Chapter 5331: My Fatherâs Protection Formation
âZhou Dong, w-what are you doing?â Jia Chengying cried out.
Back in the final test, Zhou Dong was the first one to recover from the poison. As soon as he regained his freedom, he turned to Jia Chengying and Qin Shu and told them that they werenât qualified to be his comrade before doing something shocking.
He opened a spirit formation gate and left through it.
The two of them thought that Zhou Dong had given up on the final test and left. After all, the formation that Chu Feng and Bai Yunqing had breached had reappeared, which meant that they would have to breach the formation again in order to catch up with Chu Feng.
Needless to say, that was easier said than done.
Shortly after, Jia Chengying and Qin Shu regained their freedom. When they made no attempt to breach the formation, a spirit formation gate appeared shortly after. Both of them knew that this was an option for them to surrender and leave the location.
The two of them stepped into the spirit formation gate and returned to the square, but to their surprise, they didnât see Zhou Dong anywhere.
It was then that they realized that something was amiss.
When the injured Zhou Dong later arrived on a sedan carried by the Yuan Lineage Tribe and said those words, it struck them that Zhou Dong was on the same side as the old man who defeated everyone from the Ancient Realm.
âQin Shu, Jia Chengying, you donât need to be afraid. Even though the two of you were useless, Iâll still spare your life,â Zhou Dong said with an arrogant attitude, almost as if he was the ruler of this land.
âYoung master Zhou Dong, itâs about time. Open the gate,â Yuan Jiang said.
Zhou Dong took out an ancient compass and began activating it. The people of the Yuan Lineage Clan also activated their bloodline power in order to help him.
Meanwhile, Chu Feng had started adapting to the immense pain he was put under, granting him some room to analyze the situation he was in.
âYou are colluding with the Bluemoon Sacred Palace,â Chu Feng said.
He recalled the formation he had seen in Yuan Jiangâs cavern back then. It was a peculiar teleportation formation that allowed one to transmit news in and out of the Ancient Realm. He knew right away that Yuan Jiang was communicating with someone outside, but he didnât think too much into it since he didnât want to interfere in the Ancient Realmâs affairs.
However, it was clear to him now that the people whom Yuan Jiang had been communicating with were from the Bluemoon Sacred Palace. Most likely, Yuan Jiang was the one who had helped Zhou Dong to open the spirit formation gates in the final test.
It was just that Chu Feng didnât think that Yuan Jiang would be so powerful as to be able to suppress the entire Ancient Realm by himself.
âOh? You knew that I was liaising with someone outside? You must have noticed that formation. It isnât that easy to see through that formation. You sure are a sharp one, just like your father. Even though you didnât admit to it, itâs clear to me that youâre his son,â Yuan Jiang said with a smile.
âYou must have received plenty of help from the Bluemoon Sacred Palace to grow this strong?â Chu Feng asked.
âHehâ¦â Yuan Jiang didnât reply, but his smile affirmed Chu Fengâs guess.
âYuan Jiang, how dare you collude with outsiders? Are you betraying our Ancient Realm?â the Ancient Realmâs chief berated him.
âYou fools! For so many years, we have already been trapped in the Ancient Realm. We are forced to obey the Ancestral Idol and give away Sacred Temple Beads to outsiders. Donât you feel stifled at all? Weâre constantly at the mercy of another being, forced to make tributes to it in order to survive. Weâre no different from slaves!
âIâm already on the verge of death anyway. I donât want my descendants to live the same life as me. Iâm going to bring the Ancestral Idolâs power and Sacred Temple beads under my control. I shall make the Ancient Realm the strongest clan in the vast world of cultivation. By then, all of you will thank me from the bottom of your hearts for doing what I did,â Yuan Jiang said.
âMadness. Youâve gone mad!â
The Ancient Realmâs chief and elders thought that Yuan Jiang was off his rockers.
The Ancestral Idol was their god. Challenging the Ancestral Idol meant challenging god itself. Yuan Jiang wasnât just betraying the Ancient Realm here; he was blaspheming god! That was clearly an act of lunacy!
âYou cowards. Thatâs why youâre born to be slaves. Are you really unable to tell that the imprint on Chu Fengâs forehead is the Ancestral Idol himself? Do you think that the Ancestral Idol has been bringing in outsiders over the years just to hold the Ancestral Ritual? Itâs finding someone suitable to possess! Even the Ancestral Idol wants to get away from this goddamn place, but you still want to stay here?â Yuan Jiang reprimanded.
âWhat nonsense are you spouting?â the Ancient Realmâs chief asked.
âNonsense? Think about it. Donât you think that thereâs a goal behind each of the tests? I can tell you that Chu Xuanyan was an eligible candidate back then, but he noticed that something was amiss and wisely chose to make his escape early on.
âItâs the same for Chu Feng as well. Heâs an eligible candidate and cleared the final test on top of that, which is why the Ancestral Idol possessed him. Itâs planning to escape this place through him. And if you think that the Ancestral Idol will take us with it, think again. Weâll continue to be trapped here. And without the Ancestral Idolâs sustenance, itâs only a matter of time before all of us die,â Yuan Jiang said.
âRubbish! Look at the stone monument in the palace! Itâs the Ancestral Idol who told us to extract the power Chu Feng acquired from the test. It wouldnât have told us to do so if it was planning to leave with Chu Feng!â The Ancient Clanâs chief posed his doubt. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The others from the Ancient Realm also thought that his words made sense.
âYou fool. You have only been used by the Ancestral Idol. Extracting the power using the instructions on the stone monument would only weaken Chu Feng; you wouldnât be able to pull the Ancestral Idol out that way. Itâs a ploy for it to gain more control over Chu Fengâs body.
âLook at how Iâm extracting the imprint instead. Itâs completely different, right? Iâm going to weaken the Ancestral Idol while itâs still wrestling with Chu Feng over the control of his body. Once it has been weakened, Iâll extract it from Chu Fengâs body and put it under my control. From then on, the Ancestral Idol will become my slave!â Yuan Jiang declared.
âImpossible! How can the nonsense you spout possibly be true? These are nothing more than guesses on your part! What proof do you have?â
The Ancient Realmâs chief refuted Yuan Jiangâs claims, but he harbored some suspicions too. The way Yuan Jiang was extracting the imprint was indeed different from his. If Yuan Jiang had evidence to prove his point, there was a chance that what he said might be true.
âI donât have any evidence. Just like you said, these are just my guesses, but they arenât empty guesses. I have my own basis for believing so, but I donât plan on explaining that to you bunch of thick-headed idiots. You believed the Ancestral Idol to be a god and allowed it to trample all over you. I, Yuan Jiang, will prove that youâre nothing more than tools to the Ancestral Idol. I shall control the Ancestral Idol and grasp my fate in my own hands!â Yuan Jiang said.
Those from the Ancient Realm didnât believe Yuan Jiangâs baseless speculation, but Zhou Dong did. He looked at Yuan Jiang with a tight frown and asked, âElder, you didnât say that those who cleared the final test would be possessed by the Ancestral Idol.â
He belatedly realized that if he had cleared the final test, he would have been the one suffering the pain Chu Feng did.
Yuan Jiang laughed at Zhou Dongâs skepticism.
âYoung master Zhou Dong, youâre thinking too much. I knew from the start that you wouldnât be able to clear the final test,â Yuan Jiang said.
âWhat do you mean?â Zhou Dong was confused.
âI only sent you in to further convince the Ancestral Idol that Chu Feng is the only one who can clear its test,â Yuan Jiang replied.
âThen⦠why didnât you tell me?â
Zhou Dong still reserved his doubts. How could he not be when he was only a single step away from clearing the final test?
âYou wouldnât have given it your all if I had told you in advance. If you donât pose a sufficient obstacle to Chu Feng, he might not have been able to clear the final test. Taking a step back, even if you cleared the final test and earned the Ancestral Idolâs acknowledgment, I wouldnât have used such an extreme method on you. I have other means to extract the Ancestral Idol from your body,â Yuan Jiang replied.
âIs that true?â Zhou Dong asked.
âOf course. Your father is my ally.â
It was only after Yuan Jiang had said those words that Zhou Dongâs complexion improved, and he turned his attention back to channeling the ancient compass.
The truth was that Yuan Jiang wasnât speaking the truth at all. He didnât expect Chu Feng to appear here. His original goal was to have Zhou Dong clear the final test and sacrifice him to obtain the Ancestral Idolâs power.
The Bluemoon Sacred Palace was nothing more than a tool at his disposal. As long as he obtained the Ancestral Idolâs power, there was nothing that could strike fear in him. He didnât expect Chu Feng to appear out of nowhere and defeat Zhou Dong, thus clearing the final test.
This opened up the possibility of him continuing his partnership with the Bluemoon Sacred Palace so as to further make use of them. The thought of them made his eyes glow with greater fervor.
On the other hand, Chu Fengâs pain worsened just as he had barely started adapting to the current level of pain. The compounded effect of his backlash and the current extraction severely weakened him.
âChu Feng, open your world spirit gate,â Eggy ordered.
She could sense just how weak Chu Feng was, and she couldnât stand how he was being treated in such a manner.
âIâm fine⦠Eggy. This isnât enough⦠to take my life. Listen⦠to me. This thing⦠is dangerous. It isnât a bad thing⦠for him to take it,â Chu Feng said.
âButâ¦â Eggy was still worried.
âDonât worry⦠I wonât die. You should remember⦠that I still have the⦠protection formation. If⦠I am still not sure⦠about it before⦠I can definitely⦠feel it now,â Chu Feng replied.
âYou can feel the protection formation inside your body? Is that really true? Donât you dare lie to me,â Eggy questioned.
âI wonât⦠lie to you. I can really⦠feel it. Itâs my fatherâs⦠aura. He left it for me.â
Chu Feng wasnât lying.
His condition was so precarious that he could sense a protection formation inside his body. The protection formation would guard the final ember of his life and ensure his survival. If anything tried to threaten the protection formation, it would release a powerful burst of energy that would decimate everything in the vicinity.
This was probably the protection formation those red-cloaked men mentioned, as well as the one left by his father.
It turned out that his father didnât just leave him to the lurch. His father did care about his safety.
Chu Fengâs consciousness had started to fade due to his severely weakened state, but he was certain that what he was feeling wasnât just an illusion.