Chapter 5324: Betrayal
âCanât you tell? Heâs a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist. Do you finally understand why I acknowledge him as my big brother?â Bai Yunqing replied with a chuckle.
âNonsense! Thatâs impossible!â Jia Chengying glared at Chu Feng with sharp eyes.
Zhou Dong and Qin Shu also assessed Chu Feng from head to toe. They couldnât believe that a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist could exert such a powerful formation. But no matter how they scrutinized him, they couldnât find any hints that suggested that he was anything more than a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist.
It was utterly ridiculous that a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist was exerting prowess comparable to a Blue Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist!
âIs this for real? Are you sure he isnât putting on an act here?â Qin Shu asked Zhou Dong and Jia Chengying out of curiosity.
âI canât find any signs that itâs an act. Thereâs a good chance that itâs real,â Zhou Dong replied.
âHas the world gone insane? The only one I know who is capable of this feat is that person from the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion! Does this mean that Chu Fengâs talent is comparable to that person?â
Qin Shu finally realized that Chu Feng was actually not a small fry but a prodigy, one who could potentially shake the world of cultivation at its core.
âHey! Hurry up and construct your formations! Itâs supposed to be a collaboration, so you shouldnât dump all the work to me and my big brother,â Bai Yunqing urged.
âStop kicking up a fuss. We are both real Blue Dragon God-cloak World Spiritists. Rest assured, weâll definitely be able to do much more than your big brother,â Jia Chengying replied.
Both he and Zhou Dong began constructing his formation.
Even though those present were either Blue Dragon God-cloak World Spiritists or comparable to one, there was a clear gap in the formations they constructed. Even amateurs like Qin Shu and the white-haired woman could sense the difference.
Bai Yunqing and Jia Chengying were roughly on the same level, whereas Chu Feng and Zhou Dong were visibly better than them.
There was no way Jia Chengying would be oblivious to it when even amateurs could tell the difference. This made him extremely displeased.
âWhatâs going on? Is he really a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist?â Jia Chengying sent a voice transmission to Bai Yunqing.
âHe really is,â Bai Yunqing replied.
âDamn it. I didnât think that he was such a monster. I underestimated him,â Jia Chengying replied.
âIf we can take down a monster like him, itâll mean that weâre the stronger ones,â Bai Yunqing replied with a sneer.
âThatâs true.â Jia Chengying smiled. âBrother Bai, have you discovered the hint hidden inside the formation yet?â
âI did. It looks like itâll be quite important to the subsequent trials,â Bai Yunqing replied.
âThereâs not all. Thereâs another hidden message telling us that itâll be a free-for-all after this formation. There wonât be any other tests that require us to join hands,â Jia Chengying replied.
âI noticed it too,â Bai Yunqing replied.
âBrother Bai, do you know what kind of person Qin Shu is?â
âHeâs one of the top prodigies of the Heavenly Dome Immortal Sect, right?â
âHe isnât just any prodigy. Have you heard of Qin Xuan?â
âOf course I have! Heâs the number one prodigy of the Heavenly Dome Immortal Sect. Very few in the vast world of cultivation can rival his talents,â Bai Yunqing replied.
âQin Shu is none other than Qin Xuanâs younger brother,â Jia Chengying replied.
âReally?â Bai Yunqing was surprised. He had never heard of Qin Shuâs name even though the latter was indeed a formidable cultivator.
âItâs true. They are blood-related brothers descending from the same father and mother. Qin Shu told me himself. Thereâs no reason for someone of his caliber to lie about that. Few people know about him because he spends most of his time cultivating in the Heavenly Dome Immortal Sect, only occasionally sneaking out at times. Even so, you should be able to tell that his strength is the real deal. Itâs only a matter before he makes a name for himself, especially since heâs Qin Xuanâs younger brother.
âZhou Dong also has an extraordinary background too. Heâs the son of the Bluemoon Sacred Palaceâs Palace Master. While the Bluemoon Sacred Palace is a demonic sect, it has many friends in the world of cultivation. Even Qin Shu has no qualms getting on close terms with Zhou Dong; thereâs no reason for us to ostracize him,â Jia Chengying said.
âBrother Jia, why are you suddenly telling me all these?â Bai Yunqing asked.
âIâm telling you that itâll be best to avoid offending those two if possible. I have already spoken to them. They want my help in clearing the final test and acquiring the two Half-God level Sacred Temple Beads, of which they will take one each. In return, theyâll compensate me something of equivalent value to the Sacred Temple Beads.
âI have already told them that youâre our ally too, and they told me that theyâll prepare another set of compensation for you if you help them too. This means our only enemies here are Miss Bai and Chu Feng.
âI was still thinking of sparing them for the time being in case there are trials that require their cooperation later on, but since the formation has already given us a clear hint, itâll be best if we end them here lest there are any complications later on. Itâs a good thing that this formation gets increasingly harder to breach. Iâll suggest taking a rest later on. You should take that opportunity to feed Chu Feng my poison,â Jia Chengying said.
âBut Miss Bai doesnât seem like an easy opponent to deal with,â Bai Yunqing replied.
âYou need not worry about her. Zhou Dong and Qin Shu arenât pushovers. Both of them are much stronger than us. If not for that, I wouldnât have given up on this opportunity to earn two Half-God level Sacred Temple Beads either. No matter how powerful Miss Bai is, she canât possibly be a match against the two of them,â Jia Chengying replied.
âDo Zhou Dong and Qin Shu know about your plan?â Bai Yunqing asked.
âWeâre a team. What do you think?â Jia Chengying asked.
âI understand. The only problem is that Chu Feng still doesnât trust me⦠How about this? Itâll appear suspicious if I only offer the poison to Chu Feng, so Iâll prepare fake ones for the rest of you too. Youâll have to liaise with the others and convince them to drink the fake medicine,â Bai Yunqing said.
âNo problem,â Jia Chengying replied.
Right before the final stretch of breaching the formation, Jia Chengying suggested that they take a rest. The others quickly agreed with his suggestion, and they took a brief respite.
Right before their break time came to an end, Bai Yunqing suddenly took out six jade bottles.
âEveryone, these are medicine my master has left for me. Consuming it will raise oneâs spirit power in the short run and nourish oneâs soul. Itâs fate that weâre here together, so Iâd like to share this treasure with all of you,â Bai Yunqing said as he began distributing the jade bottle to everyone.
However, the white-haired woman turned down his offer, saying, âI donât need it.â
âMiss Bai, are you unable to trust even your own teammate?â Jia Chengying laughed. He uncorked the jade bottle and gulped it down.
Zhou Dong and Qin Shu also did the same too.
Seeing that, Chu Feng also followed suit.
However, the white-haired woman still showed no inclination to down the medicine.
âDrink it. Itâs not poisoned,â Chu Feng told her via voice transmission.
Surprisingly, the white-haired woman actually took the jade bottle and downed its content.
âOh? It looks like Miss Bai really trusts you,â Eggy remarked.
Chu Feng also didnât expect the white-haired woman to be so trusting of him. This increased his favorability toward her. It was clear that the white-haired woman already viewed him as a trustworthy friend despite her cold attitude.
Suddenly, there was a loud shattering sound. Jia Chengying had smashed the jade bottle on the floor. A triumphant smile formed on his lips.
âHahaha! Miss Bai, Chu Feng, the two of you are surprisingly naive despite your strength. You must really trust Bai Yunqing a lot to actually drink what he offered you,â Jia Chengying said.
A smirk could also be seen on Qin Shuâs face, although Zhou Dongâs expression remained nonchalant. The two of them clearly knew that this was a ploy against Chu Feng and Miss Bai.
âJia Chengying, what do you mean by this?â Chu Feng asked with a frown.
âWhat do I mean by this? Chu Feng, it looks like youâre a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist after all. You actually failed to uncover the message inside the formation. Thereâs no need for us to cooperate anymore from this point onward, which means to say⦠youâre of no use to us,â Jia Chengying said.
Chu Feng turned to Zhou Dong and asked, âZhou Dong, are you turning against us now?â
Zhou Dong was the one who had proposed a collaboration earlier, so he wanted to ascertain the other partyâs stance on this matter.
âChu Feng, the world is not a kind place. Think of it as an expensive lesson,â Zhou Dong calmly replied, affirming his stance.
Upon hearing those words, Chu Feng, who looked utterly panicked just a moment ago, suddenly burst into laughter.
âWhat are you laughing for?â Jia Chengying asked in confusion.
âJia Chengying, you really donât know Bai Yunqing well,â Chu Feng replied as he began forming a series of hand seals.
âWhatâs that fellow doing?â
Jia Chengying was initially confused as to what was going on, but the next moment, his face warped in horror. Something inside his body had sealed off his powers!
âJia Chengying, whatâs going on?!â
Zhou Dong and Qin Shu glared at Jia Chengying with wrathful looks. Clearly, their powers had been sealed too.
âJia Chengying, you canât even recognize the treasure of your Pill Dao Immortal Sect? I have already given you one last chance. I constructed a trigger formation inside the poison. If you have shown any remorse, I wouldnât have activated the poison⦠But since youâre intent on going through with it, you ought to suffer the consequences of your own actions,â Chu Feng replied.
It was only then that Jia Chengying realized that he had been betrayed by Bai Yunqing. He glared at the latter with murderous eyes and roared, âBai Yunqing, you backstabbed me?â
Bai Yunqing wasnât intimidated in the least. Instead, he burst into laughter and said, âJia Chengying, I didnât backstab you. You had it coming. I only called you my brother out of politeness, but big brother Chu Feng is my real brother. How foolish you must be to think that Iâd actually betray my real big brother for you? You think too highly of yourself!â