Soon, Jie Tian and the others departed from the area and returned to the ruins.
However, they did not enter the Chess Gate to pursue Chu Feng.
Even though they had learned Chu Feng's array-breaking key and could follow in his footsteps, they feared that Chu Feng might still have other tricks up his sleeve, and thus did not dare venture deeper.
Still, they managed to make contact with the Tongling Sacred Clan members, since they had not brought the Tongling Sacred Clan's people out with them.
They believed that Chu Feng would very likely continue to use the Tongling Sacred Clan members to break through the arrays.
And thanks to the Tongling Sacred Clan's special abilities, they could transmit messages over great distances, allowing them to gain a more detailed understanding of Chu Feng's current situation.
At that moment, the Tongling Sacred Clan members knelt before Ling Mouzi, Jie Tian, and the others. The elder at the front held up a platter with both hands.
On the platter lay a large number of Life Pearls.
But at this point, most of the Life Pearls were shattered, with only three remaining intact.
"Three were left behind. What is their realm?" Ling Mouzi asked.
"Reporting to the Lord Elder, the three left behind were seventh-grade True Dragon Spirit World Masters," the Tongling Sacred Clan elder replied.
"Just as expected—he's still using our people to break through the arrays."
"It seems the arrays ahead aren't as easy to break as he claimed. Chu Feng truly is despicable."
Ling Mouzi's eyes flickered as she grew ever more certain of her suspicions.
Upon hearing this, the Tongling Sacred Clan elder added: "Lord Elder, it appears Chu Feng may have discovered them. After our clansmen's Life Pearls shattered, the three elders still alive in our clan ceased transmitting any further messages."
"However, before they were killed by Chu Feng, they had all transmitted messages."
"It's just that this message..." The elder hesitated, unsure whether he should speak it aloud.
"What message? Speak plainly," Ling Mouzi said.
"Our clansmen's messages stated that after you withdrew, Chu Feng revealed a smug smile, as though he had long known you had means of escape."
"Furthermore, Chu Feng declared that he would not let you escape next time, and that he seemed to have other measures at his disposal," the Tongling Sacred Clan elder said.
"Hmph." Upon hearing this, Ling Mouzi's expression turned ugly.
Although she had long suspected that Chu Feng had contingencies, hearing these words spoken aloud by the Tongling Sacred Clan members before everyone—while they themselves truly did not dare venture deeper to hunt Chu Feng—left her feeling thoroughly disgruntled.
Meanwhile, Chu Feng had already passed through the path he had carved out and reached the deepest part of one of the Chess Gates.
This was a place that could also be reached through paths opened by others.
It was a shared space.
But to continue deeper and reach the very depths of the Chess Gate, the array-breaking key alone would not suffice.
This was something new entirely.
Here, once the final few arrays were broken in a relatively correct sequence, a barrier gate would appear.
That barrier gate was the path to the end.
But even if the barrier gate appeared, it did not necessarily mean that the previous array-breaking sequence had been correct.
This was why Jie Tianran had once reached the deepest part of the Chess Gate but had failed to obtain the treasure.
This was because he lacked the confidence to be certain that his sequence was correct and dared not gamble with his own life.
In any case, within this vast and complex space, there were numerous arrays.
At that moment, Chu Feng was using the three Tongling Sacred Clan members to break through the arrays.
Chu Feng was desperate to break through the arrays and leave this place.
He had no certainty in his heart.
The grand array within the gate he had just passed through was the only array in these ruins that he could control.
But once that gate was opened, the power of that array would no longer be under his control.
That was why he had made the three Tongling Sacred Clan members swallow the arrays he had prepared.