“It’s nothing.”
Facing Yu Sha’s puzzled expression, Chu Feng gave a faint smile.
But Yu Sha noticed that his smile was anything but ordinary.
Since Chu Feng wasn’t inclined to explain, she didn’t press further.
Afterward, Chu Feng stepped out of the boundary gate and approached another one.
Before entering, he paused briefly, tampering with the gate.
Only then did he step inside.
Throughout this, Chu Feng used the power of his Nine Dragons Saint-cloak to conceal himself, so despite the crowd in the plaza, no one noticed him.
From the juniors’ chatter, Chu Feng learned that the eleven Spiritists had already emerged from several boundary gates multiple times.
Each time, they asked the juniors if they’d seen Chu Feng.
Clearly, they were obsessed with finding him.
Inside the new boundary gate, Chu Feng pressed forward, overcoming obstacles, and soon reached its deepest part.
Surprisingly, there was no guardian formation here, meaning the treasure could be easily obtained.
The treasure was a stone-like object floating in midair.
But it wasn’t a treasure—it was an energy body.
Controlled by a formation, it couldn’t be taken away.
In other words, this was a useless gate.
Not every boundary gate in the plaza’s depths held valuable treasures.
Some, like this one, contained items of no practical use.
“This… is the second gate you chose?” Yu Sha’s brow furrowed slightly.
She didn’t understand Chu Feng’s choice.
Though she wasn’t fond of talking with him, their time together had shown her that Chu Feng was capable—far surpassing his peers.
She’d also noticed that despite his playful demeanor, he was meticulous.
He was, in her view, highly reliable.
With his skills and careful nature, he shouldn’t have made such a mistake.
So, she was baffled by his decision.
But then, Chu Feng did something even more perplexing.
He sat cross-legged and began setting up a formation—around the energy body.
Seeing this, Yu Sha’s confusion gave way to realization.
She understood Chu Feng’s intent.
He hadn’t made a mistake. From the start, he knew what this gate held and had deliberately chosen it.
Time flew, and soon only one hour remained before the World Spirit Mansion closed.
*Buzz—*
*Buzz—*
…
One by one, eleven figures appeared in a boundary gate.
These were the eleven Spiritists who had cheated to enter.
“Kids, still no sign of that brat?” one asked loudly. Though their faces were hidden, his voice revealed him as the snake-patterned Saint-cloak Spiritist Chu Feng had tricked.
“Sir, no, we haven’t seen him at all,” Wang Guangchen replied. “Could he have left already? Maybe he never entered a boundary gate or stayed in the plaza.”
“Damn it, is that brat really such a coward? Tricking me and then running off?” the Spiritist scoffed.
The other ten echoed his disdain for Chu Feng.
Initially, they hadn’t believed someone like Chu Feng would just leave.
After all, any skilled Spiritist could see the real treasures lay within the plaza’s deeper boundary gates.
They were certain Chu Feng knew this and would try to claim those treasures.
But with the mansion’s closure approaching and no sign of him, even when others opened the deeper gates, they chose weaker ones.
They didn’t think Chu Feng would pick a useless gate.
Thus, they began to suspect he’d fled from the start.
“Forget that punk. Only an hour left—let’s grab one more treasure,” one suggested.
“Let’s go.”
Having decided, the eleven moved out.
They’d been observing the deeper boundary gates since Chu Feng cracked the stone pillar, so they already had clear targets and didn’t need to re-evaluate.
“Wait, look at that gate. It seems extraordinary…” one Spiritist suddenly exclaimed, pointing at a boundary gate.
The others looked and were stunned.
“What’s going on? Did we miss something?”
The gate’s pattern suggested its treasure was exceptional.
They’d surveyed all the gates before and hadn’t noticed this one standing out.
“No, we didn’t overlook it. This gate must have changed,” one said.
“That’s possible,” another agreed.
“Who cares? Time’s short. Stick to the plan or check this gate?” one asked.
“This gate’s formation won’t be easy. An hour might not be enough to break its guardian formation,” another warned.
“Fortune favors the bold. Let’s choose this one.”
“Agreed.”
Quickly deciding, the eleven entered the gate.
Unbeknownst to them, as soon as they stepped inside, the gate’s pattern shifted, no longer as eye-catching.
And they had no idea this was the very gate Chu Feng had entered earlier.
