"It worked, I can actually take it off."
Chu Feng had observed the armor earlier and discovered that it was removable, but he hadn't been entirely certain until now. His suspicion had just been confirmed.
"Kid, do you think I'm a fool?"
"That trick of yours — it won't work."
"I have plenty of restriction armors like this."
"Even if you remove that one, it's completely pointless. It won't truly save that girl."
The mysterious being said.
"I know full well that this won't really free Zi Ling."
"But Senior, would this still count as a rule violation?"
As Chu Feng spoke, he took the restriction armor he had removed from Zi Ling's phantasm and placed it onto the wooden effigy shaped like himself.
Ugh— The moment the armor locked into place, Chu Feng clutched his chest in a panic.
An unbearable agony spread from his chest throughout his entire body.
And it was at his heart that the pain was the most intense — so intense that even Chu Feng could barely withstand it.
"Kid, have you gone mad?"
"You're layering two sets of restriction armor on your own soul? It looks like you're tired of living!"
The mysterious being was clearly startled by Chu Feng's actions.
"Senior, this doesn't count as a rule violation, does it?"
Chu Feng forced himself to endure the pain and asked again.
"No, it doesn't. But kid, doing this will kill you."
"Are you truly willing to sacrifice yourself just to earn that girl's freedom?"
"Kid, is it really worth it?"
The mysterious being asked.
"Then — if I do this, Zi Ling will truly be free?"
Chu Feng asked once more.
He needed to be certain.
"Of course. By taking on her restriction, you free her. She is already an unbound soul."
"But kid, didn't you hear what I said? Wearing two layers of restriction — there's no way you can endure it."
The mysterious being said.
"That doesn't matter. As long as Zi Ling can break free, it's fine."
After saying those words, a faint smile actually rose to the corner of Chu Feng's lips.
As he spoke, he formed a hand seal with one hand, and a formation array materialized from his fingertip.
He tapped it against his chest, and the force that had been tormenting him vanished instantly.
Not only did the restriction armor on Chu Feng's soul dissipate — The armor on the wooden effigy's phantasm disappeared along with it.
"That is…"
"Kid, did you… ???"
Upon witnessing this, the voice of the mysterious being carried a note of genuine shock.
But this reaction was well within Chu Feng's expectations.
When he had first entered the labyrinth, all Chu Feng thought about was finding a way out.
But after considerable time had passed and he still hadn't escaped, Chu Feng began paying closer attention to the patterns carved into the labyrinth walls.
The patterns appeared at regular intervals, but most of them were actually repetitions. In truth, there were only eighteen distinct designs.
Each pattern concealed a secret within.
Individually, they served no purpose. But eventually Chu Feng discovered that if they were arranged in the correct sequence and assembled together, they could form a formation array.
And the method of ordering them was also written on the walls — a method that Chu Feng had uncovered.
Once he had the formation array, Chu Feng knew it could dissolve the restriction of the armor.
From that moment on, he had already formulated this plan.
If there truly was no way out of the labyrinth, Chu Feng would place Zi Ling's restriction armor onto his own wooden effigy and use the formation array to dissolve both restrictions at once.
But that was the last resort. If possible, he still wanted to find his own way out of the labyrinth.
In the end, however, Chu Feng had failed to escape.
That was precisely why he had repeatedly asked the mysterious being whether this would count as a violation.
He was afraid that if he simply deployed the dissolution array outright, the mysterious being would deny him.
But now, that concern no longer existed.
"So you actually found it."
"This formation array is no easy thing to discover."
"It seems I need to take back what I said."
"You are not merely a reckless brute."
Once the mysterious being confirmed that it was indeed the formation array he himself had left behind, his voice carried a renewed sense of admiration.
"Thank you for the kind words, Senior. So then — Zi Ling and I are both… free now?"
Chu Feng asked.