Chapter 5331: My Father’s Protection Formation

“Zhou Dong, w-what are you doing?” Jia Chengying cried out.

Back in the final test, Zhou Dong was the first one to recover from the poison. As soon as he regained his freedom, he turned to Jia Chengying and Qin Shu and told them that they weren’t qualified to be his comrade before doing something shocking.

He opened a spirit formation gate and left through it.

The two of them thought that Zhou Dong had given up on the final test and left. After all, the formation that Chu Feng and Bai Yunqing had breached had reappeared, which meant that they would have to breach the formation again in order to catch up with Chu Feng.

Needless to say, that was easier said than done.  

Shortly after, Jia Chengying and Qin Shu regained their freedom. When they made no attempt to breach the formation, a spirit formation gate appeared shortly after. Both of them knew that this was an option for them to surrender and leave the location. 

The two of them stepped into the spirit formation gate and returned to the square, but to their surprise, they didn’t see Zhou Dong anywhere.

It was then that they realized that something was amiss.

When the injured Zhou Dong later arrived on a sedan carried by the Yuan Lineage Tribe and said those words, it struck them that Zhou Dong was on the same side as the old man who defeated everyone from the Ancient Realm.

“Qin Shu, Jia Chengying, you don’t need to be afraid. Even though the two of you were useless, I’ll still spare your life,” Zhou Dong said with an arrogant attitude, almost as if he was the ruler of this land. 

“Young master Zhou Dong, it’s about time. Open the gate,” Yuan Jiang said.

Zhou Dong took out an ancient compass and began activating it. The people of the Yuan Lineage Clan also activated their bloodline power in order to help him. 

Meanwhile, Chu Feng had started adapting to the immense pain he was put under, granting him some room to analyze the situation he was in.  

“You are colluding with the Bluemoon Sacred Palace,” Chu Feng said.

He recalled the formation he had seen in Yuan Jiang’s cavern back then. It was a peculiar teleportation formation that allowed one to transmit news in and out of the Ancient Realm. He knew right away that Yuan Jiang was communicating with someone outside, but he didn’t think too much into it since he didn’t want to interfere in the Ancient Realm’s affairs. 

However, it was clear to him now that the people whom Yuan Jiang had been communicating with were from the Bluemoon Sacred Palace. Most likely, Yuan Jiang was the one who had helped Zhou Dong to open the spirit formation gates in the final test. 

It was just that Chu Feng didn’t think that Yuan Jiang would be so powerful as to be able to suppress the entire Ancient Realm by himself.

“Oh? You knew that I was liaising with someone outside? You must have noticed that formation. It isn’t that easy to see through that formation. You sure are a sharp one, just like your father. Even though you didn’t admit to it, it’s clear to me that you’re his son,” Yuan Jiang said with a smile.

“You must have received plenty of help from the Bluemoon Sacred Palace to grow this strong?” Chu Feng asked.

“Heh…” Yuan Jiang didn’t reply, but his smile affirmed Chu Feng’s guess. 

“Yuan Jiang, how dare you collude with outsiders? Are you betraying our Ancient Realm?” the Ancient Realm’s chief berated him. 

“You fools! For so many years, we have already been trapped in the Ancient Realm. We are forced to obey the Ancestral Idol and give away Sacred Temple Beads to outsiders. Don’t you feel stifled at all? We’re constantly at the mercy of another being, forced to make tributes to it in order to survive. We’re no different from slaves!

“I’m already on the verge of death anyway. I don’t want my descendants to live the same life as me. I’m going to bring the Ancestral Idol’s power and Sacred Temple beads under my control. I shall make the Ancient Realm the strongest clan in the vast world of cultivation. By then, all of you will thank me from the bottom of your hearts for doing what I did,” Yuan Jiang said. 

“Madness. You’ve gone mad!” 

The Ancient Realm’s chief and elders thought that Yuan Jiang was off his rockers. 

The Ancestral Idol was their god. Challenging the Ancestral Idol meant challenging god itself. Yuan Jiang wasn’t just betraying the Ancient Realm here; he was blaspheming god! That was clearly an act of lunacy!

“You cowards. That’s why you’re born to be slaves. Are you really unable to tell that the imprint on Chu Feng’s forehead is the Ancestral Idol himself? Do you think that the Ancestral Idol has been bringing in outsiders over the years just to hold the Ancestral Ritual? It’s finding someone suitable to possess! Even the Ancestral Idol wants to get away from this goddamn place, but you still want to stay here?” Yuan Jiang reprimanded.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” the Ancient Realm’s chief asked.

“Nonsense? Think about it. Don’t you think that there’s a goal behind each of the tests? I can tell you that Chu Xuanyan was an eligible candidate back then, but he noticed that something was amiss and wisely chose to make his escape early on. 

“It’s the same for Chu Feng as well. He’s an eligible candidate and cleared the final test on top of that, which is why the Ancestral Idol possessed him. It’s planning to escape this place through him. And if you think that the Ancestral Idol will take us with it, think again. We’ll continue to be trapped here. And without the Ancestral Idol’s sustenance, it’s only a matter of time before all of us die,” Yuan Jiang said.

“Rubbish! Look at the stone monument in the palace! It’s the Ancestral Idol who told us to extract the power Chu Feng acquired from the test. It wouldn’t have told us to do so if it was planning to leave with Chu Feng!” The Ancient Clan’s chief posed his doubt. 

The others from the Ancient Realm also thought that his words made sense.

“You fool. You have only been used by the Ancestral Idol. Extracting the power using the instructions on the stone monument would only weaken Chu Feng; you wouldn’t be able to pull the Ancestral Idol out that way. It’s a ploy for it to gain more control over Chu Feng’s body. 

“Look at how I’m extracting the imprint instead. It’s completely different, right? I’m going to weaken the Ancestral Idol while it’s still wrestling with Chu Feng over the control of his body. Once it has been weakened, I’ll extract it from Chu Feng’s body and put it under my control. From then on, the Ancestral Idol will become my slave!” Yuan Jiang declared.

“Impossible! How can the nonsense you spout possibly be true? These are nothing more than guesses on your part! What proof do you have?”

The Ancient Realm’s chief refuted Yuan Jiang’s claims, but he harbored some suspicions too. The way Yuan Jiang was extracting the imprint was indeed different from his. If Yuan Jiang had evidence to prove his point, there was a chance that what he said might be true.

“I don’t have any evidence. Just like you said, these are just my guesses, but they aren’t empty guesses. I have my own basis for believing so, but I don’t plan on explaining that to you bunch of thick-headed idiots. You believed the Ancestral Idol to be a god and allowed it to trample all over you. I, Yuan Jiang, will prove that you’re nothing more than tools to the Ancestral Idol. I shall control the Ancestral Idol and grasp my fate in my own hands!” Yuan Jiang said. 

Those from the Ancient Realm didn’t believe Yuan Jiang’s baseless speculation, but Zhou Dong did. He looked at Yuan Jiang with a tight frown and asked, “Elder, you didn’t say that those who cleared the final test would be possessed by the Ancestral Idol.”

He belatedly realized that if he had cleared the final test, he would have been the one suffering the pain Chu Feng did. 

Yuan Jiang laughed at Zhou Dong’s skepticism. 

“Young master Zhou Dong, you’re thinking too much. I knew from the start that you wouldn’t be able to clear the final test,” Yuan Jiang said.

“What do you mean?” Zhou Dong was confused.

“I only sent you in to further convince the Ancestral Idol that Chu Feng is the only one who can clear its test,” Yuan Jiang replied.

“Then… why didn’t you tell me?” 

Zhou Dong still reserved his doubts. How could he not be when he was only a single step away from clearing the final test? 

“You wouldn’t have given it your all if I had told you in advance. If you don’t pose a sufficient obstacle to Chu Feng, he might not have been able to clear the final test. Taking a step back, even if you cleared the final test and earned the Ancestral Idol’s acknowledgment, I wouldn’t have used such an extreme method on you. I have other means to extract the Ancestral Idol from your body,” Yuan Jiang replied. 

“Is that true?” Zhou Dong asked.

“Of course. Your father is my ally.”

It was only after Yuan Jiang had said those words that Zhou Dong’s complexion improved, and he turned his attention back to channeling the ancient compass. 

The truth was that Yuan Jiang wasn’t speaking the truth at all. He didn’t expect Chu Feng to appear here. His original goal was to have Zhou Dong clear the final test and sacrifice him to obtain the Ancestral Idol’s power. 

The Bluemoon Sacred Palace was nothing more than a tool at his disposal. As long as he obtained the Ancestral Idol’s power, there was nothing that could strike fear in him. He didn’t expect Chu Feng to appear out of nowhere and defeat Zhou Dong, thus clearing the final test. 

This opened up the possibility of him continuing his partnership with the Bluemoon Sacred Palace so as to further make use of them. The thought of them made his eyes glow with greater fervor. 

On the other hand, Chu Feng’s pain worsened just as he had barely started adapting to the current level of pain. The compounded effect of his backlash and the current extraction severely weakened him. 

“Chu Feng, open your world spirit gate,” Eggy ordered.

She could sense just how weak Chu Feng was, and she couldn’t stand how he was being treated in such a manner.

“I’m fine… Eggy. This isn’t enough… to take my life. Listen… to me. This thing… is dangerous. It isn’t a bad thing… for him to take it,” Chu Feng said.

“But…” Eggy was still worried.

“Don’t worry… I won’t die. You should remember… that I still have the… protection formation. If… I am still not sure… about it before… I can definitely… feel it now,” Chu Feng replied.

“You can feel the protection formation inside your body? Is that really true? Don’t you dare lie to me,” Eggy questioned.

“I won’t… lie to you. I can really… feel it. It’s my father’s… aura. He left it for me.”

Chu Feng wasn’t lying. 

His condition was so precarious that he could sense a protection formation inside his body. The protection formation would guard the final ember of his life and ensure his survival. If anything tried to threaten the protection formation, it would release a powerful burst of energy that would decimate everything in the vicinity. 

This was probably the protection formation those red-cloaked men mentioned, as well as the one left by his father. 

It turned out that his father didn’t just leave him to the lurch. His father did care about his safety.

Chu Feng’s consciousness had started to fade due to his severely weakened state, but he was certain that what he was feeling wasn’t just an illusion.