"Chirp!!"
Just as Lin Feng was inspecting his cultivation level, a faint murmur, like a sound uttered in sleep, came from within his embrace. Then, Xiao Qiu's fluffy head popped out. It still seemed a bit bleary-eyed, rubbing its eyes with tiny paws. When it saw Lin Feng, who had clearly finished cultivating, it instantly perked up. Excitedly, it scrambled up onto Lin Feng's head in a couple of bounds and began messing up his hair, all the while letting out dissatisfied grunts, as if sulking.
"Stop that," Lin Feng said, lifting the little creature down with his hand. He chuckled, "What's the matter? Have you been waiting long?"
"Chirp chirp!!" Xiao Qiu grumbled twice, giving Lin Feng an accusatory look. It rubbed its little belly with a paw and made an exaggerated 'starving to death' expression.
"Haha, alright, my fault. I should have left some spirit stones for you beforehand," Lin Feng said with a smile. He flipped his hand and produced two mid-grade spirit stones, offering them over.
Xiao Qiu's eyes lit up immediately. It reached out a paw to clutch one stone to its chest, then deftly wrapped its fluffy tail around the other. Turning, it scurried back up Lin Feng's arm to perch on his shoulder and began happily gnawing on the stones, a picture of contentment.
It truly had been famished these past few days—well, craving was more accurate, as going days without food didn't actually affect it much. For a full three days, to avoid disturbing Lin Feng's cultivation, it had barely stirred, bored practically to tears.
Lin Feng pulled out a timekeeping artifact and checked. Only then did he realize he had been cultivating for three whole days. No wonder Xiao Qiu was so upset. He also suddenly became aware of his own hunger. He took out a Fasting Pill and swallowed it; the hunger pangs vanished almost instantly.
A Fasting Pill could replenish the basic bodily energy required for normal activity for about ten days—just the fundamental sustenance to prevent hunger, nothing more. It was a pill typically only needed by cultivators in the Qi Refining or Foundation Building stages. Once one reached the Golden Core stage, merely absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was sufficient to fulfill the body's basic needs. Theoretically, one could survive indefinitely without eating and wouldn't starve to death.
...
Using an Earth Escape Talisman, Lin Feng passed directly through the section of the mountain wall he had previously sealed off and emerged back outside.
It was still afternoon. The sky and earth outside remained shrouded in gloom, unchanged from three days prior. Yet, in this short span, Lin Feng, having ventured into and out of these mountains, had advanced his cultivation significantly. The gains were substantial.
Lin Feng was gradually developing a liking for this Black Mist Medicine Valley. It was practically a treasure trove, and not nearly as dangerous as the rumors suggested...
No sooner had he emerged than he unexpectedly encountered a team of cultivators. It was a group of four. There were no Golden Core cultivators among them; the strongest was only at the peak of Foundation Building. Their attire didn't reveal which sect they belonged to—unless one was supremely confident or exceptionally upright, no one would openly wear sect-identifying garb here.
Lin Feng spotted the quartet from a distance, and they saw him too. They paused instinctively, looking at him in surprise, perhaps finding it hard to believe someone was traveling alone in this area. Before they could decide whether to avoid Lin Feng or approach him, Lin Feng himself turned and strode off in another direction, quickly vanishing from their sight.
"Whew..." Seeing Lin Feng leave, the tall, short-haired youth who seemed to lead the four breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "He's gone. Seems he didn't want dealings with us either. To roam this area alone... he must be a Golden Core cultivator. Thankfully, he harbored no hostility towards us. Wonder which sect he's from..."
A shorter cultivator beside him asked, "Senior Brother Li, do we still go forward?"
The Li-named cultivator shook his head. "Forget it. With that person here, we'll change direction. Better not to encounter him again and risk displeasing him."
With that, the group turned and continued their exploration in the opposite direction Lin Feng had taken. Not long after, they ran headlong into two others.
The two cultivators emerging from a dense thicket seemed to have known people were there. They walked straight towards the four. Upon seeing the long-haired youth leading them, the Li-named cultivator's expression changed slightly. He hissed under his breath, "It's Chen Tianxin from Qingfeng Valley! Everyone, be careful!"
Hearing this, the other three paled simultaneously, expressions tightening. Chen Tianxin of Qingfeng Valley—they hadn't seen him before, but they had certainly heard of him. He was the second son of the Qingfeng Valley Master, a renowned outstanding talent among the younger generation. Around thirty years old, he was already at the second level of Golden Core. Rumors also painted him as ruthlessly cruel. He had participated in the Black Mist Medicine Valley trial twice before, and both times, word was that many disciples from other sects had fallen by his hand.
The two who emerged from the thicket were indeed Qingfeng Valley's Chen Tianxin and Cheng Rong. They walked up to the four. Chen Tianxin spoke directly, his tone clipped, "Which sect are you from?"
Sensing the hostility in the other's tone, the Li-named cultivator tensed. He answered cautiously, "We are disciples of the Luoming Sect. Greetings, Senior Brother Chen."
"Luoming Sect..." Chen Tianxin gave a slight nod, then pressed on, "I ask you: Have you seen a cultivator dressed in white robes, about my height and build?"
"Huh?" The four Luoming Sect disciples were taken aback. While the Li-named cultivator managed to mask his surprise effectively, the other three couldn't hide the odd expressions that flashed across their faces.
Chen Tianxin's eyes instantly sharpened, pinning them where they stood. "You have seen him?!"
The Li-named cultivator knew lying was futile. He nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Senior Brother Chen. Indeed, we saw someone matching that description... just a short while ago. We didn't interact with him... He seemed to be traveling alone..."
"Alone? That must be him!!" A cold light flickered in Chen Tianxin's eyes. He pressed urgently, "Which way did he go?"
The Li-named cultivator pointed back the way they had come. "He went that way. We saw him near that mountain over there..."
Chen Tianxin glanced towards the indicated direction, then fixed his stare back on the Li-named cultivator. His voice was low and dangerous. "If you dare lie to me... I'll make sure your death is excruciating."
The Li-named cultivator stammered in fright, "W-wouldn't dare..."
"Hmph!" Chen Tianxin ignored them now. He turned to Cheng Rong. "Let's go!!"
Only when the two had swiftly disappeared into the distance did the four Luoming Sect disciples finally relax. The shorter cultivator said with lingering apprehension, "Chen Tianxin is truly as domineering as they say... I wonder what urgent business they have with that white-robed cultivator..."
"What else could it be? Judging by his look, it's probably a grudge hunt," the Li-named cultivator shook his head. "That white-robed cultivator must also be at the Golden Core stage... Wonder how he offended Chen Tianxin... It's a bit unfortunate, we really had no choice but to reveal his whereabouts..."
The shorter cultivator offered, "That person is Golden Core too. He might not lose to Chen Tianxin! Frankly, I hope he manages to kill that arrogant bully!"
The Li-named cultivator frowned. "Stop talking nonsense! Anyway, it's none of our business. Let's go..."
...
Meanwhile, Lin Feng remained blissfully unaware that his whereabouts had been disclosed to an 'enemy'. He was still engrossed and excitedly gathering various rare natural treasures.
With Xiao Qiu's help, his treasure-hunting speed was exponentially faster than anyone else's. In just half a day, he had acquired several more third-grade spirit herbs, along with quite a few late-stage second-grade demon beast cores.
Checking the sky, he saw the last traces of light were fading. Night was falling. Lin Feng ceased his treasure hunt, found a safe spot, and as usual, dug out a cave to rest for the night.
"Chirp!!"
However, just as Lin Feng had settled into his cultivation state not long before, Xiao Qiu—who had already retreated into his embrace to sleep—suddenly popped back out, emitting a sharp, warning cry.
Lin Feng jolted awake, instantly snapping into a state of high alert. He surged to his feet and rushed out of the cave.
The moment he emerged, he saw two figures hurtling towards him from the right front, not far away. Spotting him, they came to an abrupt halt about twenty meters opposite him.
"Second level of Golden Core!" Lin Feng's brow furrowed slightly as he assessed the long-haired youth on the left. Then, his gaze shifted to the other figure, and his eyes narrowed sharply as understanding dawned.
"It's him!! Senior Brother Chen! He's the one who killed Senior Brother Gu!!" Almost simultaneously, Cheng Rong cried out, his face etched with fear as he pointed an accusing finger at Lin Feng, addressing Chen Tianxin.
"Him?" Chen Tianxin stared at Lin Feng, his expression flickering with surprise and doubt. He sounded incredulous. "You swear it's him? He killed Gu Liangyu with a flying sword?"
Cheng Rong nodded emphatically. "Absolutely no mistake! It's him!"
Chen Tianxin's confusion deepened. He could clearly see that Lin Feng was not a Golden Core cultivator—only at the Foundation Building stage. This blatantly contradicted Cheng Rong's account. Could he be suppressing his cultivation? But to conceal it so thoroughly that Chen Tianxin himself couldn't detect it would require a cultivation level of at least late Golden Core. He utterly dismissed the idea that any young disciple participating in the Black Mist Medicine Valley trial could possibly be at late Golden Core.
The opponent must truly be only at Foundation Building... Yet Cheng Rong insists he killed Gu Liangyu with one strike of a flying sword...
Suddenly, Chen Tianxin's gaze hardened, locking onto Lin Feng with dawning suspicion. He demanded sharply, "Are you from the Absolute Sword Sect?!"