But this contest was far more difficult than Chu Feng had anticipated. The opponent's strength was simply too great.
In order to avoid being detected by the other party's scouting formations, going all out wasn't enough — Chu Feng had to push himself into overexpenditure.
In just half a day, Chu Feng already felt extraordinarily weak, his consciousness beginning to scatter.
And at that moment, the slumbering Little Fish finally woke up.
Her first reaction upon waking was terror — she discovered that she was sealed within a formation.
But as she observed further, her expression changed drastically.
She saw a person, the only person within her line of sight.
That person stood not far outside her formation.
It turned out that beyond the formation covering her, there was yet another, larger formation.
That person was powering that formation.
But Little Fish could tell that operating that formation required an enormous expenditure.
Otherwise, that person wouldn't be radiating steaming aura, his skin burned away, his face a ghastly mess of exposed flesh and blood that reeked of char — a truly nauseating sight.
Yet when Little Fish saw this scene, instead of feeling any disgust, her eyes reddened in an instant.
Despite his face being completely unrecognizable, despite seeing only his back, she knew exactly who this person was.
"Big Brother!!!"
Chu Feng's consciousness had already begun to scatter, sustained purely by willpower.
But upon hearing that call, his scattered awareness snapped back into focus. He turned to look, and on that ruined, flesh-torn face, a faint smile appeared.
There were no elaborate words — just a simple one: "Little Fish, you're awake."
And yet that made Little Fish feel even more guilty. She wasn't fully lucid yet, still somewhat dazed, but she could piece together that Chu Feng was powering this formation to protect her.
She also knew that Chu Feng wretched condition wasn't caused by external forces — it was the result of his own internal overexpenditure of barrier energy, combined with the immense strain of powering this formation, that had wrought this damage upon him.
It wasn't merely physical harm. His soul must have been affected as well.
Chu Feng had paid an enormous price.
But seeing Little Fish awake, he offered only a casual remark — no blame whatsoever, and no lengthy explanation.
He didn't want Little Fish to carry any burden. Instead, he chose to shoulder everything himself.
"Big Brother, were you powering this formation to save me?"
"Don't worry, Little Fish. With me here, you're absolutely safe," Chu Feng said with a smile.
And just then, heaven and earth trembled. A voice descended from the formation at the very apex of the void, then echoed throughout the entire world.
"Surrender your resistance. Hand over that person."
It was a man's voice, though clearly processed and distorted.
"We are already engaged in a contest, so you should know what kind of opponent you're facing."
"You won't last much longer."
"I know you have backers behind you, but they are no match for us."
"I can tell you're a talent. Being confined among them is a waste of your potential."
"Why not join us? Handing over that person alone would be a great merit. Add to that your abilities, and we will surely grant you an important position."
"You will ascend to the heavens in a single step."
The voice rang out once more, echoing throughout the world.
If Chu Feng had been uncertain before, he was now certain.
This was the Prison Sect speaking.
Who were they speaking to?
Naturally, him.
They had sensed that such a powerful scouting formation was still unable to locate Little Fish's trail.
Someone was using formations to evade their detection.
But they didn't know who this person was, assuming it was an expert of the Immortal Fish Clan — which was why they spoke as they did.
"Big Brother, they're talking to you, aren't they?"
"It was you who got me out of there. They're hunting us down, right?"
Though Little Fish had only just awakened, through observation she had pieced together the general situation.
"Don't worry. They can't find us," Chu Feng said.
"Big Brother, release the formation covering me." As she spoke, Little Fish extended her small hand, palm open.
Her once fair and tender palm shimmered with a burst of light, and rows of scales appeared across its surface.
She then formed a hand seal, and all the scales fell away, leaving behind a single scale.
This scale was a disguise — it wasn't one of Little Fish's own. It was a tremendously powerful formation, forged upon the foundation of an ancient supreme treasure.