The sudden turn of events startled Chu Feng.
From the beginning, he’d known the egg in his Qiankun Bag was extraordinary.
After all, it came from the secret realm of the Spirit Beast Treasure Map.
When Chu Feng had risked taking it, he’d prepared himself for future dangers.
But he hadn’t expected it to react *now*.
If the Tantai Clan discovered that his egg was absorbing the power of their Peach Garden Secret Realm, they’d never let him leave unscathed.
“Elders, what’s happening?” Tantai Xing’er suddenly shouted.
Moments later, an aged voice echoed through the space.
“Xing’er, it seems a flaw has appeared in the Peach Garden Secret Realm. This flaw is causing its power to leak out.”
Hearing this, Chu Feng and the others realized that other Tantai Clan experts could monitor the realm’s changes.
That meant their every move here was likely being watched.
But Chu Feng wasn’t worried about his earlier trip to the cliff’s peak. Clearly, they hadn’t noticed that—otherwise, Tantai Xing’er wouldn’t have exposed herself.
“A flaw? How could there be a flaw? Where is it? Why can’t I see it?” Tantai Xing’er scanned her surroundings, her expression grave. She was genuinely rattled.
This Peach Garden Secret Realm was a treasure fully under the Tantai Clan’s control. Any mishap would be their loss.
“Xing’er, don’t panic. Though we haven’t pinpointed the flaw’s location, we have a way to fix it. We’re already activating the array. It won’t take long to restore normalcy.”
“Also, the leaking power, while originating from the realm, isn’t affecting it,” the elder’s voice reassured.
“If it’s this place’s power, it must serve a purpose. How could it not affect the realm? Regardless, fix it quickly,” Tantai Xing’er replied, her tone tinged with displeasure.
“Rest assured,” the elder responded, his voice growing humbler.
From this exchange, Chu Feng gleaned that Tantai Xing’er held significant status in the clan. Otherwise, a junior wouldn’t speak to an elder so boldly.
Her panic had revealed her true nature. Normally, as a refined young lady, she wouldn’t have adopted such an attitude in front of Chu Feng and the others.
But Chu Feng didn’t care about that. What mattered was that Tantai Xing’er and her clan hadn’t realized *he* was the cause of the disturbance.
This eased half of his tension. The other half lingered because he didn’t know if the egg in his Qiankun Bag would stir up more trouble.
He quickly inspected the bag.
What he saw only heightened his nerves.
The egg showed no visible change, and the boundary array he’d set around it remained intact.
Yet he could clearly feel a certain power leaking from the Peach Garden Secret Realm flowing into the egg.
This meant his boundary was useless against it—further proof of the egg’s extraordinary nature.
“Could it really be a Qilin egg? A divine beast Qilin?!” Chu Feng wondered.
He thought this because all records from the Spirit Beast Treasure Map pointed to the egg being a Qilin.
To say he wasn’t afraid would be a lie—a Qilin was a legendary divine beast with unimaginable power.
But knowing its potential, his excitement far outweighed his fear.
Chu Feng had always been courageous. Now, he couldn’t help but imagine what it would mean if this egg truly hatched a Qilin.
Divine beasts were hard to tame, true—but if he could subdue one and make it his own, that would be an extraordinary feat.
How could he not be thrilled?
“Xing’er, the flaw is repaired. Your time in the secret realm with your friends is up. Prepare yourselves—we’ll bring you out soon,” the elder’s voice rang out again.
By then, the Peach Garden Secret Realm was indeed stabilizing.
Tantai Xing’er finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But Chu Feng knew the truth: it wasn’t the elders’ array that fixed the “flaw.”
He could sense that the egg—likely a Qilin—had stopped absorbing the realm’s power, allowing it to stabilize naturally, not because the Tantai Clan had sealed anything.
Chu Feng kept observing the egg, convinced it wouldn’t absorb power without reason. If it did, there should be some change.
“A crack—did it appear because it absorbed this place’s power?” he mused.
After careful inspection, he noticed a faint, nearly imperceptible crack on the egg’s surface.
He was certain it hadn’t been there when he first took it.
But he couldn’t confirm if it had just appeared or had been there for a while—he hadn’t checked the egg daily.
So whether the crack tied to today’s absorption remained unclear.
*Tap—*
Someone lightly patted Chu Feng, pulling him from his focus.
Turning, he saw Gong Qing.
“Hey, Tantai Xing’er just said you’re her benefactor. What did you help her with?” Gong Qing whispered via transmission.
“Nothing much, just a small favor,” Chu Feng replied the same way.
“Small favor? It didn’t look like it,” Gong Qing pouted, then added, “Sorry about my sister. She doesn’t know you and didn’t mean any harm. Don’t take it to heart.”
“My issue with your sister isn’t much—she’s the one overthinking it. How she treats me is her business. It won’t affect you and me,” Chu Feng said with a smile.
Gong Qing seemed to want to say more but held back.
Gong Mingyue’s actions had been excessive, and she couldn’t defend her. Besides, Chu Feng’s response showed no intent to hold it against her sister.
Soon after, a boundary gate opened. Before they could walk through, a suction force pulled Chu Feng and the others inside.
It was the exit from the Peach Garden Secret Realm. Passing through, they returned to the mountain peach garden, back among the other juniors.
Unbeknownst to them, atop the cliff in the secret realm, the fishing old man’s gaze grew complex.
What happened next, if Chu Feng knew, would reshape his view of the Peach Garden Secret Realm entirely.
“It absorbed my array’s power. Whatever’s in that egg in the Qiankun Bag is no simple thing.”
“And that blood sword in the bag—it’s just as remarkable.”
“At such a young age, he’s collected such treasures.”
“This kid’s experiences must be extraordinary,” the old man muttered, seated at the cliff’s edge.
His words were casual, but his voice was profoundly aged—unlike what he’d used with Chu Feng earlier.
It was as if this was his true voice, weathered by time and the trials of countless years.