"No!!!"
Seeing this scene, Wen Xue's expression changed drastically.
She never expected that after the old monster beside Jie Tianran made its move, the red beast would undergo a transformation.
With this, forget about Chu Feng stopping them from leaving — now she had to worry about whether she and Chu Feng could get out safely.
Sssshhhk— However, Chu Feng's hand seals shifted, and even more branches of lightning surged toward the colossal beast.
This time, though, they attacked in a encircling formation.
Although every branch that drew close was instantly shattered by the red beast's claws, unable to pose any further threat, the great tree's branches seemed capable of endless regeneration — growing ceaselessly, wave after wave, thrusting toward Jie Tianran's position.
"Chu Feng, Junior Brother, you…"
Wen Xue gazed at Chu Feng, her expression complicated.
The tree's astonishing regenerative ability was directly tied to Chu Feng's own expenditure of power.
That much was evident from Chu Feng's consciousness body — it was visibly weakening. This had to be the price Chu Feng was paying to drive the tree forward.
But Wen Xue didn't know how to dissuade him.
How could she?
If he simply surrendered, the red beast would shatter his consciousness outright. At least this way, he was fighting with everything he had.
"A last-ditch struggle before death?" Jie Tianran sneered coldly, believing that Chu Feng's life-burning fighting style couldn't possibly last long and was merely a stalling tactic.
Even if his consciousness here was completely destroyed, it would only be the consciousness that had entered this place that would dissipate — it wouldn't cause any real harm to Chu Feng's true body. However, if his consciousness was entirely obliterated, then Chu Feng would essentially lose. Even if he could re-condense his consciousness and enter the cavern again, he would have to start from scratch, and his progress would fall behind Jie Tianran's.
But before long, the smile faded from Jie Tianran's face.
He realized he had underestimated Chu Feng.
Chu Feng's consciousness, though flickering and on the verge of vanishing at any moment — simply refused to disappear.
Yet even as Chu Feng held on, the speed of the world's collapse did not slow.
Seeing this, Jie Tianran and his companion rode the red beast toward the barrier gate, intending to break through.
They didn't want to waste any more time trading blows with Chu Feng and planned to leave directly.
But Chu Feng had long been prepared. The tree extended even more branches — this time, simultaneously blocking Jie Tianran's advance and reinforcing the seal on the barrier gate.
Though the red beast's claws sent branch fragments scattering through the air like a torrential rain of debris, under Chu Feng's full power, the gate was being sealed at a considerable speed.
Under normal circumstances, even if Chu Feng's consciousness remained unbroken, the red beast's power should have been enough to keep its dismantling pace ahead of Chu Feng's sealing speed — and it would have eventually torn through the lightning branches entirely.
But the problem was, the world was collapsing far too quickly. Jie Tianran simply didn't have the time to chew through them.
"Jie Tianran, enough. Give it back to him."
"We can settle the contest in the caverns ahead — there's no rush."
His companion urged him.
"If I compromise again, he'll really think this old man fears him. Worst case, we start over from the beginning. I can afford to lose what's in here — it's not like I lack such things."
But this time, Jie Tianran was being stubborn. He refused to listen even to the old monster's words, looking fully prepared to fight to the bitter end.
"Junior Brother Chu Feng, please, just let it go. That grandfather of yours is no decent person — he's a mad dog through and through."
"Why waste your energy arguing with him? A dog bites you, are you going to bite the dog back?"
"Don't forget why we came here in the first place. Just let him go. Taking a small loss is better than this."
Seeing the situation, Wen Xue hastily tried to persuade Chu Feng to stand down.
Chu Feng said nothing, but the stubborn set of his jaw spoke volumes about his resolve.
"Junior Brother Chu Feng, if not for yourself, then do it for your Senior Sister, will you?"
"You still owe me a favor, don't you? You know I want what's in here."
"So — are you going to repay that favor or not?"