Chapter 5309: The Weird Old Man in the Forest

Chu Feng had already noticed the little girl, but he figured that she was too young to know anything and thus ignored her. Who could have thought that she would be the one to approach him when others were shunning him?

Perhaps this was why people said that the ignorant were fearless. 

“Here, eat this.”

Chu Feng took out a bunch of tidbits and gave them to the little girl. 

The little girl’s eyes glowed upon seeing the tidbits. She tossed aside the dirty bun in her hand, took the tidbits over, and began wolfing them down.

“Waaa, this is so tasty! How could there be food so tasty in the world? Big brother, do you have more? I still want to eat.”

Born with the unique traits of the Ancient Realm’s people, the little girl had eyes shaped like a crescent that only became more apparent when she smiled. She was adorable.

“Eat slowly. There’s more from where it comes from,” Chu Feng said as he took out another box of tidbits. 

“Thanks, big brother!”

The little girl didn’t eat those tidbits right away. Instead, she stuffed it into a small Cosmos Bag hanging by her waist.

“Little girl, what happened here?” Chu Feng asked.

“Dumb big brother. Can’t you tell? We were robbed by other tribes,” the little girl replied.

“Other tribes… You mean others from the Ancient Realm?” Chu Feng asked. 

“That’s right. Are you not from the Ancient Realm? You look different.” The little girl suddenly widened her eyes. “ Ahhh! Were you invited here?”

“That’s right. I was invited here by the Ancient Realm. Little girl, where’s your parents?”

Chu Feng thought that the little girl’s parents would have a much better understanding of the place. 

“My parents are dead.” The little girl didn’t look sad at all when she said those words. She was already used to it.

“They are dead?” Chu Feng was surprised. He regretted asking the question.

“They died shortly after I was born. It was an illness.” The little girl raised her head to look at Chu Feng. “Big brother, are you attending the Ancestral Ritual?”

“Ancestral Ritual? No, I’m not here to attend the Ancestral Ritual. I was invited here by the Ancient Realm to take a test,” Chu Feng replied. 

“Eyy, that’s a lie. You were all invited here for the Ancestral Ritual. Quick, form a bond with me. I’ll take you to the Ancestral Ritual.” 

The little girl stretched out her arm and revealed a circle symbol. It was a mini formation.

Chu Feng could tell that it was a temporary binding formation that allowed them to form a temporary relationship contract. This contract wasn’t extremely binding for Chu Feng, and it would automatically dissipate after a period of time. It would grant the little girl some of the benefits he received from their partnership.

However, the benefits had to be related to the little girl’s bloodline, or else she wouldn’t receive anything at all. 

“Little girl, you mentioned that we were invited here for the Ancestral Ritual? How does the Ancestral Ritual work?” Chu Feng asked.

He could tell from the binding formation that it was prepared for outsiders like him. That added credibility to the little girl’s earlier remark about them being invited here for the Ancestral Ritual. Furthermore, the little girl appeared to be quite knowledgeable about the Ancient Realm despite her young age. 

With the little girl’s explanation, Chu Feng soon understood the truth behind the Ancient Realm.

On the surface, it looked like the Ancient Realm was a generous power that gave out free Sacred Temple Beads to others without asking for anything in return, but in truth, the Sacred Temple Beads were merely bait to lure others over for the Ancestral Ritual so as to ensure their survival.

“Chu Feng, do you think that the little girl’s words can be trusted?” Eggy asked.

“She doesn’t seem like a liar. I’m inclined to believe her,” Chu Feng replied.

“Will it be dangerous then?” Eggy asked worriedly.

“I doubt so. So far, there hasn’t been any reports of anyone suffering adverse side effects after visiting the Ancient Realm, not to mention that the Ancient Realm has invited powerhouses like the Bluemoon Sacred Palace over. I doubt that the Ancient Realm would dare to offend them. Besides, the Totem Dragon Clan wouldn’t have frequented the Ancient Realm if their people had suffered adverse side effects from visiting here,” Chu Feng said. 

“That better be the case. I’ll slaughter them if they intend to do you harm,” Eggy snorted.

“Lady Queen, the people of the Ancient Realm don't seem like pushovers.”

Chu Feng could tell from the elder who intervened in the fight between Mo Wuxiang and Xia Xingchen that the fighting prowess of the Ancient Realm was not to be underestimated.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. I’ll make sure they pay the price of their folly if they dare to lay their hands on you,” Eggy solemnly vowed.

“Milady Queen is the best!” Chu Feng chuckled. 

Regardless of whether they were a match for the experts of the Ancient Realm or not, Eggy’s attitude was more than enough to lift his mood. 

The little girl noticed that Chu Feng had gone quiet and quickly added, “Big brother, you don’t need to be afraid. The Ancestral Ritual won’t hurt you. They only call it something else because Ancestral Ritual doesn’t sound good. Also, they’ll really give you the Sacred Temple Bead at the end of it!”

“Young miss, do you know where the Ancestral Ritual is held?” Chu Feng asked.

“I don’t,” the little girl replied.

“You don’t know?” Chu Feng was rendered speechless.

“How would I know when I’ve never been there before?” the little girl replied matter-of-factly.

“This…”

Chu Feng scanned the surroundings with his Heaven’s Eyes in hopes of finding the location of the Ancestral Ritual, but the Ancient Realm was simply too big. There were too many roads leading in all directions without any signposts whatsoever. 

Just then, the little girl grabbed Chu Feng’s sleeve and dragged him toward the city gates.

“Big brother, I might not know where the Ancestral Ritual is, but I know someone who does. Let me bring you to him!”

The little girl was actually a cultivator despite her young age. Her cultivation was still weak, but she could run much faster than ordinary humans. Even so, Chu Feng thought that she was too slow, so he carried her and rose into the sky.

“Point the direction for me. I’ll take you there,” Chu Feng said.

“That side.” The little girl pointed toward the forest outside the city. 

“There’s no one there.” Chu Feng had previously scanned that area with his Heaven’s Eyes and confirmed that there wasn’t anyone there.

“Don’t worry, big brother. I know that place well. I’ll lead you!” the little girl said.

It took just a few moments for Chu Feng to arrive above the forest and descend to the ground. 

“Wahh, you’re fast! Big brother, are you actually a powerful cultivator?” The little girl looked at Chu Feng with admiring eyes.

“Little girl, do you know the way?” Chu Feng asked.

“I do. Leave it to me. Make sure you keep up, big brother. You will be stuck here if you get lost.” The little girl merrily ran into the forest. 

“Chu Feng, there’s something off about this forest,” Eggy said.

“Indeed. Even though it looks normal on the outside, now that I’m in here, I can vaguely sense that we’re inside a labyrinth formation. The formation is quite powerful; I don’t think that I’ll be able to breach it. The person whom the little girl is bringing us to might just be a formidable individual. I hope that she remembers the way,” Chu Feng said.

He tried taking out the Celestial Master’s Horsetail Whisk to see if it would provide him with guidance, but it was deathly silent as usual. If he recklessly headed into the forest, there was a chance that he might just get trapped inside. Even so, when he saw how the little girl leisurely hopped around the forest, he decided to put his trust in her.

A cavern appeared in the depths of the forest after some time. The little girl actually knew her way around. It was just that this cavern was shrouded in a formation that obscured detection. Only those who entered the cavern would know what was inside. 

“Big brother, follow me in. My uncle is inside. He knows the way to the Ancestral Ritual.”

The little girl pulled Chu Feng into the cavern. The space inside the cavern was much larger than what it appeared outside.

Shortly after entering the cavern, Chu Feng discovered a powerful teleportation formation that allowed the transmission of information outside. It was in an active state.

Proceeding further in, he saw an old man, who was emaciated like a dried corpse, sitting on top of a cultivation formation. Despite being in the midst of his cultivation, he suddenly opened his eyes upon Chu Feng’s approach.

The old man might look scrawny, but his eyes carried the sharpness of an eagle. 

The old man glanced at Chu Feng and the little girl. Hostility flared in his eyes when he noticed that the little girl had taken the initiative to hold Chu Feng’s hand. 

Boom!

The old man raised his hand and sealed off the road forward.

“True God level.” 

Chu Feng was astonished. He didn’t think that there would be an expert of this caliber hiding in this barren land.

“Uncle.” The little girl merrily ran toward the old man.

However, the old man suddenly raised his hand with a vicious look on his face. Using his martial power, he held the little girl up by her throat in the air. The little girl was baffled. She kicked around and struggled with all her might, but it was in vain.

“Who allowed you to bring outsiders in here? How many times have I told you to not bring outsiders in here? Do you take my words as a joke?” the old man spat with killing intent.

He wasn’t just joking around. Chu Feng could tell that the old man would really kill that little girl.

“What are you doing? Let her go!” Chu Feng bellowed.

“It’s none of your business!” The old man initially didn’t pay Chu Feng any heed, but his eyes suddenly widened when he finally took a proper look at Chu Feng’s face. “W-who are you?”

“I am an invitee of the Ancient Realm,” Chu Feng replied.

“I’m asking for your name!” the old man bellowed.

Chu Feng wouldn’t have been willing to reveal his name to such a dangerous old man under normal circumstances, but on the flipside, he figured that it didn’t really matter since he had already divulged his name to the Ancient Realm. Thus, he decided to tell the truth, “I am Chu Feng.”

“Chu Feng?” The old man seemed to recall something upon hearing Chu Feng’s name. “You know Chu Xuanyan?”

“Chu Xuanyan?” Chu Feng thought that the man sounded familiar, but it didn’t ring a bell in his mind. He shook his head and replied, “I don’t.”

“You don’t? Where are you from?” the old man asked.

“Let go of that little girl first,” Chu Feng said.

Surprisingly, the old man did as he was told.

“I’m sorry, uncle! He is here for the Ancestral Ritual. I wanted to bond with him and have him represent our Yuan Lineage Tribe. You said that we can obtain the Ancestral Idol’s strength that way. You told me to work toward revitalizing our tribe, so I wanted to do my part too.”

The little girl nervously fidgeted on the spot with an indignant look. She felt so aggrieved that tears began pattering down her cheeks. She might be more mature than those around her age, but she was ultimately still a child. 

“I told you to work toward revitalizing our tribe, but I didn’t tell you to solicit the help of an outsider!” the old man berated.

“I’m sorry. I brought this big brother here because he looked like a good person. Uncle, please don’t be angry with me. I brought some food for you.” The little girl gave the tidbits she had received from Chu Feng earlier to the old man.

“You lass. Why are you so disobedient?” the old man mumbled as his gaze slowly turned gentle. 

It looked like the old man had some feelings for the little girl. Most likely, the old man had been the one raising the little girl after her parents passed away.

“Elder, if I’m not mistaken, you must be trying to keep your whereabouts a secret. I’ll make a vow not to reveal the fact that you’re here to anyone. Please don’t make things hard for this little girl anymore. She’s still a child.” 

Chu Feng could immediately tell that the old man was trying to keep a low profile for whatever reason. The old man had only wanted to kill the little girl because the latter had unintentionally divulged his whereabouts. 

“Why should I believe you?” the old man asked.

“I can swear on the honor of my clan,” Chu Feng replied.

“Heh…” The old man burst into laughter. “The honor of your clan means nothing to me. Eat this if you want to live.”

The old man tossed a poison pill to Chu Feng. It contained an extremely potent poison that guaranteed Chu Feng’s death if he didn’t obtain the antidote in time. 

Mass release 5/5