You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

Zhu Yixin had cultivated for nearly a hundred years and immersed himself in the Shadow God Technique his entire life. Facing Qi Fei, he naturally refused to believe that he would lose to a mere greenhorn!

He knew this kid possessed sorcery, so he steeled himself and gritted his teeth, saying, "Kid, don't blame me for being ruthless today; you asked for it!"

No more holding back now.

He pushed his magical power to its limit, and from the mouth of the black gourd, shadowy flames surged out like a burst dam, carrying fire snakes and fire birds, pouring down on Qi Fei in an overwhelming manner.

But so what?

Qi Fei simply stood still, the light of "Shadow Recognition" in his palm slowly spreading out.

Wherever the light touched, those ferocious shadow flames struggled and twisted like waves crashing against rocks, eventually dissipating silently into the air.

No matter how many flames surge in, they are nothing more than moths drawn to the flame, easily extinguished upon contact.

Zhu Yixin's face was gloomy.

Unconvinced, he drew another wooden handle from his waist. With the infusion of his magic power, a jet-black blade materialized at the tip of the handle, gleaming with a chilling light.

Shadow God Sword!

The Shadow God Cult's lineage of offensive techniques uses shadows as blades, making them invincible and serving as the Shadow God Cult's sword for eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path!

Faced with someone like Qi Fei who spreads heresy and misleads the public, the only option is to kill him!

His Shadow Sword technique caught Qi Fei's eye!

At this moment, Qi Fei really wanted to say, "The Force is with you!"

However, the moment the blade of the Shadow God Sword appeared, it was instantly melted away by the light of "Shadow Recognition," like ice and snow thrown into boiling water.

The Shadow God Sword has no blade, only a ridiculous wooden handle.

Zhu Yixin then cast several more spells, such as Shadow Binding Rope, Shadow Needle, and Shadow Swallowing Technique... without exception, they all failed in the face of that light.

He finally had to admit the truth: the kid's evil magic was indeed a deadly counter to him.

"It turns out that the Holy Maiden left the Divine Cult for many years to devote herself to research and find a way to counter the Divine Cult's techniques."

A realization dawned on him.

He was not defeated by Qi Fei, but by the Holy Maiden.

After all these years, she still hates the cult so much!

Qi Fei looked at Zhu Yixin, whose expression was both bewildered and relieved, and suddenly smiled: "It's only polite to reciprocate!"

Before he finished speaking, he shone the "Shadow Recognition" in his hand forward.

He was just on the defensive, watching to see what tricks Zhu Yixin had up his sleeve. Now he realizes this guy is nothing special!

The light surged forth like a tide, instantly illuminating Zhu Yixin's clothes.

His clothes looked ordinary, but they were actually a magical artifact, impervious to water, fire, swords, and blades, and were a protective robe that had been with him for many years.

However, this protective robe, when exposed to the light of "Shadow Observation," is like a thin sheet of paper exposed to fire, or like a shadow exposed to sunlight.

With a "bang," the robe exploded like a black shadow.

Zhu Yixin felt as if she had been struck by a heavy hammer, and staggered backward!

No, it's not just a heavy hammer.

When he was illuminated by the light of "Shadow Observation", he felt the magical power in his body surge and boil like boiling water, almost bursting through his meridians.

This kid... he's too weird!

Zhu Yixin felt as if she were being roasted over a fire, every inch of her flesh and blood burning.

He dared not linger any longer, hastily uttering a harsh threat: "Kid, I'll let you be arrogant for a few days. There's plenty of time later; I'll teach you a lesson then!"

Before he could finish speaking, he hurriedly grabbed Qi Fei's copy of the "Shadow God Technique," and like a shadow, he vanished into the shadows of the corner, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

Qi Fei stared blankly at the empty corner, then couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, they ran away really fast..."

He hadn't even used his full strength, maybe five-tenths? Or perhaps three-tenths of his true energy, so how did he manage to escape?

Isn't the protector of this Shadow God Cult far too weak?

I could do it too.

Just as he was about to turn and go inside, he suddenly noticed several items scattered on the ground, and his eyes lit up: "Huh? Something exploded?"

In the courtyard, fragments of Zhu Yixin's robe, the black gourd, and a token of unknown material lay scattered on the ground.

Qi Fei picked up the few pieces of cloth, examined them, and then frowned. They were so torn that they wouldn't even be fit to be used as rags. He tossed them aside, too lazy to look at them again.

Then he picked up the palm-sized black gourd.

That's the thing that just spewed out that black flame.

He channeled a wisp of his magic power into it, and the gourd trembled slightly in his palm.

This gourd is a magical artifact, refined by Zhu Yixin for countless years, and it's unknown how many uses it still retains. Qi Fei couldn't figure it out either, but keeping it couldn't hurt, so he casually put it in his pocket.

Finally, I picked up the token.

It's palm-sized, made of black metal, and feels quite heavy in your hand.

The front is engraved with the character "影" (shadow), while the back is engraved with an image of all living beings prostrating and kneeling in worship, with a blurry shadow above it whose face is not visible.

Qi Fei was about to put it away when he suddenly froze.

This image... he'd seen it before.

He gripped the token tightly and strode into the bedroom.

This is his home, the home he woke up in after transmigrating. But this home is very strange.

I could clearly sense that people had lived in this courtyard before.

The problem was that there were no clothes in the closet, and the bedding was just a thin layer. The bedding was soft, but the fabric and the embroidery didn't look like something an ordinary family could afford.

Most importantly, there were no winter bedding in the room!

Winters in Tianlan City are still very cold. Qi Fei suffered a lot to get through that unforgettable winter.

In addition to these, the food rations were also strange.

When he first woke up, he was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back. He searched the entire kitchen, but there wasn't a single grain of rice in the jar, and he couldn't find even half a piece of bread in the cupboard.

There wasn't even any leftover food, and the woodshed and stove lacked the firewood, rice, and oil that ordinary households had. He had to rummage around and find a few copper coins to get through the initial period.

At the time, he was puzzled.

How did this family survive before?

Don't they need to eat?

Doesn't this house belong to them?

Later, he became familiar with his neighbors and only then did he hear bits and pieces of news from them.

It is said that a couple originally lived in this courtyard. The man was tall and big, and the woman was very beautiful. However, they rarely went out and didn't talk much to people.

The couple didn't interact much with their neighbors, and nobody knew what they did for a living.

Suddenly one day, the man disappeared without a trace, and the woman also vanished, leaving only a half-grown child guarding the empty courtyard.

Now, all the questions have been answered: this place was once the residence of the Holy Maiden of the Shadow God Cult.

But then another question arose: wasn't she the only one living in the place where the saintess resided? Wasn't there another man there? And wasn't she herself there?

Do they not need to eat, either they or the man who might be their father?

He didn't know that he had simply walked up to a sandalwood cabinet.

Several years ago, when he first transmigrated here, he turned the entire house upside down.

In the hidden compartment by the bedside, he found the scroll of "Shadow God Technique"; and on the back wall of the cabinet, he saw another strange thing, a pattern.

He found the pattern very strange at the time, wondering why it was engraved deep inside the cabinet, and he kept it in mind ever since. Now, looking at it again, he finds it even more peculiar.

He picked up the token and compared it to the design.

The outlines are exactly the same.

The image on the token is the exact opposite of the image on the cabinet!

One is raised, the other is recessed. One is engraved in relief, the other in intaglio.

It's like... you can put it there!

Is there a secret in this room that he doesn't know about?