166: Moon Shadow Order

Over these three years, his damaged dao foundation had basically been restored.

Within his Dantian, the Five Elements Sword Essence had not only recovered to its original state but had also become purer and more harmonious through constant circulation, and his control over the Ice and Lightning Sword Essences had grown increasingly proficient.

The soul nurturing wood pendant on his chest had deepened in color, and its connection to his Divine Soul had become even tighter.

On this day, after he finished circulating the abundant Spiritual Qi within his Dantian through a full major cycle, the Five Elements cycle spontaneously accelerated, emitting a melodious humming sound. The lake of Spiritual Qi quietly expanded, and the Spiritual Qi became more condensed and heavy.

Late Foundation Establishment Stage, achieved.

He opened his eyes, feeling the massive yet docile power within his body, and swept his Divine Sense over the three ironwood Puppets standing quietly beside him.

After three years of seclusion, not only had his cultivation fully recovered and his Foundation become more solid, but his Divine Sense and Puppet arts had also greatly improved.

It was time to come out of seclusion.

He did not linger too long in the Sect; after a brief preparation, he transformed into a dark golden Escaping Light and left the Tianxuan Sect.

With his cultivation fully restored, he needed practical combat experience and, more importantly, to seek his own Opportunity to prepare for the elusive path of Core Formation.

Several months later, deep in a barren mountain range called White Cloud Gorge, Lin Feng had just killed a fourth-rank Yao Beast that attempted to ambush him and was processing its inner core.

Suddenly, his Divine Sense stirred, catching faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi and the sound of weapons clashing in the distance, interspersed with a woman's hurried gasps and shouts.

He originally did not want to get involved; killings were common in the cultivation world, and rashly intervening was unwise. However, the sounds of fighting rapidly approached, accompanied by a disheveled Escaping Light that wobbled toward his direction.

Inside the Escaping Light was a young female Cultivator dressed in a moon-white dress. Her clothes were stained with blood, her face was pale as paper, and her Aura was chaotic, clearly indicating she had suffered extremely heavy injuries. Behind her, three blood-colored Escaping Lights pursued relentlessly, exuding intense Evil Qi.

"Little wench, let's see where you can run!" someone among the pursuers sneered.

When the female Cultivator saw Lin Feng, a faint glimmer of hope flashed in her desperate eyes, and she used her last bit of strength to cry out: "Fellow Daoist... save..."

Before she could finish, a blood-colored blade glow had already struck toward her back. Lin Feng frowned slightly; in the end, his compassion was stirred.

His figure flickered, moving faster than the attack. He formed a hand seal with his left hand, and a strand of Ice Soul Divine Light struck, precisely deflecting the blade glow and saving the female Cultivator.

Seeing someone intervene—a Cultivator with only Late Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation—the three pursuers were enraged and attacked together. Lin Feng's expression did not change; the fruits of his three years of seclusion were now on display.

He did not use his full strength, only maneuvering with exquisite footwork and Five Elements spells, his control over which had greatly increased. His sword light struck east and west, water and fire complemented each other, and earth and metal resonated. In just over ten rounds, he forced the three peers into a flustered state, and they eventually fled in terror.

He turned to look at the female Cultivator. She could no longer support herself and collapsed to the ground. A hideous wound on her chest was constantly oozing black blood, and her Aura was like a candle in the wind.

Lin Feng crouched down and took out a Qi-replenishing pill, intending to feed it to her.

The female Cultivator shook her head with difficulty, her lips moving, her voice as thin as gossamer: "It's... it's useless... the Evil Qi... has already invaded my heart meridian..."

She tremblingly took out a token from her bosom that felt cool to the touch and was neither gold nor jade, stuffing it into Lin Feng's hand. The token had an ancient design, with an exquisite crescent moon pattern carved on the front.

"Please... I beg you... take this... to the Illusory Moon Sect... and give it to... the Saintess..." Her eyes were full of pleading and urgency, and she used her last bit of strength to say intermittently,

"The message is... 'The moon shadow slants west... the Gui water flows in reverse...' It concerns... the survival of the Sect... you must..." Before she could finish her words, the light in her pupils completely faded, and she breathed her last.

Lin Feng held the token, which still retained her warmth, and frowned deeply. He did not know this female Cultivator, nor did he have any deep relationship with the Illusory Moon Sect; this sudden entrustment was undoubtedly a trouble.

More than a decade ago at the ruins of the Zen Sound Temple, he had owed a debt of gratitude to the female Cultivator who led the Illusory Moon Sect group. Seven years ago, he saved five Illusory Moon Sect Cultivators specifically to repay this debt.

He could have left right then and there, pretending nothing had happened.

But as his fingertips rubbed the crescent moon token, an extremely pure, gentle, yet vast fluctuation of power faintly emanated from it.

This power... is it the power of Taiyin?

What shocked Lin Feng even more was that the Five Elements Sword Essence, which had been circulating steadily in his Dantian—especially the Water and Wood Sword Essences representing vitality and gentleness—actually produced a subtle resonance with this power. It was like a water droplet merging into a stream; not only was there no repulsion, but there was a sense of comfortable compatibility.

Why could the Illusory Moon Sect's token trigger a resonance with the Nine Profound Sword Heart Art?

This discovery made him put away the thought of leaving immediately.

He examined the female Cultivator's face, frozen with anxiety and expectation before her death, and felt the strange connection between the token and his own Cultivation Technique.

Illusory Moon Sect... Saintess... Gui water flows in reverse... survival of the Sect... and this mysterious resonance.

This curiosity, coupled with a sense of moral duty regarding the dying entrustment, and a trace of exploration into his own dao path, ultimately outweighed the thought of staying out of it.

He put away the crescent moon token and cast his gaze toward the direction of the Illusory Moon Sect.

"I shall make a trip there, then." He muttered to himself, transformed into an Escaping Light, and disappeared into the vast wilderness.

Driving his Escaping Light, Lin Feng soon arrived before a mountain range shrouded in clouds and mist, dense with Spiritual Qi. Amidst the mountains, a magnificent mountain gate loomed, and the three ancient seal characters for "Illusory Moon Sect" on the lintel shimmered with a cold, clear radiance.

Before the mountain gate, several female Disciples dressed in moon-white dresses stood solemnly with cold expressions, their Auras faintly originating from the same source as the power of Taiyin on the token.

He lowered his Escaping Light, landed before the mountain gate, and cupped his hands, saying: "I am Lin Feng of the Tianxuan Sect. I have an urgent matter to see your Sect's Saintess; please pass on the message." After speaking, he took out the crescent moon token.

The gatekeeping Disciples swept their eyes over Lin Feng. Seeing that he was a man, their brows immediately furrowed, but upon seeing him holding the token, their expressions softened slightly, though they remained cold:

"This moon shadow token is indeed a token of our Sect. However, it is our Sect's rule not to receive outside guests, and even less so to admit male guests. Whatever urgent matter Your Excellency has, you might as well tell us, and we will pass it on to the Saintess on your behalf."

Just as Lin Feng was about to explain the origin of the token and the message, a sudden burst of rapid Spiritual Qi fluctuations and noise came from inside the mountain gate.

"Quick! Stop him! Don't let him disturb the Forbidden Ground!"

Several figures darted out from the mountain gate. In the lead, a black-robed figure flickered like a ghost with strange footwork, pursued closely by several Illusory Moon Sect female Cultivators. The person leading them, her hair slightly disheveled and her Aura somewhat hurried, was none other than Shui Qingxue, whom he had met once before in the Badou Mountain Range.

The black-robed person seemed to want to force their way out of the gate but was blocked by the formation set up by the gatekeeping Disciples. Shui Qingxue and the others immediately surrounded them, and a battle ensued. The black-robed person's cultivation was not weak, and their methods were strange, resulting in a stalemate for the time being.

Shui Qingxue's sword light was fierce, but her peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Lin Feng standing to the side. She was stunned for a moment, and her sword momentum slowed by half a beat.

When her gaze fell upon the crescent moon token in Lin Feng's hand, her expression changed drastically, and she exclaimed: "It's you? How do you have the moon shadow token?!"