The news quickly reached Jie Tian and Ling Mouzi's ears.
"Could it be that Chu Feng actually succeeded?"
The expressions of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace members turned grim.
The dissipation of the barrier's power was undeniable — it meant someone had successfully claimed the treasure within.
But they all knew what kind of orders Jie Tian had given regarding this place.
If Chu Feng had truly taken the treasure, they would have no way to account for it.
"Very well."
"He really doesn't disappoint."
"He must be absolutely ecstatic right now."
"Then I'll just wait for him to come out and show him that everything he did was for nothing."
Unlike the others, Jie Tian stared intently at the formation projected from his token.
The formation still locked onto Chu Feng's position.
And as he spoke with apparent confidence, his face kept twitching.
Chu Feng had accomplished what he himself could not. How could his heart remain at peace?
No matter how powerful the Seven Realms Sacred Palace's grand formation was, it ultimately had nothing to do with him personally. In terms of individual strength alone, he had already been surpassed.
Even though he was confident he would be the final victor, that confidence was built entirely upon the Seven Realms Sacred Palace's sealing formation.
On a personal level, he had lost — thoroughly, completely lost to Chu Feng.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had gone by. The news had already spread.
The number of people gathered inside and outside these ruins was thousands of times greater than before.
It was a true sea of humanity.
Although no one had caught sight of Chu Feng, word that the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect's ruins had been broken into was spreading like wildfire.
And many people were saying it was Chu Feng who had broken through.
Although no one had personally witnessed Chu Feng breaking the formation, this claim had gained widespread acceptance.
On the surface, no one dared to speak of it openly, but privately, everyone knew that Chu Feng had obtained the death-exemption medallion and defeated Jie Tian.
But compared to Jie Tian's defeat, what struck them even more was the fact that Chu Feng had gone up against all the elders of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace — even Saint-level Elders had suffered losses at his hands.
In particular, Chu Feng's composure in the face of danger and his commanding presence over the entire situation had been described by eyewitnesss in almost mythical terms.
Not just the younger generation — even many of the older generation had begun to feel a sense of admiration for Chu Feng.
The reason more and more people kept pouring into these ruins was that they wanted to catch a glimpse of Chu Feng himself.
Although some were saying that Chu Feng might have already left after obtaining the treasure, most people were unwilling to depart, holding on to a sliver of hope that they might see him.
But in truth, Chu Feng had not left. Of this, the experts of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace were most keenly aware.
After all, Jie Tian held the formation that locked onto Chu Feng's position, and under their observation, Chu Feng had remained deep within the ruins the entire time — he had not left. In fact, for a full ten days, he had not moved at all.
"What exactly is this Chu Feng doing?"
"Could he be injured? Perhaps he's unconscious in there?"
"He might be too afraid to come out."
"But that shouldn't be possible. Ruins like these should have a teleportation formation that would carry him away."
The elders of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace speculated among themselves.
But Jie Tian was not anxious. "No matter what tricks he's pulling, he can't escape."
"I refuse to believe that the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect's ruins could teleport him directly out of this world."
...
At that moment, Chu Feng had been inside that great hall the entire time, studying the Initial-stage Secret Manual.
A full ten days, and he had finally mastered the Initial-stage Secret Manual. It was indeed no ordinary thing.
Having mastered the Initial-stage Secret Manual and combined it with Qin Jiu's formation techniques, Chu Feng's control over formations could be greatly enhanced.
Despite still being a God Robe Spirit World Master, when it came to pure knowledge alone — setting aside combat power — there were formations that even an early-stage True Dragon Spirit World Master could not break, yet Chu Feng could.
There were even formations that a mid-stage True Dragon Spirit World Master could not break, which Chu Feng might very well be able to dismantle.
That was the power of the Initial-stage Secret Manual.
() However, under normal circumstances, Chu Feng's current individual mastery of the Initial-stage Secret Manual was far from sufficient.
If the Seven Realms Sacred Palace truly had a formidable formation waiting for him, the Initial-stage Secret Manual alone would be far from enough.