Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Your Highness, such a generous gift is truly overwhelming and I dare not accept it..."

Faced with Ren Lingyun's generous offer, Lu Feng was secretly delighted, but still pretended to decline.

After all, people need to save face, and trees need to grow bark.

Moreover, Ren Lingyun in front of him is his future brother-in-law, so he still has to be polite on the surface. Otherwise, wouldn't it make Lu Feng seem greedy and petty?

"Hehe, it's alright."

Ren Lingyun glanced at Lu Feng, who was feigning reluctance, and simply flicked his sleeve, saying nonchalantly, "This gift is not only a token of my gratitude, but also a way to thank Brother Lu for his help in rescuing us from a difficult situation. Otherwise, my father and sister might have been in grave danger."

"Therefore, I urge Brother Lu not to... no, I urge Duke Fan not to refuse."

At this point, Ren Lingyun grinned again, seemingly having guessed the other party's little scheme.

"In that case, I'll gladly accept it."

Seeing this, Lu Feng stopped refusing and immediately put the storage ring in his hand into his pocket, a smile creeping onto his face.

After all, a full 100,000 high-grade spirit stones, plus the six-fold increase from the Treasure Basin, is nothing short of a windfall!

With such a huge number of spirit stones, it's not impossible for him to break through to the eighth level of the Spirit Soul Realm, or even break through the third level and leap into the tenth level of the Spirit Soul Realm!

"..."

Seeing Lu Feng's smug and triumphant appearance as he rode his horse at full speed, Leng Ying, who was also on her way, secretly cast a deep glance at him. Her beautiful eyes sparkled, but she remained silent.

As for Xia Zhenhu, his face remained tense throughout, and he released his Yuan energy to sense things. He maintained a high state of alertness, as if nothing within a radius of a thousand meters could escape his keen eyes.

After all, this group of people had just gone through a fierce battle and had not yet had a chance to rest before setting off at full speed towards Falling Star Valley, so they were quite travel-worn.

The Starfall Secret Realm has always been fraught with danger and peril, with star disasters and beast tides erupting almost every day, so Xia Zhenhu naturally dares not let his guard down.

Above, clouds swirled.

Lu Feng and his companions rode the clouds and wind at full speed towards Falling Star Valley without stopping for a moment.

"Miss Leng, may I ask if I have gold on my face?"

When they were less than twenty miles from Falling Star Valley, Lu Feng's throat twitched slightly, and he finally couldn't help but turn his head to look at Leng Ying beside him.

"Uh, ah! No, it's not...!"

Seeing Lu Feng suddenly turn around and look at her, their eyes met for a moment. Leng Ying's pretty face also froze slightly, and she couldn't help but blush. At the same time, she quickly turned her head away to avoid his gaze. "Fellow Daoist Lu, I...I'm fine!"

"fine?"

Seeing the change in Leng Ying's expression, Lu Feng became even more puzzled.

The reason was simple: the other person had been secretly watching him for almost half an hour the whole time, like a weasel eyeing a chick. Even a pig would have noticed, let alone a straight man like him.

"Fifth Sister, what's wrong?"

Are you feeling unwell?

Noticing that Leng Ying's expression was somewhat unnatural, Xia Zhenhu, who was leading the way, also turned around, his face showing concern.

Although Leng Ying had rejected his tender feelings in the past, as the most famous sister-obsessed person in the Five Spirits Society, his care for Leng Ying was meticulous.

Therefore, as soon as Leng Ying showed any unusual behavior, Xia Zhenhu naturally came over immediately.

"Uh, Fifth Brother, I'm fine! I just..."

Shaking his head repeatedly, Leng Ying looked at Lu Feng beside him again, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Miss Leng, although we were enemies in the past, we have become true friends ever since you and Brother Xia withdrew from the Five Spirits Society on the day of the academy competition and completely severed ties with Xu Tianlong."

Seeing this, Lu Feng grinned and said, "Since we're friends, Miss Leng, there's no need to hide anything. Just speak your mind."

"Alright! Actually, I don't have anything to say. I'm just a little curious as to why you, Fellow Daoist Lu, are here alone..."

Leng Ying took a deep breath and said seriously, "Although I am not as outstanding as Brother Ren, and this is only my first time setting foot in the Starfall Secret Realm on a mission, I am well aware that the Starfall Secret Realm has always been fraught with danger. Even some elites from the Eastern Academy dare not act alone, and most choose to travel in groups to avoid attacks from star disasters and beast tides..."

"That's right!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhenhu clapped his hands as well, seemingly remembering something. "Brother Lu, where are your teammates? Could it be that they've already...?"

"Teammates? What teammates?"

Faced with the curious gazes cast by Leng Ying and Xia Zhenhu, Lu Feng was equally clueless. He then spread his hands outwards and said, "Miss Leng, Brother Xia, I have always preferred to work alone, and I'm sure you two are well aware of that."

"What?"

"Brother Lu, do you mean... that since the Starfall Secret Realm opened, you've been acting alone, without traveling with any other disciples?"

After hearing Lu Feng's explanation, Xia Zhenhu and Leng Ying's eyes widened in astonishment.

After all, everyone in the four branches of Falling Star Academy knows how dangerous the Starfall Secret Realm is!

Even Ren Lingyun, who was once ranked second on the Hidden Dragon List of the Four Kingdoms of Lingnan and came from the royal family of Dongyun Kingdom, did not dare to venture into the Starfall Secret Realm alone!

Lu Feng not only dared to venture into the Starfall Secret Realm alone, but he was also still full of energy after so many days. His strength was truly extraordinary, which naturally earned the admiration of Xia Zhenhu and Leng Ying!

"Everyone, we've arrived at Falling Star Valley!"

Just as Leng Ying and the others were praising Lu Feng's courage and bravery, Ren Lingyun's voice suddenly came from ahead.

"We've finally arrived!"

Composing himself, Lu Feng was the first to leave the group, then rode the wind and clouds, landing steadily at the entrance of Falling Star Valley.

However, the entrance to Falling Star Valley was completely deserted. Apart from overgrown weeds and strange rocks, there was hardly a trace of human habitation. In fact, there was a faint smell of blood in the air, which made it all the more strange and eerie.

"This tastes like...human blood?"

Lu Feng's nose twitched slightly, noticing a faint smell of blood in the air. His brow furrowed, his expression turning grave. His gaze then turned towards the interior of Falling Star Valley. "Could it be that I'm too late...?"

"Brother Lu, what's wrong?"

At this moment, Ren Lingyun and the others followed closely behind, casting puzzled glances, seemingly unaware of the faint smell of blood in the air.

"Follow me!"

Without saying a word, Lu Feng leaped and flew into the depths of Falling Star Valley.

Seeing this, Ren Lingyun and the others had some doubts, but they didn't ask any questions and quickly followed.

After flying along the interior of Falling Star Valley for a few minutes, Lu Feng and the others paused and stopped.

Not far away, three nameless corpses lay scattered about, covered in blood and with bizarre deaths. One of the corpses had its head cut off while it was still alive, leaving it incomplete and looking quite gruesome.

"These corpses are... disciples of Falling Star Academy?!"

Ren Lingyun glanced at the three unidentified corpses opposite him, his heart tightened, and then his face turned extremely ugly.

Although the deaths of these nameless corpses were extremely tragic, with their flesh and blood so mangled that their faces were unrecognizable, the clothes they wore were the white crane cloud robes exclusive to the disciples of Falling Star Academy.

In addition, the Starfall Secret Realm is also one of the forbidden areas of Falling Star Academy. Generally speaking, apart from students of the South Academy and elites of the East Academy, it is almost impossible for other people to set foot in it, which further confirms Ren Lingyun's judgment!

"What's going on...!"

"Why are there corpses of Falling Star Academy disciples here...!"

At this moment, Xia Zhenhu, who was standing to the side, was also sweating profusely, as if facing a formidable enemy.

For some reason, he suddenly had an ominous premonition, and he also vaguely sensed that an unknown and huge conspiracy was quietly approaching!