Using the Earth Evasion Art, Lin Feng and An Yuexi descended into the earth. Their journey proceeded without incident until they encountered an obstruction preventing further descent. They stopped.
"Is this... a formation barrier?" Lin Feng murmured, his eyes lighting up as he studied the hazy expanse beneath their feet. He knew they had finally reached their destination.
A flicker of excitement also touched An Yuexi's expression. She carefully probed the barrier beneath them with her divine sense before turning to Lin Feng. "Young Master Mu, could you expand a space for us? I have a way to open an entrance."
"Of course." Lin Feng responded immediately. Channeling his true essence, he gathered surrounding earth spirit energy. The earth and stone around them began to shift and flow. Soon, a spherical chamber roughly ten meters in diameter had been hollowed out. This revealed the barrier beneath their feet much more clearly—it now resembled a faintly glowing, hazy floor.
An Yuexi gave Lin Feng a slight nod of acknowledgment. She then flipped her right hand, producing a blue jade token. The token was about three fingers wide and a palm long, emitting a soft, sapphire radiance. At its center, carved on the front, was a distinct crescent moon pattern glowing with slightly more intensity. She studied the token intently for a moment. Then, raising her left hand, she formed her fingers into a sword gesture. A faint blue light flickered at her fingertips as she traced several intricate runes in the air. Her true essence pulsed with a unique rhythm. Suddenly, she pushed the shimmering runes into the jade token clutched in her right hand. Gripping the token, she flipped her hand again, directing it squarely at the barrier beneath them.
A beam of blue, crescent-shaped light shot from the token and struck the barrier. It traced the outline of a crescent moon doorway upon the 'floor'. Lin Feng felt a distinct tremor beneath his feet.
"Young Master Mu, let's go." An Yuexi announced.
Together, they stepped forward into the glowing blue crescent. In a flash, they vanished from the chamber. The image of the crescent moon vanished simultaneously, leaving no trace behind, as if everything from the previous moment had been nothing but an illusion...
...
The instant Lin Feng's foot touched the blue crescent light, a familiar disorientation washed over him—a momentary lapse of consciousness identical to the sensation of teleportation. In the next instant, he felt solid ground beneath him. His vision blurred, then cleared, revealing an utterly alien environment unlike anything he had seen moments before.
The world was suffused with a soft, pervasive blue light. The very 'sky' overhead was a dome of azure. They stood on a flat plain covered in wide, lush grasslands. Surrounding them on all sides rose jagged peaks of imposing mountains, stretching as far as the eye could see.
When Lin Feng turned around, he saw an immense, azure 'wall' extending endlessly to both the left and right, towering vertically until it merged seamlessly with the blue 'sky'.
Within moments, comprehension dawned. They were inside the formation barrier. The barrier itself had created and sustained this colossal subterranean space. The formidable mountain range before him, he realized, must be the legendary 'island'—the very place where the Blue Moon Sect had once resided.
After a preliminary assessment of the surroundings and confirming their immediate safety, Lin Feng turned to An Yuexi. "Miss An, this must be the vanished 'Blue Moon Island' you spoke of? It's far larger than I imagined, perhaps even bigger than Wu Song Island... Where is the Blue Moon Sect's main mountain gate located?"
Unnoticed by Lin Feng earlier, An Yuexi had dispelled the disguise of the Thousand Faces Illusion Art, revealing her breathtakingly beautiful true features. She stood several meters away from him. Instead of surveying the landscape, her gaze was fixed intently on Lin Feng. Her right hand was concealed behind her back, though her face showed no overt expression. Seeing Lin Feng turn to her, she offered a small smile. "Yes, this is Blue Moon Island. The sect's main gate lies at the island's center. It may take us some effort to reach it."
Though she smiled, Lin Feng's keen perception immediately caught the flicker of tension and wariness in her eyes. After a brief moment of surprise, understanding washed over him. He couldn't help but chuckle softly. "It seems you still haven't completely placed your trust in me, Miss An... Heh, rest assured, I won't discard the bridge after crossing the river. We agreed to search for the Blue Moon Sect's treasures together and split them equally. I will honor that agreement."
"..." An Yuexue met his gaze steadily for several seconds, seemingly probing his sincerity. Finally, her expression relaxed slightly. Her concealed right hand moved almost imperceptibly, and a deep blue spell talisman she had been clutching behind her back vanished. A touch of apology colored her voice as she murmured, "My caution was excessive, Young Master Mu. Please forgive me..."
"It's nothing, nothing at all," Lin Feng waved a dismissive hand, his smile easy. "Prudence is only sensible, Miss An."
In truth, Lin Feng understood perfectly well that An Yuexi could not truly place her complete trust in him, just as he maintained his own reservations about her. He also knew she was withholding information. The blue jade token she produced outside the barrier, and the specific method she used to open an entrance—these were details she had never mentioned before. Had he harbored ill intent when he first learned of the Blue Moon Sect ruins, even knowing the location, gaining entry would likely have been impossible. She always held a hidden card. Even if he had intended to betray her after gaining entry, achieving his ultimate goal might still have been thwarted.
"The mountain gate should be in that direction," An Yuexi said, her demeanor returning to normal as she pointed towards the right front. "We should fly there on our swords."
"Agreed." Lin Feng nodded. They summoned their flying swords and soared into the azure-lit sky.
...
Deep within Blue Moon Island, atop a towering, majestic mountain, lay scattered ruins of once-grand structures. On the mountain's reverse slope, nestled within a valley perpetually shrouded in swirling mist, stood the indistinct silhouettes of a cluster of buildings.
Inside one of these structures, within a vast, dimly lit hall, time seemed suspended.
A few small oil lamps flickered weakly in the corners, burning with an endurance that defied years, perhaps centuries. Cracks snaked across parts of the high ceiling overhead, allowing thin shafts of mottled light to pierce the gloom. The air hung heavy with absolute silence.
At the precise moment Lin Feng and An Yuexi passed through the formation barrier, two points of intense light ignited almost simultaneously within this oppressive darkness—one on each side of the hall. Simultaneously, two vast, ancient, and incredibly potent auras erupted forth, causing the very air to vibrate.
Squinting, one could just discern that the lights were pairs of piercing eyes. Only then did it become apparent that two figures sat cross-legged on either side of the hall. An instant before, they had been utterly indistinguishable from stone statues, completely undetectable. Now, both had 'awakened'. Their gazes burned with fierce intensity, mingling shock with a deep, ancient awareness. Almost in unison, their eyes snapped towards each other. Their stares locked, the tension between them crackling like invisible lightning in the stagnant air.
"Someone has entered!! Hahaha!! It must be descendants of my Blue Moon Sect who have finally found us! Three thousand years... I have waited at last!!" A voice, hoarse and gravelly, thick with barely contained excitement and triumph, rasped from the figure on the left. His gaze, fixed on the figure opposite, turned glacial, filled with murderous intent. A cold sneer twisted his lips. "Huanfeng, you old thief! It seems our three-thousand-year stalemate is finally ending! You will die before my eyes very soon!!"
"Hmph!! Who dies before whom remains to be seen!" A sinister, grating voice countered from the shadowed figure opposite. "Do you truly believe it must be your sect's descendants? Moreover..." The voice dropped lower, laced with a chilling undertone. "Even if they are... can they survive long enough to reach this place? Heh heh..."
Despite his words, a flicker of unease, even a hint of calculation, passed through the speaker's narrowed eyes. His gaze darted, betraying hidden thoughts.
The air in the ancient hall grew thick, saturated with the acrid scent of impending violence. The confrontation, held in check for millennia, teetered on the brink of eruption...