Especially with Jiang Yantian looking as though he meant well.
It practically drove Ye Feng to a breakdown.
Fucking hell, this was going too far.
"All right, senior brother, I won't disturb you anymore. Cultivate hard."
"Of course, if you aren't cultivating, you can go out for a stroll and see this beautiful world."
"Don't accidentally lose your chance."
With that, Jiang Yantian vanished in a flash.
As though he had never been there.
Only after confirming Jiang Yantian had left did Ye Feng unleash a torrent of curses.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!"
"You damned bastard! Threatening me, threatening me! I'll make sure you die! I will!"
Ye Feng gritted his teeth viciously.
After the anger passed, reason returned.
Ye Feng hurriedly asked Elder Long, "Elder Long, what do we do now? Can I really not go inside to seek opportunities?"
Elder Long remained silent for a long time.
In truth, he was wary too.
Jiang Yantian never played by the usual rules.
And with his Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivation, trapping Ye Feng would be far too easy.
The Nine Nether Fine Steel Chain alone was something they could do nothing about.
Finally, after careful deliberation, Elder Long gave Ye Feng an answer.
"Young friend, you've already obtained almost all the great treasures within the Forbidden Ground."
"Among what remains, some things are valuable, but compared with your life, they amount to nothing."
"Don't go this time. If you must enter, stay near the entrance to the Forbidden Ground."
Ye Feng thought it over and agreed with Elder Long.
"I have to go. This is an opportunity, and a trial as well. Then I'll undergo my trial at the entrance to the Forbidden Ground."
"At the very least, Jiang Yantian won't dare plot against me at the entrance. Even if he traps me there, Master and the others will see me when they come out."
Ye Feng's idea was cowardly, but effective.
Besides, Ye Feng vaguely felt that sometimes, one ought not to play by the usual rules.
Who said undergoing trials and seeking opportunities in the Forbidden Ground meant having to enter its heartland or depths?
What if there were some right at the gate!
Of course, this was all just his speculation. In any case, he had this feeling in the unseen workings of fate.
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
Night fell, and midnight approached.
This meant the Forbidden Ground would open again.
And after this time, the Forbidden Ground would close again, only opening a hundred years later.
It had always been so.
The major sects gathered once more.
Only, compared with yesterday, their numbers had clearly diminished today.
Only the Mysterious Spirit Sect had suffered relatively few casualties.
Ultimately, this was Jiang Yantian's handiwork.
The elders hovered in the air, while the disciples stood on the ground.
In the crowd, Ye Feng stared fixedly at Jiang Yantian, but dared not glare too hard, lest he get beaten again.
Naturally, however, that look did not escape Jiang Yantian.
"Fucking hell, glaring at me, are you, you little bastard!"
While everyone's attention was on the Forbidden Ground's restrictions, Jiang Yantian slowly moved over Ye Feng's head.
The instant the Forbidden Ground opened, everyone stood ready to set off.
At precisely that moment, Jiang Yantian aimed at the top of Ye Feng's head. "Ahem... hrrk... tui~"
He spat downward.
Following a perfect parabola.
The spit landed directly on Ye Feng's head.
Ye Feng felt as though something had landed on top of his head.
He instinctively reached up to touch it.
At his touch, his palm felt a little cool, as though it were water.
He lowered his hand, looked, and sniffed. "Why does it even smell a little fragrant...?"
When she looked up, she immediately realized something.
"Fuck..."
Ye Feng was dumbfounded.
Jiang Yantian was right above her head. There was no need to think to know what that had been.
"Fuck! That shameless bastard actually spat on me..."
[Ding, a gentle downward spit, Ye Feng silently curses your mother. Humiliation Points +3,000]
Ye Feng desperately wanted to curse aloud.
But he still did not quite dare.
Fortunately, everyone was rushing into the Forbidden Ground just then. Only then did Ye Feng suppress his disgust and run inside with them.
Only then did Jiang Yantian feel satisfied.
He could never stomach being wronged. Someone had glared at him-how could he possibly let it go just like that?
After entering the Forbidden Ground, the disciples headed toward its heartland, just as they had yesterday.
Everything seemed familiar and effortless.
Ye Feng was different. He stayed right at the entrance to the Forbidden Ground and would not go farther in even if beaten to death.
Whoever goes in is a dog!
Ye Feng sat on a rock covered with dead moss at the entrance, looking guiltily at that figure in the distance.
Naturally, Jiang Yantian had not left either.
He had already landed and was watching him from somewhere Ye Feng could see.
"System, redeem a fake doll for me. Just a fake version of myself, to put here and scare Ye Feng."
[Ding, no problem. There's no need to redeem such cheap stuff. Gifting the host the "Shadow Replacement Technique."]
"Shadow replacement?"
[Yes, host. You only need to activate this technique, and it will leave your shadow on the spot, looking exactly like you.] [Your real body can go anywhere. It is equivalent to leaving a marker of yourself on the spot. When you activate it again, your real body will return to the shadow's location.]
"Holy shit? This is cheap stuff? It's even fucking faster than teleportation! Isn't this the Master of Shadows?"
[The shadow cannot attack. That is its drawback. It can only be used as a means of transportation.] [For example, if the host visits the neighbors, you only need to leave a shadow in your own home. When the cuckold breaks down the door, you can instantly return home!]
"What are you doing? Aiyoyo!!!" Even Jiang Yantian felt embarrassed.
The system was so horny!
But Jiang Yantian was still delighted. The system still had not realized just how unfair this technique was.
For example, if he went somewhere extremely dangerous, he could simply leave a shadow somewhere safe. Then, if he encountered danger after entering, he could return instantly.
Following that logic, it was completely comparable to being undying!
Of course, Jiang Yantian already had the Indestructible Demonic Physique and would not die anyway, but it still hurt.
Having mastered the "Shadow Replacement Technique" gifted by the system, Jiang Yantian left his shadow on the spot, and his real body departed at once.
Ye Feng still had no idea Jiang Yantian was being so unfair.
He had been planning to search the surrounding area as soon as Jiang Yantian left, to see whether he could encounter any hidden treasures or opportunities.
But that bastard simply was not human. He did not want to let him gain even the tiniest thing.
He just watched from over there without moving an inch.
Ye Feng was certain that if he left or went looking for other opportunities, Jiang Yantian would definitely follow him and then chain him up somewhere nobody could see.
Then he really would be done for.
What a beast, a brute!
To be safe, he would not wander around. He would stay right at the entrance and drag this out, to see who could outlast whom.
She refused to believe that Jiang Yantian, a guardian elder, would never leave.
If he really did not leave, that would be dereliction of duty, and he could report him for it afterward.
Ye Feng glanced over from time to time. Seeing Jiang Yantian still there, he dared not act rashly and continued sitting.
From time to time, he wrote and drew on the ground, then raised his head for another look.
"You've gone too far. Just you wait!" Ye Feng gritted his teeth in anger and lowered his head to write and draw on the ground again.
After a long while, Ye Feng really wanted to cry.
It had been four fucking hours, and Jiang Yantian still had not left.
He was still fucking watching him from over there.
In a little over two more hours, it would be time to leave, and he had not gotten a damn thing.
The crucial point was that she did not dare walk away either.
The alternative was to walk straight out of the Forbidden Ground, but he could not resign himself to that.
And so, he kept dragging it out.