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

She chose the middle door and walked in without looking back, followed by several rogue cultivators who filed in one after another.

Chu Lingyan asked softly, "Master, which way should we go?"

Lin Feng glanced at the remaining six gates.

The runes on each door are different, some are complex and some are simple.

The rune style of the third one from the left is most similar to the ancient ruins I've seen before.

The four of them stepped into the passageway and walked for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before a stone chamber appeared ahead.

A bamboo scroll floats in the center of the stone chamber, surrounded by a blue light.

Lin Feng approached and reached out to grab it. The moment his fingertips touched the bamboo slip, the runes on the walls of the stone chamber suddenly lit up, and the entire space began to shake violently.

"Take it and go."

Lin Feng got his hands on the bamboo slips and turned to run back, with his three disciples following closely behind.

The four of them ascended into the air on their swords and burst out of the crack.

Chi Yao dusted off her robes: "Master, what about those people from the Western Regions?"

"I didn't see them come out."

Liu Yushu glanced back at the still-collapsed mountainside: "The door they used either led deeper, or there's another exit."

Lin Feng didn't linger and led the three of them away from the White Bone Plains.

They settled down in a deserted mountain valley.

Lin Feng took out the bamboo slip, unfolded it, and glanced at it. The whole thing was filled with inscriptions of wind-type techniques.

"Wind element." He rolled up the bamboo slip and put it into his storage bag. "I'll take a closer look when I get back."

The next morning, the Qingyun Palace group left the capital and flew towards Qingyun Mountain.

It was already afternoon when they returned to Xiaozhu Peak. Wang Xiao quickly brewed some spiritual tea and prepared a dish of osmanthus cake, saying it was a newly learned recipe.

Lin Feng carried the bamboo slips into the cave, sat down cross-legged, and began to read.

This whirlwind-based technique was far more profound than he had anticipated, divided into three realms: the first realm was "Wind Control," which used wind power to enhance movement and speed; the second realm was "Wind Transformation," which allowed him to integrate his spiritual power into the wind and conceal his aura; and the third realm was "Lightning Summoning," which required the combination of wind-type spiritual roots and lightning-type spiritual power, making it the most powerful but also the most difficult to master.

He memorized all the incantations for the three realms and then put away the bamboo slips.

On the morning of the third day, the communication talisman sounded.

Li Qian's voice came from the talisman: "Peak Master Lin, the underground palace in the Northern Territory has completely collapsed, but before it collapsed, I found something on the outer perimeter that you might be interested in."

If it's convenient, please come to Qingxi Town and we can talk in person.

Lin Feng went to Qingxi Town.

Li Qian had reserved a private room on the second floor of the Linjiangxian Restaurant. A small wooden box sat on the table, which he pushed towards Lin Feng as he entered: "Take a look at this."

Lin Feng opened the box, inside was a broken jade pendant about the size of a palm.

He picked it up and examined it. The broken edge of the jade tablet was very new, and the runes engraved on it were in the same style as those he had seen in the White Bone Plains ruins.

"I'm thinking it might be an original signpost from the perimeter of the ruins; perhaps we can find another entrance by following it."

Lin Feng weighed the jade pendant in his hand: "Are you planning to continue searching?"

"If Peak Master Lin is still interested, we can continue our cooperation. As usual, you choose first when we find something."

"Okay, I'll contact you again if I hear anything."

When they returned to Xiaozhu Peak, Liu Yushu was coming out of the cave, holding an old book in her hands.

Upon seeing Lin Feng, he approached and said, "Master, I have finished reading the books I brought back from the Su family. One of them records the ancient cultivation method for the Taiyin Body."

"Oh? How are ancient methods practiced?"

"The ancient method places greater emphasis on tempering the soul. It begins by using the Taiyin spiritual power to temper the soul during the Foundation Establishment stage. Once the Golden Core stage is reached, the spiritual sense will be significantly stronger than that of other cultivators of the same level."

"Can you train?"

"Yes, but it requires a spiritual medicine called Cold Marrow. The book says this medicine comes from the glacial lands of the far north, and it's very difficult to find nowadays."

"The far north..." Lin Feng thought for a moment, "I'll go there when I have the chance."

Liu Yushu nodded.

Half a month later, a message spread throughout Qingyun Palace: an ancient ruin called "Wuxiang Heavenly Palace" had appeared in the Eastern Region.

The entrance is located on an island deep in the East China Sea. Strange phenomena soared into the sky at the entrance, and sects from most of the Eastern Region sent people to investigate.

Lin Feng was drinking tea in the courtyard when he received the message.

Chi Yao couldn't contain herself any longer: "Master, the Formless Heavenly Palace sounds incredibly powerful, shall we go?"

"go."

The four travelers set off eastward once again.

A large crowd had already gathered along the coast of the East China Sea, with various sect costumes mixed together, creating a chaotic scene resembling a marketplace.

Some people were selling hastily drawn nautical charts at stalls, while others were asking around for the exact location of the entrance to the ruins.

Lin Feng scanned the crowd and spotted several familiar faces.

People from the Crimson Cloud Sect were also present, led by Yan Changfeng.

Someone on the shore shouted, "The boat is here!"

A massive, jet-black ship slowly emerged from the mist, its hull stretching for tens of meters, and stirred up huge waves as it approached the shore.

"This...this is the relic rescue ship, right?!" someone shouted.

Then the people on land began to board the ship.

There were seventy or eighty people standing on the deck.

The ship sailed eastward for most of the day, and a very light fog appeared on the sea ahead.

Half a day later, the ship docked.

What is called a shore is actually a huge rocky platform.

After walking about 500 zhang, a gatehouse appeared in the mist ahead, with the four characters "Wuxiang Tiangong" inscribed on the plaque above it.

"Welcome to the Formless Heavenly Palace." A voice echoed from all directions simultaneously. "The Heavenly Palace has three levels, each containing a treasure. How far you can go depends entirely on your abilities."

After he finished speaking, the reliefs on both sides of the gatehouse suddenly lit up, and the door slowly opened.

The group exchanged glances, and someone took the lead and stepped inside.

Immediately afterwards, they rushed in.

Lin Feng, along with his three apprentices, followed the crowd through the doorway.

Someone pushed open the door to a stone chamber and went inside. The door closed behind him, and there was no further movement.

"This is a random trial," Lin Feng glanced around. "Each stone chamber presents a different challenge; it depends on your choice."

Liu Yushu chose a stone chamber with a water pattern carved on it and went inside.

Chi Yao chose a room with flame patterns engraved on it.

Chu Lingyan hesitated for a moment in front of a stone chamber carved with plant patterns, then pushed the door open and went inside.

Lin Feng did not go to the stone chamber, but continued walking along the passageway.

At the end of the passageway was a larger space, with a stone table in the center of the hall and a bronze mirror on it.

He walked over, picked up the bronze mirror, and tried to wipe the dust off its surface. As soon as his fingertips touched the mirror, he felt a cold sensation creep into his body.

A line of words appeared in the bronze mirror: "The one who holds the mirror can see all the illusions of the world."

Lin Feng looked at it twice, flipping through it over and over.

The bronze mirror showed no signs of spiritual energy fluctuations, and its material was ordinary; this statement sounded like a lie.

But he still put the bronze mirror into his pocket.

When they returned to the hall, several people from various sects had already come out. They all looked exhausted, and some even had bruises on their hands.

Another half hour passed, and the three apprentices came out one after another.

Liu Yushu's face was a little pale: "The Trial of Water conjures up many enemies, making it very difficult to fight them."

However, there is one water-based cultivation technique that I have already memorized.

Chi Yao and Chu Lingyan also came out. They didn't show any obvious external injuries, but they looked somewhat tired.

"Let's go back first and talk about it later." Lin Feng raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

It was nearly midnight when they returned to the coast, and the four of them found a flat, high place near the shore to set up camp.

The next day, they returned to Qingxi Town along the way.

After the Black Stone Gang disbanded, the atmosphere on this street changed.

Some small shops that had been closed have reopened, and pedestrians on the street are walking much more leisurely.

He saw a familiar face on the street corner—Ma San, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt from the Qinglan family, squatting by the roadside talking to a woman selling vegetables.

Lin Feng walked over: "Working here?"

Ma San looked up and saw it was him, then quickly stood up: "Peak Master Lin! After I arrived at Qinglan's house, the Ancestor put me in charge of the patrols in the western city."

"Are you getting used to the work?"

"Habit is better than hunting. There's a fixed salary, and meals are provided."

"That's good." Lin Feng didn't linger and flew off with his disciples toward Qingyun Mountain on their swords.

He returned to his cave and took out the wind-element bamboo slips he had brought back from the White Bone Plains to read them again.

He had memorized all the incantations for the three realms, but he always felt that something was missing from this manual.

He closed the bamboo slips, thought for a while, and then took out the bronze mirror.

He set the bronze mirror aside, and a faint light suddenly flashed across its surface. But when he looked again, there was nothing there.

He repeated it.

When he placed the bronze mirror next to the bamboo slips, a blue aura flowed across the mirror's surface.

Lin Feng suddenly understood.

This thing can reveal the spiritual energy or charm attached to objects, but it has no spiritual power of its own.

A few days later, Li Qian sent another message.

[I discovered another trace of a wind-related relic in a mountain stream in the North. It wasn't large, but its internal structure was well-preserved.]

After a moment's thought, Lin Feng decided to set off.

He left a message for his disciples and then flew north alone on his sword.

Li Qian waited for him at the mouth of the mountain stream. The two walked upstream along the stream for two miles and found the entrance behind the waterfall.

"This one's much smaller than the last one," Li Qian said, walking ahead with his spiritual light. "I've explored it; there are just two stone chambers, and no mechanisms inside."

The first stone chamber was empty, with only a few lines of writing carved on the wall.

Lin Feng leaned closer to take a look. It was some kind of ancient cultivation insight, explaining how to integrate wind spiritual power with one's own blood and qi to enhance physical speed.

In the second stone chamber, there is a white jade tablet with a complete diagram of wind-based martial arts techniques engraved on its surface.

Lin Feng read it from beginning to end.

He discovered that this scroll of techniques was from the same system as the scroll from the White Bone Plains, but the scroll from the White Bone Plains was more offensive, while this scroll was more focused on movement techniques.

He made a rubbing of the map and put the rubbing away.

The two emerged from the waterfall.

On the way back, Lin Feng pondered the swirling body technique while flying on his sword.

If this movement technique is mastered and used in conjunction with the Illusory Shadowless Step, the speed can be increased even further.

It was already dark when we returned to Xiaozhu Peak.

The next morning, Wang Xiao called out from the courtyard gate, "Boss, the sect leader sent someone to say that a guest has arrived at the main peak and wants to see you."

"who?"

"They say it came from the Western Regions."

Lin Feng went to the side hall of the main peak.

Inside the hall sat a middle-aged man, dressed in a dark gray robe, with an ordinary-looking face.

"Peak Master Lin," the man stood up and bowed, "I am a rogue cultivator from the Western Regions, surnamed Bai."

"What business does Fellow Daoist Bai have with me?"

The rogue cultivator surnamed Bai didn't mince words: "I heard that Peak Master Lin is looking for the Wind Element Relics."

I've seen similar entrances to ruins in the Western Regions, much better preserved than this one. If Peak Master Lin is interested, I can lead the way.

Lin Feng didn't answer immediately: "What do you want?"

"I only want one thing from the ruins," he said. "The rest are yours."

"What is that?"

"A jade slip, entirely blue, with three runes engraved on it. I don't know the specific content; someone asked me to find it."

Lin Feng thought for a moment: "How did you know I was looking for wind-elemental relics?"

The rogue cultivator surnamed Bai smiled and said, "The news about Peak Master Lin in White Bone Plain has already spread throughout the rogue cultivator circles of the Western Regions."

Moreover, I could smell the scent of the bamboo slips carried by the wind from a mile away.

Lin Feng paused for two seconds: "Who did you entrust with this?"

"I can't say. The person who commissioned me is among the top three in the Western Regions' independent cultivator circle; he wouldn't cheat anyone."

"I'll think about it."

The rogue cultivator surnamed Bai wasn't in a hurry; he left a communication talisman and departed.

That noon, Lin Feng met Liu Yushu by the bamboo forest.

She was practicing a new movement technique, her steps so light they were almost silent, making only a very faint rustling sound as she stepped on the fallen leaves.

"Master, that disciple who uses the whirlwind-style movement technique has already completed the first level."

"How much has the speed increased?"

"It's about 20% faster than before. I feel that after mastering the second level, I can improve even further."

"Hmm." Lin Feng nodded. "Once we've mastered the second level, let's see if we can combine it with the Taiyin Profound Water Technique."

Three days later, Lin Feng traveled to the Western Regions alone.

Before leaving, he called his disciples to his side and left them the Jade Armor and the Glass Cover.

He himself still had the Purple Robe and the Heavenly Grade Healing Pill, so it would be safer to leave something to protect his life on his disciple.

The rogue cultivator surnamed Bai waited for him at the agreed location, and the two flew westward for two whole days.

The further west you go, the more desolate the terrain becomes, with sparse vegetation and a much lower concentration of spiritual energy in the air compared to the Eastern Region.

On the third day, they settled down on a loess hill.

"It's just ahead." He pointed to an inconspicuous low hill in front of him.

The two went around to the back of the low hill. The rogue cultivator surnamed Bai bent down and parted a clump of withered grass, revealing a blue stone slab half-buried in the soil.

The surface of the bluestone slab is engraved with a pattern of three arcs converging into a vortex, exactly the same as the one seen in the ruins of the White Bone Plains.

Have you been inside?

"No," the rogue cultivator surnamed Bai shook his head, "I can't open the barrier at the entrance by myself."

Lin Feng squatted down to carefully examine the marks on the edge of the stone slab.

This thing has been buried here for at least several hundred years, but there are no signs of weathering on the surface of the stone slab, indicating that some force is protecting it.

He placed his hand on the center of the vortex pattern and infused it with spiritual power, but the stone slab remained motionless.

"It requires wind-elemental spiritual power to activate," said the rogue cultivator surnamed Bai from the side.

Lin Feng activated the whirlwind-type technique from the White Bone Plains, condensing a wisp of wind spiritual power at his fingertips and pressing it onto the stone slab again.

The pattern lit up briefly, and the stone slab slid to one side, revealing a downward stone staircase.