Chu Feng had seen quite a few individuals with Heaven-Chartered Divine Bodies.
He himself was one such bearer.
But Yuwen Yanri was the most powerful of all those Chu Feng had encountered when it came to the manifestation of Heaven-Chartered Divine Power.
It was as though he had already merged with that power into a single being.
Before long, that Zhao Zhuyin walked out as well.
Her cultivation had recovered, though she bore some minor injuries.
Chu Feng hadn't witnessed the battle firsthand, but he could deduce that Zhao Zhuyin had gotten the worse of her fight against the demon beast.
Had Yuwen Yanri not intervened in time, Zhao Zhuyin's situation could have been far more dire.
"You must be that Yuwen Yanri?" Zhao Zhuyin asked.
She hadn't asked his name before, acting as if she couldn't care less.
But clearly, the current Yuwen Yanri was enough to command her attention.
She had also guessed his identity.
It wasn't difficult to deduce, really — anyone with access to reliable information would know that Yuwen Yanri was the inheritor of the Sunflame Divine Body.
"That's me," Yuwen Yanri admitted openly.
He concealed his face not because he feared revealing his identity, but simply because his appearance was ghastly and he worried about frightening others.
Zhao Zhuyin said nothing more.
However, the look in her eyes told Chu Feng that she had acknowledged Yuwen Yanri.
At the very least, his strength was above hers at the moment.
Zhao Zhuyin even glanced at Chu Feng, and her gaze toward him had shifted as well.
Yuwen Yanri's power may well have given her an entirely new standard for judging the strength of this generation's cultivators.
But that was only natural — Yuwen Yanri was truly formidable.
With the demon beast neutralized, Chu Feng followed Yuwen Yanri and Zhao Zhuyin into the cave.
The interior was built with great sturdiness, which explained why such tremendous commotion had failed to collapse it.
After walking for a distance, the space opened up entirely. What lay before them was no longer a cave but a world of rock walls.
It was vast, but that was about all it had going for it. There were no treasures to speak of — only oppressive darkness.
Were it not for their extraordinary eyesight, they would have seen nothing at all.
The first thing that greeted their vision was a towering demon beast.
It stood a thousand meters tall, its build reminiscent of a bear, but it was utterly lifeless, kneeling upon the ground.
A massive hole gaped in its chest, and flames still burned within it — the fatal wound.
This was undoubtedly Yuwen Yanri's doing.
The moment Chu Feng stepped inside, the demon beast's physical form collapsed and dissolved into a wisp of energy.
But the energy did not disperse. Instead, it spiraled through the air along a peculiar arc — almost elegant, even beautiful.
This continued for a time before finally ceasing.
In the end, the energy converged together, and as it rotated, it actually transformed into the power of a barrier.
It had not yet taken its complete form, but its general outline was already visible — it was going to condense into a barrier gate.
"Brother Chu Feng, is that the exit?" Yuwen Yanri looked toward Chu Feng.
After the Summit of Nine Heavens and everything that followed, he trusted Chu Feng implicitly. When it came to making this kind of judgment, Chu Feng was the most reliable.
"Yes, but it's a selectable exit," Chu Feng said.
"Selectable?" Yuwen Yanri looked puzzled.
Zhao Zhuyin said nothing, but the way her beautiful eyes shifted to Chu Feng's face made it plain she was curious about what he meant.
"The demon beast's spiraling before condensing into the barrier gate gave us a clue."
"This barrier gate can be closed."
The moment Chu Feng finished speaking, the barrier gate fully materialized. But upon doing so, it revealed an activation formation — and that formation likewise offered the option to close it.
Chu Feng had been right. The barrier gate could indeed be closed.
Zhao Zhuyin still hadn't spoken a word, but the look she gave Chu Feng showed even greater curiosity than before.
She was wondering how on earth Chu Feng had figured it all out, because she herself had noticed absolutely nothing.
Compared to Zhao Zhuyin, Yuwen Yanri was not at all surprised by Chu Feng's deduction. He had long since witnessed Chu Feng's abilities firsthand.
His experience was simple: exploring ruins together with Chu Feng boiled down to two words — easy mode.
Many problems that would have been nearly impossible to solve became remarkably simple in Chu Feng's presence.
"Brother Chu Feng, so what should we do?" Yuwen Yanri asked.
"If we open it, we can leave through this barrier gate directly, but we'll inevitably miss something."
"Even I don't know what we'd gain by refusing it, but… I feel this is an opportunity."