Chu Jiaohong knew Gu Qingfeng's existence was unfathomably profound, which was why she was being so cautious. Yet, she never imagined that her External Incarnation would be seen through so thoroughly by Gu Qingfeng—he even knew clearly that it was nurtured using spatial fragments from the Wu Dao Age.
This made her feel incredulous on top of her caution. She asked, "How do you know my External Incarnation is related to the Wu Dao Age? And how do you know it's a fragment-crystal from that era?"
"Don't worry about how I know. Just tell me if you agree or not."
"Agree to what?"
"I'll help you break the Seal. As a condition, you'll have to give me a fragment-crystal from the Wu Dao Age."
"I only have one, and I already used it to nurture this External Incarnation."
"Little sister, is this really necessary? I may not know where you got your Wu Dao fragments, but one thing I'm sure of is that you definitely have more than one of these things. If you only had one, you wouldn't have used it to nurture an External Incarnation."
"My True Body is sealed. I could only use this one Wu Dao fragment-crystal to nurture an External Incarnation. I originally thought I could use the incarnation to break the Seal, but the incarnation I nurtured isn't as powerful as I imagined, and the Seal is more profound than I expected."
"In that case, there's nothing more to discuss."
Gu Qingfeng stood up, patted his buttocks, and said with a laugh, "You'll have to find someone else, then."
Seeing Gu Qingfeng looking like he was about to leave, Chu Jiaohong grew anxious and called out, "Wait!"
"Hmm?"
Chu Jiaohong stared at Gu Qingfeng, lightly biting her pearly teeth as if making a difficult decision. After a long while, she finally spoke, "Alright, I agree. As long as you help me break the Seal, I'll give you a fragment-crystal from the Wu Dao Age."
"Now that's more like it."
"Those two fragment-crystals from the Wu Dao Age... I risked my life to pick them up from that mountain that appeared out of nowhere. I originally planned to use one to nurture an External Incarnation and refine the other myself. Since you've guessed it, I'll just give it to you."
"Fine, it's settled then. Where is your True Body sealed?"
"Follow me."
Chu Jiaohong leaped up and sped through the sandstorm. Gu Qingfeng followed lazily behind. Though he was merely strolling through the desert ruins, it was as if he was shrinking the earth with each step. No matter how fast Chu Jiaohong flew, Gu Qingfeng kept pace with his leisurely walk.
"This person's existence is truly beyond comprehension!" Chu Jiaohong marveled inwardly. "According to legends, he possessed heaven-defying fortunes even in the Ancient Era, ascending to the unparalleled throne of Immortal and Monster Kings, his strength unimaginably formidable. Three hundred years later today, those fortunes are gone, and the unparalleled throne is gone too, but his Physical Body is outrageously powerful, as if possessing infinite strength. The might of a single shout can not only shatter immortals but even cause space to rupture. It's truly terrifying."
Chu Jiaohong had never been able to figure out what kind of existence Gu Qingfeng's Physical Body was.
A treasure body?
An immortal-demon body?
An extreme body?
A venerable body?
A sacred body?
No!
None of those!
It was just a very pure fleshly body, pure to the extreme.
But why would a pure fleshly body be so powerful?
Chu Jiaohong had pondered this question for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer.
After a while, the two arrived at a sunken area within the desert ruins. Chu Jiaohong pointed downward and said, "My True Body is sealed right here."
Gu Qingfeng stood above, squinting his eyes to look. There was indeed a Seal below, and it was truly a profound and marvelous one, clearly the work of a master.
"Although the Seal is profound, I've already comprehended eighty to ninety percent of it. I've also been preparing for many years and have laid down numerous Formations."
Gu Qingfeng nodded. He could see that countless Formations had been arranged inside and outside the Seal, densely packed, numbering over ten thousand. Each Formation was interconnected and linked to the Seal. Once the Formations were activated and set in motion, breaking the Seal wouldn't be difficult.
"Since you've already comprehended the Seal and laid down so many Formations, why not break it open yourself? Why look for me?"
"I need an auxiliary formation eye. Originally, the Formations I arranged only required a central formation eye. Unfortunately, this External Incarnation of mine didn't meet my expectations and simply can't withstand so many Formations. Given how powerful your Physical Body is, it should be no problem."
"I see. You're using your own External Incarnation as the central eye to bear the operation of the Formations, and you want me to use my Physical Body as the auxiliary formation eye to help withstand the force when breaking the Seal, preventing the Formations from collapsing. That's the idea, right?"
"Exactly! You'll just be the auxiliary formation eye. It won't consume anything of yours."
"It certainly won't consume anything of mine, but you want me, this auxiliary eye, to bear the force of the Seal. This Seal clearly isn't simple. Who the hell knows how powerful the force contained within it is."
"Don't worry. I tested it personally with my External Incarnation before. It can completely withstand it. Your Physical Body is so strong; it definitely can too."
"If you can withstand it, why not do it yourself?"
"Are you really don't understand or just pretending? Although my External Incarnation can alone withstand the Seal's force, it's only alone. It simply cannot maintain the operation of the Formations. In other words, my incarnation can either alone bear the Seal's force or alone maintain the Formations' operation. If it tries to do both simultaneously, my incarnation will not only be drained dry by the Formations but also crushed and scattered by the Seal's force."
"Is that so?"
Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin and laughed. "Little sister, this isn't some trap you're setting for me, is it? Let's not even talk about whether I can withstand the Seal's force. Even if I can, I'll probably be exhausted half to death. What if your True Body comes out and then attacks me?"
"Don't measure the heart of a gentleman with your own mean standards. I, Chu Jiaohong, am not an ungrateful person, nor would I repay kindness with enmity. Moreover, my True Body suffered severe injuries back then and still hasn't recovered. Even if I wanted to attack you, I wouldn't be able to."
Having said that, Chu Jiaohong even glanced cautiously at Gu Qingfeng and added, "Besides, I'm afraid that after the Seal is broken, you might attack my True Body."
"Fine. I'll trust you this once and play the good guy. But let's be clear upfront—after this is done, don't forget about that fragment-crystal from the Wu Dao Age."
"Don't worry. I'm not someone who goes back on my word."
"Then stop dawdling. Let's begin. We're all quite busy."
"Good. I'll go in first. You follow after."
As Chu Jiaohong leaped down, the corner of her mouth curved into a strange smile.
Little did she know that as she leaped down, the corner of Gu Qingfeng's mouth also curved into a sly grin.