"What exactly are we supposed to look at?" Wen Xue asked, confused.
"It's a distraction. What you really need to do here is let the Gu worms enter your body," Chu Feng said.
"Gu worms enter our body?"
"You mean those disgusting Gu worms go inside us?"
Wen Xue pointed at the dense cluster of Gu worms covering the iron gate, and a look of fear crept across her small face.
"That's right," Chu Feng said.
"Doesn't that mean we'll be controlled?" Wen Xue asked.
"It's just a trial. They won't actually control you," Chu Feng said.
"Are you sure about that?" Wen Xue furrowed her brow, clearly struggling to accept this.
In her eyes, those Gu worms were extremely dangerous.
"At least, that's what my observation tells me," Chu Feng said.
"If we don't accept the Gu worms, we can't go any deeper?"
"But wasn't it supposed to be about breaking a formation?" Wen Xue said.
"That's exactly why it's a distraction. It makes you think you need to break the formation, and that the key to breaking it is hidden inside that wall."
"But in truth, there's no formation to break here. Accepting the Gu worms is the real key," Chu Feng said.
"How do you know that?" Wen Xue asked.
"I figured it out from the Gu worms themselves. They look like a mass of worms piled together, but the layers they're stacked in, the trajectories of their movement—they're all hints," Chu Feng said.
"That's incredible?" Wen Xue was half-skeptical, half-believing.
"If Senior Sister can't accept it, you can wait for me outside. I can go deeper on my own."
"If the creature you mentioned really exists, I'll find a way to capture it for you," Chu Feng said.
"No way. I'm going in with you. Just tell me—how do I accept it?" Wen Xue asked.
Chu Feng reached out and made a grabbing motion, and one of the Gu worms was drawn through the air, floating right in front of Wen Xue.
"Extend your hand and let it go in. But you have to truly accept it—you can't resist," Chu Feng said.
"Ewww~~~"
Despite the disgusted look all over her face, Wen Xue still held out her snow-white hand.
Chu Feng then sent out a burst of will, and the Gu worm dropped into Wen Xue's palm. In the next instant, it transformed into a strand of golden light and slipped into her palm.
At that moment, Wen Xue's expression softened considerably. The furrowed brow from before smoothed out, and she sank into a state of complete relaxation.
Wen Xue was, after all, a woman who had seen the world and possessed her own measures. No matter how repulsed she was by the Gu worm, once she heard what Chu Feng said, she wholeheartedly accepted it without the slightest resistance.
Her relaxed state was the best proof of that.
Before long, the power of a barrier appeared around Wen Xue, locking onto her. She was soon engulfed and vanished along with the barrier's light.
She had passed the trial and left this place.
Chu Feng was not surprised by this. He simply disliked making absolute statements or giving absolute guarantees.
But in truth, he had great confidence in himself and knew that his observations were not wrong.
And so, Chu Feng reached out and grabbed a Gu worm of his own, letting it fall into his palm.
The moment it landed, a warm sensation spread throughout his entire body. His consciousness then entered a forest shrouded in darkness, yet filled with drifting fireflies.
Not far away, a figure sat with her back to him, dressed in simple robes, seated on the ground in an upright posture.
What stood out most was her hair. Most of it was white—not naturally so, but white from the erosion of time. Yet scattered among the white strands were threads of other colors, not just a single shade.
Seven colors in all.
They were actually rather beautiful.
Before Chu Feng could speak, the figure already did. It was the voice of an old woman.
"You merged with the Gu worm quite quickly. I can tell your powers of observation are impressive."
"But if you wish to obtain the inheritance here, you need to understand the meaning of these two words."
As she spoke, the old woman picked up a burning piece of wood and waved it through the air.
Soon, a character of flame appeared.
It was the word: "Seize."