After his duel with Zhao Gan, Lin Feng's name as a "genius" was firmly established. No one in the Qingyun Sect dared to provoke him again.
He enjoyed the rare peace, spending most of his days in seclusion, cultivating in silence.
The first three forms of the Windstep Manual were now within his grasp—his movements lighter and faster than ever. His control over thunder spiritual power deepened, his cultivation edging steadily toward the Sixth Stage of Body Refinement.
Yet the Thunder Seal within his dantian continued to dim, ever so slowly. The more he trained, the faster it faded. It was the one shadow he could not shake.
Late one night, as Lin Feng practiced beneath the moonlight, his figure flickering like a ghost, the Ice Lotus Talisman that Su Lingshuang had given him suddenly grew warm in his robes.
A faint but undeniable pulse of spiritual guidance radiated from it—pointing straight toward the forbidden back mountain of the Qingyun Sect.
"Hm?" Lin Feng stopped moving, taking out the smooth, jade talisman. The warmth intensified, the sense of direction growing sharper.
"Senior Sister Su… is she calling me there?"
He frowned in thought. The back mountain was a restricted area, sealed by the Sect's ancient formations and said to be home to deadly beasts. Ordinary disciples were strictly forbidden from entering.
Yet Su Lingshuang had no reason to harm him. With her strength and status, such tricks were beneath her.
"Could it be related to the Thunder Seal… or my spirit root?"
Thinking of the probing look in her eyes that day, Lin Feng made his decision. His strength had grown—he could protect himself, as long as he didn't go too deep.
Drawing on the Windstep, he moved silently through the night, his figure blurring into the shadows. Several patrol teams passed nearby, none sensing his presence as he slipped deeper into the mist-shrouded forest.
The further he went, the denser the trees became, the air thick with chaotic spiritual energy. The talisman's pull led him ever onward.
After nearly an hour of travel, Lin Feng reached a rocky valley veiled in thick fog. A subtle pulse of power rippled within the mist.
The talisman in his hand glowed faintly—it was here.
"This place…" he murmured, studying the fog. It wasn't natural—it was a concealment formation.
He stepped closer, but his divine sense was swallowed whole, unable to pierce the haze.
Concentrating, Lin Feng drew upon a trace of his fire spiritual energy, channeling it into his eyes. The fog lightened slightly, revealing faint ripples of spiritual flow—weak points in the formation.
"There!"
Moving like a wisp of wind, he slipped through the shifting mist along those weak points.
A stick of incense's time later, the fog suddenly parted.
Before him lay a hidden valley—small, but rich with spiritual energy. In the center was a cold spirit pool, its water crystal clear. Rare herbs glowed faintly around the edges. But the most striking sight was the black stone tunnel carved into the far cliff wall—clearly man-made.
And standing before it, clad in white like falling snow, was Su Lingshuang.
She turned as he entered, her face serene yet tinged with faint gravity under the moonlight.
"You came," she said softly—her usual cold tone carrying a trace of warmth.
"Senior Sister Su," Lin Feng greeted with a slight bow, eyes flicking toward the dark entrance. "This place is…?"
"An ancient cultivator's ruin," she replied simply. "I found it by chance. But the entrance is sealed by a formation I cannot break. Your thunder spiritual power—pure and fierce—may be the key."
So that was it.
Lin Feng looked at the tunnel. A faint tremor in the air made his skin prickle. When he extended a wisp of divine sense, the space rippled with intricate golden-brown and blue lines—a dual-element seal of Earth and Water.
"I've tried everything," Su Lingshuang continued. "Only overwhelming, destructive power might tear it open. Among the younger generation, only your thunder energy could do that."
Lin Feng studied the formation. It was ancient and perfectly integrated with the stone. "My cultivation is still shallow. I may not—"
"Enough," Su Lingshuang interrupted. "You only need to focus all your thunder power here—" she pointed at the lower left node—"while I attack the right side to divert the formation's strength. Timing will be everything."
He hesitated. Ancient ruins often meant opportunity—but also great danger. And working with Su Lingshuang, whose motives were never simple, carried its own risks.
But then he thought of the fading Thunder Seal within him. Of his hunger for power.
He nodded. "Understood."
Thunder flared around his right fist, casting purple light across the valley.
Su Lingshuang raised her jade hand; cold mist coiled around her, ice lotuses blooming in midair. The temperature dropped sharply.
"Now!" she commanded.
Her palm struck the right side of the formation, unleashing a storm of frost.
At the same instant, Lin Feng roared—
"Break!"
His thunder-charged fist crashed into the lower left node.
BOOM!
Lightning and frost collided with the ancient seal. The entire valley quaked as the runes blazed with earthen and watery light.
It worked—her ice was drawing away most of the formation's strength. The left node dimmed rapidly.
"It's giving way!" Lin Feng gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain tearing through his meridians. More lightning poured from his dantian.
Crack!
A faint fracture appeared in the glowing lines. The seal was breaking!
"The gap's too small—we can't get through!" he shouted.
Su Lingshuang's eyes hardened. She bit her fingertip, flicking a drop of blood into the crack.
The crimson drop merged with the runes, and the gap widened—slowly, painfully—until it was just large enough for a person to pass.
"Go!" she said, darting forward into the darkness.
Lin Feng followed close behind, activating the Windstep.
As soon as they slipped inside, the seal began knitting itself shut.
Just before it closed completely—
the Thunder Seal within Lin Feng's body suddenly trembled.
A surge of ancient thunder aura, purer and more potent than anything he'd ever felt, leaked from within him.
And deep in the darkness ahead… something stirred.
A faint sound—almost a whisper, like a curious hm?—echoed through the air, touching the depths of his soul.
Su Lingshuang's footsteps faltered for the briefest instant.
Lin Feng froze, heart pounding. He turned—
the entrance was gone, sealed behind them.
Only the black void ahead remained. The faint sound of their breathing.
And that invisible, suffocating sense…
of something ancient watching.
This ruin was no simple place.
Why had his Thunder Seal reacted?
Was that sound an illusion?
And… did Su Lingshuang truly not sense it?