Chu Feng unleashed his aura.
He had truly reached the Ninth Rank True God.
"Truly the Ninth Rank True God."
"How strange."
"But how could he break straight through to the Ninth Rank True God?"
Eggy sensed Chu Feng's aura and had no choice but to accept this bizarre fact.
But she found it inconceivable, and couldn't help but ponder.
"It was the lightning tribulation."
Eggy and Chu Feng said in unison.
They both felt it was the lightning tribulation's doing.
So, Chu Feng went ahead and activated the Three Realms Divine Eye.
He looked toward the sky above, where the Nine-colored Divine Thunder had yet to fully dissipate.
Sure enough, he detected traces of formation power.
That formation power was extremely well-hidden. Without the Three Realms Divine Eye, even if Chu Feng had used his Heavenly Eye, he wouldn't have been able to see it.
But under the Three Realms Divine Eye, he determined that the formation power, though transformed from a supreme treasure, bore a striking resemblance to the power Jie Tianran had previously merged into the formation.
From this, he deduced it was Jie Tianran's handiwork.
"So it really was the lightning tribulation."
"No wonder something felt off earlier."
"It turns out Jie Tianran tampered with my lightning tribulation."
Chu Feng said.
"You mean that scoundrel grandfather of yours used the lightning tribulation to sabotage you?"
Eggy asked.
"Mm, it must have been him. He must have sensed my breakthrough and tried to use the lightning tribulation against me."
"But somehow, it ended up benefiting me instead."
Chu Feng analyzed.
"That scoundrel grandfather of yours is truly despicable."
Eggy's eyes burned with fury.
Though Chu Feng had turned misfortune into blessing, one could not deny how cunning and insidious Jie Tianran's actions were. If anything, Chu Feng's breakthrough only served to highlight just how powerful Jie Tianran's methods truly were.
Meanwhile, on Jie Tianran's side, Baili Xukong and the others had already left the formation eye, but all of them glared viciously at Jie Tianran.
"Good thing I reacted fast, or that Chu Feng kid would've drained me dry."
"Jie Tianran, can you be any more reliable?!"
Cang Li pointed at Jie Tianran and cursed again.
Though his realm had been preserved, that didn't mean he hadn't lost cultivation.
In fact, the losses were enormous.
Just taking Cang Li as an example—after bitterly cultivating to reach the Fifth Rank Heavenly God, the cultivation he had painstakingly accumulated was devoured in that single instant, over half of it gone.
He credited his quick reactions.
Because if he had been even a fraction slower, he might have fallen back to the Fourth Rank Heavenly God.
"Gentlemen, was your cultivation truly devoured?"
Jie Tianran asked.
"Do you even need to ask? Next time Chu Feng breaks through, why don't you go in and try for yourself?"
"I'm starting to think Chu Feng might actually be telling the truth—you bastards really did team up, and you really are helping that Chu Feng, aren't you?!"
Cang Li glared at Jie Tianran with vicious intent.
The others, though not as aggressive as Cang Li, also gave Jie Tianran no warm looks.
After all, cultivation was hard-won through bitter training. To lose even a bit of it—no one would be happy about that.
"Team up?"
"What qualifications does he have to team up with this old man?"
"If this old man truly wanted to deal with the Hell Sect, would he need to go through all this trouble?"
"Gentlemen, consider this: when Chu Feng used the suppression array to restrain you all, who was it that saved you?"
"You should understand what kind of supreme treasure this old man used to rescue you."
"This old man has gone to such lengths, and yet you still can't eliminate your wariness?"
"Very well, then this old man will take his leave."
As Jie Tianran spoke, he immediately rose to his feet.
Seeing this, all the Spirit World Masters of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace also stood up.
"Lord of the Seven Realms, please calm yourself."
Seeing this, Baili Xukong quickly spoke to placate him.
"Lord of the Seven Realms, hear me out."
"We did indeed lose cultivation when we followed the lightning tribulation to attack Chu Feng."
"You may primarily practice barrier techniques, but you should understand how difficult cultivation is."
"The honorable gentlemen have suffered cultivation losses, and it's understandable that they're upset."
"But rest assured, Lord of the Seven Realms, we absolutely trust that you are on our side."
"If we didn't trust you, we would never have asked for your help in awakening the sacred artifact."
"And just now, we wouldn't have stepped into the formation eye."
Baili Xukong said.
At this point, the fury in the eyes of the Hell Sect's powerhouses had also subsided considerably.
After all, Jie Tianran's words made sense. If he had truly wanted to trap them, he could have simply not intervened when Chu Feng activated the suppression array. There would have been no need for such elaborate measures.
It was they who had become irrational over losing a small amount of cultivation.
"Cang Li, this matter truly isn't Lord Jie's fault."
"If anyone is to blame, it's that Chu Feng for being too cunning—hiding some bizarre technique unknown to us that devoured our cultivation."
An elder from the neutral faction said to Cang Li.
Immediately after, others also chimed in to persuade him, giving Cang Li a way to back down.
"Fine, fine. I did voluntarily activate the formation eye."
"Lord Jie, I was a bit worked up just now. Please don't take it to heart."
"But I really did lose cultivation—I almost fell back to the Fourth Rank Heavenly God."
Cang Li was no fool either, and readily took the off-ramp.
Because if Jie Tianran actually left now, what would become of their sacred artifact?
"Now that you've all stated your positions, this old man is not one to hold grudges."
"As long as you all understand that we stand together, that is sufficient."
"But by all rights, the treasure I just used should not have malfunctioned."
"Why don't you all describe exactly what happened just now?" Jie Tianran said.
"Just now, following the lightning tribulation, my consciousness perceived Chu Feng. I initially believed that with the formation's power, we could severely injure or even crush Chu Feng."