Chapter 1634 - Walking on Thin Ice

The deeper the two went, the stronger the rebels they encountered became.

Guided by the memories Chen Fan had extracted from Huang Wei, the two navigated the underground passages with practiced familiarity. Along the way, they crossed paths with several rebels whose expressions were icy and cruel. One even seemed pleased at the thought of others suffering.

Even among the rebels, survival was a ruthless competition.

Chen Fan and Ling Fei arrived at a palace hall in the mountain’s core. A Half-step Immortal King came up and said sternly, “You’re here? The leader is very unhappy today. You’d better explain why you failed.”

The two nodded with grave expressions. This expert didn’t pay much attention to them, assuming they were only afraid of being punished for failing their mission.

The two took deep breaths and entered the palace hall.

According to Huang Wei’s memories, they kept their heads lowered and crossed the threshold before bowing deeply. “Greetings to Leader.”

They didn’t have to kneel. After all, both of them were eighth-level Immortal Platform realm experts and had their own pride.

A wise leader would not humiliate subordinates of their caliber.

“

Hmph

!”

The two of them heard a cold snort, which transformed into sonic waves that rattled their eardrums and sent their robes fluttering violently.

“Please forgive us, Leader! We really tried our best. That Featherlight disciple was simply too stubborn. He chose death over surrender!” Chen Fan hurriedly explained himself, his tone extremely fearful. He couldn’t risk exposing himself here.

“Then why didn’t you bring him back?” asked a middle-aged man icily, his voice somewhat dry.

Chen Fan didn’t raise his head, still acting terrified. Thus, he didn’t get to see this person’s appearance.

“The situation was urgent,” he replied, trembling. “Our movements had already drawn the attention of the Featherlight Sect. To avoid exposing our secrets, we had no choice but to kill him.”

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

All of this was true. The most convincing lies were always woven from reality.

As soon as his voice fell, Chen Fan sensed a powerful immortal will sweep through him. There was no blocking it. No hiding from it.

The immortal will was too powerful. It definitely belonged to an Immortal King.

Cold sweat instantly drenched Chen Fan’s back. One misstep here meant instant death for both of them.

Beside him, Ling Fei had gone rigid. The immortal will lingered briefly, probing them thoroughly, before withdrawing without finding any apparent flaw.

Both of them sighed in relief.

The most dangerous hurdle of infiltration had passed. If they could fool an Immortal King, everything afterward would be far less perilous.

“Your failure warrants the crippling of your cultivation, but since you safeguarded our secrecy and avoided discovery, I’ll spare you. For your failure, I’ll deduct a million contribution points from you. Do you object?” asked the leader as an extremely powerful immortal might pressed down on the two of them.

For the two of them, the pressure from an Immortal King was a powerful deterrent. Suddenly, Chen Fan noticed that Ling Fei was showing signs of being unable to hold on.

Chen Fan was strong to begin with, and he had already once fought an Immortal King and even severed their arm. So, he actually felt little to no fear toward Immortal Kings.

Ling Fei, on the other hand, couldn’t bear facing the pressure from an Immortal King.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Fan noticed faint cracks forming along Ling Fei’s face. They were subtle, but unmistakable.

Ling Fei was nearing his limit. If he tried to circulate his cultivation to resist, his disguise would shatter instantly.

The leader’s gaze flicked toward Ling Fei.

Chen Fan stepped forward calmly, blocking most of the pressure Ling Fei was enduring. Immediately, the fine cracks on the latter’s face began repairing.

“Leader is wise and brilliant, and fair in judgment. It’s already a huge blessing that we escaped this disaster. We wouldn’t dare have any opinion.”

Nothing else mattered as long as they got through this.

“Hmph. At least you know your place,” the leader replied. “But don’t think this ends here. You’ll receive another assignment soon. Fail again, and you’ll offer your heads.”

Lingering suspicion flickered in his eyes, especially toward Ling Fei.

“Yes. We will excuse ourselves, then.”

Chen Fan also sensed the suspicious gaze cast on Ling Fei and didn’t dare to remain here any longer. He couldn’t guarantee that Ling Fei would be able to hold on for much longer. It would have all been for naught if Ling Fei crumbled here.

Just as Chen Fan and Ling Fei were about to turn to leave, the leader suddenly called out. He had long since suspected that there was a problem with the two.

“Wait!”

Chen Fan stiffened on the spot, tensing up in an instant.

Meanwhile, Ling Fei was showing signs of crumbling again. He had been enduring the leader’s pressure and was on the verge of collapse. His eyes, hidden from the leader, were filled with despair.

If they were exposed now, there would be no escape. Only death.

A deafening explosion erupted outside. The entire mountain shook violently, tremors reaching even the depths of the hall.

Chen Fan and Ling Fei’s faces lit up in joy, realizing that Cao Wujiang and the others had launched their attack from the outside.

The leader’s attention snapped outward. A moment later, a rebel rushed in, panic written across his face.

“Bad news, Leader. Numerous Featherlight Sect’s experts have surrounded us outside.”

“What? How did the Featherlight Sect find this place? Did the two of you lead them here?”

The leader flew into a rage. His suspicious gaze instantly fell on Chen Fan and Ling Fei.

This base had remained hidden for years. For it to be exposed on the very day they returned was far too coincidental.

Chen Fan hurriedly turned around and said, looking like he had suffered injustice, “We didn’t do it! That’s impossible. We confirmed there was no one following us!”

Only now did he see the leader clearly. A vicious-looking middle-aged man, his features sharp and cruel.

The leader’s eyes shifted between the two, weighing possibilities.

Rumble!

Rumble!

The attacks outside intensified, breaking through several formations.

Immediately afterward, another terrifying pressure from an Immortal King swept down, causing the leader’s expression to change.

An Immortal King powerhouse had stepped in. He had no choice but to enter the fray himself.

Thus, he could no longer afford to care about Chen Fan and Ling Fei. He directly turned into a stream of light and rushed out of the palace hall.

The two breathed a huge sigh of relief. They finally got through this hurdle.