Chapter 5382: The Hypocritical Jie Zhou

Under the prowess of Chu Feng’s formation, cracks began showing in the resilient ice mountain, and they grew more and more numerous with each passing second.

Jie Zhou’s complexion turned awful.

He had been working on the ice mountain formation for a long time now but to no avail, but as soon as Chu Feng made his move, it began to unravel.

It was clear who was superior of the two.

He could only desperately pray for Chu Feng’s failure so that he could at least preserve his reputation, but it was no use.

Boom!

The ice mountain finally collapsed with a deafening rumble. The formation had finally been breached.

Yet, the snow cloaking the plains didn’t melt. A cold gale blew from the direction of the collapsed ice mountain, and the surroundings turned colder. In truth, the frost was a slaughter formation formed out of multiple formations.

Chu Feng quietly assessed the sight ahead of him. Through analyzing the intersections between the frost and the formations in the very moment of the ice mountain’s collapse, he noticed a peculiar pattern. Taking a closer look, they formed the words ‘Universal Love’.

“Universal Love?”

Chu Feng glanced at the crowd behind with a contemplative look.

While he was reverse deciphering the ice mountain, he received a clue that informed him that there would be other clues to aid him in breaching the subsequent formations. That prompted him to carefully examine the collapse of the ice mountain.

He was probably the only one who had noticed the clue since the others were too preoccupied with the collapse of the ice mountain. The frost had mostly scattered by now, causing the clue to disappear for good.

It was baffling how such a well-hidden clue contained only two words, but Chu Feng figured that it would play an important role in cracking the subsequent formations.

The notion of universal love referred to love for all beings, which likely referred to the other juniors inside the Ancient Palace. That was also the reason Chu Feng had looked back at the others earlier.

“The path ahead won’t be easy. The slightest carelessness could trigger a slaughter formation and take your life. Just to be cautious, you should wait here for me. Make sure not to make any reckless moves, or else you’ll suffer the consequences,” Chu Feng warned the crowd.

He proceeded to fly over the collapsed ice mountain, though it was weird how he was zigzagging around instead of moving in a straight line when there was nothing in his path. Nevertheless, it didn’t take him long to disappear into the distance.

“He’s making a mountain out of a molehill,” Jie Zhou grumbled.

He was irritated by how the juniors of the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion were lavishing compliments on Chu Feng. It was one thing for the Ling Clansmen to do so, but even the Jie Clansmen were starting to side with Chu Feng too.

Feeling that he had to do something, he turned to the Jie Clansmen and said, “Follow me. We shall breach this Hidden Land together!”

As soon as those words were spoken, someone refuted, “Young master Jie Zhou, didn’t Chu Feng just say that he can breach this formation all on his own? We can just wait here.”

Jie Zhou’s complexion turned even worse. The Jie Clansmen, who had been absolutely obedient to him up to this point, had started to question his judgment!

It must be Chu Feng! Chu Feng has distorted the Jie Clansmen’s impression of me, pulling down my weight in their hearts.

“Do you really think that Chu Feng can breach that formation all on his own? I was only taking a brief rest earlier in preparation to breach the rest of that formation,” Jie Zhou said.

“Ah! Could it be that young master Jie Zhou did the bulk of the work for the ice mountain formation, and Chu Feng came in at an opportune moment to finish it?” a Jie Clansman asked.

Jie Zhou’s confident expression was the best answer to that question.

“I told you! How could Chu Feng possibly breach that formation that easily? He’s just riding on the coattails of young master Jie Zhou!”

Many people in the Jie Clansmen began insulting Chu Feng once more. They were more inclined to believe that this was the doing of Jie Zhou, the prophesied child, than an outsider.

“Is Chu Feng telling us to remain here so that he can monopolize the rewards? Is he afraid that we’ll breach this Hidden Land ahead of him?” someone else exclaimed.

“Indeed the path ahead poses a danger, but danger can be overcome. Look behind. The blue flames are still chasing after us even though it might have slowed. Do you really think that we should wait here and entrust our survival to a stranger? We’re here to breach the Hidden Land, not to wait for our deaths!” Jie Zhou said.

His words implied that Chu Feng was intending to monopolize the benefits of the Hidden Land even though he didn’t say it outright. Those words dissolved any goodwill the Jie Clansmen felt for Chu Feng, and they began lambasting the latter once more.

Unable to stand that sight, Bai Yunqing asked in a whisper, “How can that Jie Zhou be so shameless?”

“He has always been a hypocrite, but people still choose to believe him. What fools.” Ling Sheng’er glanced at the Jie Clansmen with contempt.

“Aren’t you going to talk to them? My big brother Chu Feng wouldn’t tell us to remain here for no reason. Something bad might happen if they head over right now,” Bai Yunqing said.

“They deserve to die for their foolishness.” Ling Sheng’er shrugged nonchalantly.

However, Ling Mo’er was unable to watch as the Jie Clansmen walked straight into a tragedy, so she turned to them and said loudly, “Young master Chu Feng is not the type of person you have just described, not to mention that you should be able to tell with your own eyes that the path ahead is fraught with dangers. I advise you to stay put and don’t risk your life for merit.”

Her words caused the Jie Clansmen to waver. Those gathered here were fairly accomplished world spiritists, so they could naturally sense the threat lurking in the path ahead of them.

“We have known that this will be difficult from the very start. It’s not without reason that no one has ever cleared the Hidden Land before. It’s because we know that it’s hard that we need to bravely march forth and overcome the difficulties. That’s our duty as members of the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion.

“Everyone, trust me. I, Jie Zhou, would never do anything as vile as to harm my brethren. I am going to march forward and fight for the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion. If you trust me, follow me and we’ll share the great honor of uncovering the secret of this Divine Inheritance Ground! Otherwise, you’re free to remain here. I won’t blame anyone who chooses to back down here.”

Even though it looked as if Jie Zhou was allowing the Jie Clansmen to choose for themselves, he had effectively morally cornered them, in the sense that there was only one ‘correct’ answer they could make now.

On top of that, his highly persuasive words had moved the Jie Clansmen.

“Young master Jie Zhou, we’ll come with you!”

“Let’s fight for the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion together!”

Jie Zhou was satisfied with the outcome. He looked at Ling Mo’er and said, “Little sister Mo’er, I have always carried great respect for you, but today, you followed the words of an outsider over your responsibilities as a member of the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion. If Chu Feng clears the Ancient Palace today, can you really face the ancestors who have devoted much time and effort to paving the way for us? You truly disappoint me.”

Ling Mo’er didn’t refute Jie Zhou, for she thought that there was some sense in his words. However, she had already suffered once for refusing to trust Chu Feng, and she didn’t want to make the same mistake a second time.

She wasn’t afraid of death, but she knew that the Ling Clansmen would follow her if she made a move. She didn’t want to be the sinner that doomed her brethren.

“Young miss Mo’er, are we really not going? I fear that Jie Zhou might report us if we don’t make a move now,” the Ling Clansmen asked worriedly.

“You need to know what you’re capable of before trying to shoulder responsibility, or else you’ll only be leaping to your own death. Our elders will be able to understand why we chose to step down here,” Ling Mo’er said.

The Ling Clansmen thought that Ling Mo’er’s words made sense and settled down.

The choice of the Ling Clansmen fanned Jie Zhou’s annoyance, so he raised his voice and said, “It’ll be up to our Jie Clan to guard the honor of the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion today!!”

Those words further boosted the morale of the Jie Clansmen. They passionately cheered while looking at Ling Mo’er and the others in disdain.

Jie Zhou reinforced the protective formation around him and his clansmen before advancing forth.

Whoosh!

As soon as Jie Zhou’s group stepped into the ice domain, a brilliant light tinged with killing intent surfaced. Multiple ice pillars shot forth and encircled the Jie Clansmen.

The faces of Jie Zhou and the Jie Clansmen paled. They could sense how terrifying the slaughter formations that had trapped them were!