"Boom!"
Just as Lin Feng ducked down, he heard an earth-shattering explosion.
The entire cliff also shook violently, and inside the cave, countless stones cascaded down, quickly burying Lin Feng and the others.
Outside the cave, the pool water was blasted over a hundred zhang high, creating a massive mushroom cloud.
A terrifying wave of Qi spread rapidly in all directions, blowing away more than half of the people from the City Lord's Mansion, who screamed in mid-air as severed limbs flew everywhere.
Only City Lord Zhou and a few others reacted in time, hitting the ground, but their bodies still tumbled away.
Li Changfeng, a Cultivator in the Middle Stage of the Golden Core Realm, was closest to the Dragon, and despite his quick reaction, he still coughed up blood from the shock.
He was currently using a shield to protect himself, landing on a bluestone in the distance.
Just then, a phantom image of a Dragon, unnoticed by the crowd, flew out of Qianlong Tan (Hidden Dragon Pool), bringing a gust of wind, and soared towards the cliff cave, pouncing towards Lin Feng beneath the rubble.
"Crash..."
After a long while, the pool water that had been blasted into the air finally fell back down.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
City Lord Zhou coughed violently, got up from the ground, and looked at the groaning crowd around him, his face extremely grim.
This time, not only did he gain no benefits, but he also suffered heavy losses due to the Dragon's self-detonation.
"City... City Lord!"
Commander Chen, Chen Lie, had blood at the corner of his mouth as he struggled to get up from the ground.
"Go quickly and see how everyone is!"
"Yes!"
Commander Chen clasped his fists and accepted the order, going to check on the injuries of the crowd.
Li Changfeng in the distance was so angry that his beard bristled and his eyes widened, no longer looking like an immortal.
This time, he not only lost a set of High Grade Tier 3 Formation, the Dragon Locking Formation, but also a Tier 4 Talisman.
After a while, Li Changfeng calmed himself down before flying over from a distance, sighing:
"Alas, City Lord Zhou, I, Li, never expected this Dragon to self-detonate, causing you such heavy losses."
City Lord Zhou glanced at the groaning crowd around him, and although he was displeased, he forced a smile and said, "It's fine. It's just a pity about Senior Li's several important treasures."
Li Changfeng raised his hand and cast a spell towards the distance, and the blasted fiery greatsword and the small flags stuck around Qianlong Tan (Hidden Dragon Pool) flew back.
The fiery greatsword transformed back into a Talisman paper, but its spiritual essence was greatly diminished, making it basically useless.
One of the small flags also had a corner broken, clearly no longer fit for significant use.
Looking at the Talisman paper and the small flags, Senior Li's face showed a pained expression.
"City Lord Zhou, I, Li, owe you a favor this time."
Li Changfeng took out a token from his person and said,
"In the future, if you need any help, you can have someone take this token to Xuantian Pavilion to find me. Within my capabilities, I can help you once."
City Lord Zhou was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly took the token with both hands respectfully, repeatedly saying,
"Thank you, Senior Li, thank you, Senior Li!"
These losses were nothing compared to a favor from a Golden Core Stage Cultivator.
Li Changfeng nodded slightly and continued,
"Now that the matter here is settled, City Lord Zhou, I, Li, bid you farewell!"
After speaking, Li Changfeng leaped up and quickly disappeared into the mountain forest.
"City Lord, this time we lost thirty-six brothers, and twenty-some people are severely injured, with thirty-some lightly injured."
The captain of the guard stepped forward to report to City Lord Zhou.
City Lord Zhou nodded slightly, his face turning grim again.
Suddenly, City Lord Zhou looked towards the cliff cave, his expression changing drastically.
"Xiao Feng! How are you?!"
"Quickly go see how Xiao Feng is!"
"Yes!"
Inside the cave, Huang Youde, with the highest Realm, was the first to sit up.
Looking at Lin Feng, who was still unconscious beside him, Huang Youde's face changed drastically. He quickly waved his sleeve, and a gust of wind blew, sending the stones on Lin Feng to the side.
"Xiao Feng! How are you? Wake up!"
Huang Youde shook Lin Feng's body with his hand.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Lin Feng coughed twice and opened his eyes.
"Old Huang, I'm fine. Where are Xiao Cui and Wei Xiong?"
Only then did Huang Youde remember that there were two other people in the cave, and he quickly waved his sleeve again.
Crash!
The stones flew up, revealing Xiao Cui and Wei Xiong, who were buried underneath.
Wei Xiong's body moved, and he slowly got up from the ground, while Xiao Cui was still unconscious.
Huang Youde came to Xiao Cui's side, checked her breathing, and sighed in relief.
"Fortunately, she was just knocked out."
"Young Master, how are you?" Wei Xiong walked over and asked.
"I'm fine, it's just a pity about such a good Cultivation treasure ground."
This place was a gathering point of Spiritual Qi, and Lin Feng often came here to Cultivate. Now that the cave had collapsed and the treasure ground was destroyed, Lin Feng felt a pang of regret.
A short while later, there was movement from the entrance of the cave, and several guards from the City Lord's Mansion leaped into the cave.
Seeing Lin Feng safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to Lin Feng, and said,
"Your subordinate Chen Lie greets Young Master Lin Feng. How is Young Master Lin Feng? Are you injured?"
"Commander Chen, I'm fine. How is my father-in-law?"
"City Lord is fine, he only suffered some minor injuries."
"Young Master Lin Feng, this cave is about to collapse. It's best if we leave quickly."
"Alright!"
"Wei Xiong, carry Xiao Cui. Let's go."
...
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
"Rumble..."
The heavy rain had fallen for a day and a night, still showing no signs of stopping, and it was getting heavier, with rumbles of thunder occasionally echoing in the sky.
The Lin Family was the largest prominent Family in Yong'an City. Just the number of Cultivators above Qi Refining Stage 4 kept by the Lin Family exceeded a hundred, not to mention the ordinary Cultivators from Qi Refining Stage 1 to 3 who ran errands and did odd jobs.
The Lin Family also had five Elders above Qi Refining Stage 10, and the Lin Family Clan Chief, Old Master Lin Shixiong, was an expert at Qi Refining Stage 12. Even the City Lord's Mansion of Yong'an City was a notch weaker than the Lin Family.
Lin Feng stood by the window, looking at the heavy rain outside, recalling the various events of the past ten years.
Ten years ago, Lin Feng had just turned six. The Lin Family was testing the Spiritual Roots of the younger generation of the clan.
Lin Feng's tender small hand was placed on the testing stele. As the stele shone with a burst of light, ten large characters appeared on it.
"Metal five, Wood nine, Water six, Fire eight, Earth five!"
"High Grade Fire and Wood Dual Spiritual Root, it's actually a High Grade Fire and Wood Dual Spiritual Root!"
"Hahaha! My Lin Family is about to rise!"
The members of the Lin Family exclaimed in surprise.
Cultivators all have Five Elements in their bodies: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, corresponding to the Five Elements.
Each Spiritual Root is divided into one to nine grades. Grades one to three are Low Grade Spiritual Roots, grades four to six are High Grade Spiritual Roots, and grades seven to nine are High Grade Spiritual Roots.
For every grade increase in Spiritual Root quality, the Cultivation speed doubles.
In addition, there are also some mutated Spiritual Roots where multiple attributes combine.
For example, special Spiritual Roots like Thunder Spiritual Root, Ice Spiritual Root, Wind Spiritual Root, Dark Spiritual Root, Light Spiritual Root, and Void Spiritual Root.
Lin Feng was tested with a High Grade Fire and Wood Dual Spiritual Root. The Lin Family's Great Elder, overriding all objections, made Lin Feng the Young Clan Leader of the Lin Family at the age of six, to be groomed as the Lin Family's successor.
Lin Feng also lived up to expectations, reaching Qi Refining Stage 1 in just one month.
In the following four years, Lin Feng's Realm advanced by leaps and bounds, and he quickly reached Qi Refining Stage 7.
Having a Realm of Qi Refining Stage 7 at the age of ten could be said to be a Genius among Geniuses, making Lin Feng's reputation soar and causing envy, jealousy, and hatred among the younger generation of other Families in Yong'an City.
This matter was quickly known by several nearby Sects, who sent people to recruit Lin Feng as a Disciple.
However, with such a Realm at such a young age, Lin Feng was inevitably a bit arrogant and naturally looked down on these small Sects, waiting only for the three largest Sects in Cang Province to come and recruit Disciples.
However, just as Lin Feng broke through to Qi Refining Stage 7, a strange thing happened.