Because Murong Xinyu had no cultivation, her walking speed was far too slow. To reach the depths quickly, Chu Feng had to carry the beauty on his back and run. Though he had to admit, she certainly felt pleasant against his back.
"Girl, why is this place called the Life Vein?" Chu Feng asked, feigning curiosity as he activated the Void Flight Technique and sprinted at full speed.
"I'm not entirely sure, but the Life Vein has been here ever since the founding of our Bai Hu Villa," Murong Xinyu replied.
"Oh?" Chu Feng could tell she was brushing him off. The Life Vein definitely held some unspeakable secret, but Murong Xinyu was still wary of him and refused to reveal the truth.
Even so, Chu Feng gathered that since the Life Vein had been established alongside the Bai Hu Villa, it must hold a truly significant secret.
Chu Feng's speed was tremendous. As he surged forward, even a Blood-Sweating Steed couldn't keep up. Since the heart of the Life Vein lay at the bottom of the Bai Hu Villa, it took only moments for Chu Feng to reach its core region.
The passage here had widened considerably, resembling an underground fortress. The two of them came upon numerous corpses — the blood still giving off faint wisps of steam. Clearly, these people had only recently been killed.
And the further they went, the more corpses they found — and the stronger those corpses had been. Their cultivation levels climbed from the Yuan Wu Realm all the way to the peak of Yuan Wu. Such levels of power would have been considered top-tier even within the Azure Dragon Sect.
Before long, they even came upon the corpse of a Xuan Wu Realm expert. Though only at the first level of Xuan Wu, it was unmistakably a Xuan Wu Realm powerhouse. Even a Xuan Wu Realm expert had been slain.
"Whoa, a Xuan Wu Realm expert! Hurry, help me absorb his origin!" Eggy had been present all along but silent. However, upon seeing the Xuan Wu Realm expert's remains, she finally couldn't hold back.
Having already stepped into the Yuan Wu Realm, Eggy had lost all interest in the origins of Yuan Wu cultivators. But a Xuan Wu Realm expert still held tremendous appeal for her.
Chu Feng didn't delay either. He approached the Xuan Wu expert's corpse and quietly began helping Eggy devour his origin.
However, unlike Chu Feng, Murong Xinyu was far from calm. Her face filled with grief as she wept, "That's Sixth Guardian Grandfather! I can't believe even he met such a fate."
"Who was he?" Chu Feng asked after finishing the absorption.
"He was one of the Six Great Guardians of our Bai Hu Villa — my father's most loyal subordinate. He was stationed here in the Life Vein to protect my father."
"I never thought even he would be killed. This means they truly have invaded the Life Vein. My father is very likely in danger right now!" Murong Xinyu grew even more worried.
"BOOM!" Just then, a thunderous roar echoed from deep within the Life Vein.
Though still far away, the sound clearly reached their ears. The ground beneath their feet trembled violently — the force of whatever attack had produced such a tremor was staggering.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" The deafening explosions continued without pause. Chu Feng could endure it, but the trembling earth left Murong Xinyu unable to keep her footing, swaying back and forth.
Even so, she pleaded with Chu Feng, "Take me there! I can't let them hurt my father!"
"Are you out of your mind? That kind of power is unmistakably a clash between Xuan Wu Realm experts. If you go, you'll only be cannon fodder!" Chu Feng shot her a harsh glare, then ignored her. Instead, he took out the Spirit Realm Compass, hoping to glean some guidance.
"That's a Spirit Realm Compass… You really are a Spirit World Master!" Seeing the compass in Chu Feng's hand — glowing with light and covered in runes — Murong Xinyu was stunned. Though she had never met a Spirit World Master, she had heard all about their abilities.
At this moment, she could confirm it without a doubt: Chu Feng was a Spirit World Master. And one this young at that — truly extraordinary.
Chu Feng paid her no mind, focusing instead on analyzing the situation with Eggy. In the end, they reached a conclusion that was both good and bad: the Life Vein was very likely the entrance to the Emperor's Burial. But the direction of that entrance happened to be exactly where the Xuan Wu Realm experts were fighting.
This put Chu Feng in a difficult position. The people of the Bai Hu Villa clearly knew the secret of the Life Vein. Now they were clashing at the entrance to the Emperor's Burial, very likely fighting over something — perhaps treasure, or perhaps the opportunity to enter first.
But with his current strength, even if he knew there was treasure ahead, he couldn't rush in blindly. After surviving Shangguan Tian's pursuit, he had learned firsthand the gap between himself and a Xuan Wu Realm expert.
"Fine, don't go. I'll go myself." At that, Murong Xinyu let out a cold snort and stumbled toward the depths of the Life Vein on her own.
"Girl, are you trying to get yourself killed?" Chu Feng flashed forward in an instant, appearing right in front of Murong Xinyu and grabbing hold of her.
"Let go of me!" Murong Xinyu struggled with all her might. The thought that her father might be in mortal danger at this very moment made it impossible for her to stay calm.
"Calm down! What good can someone with no cultivation possibly do by going over there? You won't just fail to help your father — you'll actually distract him and get him seriously hurt!" Chu Feng shouted.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Just sit here and watch my father get attacked without lifting a finger?" Murong Xinyu broke down in helpless sobs, revealing just how deeply she feared for her father.
Just then, the piercing roar finally ceased. Seeing his chance, Chu Feng hoisted Murong Xinyu onto his back and warned her gravely: "Don't make a sound without my permission. If your father loses focus because of you, you'll be the one who killed him."
"…Fine, I'll do as you say."
Murong Xinyu nodded obediently. In this moment, she truly felt powerless. This young man, however, could calmly assess the situation and had become her pillar of support. She had no choice but to follow Chu Feng's lead.
With this understood, Chu Feng masked his aura, slowed his pace, and began making his way deeper into the Life Vein. He didn't dare use his Mental Power, unsure whether a Spirit World Master might be ahead. If there was one, using Mental Power would certainly give him away — and that would be disastrous.
Fortunately, after advancing roughly three miles, nothing unusual occurred. Instead, a sharp voice rang out from nearby.
"Murong Yanguan, what do you think you're doing? Are you trying to destroy five hundred years of our Murong family's legacy?" The voice was loud but strained — the speaker was clearly gravely wounded.
Hearing this voice, Murong Xinyu on Chu Feng's back flinched. There was no mistaking it — that was her father, the master of the Bai Hu Villa, Murong Yunluan.
After Murong Yunluan's words fell, a smug voice replied, "Brother, you've truly misunderstood me. I'm not destroying our Bai Hu Villa — I'm restoring it to its former glory!"