“Ah!!!”
Suddenly, Zhang Shirui let out a terrified scream.
It was because Wang Qiang, at that very moment, had started undressing right in front of her.
“Lord Envoy, I was wrong!”
This completely freaked Zhang Shirui out. Moments ago, she had been boldly cursing Wang Qiang, as if she wanted to ruin him, but now her face was pale with fear. She hurriedly turned away and ran far off, terrified that Wang Qiang might actually do something to her.
“Lord Envoy, my sister is young. Please don’t hold it against her.”
“Y-yeah, she’s got a bit of a mental issue. Please don’t take it personally.”
Seeing this, Zhang Boyi and Zhang Yanfeng rushed over to plead with Wang Qiang.
It wasn’t just Zhang Shirui who was scared—they were too. After all, Wang Qiang didn’t exactly seem like a good person. If he really did something to their sister, they’d be powerless to stop him.
At this scene, Chu Feng couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Zhang Yanfeng and the others didn’t know Wang Qiang, but Chu Feng did. Shameless as Wang Qiang was, he had his limits and would never actually harm Zhang Shirui.
Everything Wang Qiang was doing now was just to mess with Zhang Yanfeng and the others.
“Alright, stop tormenting them. Just tell them what to do,” Chu Feng said.
“S-since… since my brother’s pleading for you, I’ll be the bigger man and forgive you,” Wang Qiang said after Chu Feng spoke.
“Can you put your clothes back on first?” Chu Feng said, looking at the now fully undressed Wang Qiang.
“Oh, sorry, my majestic physique must be making you feel inferior,” Wang Qiang replied, not only refusing to dress but striking a dramatic pose.
“In your dreams.”
“Your little toothpick would only make ants feel inferior,” Chu Feng shot back.
“Damn.” Wang Qiang was about to argue, but after glancing down at himself, his face flushed red, and he hurriedly put his clothes back on.
“You three, go down to the valley and infuse your martial power and spiritual energy into the stone pillars until they’re completely filled.”
“N-no… no slacking off. Whether your Blood-devouring Demon Clan gets Lord Qin Kunlun’s inheritance d-depends… depends on you.”
“Hurry up and get to it.”
Wang Qiang pointed at the stone pillars in the valley below.
“As you command.”
Without hesitation, Zhang Yanfeng and Zhang Boyi saluted Wang Qiang, then dragged the still-distant Zhang Shirui with them as they leapt into the valley.
Watching them, Chu Feng noticed that despite being put to work, they seemed to feel a sense of relief.
It dawned on him that, for them, getting away from Wang Qiang was probably a huge relief. After all, Wang Qiang could be incredibly annoying.
As the three began infusing their power into the stone pillars as Wang Qiang had instructed…
Chu Feng observed that as their power flowed into the pillars, the runes on the pillars began to emit a faint glow. The more power they infused, the brighter the glow became.
The once-ordinary pillars suddenly seemed extraordinary, even exuding a sacred aura.
But Chu Feng’s attention remained on the lake, which carried the aura of the Void Divine Tree.
“Brother, that lake’s water—it’s drawn from the Void Divine Tree’s power, isn’t it?” Chu Feng asked.
“As expected of my brother Wang Qiang’s pal—you’re too sharp. Nothing gets past you,” Wang Qiang said, looking at Chu Feng with mock surprise.
Chu Feng felt exasperated. “Anyone could sense that, okay?”
“Heh heh…”
“Y-yeah… yeah, it’s indeed power drawn from the Void Divine Tree. It took that o-old… old thing a full twenty thousand years to condense it.”
“Even those stones were carefully prepared by that old thing…” Wang Qiang said.
“I have a question. Logically, twenty thousand years ago, Qin Kunlun was already dead, and the Blood-devouring Demon Venerable lost its vessel. So how has it survived until now?” Chu Feng asked.
“That’s a sharp question, right on point. Normally, without a vessel, the old thing wouldn’t have survived.”
“But the old thing knew this better than anyone, so h-he… he had his methods. I-I… I don’t know the specifics, though.”
“What’s undeniable is that his method only kept him alive, with his power restricted. And now, it seems he’s reached his limit.”
“This time, he can only succeed—f-failure… failure means he’s done for,” Wang Qiang said.
“I see.” Chu Feng stepped to the edge of the cliff as he spoke.
“Brother, w-what… what are you doing?” Wang Qiang asked.
“I’m going to help them. If I join in, it should speed things up.”
Chu Feng figured that his martial power and spiritual energy were stronger than those of Zhang Yanfeng and the others, so if he infused the pillars too, it would likely go faster.
“Brother, y-you… you should just sit this one out. Those pillars can only be infused by t-those… those three, because… th-they… they were made for them,” Wang Qiang said.
“Made for them?” Curiosity flickered in Chu Feng’s eyes. “What’s that about?”
“D-do… do you know why I called those three the chosen ones?”
“Haven’t you ever w-wondered… wondered why, when the Blood-devouring Demon Clan cultivates the Blood-devouring Demon Technique, their bodies change, but t-these… these three show no changes?” Wang Qiang asked.
“Are they really that special?” Chu Feng asked.
“Special? They’re beyond special—they’re truly chosen ones, part of the prophecy the o-old… old thing received back then.”
“Not just them. Even teaching the Blood-devouring Demon Technique to that guy to found the Blood-devouring Demon Clan was part of the prophecy, all planned by the Blood-devouring Demon Venerable long ago,” Wang Qiang said.
“Does that mean I’m part of the prophecy too?” Chu Feng asked.
“No, you’re an accident. But… the old thing saw your potential, so he kept you here, hoping you could help me merge with him,” Wang Qiang said.
“So, what do I need to do next?” Chu Feng asked.
“Once those three activate the stone formation, all four of you will need to enter the lake formed by the Void Divine Tree’s power.”
“You’ll need to find a way to merge with the lake water. O-only… only by merging with it can you harness its power.”
“Once you’ve mastered its power, y-you… you all just need to guide all the lake’s power into the old thing’s body, and that’s it,” Wang Qiang said.
“That’s it? What about you? Isn’t this about helping you two merge?” Chu Feng’s brows furrowed, sensing something was off.
