168: Goodbye Yun Qingyao

Before the words had even faded, Elder Yan Jing flicked her sleeve, and a condensed cold light swept toward Lin Feng. The chill was bone-piercing; she was clearly intending to capture him directly.

Lin Feng did not expect the other party to be so unreasonable, resorting to action the moment she spoke.

He retreated rapidly, simultaneously pointing out a Sword Qi fused with Water and Metal Sword Essence. He did not clash head-on, but instead cleverly deflected the incoming cold light.

"Oh?" Elder Yan Jing let out a soft exclamation, clearly not expecting Lin Feng's reaction to be so quick and his technique so exquisite.

She snorted coldly, her offensive becoming even more urgent. With hand seals formed, several moon blades appeared out of thin air, slashing at Lin Feng from different angles and sealing off all his retreat paths. The temperature of the entire side hall plummeted.

Lin Feng sighed inwardly, knowing that explanation was useless.

He stepped in mysterious footwork, his body shifting and dodging within the narrow space. At the same time, his hands acted as fingers or palms, sometimes drawing water to form ice for defense, and other times stimulating Wood-attribute vines to entangle and obstruct, utilizing the changes of the Five Elements to the fullest.

He did not use his full strength, nor did he unleash the highly lethal Lightning and Fire Sword Essence. Instead, relying on exquisite control and a Divine Sense far surpassing that of his peers, he parried move for move, defending flawlessly.

Elder Yan Jing became increasingly alarmed the more she fought. She was already at the Early Core Formation Stage, and her angry strikes were not to be underestimated. However, the youth at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage before her was like a slippery fish, always able to resolve her attacks in a seemingly effortless manner. His agility and the precision of his spiritual power control were simply inconceivable.

She was actually unable to take him down for a moment!

Qi energy overflowed in the side hall, and cold light flickered, yet it could never truly touch a corner of Lin Feng's clothes.

Elder Yan Jing's face turned livid, and just as she was about to unleash a more powerful Spell, a cold, gentle, yet undeniably authoritative female voice came from outside the hall: "Senior Sister Yan, please stop."

As the voice spoke, a female Cultivator walked in slowly.

She was dressed in a pale yellow long dress, possessing stunning beauty. Her gaze swept across the room, first nodding slightly to Elder Yan Jing, then landing on Lin Feng.

The person who arrived was none other than Yun Qingyao.

Elder Yan Jing retracted her offensive, but her expression remained ugly. She said coldly: "Junior Sister Qingyao, you have come just in time. This person holds a moon shadow token and even has your personal jade pendant on him. Just now he admitted himself that you gifted him this pendant. When you returned last time, you suffered from a strange poison and your Divine Soul was damaged. Could it be related to this person?!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Qingyao's gaze fell once again on the crescent jade pendant at Lin Feng's waist. A trace of extremely complex reminiscence and tenderness flashed deep in her eyes, but she quickly returned to calm.

She turned to Elder Yan Jing and shook her head gently: "Senior Sister Yan, you have misunderstood. Fellow Daoist Lin has a debt of gratitude to me; he is not an enemy. In the past, if not for his righteous intervention, I would likely not have returned to the Sect safely. This crescent pendant was gifted by me to thank him for saving my life; it is absolutely not as you think."

She paused, her gaze toward Elder Yan Jing carrying a hint of deep meaning: "As for the injuries I suffered last time... they were the work of the Hehuan Sect and have nothing to do with Fellow Daoist Lin. The Saintess also knows the inside story of this matter. If Senior Sister does not believe me, you can verify it yourself."

Elder Yan Jing was choked by her words, especially after she brought out the "Saintess knows" card, which immediately made her lose some of her steam.

She looked suspiciously at the calm-faced Lin Feng, then at the placid Yun Qingyao, and snorted heavily: "Even if it has nothing to do with your injuries, he is a male Cultivator who has entered a restricted area of the Sect with a token, which is ultimately a violation of Sect rules. The Enforcement Hall will certainly pursue this matter."

Yun Qingyao's expression did not change as she said indifferently: "Fellow Daoist Lin came with a moon shadow token, so he must have important matters. This matter is of great significance, and I will personally take him to see the Saintess to explain the reasons. If there is any punishment, I, Qingyao, will bear it all. There is no need for Senior Sister to trouble yourself."

Seeing Yun Qingyao's resolute attitude and the fact that she had brought up the Saintess, Elder Yan Jing knew that it would be difficult to do anything to Lin Feng today. She could only glare fiercely at Lin Feng and flicked her sleeves as she left: "Hmph! You had better behave yourself!"

In the side hall, only Lin Feng and Yun Qingyao were left.

Yun Qingyao then turned to face Lin Feng, a genuine smile appearing at the corners of her lips, and she bowed: "Fellow Daoist Lin, it has been years since we parted. I hope you have been well. Senior Sister was a bit hasty just now and caused some offense; I hope you will be magnanimous, Fellow Daoist."

Lin Feng returned the bow: "Fellow Daoist Yun, you speak too seriously. It was just a small misunderstanding; clarifying it is enough."

He had many questions in his heart, but now was not the time to ask in detail.

Yun Qingyao seemed to see through his thoughts and gestured with her hand: "This is not the place for conversation. Fellow Daoist Lin, please follow me to see the Saintess."

Her gaze again inadvertently swept over the crescent pendant, her eyes flickering slightly, "Moreover, your arrival here, Fellow Daoist, perhaps... corresponds to some Opportunity."

Lin Feng nodded: "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Yun."

With that, Yun Qingyao led Lin Feng, leaving the side hall and heading toward the depths of the Illusory Moon Sect, to an area that was more secluded and appeared even more mysterious.

The Disciples they met along the way all bowed respectfully upon seeing Yun Qingyao. Although they still had curiosity when their gazes swept over Lin Feng, seeing that he was being personally led by Yun Qingyao, no one dared to come forward to question him, which showed that Yun Qingyao's status in the Sect was indeed extraordinary.

Finally, the two arrived in front of a deeper, more secluded courtyard.

At the entrance of the courtyard was a circular archway. On both sides of the archway stood two female Cultivators with steady auras and electric gazes; they both possessed the Late Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, far beyond what the mountain gate Disciples could compare to.

Upon seeing Yun Qingyao, they bowed slightly, their tone filled with respect: "Senior Sister Yun."

Yun Qingyao's expression was solemn as she said to the guards: "Please inform the Saintess; I, Qingyao, have an urgent matter to report."

One guard scanned Lin Feng with sharp eyes and then nodded: "Please wait a moment, Senior Sister."

She turned and stepped into the hazy moonlight within the archway, her figure quickly disappearing.

A moment later, the guard returned and slightly opened a gap in the light curtain at the archway: "Please, Senior Sister."

Stepping into the archway, the scene before them suddenly opened up. The courtyard was spacious, the ground paved with lustrous white moonstones, smooth as a mirror, reflecting the starlight in the sky and a cold, ethereal moon.

In the courtyard, several huge laurel trees stood quietly, with spots of moonlight-like halo floating between the branches and leaves. At the end of the courtyard was a wide platform carved from a single piece of cold jade.

On the platform, a female Cultivator dressed in plain white Daoist robes stood with her back to them, looking up at the ethereal moon in the sky. The aura around her was integrated with the entire courtyard and even this expanse of heaven and earth, her cultivation unfathomable.

Hearing the footsteps, she slowly turned around.

The moment he saw her face clearly, Lin Feng's heart jolted, and he could not suppress a flash of surprise and confusion in his eyes.

The female Cultivator before him, with a deep aura and cultivation that had clearly reached the Mid-stage Core Formation, had facial contours and that unique cold temperament that were eight or nine parts similar to the Illusory Moon Sect leader who had helped him when he was in conflict with Li Feiyu and Flower Without Shadow at the Zen Sound Temple ruins years ago!

However, a huge question surged into Lin Feng's mind, and the slight surprise in his heart was immediately replaced by deeper vigilance:

The cultivation Restriction of the Zen Sound Temple ruins could not be fake; those who could enter it back then were at most at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

Yet the Saintess before him, with her Dao Rhyme perfectly complete and her Spiritual Pressure vast, was clearly a great Cultivator at the Mid-stage Core Formation.

This was completely contrary to common sense.

On the path of immortal cultivation, the further one goes, the more difficult it becomes. From the Late Foundation Establishment Stage to the Mid-stage Core Formation, it seemingly only separates two small Realms, but in reality, it is like a chasm.

Ordinary geniuses might not be able to achieve it even after spending decades of time.

Yet, from the time the Zen Sound Temple ruins opened, at most it had only been a dozen or so years. In a mere ten-plus years, leaping from the Late Foundation Establishment Stage to the Mid-stage Core Formation?

This was simply unheard of!

Could it be... that he had mistaken the person?

Was the leader from that year not the Saintess before him, but just someone with a similar appearance and temperament?