“Who’re you calling out? You looking to die?” Linghu Yueyue snapped, her little face tilted up in fury.
“Yueyue, mind your manners,” Linghu Hongfei scolded before she could say more.
He rarely lost his temper, so Linghu Lun and the others, who’d been ready to pile on Chu Feng, quickly shut their mouths.
Even the fuming Linghu Yueyue held her tongue.
“Brother Chu Feng, we’re all in this together now. If you’ve figured something out, could you share it?” Linghu Hongfei asked again.
“There’s not much to it. Even if I didn’t say anything, with your sharp eyes, Brother Linghu, you’d catch on soon enough.”
“Truth is, these black flames are the power that can boost our boundary techniques,” Chu Feng said.
“What?” Chu Feng’s words stunned everyone—even the Liangqiu sisters and Linghu Hongfei.
“Young Master Chu Feng, you mean these terrifying black flames are the treasure the Boundary Spirit Immortal King left for us?” Tantai Xing’er asked.
“Exactly,” Chu Feng nodded.
“Rubbish! These flames are deadly—touch them and you’re done. How could they be a treasure?”
“Brother Hongfei, don’t trust him. This guy’s just trying to get us killed,” Linghu Yueyue said.
“Believe what you want,” Chu Feng said, his grin unfading, unbothered by their opinions. He turned to Tantai Xing’er and the others. “Since we’re in here, there’s no way back. To survive, you’ve got to merge with these flames. Otherwise, it’s a dead end.”
“Only by fusing with them will they stop harming you. If not, they’ll see you as an enemy and take your life.”
“So, use your boundary techniques to merge with them. The deeper you fuse, the safer you’ll be.”
“I’ve already toned down their threat. How far you can merge is up to you.” With that, Chu Feng shifted his hand seals. The black flames pierced through his boundary power, drifting slowly toward Tantai Xing’er and the others.
But now, everyone present could feel that the flames, having passed through Chu Feng’s boundary, had indeed changed.
It was as if Chu Feng controlled them, guiding them gently toward Tantai Xing’er and her group.
“Ready?” Chu Feng asked.
“Yes,” Tantai Xing’er and the other four nodded in unison.
Whoosh—
The next moment, the flames sped up, then engulfed Chu Feng and his group like a pack of wild beasts.
In that instant, varying degrees of pain flashed across their faces.
Tantai Xing’er struggled the most, followed by the Liangqiu sisters. Wuma Shengjie fared better.
Only Chu Feng seemed relatively normal, though his furrowed brow and slight trembling betrayed the immense pain he was enduring.
“Argh—”
Soon, Tantai Xing’er let out a pained scream.
The Liangqiu sisters followed, and even Wuma Shengjie couldn’t hold it in.
Seeing this, the two Tantai Celestial Clan juniors panicked.
If anything happened to Tantai Xing’er, they’d have no way to explain it back home.
Sensing trouble, they turned to Linghu Hongfei for help, hoping he’d save her.
But before they could speak, Linghu Hongfei did.
“Looks like Brother Chu Feng’s right. Everyone, get ready. To survive, we’ve got to merge with these flames,” he said after observing, turning to Linghu Yueyue and the others.
“What?”
Linghu Tiemian and the rest were horrified.
They’d seen the flames’ terror and Tantai Xing’er’s plight.
Now Linghu Hongfei was trusting Chu Feng and pushing them into the same mess—how could they not be scared?
“Brother Hongfei, you’re not joking, right? You actually believe him?” Linghu Yueyue asked.
“Yueyue, you’re a Insect Mark Venerable Robe at least. Sense those flames carefully,” Linghu Hongfei said.
“I did. All I felt was danger—nothing else,” Linghu Yueyue replied.
“You can’t sense it?” Linghu Hongfei seemed to realise something. He cast a formation, sealing off a small patch of the flames and tweaking it. “Try again.”
Linghu Yueyue focused on the sealed flames. Moments later, her stunning face lit up with shock. “Brother Hongfei, could these flames really be the treasure the Boundary Spirit Immortal King left?”
“Most likely,” Linghu Hongfei said.
By now, it was almost certain Chu Feng was right.
But the others were still terrified—the flames were so menacing. Could merging with them really work?
Linghu Yueyue, though, stole a glance at Chu Feng, her beautiful eyes flickering with complexity.
She hadn’t expected the one to see through the flames first wouldn’t be her Dragon Mark Venerable Robe brother, Linghu Hongfei, but the seemingly unreliable Chu Feng.
Then, Linghu Hongfei used his formation to dull the flames’ threat and let them in.
Linghu Tiemian and the others were reluctant but had no choice.
When the flames engulfed them, everyone except Linghu Hongfei and Linghu Yueyue screamed like slaughtered pigs. Some even rolled around in agony—it didn’t look like merging, just pure torment.
They must’ve regretted coming in by now. This was nothing like they’d imagined.
Some even begged Linghu Hongfei for help, hoping he’d step in.
Perhaps due to the Boundary Sword, Linghu Hongfei and Chu Feng, though pained, could still endure it.
But Linghu Hongfei ignored their pleas—he’d uncovered the flames’ secret.
Merging with them granted their power. The deeper the fusion, the more power gained.
But the flames’ power was finite—faster fusion meant more rewards.
Linghu Hongfei aimed to become a Saint Robe. He wouldn’t miss this chance.
He had no time to help anyone else.
