“Chu Feng, you… you’re not planning to activate the Boundary Swords?” Liangqiu Hongyue asked.
“I have something more urgent to do,” Chu Feng replied.
“Brother Chu Feng, what is it?” Linghu Hongfei inquired.
“I need to gather Ghost Sealing Grass,” Chu Feng said.
“What do you need that for?” Liangqiu Hongyue clearly didn’t want Chu Feng chasing after some herb. She’d rather he help open the gate, letting them all access the legendary power within to boost their boundary techniques.
“To save someone,” Chu Feng answered.
At the mention of saving a life, Liangqiu Hongyue froze.
A matter of life and death—his reason was ironclad. As a friend, she couldn’t argue against it or ask him to abandon a rescue for their gain.
“Brother Chu Feng, what does this Ghost Sealing Grass look like?” Linghu Hongfei asked.
“Something like this.” Chu Feng flicked his finger, releasing a wisp of boundary power that sketched the herb’s form in the air.
“That boundary power… he’s a Snake-Pattern Venerable Robe?”
The juniors outside the formation barely noticed the grass—they were fixated on Chu Feng’s boundary power.
They didn’t know him well, only learning of his martial cultivation during the entrance scramble. His boundary technique level had been a mystery.
Now they knew, and it floored them.
Dual cultivating martial arts and boundary techniques, excelling beyond most peers—especially in boundary arts, surpassing the Liangqiu sisters, Linghu Yueyue, and Wuma Shengjie.
He might just be the strongest of their generation.
Could the prophecy’s youngest Holy Robe Boundary Spirit Master be Chu Feng?
Some began to wonder.
But inside the formation, the focus was elsewhere—on whether Chu Feng would help open the gate. It tied directly to their interests.
“I’ve seen that Ghost Sealing Grass. It’s deep in the formation, a dangerous place. I’ll go with you,” Linghu Hongfei offered.
“Thanks, Brother Linghu, but I’ll manage alone,” Chu Feng said. “Also, even if I gather enough Ghost Sealing Grass, I won’t return to open that boundary gate. So, everyone, don’t pin your hopes on me.”
“Chu Feng, what’s that supposed to mean? If you want to hog the power, just say it—don’t beat around the bush,” Linghu Tiemian snapped, furious.
He wasn’t alone—other Linghu Clan members and the Tantai Clan shared his anger.
“Hog it? I earned these Boundary Swords myself. Forget whether I want to open the gate—even if I did…” Chu Feng’s voice turned cold. “Letting you in would be a favor. Keeping you out is my right.”
“Cut the crap. Are you opening it or not? If not, hand over the swords!” Linghu Tiemian’s tone grew aggressive, hinting he’d take them by force if Chu Feng refused.
“Come get them if you can,” Chu Feng said, a chill flashing in his eyes.
“You—!” Linghu Tiemian faltered. Chu Feng had left a deep scar on him back in the Ancestral Martial Cultivation Realm. Now, with Chu Feng at Seventh Rank Martial Immortal, he stood no chance.
“Chu Feng, you really think you’re invincible?” Linghu Lun cut in coldly. “Back in the Ancestral Martial Cultivation Realm, we couldn’t touch you. But look who’s here today—compared to our Young Master Hongfei, what are you?”
Though no match for Chu Feng himself, Linghu Lun felt emboldened with Linghu Hongfei present—the undisputed top genius. In his eyes, Chu Feng could only be second.
“Mind your manners,” Linghu Hongfei rebuked Linghu Lun sharply.
Then, turning to Chu Feng, he said, “Brother Chu Feng is absolutely right. The Boundary Swords are his to command. Whether he opens the gate is his call. Even if he does, he’s free to decide who enters.”
His words left the crowd with mixed feelings.
Especially Linghu Tiemian and his ilk—what could they say when even Linghu Hongfei took this stance?
They were the ones in the wrong to begin with.
“Brother Linghu sees reason,” Chu Feng said. “Honestly, I’m avoiding opening the gate for everyone’s sake. There are friends here—I don’t want to put you in danger or push you into a deadly abyss with my own hands.”
“Brother Chu Feng, are you saying there’s danger behind that gate?” Linghu Hongfei asked.
“Not just possible—it’s certain. And to be precise, extremely perilous,” Chu Feng clarified.
“Hahaha! I thought you were really off to save someone. Turns out you’re just scared,” Linghu Tiemian jeered. “Martial cultivation is defying the heavens, wresting power from fate. If you’re afraid of danger, why bother cultivating at all?”
“Exactly. Who’d have thought Chu Xuanyuan’s son would be such a coward?”
“Looks like Chu Xuanyuan’s line ends with no worthy heir.”
Linghu Tiemian and his group piled on the mockery.
Even some juniors outside, unaware of the gate’s terror, joined in, deeming Chu Feng too timid.
Yet, far from anger, Chu Feng’s lips curled into an eerie, chilling smile.
“Trying to goad me, huh?” he said. “Well, bad news—it worked. You’ve pissed me off. So I’ve decided to open the gate and let you see what ‘no return’ really means.”
He grinned at them, looking more like he was joking than enraged.
But that smile sent an unsettling shiver through the crowd.
