“Is this really corpse water?”
“So disgusting?”
Chu Feng asked.
“It definitely is. No mistake.”
Yu Sha also spoke up, giving Chu Feng a firm answer.
“Chu Feng, this Black Fiend Old Devil does not seem like a good person. How about finding a way to escape?”
Dandan advised.
“It is fine, my queen. If he truly means me harm, I have ways to get away.”
“The things in this bathtub may all be poisons, but they should not harm my body.”
“They are probably just going to cause some changes to my body. Exactly what kind of changes, I do not know yet.”
“Whatever. Let us give it a try.”
“You two, close your eyes and do not look. I am going to take off my clothes.”
As Chu Feng spoke, he really began undressing. For this kind of tempering, being completely naked often brought the best results.
“Chu Feng, are you sure it is safe?”
Dandan was still worried.
“Relax. I am a realm spiritist after all. I can at least be sure about this much.”
Chu Feng stripped off all his clothes, glanced at the scroll the elder had given him, and memorised the formation on it.
After first setting up the formation inside his body, he finally jumped into the bathtub.
Squeak squeak squeak.
The moment Chu Feng entered the bathtub, the insects inside unceremoniously latched onto him. They began sucking his blood and tearing at his flesh.
Each of these insects carried deadly poison. Being bitten by even one would cause extreme pain. How much worse was it when countless of them swarmed him?
Fortunately, once the formation activated, it truly dulled the agony.
Besides, Chu Feng had endured far too many hardships in the past. Compared to those, the pain right now was actually nothing to him.
After frowning slightly at the very beginning, Chu Feng did not even furrow his brow again. He simply sat cross-legged in the bathtub like it was the most normal thing in the world.
His relaxed posture made it look, to anyone who did not know better, as if he was genuinely just taking a bath.
As time passed, Chu Feng gradually noticed some things.
The insects were only playing a supporting role. The real key was the so-called realm spirit corpse water. That water flowed into his body, and combined with the insects’ poison, it began to fuse with him. His body would undergo certain changes.
Perhaps because Chu Feng was relaxed enough, he had already absorbed the entire power of the bathtub before even twelve hours had passed.
The green water lost its foul stench, and the insects, perhaps having released too much of their poison or been corroded by the corpse water in return, all died.
“Done. Dandan, Yu Sha, you two can open your eyes now. I have put my clothes back on.”
Chu Feng stepped out of the bathtub, dressed himself, and only then spoke to Dandan and Yu Sha.
He said this because Dandan and Yu Sha could see whatever he saw.
If he looked down while changing and caught sight of his own body, they would see it too. That was why he had told them to close their eyes.
“Chu Feng, how do you feel?”
Dandan quickly asked.
“Feels pretty good.”
“And I think I have figured out what Black Fiend Old Devil is planning.”
Chu Feng said.
“What exactly does he want? Tell us.”
Dandan pressed.
“I do not know the specifics of what he wants, but I guess he had me temper my body in that filthy water so I can enter the Asura Burial Ground.”
Chu Feng explained.
“What do you mean?”
Dandan asked curiously.
“Dandan, Yu Sha, come out and sense it carefully.”
As Chu Feng spoke, he opened the realm spirit gate. After the gate opened, he activated the formation inside his body. His eyes suddenly became hollow, and black flames constantly leaked from those empty sockets. It looked somewhat terrifying.
His skin tone had also changed slightly, and faint black flames began to emanate from his body.
Most importantly, even his aura had transformed.
In simple terms, Chu Feng’s current aura no longer felt like that of a human.
When Dandan and Yu Sha stepped out from the realm spirit gate, they immediately noticed the reason upon seeing him like this.
“Your aura… it is the aura of an Asura evil spirit?”
“So… Black Fiend Old Devil wants you to disguise yourself as an Asura evil spirit first, then sneak into the Asura Burial Ground?”
Dandan asked.
“That is my guess. But exactly what he wants me to do will only be revealed in two hours.”
When Chu Feng said this, he was actually filled with anticipation.
He had gone through so much trouble to participate in this marriage recruitment assessment. Even after offending the Gongsun family, he refused to leave. It was not for Black Fiend Old Devil’s beautiful granddaughter. It was for the Asura Burial Ground.
Perhaps because he was an Asura realm spiritist, the moment he saw the Asura Burial Ground, that place had given him an immense attraction.
And that attraction was like a poison. It spread rapidly in his heart, growing stronger and stronger.
If at the beginning, the Asura Burial Ground had been something Chu Feng merely wanted to visit, but could live without if necessary, then now it had become a place he must enter. If he did not go inside and see it for himself, he might spend the rest of his life thinking about that place.
Soon, the twelve hours were up. Before the elders even came in, Chu Feng walked out on his own.
When the elders sensed the changes in Chu Feng, they knew he had successfully completed the tempering.
All of them showed satisfied smiles on their faces, and their attitude toward Chu Feng became even more respectful.
Thus, Chu Feng was led to another location.
It was an underground palace. When the hall door opened, it revealed an endlessly deep underground corridor that stretched downward. Even though many luminous stones hung on the rock walls along both sides, the corridor remained very dim.
Yet the deeper they went along the underground corridor, passing through several barrier gates, the faint light ahead grew gradually brighter.
Eventually, not only did it illuminate the entire dim corridor, but the light became so intense it was almost blinding.
At the deepest part of this underground palace stood an extremely majestic grand formation.
The deepest chamber was an incomparably vast hall.
This hall was so large that it could be called a small world. And the formation was as vast as the hall itself.
At a glance, the boundless formation floated in midair.
In front of this formation, even mountain ranges would seem tiny and insignificant.
This was no longer just a formation. It was like a star had fallen right before Chu Feng’s eyes.
Inside this hall stood a square table, surrounded by three chairs. Black Fiend Old Devil was seated in the main position.
When he saw Chu Feng, he immediately smiled, as if he had been waiting for quite some time.
“Young friend Chu Feng, you are truly punctual.”
“But I heard from the elders that you finished tempering two hours ago already.”
“With this kind of talent, even Gongsun Yuntian is far behind. You have truly refreshed this old man’s understanding of Ancestral Martial Heavenly River.”
“It seems Ancestral Martial Heavenly River will rise to fame once again because of you.”
Upon seeing Chu Feng, Black Fiend Old Devil actually stood up and personally invited Chu Feng to take a seat.
Such treatment was extremely high.
But Chu Feng paid more attention to the other information hidden in Black Fiend Old Devil’s words.
Black Fiend Old Devil already knew that Chu Feng had finished tempering two hours earlier. This meant Chu Feng had been under surveillance the entire time.
After that, Chu Feng and Black Fiend Old Devil chatted, though it was all polite small talk.
In truth, they were waiting for Gongsun Yuntian to arrive.
Fortunately, it did not take long before Gongsun Yuntian came.
Once Gongsun Yuntian took his seat, the hall doors closed. Inside the grand hall, only the three of them remained.
Only then did Black Fiend Old Devil finally reveal what this final assessment truly was.
