Chapter 1694: Chapter 911: Following the Clues (Part 2)

Qian Hua swaggered into the room and said to Lin Feng, "Oh, I’m starving to death right now."

The waiter laid out the meal and then politely withdrew. As he left, he reminded Lin Feng and his companion to eat while it was hot, as these were all specialties of Biyao City.

Before diving into the feast, Qian Hua didn’t forget about Lin Feng. So he said to Lin Feng:

"Brother Lin, come and eat quickly. No matter what, we’ve already got news of her, and it’s better to have enough energy to find the person quicker."

Though that was what was said, Lin Feng also wanted to take a bite. But seeing the table full of delicious food, he just couldn’t muster any enthusiasm.

"I wonder if Su Liqian is eating right now."

Lin Feng thought to himself and then just sat at the table, watching Qian Hua devour the entire table of food bit by bit.

After finishing breakfast, Liu Qian also came to Lin Feng’s room.

"Ready?"

Liu Qian came to inform Lin Feng that it was time for them to depart.

Before leaving, Qian Hua didn’t forget to pack the leftover food into a box and then put the box into a brocade bag.

Then, hurrying, Qian Hua followed Lin Feng and Liu Qian along with several others as they set out for the Taoxuan Heavenly Sect base.

"Why are you bringing that food?" Lin Feng looked at Qian Hua in exasperation.

Qian Hua just laughed awkwardly without giving any further explanation.

Lin Feng merely teased the guy a couple of times without really meaning to say anything. In truth, Lin Feng knew that this kind of delicacy was likely only found in Biyao City throughout the Mortal World. Should they go elsewhere, even if someone could make that taste, it would inevitably lose the feeling of Biyao City. Biyao was a neutral metropolis, so many things were gathered here.

The capable woman still looked as charismatic and domineering as ever. She stepped out from among the other women and said to Lin Feng, "Brother Lin, the matter of the Five Great Soul Devices concerns the safety of our Six Great Sects. I hope you can set aside past grievances starting today. There were many offenses before, please forgive them."

Lin Feng replied, "Not at all, if I acted too harshly yesterday, I apologize."

Lin Feng did not call the woman ’senior’, instead, he referred to her as ’young lady’, which was clearly a compliment about the woman’s youth and beauty. In fact, how could Lin Feng know, this capable woman loved being called ’young lady’.

"Alright, the carriage has arrived, everyone quickly board." Liu Qian said to the group.

Qian Hua also boarded the same carriage with Lin Feng, and besides them, there were two girls from Phoenix Cliff. They were both charming and attractive.

But even in the presence of these wonderful girls, Lin Feng didn’t chat with them much. However, Qian Hua talked about everything, like which bakery’s pastries were delicious, praising how beautiful the streets of Biyao City were, or which silk shop in the city had novel goods. The two girls would sometimes smile, sometimes say a few words. All along the journey, the atmosphere in the carriage remained quite harmonious. Qian Hua and the two girls chatted particularly congenially.

After leaving Biyao City heading south, there stood a towering mountain range. There was a broad staircase at the foot of the mountain leading to the summit, which seemed endless to the eye. Ordinary people who wished to ascend and seek the Dao would have to walk for at least three days and nights. Many also froze to death during winter in the past, but these were tales of yore. Therefore, Taoxuan Heavenly Sect does not entertain outsiders in winter, meaning any ascent should wait until next year’s spring when the climate warms, otherwise, one is responsible for their own safety.

It was already winter; otherwise, Lin Feng wouldn’t have donned a fox fur coat. A gray mantle draped down to his ankles, beneath which Lin Feng wore a green robe, standing proudly with the demeanor of a Taoist amidst the fierce cold wind before the mountain gate of Taoxuan Heavenly Sect.

"The wind in the mountains is strong. How about you ladies not climb up?" Lin Feng calmly suggested to the disciples of Phoenix Cliff.

The graceful ladies shook their heads at Lin Feng, and one stepped forward to say, "Thank you for your kindness, but since we are people of the Six Sects, we are determined to fulfill our duties. Now that the Six Great Sects are in trouble, even though we are women, we should not shirk our responsibilities."

Then a capable woman stepped out, her almond-shaped eyes seemed to pierce through the falling snowflakes.

"Indeed, this is the way of our women from Phoenix Cliff."

While praising these female disciples, the capable woman wasn’t looking at them, but instead gazed at the long mountain road, a trace of worry etched on her face.

The capable woman’s worry wasn’t without reason, as her observations revealed that although the mountain road had wide steps, many had already frozen, making it extremely easy to slip and even fall. Her disciples’ cultivation was at the peak of the Third Spirit Realm, with only one close to breaking through to the Fourth Spirit Knot.

Having them fly up with Sword Control might still be relatively simple, but this section of road was set with a barrier. Only those from the sect could fly directly up, so the only channel was the staircase resembling a ladder to the heavens.

Four large characters on the mountain gate blazed defiantly, "Taoxuan Heavenly Sect." It seemed the deep meaning hidden in the inscription could only be perceived by a master; Lin Feng felt it and couldn’t help but be startled, quickly averting his gaze. He sensed that if he delayed moving his gaze, he’d inevitably become embroiled in the invisible intent within the characters, potentially leading to self-injury.

When Lin Feng withdrew his eyes and looked at the two people beside him, he noticed the capable woman’s face didn’t look good either, already sweating from her brow as though entangled by the intent.

But Liu Qian remained leisurely, fanning himself with his folding fan, looking completely at ease. It wasn’t that his intent was strong enough to disdain the four words on the gate, but because when he accompanied his father to visit the Taoxuan Heavenly Sect at age twelve, someone had advised him never to gaze directly at the characters above. This advice was a matter of superstition.

Because masters love to use their Spiritual Sense to probe foreign objects, when they looked at characters, they would inadvertently release their Spiritual Sense to target it. Even if a trace of Spiritual Sense fell on the gate’s characters, they would be drawn by the supreme Telekinesis within, provoking a confrontation. If their Spiritual Sense wasn’t retracted in time, when the telekinesis spanned the body, no matter the strength of one’s cultivation, they could be annihilated by the surging Telekinesis.

Once, an expert, having reached the strength of Eight Spirit Knot at an early age, came to challenge the Sect Leader of Taoxuan Heavenly Sect. At that time, the Sect Leader only had the strength of Seven Spirit Knot, but this small achievement took three hundred years to achieve in cultivation. How could he abdicate lightly? He realized that agreeing to the challenge would surely lead to death before the mountain gate, yet refusal would bring ridicule from the Six Great Sects.

The Sect Leader of Taoxuan Heavenly Sect then devised a plan, one that would both preserve his dignity and keep the sect’s face intact.

You all might have guessed the plan, which was to let the challenger look at the four large characters on the mountain gate.

At that time, the Sect Leader merely wanted to deter the opponent, and in front of the mountain gate, proposed a condition to the opponent, saying that if the challenger could look at the four characters on the mountain gate and shout his name ten times, he would accept the challenge and compete with the challenger. The challenger, unaware of the mystery within the four characters, agreed straightforwardly.

Amidst a gathering of experts from the Six Great Sects, the challenger stared intently at the four large characters above the mountain gate, even suspecting a mystery within, prompting him to curiously probe with his Spiritual Sense.