Chapter 602: Mysterious (II)
Lin Zheyu was not particularly surprised. He could not see through Feng Xuanji, but the fact that she had sensed his presence at all already spoke of frightening perceptive abilities. Stepping forward with his right foot, his figure flickered and appeared before the carriage. His form slowly emerged from the void.
Looking at Feng Xuanji, Lin Zheyu smiled and cupped his fists. "Greetings, Fellow Feng. I am Xiao Yu of the Martial Alliance."
"So it's Fellow Xiao. Wouldn't it be a little rude for you to stare at me like that?" Feng Xuanji asked calmly as she looked at him. Her tone revealed neither pleasure nor displeasure.
Lin Zheyu was slightly surprised. A moment later, he understood. The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness slowly closed. Sure enough, as soon as it did, the coldness in Feng Xuanji's expression eased noticeably.
Lin Zheyu was deeply astonished. Just what is this woman's background? She can actually sense the gaze of the Golden Heavenly Eye!
Ever since discovering Feng Xuanji, he had been paying close attention to everything happening here. It seemed as though she had known he was coming all along. Not only had she instructed the young girl beside her to move the carriage aside and wait, she had also detected his aura immediately.
More than that, the moment he first saw her, he had examined her with the golden Heavenly Eye. Yet Feng Xuanji appeared shrouded in a layer of mist. Through the eye's vision, he could discern absolutely nothing.
That was rather unbelievable. It was the first time Lin Zheyu had ever encountered such a situation. All signs pointed to the woman before him being unfathomably profound and it made his expression grow noticeably more serious.
"My apologies for my earlier discourtesy. I came here today at someone's request to deliver an item to you."
Lin Zheyu cupped his fists apologetically. He took an exquisite little black box from his storage pouch and tossed it lightly. The delicate box flew into Feng Xuanji's hands.
"Mhm." Feng Xuanji accepted the little black box and stored it directly in her storage pouch without even looking at it, as though she already knew what was inside.
Seeing that she had accepted it, Lin Zheyu cupped his fists once more. "The item has been delivered. I'll take my leave now. Until we meet again."
With the work done, he turned around, and his figure faded away like a mirage before disappearing entirely.
After Lin Zheyu left, Feng Xintong turned to Feng Xuanji and asked curiously, "Sister, sister, that person's aura felt so young. Younger than yours, even. Is he an old monster who reincarnated and cultivated again, just like great-grandfather?"
Feng Xuanji smiled faintly, a trace of helplessness in her expression. Raising a slender jade-like finger, she lightly flicked the girl's forehead and admonished, "You're not allowed to talk about great-grandfather like that."
"Ow!" Feng Xintong let out a small cry and covered her forehead with both hands. A red mark had already appeared where she had been flicked.
"Fine, I won't say it. But that person really was strange. Sister, do you think he's an old monster too?" Feng Xintong asked curiously.
"How many times have I taught you? Speak more politely." Feng Xuanji reprimanded her before shaking her head as she said, "The heavenly secrets are in chaos. Those born in response to a calamity are all shrouded in a layer of mist. They're impossible to see through."
"Oh. Why are there so many people born in response to calamities everywhere? None of them can be seen through..." Feng Xintong grumbled unhappily, "Then what's the point of cultivating this stupid technique?"
Feng Xuanji shot the girl a look with her beautiful eyes and smiled helplessly. There was a hint of worry hidden within that smile. She let out a soft sigh and did not argue.
"Xintong, it's time to go," Feng Xuanji said softly.
"Oh." Feng Xintong responded somewhat reluctantly. Blinking her large, adorable eyes, she looked in the direction Lin Zheyu had departed, a mischievous glint appearing in her gaze.
Thump!
"Hiss, that hurt! Sister! Why did you hit me?" Feng Xintong exclaimed angrily as she rubbed the back of her head.
Feng Xuanji's pleasant voice drifted out from inside the carriage. "You're always full of little schemes. If you keep coming up with all these mischievous ideas, I won't bring you along next time."
"Ah! How could you possibly know? I clearly... Wait, that's not right! You promised not to peek at my thoughts. You broke your word!" Feng Xintong protested indignantly.
"I wasn't reading your thoughts. I merely glimpsed a fragment of the future..." Feng Xuanji replied calmly. The starry sky reflected within her eyes seemed infinitely deep.
"Hmph, you did! You're cheating!" Feng Xintong huffed.
***
Waves rolled endlessly across the sea. Lin Zheyu strolled leisurely through the void above the ocean. After delivering the item to Feng Xuanji, he traveled several kilometers away before attempting to locate the two mysterious girls again with his perception. To his surprise, he could no longer find them. As far as his senses were concerned, the place where they had been standing moments ago was completely empty.
"Feng Xuanji... What exactly is this person's background?" Lin Zheyu murmured softly.
The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness opened and turned toward the location where the two girls had been. His ordinary perception found nothing, while the golden Heavenly Eye revealed only a mass of mist.
Recalling Feng Xuanji's deep, star-like eyes, Lin Zheyu did not dare probe any further. The Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness slowly closed once more. A mysterious expert of such unfathomable depth was not someone he could afford to offend at his current level.
Once I get back, I'll ask the Hall Master about her and see what her background is. For someone to be this mysterious... there's definitely more to her than meets the eye, Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
The mission was complete. It was time to head back. Ripples of the energy of spatial laws spread from Lin Zheyu's body. The vast ocean beneath his feet seemed to shrink away as he moved. With each step, he reappeared a hundred kilometers away, his speed astonishing.
Suddenly, Lin Zheyu paused slightly, his brows knitting together.
Lin Zheyu was somewhat surprised as he thought, What kind of spirit beast is that? It can actually follow my trail all the way here? And that young man following behind it... Judging by his appearance, there are some similarities between him and Woo Yixuan. Could he be Woo Yixuan's genius elder brother?
Over the past few days, he had been running the Heaven-Deceiving Art almost constantly to conceal his aura, yet not only could Woo Yiyan's spirit beast track him, but even Ning Shiyi had possessed a special secret art capable of seeing the traces he left behind.
After all, it was derived from an incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation. Even after Wu Di and I refined it, there are still plenty of flaws, Lin Zheyu pondered inwardly.
Through these recent tests, he had discovered the shortcomings of the Heaven-Deceiving Art. The technique was indeed highly effective at concealing his aura and presence, but it could not completely erase the traces he left behind in the world itself.
As long as he remained active within the world, traces would inevitably be left behind. Certain powerful secret arts and specially gifted spirit beasts could perceive those traces and follow them.
I'll need to find a way to incorporate some powerful secret arts to make up for this weakness, Lin Zheyu thought.
Of course, thinking of a solution was one thing. Actually implementing it was another. Secret arts capable of erasing one's traces from heaven and earth were unimaginably expensive and virtually impossible to obtain even with sufficient wealth.
"Forget it. It's easier to just kill people with ill intentions," Lin Zheyu muttered, and a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
Maintaining a measured pace, he kept himself just ahead of the man and beast pursuing him. Concealed by the Heaven-Deceiving Art, Lin Zheyu remained completely hidden. Neither Woo Yiyan nor the spirit beast could detect his presence.
Woo Yiyan followed the beast, while the beast followed the traces Lin Zheyu had left in heaven and earth. Making use of this, Lin Zheyu gradually lured them deeper into a remote region of the Chaotic Star Sea.
"A once-in-a-thousand-years genius of the Woo Family. If he dies here, they'll probably be devastated. Although, a bloodline martial artist who has broken four shackles won't be easy to kill," Lin Zheyu murmured softly.
Despite his words, his heart was filled with anticipation. He was eager to use this monstrous genius of the Woo Family as a test of his current strength.
Lin Zheyu dove headfirst into the deep sea and sped toward the nearest space-time node. His plan was to absorb the immense demonic qi emitted by the space-time node and transform into his yao form before making his move.
Killing a genius of the Woo Family required the utmost caution. By acting in his yao form and fighting within a barrier, he could block many forms of secret-art detection and avoid a great deal of unnecessary trouble.