Jie Mubai had long anticipated that once Chu Feng realized he couldn't contend with him head-on, he would activate the formation eyes on another level of the Formation Tower to force them to bloom.
And so, from the very beginning, Jie Mubai had taken precautions — binding the formation eyes to prevent Chu Feng from triggering their bloom, and continuously tightening that binding.
As time passed, the restraining force he exerted on the formation eyes had reached a level where he was brimming with confidence.
But he had still underestimated Chu Feng.
Right now, he could feel that his all-out resistance was barely holding.
Chu Feng's control over the formation eyes far exceeded anything he had imagined.
If this continued, he would most likely lose.
And so Jie Mubai looked toward the ten boxes before him.
Though unwillingness flickered in his eyes, he ultimately opened one.
In an instant, brilliant light flooded out. A talisman paper flew from the box and landed in Jie Mubai's hand.
His hand seals shifted. The talisman burned, but rather than turning to ash, it transformed into a radiant aura of flame that merged into his palm.
Immediately after, that radiant aura erupted from within Jie Mubai's body, enveloping him entirely.
Countless barrier runes drifted within the aura — runes that bore a striking resemblance to the ones on the compass of the Fortune Sacred Realm, clearly born of the same origin.
As Jie Mubai's hand seals changed, that power merged into the formation.
Before long, the formation's power appeared within Baili Zilin's body and surged into the formation eyes.
In that moment, the formation's power swelled dramatically.
"Damn it."
Seeing this, Chu Feng instantly understood.
Baili Zilin didn't possess some supreme treasure — he had someone behind him backing him up, and that person wielded power connected to the Fortune Sacred Realm.
The reason Chu Feng reached this conclusion was that he not only sensed the same power from the Fortune Sacred Realm within Baili Zilin's formation force, but also detected the aura of another person.
No wonder Baili Zilin's barrier arts were so weak, and yet he was this powerful.
But Chu Feng refused to give up. Gritting his teeth, he pushed his barrier power even harder.
Perhaps it was sensing Chu Feng's resolve, or perhaps this place truly had a special guiding effect on barrier bloodlines — the King's Bloodline within Chu Feng also began to seep out power for him to use. Though the amount was small, its effect was immense.
At that moment, the barrier power radiating from Chu Feng's body was suffused with a formidable pressure.
Baili Zilin, standing close by, felt it with crystalline clarity.
He felt his own barrier bloodline… trembling with fear.
"The hell — 'no weaker than the King's Bloodline'? That's absolute rubbish. The gap between us is enormous!" Baili Zilin cursed inwardly.
As a martial cultivator, he understood that bloodline suppression was itself a reflection of a gap in strength. And having been so confident in his own barrier bloodline, he was naturally furious.
At the same time, Jie Mubai also sensed the change in Chu Feng.
He opened the second box, and another talisman paper flew out.
Even greater barrier power fused into his body.
This time, Chu Feng could no longer hold his ground. Not only could the formation eyes not bloom — they were rapidly shooting upward.
Before long, they reached the ninth level of the Formation Tower.
The roles had reversed.
Chu Feng, who had been trying to force the formation eyes to bloom, was now desperately trying to suppress them.
But it was futile. With formation power that surged forth in an endless, ever-growing torrent from Baili Zilin's body pouring into the formation eyes, Chu Feng's strength simply couldn't keep up.
In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the formation eyes bloomed.
In that instant, the wind shifted and the clouds churned. A pillar of light pierced skyward, drawing the attention of the world.
The choice settled on the ninth level of the Formation Tower — the challenge in which an outside force would play the decisive role.
"Chu Feng, the King's Bloodline — is that all?" Baili Zilin looked at Chu Feng, his face brimming with the posture of a victor.
Chu Feng offered a faint smile and looked up at Baili Zilin: "Having nothing of your own to show for it — doesn't that make you feel even the slightest bit uneasy?"
"What's that? Can't handle losing, so you resort to slandering me by claiming I have a supreme treasure inside me? Making excuses for your own failure?" Baili Zilin shot back.
"It's not just a supreme treasure. There's also an accomplice. That person is powerful — they wield the power of the Fortune Sacred Realm."
"I'd wager the Fortune Sacred Realm's long absence has something to do with this person," Chu Feng said.