Medical Sage

Hearing Zhen Jingkong’s words, Chen Fei no longer hesitated. His figure, like a flash of lightning, swiftly darted into the dilapidated hall. Soon, he arrived before a massive stone door at the very depths of the hall. Clearly, behind that huge stone door was the place where Zhen Jingkong had secluded himself to heal over a hundred years ago.

However, a hint of doubt soon appeared in Young Master Chen’s eyes. He frowned, staring at the stone door covered in a thick layer of dust, and asked uncertainly, ”Is there something on this?”

”You can actually tell. It seems you’re not a complete amateur when it comes to formations...” Zhen Jingkong’s calm voice came from within his sea of consciousness. At the same time, as soon as the words fell, a wisp of ice-blue aura streaked out like a hawk. It shot from the sea of consciousness, out of Chen Fei’s body, and into the massive stone door, vanishing without a trace. Bafflingly, a moment later, everything was back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

A look of confusion and puzzlement appeared on Chen Fei’s face. He coughed lightly, preparing to ask a question, when the ground beneath him suddenly began to tremble violently. He staggered, nearly losing his balance.

But that was nothing. The scene that followed made his eyes widen in mild surprise.

As the tremors began, the stone door suddenly erupted with a fierce blue light, as if an Ice Palace sealed for ages was finally opening. The door’s surface and the walls on both sides, before he could even react, were instantly encased in a layer of dazzling, ice-blue crystal with a CRACKLING sound, emitting a terrifying chill.

Instantly, the deepest part of the dilapidated hall transformed into a glittering ice grotto. It was as if a massive block of Myriad Years Ice had been hollowed out, making it look extraordinarily cold and brilliant, yet also unspeakably terrifying! The area was filled with intimidating formations whose secrets were slowly being revealed, enough to make one’s scalp tingle and heart fill with dread just from looking.

”This is where I recuperated, so it’s not easy to enter. But it’s fine now. Go on in,” Zhen Jingkong’s voice explained from within Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness.

Hearing this, a spark flashed in Chen Fei’s eyes, and a sigh of admiration rose in his heart. He truly lives up to his reputation as someone who was once infinitely close to becoming a Great Formation Master. Who knows how many trials and tribulations he’s endured for that caution to be so deeply ingrained in his bones. Even here, deep underground, he didn’t hesitate to leave behind a contingency plan, such a terrifying Great Formation. If any enemy let down their guard and rashly barged in, they’d likely be doomed beyond recovery, right?

At this thought, Chen Fei couldn’t help but shudder. A deep sense of trepidation and pressure surfaced in his gaze.

If it weren’t for that mysterious drop of Golden Blood inside me—something I don’t even understand—I’d probably be a corpse by now. I simply can’t outplay someone like him. A person like that is truly terrifying.

”When you’ve experienced more, you’ll understand. You can only truly get it after experiencing it firsthand,” Zhen Jingkong said. ”This is the Cultivation World. Aside from deceit and life-or-death struggles, all that’s left is the monumental lie of immortality. Even legendary Immortals die, yet it’s laughable how we ants are still stubbornly pursuing eternal life, haha, hahaha...”

Zhen Jingkong’s increasingly dispirited laughter rendered Chen Fei silent. He’s right. Even legendary Immortals die, just like that expert from the Cultivation World whose memories and inheritance I received... He suddenly wanted to think about it even less, unwilling to entertain a topic that everyone accepted as a ’truthful lie’.

”Can we open this door now?” he asked, shaking his head vigorously. He walked up to the great door, the muscles in his body tensing. Without further hesitation, he stretched out his hands, pressing them flat against the door that had been sealed for over a century. A colossal force surged forward!

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

A deafening roar echoed as the stone door ground heavily against the crystalline floor, carving deep grooves into it. Streaks of light began to pierce through the opening gap.

Behind the massive stone door was a moderately sized hall. At its center, however, stood a small, two-story pavilion. The entire pavilion seemed to be carved from a substance resembling white jade. It was several zhang tall and emitted a strange, faint glow, giving it a powerful presence and a strange, unsettling aura. On the pavilion’s door, about two or three zhang from the ground, were the three large, silver characters ”Ice True Pavilion.” Still, no matter how he looked at it, building a pavilion inside a hall felt bizarre.

However, Young Master Chen had no time to ponder the peculiarity. Just a zhang or so from the entrance where he stood, two figures were staring at him with starkly different expressions of astonishment. One of them was, in fact, Wenn Yongshou, whom he had briefly met earlier.

The other person was none other than Saint Magus Melsdom! He was covered in blood, his breathing chaotic, and he appeared to be gravely injured. After an initial moment of shock upon seeing Chen Fei, his expression quickly turned urgent as he yelled, ”Run! Get out of here! Don’t worry about me!”

Even he didn’t seem to understand why he’d shouted such a thing. Shouldn’t he be the one asking for help right now? But he was already critically injured, and to think Wenn Yongshou was now on par with him at his peak—what did that mean? It meant... he really didn’t want to drag anyone else down to die with him. In any case, it was better if at least one of them could escape.

As soon as he spoke, Chen Fei’s expression shifted, his eyes narrowing. At the same time, Wenn Yongshou had clearly noticed Chen Fei’s arrival and heard the shout. His face changed slightly before his aged, wrinkled features twisted into a sneer, the corners of his ugly mouth curling up.

”Run? You can’t even take care of yourself, and you want him to run? Such nauseating compassion.”

As if terrified that Chen Fei might actually escape, a sinister coldness flashed across Wenn Yongshou’s ugly, aged face. His expression turned cruel. While sneering in disgust, he quickly raised a hand. The Low Grade Magical Treasure, the Black Ruler, shot from his palm as if alive. It transformed into a black torrent that coiled toward the entrance, instantly severing Chen Fei’s path of retreat!

After doing this, Wenn Yongshou seemed to believe he was in complete control of the situation. His ugly, aged face filled with an expression of unrivaled arrogance and cold contempt.

”You little bastard, who would’ve thought you were still alive?” he said, his eyes boring into Chen Fei with savage intensity as his brow furrowed slightly.

He had to remember, the one who had attacked the little bastard earlier was his own brother. Even if his brother had been slightly injured while pursuing Melsdom, the power he possessed was more than enough to crush any SSS-Level expert! So why wasn’t this little bastard dead? How was this possible!? He had been utterly convinced that the little bastard was doomed, which was why he had so confidently pursued Melsdom alone. After all, he couldn’t imagine how a kid who was still wet behind the ears could possibly escape from his own brother, a Peak Late Stage Innate Ancient Martial Artist. But now, the impossible was happening right before his eyes. The fact that this little bastard was standing here alive meant he had successfully escaped from his brother. But if that was the case, where was his brother? Why hadn’t he followed right behind?

While Wenn Yongshou was still trying to wrap his head around this, Chen Fei raised an eyebrow. His eyes, as dark and clear as black glass, curved into a cold smile as he spoke.

”You’re not dead, so why should I be? Or are you delirious and dreaming right now?” The mockery in the curve of his lips was unmistakable.

”He...” Not far away, Melsdom couldn’t help but feel his heart pound with fear. He hadn’t expected Chen Fei to still be so arrogant. But in his view, the situation now was completely different from before. He was gravely injured, yet Wenn Yongshou had somehow become as powerful as he was at his peak. What did that mean? It meant that in this situation, even a typical SSS-Level expert would be powerless to do much! They might even be killed by the current Wenn Yongshou; their life would be in danger.

So when Chen Fei once again spoke those death-courting words in that ’familiar’ arrogant tone, even Melsdom couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat and force an anxious smile.

He endured the pain and shouted again, ”Kid, his power is different now, one or two times stronger than before! You have to run! I’ll hold him off. Any later and it’ll be too late!” With that, he actually prepared to push through his injuries to hold Wenn Yongshou back.

But Chen Fei just smiled and stopped him. ”Saint Magus, you should rest. Leave everything to me now.”

”Leave it to you?” Melsdom was stunned.

”Yes, leave it to me. Didn’t we form an alliance before we came in? Don’t underestimate me.”

Chen Fei smiled faintly. As Melsdom watched with widening eyes, he showed not a single trace of panic. Instead, within his pitch-black eyes, a killing intent that could be described as ’bone-chilling’ began to surface.

Lady Luck truly is on my side, isn’t she? I had just been thinking about settling things once and for all, and this remaining nuisance delivers himself right to my doorstep? Fine by me. This is just perfect!