Chapter 8: The Ghostly Energy of the Nether Springs
Lu Yun's face slowly regained its calm, and he looked at Lin Yunfeng with a questioning gaze. "Yunfeng, what do you make of this? Who is this young woman, and how does she possess such formidable powers? Why did she attack us? What exactly happened between the two of you, and why do I see a glimmer of panic in your eyes?"
Lin Yunfeng looked at the white-clothed girl, a hint of embarrassment on his face, and chuckled: "Lu Yun, why are you asking me? How would I know? You should be asking her instead. Hehe, what could I possibly do with her? She's so powerful, I can barely dodge her attacks, hehe, how could anything happen between us?" After finishing, he slightly avoided Lu Yun's gaze, not daring to look at him.
Zhang Aoxue quietly watched the two of them, her eyes lingering on Lu Yun for a moment before moving to Lin Yunfeng. On Zhang Aoxue's beautiful and icy face, a faint coldness appeared, and she slightly opened her lips to say: "You still dare to come, it seems you're not giving up?" These words were directed at Lin Yunfeng.
Lu Yun heard this and looked at Lin Yunfeng, seeing that his expression was unnatural. He understood in his heart that he must be hiding something from himself. And this time calling him here, it seemed not to see the cold pool, but to help him assist. Lu Yun couldn't help but secretly scold this kid for being unscrupulous and deliberately setting him up.
Lu Yun walked up to Lin Yun Feng's side, grabbed his shoulder and asked: "You tell me, what is going on? Why are people saying this? What have you been hiding from me? You called me here today, probably with ulterior motives, wanting me to take the fall for you, right? You heartless guy!" Lu Yun's tone was laced with a hint of anger, clearly he wasn't feeling too comfortable either.
Lin Yunfeng sneaked a glance at Lu Yun, seeing that he was staring at him with a slightly angry face. Lin Yunfeng quickly turned his head back and said in a very low voice: "Lu Yun, don't be angry, it's nothing really. We've been to Yi Garden together, we're the best of friends now. Now that I'm in trouble, you should help me out too, right? I know you're the best, heh heh, I can only rely on you."
Lu Yun glanced at Zhang Aoxue, then shifted his gaze to Lin Yunfeng and asked: "Alright, considering our friendship, I want you to tell me what's going on between you and this young lady right now. After I hear it, I'll decide whether or not to help you. If you're in the wrong, you'll have to apologize to her, and I'll help mediate so we can resolve this matter. Speak up now!" He finished by firmly grasping Lin Yunfeng's shoulder with his right hand, urging him to speak quickly.
Zhang Aoxue looked at Lu Yun, his eyes calm and expressionless, but in his heart he was thinking about the other's identity. The name Lu Yun seemed familiar, unfortunately he couldn't recall it for the time being. His cultivation was quite impressive, far surpassing most people in Yi Garden, "Lihuo Tiange Sword Manual" had already reached 8-9 layers of fire tempering, extremely rare.
Lin Yunfeng glanced at Zhang Aoxue, seeing her expression was cold and indifferent, so he didn't say anything else. He felt slightly relieved in his heart. Glancing at Lu Yun, Lin Yunfeng said with a hint of embarrassment: "Actually, there's nothing, really, Lu Yun, nothing. It's just that I heard a few days ago that there's a forest here, and according to the rules of Yi Garden, no disciple is allowed to enter, so out of curiosity, I snuck in alone to take a look. When I arrived here that day, I took a closer look and only found a cold spring deep in the forest, nothing else, so I didn't think much of it and entered."
Who would have known that she was also in this pool, and at the time, a faint purple glow flashed in the cold water, making my heart move, and I rushed up to take a look. Hehe, just wanted to see what it was, no intention of taking it for myself or snatching it away. Who would have known, as soon as I appeared, the faint purple glow suddenly disappeared, so this beautiful and powerful girl thought I had stolen her treasure that she had worked hard to bring out, and a misunderstanding arose between us. Hehe, just a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. In the end, I said a few words to her, and we started fighting, and hehe, she was too powerful, so I could only run away.
"Actually, I came to find you today because I wanted you to help me apologize to her. It was all a misunderstanding. I know that you, Lu Yun, are the best at this kind of thing. When I saw her, heh heh, I didn't know what to say, so I asked for your help. Please, please say a few good words for me, or else if my master finds out, I'll be in trouble. Heh heh, thank you." Lin Yun Feng looked embarrassed, clearly feeling awkward.
Lu Yun glared at Lin Yunfeng, then turned to look at the beautiful Zhang Aoxue and said softly: "Miss, now that everyone has explained themselves here, although my friend was probably curious and wanted to take a look at the treasure, I believe he also didn't mean any harm. I hope you won't take it to heart. Since he asked me to come here today, it means he actually feels guilty and wants to apologize to you. Please forgive him, Miss, don't hold it against him, I'm apologizing on his behalf."
Zhang Aoxue glanced at Lin Yunfeng, slightly furrowed his brow, and a natural aura flowed out, instantly like a strong beam of light, deeply attracting Lu Yun, making his heart skip a beat, and a slight ripple was born. Zhang Aoxue said calmly: "That day's matter can be left unspoken, but I hope he won't mention it again in the future. If I hear anyone bring up this matter again, I will settle accounts with him myself. Are you two from Yiyuan?"
Lu Yun smiled slightly and said in a soft voice, "Thank you so much for your generosity, Miss. I'm Lu Yun, representing Lin Yunfeng, we're deeply grateful. My partner and I both came from Yi Garden; he's a disciple of the Yin Institute, while I study at the Yang Institute. We arrived together about a year ago, so we're still not very familiar with this place. If there's anything improper, please forgive us. May I ask, Miss, your cultivation is incredibly powerful; would you mind telling us where you're from?"
Zhang Aoxue looked at Lu Yun, and suddenly remembered that in the mouth of Zhuang Jiao Xuan Yu, he had mentioned this person before, saying that he was a talented genius with exceptional talent. Unexpectedly, she met him today. With a calm smile, like a snow-covered ice lotus blooming instantly, she burst out with stunning charm. Lu Yun's eyes widened in shock, and his whole body trembled.
Zhang Aoxue said: "I also come from Yi Garden, from Kunyuan, I am Zhang Aoxue!" The short words made Lu Yun surprised, unexpectedly she was the most famous first beauty of Yi Institute, the most outstanding one in Kunyuan, and the highest-ranking female disciple in a hundred years. She is the goddess of the entire Yi Garden, the dream fairy in the hearts of all true cultivators. Today's encounter proved that her reputation was not exaggerated, her beauty was stunning to the extreme.
"Ah, it's you! No wonder I said that wherever she appears, there's an extremely beautiful and formidable super beauty! It turns out to be our Yi Garden's senior sister. Hehe, beautiful senior sister, last time junior brother didn't know it was you, so please forgive me for any offense. Just one look at senior sister and you can tell, extremely beautiful, magnanimous, and definitely won't hold a grudge against me, right, senior sister?" Lin Yunfeng's face was full of smiles as he flattered her shamelessly.
Lu Yun appeared very calm and said in a soft voice, "I didn't expect it to be Zhang Shifu, what a misunderstanding. Now that everyone knows we're siblings, let's just forget about the past. Are you here for the treasure this time too, Shifu? Did you get your hands on it? If there's anything we can do to help, please tell us, we'll do our best."
Lin Yunfeng also hurriedly said: "Yes, yes. Is there anything we can help with? Just say it, and I'll make amends for my mistakes too, right, Shifu Jie?"
Zhang Aoxue said calmly, "It's no longer needed. I've already obtained it - this treasure sword on my head." Lu Yun and Lin Yunfeng looked at her head, gazing at the treasure sword emitting a faint purple glow, their eyes revealing a hint of curiosity.
Lin Yunfeng asked, "Ao Xue Shijie, can you tell me about the origin of this treasure sword? It would be good for us to gain some knowledge and avoid being ridiculed by others for our ignorance." Lu Yun on the side also looked at Zhang Ao Xue, quietly waiting for her response.
Zhang Aoxue glanced at Lin Yunfeng, unexpectedly he actually called himself Aoxue. Looking at his expression, it seemed like nothing was wrong, everything looked very natural, what a strange person. Looking at Lu Yun, Zhang Aoxue said softly: "The origin of this sword, I don't know for the time being, only when I go back to ask Master, I believe she knows. This sword was obtained in that cold pool, it's really mysterious. I also unintentionally saw a purple light here, sometimes visible and sometimes invisible, so I came to check. Originally last time, I almost got it, but unfortunately he intercepted this treasure sword, making me wait for several more days, until today I finally got it."
Lu Yun heard this and walked to the edge of the Cold Pool, carefully examining the place. The Cold Pool was not large, only about three feet in diameter, with dark black water that seemed very deep. Lu Yun stood at the pool's edge, quietly gazing into the water, when he suddenly spoke up: "Do you think there's anything strange about this Cold Pool? Yun Feng, take a closer look, you're the most skilled at catching ghosts and demons, come see if there's anything unusual about this pool."
Lin Yunfeng heard this, slowly walked closer to the Cold Pool, calmed down and looked at the Cold Pool. Zhang Aoxue also walked over to one side, gazing at the Cold Pool. These past few days she had been paying attention to the whereabouts of that treasure sword, so she had some understanding of the Cold Pool, unfortunately she hadn't discovered anything.
At this time, Lin Yunfeng took a step back, his hands clasped together in front of his chest with a strange handprint, his feet slightly moving within three feet, and he muttered to himself. After a while, he suddenly spoke up: "Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, Qiankun's transformation, all things return to their origin, everything is revealed! Open!" As soon as he finished speaking, two strange beams of light shot out from his eyes, instantly piercing the Cold Pool, looking extremely mysterious.
Lu Yun and Zhang Aoxue both looked at him, their faces revealing a hint of surprise. Lin Yunfeng's eyes shot out a mysterious blue-green light as he employed his Yin-Yang secret method to explore the secrets of the cold pool. Lu Yun saw this and his heart stirred, subtly avoiding Zhang Aoxue and Lin Yunfeng's line of sight. Suddenly, a black light flashed in Lu Yun's eyes, extremely stealthy, as he secretly employed the Demon Sect's "Heart Desire Without Trace" technique, his thoughts rapidly fluctuating at a speed of 3,600 times per breath, carefully probing the situation inside the cold pool.
Zhang Aoxue looked at the cold pool, and suddenly a strange feeling rose in her heart. She had already clearly felt that this cold pool had undergone great changes since she obtained the treasure sword, and an abnormal change had occurred. The ghost energy in the pool was strong and powerful, vaguely containing infinite evil yin energy, extremely shocking.
Lin Yunfeng suddenly let out a loud roar, his face changed greatly, and he took a step back. Lu Yun and Zhang Aoxue looked at him in surprise. Lin Yunfeng said with an astonished expression: "According to my investigation, the dark and gloomy energy at the bottom of this pool is extremely strong, and it seems that there is something hidden here. Be careful. At the bottom of this pool, there is a cold spring eye, and inside the spring eye, there is a jade token with cracks on it. It looks like it was caused by suppressing this powerful ghost energy. However, it's possible that over time, it has been eroded by the ghost energy and slowly cracked."
Lu Yun furrowed his brow upon hearing this, for he had also investigated Lin Yunfeng's situation. More importantly, he had discovered that a dark and eerie aura was forming within the pool's bottom, rapidly growing in power at an astonishing speed. Next to the pool's edge was a sword slot, which seemed to have once held a sword, but unfortunately it was no longer there.
Lu Yun looked at Lin Yunfeng and said, "Yunfeng, when it comes to catching demons and ghosts, you're the most skilled. What do you think we should do? The ghostly energy is growing stronger by the minute, and if we drag this out any longer, the consequences will be even more severe. Since we've discovered this, we should come up with a way to stop it. Now's your chance to show off your skills, we're counting on you."
Lin Yunfeng's eyes were cold and stern, his voice low and solemn: "This ghostly energy is not ordinary, I've never encountered such a powerful ghostly energy before, let me try now."
Zhang Aoxue's cold voice said, "This matter is probably caused by me, so I'll take care of it. The sword in my hand was taken from the pool, and it should have the power to suppress evil. Once it's removed, the dark and sinister things that were suppressed in the pool will start to stir. Since this matter was caused by me, I'll be the one to end it." After finishing speaking, she moved her feet lightly and landed gently beside the loving pool.
Lu Yun said, "Sister, your words are too extreme. We came from the same Yi Garden, we share the same wall, how can we be so clearly divided? Moreover, when encountering such things, we should work together to eliminate this dark and evil creature. Don't you think so, Lin Yun Feng?" The last sentence changed tone, asking Lin Yun Feng.
"Not bad, not bad, we should work together to eliminate this evil thing. I'm the best at doing this kind of thing, just watch me and see how I deal with this demon. Heh heh, I'll let it know the power of Lin Yunfeng!" After saying that, Lin Yunfeng took another step forward, preparing to make his move.
Lu Yun quietly walked closer to Zhang Ao Xue and asked softly: "Sister, let's take a look at Yun Feng first, he is very skilled in this area. When he can't do it, sister can still take action. Can I ask, how many years have you been studying here, your cultivation is so high?"
Zhang Aoxue looked at Lu Yun, and Lu Yun also looked at her. The two people's gazes met in mid-air, and a brilliant light burst out for an instant. Neither of them avoided it, but instead quietly stared at each other, with the same surprise revealed in their eyes. Slightly shifting her gaze, Zhang Aoxue calmly said: "I've been here for fifteen years already, following Master since I was young."
"It turns out that's the case, no wonder Master's cultivation is so profound. I've heard that there's another Li Hongfei in Yi Garden who is said to be on par with Master, he must have also been training here since childhood just like Master."
Zhang Aoxue glanced at him, his expression subtly hiding something, unfortunately, Lu Yun couldn't understand. Zhang Aoxue said: "He arrived before me, it's said that he was brought here when he was one year old, and his parents had passed away, so his cultivation has been extremely diligent, he should have already surpassed me." After finishing speaking, he looked at Lin Yunfeng
Lin Yunfeng's body was now emitting a layer of green light, his left hand gesturing as he grasped the peach wood sword in his right. He began to move around the cold pool, his footsteps tracing the patterns of the eight trigrams. Lin Yunfeng muttered incantations under his breath, his wooden sword flashing rapidly as he struck various poses, looking for all the world like a folk exorcist at work, and utterly ridiculous. Lu Yun couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, thinking this kid was just too weird. But Zhang Aoxue's eyes narrowed in thought, as if she had suddenly remembered something that left her feeling startled.
Lin Yunfeng let out a loud cry, and the peach wood sword in his hand suddenly burst forth with a strong and vigorous cyan light. With one slash of the sword, he struck down at the pool's surface, creating a massive shockwave that sent water splashing several meters high. Immediately afterwards, countless black misty vapors slowly began to rise up, only to slowly disappear without a trace under Lin Yunfeng's "Demon-Slaying Sword".
Lin Yunfeng drew his sword and instantly pulled out a talisman with his left hand, biting open the index finger of his right hand. He quickly wrote a long string of blood curses on the talisman before slapping it towards Han Chi. The blood talisman suddenly transformed into a dark dragon that entered Han Chi in an instant. As soon as the blood talisman entered Han Chi, the water inside Han Chi suddenly surged violently, and countless black smoke-like vapors dissipated into thin air. However, the entire surface of the water underwent an extremely intense shockwave. A black light burst out from the bottom of the pool, breaking through the suppression at the bottom of the pool and shattering Lin Yunfeng's talisman curse before shooting towards mid-air. But as soon as this black light broke through the treetops, it was suddenly suppressed by a blinding red glow that gathered from all directions, forcing the black light back down. It was extremely bizarre.
Lin Yunfeng took a few steps back, his face filled with shock and surprise, his mouth uttering strange cries. Meanwhile, Lu Yun and Zhang Aoxue's faces changed drastically, their long swords simultaneously emerging, two beams of light, one red and one purple, flashing out and rushing towards the icy pool. At this moment, beside the icy pool, a black mist condensed into a dark figure, extremely ominous, like a malevolent spirit.
Lin Yunfeng's face changed slightly as he saw the black fierce ghost, and he shouted loudly: "Be careful, this is a very rare ghost, extremely powerful, very difficult to deal with, everyone be careful." After finishing, Taomu sword swung, "Slashing Demon Sword" instantly emitted a mysterious blue light, slashing towards the ghost. The ghost sneered and disappeared into thin air in an instant, turning into a wisp of smoke.
Lu Yun's face changed slightly, encountering this ghostly creature for the first time, he was still unsure how to deal with it. The best method would be to use the Ghost Sect's "Soul Transformation Great Technique", but unfortunately, he didn't dare reveal his true cultivation level at present, so he could only use Yi Yuan's "Easy Heaven's Secret" and the Tian Gang Sword Technique to deal with this ghostly creature. Zhang Ao Xue's beautiful face had a faint coldness, her expression solemn, the purple sword in her hand suddenly emitted an dazzling light, instantly enveloping the entire forest in a layer of purple glow, its power astonishing.
That demon saw the purple light and suddenly shrunk into a ball of black gas, moving rapidly in mid-air to dodge Zhang Aosnow's dense sword energy. It was clearly wary of that treasured sword. In contrast, it didn't seem to care about Lu Yun's "Blazing Heavenly Sword Technique", while Lin Yunfeng's Demon-Slaying Sword Technique made it slightly cautious.
Lin Yunfeng's entire body burst forth with a profound blue-green light, and he loudly declared: "Lu Yun, this thing is extremely troublesome, it's not something that an ordinary cultivator can kill. Your Lihuo Tiange Sword Technique is useless against it, let me handle it instead. The universe and all things, yin and yang, heaven and earth, the three realms and five elements, all obey my command. Yin-yang Law Sword, Exterminate Ghosts and Behead Immortals! Break!"
Suddenly, the air around them fluctuated wildly, and a fierce gust of wind converged into a strange space. A sword with a red and green glow appeared above the three people's heads, rotating rapidly. The mysterious yin-yang sword was over three meters long, spinning swiftly in mid-air, its dazzling light flashing like two sharp swords. Wherever it passed, countless dark ghostly energies instantly turned to gray smoke and vanished. The forest suddenly echoed with the voices of countless vengeful spirits, their angry wails sending chills down one's spine, exuding an eerie and ominous atmosphere.
Lu Yun and Zhang Ao Xue were both looking at Lin Yun Feng with a shocked expression, unable to understand how many secrets he was hiding. It was clear that this mysterious technique was not one of the easy-to-learn true qi methods from Yi Yuan, and they had no idea where he had learned it. Lu Yun retreated three zhang (a unit of measurement) and looked up at the divine sword above, realizing that Lin Yun Feng had summoned it using his extraordinary yin-yang technique. It was truly a wonder of the world, too mysterious to comprehend!
Zhang Aoxue's treasured sword danced in the air, its powerful purple glow forcing the ghost to roar with rage, yet it didn't dare to collide head-on with the purple light, showing great caution towards the purple radiance. At the same time, Lin Yunfeng's yin-yang magic sword slowly closed in from above, forcing the ghost to dodge continuously, becoming increasingly irritable. Zhang Aoxue's treasured sword soared through the air, and he instantly took flight, resembling a celestial being. The purple glow on his sword surged forth, instantly enveloping the entire forest, unleashing an overwhelming aura that burst forth from Zhang Aoxue's body in an instant. In this moment, Zhang Aoxue finally revealed his true strength as an exceptionally powerful expert, truly deserving of his reputation as Yiyuan's most outstanding young master, surpassing Lin Yunfeng and Lu Yunqiang by a significant margin.
Lu Yun stepped back, knowing he couldn't help at this moment, and retreated to the side, quietly observing the situation. The yin-yang sword's glow above remained unchanged, steadily closing in on the ghostly figure, while Zhang Aosnow transformed into a purple light, rapidly moving his body in mid-air, chasing after the ghostly figure's shadow, not relaxing his attack for a moment.
The ghost was cornered, with no escape from the sword shadows of Zhang Aosnow and the yin-yang law sword above. Lu Yun's face showed a hint of joy, thinking it was time to end this. Lin Yunfeng on the ground and Zhang Aosnow in mid-air also had the same feeling, thinking that the ghost was doomed this time. But just then, the ghost suddenly shot up, rushing straight towards Lin Yunfeng's yin-yang law sword, seemingly determined to fight to the death.
Lu Yun suddenly had a strange idea in his heart, and he suddenly realized that the ghostly aura around him was rapidly rotating at a speed of 2,800 times per second, quickly circulating and probing for weaknesses and gaps in the yin-yang sword. He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to escape from Lin Yunfeng and Zhang Aoxue's attack. Taking a glance at Lin Yunfeng and Zhang Aoxue, they were both focusing all their attention on the rapidly flipping ghostly aura, without any time or energy to spare for themselves. Lu Yun looked at the ghostly aura, and a black light flashed in his eyes, his mental wave suddenly jumping up with a speed of 4,800 times per second, instantly breaking through the external gas mask of the ghostly aura and directly attacking its core.
This mental wave is a mysterious technique that Lu Yun comprehended from the "Heart's Desire Without a Trace" mantra in the Demon Sect. Originally, he was just curious and didn't think of using this mental wave to attack people. He only used it to investigate some mysterious things, and the effect was very good. Generally, cultivators don't understand the subtlety of this technique. However, after learning the Lu family's ancestral "Heaven and Earth Without Bounds", he discovered that there were specialized descriptions in it about how to use mental waves to detect mysterious formations and enemy weaknesses, which was extremely subtle. At the same time, "Heaven and Earth Without Bounds" emphasized how to use this incredible mental wave to attack, producing results that were not inferior to real Qi attacks, but rather a hundred or a thousand times more brilliant, making it the most mysterious and overbearing technique in cultivation mantras.
In general, the methods of the law do not have this magical function. This can be known from Lu Yun's childhood, when he learned art from that strange master. Among the five methods of law that Lu Yun learned, only the magic sect's method contains this kind of mysterious method guided by intention. And in all the other orthodox Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian methods in the cultivation world, there is no mention of this aspect. It can be seen that this magical method is known to very few people in the cultivation world.
