28: Nangong Wan's suspicion

Han Li was startled when he saw Nangong Wan, whom he had just met. He looked at Nangong Wan and quickly bowed in salute: “Junior Han Li greets Senior!”

However, Nangong Wan’s gaze did not linger on Han Li, nor did she even glance at him, as if he were just air. All her attention was focused on Lin Feng, waiting for his response.

Han Li’s bow froze in mid-air, a hint of awkwardness flashing across his face. He looked up at Nangong Wan, then at Lin Feng beside him. Lin Feng remained standing tall in front of a Core Formation Senior, with a perfectly appropriate smile on his face, showing no trace of panic. This composure made Han Li feel somewhat ashamed.

When Lin Feng saw Nangong Wan’s sudden arrival, his heart bloomed with joy. Wasn’t this just delivering herself to his doorstep?

The System’s first major main quest: Form a Heart-to-Heart Bond with [Nangong Wan].

This was a Heaven-Defying Opportunity! Although he didn’t know why she suddenly sought him out, Lin Feng remembered that Nangong Wan’s character in the original work was quite upright, so she shouldn’t harm a Qi Refining Cultivator without reason.

Seeing the somewhat stiff rigid atmosphere, he quickly composed himself and cupped his hands slightly towards Nangong Wan, his posture respectful but not lacking in grace.

“Since Senior invites me, how dare this Junior refuse?” Lin Feng’s tone was calm as he accepted the invitation.

He turned around and looked at Han Li. Han Li still maintained his bowing posture, his expression complex.

Lin Feng patted Han Li’s shoulder, his action natural and friendly: “Old Brother Han, this Senior has something to discuss, so I’ll take my leave first. If you have anything to do, you can leave on your own. We, brothers, will meet again if fate allows!”

Han Li finally straightened up, looking at Lin Feng with a hint of reluctance and gratitude in his eyes.

“Brother Lin, take care. This Junior will never forget today’s kindness!” Han Li said sincerely.

Lin Feng smiled, said nothing more, just cupped his hands again, then turned and looked at Nangong Wan.

Nangong Wan said nothing, just nodded lightly, then transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the outside of Tai Nan Valley. Lin Feng followed closely, controlling his Magical Artifact. Although his speed was not as fast as a Core Formation Cultivator, Nangong Wan did not use her full strength, so he was able to keep up.

Looking at the graceful figure ahead, he couldn’t help but wonder, did this count as an open flirtation in front of the husband?

Han Li stood rooted to the spot, watching the two figures disappear into the distance. Seeing Lin Feng and Nangong Wan vanish into the sky one after another, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. There was the relief of surviving a calamity, gratitude towards Lin Feng, but more than that, a yearning for powerful strength, and a hint of indescribable envy.

Core Formation Cultivators were high and mighty, not even deigning to glance at him. Yet Lin Feng, this Loose Cultivator, this Lin Feng who also had a pseudo Spiritual Root, could gain the favor of a Core Formation Cultivator and be summoned away alone. It was truly enviable and maddening...

He clenched his fists, Lin Feng’s words about the “ascension token” echoing in his mind. No matter what, he couldn’t miss this Opportunity. He then turned and walked towards the Seven Sects viewing platform.

————

Lin Feng followed Nangong Wan, flying all the way out of the valley, leaving the square where the Ascension Gathering was held, passing through the inner valley area of Tai Nan Valley, and arriving at a secluded mountain valley. It was far from the crowd, with lush vegetation, and only the sounds of insects and birds echoing.

Nangong Wan stopped in front of a green stone. Without any warning, she suddenly waved her jade hand lightly.

A soft white light flew from her fingertips and merged into the surrounding air. Immediately after, Lin Feng felt a strange fluctuation spread out. The scene before his eyes seemed to twist for a moment, and the surrounding grass, trees, and rocks instantly blurred, enveloped by a faint white mist.

It was Nangong Wan who had suddenly set up a Formation, isolating this space from the outside world.

Lin Feng stood still, not attempting to escape, nor showing any signs of panic. He calmly looked at Nangong Wan and asked, “Senior, what is the meaning of this?”

Nangong Wan turned around, her eyes behind the veil still cold, carrying a sharp scrutiny. She did not immediately answer Lin Feng’s question, but first sized him up. However, Nangong Wan’s expression suddenly changed. She then swept him with her Divine Sense again, frowning deeply, as if she had discovered something unexpected.

Lin Feng allowed her to examine him, his mind racing. Earlier at the Ascension Gathering, the System had prompted that due to her special Cultivation Technique, she had detected a Core Formation Perfection Cultivation Base emanating from the Nine Revolutions Breathing Earth Pearl. She must have misunderstood something, thinking he had some improper intentions.

Nangong Wan withdrew her Divine Sense and looked directly into Lin Feng’s eyes. Her voice, transmitted through the veil, carried a subtle fluctuation.

“You are hiding your Cultivation Base and attempting to infiltrate the Seven Sects. What is your purpose?” She directly posed her question, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Lin Feng’s heart tightened. Sure enough. But, hiding his Cultivation Base? He wasn’t hiding anything; his current Cultivation Base was indeed at the Qi Refinement Stage.

He didn’t immediately refute, but instead gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“So that’s it, Senior has misunderstood.” Lin Feng sighed, his tone sounding somewhat helpless, “This Junior has not hidden his Cultivation Base.”

A hint of doubt flashed in Nangong Wan’s eyes, but she did not relax her guard. She said coldly, “Not hidden? You, a Qi Refinement Cultivator, how could you effortlessly defeat Lu Yunfeng of the Lu family’s full-strength attack? Such control over Spiritual Qi is difficult even for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to achieve easily. If you haven’t hidden your true Cultivation Base, how could you do it?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief. If she only suspected him because of this, he could still find an excuse to deflect.

He quickly weighed his words and slowly said, “Senior is absolutely right, but this Junior is indeed not an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator. However, it’s not that I’m hiding my Cultivation Base, but rather… my Spiritual Root is a bit special.”

“Special Spiritual Root?” Nangong Wan’s suspicion lessened slightly upon hearing this.

Earlier at the Ascension Gathering, when Lin Feng tested his Spiritual Root, the five soaring pillars of light that erupted astonished everyone. If one were to say it wasn’t special, perhaps no one would believe it.

Lin Feng nodded and continued to explain: “Yes. Ordinary five-element Spiritual Roots Cultivate slowly, and their spiritual power is impure. However, my five-element Spiritual Root, for some unknown reason, Cultivates extremely quickly, but breaking through Bottlenecks is extremely difficult. The Spiritual Qi required for Breakthrough seems to far exceed that of Cultivators at the same stage. But this also leads to my Spiritual Qi’s purity and strength far exceeding the Qi Refinement Stage. Furthermore, this Junior, by chance, once obtained a rare treasure that can interfere with Divine Sense detection, causing it to confuse and misidentify one’s Cultivation Base.”

This statement was half-truth, half-fiction. The special nature of the five-element Spiritual Root was true, and the strength of his spiritual power exceeding others at the same stage was also true, but the claim of interfering with Divine Sense detection by a rare treasure was fabricated. The Nine Revolutions Breathing Earth Pearl was certainly a rare treasure, but its true abilities were too Heaven-Defying. He combined some of the pearl’s functions with his own Spiritual Root characteristics to concoct a seemingly plausible explanation.

After listening to Lin Feng’s explanation, Nangong Wan’s eyes still held a hint of suspicion. Although the special nature of a supreme-grade five-element Spiritual Root was a fact, there was no precedent for it in the Cultivation world, and if Lin Feng was fabricating it out of thin air, she couldn’t distinguish truth from falsehood.

She remained silent for a moment, seemingly pondering the veracity of Lin Feng’s words. A Qi Refinement Cultivator, facing her, a Core Formation Senior, could remain so calm and fearless. This in itself was very unusual. Either he was incredibly bold, or he had something to rely on.

She was more inclined towards the latter.

“A rare treasure?” Nangong Wan asked, her voice carrying a hint of inquiry, “What kind of rare treasure is it, to have such a miraculous effect?”

Lin Feng thought to himself, here it comes. But of course, he couldn’t expose the rare treasure from the System.

“Senior, please forgive me, this item concerns this Junior’s Cultivation trump card, so I cannot disclose it.” Lin Feng’s attitude was respectful, but his tone was firm.

Seeing this, Nangong Wan did not press further. She simply stared at Lin Feng, seemingly trying to discern something from his face. But Lin Feng’s expression management was impeccable, not a single flaw.

“The rare treasure you mentioned can interfere with Divine Sense detection. This might explain why I initially detected you were hiding your Cultivation Base,” Nangong Wan slowly said, “but your claim that your spiritual power purity and strength far exceed others at the same stage is too shocking. This cannot be explained by just ‘special Spiritual Root’.”

She clearly still didn’t believe Lin Feng’s explanation.

Lin Feng knew that words alone were not enough; he had to provide some evidence. His previous words had already laid the groundwork.

A helpless smile appeared on his face as he said, “If Senior doesn’t believe me, this Junior has nothing more to say. However, Senior is a Core Formation mighty figure, and detecting this Junior’s spiritual power is naturally much more accurate than using a spirit-testing stone. If Senior doesn’t mind, you can hold this Junior’s hand and personally investigate. See if the spiritual power within this Junior’s body is truly as this Junior says, not hidden Cultivation Base, but rather the spiritual power itself is inherently more profound and pure than those at the same stage.”

With that, he extended his right hand, palm upward, in a posture that allowed Nangong Wan to investigate freely.