After he handed over the matter to Zhu Yi to settle, Lin Feng no longer cared about it. Instead, he calmly rested in a quiet room in the residence.
Far away in Mount Yujing in the Kunlun Mountains, he sat, cross-legged at the top of the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree. Clear light shone from his head and a hole opened in the void. The elements swirled in the void. They were unusually calm.
He looked in the void above his head and the Taijitu appeared on his forehead. It then began to swirl slowly.
As the Taijitu swirled, the teachings of the Dao pulsed through his mind. Finally, a conclusion was derived and Lin Feng's understanding of the Dao increased.
"The Heavenly Classic of the Way's Virtues' 'Two Elements Chapter' is not yet confirmed. This new move appears to between the 'Two Elements Chapter' and the 'Four Appearances Articles'. It won't be derived so easily." Lin Feng was in no rush. "However, by studying this move, if I can fully understand this spell, then I will able to form a bridge between the 'Two Elements Chapter' and the 'Four Appearances Article'. This will better help me master the 'Two Elements Chapter' and progress into the Immortal Soul Second Level. "
Lin Feng calmed himself as he slowly studied. Bright runes began to surface from the Taijitu and appeared in mid-air. Then, they were absorbed by the elements above his head in the void. There, one could feel a powerful presence that seemed to be slowly coming into existence.
In the residence of Zhu Yi, Lin Feng's Steel Tree Avatar could slowly feel his real body studying and mastering the Dao. He benefitted much from Lin Feng's efforts too as he approached the peak of his current stage.
When Lin Feng himself was in the Aurous Core stage, the Avatar of Ares reached the peak of the Advanced Aurous Core stage. When Lin Feng first formed his soul, the Avatar of Ares was already in the peak of the Advanced Nascent Soul stage.
While the Avatar of Ares was mainly a Martial Way cultivator, it could still use the Heavenly Classic of the Way's Virtues. However, it was not as powerful as Lin Feng using it himself. Even so, when Lin Feng was below the Immortal Soul stage, the Avatar of Ares was normally stronger than he himself.
After Lin Feng entered the Immortal Soul stage, his Avatar of Ares reached the Immortal Soul First Level. However, it became much weaker than Lin Feng's actual body.
However, the Steel Tree Avatar was different. Its cultivation was independent of Lin Feng's. Hence, it was unable to easily reach the Immortal Soul stage like the Avatar of Ares. However, if the Stee Tree Avatar entered the Immortal Soul stage, then it would be stronger than the Avatar of Ares.
In the residence, Lin Feng's Steel Tree Avatar exhaled and opened his eyes. "Is it Zhu Yi? Come in."
Zhu Yi opened the door and entered. Seeing Lin Feng, he bowed and said, "Master, I've taken care of the matter. Yunsheng's sister, Xu Miaoying, is back. I've checked and noticed that she was clean. Yunsheng is accompanying her as we speak."
Lin Feng smiled and asked, "Xu Miaoying should be a spy that the Great Zhou Empire is cultivating too right. So, why did the Great Zhou not use her as a check against her brother?"
Normally, if Xu Yunsheng and Xu Miaoying were so dependent upon each other, they would have adopted by the intelligence agency of the Great Zhou Empire and after they matured, they would be deployed to do different tasks. That would maximize their utility.
Zhu Yi smiled and said, "Originally, Yunsheng was supposed to go to the Great Qin and Miaoying was planned for something else. However, after Yunsheng joined our sect, Liang Yuan placed spcial emphasis on this matter and hence, tightened his control over Yunsheng. Miaoying was used to control Yunsheng and hence, she was not deployed. Normally, she would be well-treated."
"Was she brainwashed or indoctrinated?" Lin Feng asked.
Earlier, when both of them were young, the Great Zhou Empire treated Xu Miaoying rather well. If they had given her a good environment to grow up in, or tried to seduce her with a guy, then she would become fiercely loyal to the Great Zhou Empire and may even spy on her own brother for them. That was not something impossible.
It was one of the many methods used by intelligence agencies.
Zhu Yi smiled and shook his head, "Xu Miaoying and Xu Yunsheng are extremely close."
Hearing that, Lin Feng smiled and shook his head and said, "It's alright, let the two of them be re-united. With regards to Miaoying's life subsequently, they can make their own choice. If she passes our examination, she can join our sect. If she doesn't, she can go live in the Cloud Mirror City."
"You take charge of the specifics."
Zhu Yi nodded his head and said, "Yes, master."
At this moment, Xiao Yan and the rest came into Lin Feng's room. Upon seeing Zhu Yi, Xiao Yan smiled and said, "Second Junior, while the cultivator surnamed Shao is ordinary in all other aspects, his vanishing spell is exceptional."
"Correct, but it's a pity that it's imperfect. If not, it would have been as good as the Great Void Sect's Elite Vanishing Heaven-Ascending Spell and Flow of Light and Space," replied Zhu Yi affirmatively. "He claimed to be part on the East Heaven's Gate. I wonder if it's related to the Heaven's Gate?"
Lin Feng smiled and said, "While the Heaven's Gate was destroyed in the late Antiquity Age, the East Heaven's Gate inherited some of the teachings of the Heaven's Gate to form their own sect."
"The spell he just used is known as the Celestial Spell of Elusiveness. It was the top Vanishing Spell of the Heaven's Gate many years ago. Zhu Yi, you are right. In the Antiquity Age, the Celestial Spell of Elusiveness was no weaker than the Great Void Sect's Heaven-Ascending Spell, Flow of Light and Space and the Mount Shu Sword Sect's Shaoze Sword."
While Lin Feng sat in the quiet room and handed everything over to Zhu Yi to take care of, he too paid attention to what was going on in the residence. Shao Peng's Vanishing Spell naturally caught his attention.
Lin Feng had never seen the real Celestial Spell of Elusiveness, which was a spell taught by the Heaven's Gate. However, as this spell as too famous and too distinct in its form, where a small world made out of emerald light would break through the void, Lin Feng was able to recognize it instantly.
This Vanishing Spell was as fast as the Great Void Sect's Heaven-Ascending Spell and the Flow of Light and Space. However, it was much more explosive and aggressive compared to the Heaven-Ascending Spell and the Flow of Light and Space. Even if the opponent sought to resist, the caster would still be able to force his way through.
However, Zhu Yi was much more powerful than Shao Peng. Coupled with the fact that the Celestial Spell of Elusiveness he cultivated was imperfect, this allow Zhu Yi to catch Shao Peng like an eagle catching a baby chick.
"If this person did not receive the true teaching of the Heaven's Gate, then it would mean that the East Heaven's Gate teachings themselves were incomplete," said Zhu Yi. "Speaking about it, I want to see how an actual spell from the Heaven's Gate will look like."
Lin Feng said, "While the Vanishing Spell may be incomplete, it does not mean that all of its spells are as such. I don't think our voyage to the East Sea will disappoint you, Zhu Yi."
"Let's not talk about your father, the Marquis of Xuanji, who managed to obtain the teachings of the Heaven's Gate and Emperor Tai. If I am correct in my guess, you will have a chance to meet Lady Shao, who caused the death of your mother, in the East Sea. The East Heaven's Gate is there too."
"To be precise, it should be Lady Shao herself."
Zhu Yi furrowed his eyebrows as he said, "Lady Shao? Master, do you mean..."
Lin Feng waved his hand to tell Zhu Yi and Xiao Yan to sit down. Then, he continued saying, "To what I know, the Heaven's Gate supreme mantra, the Great Heavenly Mantra, has a particularly powerful move within it, known as the Mystical Way of the Heavenly Being."
"This mantra can only be cultivated by Immortal Soul stage cultivators. First, one must obtain a high-grade Magic Treasure Embryo with a lot of potential. With it, one can form the avatar of an ordinary mortal."
"The magic treasure represents heaven and the avatar represents Man. Using the body of an ordinary mortal, one can form an Immortal Soul stage magic treasure, incorporating the principle of fusing Heaven and Man. Once the spell had been fully mastered, one can infuse the ordinary mortal avatar and the magic treasure back into one's body, and obtain an extremely powerful mana that has the ability to surpass one's current boundaries."
"Not only would one be able to surpass one's mastery, one would be able to become more powerful than other cultivators in the same stage."
As Lin Feng explained this to them, Xiao Yan, Zhu Yi, Yang Qing and Li Yuanfang looked at each other. "Master, isn't this too fantastical? While a Nascent Soul stage cultivator cannot even cultivate a magic treasure, an ordinary mortal can...."
"Ultimately, the one who cultivates the magic treasure is still the Immortal Soul stage elder. The ordinary mortal avatar is only a tool for one to perfect this move and cultivate the magic treasure," said Lin Feng with a smile. "This is the special thing about the Heaven's Gate. At its peak, this sect easily rivals the Great Void Sect, so how can it be ordinary? This Mystical Way of the Heavenly Being is only one of the many powerful spells of the Great Heavenly Mantra."
Zhu Yi casted his gaze downwards as he said quietly, "Speaking about it, the Lady Shao in the Marquis of Xuanji's household is just an ordinary mortal avatar?"
Lin Feng said, "This is my guess, but I doubt I'll be wrong."
Yang Qing said in a low voice, "I wonder how much of the Heaven's Gate powers did the East Heaven's Sect manage to inherit? Master, at the its peak, what was the Heaven's Gate level?"
Lin Feng smiled and said, "It is much more powerful than us right now. It was able to suppress the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Mount Shu Sword Sect and it was the only one that was able to rival the Great Void Sect. It was a major headache for the last Emperor of Man, the Emperor of Violence. Under the leadership of Heaven's Gate and the Great Void Sect, it overthrew and killed the Emperor of Violence too."
"However, that battle greatly weakened the Heaven's Gate, causing it to be utterly destroyed in the War of the Two Worlds that broke out after."
Lin Feng's voice became extremely soft as he said, "Any sect, no matter how big, will have its ups and downs, its peaks and rock-bottoms. The same sect's power and influence will vary in different eras. It can never remain dominant for too long over its fellow sects in a particular time period."
"Other than the rule of the Emperors of the Man, if we are rank each sect based on its power at its prime, then the Heaven's Gate can be ranked as third in the Divine Lands, right behind the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Great Void Sect. It is much more powerful compared to the Ancient Satanic Sect and the Mount Shu Sword Sect."
Xiao Yan appeared shocked, "The Great Thunderclap Temple?"
Lin Feng chuckled, "Don't be surprised, the founder of the Great Thunderclap Temple is truly exceptional. The peak of this temple was when Buddha started his teachings and his ten disciples began to spread his words."
Hearing that, Xiao Yan, Zhu Yi, Yang Qing and Li Yuanfang felt their hearts beating faster.
Xiao Yan swallowed and said in a wavering voice, "Isn't that disrespectful to the Virtuous Zen Master? However, according to what you said, the Great Thunderclap Temple had been on a downhill spiral since its very first day. It was strongest when it first established itself and then, everything started going downhill for it."
Lin Feng pretended as if nothing had happened as he nodded his head and said with a smile, "That's right."
Xiao Yan and the rest fell silent. They knew that their master was not saying this for nothing. Instead, he was giving them advice.