Chapter 4760: Returning From the Dead
Chu Feng had entered the Vicious Beast Hellworld through the Blackwater Sixfinger Lake and triggered the legendary Cleansing. Afterward, he even triggered the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace whom no one in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect had seen before.
Under Chu Feng’s lead, Li Muzhi and the others who chose to fight against the Cleansing managed to earn the right to cultivate in the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace.
As for those who didn’t head to the eye of the black tornado to stop the Cleansing, they knew nothing about what happened afterward. They only noticed that the Vicious Beast Hellworld had suddenly turned completely white, as if turning into a holy land.
Such a change was incredibly confusing to them, and some of them even wondered if they had died and entered hell.
Some of the daring ones tried to head toward the center of the Vicious Beast Hellworld, where they found the sculpture of the Hellking and the entrance to the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace.
Unfortunately, they were unable to enter the spirit formation gate because they were unqualified. This was not the will of Chu Feng but a rule inherent to the Vicious Beast Hellworld, a setting decided by the sect founder.
…
Time passed swiftly, and the hunting of the Vicious Beast Hellworld should have already come to an end. However, the spirit formation gate still remained firmly shut, not opening at all.
What was even more worrisome was that in previous years, there would always be disciples who had encountered powerful beasts beyond their means to deal with that attempt to teleport back using their teleportation talisman, but not a single disciple had escaped from the Vicious Beast Hellworld this year.
This abnormality swiftly caught the attention of the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect.
At the same time, it was also about time for the trial over at the Blackwater Sixfinger Lake to come to an end. The disciples had already climbed out of the lakes and washed themselves and changed out of their dao robes, ready to leave the area at any moment.
It was just that there were different expressions on the faces of the disciples. Some were overjoyed whereas others looked gloomy.
Those who were overjoyed were the ones who succeeded in the tempering and were now able to sense the powerful natural energies in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. Their success here meant that they had a bright future ahead for them.
As for those who looked gloomy, there weren’t just limited to those who failed the tempering, and Tu Yuanyuan was one such example. The reason why she was downcast despite her success was due to Chu Feng’s death.
Regardless of whether the disciples succeeded or failed, they would still walk forward and thank the protector. Yet, Tu Yuanyuan didn’t do so. She knew that someone of her identity couldn’t afford to offend the protector, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so at this very moment.
She was fully aware that Chu Feng’s death was the doing of this protector.
Gululu—
All of a sudden, the seventh lake suddenly began rampaging. The disciples who were just about to leave the trial turned their gazes over curiously.
“Lord Protector, why would this happen?” someone tried to seek clarification from the protector.
However, the protector was also confused by the happenings too.
Hualala!
The pungent lake water suddenly rose into the air together with a figure. When the lake water finally settled and everyone managed to catch a closer glimpse at the figure’s face, they immediately recoiled in horror.
Only Tu Yuanyuan began skipping excitedly and rushed straight toward that figure’s side to leap into his embrace.
Even though the other party was covered in the dirty black lake water whereas Tu Yuanyuan had already washed herself clean, she didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around him.
She was simply too moved that Chu Feng had ‘come back from the dead’.
“Ey, Junior Tu. Please have some self-respect. I know that I’m handsome, but you still shouldn’t take advantage of me in front of everyone else.”
Tu Yuanyuan might not have scorned Chu Feng, but the same didn’t apply the other way around. Chu Feng pushed her away, though the smile on his face showed that he intended it as a joke. There was no way he would really scorn the only person who really cared about him here.
“Chu Feng, you’re still alive?”
Some of the disciples rubbed their eyes and confirmed that it was really Chu Feng before blurting out in astonishment.
“Why? Are you disappointed that I’m still alive?”
Chu Feng turned to the protector and said, “Lord Protector, surely you aren’t disappointed, right? After all, I’m a disciple whom you showered so much care and concern for earlier.”
His words were dripping with sarcasm. That shameless and despicable protector had intentionally rigged with the lake to kill him earlier while claiming that he was trying to help him.
“Chu Feng, it’s good that you came back alive. Where’s your dao robe? It’s only right for you to return your dao robe after the tempering is over,” the protector said.
“Lord Protector, it’s not that I don’t want to return it but that it has gone missing,” Chu Feng replied.
“It has gone missing? How could the dao robe you’re wearing go missing just like that?” the protector asked.
“Lord Protector, you can’t blame me for that. You have seen just what kind of adversity I’ve faced earlier on. It’s already a blessing that I was able to come back alive, so how could I possibly be able to pay any attention to that dao robe?” Chu Feng said.
“Senior Chu Feng, what did you go through earlier?” Tu Yuanyuan asked anxiously.
From her expression, it could be seen that she was more worried than curious.
“You won’t believe it even if I told you. I entered the Vicious Beast Hellworld,” Chu Feng said.
“Vicious Beast Hellworld?”
Upon hearing those three words, the crowd revealed looks of disbelief. While the crowd was still weighing how plausible Chu Feng’s words were, the person-in-question continued on.
“After entering the Vicious Beast Hellworld, I triggered the Cleansing, which in turn brought about a fortuitous encounter known as the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace. I went through the trial of the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace before finally returning here. There were many close shaves there, but it’s fortunate that it’s all over now, so you need not worry for me,” Chu Feng said with a smile.
All of the disciples were dumbfounded to hear those words.
Chu Feng’s explanation only left them even more confused. In the first place, only a few of them had heard of the Vicious Beast Hellworld, so the term, Cleansing, was even more foreign to them. As for the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace, that was something that not even the protector had heard of.
“A load of nonsense! How can a disciple tell such blatant lies? Chu Feng, I can turn a blind eye to you maligning me, but you should pay careful heed to your actions and words from this day onward. The Hidden Dragon Martial Sect is a place governed by rules. The behavior you have shown thus far is inappropriate!” the protector lectured Chu Feng.
He was still a little worried about it initially since he was aware of the rumors that the Blackwater Sixfinger Lake might be connected to the Vicious Beast Hellworld. If Chu Feng had really entered the Vicious Beast Hellworld through the Blackwater Sixfinger Lake, he would have really achieved something significant.
That would really be the worst-case scenario to him.
However, when he heard the latter part of Chu Feng’s explanation, he became convinced that Chu Feng was spinning up lies. He knew that the Cleansing couldn’t be triggered by a disciple, and going by the natural cycle of the Vicious Beast Hellworld, it shouldn’t be time for a Cleansing to happen yet.
As for the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace, it sounded even more ludicrous since he had never heard of such a place before. There was no record of it at all in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect.
From that, he concluded that Chu Feng was lying, and all of his worries immediately evaporated. Even if Chu Feng didn’t die here, it didn’t change the fact that he failed to break Lord Dugu Lingtian’s record.
It would suffice as long as he failed the bet.
And since even the protector was doubting Chu Feng’s words, there was no way the other disciples would believe him.
All of the disciples began gossiping amongst themselves. None of them spoke aloud, but their expressions made it clear that they were talking bad about Chu Feng.
However, Chu Feng didn’t pay it any heed.
“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me, but it doesn’t matter. The truth will eventually come to light.”
As he said those words, he glanced at the protector and continued, “Don’t you agree, Lord Protector?”
The protector’s face darkened upon saying those provocative words from Chu Feng, but it was quickly replaced with a confident smile.
Despite the talent Chu Feng had displayed thus far, in the eyes of the protector, Chu Feng was someone who would never be able to pose a threat to him, not to mention that he had a powerful backing too.
However, what he didn’t know was that Chu Feng was someone who had walked out of the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace. He had obtained a benefit and overcome the illusion.
Not long had passed since he was drowned in the seventh lake, but he wasn’t the same person as he used to be anymore.
