The days following the unceremonious expulsion of the Violet Mountain Noble were strangely, terrifyingly peaceful.
Logic dictated that the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom should have descended upon the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect like a hammer of divine retribution. Their Royal Noble had been punted into the horizon like a discarded toy, and their Royal Decree—a manifestation of the Mortal King's sovereign will—had been shattered by a brute force that defied the Grand Dao.
By all rights, the armies of the Azure Mysterious Ancient Kingdom, the behemoth standing behind the Jewel Kingdom, should be marching.
But the mountains remained silent.
The silence wasn't born of forgiveness; it was born of fear. The cultivation world was a forest of predators, and when a rabbit suddenly grew fangs and devoured a wolf, the tigers paused to reassess. They were regrouping, likely weeping to their ancient ancestors and calculating the cost of a full-scale war against an anomaly they couldn't comprehend.
Ling Feng didn't care. While the outside world held its breath, he was busy playing a simulation game of his own making on Lonely Peak.
The atmosphere atop the mountain was no longer one of austere cultivation; it was domestic, warm, and utterly divorced from the tension gripping the rest of the sect.
"Young Noble," Xu Pei whispered, her voice trembling as she held a scroll made of aged bamboo slips. "I... I still don't understand the circulation route of the 'Violet Cloud Chant.' My meridians feel blocked, like silt clogging a river."
Ling Feng sat on a rocking chair he had handcrafted from thousand-year-old Ironwood, gently swaying back and forth. He looked less like a cultivator seeking immortality and more like a man on vacation. He beckoned her with a lazy curl of his finger.
"Come here, Peipei."
Xu Pei's face flushed a deep crimson, but she obeyed instantly. She walked over, and Ling Feng pulled her into his lap with a natural, possessive ease, ignoring the sharp intakes of breath from the servant disciples tidying the courtyard. He placed a large, warm hand on the center of her back, right between her shoulder blades.
The Primal Chaos Genesis Physique hummed within him. It was a terrifying engine, an alien hunger that fed on emotions and willpower, but it also granted him an insane, cheat-like comprehension of the Chaos Force and, by extension, all Worldly Energy. To his eyes, the Grand Dao wasn't a mystical scripture; it was just code. And right now, he was looking at bad code.
"The manual is trash," Ling Feng said bluntly, his voice vibrating against her back. "It was written by some old foggy who didn't understand flow dynamics. Relax. Let me guide it."
He didn't use his Spirit Energy. Instead, he injected a tiny, thread-like strand of Chaos Energy into her body.
Unlike the violent, reality-shattering force he used to crush Royal Nobles, this energy was fluid, warm, and incredibly adaptable. It surged into Xu Pei's meridians, acting like a master key. Where there were blockages, the Chaos Energy didn't just break them; it lubricated the passage, forcefully but gently correcting the errors in her circulation route.
"Oh!" Xu Pei gasped, her back arching slightly. A sensation of profound heat rushed through her limbs, cleansing her marrow. "It... it's moving on its own! The blockage is gone!"
"Yeah, I patched out the little kinks," Ling Feng murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder and inhaling the soft scent of jasmine in her hair. "Keep circulating it like that. Don't fight the flow; ride it. You'll hit the Inner Longevity realm by next week. You're cute, so you get the VIP treatment."
Xu Pei leaned back into his chest, her heart swelling with a sweetness that had nothing to do with cultivation. in this dog-eat-dog world, disciples were tools and furnaces. But Ling Feng treated her like... a person. Like she mattered.
"Thank you, Big Brother Ling," she whispered, her eyes misting over.
Li Shuangyan watched this scene from the doorway of the main hut. Her expression was a complicated tapestry of emotions.
She was the descendant of the Nine Saint Demon Gate, a supreme genius with the Pure Jade Physique. She was used to being the moon that everyone gazed at from afar. Yet, watching Ling Feng casually rewrite a merit law and flirt with a junior disciple with such genuine affection, she felt a prickly sensation in her chest.
It wasn't disdain. It was... envy?
"Say, Shuangyan," Ling Feng called out, his eyes still closed as he enjoyed the sun. "Stop brooding. It causes wrinkles. You're too pretty to look like a grumpy cat."
Li Shuangyan stiffened, her icy demeanor snapping back into place like armor. "I am not brooding. I am contemplating the Dao."
"Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Ling Feng gently nudged Xu Pei off his lap—much to her disappointment—and stood up. He walked over to Li Shuangyan, his gait loose and predatory.
He stopped inches from her, invading her personal space. The air around him smelled of ozone and something ancient, like the dust of stars.
"Your physique. The Pure Jade Physique," Ling Feng said, his tone shifting. The playfulness vanished, replaced by a discerning, surgical sharpness. "The way it is now... it's too limiting. You're trying to bottle a blizzard."
Li Shuangyan's eyes widened in genuine shock. "How do you know? My master said suppressing the cold is the only way to prevent a backlash."
"Your master is thinking inside the box. I don't do boxes." Ling Feng tapped his temple. "You're trying to build a dam when you should be digging a canal. You're fighting your own nature, and it's tanking your power."
Unlike Li Qiye, who possessed the memories of the Dark Crow and knew the specific Merit Law for the Void Imperfection Immortal Physique, Ling Feng only knew the plot points. He didn't have the scroll. If he had the text, his [Primal Chaos Genesis Physique] would allow him to comprehend it instantly, but he couldn't conjure that specific book out of thin air.
But he didn't need a book. He was the anomaly. He had the Chaos Force.
He smiled, a dangerous, confident curve of his lips. "Give me your hand."
Li Shuangyan hesitated for only a heartbeat before extending her hand. Her skin was cool, smooth as jade. Ling Feng took it, his grip warm and rough.
"I'm going to give you an upgrade," Ling Feng said. "Don't resist. This might feel a little... weird."
[Green Chaos Emerald – Chaos Control]
The air around them warped.
It wasn't a cultivation technique; it was the manipulation of the fabric of space itself. Ling Feng channeled the Green Chaos Emerald, not to teleport, but to alter the internal spatial geometry of Li Shuangyan's dantian.
He wasn't just moving energy; he was expanding the metaphysical space around her Fate Palace, creating a void buffer that could accommodate the overflow of her Pure Jade cold energy.
"Focus," Ling Feng's voice dropped an octave, resonating in her skull. "Feel the void. The cold isn't your enemy. It's fuel. Let it flow into the space I'm making."
Li Shuangyan gasped, her body trembling. A shockwave went through her soul. The biting, painful cold that usually gnawed at her meridians suddenly found an outlet. It didn't dissipate; it swirled, turning into a majestic, freezing vortex that empowered her rather than hindered her. The stagnation vanished, replaced by a torrent of power.
She looked at him, breathless, her pupils dilating. He was grinning down at her—that stupid, handsome, arrogant grin that made her want to punch him and kiss him at the same time.
"Better?" he asked.
"I..." Li Shuangyan lowered her head, looking at her hands. Frost formed on her fingertips, but it didn't hurt. It felt natural. "Yes. It is... miraculous. My cultivation feels light."
"Don't thank me," Ling Feng winked, releasing her hand. "Just smile more. You look like a horror movie ghost when you scowl. Seriously, it's spooky."
Li Shuangyan let out a huff, turning her head away to hide the flush rising on her cheeks. She decided to focus on her internal circulation rather than engage with Ling Feng's baffling dialect, but Ling Feng caught the slight, upward curve of her lips.
...
Days turned into weeks.
For the first time in millennia, a strange sense of vitality began to spread across the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. It wasn't the dusty glory of the past; it was a new, chaotic energy.
It was on a particularly sunny afternoon, while Ling Feng was in the middle of feeding grapes to Xu Pei, that Gu Tieshou came sprinting up the mountain path.
"Ling Feng!" The First Elder bowed deeply, his face a mask of panic and awe. "The disciples... you modified the introductory merit laws in the library?"
"Yeah," Ling Feng didn't bother opening his eyes. "The old ones were inefficient. Lots of wasted movement."
"They're advancing too fast!" Gu Tieshou's voice cracked. "The atmospheric Spirit Energy on the main peaks is draining because they're absorbing it so efficiently! The formation masters are panicking!"
"Working as intended," Ling Feng gave a lazy thumbs-up. "I pushed an update. Tell the kids to drink plenty of water. Power-leveling causes dehydration."
Naturally, Ling Feng spent most of his attention on training Xu Pei and Li Shuangyan. But he didn't let the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect rot away. He genuinely liked some of the people here. They weren't just NPCs in a novel; they were people trying to survive in a brutal world.
Moreover, out of most Immortal Emperors, Min Ren seemed like a cooler guy than the other sticks in the mud, even if he was a bit dramatic with his teaching methods.
So over the weeks, he had modified the cultivation manuals. He took those seemingly unimpressive Merit Laws that held the fragments of Emperor Laws and turned them into powerhouse manuals. Through the combination of the Chaos Force and his own insane genius, he crafted cultivation manuals where even reaching the Enlightened Being realm was just a simple, smooth road.
His innate genius, amplified by the alien energy, sought out the flaws instantly. He rewrote them, infusing them with traces of Chaos theory, turning mediocrity into excellence.
Gu Tieshou stared at him, his mouth agape. "You... you casually improved the foundation of our entire sect in an afternoon? Our Immortal Emperor Ancestor couldn't do this so easily! This defies the logic of the Heavens!"
"Min Ren was a drama queen," Ling Feng said dismissively, popping a grape into his mouth. "He liked to make things hard to build 'character.' I'm an engineer. I like efficiency. Now, leave me be. I have two beautiful women to train, and you're killing the vibe, Elder. Major buzzkill."
Gu Tieshou bowed again, retreating backward while muttering about "ancestral blessings," "monsters," and "the rise of the sect."
Ling Feng watched him go, his eyes narrowing slightly. Underneath the casual demeanor, his mind was sharp, calculating. He could feel the pulse of the earth beneath him.
'The Ancient Land,' he thought, sensing the restricted area behind the sect. 'The Dark Crow's old playground. I can feel the residue of the eras. It's dormant, but it's there. I'm too weak to scrub that stain right now. I need the other Emeralds. Especially the Cyan one for Soul Mastery.'
"What are you thinking about?" Xu Pei asked softly, noticing the shift in his aura.
"Just thinking about where to take you on a date," Ling Feng lied smoothly, his grin returning. "Maybe the Evil Infested Ridge. I hear the scenery is killer this time of year. Literally."
...
The passing of time on Lonely Peak felt distinct from the mortal dust settling on the rest of the world.
While the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect was in a fervor of revitalization, Ling Feng was engaged in the most profound of Daos: Observation.
He stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down past the clouds. His eyes glowed with the faint, passive hum of the [Green Chaos Emerald], piercing through the illusion arrays, the bedrock, and the soil itself.
Deep beneath the sect, buried under layers of time and earth, lay a massive, slumbering entity.
A Snail.
The Guardian Deity of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. In the original novel, Li Qiye had to use specific ancestral rites, burnt offerings, and a hell of a lot of posturing to wake it up.
"Big fella is snoozing hard," Ling Feng muttered to himself, taking a bite of a spiritual peach. "I could wake him up. My Chaos Energy operates outside the laws of this reality; I could probably jumpstart his heart like a defibrillator. But... nah. Too much maintenance. If I wake him up, he's going to want snacks, and I'm not running a catering service for Kaijus."
He knew the lore. That Snail was powerful, capable of suppressing Virtuous Paragons, but it wasn't really all that useful for him. Why use a snail when he can already flick a Royal Noble into blood mist?
Ling Feng wasn't sure of his maximum combat prowess with only three Emeralds, but after sparring with Li Shuangyan—who was rapidly approaching the power of a Rebelling Noble thanks to his tweaks—he was confident he could stomp Enlightened Beings into paste.
Ancient Saints might be a fun challenge.
'Besides,' he mused, a predatory glint in his eyes, 'even if I can't compete with Heavenly Sovereigns and the likes yet, the Rings I'll refine from Enlightened Beings and Ancient Saints' souls would be delectable resources.'
His gaze shifted, zooming in on the sect's library plaza.
Among the diligent disciples, there was an old man sleeping on a wooden bench, drool running down his chin into his gray beard. To the untrained eye, he was a lazy disgrace, a stain on the sect's reputation.
Tu Buyu.
The younger brother of the Forefather of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. An old monster who had been masquerading as a disciple for thousands of years. A master of the "Chicken Eating Technique"—a terrifying art that allowed one to swallow the Grand Dao and existence itself.
"Another hidden boss," Ling Feng mused, scratching his chin. "In the book, Li Qiye played 4D chess with him. Riddles, face-slapping, the whole nine yards of 'I know that you know that I know.' I don't have the patience for riddles."
He smirked. 'If he tries that cryptic nonsense with me, I'll just Chaos Blast him. Simpler.'
"Young Noble?"
A soft voice broke his internal monologue. Li Shuangyan stepped onto the terrace.
She had changed. The icy, impenetrable armor of the descendant of the Nine Saint Demon Gate had thawed significantly. She wore a simpler, flowing white dress that accentuated the dangerous curves of her body, her hair pinned up loosely with a single jade hairpin.
The cold energy of her Pure Jade Physique no longer felt like a biting frost pushing people away; thanks to Ling Feng's spatial adjustments, it now hummed with a serene, powerful containment that drew people in.
"You're zoning out," she noted, walking up to stand beside him. The wind whipped at her robes, but she stood immovable. "Are you worrying about the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom?"
"Those clowns?" Ling Feng laughed, a genuine, hearty sound. He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Li Shuangyan leaned into him naturally now, the stiffness of the past weeks gone. She fit against his side perfectly. "Please. I'm just thinking about optimization. The sect is leveling up, but we need resources. The Evil Infested Ridge is coming up, but I'm thinking bigger."
"Bigger?" Li Shuangyan raised an eyebrow, looking up at him.
"Yeah. Like, world domination bigger. But let's start small." He turned her to face him, his expression shifting from bored to intense. His eyes, usually dancing with amusement, were now pools of yellow lightning. "How's the physique integration going?"
"It is... miraculous," Li Shuangyan admitted, a flush rising on her neck that had nothing to do with the wind. "Since you altered the spatial structure of my Fate Palace, the cold energy doesn't backlash. It feeds my True Fate. My cultivation speed has tripled. My master... he wouldn't believe it if he saw it."
"Good." Ling Feng brushed his thumb over her cheek, feeling the heat beneath the cool skin.
In the weeks that had passed, he had spent almost all his time with either Li Shuangyan or Xu Pei. They were no longer just followers; they were his. And Ling Feng was a greedy man.
"I don't do things halfway, Shuangyan. At this point, you're basically my girlfriend. That means you get the premium package. None of that 'struggling against the heavens' nonsense. We take the elevator to the apex."
Li Shuangyan's heart skipped a beat. Girlfriend. She had never heard this term before, but the way he said it—so casually, so possessively, yet with such warmth—made her knees weak.
In the cultivation world, Dual Cultivation partners were common, but they were transactions. Contracts for power. This felt different. It wasn't a transaction. It was a connection.
"You are incredibly arrogant," she whispered, though her eyes were soft, reflecting his image.
"It's not arrogance if you can back it up," Ling Feng grinned. "It's just being based."
"Based?" She tilted her head, confused by the strange term.
Ling Feng smiled, stepping closer until their chests were touching. "Slang from my hometown. It means being true to yourself and not caring what the haters think. You're pretty based yourself, Shuangyan. Leaving your fancy gate, ignoring the gossip, and hanging out with a 'criminal' like me."
"I..." Li Shuangyan struggled to find the words.
At such close proximity, Ling Feng's scent and his overwhelming presence made her thoughts scatter like leaves in a storm. Emotions she had suppressed for years—desire, safety, excitement—spiraled through her body.
Ling Feng showed a rare, gentle smile. It wasn't the smirk of a conqueror, but the smile of a man looking at something precious. He gently tilted Li Shuangyan's head up, staring into those hypnotic eyes.
"You talk too much," he murmured.
Their faces slowly inched closer. The world around them—the wind, the sect, the looming threats—faded into background noise.
Without hesitation, Ling Feng leaned down and kissed her.
It wasn't the chaste, polite peck of a repressed cultivator afraid of heart devils. It was deep, hungry, and full of electricity.
Li Shuangyan melted against him, her hands instinctively gripping the lapels of his robe. A tiny jolt of static from his Yellow Chaos Emerald passed between their lips, not painful, but stimulating, sending a shiver down her spine that curled her toes.
It was an amazing kiss, a collision of ice and lightning that tingled their very souls.
But just as Ling Feng was deepening the kiss, his hand sliding to the small of her back, his Green Chaos Emerald pinged him. A presence. Fast. Annoying.
'Tch. What does this old fart want now?' He internally sighed, fighting the urge to blast the intruder with a Chaos Spear.
He slowly pulled back, though he didn't let go of her.
"Ah..." Li Shuangyan let out a light, breathless sigh, her eyes fluttering open. They were hazy, unfocused. She leaned forward, instinctively wanting to pull right back into the warmth.
But Ling Feng chuckled, the vibration rumbling against her chest. "We'll have time for that later, my dear. We have an annoying old man coming to our door."
"Eh?" Li Shuangyan blinked, the haze clearing slowly.
Right at that moment, Gu Tieshou rounded the corner of the terrace.
The First Elder froze. He looked at Ling Feng, whose hand was still very much on Li Shuangyan's lower back, and at the Goddess of the Nine Saint Demon Gate, whose face was flushed and lips were swollen.
Gu Tieshou looked extremely awkward and slightly terrified, like he had walked in on two dragons mating.
"Ahem! Young Noble Ling! I... apologize for the interruption!" He bowed so low his nose almost touched the floor.
Ling Feng lightly sighed, keeping his arm firmly around Li Shuangyan's waist. He looked at the First Elder with mild annoyance. "What is it, Elder? Unless the sky is falling, or the sect is on fire, you're interrupting my quality time. And I value my quality time."
"It... it is a matter of utmost importance," Gu Tieshou said, wiping sweat from his forehead. He didn't dare look up. "The Sect Master. She has returned."
Ling Feng's eyes lit up. The annoyance vanished, replaced by curiosity. "Oh? Finally showed up, did she?"
Li Shuangyan straightened her dress, regaining her composure instantly, though the blush remained high on her cheeks. "Sect Master Su Yonghuang? I have heard rumors... but she has never been seen publicly. The previous Sect Master's disciple?"
"She's shy," Ling Feng joked, though his mind was racing through the novel's plot. Su Yonghuang. Not a descendant of Min Ren, but a descendant of the Su Clan. Possessor of the Solar Immortal Physique. A tough cookie. "Or maybe she just hates dealing with the mess you old fogies left her."
Gu Tieshou winced. "She... she wishes to see you. Immediately. She is at the Ancestral Hall."
Ling Feng released Li Shuangyan and stretched his arms above his head, cracking his neck. "Alright. Let's go meet the boss lady. I wonder if she's as fiery as people say... I mean, as majestic as the rumors say."
Ling Feng turned toward the Ancestral Hall, his stride confident. The domestic phase was over. It was time to shake up the leadership.
'Solar Immortal Physique, huh?' Ling Feng thought, the Chaos energy swirling in his dantian. 'Let's see if she can handle the heat.'