The Sacred Ruins

The city of Jiang Ning was surrounded by numerous desolate mountains that pierced into the clouds. It was completely different from before the great change, but the interior of the city had developed incomparably well with high rising towers everywhere.

Chu Feng’s party arrived and found a place to rest within the city. After settling everyone in, Chu Feng began to contact Lin Naoi.

The black yak also began to urge the Siberian Tiger to hurry to the east and join them. They planned to attack Mount Longhu after his arrival.

At that moment, two groups had also set out from Shuntian City. One group comprising of Ye Qingrou, Chen Luoyan, Du Huaijin and Ouyang Qing was quite leisurely and relaxed.

Members of the other group like Xiong Kun and Hu Sheng, however, were so tense that they didn’t even dare to breathe loudly. The reason was a black dressed lady sitting nearby, exuding the aura of an empress.

These beast race members who were traveling together with the Immortal Phoenix were all feeling fairly apprehensive. She was a peerless expert, and even the most powerful existences within their tribes weren’t a match for her.

The trip was long, but Chu Feng was not the least worried. She was a king level expert whose constitution had evolved to an absurd degree.

The night sky was dotted with stars.

Chu Feng had already contacted Lin Naoi and she was on her way to meet him.

The night time didn’t calm the hustle and bustle of Jiang Ning City. The neon lights shone brightly along the roads and many stores and crowded bars were still doing business.

Before long, a sleek blue limousine arrived and hurriedly stop at the roadside.

Its door opened and Lin Naoi walked out from within. She was wearing a simple yet elegant blue gown. The narrow waist accentuated her tall and curvaceous figure.

Many a time, her demeanor was cold and calm like an icy beauty, but tonight, there was a simple and pristine type of allure about her.

Lin Naoi approached. She was looking at Chu Feng and sizing him up. The nighttime wind parted her hair, revealing the radiant smile upon her fine and spotless countenance.

"You’ve become a king?" Chu Feng exclaimed in surprise.

What had she gone through these days that allowed her to reach this stage? It had greatly exceeded his expectations.

Lin Naoi nodded. Her whole being was permeated by a translucent radiance as if surrounded by a luminescent halo. Even her hair was in a similar state, adding a touch of surreal elegance.

Unfortunately, just as before, she was still a flowering tree in a field of snow. She still appeared cool and aloof even though she was all smiles.

"I was really worried when I received news of your fate in the West," she said.

She didn’t overly express her emotions, but Chu Feng knew that she must’ve been quite concerned at that time. But this was just the way she was—it would take a miracle to see her burning with passion.

One method was to become her boyfriend and tyrannically have her undergo "reforms". He couldn’t help laughing at the thought of this.

Lin Naoi’s beautiful eyes were observing the current state he was in as if she could understand what was going on through his mind.

"You’re probably thinking how cold I am, right?"

"Good that you already know. Sometimes, I wonder just what kind of person it would take to conquer the icy mountain that is you and make you burn with passion," said Chu Feng. He felt that she would possess a completely different kind of elegance if she became bold and unrestrained.

As things stood, he had already given up on this first love. They were still much concerns about each other, but it was difficult to get any closer.

Chu Feng sometimes wondered just what type of man Lin Naoi preferred.

"Let’s go. I’ll treat you to dinner," Lin Naoi said.

"You really understand me—that I’m all for the food."

"There are no king level delicacies here, mind you."

Lin Naoi’s drove steadily. She was incomparably familiar with the city for this was where she grew up.

Chu Feng sat in the passenger seat and glanced at her from the side. They had not seen each other for a long time. She was just as beautiful, but her temperament had become somewhat surreal, almost as if she had become somewhat detached from the dust of the mortal world.

Lin Naoi generously allowed Chu Feng to gaze to his heart’s content while she focused on the road ahead.

Her complexion was fair and tender. A vaguely visible gauze of radiance surrounded her body and her silky and almost sparkling hair.

She was calm and silent. The elegant curves below her snow-white neck were prominently outlined by her simple dress. Her long and slender legs were hidden from clear view as she was driving.

"Hey, where do you think you’re looking?" Lin Naoi finally reminded him. Even then, she was still unperturbed.

"Naoi, I sense a layer of mist on your body. There must be some extraordinary secret behind this." Chu Feng shifted the conversation naturally and without hesitation.

"It had always been like this," Lin Naoi replied.

Chu Feng nodded. "Yes, you’ve always had this secret on you. But, unfortunately, you’re unwilling to share it with me."

"It’s not that I don’t want to tell you about it. It’s just... inappropriate." Lin Naoi didn’t turn her head. Her concentration was still on the traffic ahead as she drove on with great skill.

Finally, Lin Naoi picked a privately owned restaurant suitable for a chat. The atmosphere was quiet and there was no shortage of delicious cuisines.

Lin Naoi sat quietly under the light of the private room. Chu Feng returned her gaze as they came face to face.

Chu Feng naturally wouldn’t squander this opportunity as he calmly admired the beauty before him. Strictly speaking by looks, Lin Naoi was comparable to Jiang Luoshen. Both of them were goddess level existences.

"How thick is your face?" The corners of her mouth revealed a smile, probably reminded of how rascally this man was since university.

"Then how about you? Can’t you act bashful for once?" Chu Feng laughed. It was a difficult feat to find Lin Naoi blushing. She was just that composed at all times—one could even go so far as to call her cold.

Lin Naoi’s lips were passionately bright, but it still felt cold nonetheless. She replied with a laugh, "Maybe I’ve truly been infected by you. My face grows thicker with every passing day and I find it difficult to become embarrassed."

As the two continued to chat, Lin Naoi inquired further about his experiences in the West. It was obvious that she was worried for his safety during that time, but, as was the norm for her, she never revealed her true emotions.

They talked for quite some time before the delicacies were brought up. Chu Feng began to move his chopsticks unceremoniously while Lin Naoi only watched him eat.

"Aren’t you going to try even a little bit?" Chu Feng asked.

"Very well, I’ll accompany you and eat a bit." Lin Naoi had long since finished her meal, but nevertheless, she ate some more.

After that, she mentioned that the piece of jade was no longer at Deity Biomedicals. The head of the Pre-Qin Research Institute had apparently borrowed it for research purposes.

"This old bastard!" Chu Feng recounted to Lin Naoi his exchange with Qi Honglin and also produced his piece of jade for her to examine.

"There’s no mistaking it. The one that used to be at Deity Biomedicals is similar to this one. There’s the same image of a flood dragon inside." Lin Naoi nodded.

"This has turned rather troublesome. When will Deity Biomedicals get it back?" Chu Feng inquired.

"They wouldn’t dare to not return the stone. But we might need some time."

Both of them were able to guess some things. The Pre-Qin Research Institute had put a lot of expectations on Chu Feng. They felt he might be able to unravel the secrets of the jade and subsequently make his way to Deity.

As such, they borrowed Deity Biomedical’s jade stone in advance. Their objective couldn’t be less obvious.

"They’re just waiting for me to go knocking on their door. Do they have some extraordinary backing?" Chu Feng pondered.

At this moment, Lin Naoi appeared rather solemn. Her calm and beautiful face exuded an aura of seriousness as she nodded towards Chu Feng. "Some corporations aren’t as simple as they seem on the surface."

Chu Feng revealed a surprised expression. He had also felt that Lin Naoi was warning him to be more careful.

"The world had undergone several rounds of changes since the post-civilization era. These episodes could even be termed upheavals. If you follow the timeline closely, it’s the fifth time now," she told Chu Feng.

The previous ones were too small in scale or even negligible.

Lin Naoi continued in all seriousness, "The various changes that we’ve experienced might’ve happened too during the previous bouts. It might’ve been too small a scale for normal people to find traces of them."

Chu Feng became lost in thought at the mention of this.

Suddenly, Lin Naoi’s communicator began to ring. She got up and moved towards the window to take the call.

"Naoi, where are you?" A warm and amiable sound came through.

"I’m with a friend," she replied with a smile.

"Then don’t come back for the time being. That god’s messenger Yamen is still here. I’ve told him that you’re traveling afar."

"Very well. I understand." Lin Naoi thus ended the call.

She walked back, knowing that Chu Feng had already heard everything. "It was my aunt."

"God’s messenger Yamen?" Chu Feng put down his chopsticks. He wasn’t at all unfamiliar with this person. On his way back from the Western Punitive Expedition, he had met him within the Misty Valley at Xinjiang.

Yamen appeared amiable and well-mannered on the surface, but conceit was ingrained deep within his bones. Unexpectedly, this person had also come to Jiang Ning.

Lin Naoi looked towards Chu Feng. "I have no way to lend the jade to you right now. But I’ll have my people ask for its return. We’ll probably be able to get the jade in half a month or so."

She then revealed a faint smile. "You guys don’t mind me coming along on your journey to Longhu Mountain right?"

"Is that god’s messenger causing trouble for you?" Divine light fluctuated in Chu Feng’s eyes.

"Not really. I just don’t want to deal with him." Lin Naoi shook her head. "He’s a human being. Don’t think about updating your gourmet ranking."

Chu Feng was dumbfounded and could only laugh out loud.

That night, he brought Lin Naoi back and utterly shocked the waiting Yellow Ox and black yak.

"So this is my real sister-in-law?!" The black yak’s lips were uncontrollable and had no fear of getting Chu Feng into trouble.

Lin Naoi retained her calm demeanor. The unperturbed demeanor she directed at the black yak caused the latter to feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah, little girl, can you be any less calm?"

"Greetings, ox king. Please do take care of Chu Feng in the future." Lin Naoi’s words surprised even Chu Feng.

"Why’re you being so formal? We’re all brothers here. And it’s not as if you’re leaving him. Why are you saying such words?" the black yak said with a huge smile.

Yellow Ox suspiciously observed Lin Naoi with golden light flowing through his pupils. But in the end, he simply shook his head and secretly informed Chu Feng, via telepathy, that this beautiful woman was enshrouded by a mysterious energy.

Lin Naoi also glanced at Yellow Ox and nodded with a smile.

"The piece of jade has been lent to the Pre-Qin research institute. We’ll go to Mount Longhu tomorrow and take a look at the situation there," Chu Feng informed the two oxen in a simple manner and proceeded to arrange the room beside his for Lin Naoi.

"Chu Feng, I feel that this lady practices a certain legendary breathing technique. How is that possible—that technique shouldn’t belong to this world." Yellow Ox told Chu Feng in secret.

Chu Feng was surprised, but he firmly believed that Lin Naoi didn’t have any intention to bring him harm.

Dawn, the next day. While they were having breakfast at the hotel, White Tiger was astonished to find Lin Naoi. He suddenly glared at Chu Feng, apparently still unconvinced about his sister’s explanation. He still suspected something was going on between the two.

"Naoi!" Lu Shiyun had also discovered Lin Naoi as she came forth to greet the latter.