The purple-clothed girl stared at Chu Feng with an extremely complicated gaze. From that look alone, Chu Feng could tell she was deeply unwilling — unwilling to have lost to him like this.
Yet the purple-clothed girl did not attack Chu Feng again, nor did she voice any complaints. Instead, she said coolly, "I lost."
*Bzzz* At that moment, Bai Hu, which had been hovering in the air, raised one powerful giant claw and gently swished it through the void. A ripple spread outward, and a dark portal materialized.
Its appearance resembled the entrance to this tomb — except that the tomb's entrance lay flat against the ground, while this dark portal stood vertically in midair.
"Go. Don't come here again," Bai Hu said to the purple-clothed girl.
Then it turned to look at Chu Feng with a meaningful gaze, its eyes filled with satisfaction. Although the power Dan Dan had displayed earlier was extremely dark — one could say unsettling, even evil — that formidable power was precisely what Bai Hu wished its master to possess.
"We will meet again. Next time, I will defeat you. Even if you have a secret technique to aid you, I will not lose again." The purple-clothed girl swept a glance at Chu Feng, a flash of defiance in her eyes. Then she leaped gracefully into the dark portal and vanished without a trace.
Chu Feng couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. That purple-clothed girl was simply too powerful. If Dan Dan hadn't intervened, he would have lost without a doubt. He truly hadn't expected that someone so monstrous would exist within Qingzhou — strong enough to rival the very top powerhouses of the entire region.
After the girl left, Bai Hu closed the first portal, then opened another on the opposite side. It spoke to Chu Feng: "You two are both rare talents. Besides, she is a girl. Let her live."
Hearing Bai Hu's words, Chu Feng laughed bitterly to himself. He could naturally tell that Bai Hu feared he would bear a grudge against the girl and kill her to silence a witness. In Bai Hu's eyes, Chu Feng's strength was indeed greater than the girl's — but in reality, that was not the case at all.
"I promise you, Senior. If I ever encounter that girl again in the future, even if she turns against me, I will hold back and never take her life."
Chu Feng swore this oath wholeheartedly. He already knew Bai Hu intended to pass its abilities on to him, and at a time like this, he had to show proper respect.
"No need. If she truly harbors resentment over today's events and presses you relentlessly in the future, you need not leave behind a future threat. After all, you are the one who received my inheritance."
Bai Hu shook its head, as if to indicate that Chu Feng had misunderstood its meaning. Then it let out a thunderous roar, and its cloud-like body dissipated in a tiger's cry that shook heaven and earth, surging toward Chu Feng's mind.
"Aargh~~~"
At that moment, a piercing pain shot through Chu Feng's head as a massive stream of information flooded into his consciousness. The volume was staggering — far beyond all the martial arts techniques he had ever read combined.
What was even more remarkable was that as this information poured into his mind, it was simultaneously absorbed, digested, and fully mastered by his consciousness. All the while, Bai Hu's voice continued to resonate within his head.
"Boy, remember my words. I am called the Bai Hu Killing Art — the pinnacle of offensive secret techniques, far beyond any ordinary martial art."
"Today I pass my abilities to you, but that does not mean my power will be entirely under your control."
"The strength of your abilities can influence my own, but if I do not deem you worthy, you will be unable to unleash my full power."
"Therefore, you must remember: never use my power for evil. Those who wrong you may be punished, but the innocent must not be killed. Future threats may be eliminated, but you must not slaughter indiscriminately."
Bai Hu's voice echoed around Chu Feng. Beyond the warnings, it also revealed the nature of secret techniques to him.
The power of a secret technique was naturally extraordinary, but it was not something Chu Feng could wield at will. The extent to which he could harness it depended not entirely on his own cultivation level, but also on the degree to which the secret technique acknowledged him.
In other words, even if a secret technique was bound within Chu Feng's body, as long as he remained alive, it would serve him for life. However, a secret technique still possessed a form of life — though it could no longer speak, its spiritual awareness remained intact, allowing it to decide how much of its power to entrust to Chu Feng.
The white mist swirling around Chu Feng gradually thinned, and Bai Hu's voice grew fainter and fainter. By the time the mist had fully dissipated and the voice had fallen silent, the Bai Hu Killing Art had completely fused with Chu Feng.
"Bai Hu Killing Art — let me, Chu Feng, see what you're truly capable of."
Chu Feng's excitement surged. He raised a finger, and a wisp of white mist seeped from its tip. Though it appeared thin and delicate, it contained truly fearsome power.
With a sharp crack, it shot from his fingertip like an arrow — so fast it nearly outpaced Chu Feng's own vision. It streaked like lightning, swift as a meteor, plunging unstoppable into the tomb's wall.
The tomb was constructed from a special material. Despite the earlier onslaught that had left it scarred, it had not yet collapsed and the walls remained largely intact. Yet Chu Feng's single finger strike had pierced straight through the wall. The power was truly astonishing.
"Incredible! Dan Dan, did you see that? I've obtained the secret technique Bai Hu Killing Art. With this technique in hand, if I catch someone off guard, even a Spirit Martial 7th Stage cultivator would fall to my strike."
Chu Feng was ecstatic. The power of the Bai Hu Killing Art was simply too overwhelming — its force was nearly impossible to block. Unless the opponent's speed far surpassed his own, almost no one could withstand a single blow from this technique.
"Dan Dan? Dan Dan!!!"
But just then, Chu Feng's expression changed drastically. No matter how he tried to reach out and call to her, he received no response from Dan Dan. A wave of panic surged through him.
He hurriedly sat cross-legged and cast his consciousness into his spiritual world. And when he stepped into the Spirit Realm space, his already anxious expression turned to utter shock.
He was stunned to find that Dan Dan's face was deathly pale, and her body had become ethereal and translucent — almost as if she had dissolved into pure spiritual essence. She lay in the center of the great hall within the Spirit Realm space, her aura extremely faint.
"Dan Dan, what happened to you!!"
Chu Feng panicked completely. He rushed to Dan Dan's side and tried to lift her, only to find his arms passing straight through her delicate body — as if she had become nothing more than a phantom.
As if sensing Chu Feng's movements, Dan Dan's tightly closed eyes slowly opened. Her long lashes trembled softly as her eyes curved into two sweet crescents, her lips forming a charming arc. In an extremely weak voice, she said: "Chu Feng, you dummy, I'm afraid I'll have to leave for a while. I won't be able to cultivate with you anymore."