Accepting the title of Honorary Artificer for the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, after discussion, Lin Feng agreed that whenever the Pavilion received a repair commission, they could send it to him. Once he finished the repair, Zhang Fangzhou and his brothers would return it. Additionally, he sold a large batch of treasures he had accumulated over the past days to the Pavilion, earning another sum of spirit stones.
By the time Lin Feng and his group emerged from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, it was nearly noon. They headed to Zhenwei Lou for lunch, and afterwards, proceeded to the Mission Guild.
Lin Feng considered that relying solely on repairing treasures for income might now be insufficient. The market in Qingyun City was simply too small. While the earnings had seemed ample before, now that he needed to prepare funds to purchase the materials for repairing the White Tiger Fierce Soul Talisman, he had to find other ways to earn spirit stones.
The Mission Guild was a good alternative option. There were many challenging missions there, some offering rewards of a hundred, several hundred, or even thousands of spirit stones – quite a significant amount.
Since he had just advanced to Foundation Establishment Level Two, there was no need for constant daily cultivation for the time being. Therefore, Lin Feng decided to regularly accept missions from now on. Earning spirit stones while also gaining experience and enhancing his combat skills seemed ideal.
The Seven Peaks Forest north of the city was off-limits for now due to its terrifying reputation. Instead, he accepted several missions at the Mission Guild to hunt mid or late Tier 2 Demonic Beasts. Then, he led Zhang Fangzhou and his three brothers out of Qingyun City, heading south towards Wild Goose Fall Mountain, dozens of miles away.
A mission to hunt a late Tier 2 Demonic Beast was equivalent to confronting a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. This was the hardest type of mission Qingyun City could offer. Usually, only the few late Foundation Establishment cultivators dared to accept them. But for Lin Feng, it was hardly a problem. Though he was only at Foundation Establishment Level Two, his powerful array of treasures was sufficient to sweep through the dangerous areas surrounding Qingyun City.
Wild Goose Fall Mountain was a towering, majestic peak piercing the clouds, several times larger than any of the seven peaks within the Seven Peaks Forest. Its surrounding vast expanse of woodland, though slightly smaller in scale than the Seven Peaks Forest, was no less treacherous.
Lin Feng's group entered Wild Goose Fall Mountain and charged through unstoppably. Not only Lin Feng, but even Zhang Fangzhou and his brothers could now handle an early Tier 2 Demonic Beast without issue. Each possessed spirit light defensive treasures and numerous spell talismans. With just these, they could individually take down an early Tier 2 beast.
With the Seven Peaks Forest inaccessible, many cultivator teams were active within Wild Goose Fall Mountain. Numerous people witnessed Lin Feng's team sweeping through the mountain as if it were unoccupied territory. Consequently, news spread quickly about the appearance of an extravagantly equipped cultivator team, becoming a hot topic of discussion and speculation among the cultivators.
...
Lin Feng's group had left the city the previous afternoon and returned to Qingyun City only by evening the next day. They had hunted within Wild Goose Fall Mountain for a full day and night, reaping a bountiful harvest. They had not only slain several Tier 2 Demonic Beasts but also found various artificing materials and natural spirit herbs.
Returning to the Mission Guild, Lin Feng handed over several challenging missions under the astonished gaze of the receptionist. He also sold off surplus beast materials and other items to the guild, adding another sum of spirit stones to his coffers.
Just as he was preparing to leave the Mission Guild, Lin Feng unexpectedly encountered an 'acquaintance'...
"Huh?! Lin Feng!!"
A voice tinged with surprise came from nearby, causing Lin Feng to pause mid-step. He turned towards the sound, revealing an expression of astonishment as well. "Zheng Kai?"
"Haha! Lin Feng, it really is you!!"
The speaker was dressed in splendid, immaculate white robes, with long, flowing hair and an air of effortless grace. He possessed a handsome face that could rival Earth's super idol stars – none other than the young master of Qingyun City's Zheng family, Zheng Kai.
Seeing Lin Feng, Zheng Kai seemed genuinely thrilled. He strode forward quickly, smiling broadly. "Lin Feng, I finally meet you again! After our last encounter, I actually inquired about you everywhere. But you seemed to have vanished into thin air! Where on earth did you go?"
Lin Feng returned the smile. "I went to Biquan City some time ago and only returned recently."
"What? You went to Biquan City?" Zheng Kai exclaimed in surprise. "What took you so far away? I rarely go there myself. Outsiders going there easily get bullied! Did the cultivators there give you any trouble?"
"Oh? That sort of thing happens?" Lin Feng seemed slightly surprised, shaking his head. "I actually found the cultivators there quite 'enthusiastic'. I thought it was rather nice."
"Enthusiastic?!" Zheng Kai's eyes widened. If you only knew how cultivators from Qingyun City usually get chased out if they try to linger in Biquan City..., he thought. He gave Lin Feng a strange look, then suddenly exclaimed with shock, "Huh? Wait a minute... Something feels different about you! You... you've advanced to Foundation Establishment too?!"
Lin Feng smiled. "Yes, not long ago. I heard you succeeded as well, Zheng Kai, and caused quite a spectacle with your spiritual energy. It was a Peak-Grade Wind Spirit Root, right? Congratulations."
"Heh heh, you heard about that?" Zheng Kai laughed without a hint of modesty. "I got lucky. The purification level of my spirit root during advancement was unexpectedly ideal. Remember, I consumed a whopping five thousand-plus low-grade spirit stones during the process! Heh heh, my father says that when the time is right, he'll try to send me to take the entrance tests for some major sects. Might even get into a fourth-tier or even a fifth-tier sect."
"Oh, is that so? Five thousand-plus spirit stones?" Lin Feng showed surprise, though his thoughts flashed to his own Foundation Establishment. If Zheng Kai, with his Peak-Grade Wind Spirit Root, 'only' used five thousand stones... what did his consumption of over twenty thousand stones signify? His own purified Fire Spirit Root seemed merely average! Could his poorer innate talent be the reason for wasting so many spirit stones?
"Hmm, forget it, let's not dwell on that." Zheng Kai seemed to realize he'd been boasting a bit too much and waved his hand awkwardly. Then, leaning in conspiratorially, he asked Lin Feng, "By the way, Lin Feng... since last time... have you seen Lu Cheng?"
"Lu Cheng?" Lin Feng's eyebrow arched slightly, guessing Zheng Kai's implication. His expression remained neutral as he shook his head. "No, I haven't seen him. What about him?"
"Truly haven't?" Zheng Kai eyed Lin Feng with skepticism before continuing. "Lu Cheng is dead. Roughly a month ago, near the Seven Peaks Forest. He was wiped out along with a group of He family experts."
Lin Feng replied calmly, "Oh? You mean the He family incident? I did hear about that. Supposedly they offended a Golden Core cultivator? Didn't the remaining He family members leave Qingyun City too?"
"Yeah, they fled long ago," Zheng Kai nodded. He then squinted at Lin Feng, asking pointedly, "Lin Feng, be honest with me. Did you have anything to do with it?"
Lin Feng naturally couldn't admit he was the one who did it. He shook his head. "Ha, you jest. How could it possibly involve me? I've only just recently established my Foundation. Do you think I possess the strength to annihilate a group of He family experts?"
"Really nothing to do with you?" Zheng Kai stared at Lin Feng for a couple of seconds, then shrugged. "Fine, I won't pry. Even if it was you, it doesn't matter to me anyway..."
His expression instantly switched back to a beaming smile. He threw an arm warmly around Lin Feng's shoulder. "But hey, we're friends who've weathered hardships together, right? Now that we've finally bumped into each other again, we have to celebrate properly! Come on!! My treat! Let's all go enjoy ourselves! Are these three your friends? Come on, everyone join us!"
"Um..." Lin Feng felt slightly unaccustomed to such familiarity. He subtly stepped away, freeing himself from the arm. "Yes, these are my friends: Zhang Fangzhou, Yao Wangtian, Xu Rong. Hmm? And this is..."
He noticed a fair-skinned youth, seemingly around sixteen or seventeen, standing quietly behind Zheng Kai. He looked rather timid, silently watching Zheng Kai and Lin Feng converse.
"Ah! Pleased to meet you, gentlemen! Since you're Lin Feng's friends, you're friends of Zheng Kai too! Delighted to meet you!" Zheng Kai greeted Zhang Fangzhou and his brothers with a cupped fist salute. He then pulled the youth beside him forward by the shoulder, introducing him. "This is my younger sworn brother, Kou Yuxuan. I brought him out today specifically to experience life a little."
Kou Yuxuan resembled a young master of a wealthy family who hadn't ventured out much, his face showing a hint of nervousness. He addressed Lin Feng and the others softly, "Hello, everyone..."
"Hello." Lin Feng nodded in acknowledgment. The different surname indicated Kou Yuxuan wasn't Zheng Kai's biological brother. The surname Kou suggested he was a young master from the Kou family within the city – a family roughly equivalent in standing to the former He family.
While Zhang Fangzhou and the others were still processing their surprise that Lin Feng knew the Zheng family heir, Zheng Kai waved his hand grandly. "Enough standing around chatting here! Come on! I'll take you all to a great place to unwind!"
...
When Zheng Kai had said he was treating everyone, Lin Feng had assumed he meant a lavish meal at Zhenwei Lou. However, upon arriving at Zheng Kai's chosen destination, Lin Feng was utterly stunned...
Spring Fragrance Garden.
Qingyun City's largest establishment of romantic entertainment, commonly known as a brothel...