5: Preaching Cliff

Early the next morning, Lin Feng left the herb garden alone.

The further he walked into the depths of the Sect, the more different the air became.

The thin Spiritual Qi of the outer area gradually became dense and pure, and when inhaled into his lungs, it had a slightly sweet, cool sensation that refreshed his spirit.

The ancient trees on both sides of the path became more vigorous, and exotic flowers and herbs could be seen everywhere, emitting a shimmering, precious light.

Occasionally, immortal cranes and spiritual deer strolled leisurely, and upon seeing him dressed in the attire of a Menial Servant, they only gave a lazy glance.

'Is this the world where Inner Sect Disciples live...'

Lin Feng was shocked; just by walking this path and breathing the air here, his spiritual power had actually increased by an imperceptible amount.

If one were to Cultivate here...

On the road, he could occasionally see groups of two or three Outer Sect Disciples walking together, chatting and laughing, looking relaxed.

"Have you heard? The Outer Sect small competition is starting again at the beginning of next month."

"Tsk, I heard that this time, in order to secure a spot in the top ten, Senior Brother Zhang specifically signed up several of his Menial Servants. He calls it training, but isn't he just looking for some scapegoats so he doesn't look so embarrassing?"

"Haha, that's the usual practice. Those Menial Servants are unlucky; they just go up there to go through the motions, inevitably get a beating, and still have to be grateful."

Lin Feng stepped aside and listened silently.

The Preaching Cliff was located on a cloud-shrouded secondary peak, carved according to the mountain's terrain, including multiple platforms, stone steps, and enlightenment caves, facing a waterfall cascading down from afar, presenting a magnificent sight.

The cliff wall was engraved with various profound runes and sword marks, said to be left by generations of Inner Sect Disciples and even Elders who had demonstrated their techniques there.

Lin Feng's task was to sweep the three thousand stone steps leading to the top of the cliff.

He picked up his broom and began to sweep the fallen leaves, one step at a time.

When he reached the middle of the mountainside, he suddenly had a feeling and turned his head to look.

He saw that on a platform nearby, an Inner Sect Disciple dressed in a white robe with cloud patterns, standing as straight as a pine, stood with his hands behind his back, facing a massive black boulder covered in deep sword marks, motionless, as if he had merged with heaven and earth.

The aura around that Disciple was deep and profound, far beyond what Lin Feng could fathom, but in his focused gaze, it seemed as if countless sword lights were being born, dying, and evolving.

'An expert!'

Lin Feng felt a chill in his heart and quickly lowered his head, not daring to look more, fearing he would cause trouble.

An Outer Sect Disciple saw Lin Feng and immediately scolded: "You, Menial Servant! Be quick with your hands and feet. Finish sweeping and get lost, don't be an eyesore here. If you disturb Senior Brother Chu's enlightenment, can you bear the consequences?"

Lin Feng quickly lowered his head and sped up his sweeping.

The heaven-stealing vine in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly stirred.

Its two tender leaves swayed wildly, and its thin spiritual tendrils pointed desperately toward the sword-marked stone and Senior Brother Chu, who were close at hand, with unprecedented intensity.

Immediately after, a surge of intent, mixed with the residual Sword Intent contained in the sword-marked stone itself and the trace of pure enlightenment emitted by Senior Brother Chu while observing the sword marks, was captured by the heaven-stealing vine.

'...Slash!... Unrestrained... Forge ahead... A point of cold light...'

It was blurry, yet it contained a true meaning of the Dao of the Sword—to break through shackles and forge ahead without hesitation.

Lin Feng covered his mouth as a metallic, fishy sweetness surged up his throat, which he forcefully swallowed back down.

His brain felt as if it were being pricked by needles; although that Sword Intent was only a sliver, it was too sharp and almost tore apart his fragile Sea of Consciousness.

But at the same time, the most difficult move of the introductory sword technique "Clear Breeze Sword Art"—"Clear Breeze Brushes the Willow"—which the original owner had practiced hard for many years but never mastered,

had its many key points and methods of channeling power become incredibly clear and suddenly understood under the impact of that domineering fragment of Sword Intent.

He subconsciously used his finger as a sword, following that fragment of enlightenment, mimicking that Sword Intent, and made a light, extremely subtle slash.

Chi!

A subtle sound of air being pierced, clearer than before, rang out in the air.

A faint, almost transparent Qi energy, about an inch long, flashed from his fingertip and vanished.

'The heaven-stealing vine... can it actually steal the enlightenment others have gained from their Cultivation?'

Lin Feng was overjoyed, but immediately lowered his head firmly, pouring all his focus into sweeping, not daring to make any other movements, though his back was already soaked in cold sweat.

Three days later, Lin Feng dragged his exhausted body back to the herb garden.

The scene that met his eyes made his heart sink by half.

His herb field was, just as he had expected, in a mess.

Those Spiritual Plants that had previously been growing well were now mostly withered, yellow, and collapsed, their Spiritual Qi dissipated, and they looked like they were about to die completely.

Ye Yuner's field was slightly better; she had clearly tried her best to take care of it, but lacking key methods, the situation was equally grim.

Ye Yuner was squatting by the field, trying to channel a meager amount of spiritual power into a Spiritual Plant. Hearing footsteps, she looked up, her eyes red:

"Senior Brother Lin! You... you're back... what should we do? Tomorrow is the end of the month. Our Spiritual Plants... aren't enough to meet the quota..."

Previously, to exchange for Spirit Stones, they had sold some Spiritual Plants, and now there were very few in the field that could be considered High Grade.

Lin Feng looked at Ye Yuner's helpless, teary eyes, took a deep breath, stepped forward, and gently held Ye Yuner's cold, trembling hands: "Don't be afraid, Yuner. Leave it to me."

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Lin Feng stood alone in the middle of his and Ye Yuner's fields.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into his Sea of Consciousness. After that experience at the Preaching Cliff, he felt that his control over the heaven-stealing vine seemed a bit more refined.

'Buddy, this time... I have to rely on you to save my life!'

He exerted his full strength to activate the heaven-stealing vine.

His brow burned, and spiritual tendrils reached out with unprecedented intensity, no longer limited to a single target, but like an invisible net, slowly enveloping all the dying Spiritual Plants in the entire herb field.

At the same time, the trace of Sword Intent captured at the Preaching Cliff began to circulate on its own, giving him a new understanding of precision and control.

'I don't need to save them all... I just need... to make them look like High Grade. Or even... exceed High Grade.'

He frantically squeezed his own meager spiritual power, communicated with the violent Evil Qi underground, and performed extremely delicate operations through the heaven-stealing vine.

He grafted the converted vitality and the extracted Evil Qi, using the condensed Dao of that trace of Sword Intent, precisely onto the leaves of every Spiritual Plant.

His face rapidly turned pale, and his body swayed, on the verge of collapsing.

Under the moonlight, those Spiritual Plants that had been on the verge of death saw their withered yellow leaves turn emerald green and dripping with vitality, and they emitted a nearly fake, unusually full and rich luster of Spiritual Qi.

Although their internal Foundations might still be weak, judging solely by their appearance and the dissipated Spiritual Qi, these were definitely top-tier High Grade Spiritual Plants.

Perhaps even better.

The next day, at the hour of Mao.

Steward Wang brought Zhang Hu and swaggered over to collect the goods.

However, when they saw the field of High Grade Spiritual Plants in Lin Feng's plot—all growing amazingly, filled with intense Spiritual Qi, and each one perfect—the expressions on their faces froze instantly.

"This... this is impossible!"

Steward Wang exclaimed, rushed into the field, grabbed a Spiritual Plant, and examined it carefully; the leaves were full, the Spiritual Qi was abundant, and it was undoubtedly High Grade.

Zhang Hu was even more dumbfounded, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

Lin Feng expressionlessly picked twenty of the best-looking "High Grade Spirit-Nurturing Grass" and placed them neatly in front of Steward Wang: "Steward Wang, please inspect them."

Steward Wang's face turned livid. He scanned back and forth between Lin Feng and the herb field, but ultimately could not find any flaws, and could only accept the Spiritual Plants while gritting his teeth.

The surrounding Utility Disciples were also completely shocked by this scene, and their gazes toward Lin Feng were filled with disbelief and deep awe.

A few days later, the registration list for the Outer Sect small competition was announced.

Lin Feng's name was prominently on the list.