89: Chapter 89 The Secret Realm Disappears! Zhao Tiezhu Remains Within Forever
Four people stood in the clearing, waiting.
Chen Ruoxi's gaze swept toward that purple light screen from time to time, her brow furrowed.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty minutes passed.
Thirty minutes passed.
The light of the screen became dimmer and dimmer, turning from deep purple to light purple, and then almost transparent.
Then—
"Buzz..."
A soft sound.
The light screen, which had existed for who knows how long, suddenly trembled violently.
Immediately after, it began to shrink!
From three meters in diameter, it shrank to two meters, one meter, half a meter...
Finally, it turned into a tiny speck of light.
"Pop!"
The speck of light exploded and vanished into the air.
In its place, only a bare cliff wall remained.
There was nothing left.
The entrance to the Secret Realm had disappeared.
Chen Ruoxi's face was ashen.
"This..."
Cold Moon was stunned.
Shen Yutang was also stunned, a trace of lingering fear flashing in his eyes.
If he had stayed inside a little longer...
Lin Feng looked at the cliff wall and remained silent for a few seconds.
"Zhao Iron Pillar is completely unable to come out."
He said softly.
No one responded.
The night wind blew, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The cliff wall stood there quietly, like a wordless tombstone.
...
One hour later.
On the military transport plane.
Lin Feng leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest.
Cold Moon sat beside him, also with her eyes closed.
Opposite them, Shen Yutang leaned against the other side, his expression so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
Chen Ruoxi sat at the very front, talking to the base.
"...Correct, the Secret Realm entrance has disappeared."
"Zhao Iron Pillar failed to make it out."
"The others returned safely."
"Okay, understood."
She hung up the communication and looked back at the four.
Her gaze lingered on Lin Feng for a second before moving away.
...
The plane landed at the Temporary Base.
It was still that same valley, with the same prefabricated houses and tents.
But the atmosphere was clearly more solemn than before.
A death always makes people feel uncomfortable.
Chen Ruoxi led the group into the largest prefabricated house.
Inside was a simple office with a desk, a few chairs, and a dim yellow light.
"Sit down."
She pointed to the chairs.
They sat down.
Chen Ruoxi took out a logbook and a pen from the drawer.
"Routine registration," she said. "Everyone, talk about your experiences in the Secret Realm; the more detailed, the better."
She looked at Shen Yutang.
"You go first."
Shen Yutang was silent for a second, then slowly began to speak.
"After I entered, I was teleported to an ice plain."
"There was ice and snow everywhere, and the temperature was terrifyingly low. I walked inside for a long time and encountered some ice-type monsters, all of which I dealt with."
"Later... I fell into an illusion."
He paused, his eyes flickering slightly.
"In the illusion, I saw some things... I shouldn't have seen. But I quickly regained consciousness."
"After that, I continued exploring and found an Ice Lotus and some ice-type Materials."
"Then I came out."
He spoke very simply and perfunctorily.
Chen Ruoxi frowned.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Chen Ruoxi stared at him for a few seconds, then made a few notes in her book.
"Cold Moon, what about you?"
Cold Moon took a deep breath and began to speak.
"I was teleported to a forest."
"As soon as I landed, I was attacked by a group of tree roots. Those roots belonged to a Man-eating Tree; they could regenerate and were endless."
"I fought for a long time, and just as my stamina was about to run out, Lin Feng appeared."
She glanced at Lin Feng.
"He saved me and killed the Man-eating Tree King. Then we found a giant garden underground..."
She recounted the subsequent experience in detail.
Man-eating Flower, Bloodthirsty Grass, Strangling Vine, Soul-devouring Moss...
Demonic flowers and grasses covered the mountains and plains, numbering in the thousands.
How Lin Feng slaughtered in all directions and how he killed those monsters.
Also that ten-thousand-year Evergreen Tree and the five evergreen fruits.
And the cave beneath the tree.
When she mentioned the cave, she paused.
"Lin Feng had me wait outside while he went in alone. He didn't come out until a long time later."
Chen Ruoxi's eyes lit up.
"What was in the cave?"
Cold Moon shook her head.
"I don't know, I didn't go in."
Chen Ruoxi looked at Lin Feng.
Your turn.
Lin Feng sat up straight and cleared his throat.
"I was teleported near a Daoist temple."
He began to make up a story.
Anyway, no one knew about that earlier part.
"That Daoist temple was huge, with a Main Hall, a medicine garden, a Scripture Pavilion, and so on."
"In the Main Hall, there were four Incense Burner Spirits guarding it. They could breathe fire, use Soul attacks, and even set up formations. It took me a lot of effort to take them down."
"The medicine garden had many medicinal herbs, but they had all gained sentience and were running everywhere. I caught some, both purple and blue ones."
"The Scripture Pavilion was full of books, hundreds of them. I took those too."
Chen Ruoxi listened intently, constantly making notes in her book.
"And then?"
"Then I went elsewhere and met Cold Moon; everything she said after that is true."
"In that cave... was a Wood-attribute Spiritual Vein."
Chen Ruoxi's hand trembled.
"A Wood-attribute Spiritual Vein?!"
"Yes," Lin Feng nodded. "That Spiritual Vein nurtured the demonic flowers and grasses outside, as well as that Evergreen Tree. Next to the Spiritual Vein was a type of pale-golden soil that contained intense life energy, so I collected some of that as well."
He didn't say it was soil of life.
Nor did he say he had fused it into Breathing Earth.
"What about the Spiritual Vein itself?"
"I absorbed it," Lin Feng said nonchalantly. "Using my Talent."
Chen Ruoxi fell silent.
She looked at Lin Feng with a complex expression.
Absorbed the Spiritual Vein?
What kind of maneuver is that?
"Your F-Rank Fusion Talent... can do that?"
"I got lucky," Lin Feng smiled. "Although my Talent has a low rating, it has quite a few functions."
Chen Ruoxi took a deep breath and quickly recorded in her notebook.
"Anything else?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment.
"Oh right, that Evergreen Tree—I dug it up too."
The corner of Chen Ruoxi's mouth twitched.
Dug it up?
He dug up a tree that had lived for ten thousand years?
"Where is it now?"
"In my storage equipment."
Chen Ruoxi fell silent.
She suddenly understood a little why Shen Yutang's gaze toward Lin Feng was so venomous.
This guy truly reaped too much.
"Anything else?"
"No more," Lin Feng shook his head. "After that, I went to find Cold Moon, and we spent over a day together sweeping through monsters until the time was up."
Chen Ruoxi finished the last note in her book and closed it.
Then there were the deeds of the Little Princess, which were also much the same!
She looked at the four.
"Good work, go rest for now. Tomorrow morning, I'll send you back."
Shen Yutang was the first to stand up and leave without looking back.
He didn't say a single word.
Cold Moon also stood up and glanced at Lin Feng.
"Thank you."
She said softly, then turned and left.
Lin Feng waved his hand and also stood up.
Chen Ruoxi called out to him.
"Lin Feng."
"Hmm?"
"What you just said... is it all true?"
Lin Feng looked at her and blinked.
"Of course."
Chen Ruoxi stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled.
"Alright, I believe you."
"Go on, get some good rest."
Lin Feng nodded and turned to leave.
...
Back in his tent, Lin Feng collapsed onto the bed.
Tired.
So damn tired.
Although his body was fine, his spirit had been tense for three days. Now that he relaxed, his whole body felt weak.
"Squeak squeak."
Xiao Jin climbed down from his shoulder and rolled around on the bed.
It was also exhausted.
Lin Feng reached out and stroked its head.
"Thanks for your hard work, little guy."
Xiao Jin nuzzled his hand, then curled into a ball and fell asleep.
Lin Feng closed his eyes and began to review the gains from this trip in his mind.
Rank: From level 26 to level 40, a total of 14 levels.
Equipment: dragon slaying sword (SSS-Rank iridescent), complete compendium of elixirs (pseudo-iridescent), Breathing Earth (pseudo-iridescent).
Materials: Young Flood Dragon scales, bone spurs, eyes, heart, various purple Spirit Stones, golden Spirit Stones, soil of life (already fused), evergreen fruit (already fused), and countless blue and green Materials.
Skills: Four Symbols Demon Suppressing Formation, Incarnation of Light, Body of the Earth, Source of Life...
And that ten-thousand-year Evergreen Tree, currently planted in the wanxiang ring.
"This trip... was worth it."
He grinned.
But soon, his smile faded.
He had seen Shen Yutang's gaze very clearly.
It was a look of hatred.
He had tried to kill him and steal his treasures before but failed. Now, a deadly feud had been formed.
"The Shen Family..."
Lin Feng murmured.
Another enemy.
The Zhou Family hadn't been dealt with yet, and now there was the Shen Family.
"Troublesome..."
He sighed.
But soon, his gaze became firm.
"Let them come."
"Who's afraid of whom?"
He rolled over and closed his eyes.
He fell into a deep sleep.
...
Early the next morning.
Sunlight shone through the gaps in the tent.
Lin Feng opened his eyes, feeling full of energy.
Xiao Jin was still sleeping, curled in a ball, occasionally moving its legs, who knows what it was dreaming about.
Lin Feng didn't disturb it and got up quietly.
Walking out of the tent, the outside was already bustling.
Soldiers were lined up for drills, the cooking squad was preparing breakfast, and several military vehicles were coming and going.
Chen Ruoxi stood not far away, talking to several officers.
Seeing Lin Feng, she waved.
Lin Feng walked over.
"Morning."
"Morning," Chen Ruoxi nodded. "After breakfast, I'll send you to the airport."
"Okay."
The two were silent for a few seconds.
Chen Ruoxi suddenly spoke.
"Lin Feng, there's something I want to ask you."
"What is it?"
"Why do you think that Secret Realm... disappeared?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment.
"Maybe... it's because the Spiritual Vein was absorbed by me."
Chen Ruoxi raised an eyebrow.
"The Spiritual Vein is the core of the Secret Realm, supporting the entire space. Without the Spiritual Vein, the Secret Realm naturally collapsed."
Chen Ruoxi looked thoughtful.
"That makes sense."
She looked at Lin Feng, her eyes carrying a hint of... admiration?
"You kid, you know quite a lot."
Lin Feng smiled and didn't speak.
Chen Ruoxi patted his shoulder.
"Alright, go eat."
...
One hour later.
Three military SUVs, carrying Lin Feng, Cold Moon, and Shen Yutang, drove out of the base.
Shen Yutang was in a separate vehicle and didn't say a word to them from start to finish.
Cold Moon and Lin Feng sat in the same vehicle.
The car was very quiet, with only the roar of the engine.
Cold Moon looked at the scenery flying by outside the window and suddenly spoke.
"Lin Feng."
"Hmm?"
"How much of what you said yesterday... was true?"
Lin Feng glanced at her.
"You guess."
Cold Moon was silent for a few seconds.
"In that cave, it definitely wasn't as simple as just a Spiritual Vein, right?"
Lin Feng didn't answer.
Cold Moon waited for a while, seeing that he didn't speak, she stopped asking.
"Forget it, if you won't say, then you won't say."
"Anyway... thank you for saving me."
Lin Feng nodded.
"You're welcome."
The car continued to drive.
The scenery outside changed from wild mountains to fields and villages, and then to skyscrapers.
Two hours later.
The car stopped at the military airport on the outskirts of Donghai City.
Chen Ruoxi got out of the front vehicle and walked up to them.
"We're here."
"Thank you, Major Chen," Lin Feng said.
Chen Ruoxi nodded.
"Lin Feng, keep in touch. I might need you for something in the future."
"Sure."
Chen Ruoxi looked at Cold Moon.
"Miss Cold, what about you?"
Cold Moon shook her head.
"I'll head back on my own."
"Alright, then have a safe trip."
Cold Moon looked at Lin Feng, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.
But in the end, she said nothing.
She turned and left.
Shen Yutang had already gotten into a black sedan and driven away.
From start to finish, he hadn't looked at them once.
Chen Ruoxi looked in the direction the car had disappeared and frowned.
"Lin Feng, do you... have a history with him?"
"Something like that," Lin Feng shrugged. "He tried to kill me but didn't succeed."
Chen Ruoxi was startled.
Then, she laughed.
"That guy really doesn't know what's good for him."
She patted Lin Feng's shoulder.
"Be careful; the Shen Family isn't easy to mess with."
"I know."
"Alright, you should head back too. The car is waiting outside."
Lin Feng nodded and turned to walk outside.
Behind him, Chen Ruoxi's voice came.
"Lin Feng."
"Hmm?"
"Stay alive."
Lin Feng turned back and smiled.
"I will."
He walked out of the airport and got into the waiting military SUV.
The car started and drove toward the city.
Outside the window were familiar streets, familiar buildings, and familiar crowds.
The three-day trip to the Secret Realm felt like a lifetime ago.
Lin Feng leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
Many images flashed through his mind.
His parents' disappearance, Chen Lin's promise, his Master's teachings, Shen Yutang's hatred, Cold Moon's gaze...
And that Zhao Iron Pillar who had disappeared in the Secret Realm.
"Being alive... is good."
He murmured.
The car drove through street after street.
Ahead was the direction of home.