wanted to halt the depletion of the heaven and earth energy, but he could think of no way to do so. He felt utterly powerless.
Under these circumstances, Wuma Shengjie did not linger. He shot upward and returned to the cavern above.
"Hurry up with your cultivation — the heaven and earth energy here is about to dissipate," Wuma Shengjie said.
"What? It's going to dissipate?"