"Rely on me?" Chu Feng asked.
"You awakened the Origin of the Vein. If not you, then who should we rely on?" Liu Kuo said.
"So the Nine Heavens Summit came here this time because of this Origin of the Vein?" Chu Feng asked.
"My brother Chu Feng, you guessed right once again."
"The reason the Nine Heavens Summit came to this place — it's all because of the Origin of the Vein," Liu Kuo explained.
"Was it you who wanted to awaken the Origin of the Vein?" Chu Feng asked.
"That question — you're overthinking it. Where would we get that kind of ability?"
"Forget about me. Even my Master merely serves the Nine Heavens Summit."
"We can control some of the formation's power within the Nine Heavens Summit on a daily basis, but there are deeper aspects that cannot be controlled, or even accessed."
"For instance, this time, all the orders came directly from the Nine Heavens Summit. We merely followed them."
"So the testing formations inside the trial grounds weren't an ordeal arranged by my Master and me — they were an ordeal arranged by the Nine Heavens Summit," Liu Kuo said.
"The Nine Heavens Summit — is there another expert behind it?"
"Or does the Nine Heavens Summit itself possess sentience?"
"Honestly, I don't know much about the Nine Heavens Summit. Could you explain a bit?" Chu Feng asked with curiosity.
"My Master came to serve at the Nine Heavens Summit through a stroke of fate. As for whether my junior brother and I can continue staying here after Master's passing — that remains uncertain."
"As for the Nine Heavens Summit itself, I don't know that much either. All I know is that it possesses extraordinarily powerful formations."
"While we're within the Nine Heavens Summit, we can gain certain benefits and wield some of the formation's power."
"But beyond that, I don't really know much more."
"However, my Master did tell me — he speculated that the reason the Nine Heavens Summit chose to come here this time should be related to the Origin of the Vein."
"As it turns out, my Master guessed correctly."
"Of course, the key factor is that you came, Brother Chu Feng. Even if someone else managed to open the Nine Heavens Summit, no one else would have been able to awaken the Origin of the Vein."
At this point, Liu Kuo shifted the topic and asked Chu Feng, "Do you know why even the ancient records don't describe the specific power of the Origin of the Vein?"
"Tell me," Chu Feng said.
"According to ancient records, the last time the Origin of the Vein was awakened, it required the combined effort of the most elite martial cultivators and powerful Spirit World Masters from all sides."
"Nearly a thousand people — and every one of them was a supreme existence of the ancient era."
"Under their combined effort, they did manage to awaken the Origin of the Vein. But the Origin of the Vein was different from the Soul Mist Flame."
"The Soul Mist Flame could be used by multiple people for cultivation, but the Origin of the Vein only acknowledged a single master."
"Back in the ancient era, the reason those thousand experts could join forces was that they had already reached an agreement — whoever could make the Origin of the Vein submit would claim it."
"Unfortunately, even under their combined effort, though they awakened the Origin of the Vein, not a single one of them was able to conquer it."
"And so, naturally, no one knew what the specific power of the Origin of the Vein truly was — they could only rely on imagination and speculation," Liu Kuo explained.
"This Origin of the Vein — it's quite the character," Chu Feng remarked.
"Not just quite the character. It's incredibly temperamental."
"So Brother Chu Feng, you'll need to put in the effort."
"If you can conquer this Origin of the Vein, I'll be following you from now on."
"The so-called Era of the Gods — none of that would matter anymore."
"As long as you gain the Origin of the Vein's recognition, you'll inevitably become the strongest person of this age. No one from the ancient era could compare," Liu Kuo said.
"I'll give it everything I have. But… how am I supposed to do it?" Chu Feng asked.
Such power — Chu Feng didn't want to miss it. But he truly had limited knowledge about it. He had no idea where to even begin.
"You're asking me that? I don't know either. What do you think?" Liu Kuo countered.
"The Nine Heavens Summit has already opened. I'd guess the opportunity is hidden in whatever trials await us next?" Chu Feng asked.
"That's quite possible, but I can't be certain," Liu Kuo said.
"We'll see when the time comes. I'll keep my eyes open," Chu Feng said.
"It's not just the Origin of the Vein. Those five from the Huangfu Heavenly Clan — you need to watch out for them too."
Although there were only the two of them here, and they had been discussing the Origin of the Vein openly, when the Huangfu Heavenly Clan was mentioned, Liu Kuo switched to secret voice transmission.
"The Huangfu Heavenly Clan — do you know something about them?" Chu Feng also replied through secret voice transmission.
By now, Chu Feng felt that the one the Totem Dragon Clan's Clan Master had spoken of — the one who had caused a massive disturbance at the Seven Worlds Holy Mansion all those years ago — was most likely someone from the Huangfu Heavenly Clan.