177: Black Veil Woman

"How many core array nodes does the Illusory Moon Sect's protective mountain array have? How does it operate?"

Lin Feng's head was almost buried in his knees, his voice intermittent and breathy: "Ju-Junior... was only a guest... how could I know the core array nodes... I only felt, felt that the power of the moon essence was very dense, as if... as if it gathered from several directions..."

"Hmph, then what are the characteristics of their 'Moon Shadow Evasion Technique' when used? How does the Qi circulate?"

"The evasion technique... was too fast, I couldn't see clearly... I only saw a flash of moonlight, the aura was very cold, very elusive..." As Lin Feng answered, his body trembled slightly, as if he were struggling to recall and his thoughts were in chaos due to fear.

He carefully controlled the trace of weak spiritual energy within his body, making it appear in a chaotic state on the verge of collapse.

The eagle-eyed Elder squinted, listening carefully to every word, occasionally interrupting suddenly to sternly press for details.

Throughout the process, Lin Feng could feel a faint, chilling aura sweep over his entire body; wherever it passed, even his fine hairs seemed to freeze.

He dared not be the least bit careless, maintaining his disguise with all his might, even deliberately letting his heartbeat skip a beat when the other party pressed him the hardest, and cold, fake sweat seeped from his temples.

The interrogation lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn; the eagle-eyed Elder only obtained fragmented, irrelevant information, and his expression gradually darkened.

He was clearly dissatisfied, and the suspicion in his eyes grew stronger.

He tilted his head slightly toward the person behind him, and the young Cultivator who had been standing quietly to the side with a hint of evil in his eyes immediately understood, a look of excitement appearing on his face as he slowly stepped forward.

"Kid, playing tough, are you?" the young Cultivator's voice was shrill. "No matter, let you taste the feeling of Soul Searching, let's see what you can hide."

He extended a withered finger, slowly pointing it toward the center of Lin Feng's brow.

Lin Feng felt a chill in his heart, knowing the most critical and dangerous moment had arrived.

He not only could not resist, but he also had to actively guide it, letting the other party "see" what he had carefully prepared.

When that cold, erosive Divine Sense power pierced into his Sea of Consciousness, he immediately gathered all distracting thoughts, his Divine Sense tightly clinging to the quietly swaying heaven-stealing vine within his Sea of Consciousness.

The heaven-stealing vine transmitted a faint, cool fluctuation.

Lin Feng guided this fluctuation, not to resist the invading Divine Sense, but to cleverly entwine it and begin to weave and distort it.

He pretended to recall a fragment: in a valley near the Illusory Moon Sect's Forbidden Ground, he had accidentally felt a chilling fluctuation that was incompatible with the pure power of the moon essence; that fluctuation did not come from the ground, but originated from deep underground, intermittent, pointing toward the northwest... vaguely seeming to be related to an abandoned ancient altar.

He processed this fragment to be blurry and unclear, filled with the shock and uncertainty of having caught it by chance, as if it were just an anomaly his Divine Sense had inadvertently swept over.

The young Cultivator opened his eyes, a trace of imperceptible smugness on his face, and turned to the eagle-eyed Elder, lowering his voice:

"Elder, this kid's Divine Sense is chaotic and heavily damaged, there isn't much useful information. However, there is one fragment that is a bit interesting..."

"He seems to have inadvertently sensed a very obscure, chilling fluctuation in the northwest of the Illusory Moon Sect's Forbidden Ground earlier; the source seems to be underground, and it doesn't look like the Illusory Moon Sect's style."

The eagle-eyed Elder's gaze tightened as he repeated, "Northwest direction? Underground chilling fluctuation? That is the area that those fellows from the Soul-Eroding Hall are responsible for patrolling!"

He looked thoughtfully at the still-wilted Lin Feng, then waved his hand at the young Cultivator, "Keep watching him, report any unusual movements immediately!"

After speaking, he did not linger, and quickly left the dungeon with the other person, as if this unexpected discovery was more important than continuing to interrogate Lin Feng.

Lin Feng maintained his curled-up posture, but his back was drenched in cold sweat.

The risky gamble just now had succeeded.

He had previously pieced together from the scattered complaints of the guards that the Heavenly Demon Palace did not seem to be monolithic.

Now it seemed, there were indeed factional frictions.

The vague clue he threw out was like a pebble, hoping to stir up unexpected ripples.

A few days later, the atmosphere outside the dungeon was clearly somewhat different.

The commotion in the dungeon lasted for several days before gradually subsiding.

The guards' expressions were not good when they patrolled, and their conversations were kept lower; one could vaguely hear scattered words like "Soul-Eroding Hall," "Blood Demon Hall," and "those above are furious."

Lin Feng watched coldly from the sidelines, knowing clearly in his heart that the little spark he had thrown out had indeed ignited something.

The commotion in the dungeon lasted for several days before gradually subsiding.

Just when Lin Feng thought he could catch his breath, an exceptionally respectful, even slightly nervous voice came from the guards at the entrance: "Greetings, Saintess!"

Saintess? Lin Feng's heart tightened.

Someone who could be addressed like this by the Heavenly Demon Palace guards must have an extremely high status.

He raised his eyes to look, only to see a woman draped in black gauze, with a breathtakingly beautiful face but an eerie temperament, walking in slowly.

She did not deliberately exude pressure, but the air in the entire dungeon seemed to stagnate because of her arrival.

Lin Feng's heart tightened; this temperament, where allure and majesty coexisted, instantly reminded him of the Hehuan Sect's Saintess, Flower Without Shadow.

But the person before him was clearly not her.

The woman waved her hand, and the accompanying guards and the original dungeon guards immediately bowed and retreated, leaving only her and the curled-up Lin Feng in the large dungeon.

She walked into the dungeon, her gaze sweeping casually, finally landing on Lin Feng in the corner.

She did not speak, but slowly raised her right hand, a wisp of black Qi swirling around her fingertips.

The black Qi circled her fingertips for a moment, then silently drifted toward Lin Feng, enveloping him completely.

Lin Feng immediately felt an indescribable pressure, as if the surrounding air had solidified.

That black Qi, in wisps and strands, was attempting to penetrate his skin, Meridians, and even reach the depths of his Soul.

The woman's fingertips moved slightly, and the black Qi enveloping Lin Feng produced subtle fluctuations accordingly.

Her deep, dark eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were interpreting the information fed back by the black Qi.

After a moment, the black Qi at her fingertips quietly dissipated.

"Interesting..." the woman finally spoke, her voice carrying a peculiar magnetism, "I originally thought it was some blind fellow disturbing my peace, I didn't expect to have caught a treasure instead."

She walked closer slowly, her black gauze brushing across the floor without making the slightest sound.

"A Five Elements mixed Spiritual Root... no wonder you could sneak into that place with those women from the Illusory Moon Sect. What's even rarer is..."

She leaned in slightly, close enough for Lin Feng to see her long, dense eyelashes, "Your comprehension of the Five Elements circulation and Yin and Yang changes has actually reached such a level. If it weren't for the special Cultivation Technique I practice, I would have almost been fooled by your pitiful appearance."

Lin Feng's heart shook violently, his back soaked with cold sweat.

This woman! She had seen through him at a single glance!

He gritted his teeth tightly, suppressing his churning emotions, lowered his head, and did not say a word; only his slightly trembling body revealed the stormy waves within his heart.

The woman straightened up, seemingly unsurprised by his silence, and instead chuckled softly.

She toyed with a pink jade pendant and said toward the empty dungeon entrance, "Send someone to tell the Hehuan Sect's Flower Without Shadow that I will consider the matter she raised last time. As for this person..."

Her gaze landed on Lin Feng again, "I want him."