A hundredfold return! My unfilial disciples are all reincarnations of the Empress.

A group of over thirty people from Qingyun Palace flew south on their swords in a grand procession.

As Lin Feng passed through several cities along the way, he glanced down and saw that the streets below were bustling with people.

The capital city was located in the heart of the Chu Kingdom. Above the city gate hung a huge white jade plaque inscribed with the words "Tianqi".

They landed, and the steward led Qingyun Palace to a separate courtyard with enough rooms for everyone.

Lin Feng chose the east wing room, from which he could see an old locust tree in the courtyard.

That afternoon, he took his three apprentices out to tour the capital.

The city was much more lively than he had imagined, and he could see monks dressed in all sorts of costumes on the streets.

Chi Yao found everything fascinating and stood in front of a stall selling magical artifacts for a long time.

The stall owner was a thin old man who boasted eloquently that the rusty short sword was an "ancient relic".

Lin Feng grabbed her and pulled her away: "A rusty bronze sword is worth at most three low-grade spirit stones."

"But what he said sounded so true..."

"He only does one-off deals. By the time you come back to find him, he'll have already run away."

After strolling around for another half an hour, as we turned a street corner, we suddenly heard a commotion ahead.

It's unclear which of the two cultivators made the first move, but a burst of spiritual energy exploded outwards, overturning several nearby stalls.

Five or six city guards in black uniforms rushed in from the street corner, quickly separated the two, subdued them, and took them away.

Lin Feng's gaze fell on the city guards.

"These people are quite powerful."

Liu Yushu chimed in, "At the very least, it's the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

By the time we returned to the inn, it was already dark.

The lanterns in the courtyard lit up, and the disciples of Qingyun Palace sat in twos and threes under the eaves talking, the atmosphere much more relaxed than during the day.

The exchange event officially began on the second day.

The venue was set up in the martial arts square in the center of the capital, which was more than twice the size of the martial arts square of Qingyun Palace, and viewing platforms were set up around it.

Representatives from various factions arrived one after another. Lin Feng glanced around and recognized many familiar faces.

The representatives of the independent cultivators from the Western Regions sat on the other side of the viewing platform. The woman at the head of the group wore a dark red headscarf and had a cultivation level at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

The conference process was similar to the competition, with each sect sending representatives to the stage to exchange ideas and discuss, followed by free time.

One of the matches was between a rogue cultivator from the Western Regions and a mid-level sect from the Chu Kingdom.

The woman from the Western Regions acted extremely quickly, forcing her opponent off the stage in just three moves, causing a great uproar.

Lin Feng watched intently. When the woman made her move, the flow of spiritual energy was exactly the same as all the cultivation techniques he had ever seen.

When it was time for free time, the disciples from each sect dispersed in twos and threes.

Some went to exchange cultivation techniques, while others went to the trading area to find treasures.

Just as Lin Feng was about to go over and take a look, a voice came from the side: "Peak Master Lin."

He turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in a black Taoist robe with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, who was at the Golden Core stage, standing in front of him.

The man gave a polite smile: "I am Li Qian, an elder of the Wind and Thunder Valley in the Northern Territory. I have long admired Peak Master Lin's name."

Lin Feng, naturally unaware of what made him so special, asked, "Elder Li, is there something you need?"

"I've heard that Master Lin has a deep understanding of ancient ruins, and I'd like to ask him for his advice."

A few days ago, my Wind and Thunder Valley discovered the entrance to a ruin in the Northern Territory. We'd like to find someone knowledgeable to explore it together. If Peak Master Lin is interested, we can discuss it in detail.

Lin Feng asked, "How do you divide it?"

Li Qian made a gesture: "You can choose 30% of what's found in the ruins, and the rest will belong to Fenglei Valley."

"That proportion is fair."

Li Qian's eyes lit up: "So, Peak Master Lin has agreed?"

"What about a month from now?"

"Okay." Li Qian took out a communication talisman from his sleeve and handed it over. "Contact me later."

After Li Qian left, Lin Feng continued to browse the trading area, but after walking around, there was nothing worth buying.

In the afternoon's sparring session, Qingyun Palace also sent disciples to the stage.

In that match, Liu Yushu faced a young man from the Western Regions who was a rogue cultivator. The opponent used a curved sword and his movements were unpredictable.

Liu Yushu was unable to fully utilize her Ice Domain technique in the first few moves and had to withstand a slash from her opponent.

Later, her water element technique proved advantageous, and in the end, she won the stalemate.

On the way back to the inn.

Chi Yao: "That Western Region man's scimitar technique is quite something."

"Okay, when we get back I'll find you a set of movement techniques to train you on."

At Qingyun Palace, life returned to its usual rhythm.

Liu Yushu's cultivation level steadily increased, and she broke through to the early stage of the Golden Core realm in just two months. On the day of her breakthrough, half of the sky above Xiaozhu Peak was filled with tribulation clouds, and even people on the main peak were peeking out to look.

Chu Lingyan's cultivation level has reached the third level of Foundation Establishment, while Chi Yao's is at the first level.

That morning, Lin Feng was meditating in his cave.

A message talisman flew in; it was from Li Qian, reminding him to meet in the Northern Territory in three days.

Lin Feng put away the talisman and called his three disciples to his side: "Three days from now, come with me on a long journey to the Northern Border."

……

The northern border is much more desolate than the central part of Chu, and the further north you fly, the thinner the spiritual energy becomes.

Li Qian was waiting for him at the agreed location.

"Peak Master Lin is indeed punctual," Li Qian greeted him. "The entrance to the ruins is just three miles ahead."

The group walked another three miles and stopped in front of a mountain wall.

Li Qian gestured to his two disciples behind him to push aside a boulder, revealing a crack in the mountain wall just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Li Qian squeezed in first, Lin Feng followed behind him, and the other disciples filed in one after another.

Behind the crack was a downward passage with a very steep slope, which took about the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

A dungeon appeared before them, with an extremely high dome and walls inlaid with spirit stones of all sizes, illuminating the entire dungeon.

In the center of the underground palace, there is a stone platform, on which sits a jade slip about the size of a palm.

The jade slip is dark green all over, with runes flowing on its surface.

Li Qian glanced at it but didn't rush forward: "Peak Master Lin, please take a look at this jade slip first."

Lin Feng walked over and picked up the jade slip. He probed it with his divine sense and found a complete cultivation technique inside—a wind-attribute technique, divided into three volumes: upper, middle, and lower. It explained how to use wind power to condense spiritual energy and increase the speed of sword flight.

He put down the jade slip and said to Li Qian, "The cultivation method in this jade slip is very valuable. I will take the first volume, and the middle and last volumes are yours."

Li Qian had no objection.

Li Qian instructed his disciple to collect the remaining spirit stones and a few medium-quality magical artifacts in the underground palace, to be distributed later.

Upon exiting the underground palace, Li Qian cupped his hands in greeting to Lin Feng: "Peak Master Lin, it has been a pleasure working with you this time."

Lin Feng returned the greeting: "You're welcome. If there's another opportunity like this in the future, please feel free to contact me again."

A few days later, at lunchtime.

Wang Xiao rushed in: "Boss! News has come from the capital that the Chu Kingdom is going to hold a grand banquet for immortals next month, inviting all sects and factions to attend. The sect leader just sent someone to ask if you're going."

"A Feast for Immortals?"

"It seems to have been organized by the emperor, who invited cultivators and sect representatives from all over the Great Chu."

Lin Feng chuckled: "The emperor actually has the leisure to dine with cultivators?"

Wang Xiao scratched his head: "I don't know. The sect leader said he's going there and asked if you wanted to go too."

"Let's go," Lin Feng said. "It'll be a good opportunity to broaden my apprentices' horizons."

Two weeks later, the group set off for the capital again.

The banquet for immortals was held at the Wanxian Pavilion in the northern part of the capital. The pavilion was three stories high and looked magnificent.

When Lin Feng led his three disciples inside, there were already quite a few people sitting in the hall.

He glanced around and saw that representatives from all the major sects were present, as well as some rogue cultivators whose names he didn't recognize.

The Chu emperor sat high on the main seat, a square-faced man in his early forties, wearing a black robe embroidered with dragon patterns, and exuding no spiritual energy.

The banquet was lavish, with many rare and exotic dishes, clearly indicating that a significant investment had been made.

During the banquet, the emperor raised his glass and made some polite remarks, the gist of which was that the prosperity of the Great Chu was inseparable from the protection of all the cultivators, and he hoped that they would continue to work together in the future.

Everyone raised their glasses in response.

After the banquet, Lin Feng stood for a while under the veranda outside the pavilion, where the night breeze carried a chill.

At this moment, the jade slip he had brought back from the ruins of Fenglei Valley suddenly became slightly warm.

He took it out and probed it with his divine sense, and found a new piece of information inside the jade slip—the ruins of Tianfeng Valley are about two hundred miles north of Baigu Plain.

As he stood up and put the jade slip into his arms, he already had a plan.

Just as he was pondering this, Liu Yushu knocked on the door and came in: "Master, I overheard something at the banquet just now. Those rogue cultivators from the Western Regions have been very active in Chu Kingdom lately, it seems they're looking for something."

"What are you looking for?"

"I didn't find out the specifics. But some people said they were inquiring about the ancient wind vein ruins."

Lin Feng stroked the fine patterns on the jade slip, lost in thought.

Where's your junior sister?

"Chi Yao is sparring with someone in the courtyard." Liu Yushu paused. "Is Master about to set off?"

"No rush, let's first find out what the people from the Western Regions are looking for."

Over the next two days, Lin Feng had Wang Xiao tour the area where rogue cultivators gathered in the capital, spending a few spirit stones to gather some information.

This group of rogue cultivators from the Western Regions were indeed searching for an ancient site related to wind, where a treasure capable of "summoning wind and controlling thunder" was said to be hidden.

Early on the third day, Lin Feng led his three disciples out of the north gate of the capital and flew towards the White Bone Plain.

The White Bones are as their name suggests.

He landed on the ground to examine it, the dry bones beneath his feet making a cracking sound. The bones here had long since weathered and turned white, a vast expanse of white as far as the eye could see.

"This way." Lin Feng identified the direction and led the three of them about two hundred miles northeast, where they saw a low hill in the distance.

Several crooked stone pillars stand atop the hill, resembling the discarded teeth of a giant from a distance.

Liu Yushu glanced around and said, "Someone's already been here."

There were several fresh footprints on the ground, pointing towards the back of the hill.

Lin Feng followed the footprints around to the back of the hill and indeed saw a cave entrance, with fresh marks on the edge of the broken rocks, indicating that it had been shattered by spiritual energy.

He slipped into the cave. The passage was narrow but not long; he walked a few dozen steps and reached the end.

The stone chamber at the end was about two zhang square, with bare walls. Only in the center of the floor was there a pattern carved with nine arcs converging into a vortex.

"The eye of the storm." Lin Feng crouched down to examine it. "This is the mark of wind attribute inheritance."

As soon as he reached out to touch the stone surface, the pattern on the ground suddenly lit up with a faint light.

At the same time, footsteps came from the direction of the cave entrance, indicating that there was more than one person approaching.

Lin Feng stood up and turned around; five people were already blocking the entrance to the cave.

The leader was an old woman with a gray-white headscarf and a dark red robe in the style of the Western Regions. Her sharp eyes swept across the stone chamber.

"Young friend, you're quick on your feet," the old woman said. "I've been following the clues to this site for almost half a month."

Lin Feng sized up the people in front of him—the old woman's cultivation was at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and among the four people following behind him, there were two at the peak of the Golden Core realm and two at the middle stage of the Golden Core realm.

"You were here first?" Lin Feng asked calmly. "Which eye of yours saw me arrive first? What does it matter to me how long you chased after me?"

The old woman's face darkened: "You—"

A young man behind her spoke up first: "Uncle-Master, don't waste your breath on him, the things are more important."

Lin Feng raised his hand, signaling his three disciples to step back. Liu Yushu and Chi Yao immediately flanked Chu Lingyan, and the three retreated to a corner of the stone chamber.

The old woman said no more, and stomped her foot hard. The eye of the storm on the ground suddenly lit up, and a gale swept out from under her feet, heading straight for Lin Feng's face.

Lin Feng dodged to the side, simultaneously drawing his Frost Sword. The sword energy pierced through the wind barrier, and frost spread out, lowering the temperature of half the stone chamber by several degrees.

Seeing that her attack had missed, the old woman quickly formed hand seals, and her spiritual energy condensed into three cyan wind blades, which simultaneously slashed at Lin Feng from three directions.

Lin Feng did not take the attack head-on. Instead, he activated the Illusory Shadowless Step, his figure weaving through the gaps in the wind blades.

At this moment, the eye of the storm in the center of the stone chamber suddenly emitted a low hum.

The two fighters paused simultaneously and looked down.

The pattern was slowly rotating, brightening with each rotation, and dense runes began to appear on the four walls of the stone chamber.

"The ruins are about to open!" shouted the young man behind the old woman.

The old woman immediately stopped her attack and retreated to the edge of the stone chamber. Lin Feng also stopped moving, the tip of his sword touching the ground.

The floor in the very center of the stone chamber began to sink, revealing a downward passage.

A rich aura of wind-elemental spiritual energy surged out from the passage.

The old woman glanced at Lin Feng, then stopped and led her people to jump down first.

Lin Feng turned around, nodded to his three disciples, and followed them down.

The passage wasn't deep; after descending about three or four zhang (approximately 10-12 meters), we reached solid ground.

Below is a much larger space than above, with a very high dome and seven stone doors surrounding the four walls, each engraved with different wind-elemental runes.

The old woman was already standing in front of one of the stone gates, raising her hand to push it open.

The door remained completely still.

She tried the second and third, but couldn't push them open.

Lin Feng didn't rush to test the stone doors, but instead walked around the circular hall.

He discovered that each stone door had a shallow groove at its base, as if something was needed to activate it.

After trying the seventh stone door, the old woman's face darkened. She turned to Lin Feng and asked, "Do you know how to open it?"

"I don't know," Lin Feng replied casually, continuing to observe the shape of the grooves.

In the center of the stone chamber, on the ground, there is a round hole in the eye of the storm, about the same size as the water spirit orb he had in the Water Trial at Drywood Ridge.

He walked over, squatted down to look at the round hole, and then looked up at the seven stone gates.

He didn't have the Water Spirit Orb, but he had something else.

He took out a high-grade spirit stone from his storage bag and tried to embed it into the round hole.

The spirit stone made a soft sound as soon as it was placed inside, then shattered into powder. One of the seven stone doors lit up briefly.

It only lit up briefly before going out.

"We need something with wind attributes." Lin Feng stood up.

Upon hearing this, the old woman took out a small blue bead from her sleeve, walked to the center, squatted down, and put the bead into the round hole.

With a hum, the seven stone doors simultaneously lit up with a dazzling blue light, then opened one by one, revealing a deep passageway behind them.

The old woman stood up, a rare smile appearing on her face: "The Wind Spirit Pearl I've been searching for for half a month has finally come in handy."