Chapter 5389: A Despicable Ploy
Chu Feng didn’t think too much about the matter. While the old woman had stirred a peculiar feeling in him, he was much more concerned about the scroll.
He first examined the scroll before unfurling it. He realized that the scroll depicted a spirit formation gate with a terrifying image sitting in its middle. Beneath the spirit formation gate were the words: Land of the Strong. Only the brave are worthy of entering.
“What the h.e.l.l does this mean? A gate after a gate… Aren’t they just making a fool out of you?” Eggy frowned in disdain.
“I also think that it is too much, but the problem is that we don’t even know which spirit formation gate this is. Maybe I should try asking Ling Sheng’er and the others. They might know a thing or two about it.” Chu Feng was much calmer than Eggy.
He sensed that he was getting close to the final treasure even though he had no idea what it was. Nevertheless, he had a feeling that he wouldn’t leave empty-handed.
“Where’s Bai Yunqing?”
Chu Feng quickly noticed that Bai Yunqing wasn’t around, but he didn’t think too much about it. It could be possible that Bai Yunqing had headed out to look for him after he got dragged into the world inside the scroll.
Thus, he left his palace with the intention to first look for Bai Yunqing, then Ling Sheng’er.
Weng!
As soon as Chu Feng stepped out of his accommodation, the s.p.a.ce before him suddenly distorted and an old man appeared before him.
“A concealment formation?”
He could tell from the spirit power around the old man that he had been hiding inside a concealment formation, which meant that he could have been here all along. However, there was no reason for him to conceal himself inside the Seven Realm Sacred Mansion’s territory.
“Where did you go, Chu Feng?” The old man stared at Chu Feng in bewilderment.
“Where could I have gone? I was inside the palace all along. Who are you?” Chu Feng asked.
“When did you come back?” the elder asked.
“I was inside all along.”
“That’s impossible.”
Chu Feng realized that the elder must have secretly entered their accommodation, or else he wouldn’t have been so certain that he wasn’t around. This suggested that there was more to Bai Yunqing’s disappearance.
He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Where did Bai Yunqing go?”
The elder chuckled. “Bai Yunqing has committed a grievous crime. He tried to steal a Life Crystal for you, but we caught him. He’ll be sentenced to death very soon.”
“He stole a Life Crystal? Whose?’ Chu Feng asked.
“He stole Lord Shuang Yu’s Life Crystal.”
“That’s impossible. You’re framing him.”
While Chu Feng had constantly mentioned that he needed Life Crystals, he knew that Bai Yunqing wouldn’t be so foolish as to resort to thievery in the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion.
“Why would I frame him?”
A black-haired, middle-aged woman suddenly descended from the sky. It was none other than Lord Shuang Yu.
“Elder, are you certain that Bai Yunqing really stole your Life Crystal?” Chu Feng asked.
“Yes, I caught him in the act,” Lord Shuang Yu replied.
Chu Feng was certain that there was something fishy at play, so he asked, “Where is he?”
“I’ll at least allow you to meet him before we sentence him to death. Come with me,” Lord Shuang Yu said before leading the way.
Soon, they arrived in an underground prison, where Bai Yunqing was incarcerated. He was the only captive inside this ma.s.sive prison.
“Big brother Chu Feng!” Bai Yunqing looked as if he had seen his savior.
“Are you fine?” Chu Feng asked.
“I’m fine. Big brother Chu Feng, I didn’t steal any Life Crystal. She framed me!” Bai Yunqing pointed his finger at Lord Shuang Yu. “She told me that she decided to give her Life Crystal to you and instructed me to head to a location to retrieve it. She even pa.s.sed a spirit formation key to me. Yet, as soon as I grabbed hold of that Life Crystal, she suddenly appeared with an army of guards and claimed that I was trying to steal her Life Crystal!”
Chu Feng turned to Lord Shuang Yu and asked, “Why did you do that?”
“It’s for young master Jie Zhou,” Lord Shuang Yu replied.
Chu Feng and Bai Yunqing were surprised. Neither of them had expected Lord Shuang Yu to admit to it.
“You’re doing this for him? Am I your target?” Chu Feng asked.
While Jie Zhou probably had a grudge against Bai Yunqing as well, there was no need for him to deal with the latter in such a roundabout manner. It was likelier that Jie Zhou was using Bai Yunqing to bait him.
“You’re smart,” Lord Shuang Yu said.
“What do you want me to do?” Chu Feng asked.
“That’ll depend on whether you’re fine with letting Bai Yunqing die or not.”
“Just get straight to the point.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll sentence Bai Yunqing to death for stealing my Life Crystal. If you want to save him, you’ll have to step forward and admit that you were the one who ordered him to do so. Other than that, I want you to admit that you cleared the Hidden Land by secretly peeking at my formation deciphering method and stealing a pill to raise your spirit power. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you out of consideration that you have saved the Jie Clansmen,” Lord Shuang Yu said.
“That won’t do, big brother Chu Feng! You mustn’t accept those terms! I can’t allow you to suffer such grievances!” Bai Yunqing cried.
“There are only 24 hours to go before we announce Bai Yunqing’s execution. Give it some thought, all right?” Lord Shuang Yu said.
“I accept your demand,” Chu Feng said.
“You mustn’t, big brother! I’d rather die than implicate you…” Bai Yunqing shouted.
However, Chu Feng raised his hand and gestured for him to speak no more.
“Are you certain about this?” Even Lord Shuang Yu looked at Chu Feng in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to agree to it so readily.
“Yes, I am certain about this. However, you must hold your promise and let my brother go,” Chu Feng said.
“Sure, but there’s one more thing you need to do,” Lord Shuang Yu said.
“What is it?” Chu Feng asked.
“You must compete with young master Jie Zhou in a battle of world spiritist techniques. You don’t have to go easy on him, but… you mustn’t win the battle. Do you get what I mean?” Lord Shuang Yu asked.
“You want me to lose to Jie Zhou so as to become his stepping stone? Sure,” Chu Feng said with a laugh. He thought it was laughable how despicable they were.
“Don’t play any tricks, Chu Feng. No one believes your words here. If I wish for your death, neither of you will survive,” Lord Shuang Yu said.
“You’re right. How can I trust you that you’ll spare us after I fulfill your request then?” Chu Feng asked.
“Before you cross blows with young master Jie Zhou, he will say that he’s going to spare you regardless of the result of the battle. With him making a promise, there’s no reason for me to kill you,” Lord Shuang Yu said.
Hearing that, Chu Feng sneered, “All right.”
“Since you have accepted the request, there’s no need for us to wait till tomorrow. You may return for now. An hour from now, you’ll hear a bell. Just head to where the bell is. Men, escort Chu Feng back!”
One of the prison guards escorted Chu Feng out and followed him back to his accommodations. Needless to say, the prison guard was there to spy on him.
Lord Shuang Yu looked at the departing Chu Feng with a conflicted look on her face. “I didn’t expect that lad to be so loyal to his friends.”
She had thought that the plan wouldn’t work out smoothly as no one would willingly take on such humiliation to save another person, but Chu Feng’s response caught her by surprise. It made her feel conscience-stricken.
While she didn’t think highly of Chu Feng at the start, her impression of him changed when she heard that he had cleared the Hidden Land. Her respect for him only further deepened after this encounter.
Despite having spent many years in the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion, she had hardly met any highly talented juniors who maintained an upright character. It p.r.i.c.ked her conscience to inflict such injustice onto someone like that.
However, her eyes soon turned cold.
“This is all for Lord Nianqing,” she repeatedly told herself.