Chapter 776: We'll... Pass...

They finally understood why Yi Feng could teleport in the first level. They also realized that the reason Deng Chao's mark was so faint was undoubtedly connected to this person.

Zeng Xian's face turned pale. His heart skipped a beat, and he staggered backward a few steps. In his mind, it was as if a thunderclap had erupted. The stronger one's own power, the more one understood just how much strength it would take to accomplish such feats. In short, this level of power was enough to make him feel despair. If this person decided to take action against his Tianba Sect, the sect would be utterly defenseless, not even having the right to hide. After all, the sacred mountain underground palace they were so proud of would be as nothing in this person's eyes.

And the Tianba Sect had not been particularly courteous to this person. In fact, when activating the sacred mountain underground palace's formation, Zeng Xian had even shouted that he wanted Yi Feng's life.

Silence. The scene was eerily quiet, with an undercurrent of oppressive tension.

At that moment, exclamations of surprise erupted from the crowd. Following the cries, everyone saw that Yi Feng had somehow already reached the end of the second level.

Seeing this, Zeng Xian's heart skipped another beat. Under the pressure of the other's overwhelming power, he almost turned tail and ran. But even if he could run, could the temple run too? Since that was the case, it was better to wait and see. If this person really intended to hold him accountable for activating the formation, then he would bear the responsibility alone.

On the Star River Map, Yi Feng walked straight to the second level's teleportation point. Seeing this, everyone's eyes immediately shifted to the third level's teleportation entrance. Shortly after, a young man in white robes appeared. He was handsome and carefree, his expression calm, with no aura emanating from him. This return to simplicity made everyone's pupils contract. Indeed, he was a super expert!

As for Yi Feng being the Yi Feng from the Bailian Sect, after so much time, even the lower sects had long since figured it out. So, no one present was surprised by Yi Feng's identity.

"Oh? You all came out before me?" Yi Feng murmured as he looked at the crowd. It seemed he had wasted too much time on the second level. But whatever, he wasn't here to compete for first place. He was just here to go through the motions. As long as he could stall until Shi Qingwu came out of seclusion and he could earn the remaining immortal crystals, he would be satisfied.

With that, Yi Feng walked over to the group. To his surprise, everyone was staring at him, their eyes strange, and the atmosphere was eerily quiet. Yi Feng frowned, touched his nose, and felt extremely uncomfortable. Seeing that everyone was still staring at him, he opened his mouth and said, "Why are you all looking at me? Are you waiting for me to start the擂台赛 (arena competition)? How does it work? Do we choose our opponents freely? Are there any rules?"

No one responded to Yi Feng's questions. This made him even more uncomfortable. In this state of unease, he felt like he couldn't sit still or stand still—he needed to do something.

"If it's free choice, then how about we two have a擂台赛 (arena competition)?" Yi Feng casually looked at one person and tentatively asked.

Hearing this, the person's eyes widened, cold sweat poured down his body, and he immediately fell to his knees.

"Huh? Is this a surrender?" Yi Feng frowned. In his impression, cultivators were all proud and arrogant. How could this person have no backbone at all? Unable to help himself, he scanned the crowd again. As his gaze swept over them, one by one, they trembled in fear, stepping back, their faces turning as red as pig livers, afraid of being chosen by Yi Feng.

"Why are you all so afraid of me? Do I look that scary?" Yi Feng frowned. Had his level of power above Golden Immortal been exposed?

"How about you?" Yi Feng casually looked at another person.

That person instantly froze, his eyes turning red, tears almost flowing out. "My god! The Tianba Sect's guardian beasts were taken down by you in seconds, why are you picking on me?" At this thought, the person's legs went weak, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot. No amount of pinching his人中 (philtrum) could wake him up.

Yi Feng was even more confused.

At that moment, Zeng Xian stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Zeng Xian pays his respects to the senior." He lowered his head, his posture extremely humble, and Wang Yiyun and Luo Yuan behind him followed suit.

"Who are you?" Yi Feng stared blankly at the old man.

"Reporting to the senior, this is the Tianba Sect's ancestor, Zeng Xian," Wang Yiyun quickly explained, raising her head.

"Oh?" Yi Feng's eyes flickered slightly. The Tianba Sect's ancestor? A sect ancestor personally paying respects to him? It seemed the Tianba Sect wasn't completely ignorant after all. At least someone could recognize his status as a Golden Immortal plus level 60 powerhouse. No wonder these people were so afraid of him. It seemed his true strength had indeed been exposed.

Yi Feng felt a bit smug. Once upon a time, he was just a guy in Pingjiang City making a living by running a stall and teaching martial arts. And now, even a sect ancestor had to respectfully call him "senior" in his presence.

However, after glancing at this ancestor, Yi Feng's smugness instantly vanished. This ancestor wasn't much to speak of either. He seemed to have only a tiny bit of cultivation. Too weak. Feeling smug because such a weak sect was being polite to him felt too low-class.

But since the other party was being so courteous, there was no reason to be rude. So Yi Feng responded quite politely, "So you're the Tianba Sect's ancestor. No need to be so polite."

With that, Yi Feng gently raised his hand to help Zeng Xian up. This made Zeng Xian's body tremble, his breathing became rapid, and his eyes shone with intense gratitude. He had originally intended to ask Yi Feng for forgiveness. He never expected Yi Feng to not mention the formation at all and instead treat him with such courtesy. This made him feel incredibly honored.

"So, do I still need to compete?" Yi Feng asked.

"O-of course not!" Zeng Xian quickly replied.

"Oh, that's great." Yi Feng's face showed a hint of joy. He had never been interested in the competition anyway; it was all for the sake of earning those 500,000 immortal crystals.

"Then I'll be leaving. How do I get out?" Seeing that he could leave, Yi Feng didn't hesitate at all.

"Uh... this... you can only go back the way you came, through the second and first levels," Zeng Xian said with a grimace. Due to the safety mechanisms designed into the sacred mountain underground palace, once all the formations were activated, the palace would default to the sect being under attack. During this period, all teleportation formations would be sealed, and entry and exit could only be done through the first and second levels. Unless, of course, the formations were deactivated. But while activating the sacred mountain underground palace was relatively easy, deactivating it was much harder. At the very least, he and the elders present couldn't do it. They would have to wait for Deng Chao to bring the other palace jade slip to assist in deactivation.

"Alright." Yi Feng nodded and prepared to leave. But seeing that no one else was moving, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Aren't you all leaving?"

"We'll... pass..." The crowd quickly waved their hands with forced smiles, silently thinking: You, senior, can come and go as you please, but we can't!

"Alright then. I remember the way, so I'll just head out on my own." Yi Feng nodded and walked toward the third level's exit. After a few steps, he seemed to remember something and paused.

"Oh, by the way, I caught a few little beasts on the second level. I don't need them now, and they look too unappetizing to bother taking back, so I'll just leave them here. Please help me deal with them, okay?"

With that, Yi Feng opened his storage ring. Several True Immortal-level beasts, tied up like pigs, were thrown to the ground by Yi Feng.

"Bye!"