Chapter 601: Mysterious (I)
Deep within the mountains, thunderous roars echoed endlessly like muffled peals of thunder. Amid verdant peaks and crystal waters, a white waterfall cascaded over massive boulders like a ribbon of jade, crashing down with a deafening roar.
Lin Zheyu swam leisurely through the clear pool beneath the waterfall, his expression relaxed and carefree. No wonder the powerful figures in novels and storybooks all liked to live in seclusion deep within the mountains. After cultivation, wandering among rivers and forests and admiring nature's beauty brought a sense of freedom and ease, leaving him thoroughly refreshed.
By the edge of the pool, firewood crackled and hissed within a campfire.
"If only this fish were a spirit fish, it would be perfect," Lin Zheyu said with a trace of regret after taking a bite of roasted fish.
After growing stronger and tasting delicacies prepared from all kinds of spirit fish and spirit beasts, his palate had become rather refined. Eating ordinary mortal food now felt much like eating childhood snacks after growing up in his previous life. It was no longer about the taste itself, but about reliving old memories.
"More than ten days have passed. They should have sent the location data by now, so why is there still no response?" Lin Zheyu muttered softly as he glanced at the data within his consciousness.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 34]
[Skills: Heaven-Deceiving Art (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Fifth Stage: 3%), Earth Shrinking Technique (Second Stage: 0%), Primordial Golden Body (Fourth Stage: 31%)]
Over this period of time, his Origin Force had accumulated more than 30 units. The progress of the second stage of the Earth Shrinking Technique, however, had not budged in the slightest. The difficulty of cultivating the second stage was exceptionally great. Without using Origin Force and relying solely on his own efforts, Lin Zheyu estimated it would take at least several decades to make meaningful progress. At his current level, cultivating a technique often took years rather than days or months.
Only a dozen or so days had passed since he actually thought of the improvement, so seeing no progress was perfectly normal. If spirit stones were not so precious, Lin Zheyu would have already used Origin Force to force a breakthrough. But when he thought about the immense amount of energy required for such an advancement, he decided to hold off for now. He could simply wait until the next time he entered a space-time node and advance there instead. Free energy was free energy, and there was no reason not to take advantage of it.
It was midsummer. Warm breezes swept through the forest, setting the trees rustling softly. After finishing the roasted fish and relaxing his mind, Lin Zheyu took out the formation knowledge he had obtained from Wu Di and began studying it.
Although he had completely comprehended the Minor Heaven-Deceiving Formation, that achievement had come through forcibly analyzing it with the golden Heavenly Eye. As far as the Dao of formations was concerned, he was still only at the beginner level and needed far more systematic and in-depth study.
Time passed quietly. Night descended, and pure moonlight filtered through gaps in the leaves. The night slipped away in an instant, and dawn gradually brightened the horizon. The first ray of morning sunlight spread across the sky.
Suddenly, Lin Zheyu's eyes snapped open, a slight frown appearing on his face. He looked toward his right hand. The azure-glazed bracelet around his wrist was emitting a faint fluorescent glow.
"Again?" Lin Zheyu stared at the azure-glazed bracelet, utterly speechless.
Being constantly targeted by someone really was an unpleasant feeling. If not for the warning provided by the green glazed bracelet, he might not even know when someone had tracked him down and arrived at his doorstep.
"Don't these people care about wasting spirit stones? Divinations involving heavenly secrets should be incredibly expensive, shouldn't they?" Lin Zheyu muttered.
He had specifically looked into it before. Many sects within the cultivation world offered heavenly-secret divination services, and the Directorate of Celestial Observation was one of them. With the divine network spread throughout Great Wei and the Heaven-Monitoring Formation present in every city, the Directorate of Celestial Observation could perform divinations within Great Wei at the lowest possible cost. They had driven the price of the service down to a level that other sects simply could not compete with.
Nowadays, nearly all heavenly-secret divination services across Great Wei were provided by the Directorate of Celestial Observation. Outside Great Wei, however, the cost depended on distance, and the farther away the target was, the more steeply the price skyrocketed.
Lin Zheyu was currently beyond Great Wei's borders, somewhere within the Chaotic Star Sea of the Eastern Sea. Determining his location through divination was extraordinarily costly. A single attempt required more than ten high-grade spirit stones. It was honestly impressive that they were willing to spend so much money.
Seriously, if they want to know where I am, they should just give me the spirit stones directly. I'd be happy to report my location every ten minutes. Only three high-grade spirit stones per report, Lin Zheyu grumbled inwardly as he slowly rose to his feet, intending to leave and find another place.
Suddenly, Lin Zheyu froze for a moment. With a flick of his right hand, a compass-like artifact appeared in his palm. A blinking golden point of light had appeared upon its surface.
"What a coincidence." Lin Zheyu smiled faintly. His figure swayed slightly, and he stepped into the air. With a few strides, he had vanished without a trace.
About fifteen minutes later, a tall figure slowly emerged from the horizon. The man carried himself with natural dignity. He was handsome, and a faint arrogance lingered between his brows. His form appeared strangely ethereal, as though he had merged into the world through some special technique.
Woo Yiyan glanced toward the waterfall and murmured softly, "So he's already left?"
He lightly patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist. Unlike ordinary storage pouches, this specialized pouch could carry living creatures and cost more than ten times as much.
Squeak, squeak!
A sharp cry rang out as a spirit beast appeared beside him. Its body was covered in glossy brown fur. Standing only about half Woo Yixuan's height, it had a narrow face and monkey-like features. Most peculiar of all was its nose, which protruded to the top of its head like a rhinoceros horn, giving it a remarkably bizarre appearance.
"Go," Woo Yiyan said calmly.
The strange spirit beast let out two squeaks and flashed to the base of the waterfall. It twitched its nose several times, and a gleam flashed through its eyes.
Squeak, squeak!
After a moment, it cried out twice and shot off in the direction Lin Zheyu had gone. Woo Yiyan's figure swayed lightly as he followed at an unhurried pace. His expression remained calm and indifferent, as though he were merely attending to a trivial matter.
***
"Hyah!"
A luxuriously decorated carriage traveled along the mountain road. The horses moved at an unhurried pace, almost as though they were taking a leisurely stroll. Holding the reins was a cute young girl in her early teens. Smiling brightly, she swung a long whip and lightly flicked it against the horses' rumps.
"Hyah!" she called out cheerfully.
"Hehe~. Sister Xuanji, driving ordinary mortal horses is actually pretty fun!" the girl said with a laugh, her face glowing with delight. She looked like a country bumpkin seeing the world for the first time.
A fair, jade-like hand emerged from the carriage behind her and lifted the curtain, revealing the face of an elegant and serene young woman. Feng Xuanji stepped out and affectionately patted the girl's head, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
"You only enjoy things because they're new. Once the novelty wears off, you'll find them boring. You're exactly the same when it comes to cultivation. You never stick with anything for long," Feng Xuanji said with a soft laugh.
"That's not true. Sister Xuanji, you're slandering me," the girl protested, puffing out her cheeks.
Feng Xuanji smiled and did not continue the argument. She simply stood beside the girl as a gentle breeze swept past, causing the hem of her pale blue dress to flutter softly. A tranquil aura seemed to surround her. Merely standing there, she gave others an inexplicable sense of peace and serenity.
"Xintong, pull the carriage over to the side. We have a visitor," Feng Xuanji said softly as she patted the girl's shoulder.
"Mhm." Feng Xintong nodded and guided the horses toward the roadside.
"Whoa~!"
Her small hand tightened on the reins, and the horses came to a stop beside the road.
Feng Xintong sprang to her feet with a grin and asked curiously, "Sister Xuanji, who is it this time?"
Feng Xuanji hesitated for a moment, and a trace of curiosity flickered through her eyes as well. "A... hmm, rather unusual person."
"An unusual person? I rarely hear you describe someone that way, Sister. Is he very powerful?" Feng Xintong asked in surprise, her round and adorable face filled with curiosity.
"I'm not sure. He's very strange. I can't see through him," Feng Xuanji murmured softly. Her eyes were as deep as an endless starry sky, filled with mystery.
"Even you can't see through him? Is he one of those destined to answer a calamity?" Feng Xintong asked curiously.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps he cultivates some secret art, or carries a special secret treasure. Shh. Quiet. He's coming," Feng Xuanji said softly.
She raised her head slightly and looked toward the sky ahead and to the left. The sky there was clear and cloudless. Feng Xintong followed her gaze. There was nothing there, yet she was not surprised in the slightest. Anticipation and curiosity shone in her eyes. She was eager to see what kind of person could leave even her sister unable to see through him.
A gentle breeze swept through the area, causing the trees lining both sides of the road to rustle softly. Following the location indicated on the compass artifact, Lin Zheyu made his way over. His powerful perception spread outward, and before long, he found the unusual woman.
"Foresight?" Lin Zheyu muttered as he hovered in the void, studying the beautiful woman below.
He had already activated the Heaven-Deceiving Art and concealed himself within the void, yet the woman had still detected his presence. Their gazes met across the empty air.
Lin Zheyu looked into her deep eyes, which resembled a boundless starry sky. This woman, beautiful almost beyond reason, gave him a strange feeling. She was like a veil of mist, impossible to see through, impossible to grasp, and radiating an air of mystery.
"Since you've already come, Fellow Daoist, why not reveal yourself?" Feng Xuanji said softly. Her voice was pleasant to the ear, as clear as a flowing spring and touched with a gentle softness.