It seemed the Glazed Immortal Palace brought not only crisis but also opportunities.

Next, Zou Feng turned to look at the Blood Jade Bowl that had flown over with him.

But as soon as he turned, he saw that the Blood Jade Bowl had apparently sensed the danger and was already trying to flee into the distance.

It was moving much faster than when it had followed him here.

"Trying to run?"

Zou Feng let out a savage laugh. Stomping his right foot, he used Meteor Chasing the Moon and instantly caught up to the Blood Jade Bowl.

He then clutched it tightly in his hand.

"Stop—"

Another voice, different from Gu Yunzi’s, came from within the Blood Jade Bowl.

Zou Feng had no intention of giving these so-called "Immortal Venerables" a chance to argue, nor did he believe they would confess anything honestly. Without a moment’s hesitation, he began its Refinement.

"Tribulation-Indestructible Body (Peak of Perfection), Progress: 28%"

The Blood Jade Bowl produced Spiritual Liquid by absorbing various types of blood.

When these high-quality bloods mixed, they evidently formed "Essence Blood," which was highly beneficial for the physical body and thus improved the Tribulation-Indestructible Body.

After finishing the Refinement, Zou Feng couldn’t help but think, ’The Glazed Immortal Palace really might be filled with treasures waiting to be refined.’

As for Gu Yunzi, who had already vanished into thin air, what was his true purpose...?

’I can’t guess his exact intentions,’ Zou Feng thought, ’but it definitely wasn’t anything good.’

’Either it was just as Gu Yunzi said—the Glazed Immortal Palace intended to use us True Qi Realm Martial Artists as "batteries."’

’Or, Gu Yunzi was simply a wisp of a Divine Soul looking for a chance to possess a body.’

’In short, even if Gu Yunzi’s name hadn’t appeared on the List of Gods, there was no way I would trust some mysterious "grandpa figure" like him.’

Turning to look in the direction of the Immortal Palace, Zou Feng decided not to rush over directly.

Since the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi here was conducive to Cultivation, he planned to lay low for a while and increase his strength first. That couldn’t be a mistake.

Besides, he wasn’t the only one desperate to escape this place.

There were also First Grade Powerhouses like Su Qingyu and Jing Huaisong. He could just let them scout the way first.

With this in mind, Zou Feng began searching the vicinity.

He soon found a mountain hollow suitable for temporary hiding.

Zou Feng immediately ducked inside and began his Cultivation on the spot.

After all, he had just advanced to the Second Grade and wasn’t yet familiar with the Leakless Realm.

He also needed time to properly digest what he had gained from the Refinement of the Blood Jade Bowl and the Poison Gathering Bottle.

About half an hour passed in a flash.

While Zou Feng was focused on his Cultivation, things outside the hollow were far from peaceful.

The sounds of fighting could be heard from time to time.

At first, Zou Feng didn’t understand. ’Shouldn’t everyone trapped here by the Glazed Immortal Palace share a common enemy and focus on finding a way out first?’

’Fighting amongst themselves at a time like this is utterly foolish.’

’Of course, there are always morons who can’t grasp the situation and act without any logic.’

’But they should be a small minority. The sounds of fighting from outside are far too frequent.’

’This isn’t normal. It’s more like... they’re being influenced.’

"Who’s there? Come out!"

Zou Feng was only cultivating, not putting his full effort into Concealment, so he was finally discovered by someone using some unknown method.

However, with his current strength, he had nothing to fear even from a First Grade opponent. He emerged from his hiding spot without hesitation.

"Zou Feng, so it’s you!"

After leaping out of the hollow, Zou Feng came face to face with a young man who clearly recognized him.

This wasn’t surprising. When the Demon Slaying Order was first issued, Zou Feng’s appearance became common knowledge among the Major Sects.

Looking at his clothes and attire, he didn’t seem to be from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect or the Xuanhuang Sect, nor did he belong to any of the Evil Sects Zou Feng was familiar with.

However, one look at the man’s expression was enough for Zou Feng to know he had likely gone mad.

"Hahaha, excellent! I’ve been wanting to face you, the infamous Poison Cultivator, for a long time!"

As he spoke, his eyes were wild, and saliva was even dribbling from the corner of his mouth. It was obvious something was wrong with him.

Most importantly, he completely ignored the difference in their Realms. Despite only being a Third Grade, he seemed completely confident he could take down Zou Feng, a Leakless Realm expert.

Seeing this, Zou Feng frowned. "Are you sure you want to attack me?"

Upon hearing this, the man burst into maniacal laughter. "So what if you’ve advanced to the Second Grade? Why would I be afraid?"

Before his voice had even faded, the clearly deranged man lunged at Zou Feng.

That’s right, he just charged forward recklessly, without any technique or even a probing long-range attack.

Since the man was asking for death, Zou Feng didn’t hold back. With a flick of his hand, he unleashed a Five Poison Shattering Pill Palm.

"PWAAARGH—"

Amidst a piercing scream, the man took the full brunt of the attack head-on.

After being sent flying and crashing to the ground, much of the madness in his eyes began to recede.

"Impossible... This is impossible!"

"I clearly received the inheritance of Cyan Yang Immortal Venerable and mastered the Immortal Wind Cloud Body Technique! How could a mere palm strike from a Second Grade Martial Artist..." The man’s face was filled with disbelief as he began muttering to himself, completely crestfallen.

’So he was completely duped...’

Zou Feng finally understood why this Third Grade cultivator had dared to challenge him, a Second Grade expert, with such bravado.

’He thought he had a cheat of his own.’

’It was actually quite normal. Back when I was in the Gang Qi Realm, didn’t I dare to fight opponents in the True Qi Realm because I had a cheat?’ he mused.

Unfortunately for this man, while Zou Feng’s List of Gods was a real cheat, his so-called "fortuitous encounter" was just another malicious scheme, no different from Gu Yunzi’s.

The man’s madness made it clear: once you trusted these so-called Grandpa Immortal Venerables, you weren’t just being verbally manipulated. Your mind would be gradually affected until you lost all reason and became no different from a madman.

There was no point in talking to a madman. The next moment, Zou Feng flashed behind the man and shattered his Skull with a single palm strike.

The very instant the man breathed his last, a strange Spiritual Qi surged from his body and hastily tried to flee.

Zou Feng recognized it at a glance. This mass of Spiritual Qi was the same kind of thing as the so-called Gu Yunzi’s Divine Soul.

Without a word, he caught up to it in two steps, scattered the Spiritual Qi, and immediately began its Refinement.

Strictly speaking, one shouldn’t directly perform Refinement on an "Immortal Venerable Divine Soul" that could affect the minds of True Qi Realm Martial Artists. There was a high chance of absorbing something problematic.

But any such things could be considered side effects, and with his powerful patrons to back him up, Zou Feng had no such worries.

He quickly finished the Refinement. But before he could even assess his gains, several incomparably sharp streams of Sword Qi shot toward him from behind.

Zou Feng dodged to the side and saw a Sword Cultivator from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect charging at him from over a dozen yards away, a savage grin on his face.

Although this Sword Cultivator didn’t seem to have completely lost his mind like the previous man, his mental state was clearly not right either.

It was the same thought as before: the Martial Artists trapped here should be uniting against the Glazed Immortal Palace to find a way to escape.

There was absolutely no need for them to keep fighting each other.

That’s why Zou Feng concluded that this Sword Cultivator, who had attacked without a word, had also been manipulated and had something wrong with him.

’Could it be that the Glazed Immortal Palace’s true intention is to have the captured Martial Artists kill each other to determine a final victor—or rather, a final Gu King?’

’So they’re running a Cultivation Gu here, are they?’

The attacking Sword Cultivator was at the Second Grade Realm. He would obviously be much more difficult to deal with than the reckless fool from before.

But only slightly more troublesome.

’Oh well. For those deluded by the "Immortal Venerable Divine Souls," a ruthless approach is the only option.’

’Besides, after killing them, I can absorb and perform Refinement on these Divine Souls to strengthen myself.’

’For now, all I can do is continue to use the conditions here to constantly increase my strength.’

Now I just hope that Teng County, Su Qingyu, and Jing Huaisong haven’t been deluded by the "Immortal Venerable Divine Souls," otherwise, the trouble will be immense...