Lin Feng spent two days preparing for his entry into the Shifting Void Labyrinth. Elder Ling, true to her eccentric nature, provided no guidance, only a dismissive wave and a tattered, ancient map marked with impossible geometric symbols. She insisted that only by surviving the Labyrinth could he prove the stability of his Void Soul Seal.
The Labyrinth was a naturally occurring phenomenon, a region of the Sunderwind Wastes where the spatial laws of the Mortal Star Field frayed, causing localized, unpredictable dimensional shifts. Entering required not just courage, but an affinity for space—the only thing Lin Feng possessed in abundance.
Before departing, he took the time to stabilize his Qi Sea realm, using the Pure Spirit Jade he earned. His foundation was solid, but his control over the Void Cutter Finger remained sloppy.
The entrance to the Labyrinth was marked by a swirling, black mist where the landscape seemed to fold in on itself. As Lin Feng approached, he noticed fresh footprints—someone else, and a powerful someone, had recently entered.
He took a deep breath, channeled his Void Qi, and stepped through the swirling distortion.
The environment inside was dizzying. Massive boulders floated horizontally, rivers flowed upward, and the lighting changed erratically from bright desert sun to deep, obsidian shadow. The true danger was the soundless Spatial Razor—minute, invisible tears in reality that could instantly sever a limb or decapitate a cultivator.
Lin Feng relied entirely on instinct, using his Void affinity to feel the tears, dodging them with minute shifts of the Phantom Flash Footwork. He navigated for hours, the old map proving utterly useless, realizing his Void Seal was his true compass.
Finally, he detected a surge of raw Fire Qi nearby—not a natural elemental spirit, but a cultivator using an extremely aggressive, high-grade technique. He followed the sound, weaving through a dangerous sector where gravity constantly reversed.
He found the source of the commotion in a small clearing. A stunning young woman was backed against a floating obsidian rock, fighting desperately against three armed cultivators—mercenaries, judging by their armor, all at the Peak of the Qi Sea realm.
The woman was a spectacle. She wore lightweight, crimson leather armor and possessed long, vibrant auburn hair that seemed to catch the light. She wielded two short, fiery blades, moving with dazzling speed and skill, manifesting powerful Fire Attribute energy. She was at the same cultivation level as Lin Feng, First Level Qi Sea, but her combat experience was clearly vast.
"The Phoenix Mark is ours, little rogue! Surrender now and we might leave you your life!" one mercenary shouted, lunging with a spear.
The woman parried the spear with a searing blast of fire from her blades. "Over my dead body, you dirt dogs!"
She was fiercely outnumbered and running out of Qi. Just as the three mercenaries pinned her down, preparing a killing blow, Lin Feng acted.
He didn't bother with the footwork. He focused the raw energy of the Void into his index finger, aiming at the legs of the three assailants.
Hiss. Hiss. Hiss.
Three perfect, invisible cuts materialized simultaneously. The mercenaries cried out in agony as the spatial tears sliced through their tendons, dropping them instantly to the ground. The sudden, clean break was terrifying—no noise, no flash, just pain and immediate crippling.
The mercenaries, recognizing the nature of the attack, scrambled backward, fear overriding greed. "Spatial affinity! Retreat!"
Lin Feng stepped into the light, his plain robes a stark contrast to the fiery chaos.
The woman, panting heavily, immediately trained her twin blades on him, her amber eyes blazing with suspicion. She was fierce, independent, and clearly not prone to trusting saviors.
"Who are you, and what is that terrifying technique?" she demanded, not lowering her guard.
Lin Feng smiled faintly. "The technique is my own. The name is Lin Feng. I'm here for the Crystallized Tears of the Sky Turtle."
The woman's expression changed instantly from hostility to intense concentration. "You know of the Tears? My name is Xia Qingwu. I am a rogue alchemist, and I have traveled far for those Tears. But they are mine."
Lin Feng noted the familiar scent of ash and sulfur on her—she wasn't the same kind of rogue as Elder Ling, but clearly a skilled craftsman. He saw a small, crimson phoenix mark tattooed discreetly on her neck, likely the mark the mercenaries sought.
"I am not here to fight you, Miss Xia," Lin Feng stated, lowering his stance. "I am here to earn the ingredients for an Alchemist named Elder Ling. If we fight, we will alert every creature in the Labyrinth, and we will both lose the Tears."
He proposed a partnership, offering his unique spatial ability in exchange for her elemental knowledge and combat experience.
"Your technique is too wasteful of Qi, Lin Feng, but your movement is flawless," Xia Qingwu conceded after a moment of intense scrutiny. "If you can protect me from the Spatial Razors, I can detect the Tears. They radiate a cold, unique energy that only Fire Qi can locate."
"Then we have an agreement," Lin Feng said.
Their partnership began immediately. Xia Qingwu, intensely focused on the mission, quickly explained her own background. She was the sole remaining heir of a high-grade Fire Alchemy Clan that had been wiped out by a rival faction. She was seeking the Tears to stabilize a legendary pill formula that could grant her the power of a Phoenix Transformation—her own accelerated ascension.
As they began their search deeper into the Labyrinth, their differing personalities clashed and melded: Lin Feng, the calculated, silent Void cultivator; Xia Qingwu, the explosive, fiercely direct Fire expert. Her presence immediately stabilized his volatile Void Qi, and his spatial sense protected her from the environmental hazards. They were two broken halves forming a deadly whole.
Lin Feng knew that saving Su Wanying alone was impossible. But with a powerful, passionate, and equally goal-driven partner like Xia Qingwu, the odds had subtly shifted. The next six months would be spent not only cultivating but fighting alongside a companion whose flames matched his own cold, chaotic power.