The uncertain fate of Yu Youtian remained a nagging worry Lin Feng couldn't shake. Therefore, he decided to forgo searching for Yuan-Yi Essence Crystals within the quicksand pit and instead began tracking the man directly.
After parting ways with the group, Lin Feng left the quicksand pit alone, heading in the direction Lei Yan had mentioned finding Yu Youtian. Before long, he arrived at a scene of utter devastation. Within a radius of several hundred meters, the ground was pockmarked with craters and scars, almost entirely blanketed in a layer of fine ash. Judging by the surrounding environment, it had once been a patch of woodland, but everything on the surface had been utterly incinerated. In some spots, the ground had even formed strange crystalline structures – something ordinary flames could never achieve. This bore the unmistakable signature of Lei Yan's Silver Thread Fire. This was clearly the site of his battle with Yu Youtian.
Lin Feng searched the area meticulously, hoping to find even the faintest trace Yu Youtian might have left behind during his escape. His efforts proved fruitless. He turned his head to look at Xiaoqiu, who was perched on his right shoulder contentedly nibbling on a spirit stone, and asked, "Xiaoqiu, can you pick up any lingering scent or trace left by that man?"
"Qiu?" Xiaoqiu looked up at Lin Feng, tilting its head quizzically. It then made a token effort of glancing around before giving Lin Feng a look that clearly said, 'Sorry, can't help you with that.'
"Heh." Lin Feng chuckled softly. He hadn't really expected much; Xiaoqiu was a spirit-finding beast. Expecting it to also possess tracking skills like a hound was probably asking too much. Since its last hibernation, the little creature hadn't displayed any other special abilities yet, and Lin Feng wasn't sure if it ever would. However, one thing was certain: its power had indeed grown stronger. Previously, exerting its full strength could only detonate a single high-grade spirit stone. Yet, during the battle with Wu Pang, it had done so twice consecutively without collapsing afterwards.
With absolutely no trail to follow, Lin Feng stood pondering for a moment before choosing a direction at random and setting off. For now, it's just a matter of luck. If I truly can't find him… then there's nothing to be done…
…
On the vast expanse of Devil Loong Island, searching for a target without any clues was practically equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack. Lin Feng combed through numerous locations randomly throughout the day. The enemy remained elusive, but he encountered plenty of demonic beasts and spirit herbs, which counted as significant gains in their own right.
As night fell, Lin Feng felt the fatigue setting in. He found a suitable spot, dug out a cave, and settled in for a temporary rest.
Sitting cross-legged inside the cave, Lin Feng retrieved the storage rings belonging to Wu Luosen and Wu Pang. A surge of anticipation filled him as he began the satisfying task of inventorying his spoils.
He started with Wu Pang's storage ring. As soon as his divine sense swept inside, it immediately located the Soul Banner. With a thought, he summoned it into his hand. He focused his senses, examining it carefully. To his astonishment, he discovered it still contained nearly six hundred soul entities! Not a single one was below the Golden Core level in strength. Even more shockingly, there wasn't just one Nascent Soul level soul entity – there were four!
Previously, when Wu Pang confronted Lin Feng, he had unleashed only the strongest one, possessing strength equivalent to the fifth layer of Nascent Soul. The reason he hadn't released the others was due to his severely depleted state and injured condition; he simply couldn't control a second Nascent Soul level entity. This was undeniably a stroke of luck for Lin Feng. Had Wu Pang been at full strength, the outcome of that battle would have been impossible to predict.
With Wu Pang's death, the Soul Banner was now masterless. The trapped souls within, lacking commands, existed in a state akin to dormancy. Lin Feng considered for a moment, then decided to begin refining the artifact. Although he wasn't particularly fond of such sinister magical tools, he couldn't deny its formidable power. Since he had acquired it, keeping it as a life-saving trump card for critical moments seemed prudent. This mindset shift had occurred subtly within him, especially after realizing the potential scale of the enemies he might face in the future – Soul Transformation stage, or even Mahayana stage cultivators. He resolved not to pass up any opportunity to increase his own strength.
Before long, Lin Feng had completed the preliminary refinement of this top-grade spirit artifact Soul Banner. He observed the banner, taller than a man, floating before him. Suddenly, his right hand flicked, producing another, smaller Soul Banner. He swiftly formed several hand seals. A surge of dark energy rolled out as soul entities, one after another, flew from the smaller banner and transferred into the larger one.
"Aaaah!! Lin Feng!! My Corpse Sect brethren will never let you go!! You will die a miserable death!! Aaaah!!"
A piercing, agonized scream suddenly erupted. It was Wu Pang's Nascent Soul, being dragged, pulled, and bitten by a horde of vengeful souls as it was forcibly ejected. It was then swiftly sucked into the larger Soul Banner, its cries abruptly cut off.
"Hmph!" Lin Feng snorted coldly, his expression indifferent as if he hadn't heard anything. He waved his hand, storing both Soul Banners back into his storage ring.
…
Continuing to inventory Wu Pang's storage ring only increased Lin Feng's astonishment and delight. The sheer quantity of magical artifacts, spirit herbs, and forging materials was staggering. Compared to this, the possessions of the evil cultivator from the Maze Island were utterly insignificant. Lin Feng couldn't help but wonder just how many cultivators Wu Pang had hunted down. His thoughts drifted to the rumors he'd heard before arriving – two other ships of cultivators had supposedly departed from Town Sea City bound for Devil Loong Island. The first ship reportedly met a disaster at sea, with almost all perishing. The second ship also saw over half its members fail to return. Both expeditions had been led by Wu Luosen. The official stories were likely fabrications. Were those unfortunate souls secretly murdered by Wu Luosen and his Corpse Sect allies?
"Huh? What's this…"
Suddenly, Lin Feng's eyes lit up, followed by an expression of overwhelming joy as he stared at the object in his hand. It was a thumb-sized piece of milky-white crystal. Its edges were almost transparent, growing gradually more opaque towards the center. Upon close inspection, one could see countless minuscule, barely visible golden specks within its depths. Despite its small size, it weighed dozens of jin. Probing it with his divine sense proved unusually difficult; it felt resistant, almost impenetrable.
"Yuan-Yi Essence Crystal!!" Lin Feng exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement. This… this was precisely the legendary Yuan-Yi Essence Crystal!
Lin Feng immediately resumed his search of Wu Luosen's storage ring with renewed fervor. To his immense satisfaction, he unearthed seven more pieces of Yuan-Yi Essence Crystal of varying sizes! The smallest was only the size of a fingernail, while the largest was comparable to a chicken egg!
Setting these crystals aside, Lin Feng eagerly turned his attention back to Wu Pang's storage ring. As he anticipated, he found over ten more pieces of Yuan-Yi Essence Crystal!
"A bountiful harvest… truly a bountiful harvest!!" After thoroughly cataloging the possessions of both Wu Luosen and Wu Pang, Lin Feng was grinning from ear to ear. Beyond the vast collection of artifacts, spirit materials, and other treasures, the sheer amount of spirit stones alone amounted to nearly ten million mid-grade spirit stones!
After basking in the excitement for a while, Lin Feng carefully organized and stored everything away. He picked up one of the smallest Yuan-Yi Essence Crystals and began studying it intently.
"I wonder if the Repair Technique can integrate this into an artifact," he mused aloud. "If possible, my Crimson Soul Flying Sword could be significantly enhanced… Worth a try."
When using the Repair Technique on artifacts, besides the essential repair materials, sometimes other added materials could also be fused into the item. However, this wasn't possible with just any material. Lin Feng had conducted numerous experiments on this subject, but the results varied drastically depending on the specific artifact. It was impossible to formulate any systematic rule.
"ROOOAR!!!"
Just as Lin Feng was about to summon his Crimson Soul Flying Sword to test whether he could integrate the Yuan-Yi Essence Crystal using the Repair Technique, an earth-shattering beastly roar suddenly erupted from outside the cave, causing his expression to shift dramatically!