Hun Lei’s strength was formidable, having already reached eighth-grade Sovereign realm.
Yet if Chu Feng exerted his full power, keeping up with him was not difficult at all.
Moreover, Chu Feng’s spirit formation techniques were exceptionally refined, so he concealed his presence and followed secretly. Hun Lei remained completely unaware.
After leaving the crowd, Hun Lei circled behind the mountain range and then burrowed deep underground.
Deep beneath the earth, soil churned and parted. Everything blocking Hun Lei’s path instantly gave way.
He did not keep going deeper the whole time. Occasionally he would stop, glance at his sleeve, carefully survey the surroundings, and only then continue onward.
He was clearly searching for something.
But he was not familiar with the route. He was following some kind of guidance.
The thing guiding him was undoubtedly the object hidden in his sleeve.
In the end, he found what he sought.
Deep underground stood an subterranean palace.
On the palace plaque, the large characters “Overlord Star Manor Forbidden Ground” told Chu Feng that this was also territory belonging to Overlord Star Manor.
Though constructed by Overlord Star Manor, it exuded an ancient aura.
This underground palace had been built a very long time ago.
It was most likely erected by the ancestors of Overlord Star Manor.
The palace was made of extraordinarily tough materials, and protective formations were embedded within. Entering it would not be easy.
Even for Chu Feng, sneaking inside would require considerable effort.
Yet Hun Lei walked straight to the palace gates, produced a key, and opened the doors with ease.
“The Overlord Star Manor Lord did not lie to me after all.”
After opening the gates, Hun Lei smiled with satisfaction and stepped inside.
Originally, Chu Feng had wondered how Hun Lei obtained the key to open Overlord Star Manor’s underground palace.
Hearing Hun Lei’s mutter to himself, Chu Feng understood. Hun Lei’s relationship with the Overlord Star Manor Lord was far from ordinary.
Whether it was the guiding item that led him here or the key that opened the doors, both had surely been given to him by the Overlord Star Manor Lord himself.
“What game are Overlord Star Manor and Soul-Locking Sect playing?”
Chu Feng’s brows furrowed slightly as he began to ponder.
On the surface, Overlord Star Manor had allowed everyone to enter the forbidden cultivation area to capture the thief, making it appear as fair competition.
In reality, they had already handed crucial advantages to Hun Lei and Hun Yong.
This was no longer fair competition.
That said, among everyone present, Hun Lei and Hun Yong were indeed the most capable of capturing the thief.
If that was the case, why not simply let the two of them come in alone?
Why bring so many people here?
Vaguely, Chu Feng sensed the scent of a conspiracy.
He simply could not yet determine what kind of conspiracy it was.
He could only cautiously follow behind Hun Lei to find out.
Fortunately, Hun Lei was extremely confident in himself and never noticed the person tailing him.
Thus, Chu Feng’s pursuit went very smoothly.
Wherever Hun Lei went, Chu Feng followed.
The palace was straightforward. One could proceed all the way inside without any checkpoints.
Soon they reached the deepest part of the palace.
At the very centre, light flowed like a miniature sun concealed here. It was a formation, more precisely, the core that controlled the formation’s power.
Upon seeing this grand formation, a change flashed across Chu Feng’s eyes. He seemed to realise something.
The formation core deep inside the palace was connected to the power sealing the Immortal Cave and the Demonic Den.
If Chu Feng was not mistaken, this was undoubtedly the formation core that sealed both the Immortal Cave and the Demonic Den.
Hun Lei walked up to the core and took out the object hidden in his sleeve.
It turned out to be a round token, though more accurately, it resembled a key.
He inserted the token into the core. In that instant, several beams of light shot out from the core and began slowly rotating around it.
If one looked closely, one would discover that each beam contained a hidden scene.
Some scenes were still, others were moving.
In one of the beams, Chu Feng saw Hun Yong, Holy Light Jin’an, Song Yun, Song Xue’er, and the others.
Those were images from the Immortal Cave and the Demonic Den.
Judging by their actions, Chu Feng knew these scenes were not illusions. They were real and happening right now.
Chu Feng believed it was the power of the formation.
Every location covered by the formation could be displayed through this core.
So Chu Feng carefully searched.
Suddenly, a huge change appeared on his face.
He had found what he was looking for.
Within one beam of light lay two familiar figures.
It was Su Rou and Su Mei.
Compared to the day Chu Feng last parted from them, Su Rou and Su Mei had not changed much.
Su Rou was still as alluring and seductive, while Su Mei remained sweet and lovely.
In truth, not much time had passed since he last saw them.
Yet seeing them again now, great waves surged in Chu Feng’s heart.
After all, these two women were not only those who had grown up with him and faced life-and-death trials together.
They were women he deeply loved.
At this moment, Su Rou and Su Mei stood deep inside a rocky cave, both wearing identical expressions.
Cold faces, cautious eyes.
But… this should not be.
Su Rou and Su Mei had different personalities, so their reactions to situations should differ. They should not display exactly the same emotions.
Yet Chu Feng was not surprised by this. He knew that the one currently controlling Su Rou and Su Mei’s bodies was another person: Yue Xian.
“So it really is them. Senior Yue Xian, you were too careless.”
Looking at those familiar figures, countless emotions welled up in Chu Feng, and unmistakable worry filled his eyes.
Yue Xian was surrounded by barrier walls that trapped her inside.
The rumours were true. Yue Xian was indeed the thief, and she had truly been imprisoned by Overlord Star Manor’s formation.
Though the images were real, they were only images, so Chu Feng could not sense Yue Xian’s current cultivation.
Fortunately, the silver lining was that they appeared to be in decent condition.
Although confined by the formation, at least they were not injured.
While Chu Feng examined Yue Xian’s situation,
Hun Lei also located the image containing Yue Xian and studied it closely.
“These two ladies look far better in person than in the portrait.”
“What a pity, though.”
Hun Lei shook his head as he gazed at Su Rou and Su Mei in the image. Then he turned his wrist and took out another object from his Cosmos Sack.
It was a bronze cauldron, only the size of a palm, covered entirely in glowing runes.
“Not good!!!”
The cauldron was not even open yet, but the moment Chu Feng saw the flowing runes of light upon it, he inwardly cried out in alarm.
As a spirit formation master, Chu Feng could tell that the glowing runes on the cauldron were symbols of refinement.
Was Hun Lei planning to refine Su Rou and Su Mei alive?
But hadn’t Overlord Star Manor publicly declared that they preferred to capture Su Rou and Su Mei alive?
Just what kind of scheme were they playing at?!
