“Liangqiu, you’re panicking. Two hours haven’t passed yet. Why the rush?” Elder Zhu said.
“Brother Zhu, this is a matter of life and death—two lives. Do you have to be so strict?” Master Liangqiu asked.
“I said two hours, so it’s two hours,” Elder Zhu replied firmly.
“Then we’ll keep waiting. Chu Feng has held on this long; a little more won’t hurt,” Master Liangqiu said.
Though he couldn’t see inside the Death Gate, he had been probing Elder Zhu subtly.
Thus, he knew Chu Feng and the others were still alive.
“That kid’s indeed resilient, but don’t forget, he’s carrying a burden,” Elder Zhu said.
“To protect that burden, he’s enduring double the force.”
“He’s barely holding on now. If I don’t go down, he won’t survive.”
“What?” Master Liangqiu’s face changed drastically.
“Senior, please save them!” Gu Mingyuan’s voice rang out.
So worried for Chu Feng and Chu Xuanzhengfa, she moved to kneel in a grand gesture of supplication.
“No need for that,” Elder Zhu said, helping her up before she could kneel.
“Young lady, don’t be so formal. I can’t handle it,” he said with a smile, then turned to Master Liangqiu:
“Liangqiu, you’re right. This kid’s a talent. For your sake, I’ll help him once.”
“But the Death Gate has closed, and I can’t enter it.”
“I can only go to the deepest part of Mirror Sea, the Mirror Heart, and use its power to weaken the forces inside the Death Gate.”
Hearing this, Master Liangqiu’s face changed, “The Mirror Heart? Must you go there?”
He knew Mirror Sea had many dangerous places, the Death Gate being one.
But the most dangerous was the Mirror Heart—a place even he couldn’t reach.
“No choice. I’ve promised to help the kid,” Elder Zhu said.
“Entering the Mirror Heart can weaken the Death Gate’s forces, but it comes at a cost.”
“That cost is I’ll be trapped there. Of course, I’ll try everything to break free.”
“So, Liangqiu, if I return alive within seventy-nine days, that’s best.”
“But if I’m not back after seventy-nine days, have that kid come find me.”
“If it’s him, he might just save me.”
“Remember, seventy-nine days is the limit. Don’t come for me before then.”
“After seventy-nine days, well, if you have a conscience, send that kid to rescue me.”
With that, a surge of water shot skyward, and Elder Zhu dove into Mirror Sea,meters
, heading straight for its depths.
Master Liangqiu’s face was filled with guilt.
If it were anywhere else, it might be fine, but the Mirror Heart—Elder Zhu could die.
He didn’t want Chu Feng to die, but he wanted his old friend to die even less.
He firmly memorized the number seventy-nine.
…
Chu Feng was unaware of what was happening outside.
Tormented by the undercurrents, he had lost consciousness and all sense of time.
After an unknown period, his consciousness began to return. The tormenting forces had vanished completely.
Opening his eyes, he found himself still in Mirror Sea, with unbreakable rock above and below.
Chu Xuanzhengfa was beside him, his hand still gripping his arm, continuously channeling strength into him, even during his unconsciousness.
But Mirror Sea was abnormal.
The tormenting undercurrents and raging waves were gone.
The sea was eerily calm.
*Buzz—*
Suddenly, a holy aura emerged.
It was so divine that Chu Feng’s heart stirred.
Though the harmful undercurrents were gone, his Heaven’s Eye was still ineffective.
Unable to trace the aura’s source, he could only move forward slowly.
After some distance, he was shocked to find a large section of the blocking rock below had vanished.
Beneath was an endless, pitch-black sea.
Chu Feng clearly remembered passing this spot while searching for an exit, and it had been solid rock.
Something was very wrong.
But the aura was so divine, like a summons he couldn’t resist.
“Senior, I don’t know if this path is safe, so I can’t take you along,” Chu Feng said.
He placed Chu Xuanzhengfa on the rock, leaving a note telling him to stay put and wait.
The sea was vast, and with his observation methods ineffective, he feared Chu Xuanzhengfa might wander off and get lost.
After leaving the note, Chu Feng didn’t enter the sea immediately.
Uncertain of the dangers below, he set up a concealment formation to hide the entrance and seal the holy aura, preventing Chu Xuanzhengfa from following.
Then, Chu Feng dove into the sea.
The deeper he went, the stronger the holy aura became.
At first, it was pitch black, but gradually, light appeared below.
The light grew brighter until the depths were ablaze.
Chu Feng saw a radiant silver glow emanating from a weapon.
It was a thirteen-meter-long silver war halberd.
Plain in form, its aura was unmatched.
He couldn’t discern its grade—it didn’t even feel like a weapon.
At this distance, the aura was more than holy—it was invincible, supreme.
It wasn’t just the king of weapons but the king of this place, of heaven and earth.
“Could this be the legendary War Halberd of the Fighting God?” Chu Feng’s first thought was of Mirror Sea’s fabled treasure.
