âSometimes, the choices that we make are more important than working hard,â Ling Xiaoâs voice suddenly echoed. He was standing in mid-air a distance away.
Chu Feng had long discovered his presence.
Ling Xiao was around when Jie Baobao was on the verge of succumbing to the formation entities. He had a formation ready, and he was prepared to step in to save Jie Baobao if it came down to it.
For that reason, Chu Feng had a favorable impression of Ling Xiao too.
âLing Xiao, itâs your loss for not working together with Chu Feng,â Jie Baobao said.
âI know, I know. Iâm already regretting it.â Ling Xiao descended from the sky and looked at Chu Feng. âLord Jie Ranqingâs son is indeed impressive. I wonder if itâs too late for me to work with you?â
âOf course not,â Chu Feng replied.
âThatâs great. I noticed there are three formation cores in this world, and weâll have to work on them simultaneously in order to escape from here,â Ling Xiao said.
âThere are indeed three formation cores, but it might be much better if we work together on one of them,â Chu Feng said.
âWork together on one of them?â Ling Xiao and Jie Baobao were taken aback.
âIf you trust me, we should abandon the other two formations and focus on deciphering one of the formation cores,â Chu Feng said.
âIâll follow Chu Feng,â Jie Baobao said.
âI guess thereâs no choice then. Iâm the minority here,â Ling Xiao said with a smile.
Chu Feng and Jie Baobao smiled too.
When Chu Feng first saw the two of them, he thought that they would become his nemeses. He didnât think that it was possible for them to get along so harmoniously.
The three of them headed to one of the formation cores and activated it. Chu Feng, Jie Baobao, and Ling Xiao found themselves enveloped by a slaughter formation each. They had to work together to channel the formation core, or else the slaughter formation would take their lives.
âThis is an illusion. Donât be fooled by it,â Chu Feng said.
He channeled his slaughter formation to break the synergy among their three slaughter formations. Such an act should have triggered the slaughter formations to kill them, but much to their surprise, their slaughter formations transformed into sealing formations instead.
As long as they could overcome their sealing formations, they would be able to free themselves.
âI see. Iâm impressed,â Ling Xiao remarked.
He finally understood what Chu Feng meant. If they had followed their instincts and channeled the formation core for their self-preservation, they would have been wasting their spirit power, as they wouldnât have been able to breach this formation.
Chu Feng saw through that from the very start, which was why Ling Xiao was impressed.
Ling Xiao himself could have probably seen through this facade in due time, but he couldnât have done so that quickly.
Both Ling Xiao and Jie Baobao put everything they had to decipher the formation, and it didnât take them long to break free of the formation binding them. The two of them succeeded almost at the same time as each other.
But when they turned to Chu Feng, they saw that he was still in the midst of deciphering his formation. In fact, he was only halfway through.
âIt was a pleasant partnership. I wish all the best for the two of you,â Chu Feng said to the two of them with a smile.
Before they could reply, Ling Xiao and Jie Baobao were enveloped by teleportation energy and transported into a deep cavern filled with dangers. The teleportation energy morphed into two keys, and each of them received one.
The two of them had been through many remnants and formation realms, so they werenât too surprised by the situation. They didnât know what the purpose of the formation keys was yet, but they were their rewards for clearing the first stage, and they were bound to be useful later on.
âHow is it?â Ling Xiao asked.
âWhat?â Jie Baobao asked.
âHow is working with Chu Feng?â
âWhat do you think?â
âOne wordâexhilarating,â Ling Xiao replied.
âAhâ¦â Jie Baobao was taken aback.
She was not particularly close with Ling Xiao, but the latter had always come off to her as a reticent individual. She didnât expect to hear such words from him.
âSo, this is how it feels like to have someone to rely on. Everything suddenly becomes much easier,â Ling Xiao remarked.
âShould we keep this matter a secret?â Jie Baobao asked.
âOf course. Weâll have to keep our distance from Chu Feng unless the Sacred Mansion chooses to accept Chu Feng, or else we and our clans will be implicated,â Ling Xiao said.
âItâs the Sacred Manionâs loss for not accepting Chu Feng,â Jie Baobao grumbled.
It was not just about their earlier partnership; the prowess of Chu Fengâs Heavenly Lightning Bloodline had impressed her too. At that moment, she felt as if she was standing before a true king.
She thought that the prodigies of the Nine Heavensâ Zenith could be split into two categories. There was Chu Feng, then there were the others.
âChu Fengâs overwhelming talents will become well-known after the Nine Heavensâ Zenith. I reckon Lord Mansion Master will retract his decision and instead embrace Chu Feng⦠but I can tell that Chu Feng is someone with a temper. I donât know if heâll be willing to return to our Seven Realms Sacred Mansion,â Ling Xiao said.
âWhat if Lord Jie Ranqing steps in to advise Chu Feng?â Jie Baobao asked.
âThere might be a good chance if Lord Jie Ranqing intervenes,â Ling Xiao replied.
âLing Xiao, do you know where Lord Jie Ranqing is?â
âI donât know.â
âI heard some bad rumors.â Jie Baobaoâs face turned grim.
âI heard similar rumors too, but thatâs impossible. Lord Mansion Master dotes a lot on Lord Jie Ranqing. Taking a step back, itâs not entirely unforgivable for Lord Jie Ranqing to get together with an outsider, not to mention Chu Feng has proven that his father is no ordinary cultivator through his overwhelmingly powerful Heavenly Lightning Bloodline.
âThis proves Lord Jie Ranqingâs decision was right. She might have chosen an outsider, but she chose the right person here,â Ling Xiao said.
âSo, the rumors are false?â Jie Baobao asked.
âThey have to be. There are restless people in the Sacred Mansion who enjoy stirring trouble. We canât blindly accept any rumors we hear,â Ling Xiao said.