Chapter 5899: Assimilating the Formation  

“Speaking of which, you should take a close look to see if there are any ladies you like here. You can get Chu Feng to introduce them to you in the future,” Zi Ling said.

“Ah...” Sansheng Qiutian actually began examining the ladies.

However, Chu Feng had already killed everyone he knew. The only ones left were those from the Three Saints Monstrous Clan. Naturally, there was even less reason for him to spare them, particularly since he knew this was an illusion formation.

Sansheng Qiutian took a glance before averting his eyes.

It didn’t take long for the surroundings to fall silent. Chu Feng had killed everyone.

There was only one person left standing, and that was Chu Feng. The others collapsed in puddles of blood.

Sansheng Qiutian was intimidated by how merciless Chu Feng was, but when Chu Feng turned around and smiled at them, he felt surprisingly reassured.

Chu Feng was covered in blood, making him look terrifying even though it wasn’t his blood.

Just then, the earth shook.

All of the people whom Chu Feng had just killed rose from the ground and charged at Chu Feng. The deceased people had turned into soul bodies and were baring their fangs toward him as vengeful spirits.

“Chu Feng, you cruel thing! Pay with your life!”

Within moments, Chu Feng was enveloped by a huge deluge of blood and tens of thousands of souls.

“This isn’t good. It’s a strong mental attack,” Sansheng Xingyu said worriedly.

This was no longer just an illusion but a real attack. Sansheng Xingyu had encountered mental attacks before, so she could tell that the mental attack targeting Chu Feng was very powerful.

“Don’t worry. Something of this extent won’t faze him,” Zi Ling calmly replied.

In contrast to the worried Sansheng Xingyu and Sansheng Qiutian, Zi Ling was much calmer, not showing the slightest worry on her face. She was confident in Chu Feng’s means.

Uwa!

The vengeful cries suddenly dissipated as miserable cries, and Chu Feng’s figure emerged once more.

His breathing had hastened a little, but that was all there was to it.

Then, everything around them dissipated as smoke.

They found Chu Feng standing right next to them, and there was not a droplet of blood on him. This proved what they had been through was an incredibly lifelike illusory formation. Even so, the others found their hearts beating fast and themselves sweating profusely. Even Chu Feng’s breathing had hastened a little.

“I handled it well, didn’t I? That's why I told you there’s no need to worry.” Chu Feng dispelled the formation as he walked up to Zi Ling.

“That earlier trial was not much of a challenge to you, but what if it turns out to be more difficult than you deduced? Big brother Chu Feng, I have to criticize you for what you did. We agreed to work and advance together. I know you want to protect me, but you should respect my decision too. Otherwise, what’s the point of me cultivating and becoming stronger? I might as well find a hole to hide in and just wait for you to protect me?” Zi Ling pouted in dissatisfaction.

“I was wrong. I’ll reflect on it. I promise you this won’t happen again.” Chu Feng immediately admitted his fault.

“You sure?” Zi Ling eyed Chu Feng.

“Yes, I’m sure. I promise you there won’t be a next time.”

Chu Feng truly understood his mistake. He thought Zi Ling’s words made sense. It was fine for him to want to protect Zi Ling, but he shouldn’t impose what he wanted on her.

Zi Ling had worked hard to reach her current cultivation level. She had suffered no less than him for that, and she definitely couldn’t be considered to be weak anymore. It would be disrespectful to her and the effort she had put in if he simply shrugged her off and did as he pleased.

“My apologies for getting in the way of your flirting, but have we cleared the trial yet?” Sansheng Qiutian’s head suddenly popped over.

“We cleared the illusory formation trial, yes,” Chu Feng replied.

“My gosh. You’re overpowered! How did you withstand that mental attack?” Sansheng Qiutian exclaimed.

“I just endured it. It’s not particularly powerful anyway,” Chu Feng replied.

“Then... how did you bring yourself to kill those illusions? Aren’t those your family members and friends? Aren’t you being a bit too heartless here?” Sansheng Qiutian asked.

“I know they are fake. What’s there to hesitate when dealing with fakes? You should put your sympathy somewhere more deserving,” Chu Feng replied.

“You... This... That... But...” Sansheng Qiutian was stumped.

He realized there was no point harping on this topic; it would only reveal his indecisiveness and weak will. Thus, he changed the topic and asked, “What should we do next?”

“Let me see...” Chu Feng observed the surroundings.

They were on the ancient tower’s second floor. It was much larger than the first floor, but that didn’t mean there were more clues available for them. There was only a stone monument at the stairway down to the next floor, and inscribed on it were the words—

“Did you discern anything? What will we face in the next level?” Sansheng Qiutian asked.

“I can’t tell, but the next floor will likely be tough. Our life might be in danger,” Chu Feng said.

“How is it compared to this level?” Sansheng Xingyu asked.

“It’s much harder. They aren’t on the same level at all,” Chu Feng replied.

Sansheng Xingyu tensed up. They might have reserved some skepticism toward Chu Feng’s words before, but after Chu Feng hit the nail on the head for the second floor, they no longer harbored any doubt toward his words. Thus, they couldn’t help but be worried.

They couldn’t even clear the second floor by themselves. Were they really capable of challenging the third floor?

“We’re already here. There’s no reason for us not to proceed, right?” Sansheng Qiutian said.

“Of course. If you’re ready, let’s go,” Chu Feng said.

Sansheng Qiutian eyed Sansheng Xingyu before saying, “Let’s go.”

Chu Feng descended the flight of stairs. Zi Ling and the others followed him closely.

They passed through a spirit formation gate and found themselves transported into a vast cavern. This was different from what they had expected.

“Be careful, and don’t move recklessly.”

Before Sansheng Qiutian could scan their surroundings, Chu Feng had already constructed a protective formation around them.

“W-what’s wrong?” Sansheng Qiutian noticed how nervous Chu Feng was, and that prompted him to stick closer to Chu Feng, even more so than Zi Ling.

It seemed like they had been brought into a vast underground world, evident from how they couldn’t see the end of the cavern even with their sharp eyes. They were standing in a small pit that appeared to be a dried-up lake.

Runes could be seen inscribed all around them. In particular, they congregated in greater density in the dried-up lake they were standing in.

Chu Feng nervously assessed their surroundings instead of answering.

He could tell what kind of place this was. They were in an assimilation formation, a particularly powerful one at that. It made him realize the purpose of the ancient tower’s previous two levels.

The previous two levels were a selection, similar to how top chefs were particular about their ingredients. The final goal was to create a delectable dish.

Chu Feng and the others were ingredients selected by the one who constructed this assimilation formation.

Surprisingly, the formation was inactive even though all of the runes were still intact.

So, Chu Feng squatted down to touch the ground. He deduced that they were currently in the assimilation formation’s formation core. Using a metaphor, they were like meat being stewed in a pot.

This lake was likely filled with some kind of special fluid before. From the looks of it, it didn’t look like the lake had naturally dried up, but that the special fluid had been retracted.

“Big brother Chu Feng, is this the assimilation formation?” Zi Ling asked. That was the conclusion she came to after studying the surroundings, but she couldn’t be certain of it.

“Assimilation formation?” Sansheng Qiutian and Sansheng Xingyu were taken aback.

“That’s right.” Chu Feng nodded.

“It is an assimilation formation? What does it assimilate?” Sansheng Qiutian asked.

“It’s a formation to assimilate us, or to be more exact, the two of you,” Chu Feng replied.

“Assimilate us?” Sansheng Qiutian and Sansheng Xingyu were shocked.

“Why? Didn’t you say earlier that this is a training ground our ancestors prepared for us? We should receive a special legacy once we breach this formation, right? Why did they prepare an assimilation formation here then? Are they seeking to assimilate talented descendants of the Three Saints Monstrous Clan? What’s going on?” Sansheng Qiutian was bewildered.

Chu Feng had no answers to his questions either. He couldn’t figure out why the Three Saints Monstrous Clan had gone to a great extent to prepare the sacred mountain, only to assimilate their talented prodigies at the end.

He was also baffled as to why the final step would suddenly fall short. It didn’t seem like a coincidence.