"Actually, he could have used the power he controlled to restrain me, then activated the Great Sacrificial Formation. No one here could have stopped him."
"But he didn't do that. I suppose, when it came to sacrificing so many people, his heart was torn as well?" Chu Feng sighed.
And at that moment, inside the Gate of the Heavenly Path, Wang Qiang sat cross-legged within the teleportation tunnel, hurtling rapidly through the brilliant starry expanse.
The place he was headed to would surely be filled with light.
But the current Wang Qiang had no mind for such things. In his hands, he clutched a black scroll.
The scroll was formed from black qi, unfurled in its open state, but perhaps because the formation had collapsed, or for some other reason, the scroll was gradually disintegrating from its tail end.
But from the parts that hadn't yet crumbled, one could still see that it was densely covered with names.
The Divine Body Heavenly Palace had the most.
But apart from the people of the Divine Body Heavenly Palace, Xiao Yu'er, Xianhai Shaoyu, Bai Yunqing, the New King, and others were all listed.
Those who had obtained the Seven Star Inheritance—aside from Song Yun, every one of them was included.
But even though so many names were written down, there was still an order of priority.
First: Chu Feng.
This was the list of those exempted from sacrifice in the Great Sacrificial Formation.
But even with the Great Sacrificial Formation, Wang Qiang had no confidence that if the sacrifice truly commenced, everyone on this scroll would survive. Many might die—and it was possible they all would.
That was the reason for Wang Qiang's hesitation.
*Drip, drip—* Suddenly, water droplets fell onto the scroll, growing more and more numerous.
It was tears.
Not just tears—there was snot too.
Wang Qiang held the scroll in one hand while wiping his face with the other. Not only did he fail to wipe away the tears, he smeared snot everywhere.
And he cried so loudly—his whole body convulsing with sobs, crying like a child of just a few years old, as though he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
"Chu Feng, you—you—you... you bastard."
"Why did you treat me so well?"
"Are you secretly in love with me or something?"
"Is a brother really worth sacrificing this much for?"
"You've been so good to me."
"I—I'm almost not sure about my own orientation anymore."
"Damn it!!!"
With that, he actually clutched the scroll to his chest and screamed toward the heavens: "Brother, I—I—I... I can't bear to let you go."
……
Inside the Ancient Burial Ground, not only was the Great Sacrificial Formation that shrouded the void crumbling— The power sealing the Ancient Burial Ground had also been released. People could finally leave.
Chu Feng carried the unconscious Bai Yunqing back to where everyone was gathered.
Regarding the Great Sacrificial Formation, Chu Feng did not tell the truth, saying only that his own formation had dissolved the sacrificial array.
As for Wang Qiang's whereabouts, he said Wang Qiang also commanded the Gate of the Heavenly Path and had departed for the Ninth Heavenly River.
Everyone believed Chu Feng's words without question. Moreover, with the crisis resolved, they were overcome with elation, so no one particularly cared where Wang Qiang had gone.
"Brother Xiancheng, here—your Immortal Jade."
Chu Feng returned the divine weapon Immortal Jade to Ye Xiancheng. It was, after all, his family's heirloom.
He had borrowed the spear because after learning the black monster's weakness, he realized the Ye clan's Formless Spear Technique was perfectly suited to counter it.
So he had asked Ye Xiancheng for the spear, since the Immortal Jade could perfectly bring out the full power of the Formless Spear Technique.
"Hehe, this is our Lord Immortal Jade—far too important. Otherwise, I'd just give it to you."
Ye Xiancheng accepted the Immortal Jade and carefully stored it away, but then asked: "Be honest—was that when you stole my inherited martial art?"
"That's not called stealing. It's called taking," Chu Feng corrected.
"Damn, how are you so monstrous?"
Ye Xiancheng was speechless. Though he had long suspected as much, having Chu Feng actually admit it still left him feeling that the technique was absolutely heaven-defying.
Meanwhile, deep within the Ancient Burial Ground.
Song Changsheng and Tianjian Qingyuan still sat upon the treasure, floating amidst the starry expanse.
They were still weakened.
The expenditure had been too great—not something that could be recovered from in a short time.
But the two of them watched as the Great Sacrificial Formation that had shrouded the starry sky continued to crumble, and they finally let out a breath of relief.
"It's actually been dissolved?" Tianjian Qingyuan's relief was tinged with confusion.
"It was Chu Feng." Song Changsheng spoke with certainty.
"Chu Feng did this?" Tianjian Qingyuan asked.