A portion of the palace occupied by Jiang Kongping had been assigned to Jiang Yuantai as his living quarters.
This had actually been Jiang Yuantai's own request — he intended to keep watch over Jiang Kongping, so even his lodgings needed to be under the same roof.
Right now, inside Jiang Yuantai's bedchamber, a healing formation had been set up. It was a restorative formation designed to mend the soul and alleviate pain.
To strengthen the formation's power, Jiang Yuantai had poured in a large quantity of rare herbs and holy water — and it truly had made the formation immensely powerful.
Yet even with such a formidable formation, Jiang Yuantai, seated cross-legged within it, was not in an optimistic state.
His face was pale, his lips were dry, and his tightly shut eyes trembled ever so slightly, as though he was enduring some manner of suffering.
Jiang Kongping stood off to the side, showing no surprise whatsoever at the sight. He understood perfectly — the reason Jiang Yuantai had forcibly elevated his combat power twice in succession was because he had consumed a forbidden pill unique to the Pill Dao Immortal Sect.
Any forbidden pill would inevitably carry a backlash.
And his backlash, honestly, was already quite mild.
"Kongping, why did you plead on that Chu Feng's behalf?"
Suddenly, Jiang Yuantai opened his eyes and looked toward Jiang Kongping.
His tone was calm, yet carried an unmistakable note of reprimand.
"Brother, from Chu Feng's perspective, he really didn't do anything wrong."
"A martial cultivator who fears neither life nor death for the sake of his friends and family — such people are truly rare."
"I rather admire that about him."
Though Jiang Kongping wore a smile, it was a timid one.
In his heart, he genuinely feared this older brother of his.
"Admiring the enemy? How can you be so foolish?"
Jiang Yuantai shot Jiang Kongping a cold glare, his tone growing heavier.
Jiang Kongping only smiled awkwardly and offered no explanation.
"Young Master Yuantai, Sima Xiangtu requests an audience."
At that very moment, a voice sounded from outside the door.
"Kongping, you go receive him."
Jiang Yuantai said.
In his current state, he naturally had no desire to let Sima Xiangtu see him like this.
Jiang Kongping understood and pushed open the door, stepping outside.
Not long after, Jiang Kongping came running back, his face filled with tension and unease.
"Kongping, what happened? What has you so flustered?"
Jiang Yuantai sensed something was wrong and rose directly out of the formation.
"Brother, I… I've caused a terrible disaster."
Jiang Kongping said.
"What Sima Xiangtu came to report — does it concern you?"
"Kongping, don't panic. Tell me everything."
Jiang Yuantai said.
"It's Chu Feng. Sima Xiangtu said that for some unknown reason, even though he had clearly locked Chu Feng away inside the cage formation…"
"But just now he discovered that a soundproofing barrier had been placed over the cage formation. When he went inside to investigate, he found that Chu Feng had actually escaped."
Jiang Kongping relayed everything honestly.
"That's all?"
"And here I thought it was something serious."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuantai — who had already risen to his feet — let out a disdainful laugh and sat back down.
"Kongping, he's nothing more than a mere Chu Feng. What are you worried about?"
Jiang Yuantai countered.
"Brother, didn't you prophesy that Chu Feng would try to stop us?"
"Now that he's escaped, won't he come back?"
Jiang Kongping voiced his concern.
"Hahaha…"
But upon hearing this, Jiang Yuantai burst into hearty laughter.
After laughing for quite a while, he finally spoke.
"Kongping, oh Kongping. That Chu Feng does have some ability, but his own cultivation is far too weak."