In truth, it wasn't just Jiang Wushang who was overflowing with excitement. Su Rou, Su Mei, and Zhang Tianyi were all the same, their eyes filled with shock and admiration as they stared intently at Chu Feng.
Facing their gazes, Chu Feng simply smiled and nodded. "Without a doubt."
"Haha, Brother Chu Feng, you're truly incredible. I honestly don't even know what to say."
"Ever since this Thousand-Year Ancient City was claimed by the Four Seas Academy, generation after generation of the Academy has sent countless experts here to investigate, but every single one of them came up empty."
"Who would have thought that you'd spot the trick after just one look? I truly don't know how to repay you. You are absolutely the greatest benefactor of my Jiang Wushang." Upon hearing Chu Feng confirm it, Jiang Wushang grew so excited that he nearly lost control of himself — he actually threw his arms around Chu Feng and burst into hearty laughter.
As for Jiang Wushang's current state of mind, Chu Feng understood it perfectly. The Emperor-level bloodline meant far too much to Jiang Wushang. It was something he had chased his entire life but might never have been able to reach. Now Chu Feng had given him hope. How could he not be excited?
But even Chu Feng himself couldn't be certain whether the hidden section of the ancient city actually contained anything related to the Emperor-level bloodline, so he could only offer reassurance: "Brother Wushang, I completely understand how you feel right now. But to be honest, even if I can unravel this grand formation, I still can't confirm whether there's anything related to the Emperor-level bloodline inside."
"Brother Chu Feng, couldn't you sense it?" Hearing Chu Feng's words, Jiang Wushang looked at him with genuine surprise.
"Sense what?" Chu Feng was puzzled.
"That oppressive aura from an Emperor-level bloodline," Jiang Wushang said.
"An Emperor-level bloodline's oppressive aura?" At those words, not just Chu Feng — Su Rou and the others were all taken aback, because none of them had felt any such Emperor-level bloodline pressure.
It was Chu Feng who recovered first. He turned to Jiang Wushang and said, "Little Brother Wushang, by Emperor-level bloodline pressure, do you mean the force pressing down on us?"
"That's right. Surely you can feel it too, Brother Chu Feng?" Jiang Wushang said.
"I can feel the pressure, but I can't tell whether it's coming from a special bloodline." Chu Feng shook his head.
At this, Jiang Wushang looked toward Su Rou and Zhang Tianyi, and they, just like Chu Feng, shook their heads as well.
In that moment, the gaze Jiang Wushang directed at Chu Feng grew even more complicated. He said, "Actually, it's perfectly normal that Brother Tianyi and the others can't feel it — after all, they don't possess any special bloodline power. But for you to be unable to feel it either, Brother Chu Feng — that deep-seated pressure on the soul — there are likely only two possible explanations."
"Little Brother Wushang, what do you mean?" Chu Feng pressed.
"The first possibility is that you are not a holder of a inherited bloodline, which is why you cannot perceive that Emperor-level bloodline — the pressure that envelops the bloodline itself."
"The second possibility is that you are indeed a holder of an inherited bloodline, but because your inherited bloodline surpasses even an Emperor-level bloodline, the pressure simply cannot penetrate to its depths — it has already been unconsciously repelled by you," Jiang Wushang said.
"So that's how it is." Upon hearing this, Chu Feng finally understood. It turned out that Jiang Wushang, who possessed an Emperor-level bloodline, had not only sensed the same pressure that everyone else felt upon entering this place, but had also perceived a bloodline pressure that no one else could detect — and that bloodline pressure was an Emperor-level bloodline.
"It seems I need to hurry. Whether or not the pressure here originates from the hidden city's center, I have to give it a try," Chu Feng said with a smile.
After that, Chu Feng set off alone, departing from the Millennium Ancient City and heading straight into the depths of the jungle, as that was where the array eyes were most likely to be located.
As for Su Rou and the others, they did not venture into the jungle to hunt for heavenly medicines either. Instead, they chose to rest inside the Millennium Ancient City, waiting for Chu Feng's return.
Chu Feng sprinted at breakneck speed. Although his cultivation had been suppressed, his velocity remained inconceivably fast — it was safe to say that no one in this region could hope to keep up with him.
Moreover, as Chu Feng dashed forward, his feet touched the grass without leaving a trace. Not only did he leave behind no aura, he did not even produce the slightest sound. This was because, in order to reach his destination as quickly as possible, Chu Feng had already activated the power of Triple Thunder. His current cultivation was that of a second-stage Martial King, yet his combat strength was several notches above that of a fourth-stage Martial King.
"Thud." Suddenly, Chu Feng halted, planting himself on the ground like a spear driven into the earth. With a sharp gaze, he scanned a small clearing ahead, and a look of wild elation surfaced on his face as he thought to himself, "I can't believe I found an array eye so quickly."
To the naked eye, this clearing appeared entirely unremarkable. Even with Mental Power, one could not detect anything out of the ordinary. Unless one was a Royal-robed Spirit World Master, it would be virtually impossible to peer through this place using Mental Power alone — and yet Chu Feng had done exactly that.
Chu Feng had seen through the concealment and identified this spot as one of the array eyes hiding the Millennium Ancient City. However, even with this discovery, the elation on his face quickly dimmed by several shades.
He had long known that there were a total of eight array eyes here — one inside the ancient city and seven outside. Furthermore, breaking all eight array eyes required a specific sequence. If the order was disrupted, it would invite catastrophic disaster, and quite possibly every person in this forest would perish.
It could be said that this was a deliberate trap laid by its creator — a puzzle designed to be solvable, and yet, to this day, no one had managed to crack it. In fact, one could go further and say that no one had even discovered the puzzle in the first place. Chu Feng was likely the first person in all of history to do so.
"Hey, don't hang your head. You should know that even a Golden-robed Spirit World Master at the Martial King level wouldn't be able to detect this place — only a Royal-robed Spirit World Master could sense it. And even if someone found it, they probably wouldn't be able to see the order of the array eyes at a single glance the way you did."
Though Egg usually carried herself with the carefree attitude of someone who loved watching the show and didn't mind a little chaos, whenever Chu Feng was truly struck by defeat or faced setbacks and hardships, she was always the first to step forward — to comfort him, to encourage him, and to clear the fog from his mind.
"Right, there's still enough time. I'm not only going to break this array within ten days — I'm going to unravel the mystery of this place within ten days as well." Chu Feng let out a quiet chuckle, discreetly leaving behind markings that only he could detect, then leapt into the air and set off searching once more.
And perhaps heaven rewarded the persistent, or perhaps Chu Feng truly was blessed with extraordinary luck — because while the sky was still bright, he found the second array eye. Moreover, this array eye's sequence was number one, meaning it was one that could be activated right here, right now.