153: Elder who passed away

Since the incident involving the heart moon fox array foundation, Lin Feng clearly felt that the attitude of the entire Sect towards him had softened significantly.

This morning, he went to the Array Pavilion to consult ancient texts as usual.

The Elder guarding the pavilion was still the stern-faced old man with a white beard, but upon seeing Lin Feng this time, the corners of his usually tightly pursed lips relaxed slightly.

When Lin Feng was looking for a Jade Slip about star trajectory deduction among the bookshelves, the old man broke his usual routine, left his desk, and walked to his side, his withered fingers pointing to the highest shelf.

"That volume of 'Star Net Annotations'," the old man's voice was low, "is my Grandmaster's manuscript; it has unique insights into understanding ancient star maps. You... might find it useful."

After speaking, he didn't wait for Lin Feng to thank him, but turned and paced back to the desk, resuming his usual solemnity.

Yet, this slight exception already caused several Inner Sect Disciples who were selecting Cultivation Techniques nearby to look surprised, exchanging glances with one another.

In the afternoon, on the practice field outside the Array Pavilion, Lin Feng was deducing the changes of a complex Formation when Zhao Gan happened to pass by.

He stopped, crossed his arms to watch for a while, and suddenly said, "The connection at the Xun position here is too stiff; if you transition with the momentum of 'Wind Moving on Water', it would be more harmonious."

Lin Feng adjusted accordingly, and the Formation became much smoother.

Just as he was about to express his gratitude, Zhao Gan stepped forward and took out a cyan-glowing Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch and handed it over.

"These are some of my insights from studying the 'Zhou Tian Star Derivation Array'; it records a few clever methods for setting up arrays that might be helpful to you."

His tone was calm, but his gaze was sincere, "Junior Brother Lin, in the past, I was too obsessed with sectarian prejudices. I, Zhao Gan, acknowledge your Comprehension Ability in Formations."

After saying this, he raised his hand to pat Lin Feng's shoulder before turning and leaving.

However, what stirred Lin Feng's heart the most was Qu Yunshang.

The nights on the Star Gazing Platform were always exceptionally quiet, and the galaxy seemed within reach.

That night, Lin Feng was verifying a Formation hypothesis on the Star Gazing Platform when very light footsteps sounded behind him.

Qu Yunshang walked over draped in moonlight, stood beside him, but did not discuss star patterns or Formation theories as she usually did.

After a moment of silence, she raised her hand and pointed to the two bright stars across the river in the night sky, her voice lighter than the night breeze: "Junior Brother Lin, look at the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, separated by the vast Milky Way, for thousands and thousands of years, they only get to meet once a year on the magpie bridge."

Lin Feng turned to look at her, seeing her eyes reflecting the starry sky, shining with brilliant light, even brighter than usual.

She turned her face slightly, the moonlight outlining her soft profile, and a faint, imperceptible blush appeared on her ears in the night.

"The path of cultivation is long and cold," her voice lowered even more, almost melting into the wind, "To meet a confidant, watch the stars side by side, and discuss Formation theories is already a great blessing."

After she finished speaking, she said nothing more, just stood quietly, as if she had just been sighing about the stars.

After a long time, she seemed to remember something, took a small white jade bottle from her sleeve, and stuffed it into Lin Feng's hand.

"This is a 'Spirit-Condensing Pill', which has miraculous effects on restoring Divine Sense. You... use your brain too much; you must be careful not to overexert your mind."

Her words paused, eventually turning into a simple exhortation, and then she turned and left, her plain white dress tracing a soft arc under the starlight, leaving behind a faint fragrance.

Lin Feng gripped the jade bottle that still held her body heat and stood in place.

The galaxy flowed silently, yet he could clearly hear his own somewhat abnormal heartbeat.

A few days later, Lin Feng was walking casually in the Star Meteor Mountains, intending to relax his mood.

Relying on the heaven-stealing vine's unique sensitivity to spirit plants, he found a quiet valley with exceptionally pure Spiritual Qi.

The valley was shrouded in mist and clouds, with several rare "Star Tear Orchids" growing there, their petals translucent silver-white, glowing with a soft luster in the sunlight.

Remembering Luo Linger's love for spirit plants, he carefully collected some petals and seeds, preparing to bring them back to the Tianxuan Sect later.

Just as he finished collecting and was about to leave, the heaven-stealing vine in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly transmitted an unusual, faint palpitation.

This sensation was not directed at any spirit plant, but at a rock wall deep in the valley covered with thick moss and ancient vines.

Lin Feng became vigilant and slowly approached.

He carefully probed with his Divine Sense and discovered that under the cover of vines and moss, the texture of the rock wall had extremely unnatural breaks, vaguely forming the remnants of a hidden Formation that had long since lost its spiritual power but still had its structure intact.

If not for the heaven-stealing vine's extreme sensitivity to energy traces, it would be impossible to discover the anomaly here.

He pushed aside layers of vines, his fingertips emitting a trace of spiritual power, gently touching several key nodes according to the veins of the Formation remnants.

The rock wall made a soft sound, and a narrow gap quietly appeared, only wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, condensed a point of lightning on his fingertips, and squeezed into the stone chamber.

Inside was a small natural cave, with dim light and almost stagnant air.

In the center of the stone chamber, a skeleton maintained a cross-legged sitting posture; the clothes on its body had already weathered away, but the style and patterns of the broken sword beside it were clearly things from the Qingyun Sect, and of a high grade.

Between the finger bones of the skeleton, a dark fragment that was neither gold nor jade was tightly gripped.

Lin Feng's heart tightened, and he respectfully bowed three times to the remains of this Senior who was clearly from the Qingyun Sect.

When he lowered his head, he saw a Storage Pouch hanging from the skeleton's waist, the opening slightly agape.

He carefully retrieved it and probed with his Divine Sense; inside, besides some Medicinal Pills and Spirit Stones, there was also a Jade Slip that felt warm to the touch.

He probed his Divine Sense into the Jade Slip, and a weak but clear voice came through:

"I am Chu Jinghong of the Qingyun Sect, hunted by the Golden-Winged Cloud Peng and severely injured. This Vicious Beast is an ancient exotic species, exceptionally fierce, and it came to snatch this 'white emperor fragmentary map'."

"Although I managed to escape by luck, I am severely injured and have no way to traverse the mountains back to the Sect. If I force my way back, I fear I will lead this fierce bird to the Sect and bring disaster to the mountain gate."

"This place is a hidden Spiritual Vein node I discovered in my early years, which can isolate Qi. I have set up a 'Breath-Restraining Return-to-Origin Formation' here, preparing to sit and pass away here."

"If those who come later are Qingyun Disciples, please be sure to bring the fragmentary map and this Jade Slip back as soon as possible, report to the Sect Head, and must be careful..."

The Divine Thought stopped abruptly here, obviously left before he was completely exhausted.

Lin Feng held the Jade Slip in his hand, his heart shaken.

It turned out that this Senior who had passed away here was none other than the long-missing Elder Chu Jinghong.

He had obtained this "white emperor fragmentary map" years ago, but it had attracted the hunt of the Golden-Winged Cloud Peng.

Although he struggled to escape, his injuries were too severe, and knowing he could not safely return to the Sect, and fearing exposing the location of the Sect to bring disaster, he chose to set up a Formation and pass away in this secret place, waiting for a fated fellow Disciple to discover him.

Lin Feng's gaze fell again on the dark fragment tightly held by the skeleton, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

He immediately realized that this white emperor fragmentary map was of great importance; if handed over to the Qingyun Sect, he might miss out on this Opportunity himself.

He thought about his journey so far, having been able to find this place only by relying on the heaven-stealing vine, perhaps this was exactly Heaven's will.

Elder Chu had passed away for many years, and the fragmentary map remaining here was also gathering dust; it would be better for him to take it away, as he might truly be able to realize its value.

"Elder Chu," Lin Feng said softly to the skeleton, "Although this Junior is not a Qingyun Disciple, since I have obtained this Opportunity, I will definitely make good use of this map. If I achieve something in the future, I will certainly repay this Karma."