Chapter 726: More Discoveries
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Lin Feng curiously observed the tall green-robed youth in front of him, but could not detect anything out of the norm.
His age matched his physical appearance. He was between fifteen and sixteen years old, and the years that he had spent cultivating was around seven, give or take. He was at Level 10 of the Qi cultivation stage, and was just about to break through to Level 11.
The mantras that he practiced were standard and unimpressive. His mantras did not even seem to follow a particular type or system – therefore it was probably from an extremely typical and normal source.
Only a few tricks for Qi Cultivation were more practical and useful. However, those extra techniques were not of the same type and track as his mantras. Somebody else probably gave him a few pointers, and he figured out the rest by himself.
The resources that he could access over his journey of cultivation should also be minimal. Overall, he was an independent cultivator of the lowest level that could not be any more normal and typical. His Talent value was slightly above average, and he had yet to come across a life-changing event in his life. If nothing extremely fortunate were to happen to him and a great opportunity did not cross his path, it was unlikely that he would be able to form the aurous core.
Everything was ordinary and nothing seemed unusual. However, it was because of this very fact, juxtaposed against the changes inside the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl, that made the whole thing extremely strange. The longer Lin Feng observed this young man, the more suspicions and doubts arose in Lin Feng’s mind.
"There seems to be… Something feels very uncoordinated?" Lin Feng’s brows were slightly knitted together as he scrutinized the young man in front of him, but to no avail.
At this point, the green-robed young man had also completed his own meditation. He opened his eyes and received a rude shock when he saw Lin Feng quietly watching him right in front of his face.
The young man could not gauge Lin Feng’s level of mastery, and after calming himself down, he stood up to greet Lin Feng before asking, "This… Senior, what do you need?"
Lin Feng looked him up and down again before answering casually, "It’s my first time in the East Sea so I’m not very familiar with this place. I happened to see you here and was about to ask you for directions. However, from the looks of it, your circumstance isn’t so good?"
The green-robed young man had returned to his original composure by now. Lin Feng did not give him any pressure, and he could still think rationally and logically. He replied with a stable voice at once, "Sir, this is the Northern ocean border of the East Sea. If you head South, you will reach the border crossing over into the Ying Sea territory."
"If you head East, then you will find yourself at the border between the East Sea and the demon tribes’ Barren Expanses."
"If you heard North, you will find yourself at the Luofu Mystical Island," he paused momentarily before he continued. "However, due to the large numbers of demons entering the Divine Lands, the territorial waters around here have been extremely chaotic as demons roam the lands. The path towards the Luofu Mystical Islands to the North have also been cut off by demons."
Lin Feng listened with interest. "What about the Luofu Holy Man?"
The green-robed youth answered at once, "The Luofu Holy Man is currently situated at the border crossing over into the Barren Expanses, and is engaged in battle with one of the Grand Sages. The other seniors and cultivators under his wing are also locked in bloody combat with the invading demons. The whole situation is a complete mess right now, but from the looks of it, the demons are fighting a losing battle and the humans will triumph in time."
He recovered a little as he saw Lin Feng staring quietly at him and greeted him again. "My name is Luo Yao. I got lost after getting separated from my partner."
Lin Feng said plainly, "It seems like you ingested a particular pill earlier on, but the effects of the pill have been sealed off by someone."
Luo Yao’s expression changed a little. He contemplated momentarily before answering, "Since you have already seen through it, I will not attempt to cover up anymore. However, you must forgive me for not divulging other sensitive information. Senior Mu has been very kind to me and I owe it to him to keep my mouth shut. Do forgive me for not discussing matters regarding Senior Mu."
Even though he was not clear what level of mastery this bronze-skinned young man clad in a purple robe possessed, Luo Yao did not attempt to deceive this person. His level of mastery was low, but he knew that if he tried to lie or craft artificial stories, his emotions would flutter and ripple and Lin Feng would be able to tell if Lin Feng was a powerful cultivator.
If that happened, he would have offended Lin Feng. He would rather just speak the truth and voice his own difficulties in the hopes that Lin Feng would be able to understand and empathize with him.
Of course, if Lin Feng was cruel and tyrannical that perceived others’ lives as nothing more than grass, Lin Feng would have no problem extracting the truth from his mouth. There was even the Soul-Searching technique on the table.
All that was no longer within Luo Yao’s control and he could only count himself unlucky.
Lin Feng did not really care that he was unwilling to divulge what he knew. He began to speak with a steady pace, "I will not force you if you’re not willing to talk. However, you need to take me to see the man that forged the Nine Spirals Golden Pill. From what you said previously, his surname is Mu, am I right?"
Luo Yao was taken aback momentarily before taking a deep breath and replied, "So you already know."
Lin Feng said casually, "It’s just the Nine Spirals Golden Pill. Of course, I am aware."
He had never seen the recipe for this particular pill and neither had he ever seen it before. However, he knew the name and effect of this pill, he managed to find out what pill it was when he was searching Luo Yao’s body for the suppressed effects with his consciousness.
The Nine Spirals Golden Pill, coupled with the Mystical Pill of Clouds and Smoke, could allow the user to form something known as the Nine Spirals Golden Eyes for a short period of time. The user would be able to tell the truth from the false, and he or she would be able to see through the myriad of illusions in the world.
It was clear that the person that forged this pill had intentions for journeying into the Ying Sea.
Part of Lin Feng’s interrogation came from his curiosity regarding the connection between Luo Yao and the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl. The other part was because, though he was unfamiliar with the Nine Spirals Golden Pearl, he knew that forging the Mystical Pill of Clouds and Smoke required the remains of a Spiritual Sea Horse.
The higher the level of mastery of this particular Spiritual Sea Horse, the stronger the effects of the Mystical Pill of Clouds and Smoke. Even though he was still unsure, Lin Feng thought that the Spiritual Sea Horse given away by the Freshwater Holy Man had something to do with this pill.
Luo Yao was a little troubled at this moment. It was not because he was worried that Lin Feng would extract his blood and essence to obtain the powers of the Nine Spirals Golden Pill. He could tell from Lin Feng’s attitude and tone and Lin Feng was completely uninterested in the Nine Spirals Golden Pill.
However, he had no clue what Lin Feng wanted with Mu Yu, the person that forged the pill. He was not sure whether Lin Feng harbored evil intentions towards Mu Yu. He owed Mu Yu a favor so he did not wish to harm his benefactor.
Lin Feng explained no more and smiled as he watched Luo Yao and awaited his decision. Even though he did not know what exactly was going through Luo Yao’s head, he could infer from the ups and downs in Luo Yao’s emotions that he revered Mu Yu.
Mu Yu was also kind to Luo Yao. All he did was temporarily suppress the effects of the pill in preparation for extracting the pill’s effects in the near future with a non-invasive method, rather than directly extracting Luo Yao’s blood and essence.
Perhaps Mu Yu was the person that was giving Luo Yao pointers in his path of cultivation?
Luo Yao did not think for too long before he gave Lin Feng his answer. "I do not know where Senior Mu is at this very moment. We can go back to the original destination and hope that Senior Mu is still there – perhaps then I can meet up with him."
"However, I cannot help you if you wish to tag along."
Lin Feng’s expression was undisturbed. He began to laugh as he watched Luo Yao, who seemed like he was waiting for some judgment.
"What an interesting young man." Lin Feng shook his head as he chuckled.
This tall young man in green was calm and composed with clear and rational thought processes. He was very astute with his analysis of the situation.
If Lin Feng did not pursue the matter and let him go with just a laugh, then everything would be fine. If Lin Feng was infuriated by his annoyingly persistent attitude and wanted to press him for information, there was nothing Luo Yao could do. Lin Feng could even employ the Soul-Searching technique, and even if Luo Yao refused to talk, Lin Feng would have no trouble extracting information from him.
Even though he knew this fact, he still chose to adhere to his own principles. He was determined to keep his mouth shut and avoid leaking any information to Lin Feng, who was still clueless at this point – even though this kind of determination could possibly be meaningless and could even cost him his life without stopping Lin Feng from discovering his secrets.
However, he would never betray Mu Yu by bringing uncertain risks and danger to him.
This was not due to ignorance and stupidity. On the contrary, he was intelligent and calculative. It would have been stupid if he divulged everything he knew to Lin Feng to protect himself and mulled over his plans afterwards. Even though he did not know Lin Feng’s level of mastery, he could already tell from the obvious gap between the two of them that he was unable to stir up anything with Lin Feng. Every small action of his was laughable. A small action such as the aforementioned might even infuriate Lin Feng.
Therefore, Luo Yao chose to keep calm and treat Lin Feng with respect. He knew better than to lie and deceive, and refrained from doing anything to make Lin Feng angry – besides keeping his mouth shut about his secrets.
He minded his own business and did not ask Lin Feng about his purpose for seeking out Mu Yu, neither did he propose any form of deal. The gap between the two of them was simply too great – doing anything of that sort was completely out of the question.
In the end, even though Luo Yao refused to cooperate for the second time in a row, Lin Feng held him in higher regard than before.
He was rational and intelligent and adhered to his own principles. He knew which lines he could not cross, was determined and was big on honor and dignity.
This piqued Lin Feng’s interest even more. He laughed and said, "I won’t bother you if you wish to keep your secrets to yourself. Still, you need to know that the things I wish to find out is not something you can hold back from me."
As he spoke, Lin Feng extended a finger and a stream of purple energy shot into the middle of Luo Yao’s eyebrows.
Luo Yao was shocked initially but quickly realized that Lin Feng was not casting a spell to make him lose his rationality or his ability to think.
The stream of purple energy that shot into his body arrived at the part where the effects of the Nine Spirals Golden Pill were suppressed. The powers of suppression were nothing compared to the purple energy and Lin Feng released a little bit of the medicinal effects.
Luo Yao’s eyes widened. He realized that even though Lin Feng released a tiny trace of the pill’s effects, he did not completely lift Mu Yu’s suppression spell. A large portion of the medicinal effects was still safely suppressed and was completely unaffected.
This feeling was almost like perceiving a man who could walk through walls. This man was able to enter a completely sealed secret room with no doors or windows, and subsequently retrieved something from inside the room before exiting without disturbing anything else inside.
After Lin Feng extracted a little bit of the medicinal powers, he began to cast a spell with his right hand and exclaimed, "Draw!"
Under the effects of Lin Feng’s Retrospective Reconstruction Spell, the tiny trace of the pill’s medicinal effects transformed into something like an arrow that shot towards the far end of the horizon.
Lin Feng waved his sleeve and swept up a shell-shocked Luo Yao and flew in the direction of the magic ‘arrow’. He laughed and said, "If this pill was forged by this Mu Yu, then this arrow will lead us right to him. It’s fine if it wasn’t – the person I wish to find is the person that forged this pill."
Luo Yao only recovered after a long while. He forced out a laugh and said, "Your methods are really eye-opening for me."
Lin Feng glanced at him from the corner of his eye and thought to himself, "You are the one that has taken me by surprise."
When he was extracting the medicinal powers of the pill, Lin Feng was not just directing his consciousness. He channeled his mana into Luo Yao’s body and instantly made more discoveries.