novelraw Chapter 176 : Heart Demon Illusory Realm: The Collapse of the Ascension Group!
Chapter 176 : Heart Demon Illusory Realm: The Collapse of the Ascension Group!
Chapter 176: Heart Demon Illusory Realm: The Collapse of the Ascension Group!
Consciousness seemed to have been thrown into a pot of boiling porridge, churning up and down, spinning left and right, unable to distinguish east from west.
No one knew how long had passed before that soul-rending agony slowly receded.
Chu Feng felt as if he were clutching a piece of driftwood, drifting through an endless ocean of darkness.
That “driftwood” felt warm and smooth to the touch, carrying a faint, elusive cool fragrance.
He subconsciously tightened his embrace.
“Mm…”
A soft sound, tinged with a trace of embarrassment and irritation, rang out by his ear.
Chu Feng jolted and abruptly opened his eyes.
What first entered his vision was a flawless, jade-like face, breathtakingly beautiful, right before him.
Murong Xue was being firmly locked in his arms in an extremely domineering posture. In those cool, autumn-water eyes, two small flames were burning—three parts shame, seven parts anger.
“Chief Risk Control Officer, awake?”
Chu Feng released his hands without changing expression, as if nothing had happened just now. He rose smoothly to his feet and surveyed the surroundings.
“According to Article Three of the ‘Employee Safety Manual’, when encountering force majeure, ‘core executives’ have the obligation to carry out ‘physical binding’ to prevent separation.”
A faint blush rose on Murong Xue’s cheeks, barely noticeable. She gave a cold snort and tidied her slightly disheveled clothes, her words sharp and unyielding:
“And Article Two of that manual also states that the CEO should avoid leading the team into a ‘total annihilation risk’ situation as much as possible.”
Chu Feng let out a dry laugh, but his gaze instantly sharpened.
They were currently standing inside a grand and magnificent hall.
The style of the hall was incomparably familiar to him.
Above the towering dome hung enormous crystal chandeliers. The floor was paved with spirit-jade tiles polished to a mirror-like sheen. On the wall directly ahead, four large characters were carved in flowing, vigorous strokes—
Ascension Group!
And at the center of the hall, within the “Ascension Cauldron” that symbolized the group’s spirit, blazing spiritual flames were burning fiercely.
“We… came back?”
Chu Feng frowned deeply, a powerful sense of unreality surging in his heart.
Spatial turbulence—how could it so precisely send them back to the headquarters located in the Eastern Wasteland?
“Something’s wrong.”
Murong Xue also sensed the anomaly. She strode quickly to the hall doors and looked outside. Her pretty face instantly turned deathly pale.
Beyond the mountain gate, there was a dense, black mass of people.
Countless cultivators held up various banners, emblazoned with shocking slogans:
“Ascension Group, return our blood-and-sweat money!”
“Chu Feng the big liar, manipulating the market—Heaven’s justice will not tolerate this!”
“Boycott financial cultivation, return us a bright and righteous world!”
The roar of voices came like a tsunami, wave after wave, battering the mountain-protecting grand formation, causing the entire Qingyun Mountain… no, the entire Ascension Group headquarters, to tremble slightly.
“Th-this… what is going on?”
Chu Feng’s pupils shrank.
At that moment, a familiar figure stumbled out from the inner hall.
It was Zhao Wuji.
But now, there was no trace of his former fanaticism or adoration. His face was filled with terror and despair.
When he saw Chu Feng, it was as if he had seen a savior—or a demon. With a thud, he dropped to his knees and wailed loudly.
“President! You’re finally back!”
“It’s over! It’s all over!”
“Our ‘Dao-Inquiry Pill’ was found to have severe side effects—long-term use causes the spirit roots to wither!”
“Now all the ‘clients’ are making a scene, demanding refunds!”
“Our ‘registered stocks’ turned into worthless scraps overnight!”
“All the ‘investors’ lost everything and are blocking the gates, demanding an explanation!”
“Black Wind Security has rebelled!”
“Myriad Sword Sect has also terminated all agreements with us!”
“The Feng Family… the Feng Family added insult to injury and announced they would carry out ‘asset liquidation’ against us!”
With every sentence Zhao Wuji uttered, Chu Feng’s expression grew darker.
Impossible!
His business model—every single step personally designed by him—had undergone meticulous calculations. How could everything blow up simultaneously?!
“Where is Ancestor Xuantian? Where is Leng Yanran? Where is Zhang Daniu?”
Chu Feng demanded sharply.
Zhao Wuji cried even harder:
“Ancestor Xuantian… the old sir took Elder Liu Changqing and the others and announced their withdrawal from the group, saying… saying we are of the Demonic Path and that they must draw a clear line…”
“Chief Leng… because of the pills, she was jointly denounced by the Alchemist Alliance and has already… already had her cultivation废ed and been imprisoned…”
“As for Daniu… he protected what you left behind, and was… beaten to death by that group of crazed ‘debt collectors’!”
“Boom!”
Like a bolt from the blue, it exploded inside Chu Feng’s mind.
Zhang Daniu… dead?
That honest man, who always stood in front of him, who regarded “protecting the President” as his sacred duty… dead?
An unprecedented rage surged from the depths of Chu Feng’s heart, nearly burning his reason to ashes!
“Who was it?!”
His voice was cold as ten-thousand-year profound ice.
“It was them! All of them!”
Another figure walked in from outside the hall.
It was True Lord Xuantian.
At this moment, there was no trace of his former respect. His face was filled with disappointment and heartbreak.
He pointed at Chu Feng and said in grief and indignation:
“Chu Feng, oh Chu Feng! I truly must have been blind back then to believe in your crooked fallacies!”
“Look at this! Look at what you’ve turned the Qingyun Sect, turned the Eastern Wasteland into!”
“Everyone is blinded by profit, every one of them speculating and cutting corners!”
“For your illusory ‘performance’, fellow disciples slaughter each other, morality collapses!”
“You are a sinner for all eternity!”
As True Lord Xuantian’s words fell, countless familiar faces emerged from both sides of the hall.
There were elders of the Qingyun Sect, various sect masters who joined later, and even people like Sun Desheng—those “early investors”.
Every one of them wore expressions of anger, disappointment, greed, or venomous resentment.
“Chu Feng, hand over the group’s core technology and we’ll leave you an intact corpse!”
“Surnamed Chu, the ‘stocks’ you issued must be redeemed with spirit stones!”
“Kill him! Liquidate the Ascension Group!”
In an instant, the entire hall became a court of judgment.
Yesterday’s partners, today’s executioners.
Chu Feng—abandoned by all!
He slowly, slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across those twisted faces. The fury in his heart instead gradually subsided, replaced by an extreme, icy calm.
“Very good… very good…”
He laughed softly, the laughter carrying a hint of self-mockery, a hint of madness.
“So this is… the scene when ‘systemic financial risk’ erupts?”
“Truly… magnificent.”
At that moment, killing intent flashed in True Lord Xuantian’s eyes. He sacrificed a flying sword and shouted sternly:
“Stubborn and unrepentant! Everyone, follow me—slay this demon and uphold the Righteous Path!”
With a single command, dozens of powerful attacks surged toward Chu Feng like an overwhelming tide!
Murong Xue’s face turned pale. She instinctively stepped forward once again, standing in front of Chu Feng, activating her already shattered “Heavenheart Immaculate Shield”.
She knew it would not hold.
But this was her duty.
The Chief Risk Control Officer had to block the final “risk” for the CEO.
“Boom—!”
Light swallowed everything.
In the final moment before consciousness dissipated, Murong Xue seemed to hear a roar from Chu Feng, a sound carrying something she had never heard before…
Fear.