Chapter Eighty: The Mysterious Sky-Expanding Technique

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“Junior Brother… Lin Feng may already have perished at Teng Chong’s hands. Qian Cai is receiving treatment from Elder Feng right now. When the time is right, we will question him in detail.” In the Grand Langhuan Hall, Jun Wuji’s expression did not change as he stood with his back to Yan Dongjue.

“What did you say? Senior Brother!” Yan Dongjue suddenly shouted, his voice echoing throughout the hall.

“Calm yourself, Junior Brother,” Jun Wuji turned, sighing gently. “Do not be agitated; it is detrimental to your cultivation. Each must accept his fate. If Lin Feng cannot escape this tribulation, then it is the will of destiny. There is nothing you or I can do.”

“Senior Brother, was it that wretched Teng Chong who brought this calamity? Hand him over to me!” Yan Dongjue took a deep breath, his palm open as he stared intently at his sect master.

“No!” Jun Wuji shook his head slowly, his tone unwavering. “Even if both Lin Feng and Qian Cai are dead, you cannot kill Teng Chong.”

“Why not? Senior Brother, are you afraid?” Yan Dongjue’s eyes blazed with anger. “The Hundred Flowers Sect has stood for over eight thousand years! When have we ever cowered in such a way? If you fear Teng Qi’s retaliation, then hand me over instead!” He sneered coldly, glaring at Jun Wuji. “To think your cultivation has improved but your courage has dwindled! If our master were still alive, would he ever allow this?”

“Insolence!” Jun Wuji’s handsome face darkened, both men’s eyes ablaze with fury. In the silent hall, a sudden wind rose from nowhere. With a bang, the thick incense candles before the deity statue shattered to dust, and the teacups and bowls all cracked open.

“Hmph!” Yan Dongjue flung his sleeve and strode out of the grand hall.

“Stop!” Jun Wuji’s cold voice echoed after him. “Teng Qi of the Nine Dragons Hall is nothing to fear, but do not forget: there are other demon cultivators in the Wildlands. Should this spark a great disaster, neither you nor I could bear the consequences!”

Yan Dongjue’s steps faltered, but he merely sneered and strode away.

The head of the sect sat alone in the vast hall, murmuring to himself, “Junior Brother, you do not know the depth of my concerns. Even if all the elders joined forces, I fear we would not prevail against that man.”

Within the Langhuan Hall, a faint figure appeared like a ghost, face shrouded in shadow. With a gentle laugh, he said, “The Illusory Flower Formation still serves you well, does it not? Shall I lend a hand?”

Jun Wuji’s body tensed, but he merely looked up and smiled faintly, shaking his head.

The figure spoke no more and vanished as quietly as he had come.

“Master! Little Senior Brother was burned alive by that wicked dragon!” At the foot of Junzi Peak, Qian Cai wailed, half in genuine grief, half in feigned distress, recounting his misfortune to Yan Dongjue.

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“Silence! You knew you were no match yet did not crush the talisman and flee, but let yourself be slaughtered—fool! From today, you will serve penance in the Rainbow Cavern for six months!” Yan Dongjue, still fuming, grew even angrier at the sight of Qian Cai’s pathetic display.

“Master! The Thousand-Mile Escape Talisman is unpredictable—I only used it as a last resort…” Qian Cai protested.

“No more excuses—another six months!” Yan Dongjue’s sleeve flicked, and he vanished into the sky.

Qian Cai, his face still bearing fresh wounds, cut off his sobs and slapped himself. “Curse my loose tongue—ah, that hurts…”

Deep in the Wildlands, at the bottom of a nameless pool.

“Sigh, this boy always gets himself into trouble and drags me along,” Li Chi murmured in the darkness, withdrawing his senses.

The glazed Buddhist beads, wrapped in scorched cloth, lay quietly atop a smooth boulder at the pool’s bottom. Lin Feng’s body rested in the depths, utterly still. Not far away, the puppet bronze man, the Yangshang Sword, the green jade slip, the stone tiger, and the strange ice stone were scattered in the silt. Apart from the pair of golden-threaded gloves and the cracked Yangshang Sword, the other items had survived the dragon’s fire unscathed.

Blub… blub… Who knows how much time passed? A group of silvery-white prawns swam by, their claws stirring up silt and releasing bubbles from the bottom, slowly pushing the ice stone and stone tiger toward Lin Feng.

In the darkness, within Lin Feng’s body, the Manjusha Fire seed above his dantian gradually released a red glow, spreading through his meridians and core, slowly repairing muscle and bone. His lost heartbeat returned with a thud. Organs, marrow, and mind gradually revived, black hair began to regrow, yet his consciousness showed no sign of awakening. Outwardly, his reborn flesh was as tender as a newborn’s, his body floating quietly at the bottom, relaxed like a jade sculpture, a faint red light sheathing his skin. The curious white prawns gazed at him with clear eyes; a few brave ones reached out with their claws, only to be instantly incinerated, their remains falling into the silt.

More days passed, and the Manjusha’s radiance faded, the mark above the dantian dissolving completely into his meridians.

“Hm? He’s clung to life yet again?” One day, as Li Chi’s consciousness idled through the depths, he sensed Lin Feng’s faint signs of revival. Yet upon closer inspection, he was disappointed—the boy’s consciousness was gone, his mind a muddled void, as if a puppet without a soul. Even with Li Chi’s power, there was nowhere to seize control.

Bored and restless, Li Chi’s spirit drifted through the waters, searching for anything new. One day, as his senses reached a spot bubbling with air, he recoiled as if scalded. There, an unfathomable presence stood silent guard, oppressive as the sea of hell, immovable.

For days, Li Chi dared not extend his senses again, shrinking back into the glazed beads, not daring to stir.

The water at the pool’s bottom was crystal clear, inhabited only by the white prawns. The stone tiger and ice stone inched closer together, and at last, one day, they touched again, creating a second tremor that sent violent bubbles rising and pushed them toward Lin Feng.

Boom! The moment the stone tiger and ice stone made contact with Lin Feng, his chaotic sea of consciousness was swept clean, as if by a raging storm, unveiling a brand new space.

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“The Way of Heaven gives birth to all things and nourishes man; thus, it sacrifices a hundred harms for one benefit. The way of man rebels against Heaven to change fate; thus, those who would become immortals must first expand the heavens… I have studied the Great Dao for countless ages, exhausted a lifetime’s wisdom, yet glimpsed only a corner of immortality, peering from the finite to the infinite—most arduous indeed. Yet the Three Volumes of Heaven Expansion I composed embrace the supreme natural laws, connect Heaven and Earth, span the universe. Should one master them, ascending to godhood would be as easy as blowing dust; even mastering the Art of Heaven Expansion may not be impossible…” In Lin Feng’s consciousness, a calm and ancient voice intoned, “Of the Heaven Expansion Stones I created, only this one remains in the world. If fate and virtue allow, one may obtain it and unlock seven imprints of the Three Volumes of Heaven Expansion. Remember this.

“To cultivate the Heaven Expansion Method, one must possess innate Sunfire and Xuanyin bodies, cleanse illness and impurity, purify the body’s energy, and only upon reaching the Foundation of the Dao may one begin practice—heed this, secondly.

“Of all the myriad arts and methods, only those with an unwavering heart and indomitable will may study this Heaven Expansion Method—heed this, thirdly. Should one possess all three, and succeed, my gratitude would be boundless.”

These words were etched deep into Lin Feng’s mind. As all fell silent, memories surged back, and his eyes—closed for days—finally opened!

His first sensation was the bone-chilling cold of the pool, nearly freezing him stiff. He frantically moved his arms, and as suffocation threatened, he swam desperately upward. Splash! The long-missed sunlight and air rushed over his face, and all his pores rejoiced.

All was quiet around him. The frigid pool stretched a hundred yards across, cliffs hemming it on all sides, sunlight streaming through rocky crevices, warm and bright.

Reaching the bank, Lin Feng, naked, sat upon a rock, recalling the ordeal of life and death, gradually sorting through his thoughts.

“The Heaven Expansion Stone, the seven imprints of the Three Volumes—whose legacy is this? If what he said is true, such a technique would shake the cultivation world. Why has no one ever mentioned it? The first awakening of the ice stone was nothing like this time—is it because of my innate Sunfire body, or this reborn body? ‘Only upon reaching the Dao Foundation may one practice’—does that mean the Foundation Establishment stage?”

These many questions swirled in his heart, yet none found an answer. Shaking his head, Lin Feng dove into the pool again, retrieving all his lost possessions. Just as he was about to find some leaves or vines to cover himself, Li Chi’s voice sounded: “Hey, go have a look down there. There seems to be… a treasure.”

“A treasure? What kind of treasure?” Lin Feng asked.

“You’ll know when you see it. I’m not sure myself…” With that, Li Chi fell silent.

Lin Feng frowned, pondering for a while, but in the end decided to dive down and see for himself. If there was real danger, it wouldn’t have waited until now.