Chapter 19

Yan Mingyue gave Lin Feng a deep look and suddenly changed to using her magical power to transmit her voice: "Has your painstaking efforts been for the sake of Xiao Yan, this young friend?"

In an instant, Lin Feng felt his heart skip a beat.

From the moment they met, Yan Mingyue had always been courteous and calm.

She came from the number one holy land in the world, yet she was approachable and showed no hint of arrogance.

Even in her current predicament, she did not appear disheveled; instead, she seemed calm and composed, as if everything was under her control.

But Lin Feng keenly sensed that this seemingly humble Yan Mingyue had a deep-seated pride that permeated her soul.

Her outward approachability could easily create a false impression upon first contact.

She was a person with an extremely strong inner core, so strong that she was unbothered by trivial matters and did not care about others' opinions.

Her pride was not contempt, not arrogance, not condescension. On the contrary, her pride was her approachability, her politeness, her patience.

Why? Because in her mind, she believed that you were inferior to her, so she treated you with courtesy and would not hold your rudeness against you. She would be especially patient in guiding you.

In her heart, she assumed from the start that the other party was inferior to her. She would not get angry because of someone's rudeness or look down on them; she would only think that the other person's level was too low to understand her.

Just as people do not pay attention to the provocations of snakes, insects, or rats, would anyone think this was pride? No, everyone would think it was natural. And Yan Mingyue had this mindset.

In the previous conversation, whether it was with Xiao Yan, who was only at the first level of Qi Cultivation, or with Lin Feng, whose depth was unclear, Yan Mingyue had always been very calm, almost unlike someone who came from the number one holy land and had once been a prodigy who roamed the world.

But at this moment, she was sharp and direct, her words cutting straight to the heart of Lin Feng, blunt and pointed.

Lin Feng was startled but also excited. The change in Yan Mingyue's style indicated that she had put aside her pride and placed Lin Feng on an equal footing.

"The more critical the moment, the calmer you must be." Lin Feng calmed his mind and used his magical power to transmit his voice, saying lightly, "I am just a wandering cultivator in the mountains, naturally not comparable to Tai Xu Guan. Finding a few successors has been a great effort."

"So I hope you will let me have this, and I will be very grateful."

Since the other party had already made it clear, Lin Feng decided to admit it straightforwardly.

However, although he was praising Tai Xu Guan, Lin Feng's tone was calm and natural, clearly placing both parties on an equal footing.

The more he did this, the more Yan Mingyue found it difficult to gauge his true strength. After a moment's hesitation, Yan Mingyue finally decided to form a good connection and said aloud, "Thank you for the Soul Calming Grass, Daoist friend."

Lin Feng smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan had also calmed down, and his gaze toward Yan Mingyue was very complex.

Yan Mingyue looked at the second ring on Xiao Yan's palm and said softly, "The Heavenly Cage Seal I placed earlier is already very weak. The remnant soul of the Taotie could awaken at any time. Xiao Yan, you should not keep this ring with you."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted toward Lin Feng.

Lin Feng immediately understood that Yan Mingyue wanted him to take action and help resolve the remnant soul of the Taotie. This way, Xiao Yan would be even more grateful, and it would be more natural for Lin Feng to take him as a disciple.

From another perspective, wasn't this also another test from Yan Mingyue?

Lin Feng cursed inwardly, this woman was truly not someone to be underestimated, but he had to admit that if he could cleanly and decisively resolve the Taotie's remnant soul, he could demonstrate his strength to Xiao Yan and attract him as a disciple.

Everything depended on whether Lin Feng had the real skills. If he did, this would be a great opportunity with no downside, and Yan Mingyue was clearly giving him a big help.

If he didn't, he would reveal his true nature, and there would be nothing to say.

Yan Mingyue looked at Lin Feng with a half-smile, almost like a mischievous little girl, which made Lin Feng very troubled.

"She is just as bad as Long Ye, neither of them is a good person. They deserve to lose, why didn't they completely destroy each other? The world would be better off without two such pests!"

Lin Feng cursed inwardly but maintained a mysterious and profound demeanor, smiling and saying, "It's a small matter, leave it to me."

Saying this, he took the ring from Xiao Yan without hesitation.

The more critical the moment, the more he could not show any weakness or reveal his true strength.

Lin Feng took the ring and sent his magical power into it, his consciousness immediately entering an independent space.

In the dark space, dozens of beams of light formed a huge cage, inside which a fierce beast was roaring ferociously.

The beast had the body of a sheep and a human face, with eyes under its armpits, tiger teeth, and human claws. It made a sound like a baby and continuously collided with the light cage, exactly the appearance of one of the four great beasts of ancient times, the Taotie.

The beams of light were now very thin, almost like using a finger-thick rope to bind an elephant compared to the Taotie.

If not for the overall glow of the light cage, which resisted each collision, the beams would have been broken long ago.

Lin Feng's scalp tingled. Although this was not the real Taotie, just a remnant soul, its strength was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage, and it could devour everything, making it far more terrifying than an ordinary human Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Yan Mingyue, even with her severe injuries, was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. If not for the mysterious Heavenly Cage Seal of Tai Xu Guan, she could not have contained this fierce beast.

Xiao Yan, who had once been at the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Cultivation, had been reduced to a waste by this Taotie.

Lin Feng, now at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, was under immense pressure to deal with this fierce beast.

Ignoring the struggling and roaring Taotie, Lin Feng focused all his attention on the light cage formed by the Heavenly Cage Seal. To deal with this fierce beast, the solution probably lay in the Heavenly Cage Seal.

Each time the Taotie collided with the cage, the beams of light became thinner, indicating that the magical power of the Heavenly Cage Seal was being consumed.

When Yan Mingyue first placed the Heavenly Cage Seal, the beams of light must have been very thick. After three years of consumption, they had become this thin.

Understanding this, Lin Feng had a plan. He began to try to inject his own magical power into the light cage, "recharging" it to help it continue functioning.

This was not an easy task. The Heavenly Cage Seal, as a signature spell of Tai Xu Guan, appeared to be a simple light cage, but the way the magical power flowed inside was extremely complex.

Countless spell symbols worked together, like an incredibly precise machine.

When Lin Feng first injected his magical power, it was like a bull charging into a flock of sheep. Not only did it not help, but it almost disrupted the normal operation of the Heavenly Cage Seal.

Lin Feng did not dare to take further risks and only infused a small amount of magical power, patiently exploring the way the seal operated. This was essentially learning the Heavenly Cage Seal spell.

But it was like a blind man feeling an elephant, with extremely low learning efficiency.

Lin Feng had no other choice; he had been forced to this point and had to succeed.

While secretly struggling with the Heavenly Cage Seal, Lin Feng maintained a calm and composed appearance, looking at Xiao Yan calmly, "You made a three-year agreement with your fiancée. What are your plans now?"

Some things are only truly appreciated when they are lost. Regaining them makes one cherish them even more.

Xiao Yan was like this. Knowing the reason for his body's drastic change, he had regained his confidence. Without these two rings, his talent would surely return.

But hearing the word "fiancée" and thinking of the past, Xiao Yan's expression changed.

He took a deep breath and said, "Of course, I will work hard to catch up and reclaim what I lost."

Lin Feng smiled slightly, "Your talent is good, but the girl's talent is not bad either. You are improving, but so is she, and her starting point is much higher than yours."

"Even if you become the genius you once were and train at your original speed, are you sure you can catch up with her in three years?" Lin Feng's smile was profound and inscrutable. "Not to mention, she has the support of the Flowing Light Sword Sect, with far superior resources in Daoist techniques and elixirs."

Xiao Yan's heart stirred, and he glanced at Lin Feng, then subconsciously looked at Yan Mingyue.

Yan Mingyue smiled slightly, "I am an outsider and should not meddle too much in your feud with Miss Murong, but your current predicament is partly my fault. I deeply apologize and will offer you a Tai Xu Guan spell as compensation. Please forgive me, young friend."

Lin Feng, listening from the side, inwardly exclaimed, "Good!" This girl, though cunning, had a strong character.

Xiao Yan was also pleased. The spell Yan Mingyue was going to teach him would certainly not be meager, but he soon felt disheartened. Even with such a spell, could he definitely surpass Murong Yanran in three years and wash away today's humiliation?

He knew himself well. It had taken him four years to reach the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Cultivation. Even if he regained his talent now, it would take at least four years to restore his strength.

And the current Murong Yanran was already at the tenth level of Qi Cultivation. What level would she be in three years?

Even if their cultivation levels were the same, his family's Daoist techniques were only third-rate, while Murong Yanran was a direct disciple of the Flowing Light Sword Sect, practicing the sect's top-tier Daoist techniques and supreme spells, with an abundance of elixirs and possibly powerful magical artifacts passed down from the sect...

Sighing in frustration, Xiao Yan glanced at Lin Feng, who was smiling, and his eyes slowly brightened.

Lin Feng's eyes also brightened, "That's right, good disciple, come to your master's bowl!"

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