174: Two-way practice

"She's scolding him! Elder Yan is so furious her face has turned red, and she's pointing at Senior Brother Lin, berating him!"

The female Disciples outside the barrier had their hearts in their throats, as if they could feel that invisible rage. "It's over, it's over. Did Senior Brother Lin offend the Elder to death somehow?"

Inside the barrier, Elder Yan Jing pointed at Lin Feng, her finger trembling slightly with anger.

She had lowered her status, one could even say she had swallowed her pride to come and ask for advice on the Dao, only to be subjected to such filthy speculation by this brat.

This was simply a great insult to her centuries of clean reputation and character.

Lin Feng was stunned by her sudden, furious outburst. The trace of wariness and doubt in his heart was washed away by her intense reaction, which was purely that of someone who had been insulted.

Seeing her face flushed red with anger, looking ashamed and furious, it didn't seem like an act at all. Instead, it was as if... he had truly misunderstood something?

Just as he was stunned, Elder Yan Jing seemed to realize she had lost her composure. She forced down her surging anger and embarrassment, her chest heaving violently. Looking at Lin Feng's still-wary eyes, she knew that if she didn't make things clear, this misunderstanding wouldn't be resolved, and she could forget about asking about the Dao.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to strangle this brat. Almost through gritted teeth, she spoke in an extremely low voice, filled with immense embarrassment:

"I... I have been stuck at the Peak of the Early Core Formation Stage for nearly a hundred years, and the Bottleneck is difficult to break. Two days ago, I saw you guiding Junior Disciple Liu, and what you said... seemed to secretly align with the wonders of the changes in Yin and Yang.

I came today because I wanted to... I wanted to ask you, regarding the Dao of combining hardness and softness, and the condensation of intent, how exactly... should it be interpreted!"

She said the last few words quickly and softly, as if she had exhausted all her strength. After finishing, she immediately turned her head away, not daring to look at Lin Feng's expression.

"..." Lin Feng was stunned.

He had anticipated countless possibilities and had even prepared to fight to the death, but he never expected the truth to be like this.

This Law Enforcement Elder, who held deep hostility toward him, had snuck over in the middle of the night, set up a sound-insulating barrier, and acted shy and hesitant for ages... only to actually be here to discuss a Cultivation Technique?

And she was actually asking for advice?

He looked at Elder Yan Jing's side profile, which was red enough to bleed, and her clenched fists. Combining this with the faint fluctuations of Divine Sense coming from afar, he finally confirmed that this was not a conspiracy.

A feeling of utter absurdity surged into his heart, making him almost laugh out loud. But seeing Elder Yan Jing's appearance, as if she were about to die from shame and anger, he forcibly held it back.

He coughed lightly, quickly collected all his wariness, and his expression returned to calm, even carrying a hint of imperceptible strangeness. He cupped his hands and said:

"So that's how it is... This Junior misunderstood, please forgive me, Elder."

Elder Yan Jing snorted through her nose, which counted as a reluctant acceptance of his apology, but she still didn't look at him, saying stiffly: "Enough nonsense, speak!"

"Eh? Senior Brother Lin bowed and apologized?"

"Elder Yan... doesn't seem as angry anymore? But her expression is still very ugly."

The female Disciples outside watched the changes in the two's postures inside the courtyard, their emotions rising and falling like a swing, guessing what kind of conversation had taken place inside.

Inside the barrier, Lin Feng composed his mind. Knowing she was thin-skinned, he didn't say anything superfluous and, carefully choosing his words, began to explain his understanding.

Elder Yan Jing, although still turned to the side, pricked up her ears and listened with extreme focus.

Gradually, her tense body relaxed, and without realizing it, she turned back around. Her brows were slightly furrowed, her eyes focused, and she was already immersed in his explanation. When she heard key points, she even subconsciously nodded slightly.

"Look! Senior Brother Lin is gesturing, what is he explaining?"

"Elder Yan... is she listening? She nodded!"

"This... what is going on? Isn't she here to hold him accountable? How... how does it look like she's asking for advice?"

The Disciples outside the barrier watched, dumbfounded. The scene before them completely exceeded their imagination, and all sorts of bizarre speculations began to sprout uncontrollably.

After a long while, Lin Feng finished speaking.

Elder Yan Jing took a deep breath, a flash of sudden enlightenment passing through her eyes. After giving Lin Feng a complex look, she waved her hand to dispel the sound-insulating barrier, and her figure immediately vanished from the small courtyard, looking quite like she was fleeing in panic.

The barrier suddenly disappeared, and the Divine Sense probing from afar retreated in a flurry like startled fish.

Lin Feng stood in place, still able to feel the lingering shock and curiosity of those hidden gazes. He shook his head, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

After that night's secret discussion within the sound-insulating barrier, the atmosphere around the Listening Bamboo Pavilion underwent a subtle yet significant change.

The most direct change came from Elder Yan Jing herself.

She no longer publicly expressed hostility toward Lin Feng. Once, during a morning Sect meeting, when a Disciple cautiously asked about the boundaries of interacting with Lin Feng, she just kept a straight face and replied stiffly:

"Between peers, normal discussion of the Dao and sparring is fine, as long as one maintains proper boundaries."

Although these words were still stern, they quietly removed that invisible ban.

This was almost a clear signal.

The first to notice this change were, naturally, the young female Disciples who had been secretly watching the Listening Bamboo Pavilion.

At first, they didn't dare to be sure. They just tentatively, using the excuse of asking about sword Moves, would "pass by" the Listening Bamboo Pavilion in groups of two or three to chat with Lin Feng for a few sentences.

After discovering that Elder Yan Jing did not appear to scold them as usual, their courage gradually grew.

Thus, the Listening Bamboo Pavilion gradually became a bustling place.

It was no longer secret peeking, but open and above-board visits.

The female Disciples brought the problems they encountered during Cultivation, or their curiosity about Lin Feng's vastly different way of circulating spiritual power, and came one after another to seek advice.

Lin Feng did not turn anyone away, but no one knew that whenever they demonstrated a Cultivation Technique and circulated their spiritual power, the heaven-stealing vine deep within his Sea of Consciousness would quietly stretch out, capturing every unique rhythm of circulation and attribute change of the moonlight energy.

Through this unique perception, Lin Feng was able to glimpse the subtleties of the Illusory Moon Sect's Cultivation Techniques.

While answering the Disciples' questions and pointing out subtle deviations in their spiritual power circulation, his own understanding of the power of "Yin" was rapidly deepening. This was of great benefit to his sorting out his own insights into the Five Elements and Yin and Yang.

In the small courtyard, one could often see three or five female cultivators sitting around, listening to Lin Feng explain Cultivation Techniques in a harmonious atmosphere. This seemingly one-way guidance was actually a two-way Cultivation that Lin Feng enjoyed.

And what made the Disciples secretly gasp even more was that they discovered that the usually stern Elder Yan Jing, who had many complaints about Lin Feng, had actually... also become a regular visitor to the Listening Bamboo Pavilion.

At first, every few days, Elder Yan would come quietly under the cover of night, still with her usual stern and unsmiling expression, sitting opposite Lin Feng at the stone table in the courtyard, discussing something in low voices. When she came, the Disciples would tactfully avoid the area for a while.

Later, she would even walk in during the day, with a blank expression, while other Disciples were present.

Although she still addressed Lin Feng as "Fellow Daoist Lin" and maintained the dignity of an Elder in her tone, her attitude of seeking advice was genuine and real.