Cold Mist Valley was immense, its width likely exceeding a thousand meters, while its length stretched for dozens of miles, impossible to gauge precisely. The valley floor was rich in ores imbued with a hint of ice attribute, plunging the temperature to extreme lows. A perpetual cold mist shrouded the valley year-round. Without spiritual sense, navigating its depths would be incredibly difficult.
Lin Feng, guided by the fluctuations of the formation disk, was spared the need to search the vast expanse of Cold Mist Valley. He cautiously extended his spiritual sense to monitor his surroundings while controlling his flying sword to descend slowly. Before long, he landed on a large platform.
This wasn't the valley floor, but rather a massive ledge jutting out from the sheer cliff face. It was roughly a hundred meters across. Lin Feng estimated his position to be about three hundred meters below the surface ground level. Yet, his spiritual sense still couldn't penetrate to the true bottom below; the valley was evidently far deeper than he had imagined.
Upon landing on the platform, Lin Feng swept his spiritual sense towards the cliff wall ahead. His expression instantly brightened with surprise and delight.
"There really is a cave dwelling!!"
Right there, at the inner edge of the platform against the cliff wall, was a massive entrance to a cave dwelling. The entrance was shaped like a grand archway, clearly man-made rather than natural. This confirmed it was indeed an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling. Its obvious location puzzled Lin Feng; how could such a place have remained undiscovered before now?
He glanced down at the formation disk in his hand, confirming the faint guiding pulse originated from within this very cave dwelling. After a moment's contemplation, Lin Feng activated his Light-Shield Defense Magical Artifact. Fully alert, he proceeded forward.
"Chiuu!!"
Just as Lin Feng reached the cave entrance, Little Hill, perched on his shoulder, suddenly let out a sharp cry of alarm. Startled, Lin Feng immediately scanned his surroundings with heightened vigilance, but detected nothing out of the ordinary.
"Little Hill, what's wrong?" Lin Feng turned to look at his furry companion, his voice laced with concern.
"Chiu?" Little Hill itself seemed confused. It perked its ears and peered intently towards the cliff wall a short distance to the right, then glanced around elsewhere, before shaking its little head in apparent bewilderment, as if admitting it might have been mistaken.
Lin Feng cast another look towards the right cliff wall. His spiritual sense swept over the area once more, finding nothing amiss. Only then did his tense nerves begin to relax. He gently stroked Little Hill's head.
"Don't be so jumpy, you're making me nervous too..."
With that, he stepped forward, crossing the threshold into the deep, dark cave. His figure was quickly swallowed by the shadows within.
Unbeknownst to Lin Feng, moments after he disappeared into the cave, the air beside the right cliff wall near the entrance—precisely where both he and Little Hill had looked—rippled almost imperceptibly. A layer of transparent, undulating energy shimmered faintly for a split second before vanishing again...
...
After entering the cave, Lin Feng walked forward several dozen meters along a straight, corridor-like passage. His path was abruptly blocked by a shimmering, translucent curtain of light.
After careful observation, Lin Feng discovered this light curtain was as solid as a physical wall; even his spiritual sense couldn't penetrate it.
"Is this... a barrier?" Lin Feng murmured in surprise. After a brief moment of consideration, he summoned the Crimson Soul Flying Sword with a flick of his right wrist. Channeling his true essence, he directed the sword to slash forcefully towards the barrier.
"BOOM!!"
To his astonishment, the light curtain shattered like fragile glass under the first strike of the Crimson Soul Flying Sword! Instantly, Lin Feng's vision brightened, revealing a vast, spacious chamber ahead. Simultaneously, a deafening, thunderous roar assaulted his ears, as if a mute button had been abruptly released. But these sensations were secondary. What truly shocked Lin Feng was the overwhelming surge of several immensely powerful auras he felt the instant the barrier collapsed!
"Huh?" While Lin Feng was reeling internally from the shock, the occupants within had also detected his intrusion. Multiple strands of spiritual sense swept over him, followed by several audible gasps of surprise.
At the same moment, Lin Feng took in the scene before him. Within the wide, square-like chamber, a ten-meter-tall colossal stone door stood imposingly at the far end. Before this massive door stood four figures. Each radiated potent true essence fluctuations, and they had clearly been in the midst of attacking the giant door when interrupted. Now, all four had spun around, their gazes sharp and alert, fixed upon the intruder.
Then, three of the four figures reacted identically. Their expressions shifted simultaneously to utter disbelief as they exclaimed in unison:
"Lin Feng?!"
Immediately after, the three speakers froze, exchanging bewildered glances—the two on the left looking incredulously at the one on the right, and vice versa—each clearly stunned that the others also recognized Lin Feng.
Seeing these three faces, Lin Feng's tense wariness instantly eased, replaced by a look of delighted recognition—an expression that said 'I knew it!'. However, a flicker of surprise remained as he stepped forward towards the group.
"Senior Lu, Shopkeeper Duan, it's been a long time..." Lin Feng nodded respectfully towards the two figures on the left with a warm smile. He then turned his gaze to the figure on the right, bowing slightly deeper, "Sect Leader Lu, what brings you here?"
The three who had recognized him were, indeed, familiar faces. The two on the left were Lu Su, the master Artificer of Lingyue City's Myriad Treasures Pavilion, and Duan Chenglian, the Pavilion Manager. The figure on the right was none other than Lu Danxin, the Sect Leader of the Lingyue Sect!
Lu Su and Duan Chenglian being here was something Lin Feng had anticipated based on his earlier clues. However, Lu Danxin's presence was completely unexpected. Besides these three, there was a fourth figure—an unfamiliar middle-aged male cultivator radiating the aura of the eighth layer of the Golden Core stage.
"Lin Feng, how did you get here?!" Lu Danxin echoed the surprise, his question directed at Lin Feng. He then turned his astonished gaze towards Lu Su and Duan Chenglian, "You two know him?"
Lu Su and Duan Chenglian mirrored Lu Danxin's astonishment, their faces clearly showing confusion over Lin Feng's sudden appearance and his connection to the Sect Leader. Lu Su answered, his voice thick with surprise, "Young Friend Lin is an Honorary Artificer of our Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Sect Leader Lu, how do you know him?"
"What?! He's your Pavilion's Honorary Artificer?!" Lu Danxin's expression darkened abruptly. A sudden realization seemed to strike him, and he fixed Lin Feng with an intense stare, his voice turning chilly, "Lin Feng, explain this! What is the meaning of this?!"
Lin Feng's expression became slightly awkward. He bowed once more towards Lu Danxin, his tone respectful yet firm, "Sect Leader, please forgive me. It is true that I was already an Honorary Artificer for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion... before I joined the Lingyue Sect. Moreover... I have since withdrawn from the Lingyue Sect. I have failed your expectations, and for that, I deeply apologize."
Lu Danxin's eyes narrowed sharply, shock evident on his face. "You've withdrawn from the Sect?! What do you mean?!"
Lin Feng spoke deliberately, "Sect Leader, you may not be aware of the events that transpired during your absence. During the trial in the Black Mist Herb Valley... I killed Loong Tian'ao of the Absolute Sword Sect, along with several others. Later..."
Lin Feng omitted certain sensitive details but recounted the core events succinctly: his killing of Loong Tian'ao in the Black Mist Herb Valley, and the subsequent events where Loong Tengyu had led a force to the Lingyue Sect demanding his head and threatening the entire sect.
"So much happened?!" Lu Danxin listened with growing shock and mounting fury. A cold snort escaped him, "Hmph!! That Absolute Sword Sect! Presumptuous enough to demand my entire Lingyue Sect pay with their lives for his son?! How utterly arrogant!"
Then, his gaze sharpened, locking onto Lin Feng again. "How did you manage to escape from Loong Tengyu?!"
Lin Feng replied calmly, "I possess a life-saving magical artifact. I exploited Loong Tengyu's underestimation and managed to slay him. In the end, I narrowly escaped with the crucial aid of the Thunder Crane and other spirit beasts."
"What?! You killed Loong Tengyu?!"
The exclamation erupted simultaneously from Lu Danxin, Lu Su, Duan Chenglian, and even the unknown cultivator. They had assumed Lin Feng had merely found some way to flee. The revelation that he had actually killed Loong Tengyu and his party struck them like a physical blow. Loong Tengyu, the Sect Leader of the Absolute Sword Sect! Truly slain by Lin Feng?! The sheer audacity and impossibility of the act left them momentarily speechless, rooted to the spot by overwhelming shock and disbelief.