Chapter 4825: Saving Once There were many roads one could take to scale True Essence Mountain. Duan Liufeng had many treasures on him, so the road he chose was one that was even more efficient than the one Chu Feng picked. It was just that one would face more danger along the way. Of course, with Duan Liufeng’s ability, those dangers wouldn’t pose a threat to him. The only problem here was the fact that he wasn’t a junior. Duan Liufeng was currently lying on the floor with white light shrouding him. His face was pale, and cold sweat was raining down from his face. His faint breathing showed just how weak of a state he was in at the moment. It looked as if an invisible mountain was crushing down on him. The culprit behind his state was that white glowing light on him. It was a punishment formation used specifically for those who tried to sneak onto True Essence Mountain despite not being juniors. “Elder Duan.” Upon hearing a call, Duan Liufeng struggled to open his eyes. But the moment he saw the person who had just called him, his face immediately darkened. It was Zuoqiu Youyu. “Elder Duan, please don’t worry. I’ll think of a way to free you right now,” Zuoqiu Youyu said. “Youyu, I’m fine. You don’t need to pay me any heed. You should head to the peak first and pay a visit to the elder of our sect,” Duan Liufeng said. He knew that Zuoqiu Youyu definitely knew the agenda of this mission since the sectmaster brought him over. “Elder Duan, you don’t look to be fine. You’ll be in grave danger at this rate. I ought to save you first before heading upward to pay respects to the elder of our sect.” As Zuoqiu Youyu spoke, he began exerting his martial skill while rushing toward the formation. At first glance, it looked like the martial skill was intended to shatter the formation, but the shockwave from the strike would surely spill down on Duan Liufeng. With just a few strikes, Duan Liufeng started to bleed. “Elder Duan, what’s wrong? How could I possibly hurt you with my cultivation? Could this mean that your physical body and cultivation have been suppressed too?” Zuoqiu Youyu asked in surprise. “Zuoqiu Youyu, you’re obviously doing this on purpose. You have no intention to save me at all. You’re trying to kill me here, aren’t you? However, you should know better than to underestimate me. I have the means to reach the sectmaster. If you were to kill me, the sectmaster will find out about it right away,” Duan Liufeng warned. “Hahahahaha...” Zuoqiu Youyu burst into laughter. “Elder Duan, I’m not looking down on you. You’re the Hidden Dragon Chief Elder of our sect. In terms of strength, you are only slightly beneath that of my grandfather. If not for this formation, you would be able to easily kill me a thousand times over. How could I possibly have the strength to stand up against you? “But what to do? It just so happens that there’s a formation here that specifically curbs you. I, Zuoqiu Youyu, am a man who follows through. Once I make a move, I’ll never rest until the deed is done. You need not scare me with the sectmaster. Putting aside the fact that you’re making an empty bluff here, even if you aren’t, I’d still take your life anyway. “Elder Duan, don’t blame me for this. You should blame Chu Feng instead!” Shoosh! After saying those words, Zuoqiu Youyu’s face warped in ferocity. He whipped out his Exalted Armament and summoned the Lightning Mark and Lightning Armor. With that, his cultivation rose from rank three Martial Exalted level to rank five. Given his strength and the enhancement from the Exalted Armament, he was definitely a foe to be reckoned with at the moment. But even so, he still didn’t have a move carelessly. He was gathering his martial power in preparation for unleashing an Exalted Taboo Martial Skill. He knew that he was dealing with a dangerous enemy here, so he was determined to defeat Duan Liufeng within a single strike so as to avoid any complications. Tzlala! All of a sudden, a blade of lightning slashed down on Zuoqiu Youyu. It commanded frightening momentum, slicing through everything that stood in its way including space. Before Zuoqiu Youyu could even react, the blade of lightning had already torn through his body. Puchi! Fresh blood spurted from Zuoqiu Youyu’s mouth as his body was severed into two. His body fell limply onto the ground as he breathed his last. He was dead. But even so, the lightning still had no intention of dispersing. Instead, it expanded into countless bolts of lightning that ravaged down on Zuoqiu Youyu’s corpse, ensuring that he had completely no chance of survival. “Brother Duan, are you alright?” A moment later, Chu Feng, wielding the Immemorial Hero’s Sword in his hand, flitted over from the direction where the blade of lightning came from. He rushed all the way toward Duan Liufeng’s side. He had activated his Lightning Mark, Lightning Armor, and Four Symbols Divine Power, thus raising his cultivation from rank one Martial Exalted level to rank four. That was the current limit he could go at the moment, but even so, he still wouldn’t be able to defeat the rank five Martial Exalted level Zuoqiu Youyu under normal circumstances. The only reason why he managed to pull it off earlier was because the martial skill he had resorted to was no ordinary martial skill. It was his trump card, Heavenly Lightning Nine Slashes. So far, he had only grasped the first slash, but it allowed him to fight against opponents that were a cultivation level stronger than him, thus granting him the final push he needed to defeat Zuoqiu Youyu. Chu Feng stepped into the formation that was suppressing Duan Liufeng at the moment. Based on his observation, this formation existed for the specific purpose of punishing those who flouted the rules of True Essence Mountain like Duan Liufeng. Juniors like him wouldn’t be hurt by it. Thanks to that, he was able to easily pull Duan Liufeng out from the formation. Even though Duan Liufeng was finally freed from the torture of the formation, he was still in a terribly weakened state. He was in no condition to fight at the moment. The only way for him to recover was to leave the perimeter of True Essence Mountain. “Brother Chu, what’s that martial skill you used earlier? It’s incredible. It isn’t an Exalted Taboo, and it doesn’t seem like a secret art either.” Despite his weakened state, Duan Liufeng still had an excited smile on his face. He was not happy just because he had just been saved, but the First Slash, Emergence of Lightning had completely awed him. “Brother Chu, what happened? You look completely exhausted. Does the earlier move place a huge burden on you?” Duan Liufeng soon noticed that Chu Feng was in a severely weakened state. “I’m fine. That’s how the skill is. I’ll be fine once I rest a little. Brother Duan, I’ll bring you out of here first,” Chu Feng said as he lifted Duan Liufeng up on his back. Kacha! Kacha! But right after the lightning from Chu Feng’s attack dissipated, Zuoqiu Youyu’s severed body suddenly began twitching. His body parts started to converge together, forming a whole body once more. At the same time, the breath of life returned to him, and he rose back to his feet. “This is bad! He has a protection treasure that saved his life!” Duan Liufeng exclaimed. “Chu Feng, I never thought that you would dare show your face here.” The protection treasure healed up Zuoqiu Youyu’s body back to its original state before Chu Feng could do anything. On top of that, his energy seemed to have been replenished, putting him at his peak condition. “A protection treasure? It should only be able to save him once, right?” Chu Feng asked Duan Liufeng. He needed to verify whether it was possible for him to defeat Zuoqiu Youyu right now. “Under normal circumstances, protection treasures can only protect their owners once unless it’s a particularly potent one. However, there’s no way he could possibly lay his hands on something of that level. Brother Chu, you need to end his life right here,” Duan Liufeng said. “Alright. Brother Duan, you should take a rest by the side for the time being,” Chu Feng said. He settled Duan Liufeng down by the side before turning his attention to Zuoqiu Youyu. “Zuoqiu Youyu, you shouldn’t have gotten back up. If you have feigned death right to the end, you might have been able to get away with your life,” Chu Feng sneered. “Heh...” His remark was met with a cold sneer from Zuoqiu Youyu. “Chu Feng, you can’t use the move you executed earlier a second time, right? Even if you’re able to, I doubt that you’ll be able to land it squarely anymore now that the element of surprise isn’t on your side. “The only fate awaiting you right now is death!” Shoosh! Zuoqiu Youyu warped into a flash of light and appeared before Chu Feng in an instant. The Exalted Armament in his hand swung straight toward Chu Feng’s neck. Klang! Sparks flew all around as a powerful shockwave rippled into the surroundings. With his Immemorial Hero’s Sword, Chu Feng was able to block Zuoqiu Youyu’s attack without a hitch. “You!!!” Zuoqiu Youyu was shocked. The fact that Chu Feng was able to take his attack meant that his cultivation had reached rank five Martial Exalted level, the same level as him!