"You flatter me, Senior."
Though Chu Feng was smiling, he gently pushed Huahua away from his embrace.
Chu Feng was not someone who welcomed every advance.
But neither was he the type who insisted on keeping his distance from women or avoiding beauty altogether.
Chu Feng was a normal person.
When he saw something beautiful, he enjoyed admiring it. When he saw a beautiful woman, he would glance a few more times and study her carefully.
And Huahua was beautiful—without question a true beauty.
But Chu Feng felt absolutely no improper thoughts toward her. His respect for her was genuine, and he truly regarded her as a senior.
This was, of course, because Huahua and Xia Xingchen had once been contemporaries of his mother.
So a hug was fine, but a kiss—Chu Feng could not accept that.
Chu Feng's gesture was graceful. He said nothing, and his movements were gentle.
Huahua was naturally not offended. A smile still graced her lovely face, but inwardly she could not help feeling a twinge of disappointment.
She was not stupid—she understood exactly what Chu Feng meant.
But this was the first time she had ever made such an intimate advance toward a man, and she had been the one to initiate it.
This result was obviously not what she had hoped for.
"Ahem."
It was Xia Xingchen who cleared his throat lightly.
"Now is not the time for idle chatter. We cannot underestimate the Firmament Immortal Sect."
At Xia Xingchen's reminder, the three of them continued onward.
The combination of Chu Feng and Huahua quickly dismantled the formations the Firmament Immortal Sect had set up.
They infiltrated smoothly, and a vast subterranean world spread before their eyes.
The scenery was beautiful, but none of the three had any heart for sightseeing.
Because alongside the beautiful landscape came the sight of a massive sea of beings—hundreds of millions of them.
No—they were not people. They were demons.
Each of them stood over ten meters tall. Though they stood upright and their facial features were close to human, their forms were not those of humans.
They wore no clothing, for they had no need of it—their bodies came with built-in black armor.
The armor was part of their very skin.
Towering bodies, domineering armor, fierce gazes—this race looked thoroughly dangerous.
But they were clearly all bark and no bite.
Because beneath that imposing exterior, they possessed no powerful cultivation whatsoever. Among the hundreds of millions of figures, not a single one concealed their cultivation.
The strongest among them were only at the early True God stage, and those numbered fewer than a thousand.
In fact, the majority of these hundreds of millions had cultivations that had not even reached the Martial Venerable realm.
And they all appeared thoroughly exhausted, lying flat on the ground.
"This ancient race looks fierce, but who would have thought they'd be this useless? No wonder they were enslaved by the Firmament Immortal Sect," Huahua remarked.
After Xia Xingchen's earlier explanation, both she and Chu Feng already knew.
This ancient race was still alive because they could help refine the cultivation resources found here.
"The Firmament Immortal Sect has shown some humanity for once—they're actually letting them rest," Xia Xingchen sighed.
"They're not normally allowed to rest?" Huahua asked.
"Of course not," Xia Xingchen replied.
"No wonder they look so exhausted," Huahua said.
As for Chu Feng, after taking a brief look at the ancient race, he turned his gaze toward the center where they had gathered.
There, a colossal structure rose from a foundation of piled stone, reaching tens of thousands of meters in height.
The entire structure was covered in barrier runes that shimmered with light—magnificent and mysterious.
"That's where the cultivation resources are kept, isn't it?" Chu Feng asked.
"Yes." Xia Xingchen nodded, then said, "Chu Feng, wait here for us. Don't wander off."
He then turned to Huahua. "Huahua, come with me for a moment."
"Senior, where are you going?" Chu Feng asked.
"Just to scout the situation. Don't worry, nothing will happen to us."
() "Just observe the area for now."
With that, Xia Xingchen led Huahua away.
Chu Feng did not follow. Instead, he studied the structure with careful attention.
Before long, Chu Feng noticed something was off.
Not long after, Xia Xingchen and Huahua returned.
"One piece of good news, one piece of bad news—which do you want to hear first?" Xia Xingchen asked.