That mural seemed to resemble a friend Chu Feng knew.
If it truly was his friend, it would be no small matter.
Thus, Chu Feng’s heart was filled with such shock.
However, he soon dismissed the idea.
Though the painting did indeed resemble someone he knew, it was only somewhat similar, not exactly the same.
The figure in the portrait appeared eerie, more like a demon trying to transform into a human but failing to do so completely.
Though it had a human face and posture, it retained demonic traits.
Even its attire was peculiar, unlike the usual garb of the human race.
Most importantly, the friend Chu Feng knew was from the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm.
It was impossible for them to appear in a place like this.
After all, this was the Tomb of the Demon-Slaying Emperor.
This place had been sealed for tens of thousands of years.
In all that time, no one could have entered.
Yet Chu Feng’s friend was of a similar age, a junior…
For all these reasons, Chu Feng felt he might be overthinking it.
“This place is too strange.”
“And there must be other beings here.”
“With their cultivation unknown, we must proceed with caution,” said the leader of the Secret Cave Saints.
“Just in case, let’s hide first.”
“With me leading and you assisting, we’ll combine the strength of all twelve of us to set up a formation that can conceal us,” Chu Feng said, releasing his barrier power.
The barrier power formed thousands of threads, weaving together like silk.
Seeing this, the eleven members of the Secret Cave Saints also released their barrier power, coordinating with Chu Feng.
Soon, the threads enveloped each of the eleven, covering their entire bodies, even their eyes.
“Activate the formation!” Chu Feng called softly.
The threads vanished, and with them, Chu Feng and the others disappeared completely.
Of course, they hadn’t truly vanished, but had concealed themselves using the formation’s power.
“Wow, Brother Shura, this formation is incredible.”
“Not only can it hide us, but we can also communicate secretly through it.”
“This way, even someone extremely powerful won’t hear our transmissions.”
“You’re young, yet you’ve mastered such a remarkable formation. Impressive, truly impressive,” the Secret Cave Saints praised Chu Feng endlessly.
“Brother Shura’s formation is ingenious, but it requires immense barrier power and skill, both indispensable. Truly a prodigy,” the leader of the Secret Cave Saints boasted proudly.
“Now you see why I insisted on bringing Brother Shura along, don’t you?”
“We knew it already. Brother Shura’s spirit techniques surpass ours. Admirable, truly admirable,” the others chimed in.
“Enough with the flattery, we’ve known each other long enough to know who’s who,” Chu Feng said.
“Let’s focus on observing this place, but be extremely cautious. Though we have the concealment formation, don’t stray too far.”
“Got it, we’ll follow Brother Shura’s lead,” the Secret Cave Saints responded.
They then split into two groups, as before, heading in opposite directions through the cave.
In no time, they had explored ten thousand metres, but neither end of the cave was in sight.
Due to the formation, they couldn’t separate too far and had to choose a direction to proceed together.
So, they gathered again to discuss which way to go.
“Boss, it seems this map is fake,” said the youngest of the Secret Cave Saints, Little Eleven, after they regrouped.
“Damn it, that shouldn’t be. This map… it shouldn’t be fake,” the leader muttered, frustrated but also puzzled.
Though they had only explored ten thousand metres of the cave, comparing it to the map’s route revealed no such path existed.
This led them to suspect the map might be fake.
“The map may not be entirely accurate, some discrepancies are normal,” Chu Feng said.
“Since we’re already here, let’s not overthink it. Even without the map, we need to explore thoroughly. We can’t lose the initiative.”
“Brother Shura’s right. We can’t waste time now, we must hurry,” the leader said.
“It seems we have no choice but to use it.”
The leader glanced at the other ten members of the Secret Cave Saints.
The ten nodded, as if sharing a silent understanding.
Pfft—
Suddenly, blood splattered, and a muffled sound echoed as the leader pierced his own dantian with his hand.
“You…” Chu Feng’s heart tightened.
He knew all too well the importance of the dantian, the seat of one’s cultivation.
A damaged dantian meant damaged cultivation.
Chu Feng couldn’t fathom what the leader was doing.
Pfft, pfft, pfft—
As Chu Feng puzzled, ten more muffled sounds followed.
The other members of the Secret Cave Saints had done the same, piercing their dantians with their hands.
“What are you doing?” Chu Feng asked, now somewhat panicked.
After all, they were a team, and he didn’t want anything to happen to them.
But after a brief moment of panic, Chu Feng’s gaze shifted.
He noticed that while their hands had indeed pierced their dantians, with real blood and broken souls, their cultivation remained intact. They showed no signs of pain, and even their damaged souls seemed unaffected.
This defied all logic.
“What’s with these guys?” Chu Feng thought, feeling not only that the Tomb of the Demon-Slaying Emperor was eerie, but that the Secret Cave Saints were equally strange.
