Chapter 365: Greed

Chu Feng's mood was complex. What hidden secret lay within this?

The silver box was not large, about twenty centimeters long. Once in his hand, its luster became subdued, no longer glittering brightly. They say treasures conceal their own brilliance, and perhaps it was true.

The toad immediately darted over. It was even more curious about the silver box because, as a divine beast of supreme lineage, it had been rejected by the energy tower, deemed not to meet its standards. Yet, Chu Feng had managed to obtain the silver box. This left the toad indignant but also deeply alarmed, and it urgently wanted to know what was inside.

Suddenly, Chu Feng turned his head, looking back the way he came.

A figure flashed there, and Li Canghe appeared. The old man's face had initially shown complete shock, but he quickly concealed it, regaining his composure, his eyes now strangely glinting. Chu Feng was genuinely surprised. How had Li Canghe managed to get in?

"Brother Chu is indeed extraordinary, actually managing to forge a safe path in," Li Canghe said with a friendly smile.

Having just completed a major evolution, Chu Feng's senses were exceptionally strong and keen, allowing him to detect the fleeting hint of greed in Li Canghe's eyes.

"I was lucky to make it here without losing my life," Chu Feng replied, secretly observing, wanting to know how Li Canghe had entered.

"What's that?" Chu Feng noticed an ant-like insect crawling on Li Canghe's palm. He suddenly understood where the problem lay.

"We were worried about Brother Chu's safety outside, so this old man risked coming in," Li Canghe said, generously taking out a jade box to store the insect.

"Energy Ant!" Chu Feng's heart skipped a beat. These words flashed in his mind. For field researchers, familiarity with certain peculiar species was essential. Energy Ants could track specific energy signatures. With their unique sense of smell, once they detected a certain energy scent, they could follow it all the way. In earlier times, some field masters, when jointly exploring the Demon Saint's Tomb, often relied on Energy Ants to communicate while deciphering extremely complex terrain and attempting to dismantle the field around the Demon Saint's burial site. They had many ingenious uses, but could also be easily restricted.

Chu Feng realized he had been careless. He hadn't expected the other party to bring an Energy Ant. If he had known, he could have set up field symbols in advance to intercept such creatures. Clearly, Li Canghe had used the Energy Ant to track the path Chu Feng had taken, which was why he had been able to enter safely.

"This energy tower is quite intact. It must contain various secret scriptures of the Evolution Dynasty. What a great fortune!" Li Canghe exclaimed, his eyes burning with fervor. Then he looked at Chu Feng and asked, "Little Brother Chu, have you received any inheritance?"

"No," Chu Feng shook his head.

"What is that in your hand? May I see it?" Li Canghe asked with a gentle smile.

Chu Feng had previously tried to open the silver box but failed, which greatly surprised him. After multiple attempts, he felt a wave of helplessness. He knew it had to be a priceless treasure. Something preserved by an Evolution Dynasty, without a doubt, held an astonishing origin! Chu Feng would absolutely not give the silver box to Li Canghe. However, he was now confident that he was strong enough to protect this mysterious artifact. After his rapid evolution, he could see through Li Canghe's strength; indeed, he was a powerful being who had broken the seventh genetic lock. He generously handed it over, unafraid that Li Canghe would try to seize it.

"This is excellent! The material is very special, like it's forged from some kind of secret metal, with shimmering silver light, imbued with divine power," Li Canghe exclaimed as he took it. Soon, his expression changed dramatically. "This looks like a Mother Secret Gold! This is simply... unbelievable!" Li Canghe was stunned. He caressed the silver box repeatedly, channeling his internal energy into it, instantly making it shine as brightly as the midday sun.

"This material can be used to forge... ultimate weapons!" His hands were trembling as if he were touching a supreme treasure, and his voice quivered. Ultimate weapons were artifacts that only invincible orthodoxies, with legacies spanning millions of years, might possess. Even across countless planets, they were rarely seen. Once such an item appeared, it could instantly shatter everything, destroy mountains and all living things, turn oceans to dust with ease, crush top-tier great sects, and annihilate entire regions without difficulty. No one could stop such a weapon once unleashed. Even glorious sects with profound foundations and hundreds of thousands of years of accumulation could be wiped out in a single night. How could Li Canghe not tremble? The silver box's material was actually a Mother Secret Gold, capable of forging ultimate weapons! What could be inside this box? He felt his soul trembling, filled with excitement, fervor, and ambition, for in his mind, all of this would soon belong to him.

He tried to open it, but also failed.

Soon, Li Canghe calmed down and looked at Chu Feng. "When I came in, I happened to see this box fly into your hand. It's quite peculiar, isn't it?"

"Yes, I found it strange too," Chu Feng nodded.

"Don't you want to tell me something?" Li Canghe asked.

"What do you mean?" Chu Feng countered.

Li Canghe pondered, convinced that Chu Feng likely didn't know the origin of the silver box, as he had only just acquired it when Li Canghe entered.

"Chu Feng, you're a good person, very talented. With proper cultivation, you could certainly become a master of fields. However, time doesn't allow for it," Li Canghe lamented.

"What do you mean by that?" Chu Feng asked.

Li Canghe's expression became indifferent. "What I mean is, you've rendered a great service this time, acquiring a sacred ancient artifact for me. I will remember your contribution, so you can rest in peace."

"You intend to get rid of me?" Chu Feng stared at him. "I helped you decipher the field and open the Evolution Dynasty ruins, and you want to kill me?"

"Do you really think you can remain alive after such a heaven-defying treasure appears?" Li Canghe said with a faint smile. "Choose how you want to die."

"I don't want to die!" Chu Feng declared.

Li Canghe's face turned cold, devoid of any pleasantness. "Fool! If it were just some simple ruins, that would be one thing. But with a divine treasure like this appearing, you still expect to live? I must kill you to silence you!"

In fact, he intended to keep the silver box for himself and wouldn't inform anyone from the Primordial Magnetic Immortal Cave. He would monopolize this item. Li Canghe's gaze was chilling as he stared at Chu Feng. In his mind, Chu Feng was already a dead man; he would absolutely not allow him to leave and speak carelessly.

"You ungrateful wretch!" Chu Feng glared at him. Although he had long known that Li Canghe was not a benevolent sort and would not share wealth, such blatant betrayal still infuriated him.

"Young man, you're overthinking it," Li Canghe sneered. "Do you really think assisting us in opening the field and exploring the path grants you our favor? Hah, naive. In our eyes, you're merely a servant. If you dared to disobey orders, we'd eliminate you immediately. Our earlier pleasantries and courtesy were simply to make you more obedient and serve us better!"

Li Canghe had completely dropped his pretense, speaking harshly and full of malice.

"You old dog, you really do bite once you turn your face, don't you?" Chu Feng sighed.

"You're asking for death!" Li Canghe's face darkened. He no longer needed Chu Feng. To avoid any future complications, it was best to kill him and silence him as soon as possible. With a faint, somewhat cruel smile, he advanced step by step. "I originally intended to give you a quick end, but you've repeatedly offended me. Do you wish to be tortured to a shameful death?"

The toad retreated to the side, maintaining its spectator stance.

Li Canghe glanced at it. "You disgusting amphibian, you'll die too. There's nowhere for you to hide!"

The toad was greatly enraged. "Go to your mother's second uncle's mother! This grandpa didn't want to curse you, but you dared to provoke me, you clueless old dog! You're dead soon!"

Li Canghe's eyes turned frosty as he glared at the toad, but ultimately, he attacked Chu Feng first. As a being who had broken the seventh genetic lock, he had enough confidence to look down on all the natives on Earth.

"Just a native, daring to disrespect me!" He extended a large hand, intending to crush Chu Feng with a single grip, his eyes filled with cruelty, his methods brutal.

In an instant, a dazzling scarlet flying sword shot forth from in front of Chu Feng. Incessant barking erupted as it darted towards the large hand. "Woof! Woof! Woof..." In that brief moment, Li Canghe felt an intense pain in his fingers. The instant he looked down, he saw all five of his fingers severed, falling to the ground with blood flowing. "Ah..." He seemed to be slow to react, only then crying out in pain. "Woof! Woof! Woof..." The barking intensified, and the scarlet flying sword quivered violently, lunging at his arm. With a flash of crimson light, it severed his forearm, which fell to the ground.

"How is this possible?!" Li Canghe retreated explosively. He truly suspected he had been bitten by a dog, as if a terrifying vicious dog had lunged at him and torn his arm apart. How else could this have happened? After all, that was a crippled person. In his eyes, Chu Feng, who had lost his evolutionary abilities, was no different from trash. Li Canghe retreated at high speed, but he couldn't outpace the flying sword. With a "thwack," it struck again, and amidst the barking, his entire right arm was severed at the shoulder, completely gone.

"Ah..." He screamed in agony, the pain unbearable. More importantly, he was overwhelmed by a sense of defeat and shock: Had a cripple done this?!

"You're not crippled, and your strength is comparable to a master who has broken the seventh genetic lock!" Li Canghe was stunned, his face pale as he stumbled backward, simply unable to believe or accept this fact.

"What did you think?" Chu Feng replied with disdain, looking down at his opponent. He made no attempt to conceal it, his powerful aura radiating outward.

Li Canghe let out a roar like a wounded beast. He was furious and utterly unwilling to accept this outcome. After all this, he failed to silence Chu Feng and was instead being toyed with to his death?

"Go to hell!" he roared, exerting all his might to unleash a mirror, clearly a magical artifact, from which radioactive energy substances spilled forth, poised to suppress Chu Feng. Just then, a divine light burst forth from Chu Feng's eyes, his Fiery Golden Eyes. The two beams of light he shot out slammed into the ancient mirror, causing it to tremble violently. Simultaneously, the terrifying beams of light from Chu Feng's eyes also pierced Li Canghe's body, causing blood to gush out.

"I'll kill you!" Li Canghe was too unwilling to give up. He used all his techniques, desperately activating the ancient mirror, and his own body began to glow as if burning, his surrounding energy boiling, intending to perish together with Chu Feng. However, Chu Feng's eyes were too bizarre. Several beams of light shot out rapidly, their divine power terrifying! Li Canghe's ancient mirror was actually struck, sent flying out of control, and fell to the side. In an instant, more blood holes appeared on Li Canghe's body, and energy leaked out, instantly weakening him. Yet, he still desperately burned himself, trying to drag Chu Feng down with him.

"Seventh genetic lock, nothing more than this." Chu Feng said, his eyes gleaming. The terrifying divine light he shot out pierced Li Canghe's face, almost reaching his glabella.

"Ah..." Li Canghe screamed, utterly despairing.

With a whoosh, Chu Feng was close by. He grabbed Li Canghe, looked down at him, and said, "You're too weak!"

"You..." Li Canghe felt humiliated. He had broken the seventh genetic lock and should have been able to look down on the natives of Earth, yet today he was powerfully suppressed by one.

With a sharp snap, Chu Feng abruptly twisted his neck, causing the light in Li Canghe's eyes to rapidly dim.

Chu Feng retrieved the silver box, then threw Li Canghe into the unbroken field zone. With a muffled sound, his corpse was twisted into a cloud of blood mist, utterly obliterated, body and spirit. Chu Feng glanced at the ancient mirror on the ground. It was an extraordinary magical artifact, but he didn't keep it. He threw it directly into the field zone as well, ensuring its destruction. This was because he worried that if he left it behind, the people from the Primordial Magnetic Immortal Cave might have special means to track or sense it.

Chu Feng instructed the toad, "Deal with the severed fingers and bloodstains on the ground. Make it look like Li Canghe accidentally wandered into a death trap." He didn't want to fall out with the Primordial Magnetic Immortal Cave yet. He still wanted to cooperate with them, use them to explore various ruins. Therefore, it was not appropriate to reveal the truth about killing Li Canghe at this moment. The toad was displeased; it always got stuck with such messy tasks. But there was nothing it could do, so it grudgingly cleaned up.

After Chu Feng spent a considerable amount of time studying the silver box here, he discovered that it only trembled slightly when he practiced the special breathing technique taught to him by the Yellow Ox, but he still couldn't open it. "My strength isn't enough yet?!" He was surprised, yet his heart burned with fervent anticipation. A special breathing technique was required, along with sufficiently advanced strength, to open this box. This was his assessment. This was something exclusive to a certain lineage, which made him even more excited. Chu Feng was in no hurry. Once his strength reached a certain level, whatever was inside the silver box wouldn't escape him. He strongly suspected that the contents were related to the mysterious breathing technique, possibly techniques or wondrous arts. Of course, this was just his guess; the true situation remained unknown.

After lingering here for a sufficient amount of time, Chu Feng and the toad returned the way they came. Soon after, he led the others to the vicinity of the energy tower, effectively "gifting" them the opportunity.