The Martial Emperor

Chapter 4 - The End of the Cave

Lin Feng remained frozen at the edge of the lake, his heart beating fast in sync with the air pressure crushing his lungs. The woman on the throne rose to her feet, her trailing white robes seemed to glow even though there was no sun inside this cave. Every step she took as she descended from the small island created delicate ripples on the shallow lake water.

She was so beautiful, her face pure white with sharp eyes and long eyebrows. Her nose was straight with moist red lips. Her long black hair was coiled atop her head and pinned with a golden needle.

The pressure that previously felt like it was smashing bones suddenly softened, though her aura remained as cold as ice. The mysterious figure now stood only a few steps in front of Lin Feng. Her extraordinarily beautiful face appeared more human, though that gaze remained piercingly sharp.

"Do not let fear eat away at your brain, boy," the woman’s voice sounded lower, no longer cutting like the scraping of a sword. "Tell me, how could a human as weak as you crawl into this place that should be your final resting place?"

Lin Feng swallowed hard, trying to catch his constricted breath. With slightly trembling hands, he pointed toward the piles of bones around the lake. "I... I came seeking the Blood Moon Flower for a sect mission," Lin Feng answered, trying to hold back the tremor in his voice even though his instincts kept urging him to run immediately.

The woman glanced briefly at the bright red flowers growing luxuriantly atop the blackened bones. "Take as you please, as many as you can carry," the woman replied while waving her hand, as if the rare plant were nothing more than a wild weed.

Instead of being happy, Lin Feng grew even more suspicious. This ease felt like deadly bait, in a cruel world, nothing is free, especially when it concerns resources like that.

His eyes darted in horror at the rows of skulls that seemed to be laughing at his fate. "Who are you exactly? Why is this place full of human bones? If I take that flower, will I also end up rotting into a skeleton like them?"

The woman chuckled, the sound of her laughter clear yet carrying a deep sense of loneliness. She stepped closer and moved her face forward until her nose almost touched Lin Feng’s nose. A fragrant scent wafted out, but Lin Feng took a step back. "Now is not the time for you to know who I am or why they rot here."

Then she pulled back her face and continued. "What is clear is that I guarantee you will keep breathing no matter how many of those flowers you take."

The woman suddenly stared at Lin Feng with a scrutinizing look that made the youth flinch. "I never thought the one to arrive would be someone as weak as you," she said half-sneeringly. "I bet the only thing you have mastered is the weapon strengthening technique, right?"

Lin Feng flinched again, his jaw tightening. How did this woman know that even with just one look? Lin Feng could swear they had only met today. "How can you know?" Lin Feng asked with an increasing tone of vigilance.

The woman did not answer directly, instead, she walked around Lin Feng as if inspecting an antique. "Your meditation method is a mess. You force yourself to absorb filth that you should be discarding. You do not realize that the Qi in this world is already rotten, contaminated by the ambitions of the false gods up there who act like true rulers."

"False gods?"

"Heh, seeing that you do not know who they are surely makes them happy." The beautiful woman gave a lopsided smile. Then her smooth hand patted Lin Feng’s shoulder. "You indeed can use the weapon strengthening technique very well, perhaps you are the best among everyone. But that is your only talent, isn't it?"

Lin Feng frowned in confusion. False gods? Dirty Qi? All those terms sounded like delusions to a lowly disciple like him. Then how could she know in such detail?

However, before he could ask, the woman suddenly extended one slender finger right to Lin Feng’s forehead.

Instantly, a streak of golden light shot out and then entered Lin Feng’s head. The youth closed his eyes as a foreign memory—an unknown meditation technique—was carved directly into his mind.

Lin Feng could see the inner workings of an energy flow he had never imagined before. It was a process of filtering, condensing, and then discarding.

When Lin Feng opened his eyes again, the small island was suddenly shrouded in a very thick white mist. The figure of the beautiful woman and her golden throne began to fade, vanishing, swallowed by the whiteness of the mist as if they were merely an illusion created from water vapor.

"Use this place as you wish. The Qi here is still pure enough to patch your shattered foundation," the echo of the woman’s voice was heard from all directions. "But remember well, once you step out, there will be no way back."

Before the echo of her voice completely vanished, a final instruction sounded sharper. "And never take off the Yin-Yang stone necklace around your neck, no matter what happens. It is the only thing that will prevent your soul from being torn apart by those watching from the sky. See you at our next meeting."

Then the golden throne and the mist completely disappeared. Lin Feng blinked, lost in thought about what he had just seen. He felt as if he were in the same place but had just returned from another dimension.

Hearing the final words, Lin Feng was startled and felt his neck. Sure enough, a necklace with a stone featuring black-and-white motifs chasing each other was already looped there. He did not know when the necklace was put on, and it felt like nothing at all except a normal necklace.

Despite still being shrouded in doubt, Lin Feng could feel the density of the Qi in here was truly extraordinary. The Qi spreading through the air was very pure and thick, making Lin Feng unable to restrain himself and immediately sit cross-legged at the edge of that shallow lake.

He did not know who that woman was, but it was clear that figure was a cultivator whose level was unknown but incredibly high. Had that woman intended harm, Lin Feng would surely have become a new pile of corpses here.

"But why did she show no ill intent at all?" Lin Feng’s brow furrowed. "Even though one could say I entered her home without permission?"

He began to practice his new memory: drawing natural Qi slowly, holding it in the chest, then pressing it to make the Qi denser. Only then would it become apparent which Qi should be discarded and which should be absorbed into the dantian. The entire process had to be done in a single breath.

"A technique like this, I have never heard of," Lin Feng muttered, growing more doubtful. "But if I think about it, it should make sense."

So Lin Feng began his meditation. The Qi condensation process was the most difficult, Lin Feng had to exert his concentration to the highest limit to do it. Then he was surprised because he did not expect this method to work, although not yet perfect, Lin Feng could already feel which Qi had to be discarded and which should be passed into the dantian.

When clean Qi entered his dantian, he felt refreshed. His blood flow and meridian paths seemed to become clearer than before. Lin Feng did it again and again, the longer he went, the more fluent he became at mastering this technique.

In the middle of the process, Lin Feng tried to absorb a bit more Qi, but that instead made his heart feel as if it were being squeezed. Finally, Lin Feng realized that at his current level, he could not absorb that much Qi in a single breath.

"Ah!" Suddenly he woke from his meditation because he remembered something. "According to the mission explanation, the Blood Moon Flower should be able to help increase Qi capacity, right?"

He looked at the surrounding flowers and then decided to take the nearest one and consume it by swallowing one part of the flower's crown.

After only two seconds, Lin Feng’s eyes bulged and he immediately spat out the flower along with fresh blood. "Akhh... this dirty Qi... it is so thick!"

Now Lin Feng knew why that woman had allowed him to take as many Blood Moon Flowers as he wanted.

Fortunately, the Qi around here was still clean enough that by meditating for just a short while, Lin Feng was able to restore his balance.

"I must make use of this. Three days... I only have three days before he leaves for home without me." His mind remembered Zhang Hao, who was still waiting outside.

After that, Lin Feng was immersed in his meditation, and three days passed without notice.

"Second-level Marrow Refinement, incredible! A great technique and this place is truly clean!" Then he clasped his two hands and bowed deeply toward the island in the middle of the lake. "Thank you for all your kindness, Milady." Of course, there was no answer because there was indeed no one there.

Lin Feng rose to his feet after taking one Blood Moon Flower as proof of mission success. He felt his body was much lighter and stronger, then without hesitation stepped out of the cliff crevice. At the mouth of the cliff crevice, he saw Zhang Hao pacing back and forth with an anxious face.

"Feng, you are still alive!" Zhang Hao exclaimed loudly when he saw his friend come out. He immediately ran toward him, but his steps suddenly stopped a few meters in front of Lin Feng. His eyes widened, his mouth agape in disbelief as he inspected the aura radiating from Lin Feng’s body.

"Wait... Second-level Marrow Refinement? In just three days?!" Zhang Hao held his head, shocked beyond measure. "How is it possible? You went in there as trash who could only strengthen a sword, but now... this aura... you have even surpassed my level?!"

"Trash?!" Lin Feng’s eyebrow throbbed. "You are no different from me, you bastard!"

Zhang Hao was startled. "I mean, now you are not as much trash as me." Zhang Hao scratched the back of his head. "The Qi here is still pure, I also experienced an improvement even though I haven't been able to break through to the second level."

Lin Feng exhaled and then gave a thin smile, a smile that now looked calmer and more dangerous. He patted the shoulder of Zhang Hao, who was still frozen stiff. "A miracle happened, Hao. Now let's go home, and I will make sure after today no one can insult us again."

However, occasionally Lin Feng still trembled remembering all the visions in the cave earlier. About the emperor, about the betrayal, about his death. Then he felt his chest, for some reason, at this moment it felt as if something was missing. Something difficult to explain.

"This... that woman did not give it for free."

***

Actually, the woman was still there, only she was in another dimension that Lin Feng could not see.

She smiled as Lin Feng bowed to her, and after the figure left, a golden-stringed zither suddenly appeared from the air.

Her beautiful eyes then closed for a long time before her slender fingers moved smoothly to pluck those golden strings.

A melodious strain was heard followed by the chanting of poetry accompanying the zither melody.

"The sky has fallen, the earth bathes in blood."

"The emperor has gone, a river of tears is created."

"Someday... one day...."

"An eternal promise, the emperor shall return."

"One day... one day later...."

"The dragon will return."

The sound of the zither continued and the poem was repeated several times. Once it had been repeated seven times, the woman stopped her musical performance and then opened her eyes, staring in the direction Lin Feng had gone with a look of longing mixed with grief.

Then she set down the zither and knelt on one knee, her head bowed deeply. "Long live the Martial Emperor, Ruler of Heaven and Earth...," she whispered in a hoarse voice broken by sobs.