Chapter 707: Zifeng's Opportunity for Evolution

"Miss Tuoba! Miss Tuoba... Yan'er!"

After Ling Feng and Tuoba Yan combined their powers to release the Heavenly Seal, they barely managed to counteract Shen Lang's Curse of the Wine God. It was Ling Feng's first time drawing power from someone else to launch an attack, so he hadn't fully adapted, and only managed to unleash about sixty or seventy percent of the Heavenly Seal's true strength.

In the final collision, he still came out slightly disadvantaged and was blasted directly into the water.

Ling Feng was relatively fine as he had trained the Eight Desolations Body Refinement Art, which gave him an extraordinary physique. But as the main vessel, Tuoba Yan had expended nearly all her strength with that last strike. When she was thrust into the water, she immediately lost consciousness.

Physique was Tiance Clan's biggest weakness!

Finally, Ling Feng spotted the unconscious Tuoba Yan in the water. He quickly swam over, pulling her close, and released his true qi shield to ward off the water.

The lake water was bubbling and boiling. Although Tuoba Yan's physique was far superior to that of ordinary mortals, she wouldn't last long in this state without regaining consciousness and could soon be cooked alive.

"It seems that move just now really took too much of a toll on her."

Splash!

Just as Ling Feng was about to bring Tuoba Yan out of the water, he suddenly heard someone else diving in. It had to be Shen Lang again, relentlessly in his pursuit.

"Like a haunting spirit!"

Ling Feng snorted. He was almost out of strength now, so he could only hold Tuoba Yan tightly and continue descending into the depths of the lake.

Because he had cultivated the

Art of Devouring Flame,

high temperatures or flames were not just non-threatening, but they actually aided his recovery.

Before long, he reached a misty, fog-laden layer of rock at the lake bed. The earth veins emanated intense heat. Though he wasn't yet at the core, an outer layer of scalding steam had already formed.

Ling Feng circulated his true qi to strengthen his elemental qi shield and pushed through.

Beyond the steam, there was no more lake water—only scalding hot vapor, at least three times hotter than the lake itself.

While the lake water could only reach boiling point, the temperature of the vapor could rise indefinitely.

Even Ling Feng was starting to struggle against the intense heat.

"Could this be connected to the earth veins?"

Ling Feng's eyelids twitched. At that moment, Zifeng's voice resounded in his mind, sounding unusually excited. "Master, master! Keep going! I feel like I can evolve again this time!"

"

Oh?

"

Ling Feng raised an eyebrow. The last time Zifeng evolved was during their encounter with the Earth-Fire Flame Demon. Since then, Zifeng had refined quite a few valuable things, but its power hadn't really progressed.

According to it, the only way to advance and acquire new abilities was through continuous cycles of molting and evolving.

"I can sense the presence of other elemental life forms nearby, and they're even stronger than my current body. Master, master, quickly, keep going!"

Zifeng's voice was both excited and a little pleading.

"All right, I know."

Ling Feng pursed his lips and glanced down at the unconscious Tuoba Yan in his arms. She was still out cold, so he slung her over his shoulder.

(PS: Ling Feng, with zero emotional intelligence, has mastered the art of carrying damsels[1] for a century!)

"Wait, there's a cavern up ahead!"

A bit further down, Ling Feng's eyes lit up when he spotted what seemed to be a narrow opening to a cave on his left. Although the entrance was narrow, two or three people could walk side by side through it.

The wonders of nature are truly impressive—this near-vacuum cave had formed at the lake's bottom due to the heat of the earth veins. All the lake water evaporated into steam, creating an upward force that held up the entire lake. It was a marvel to behold.

However, this upward force was causing some trouble for Ling Feng. He had to take each step carefully, gripping the rock walls tightly, or he'd risk being thrown out of the cavern by the buoyant steam.

The further they went down, the more spacious the area became. Though sunlight couldn't penetrate here, the fiery glow from the earth vein magma at the cavern's depth cast a red light throughout the cave.

The oppressive heat along the way finally roused Tuoba Yan from her unconscious state, and she let out a faint groan.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"

Oh,

you're awake!"

Hearing her faint voice, Ling Feng quickly set Tuoba Yan down from his shoulder, turning back with a concerned expression.

But as soon as she woke up, Tuoba Yan gave Ling Feng a deeply resentful look.

Though she was, after all, a delicate beauty—and at the very least, she wasn't unattractive! It would have been fine if he didn't want to hold her, but even carrying her on his back shouldn't have been an issue. Instead, both times she'd woken up, she found herself slung over his shoulder like a sack of grain!

Just how much did this jerk dislike her, that he'd insist on carrying her around like a bag of rice!

Seeing Tuoba Yan's expression, Ling Feng was utterly bewildered.

What's wrong with her now?

No wonder the ancients said, A woman's heart is as unfathomable as a needle at the sea's bottom. Truly impossible to decipher!

"What is this place?" Tuoba Yan sighed softly. She wasn't as fragile as ordinary women, only wincing as she rubbed her stomach and gritting her teeth as she asked, "Why is it so hot?"

"This is a cavern under that big river," Ling Feng replied honestly, scratching his nose. "Zifeng told me it seems like there's an opportunity here for it to evolve."

"

Hehe,

that's right!"

With a flash of purple light, Zifeng's pocket-sized stone figure popped out of Ling Feng's body and jumped onto his shoulder.

Having lived under the same roof as Ling Feng for a while, Tuoba Yan was naturally aware of Zifeng's existence. She bit her lip but said nothing further.

"It's a pity. Since you and I need to stay in the same space, I can't just send you into the Five Elements Heavenly Palace."

Ling Feng considered this, then sighed as he noticed how weakened Tuoba Yan seemed. "All right, let's get you to the Five Elements Heavenly Palace first to heal."

But in the next moment, Ling Feng was surprised to discover that the space in this cavern at the lake's bottom seemed to have an unwritten rule: the Five Elements Heavenly Palace wouldn't open!

Not only that, but even his storage spirit ring wouldn't activate!

"What kind of place is this?"

Ling Feng muttered in frustration. The Battlefield of the Gods and Demons truly was full of unexpected dangers!

Any place where dimensional treasures couldn't be activated was likely within the confines of an ancient array. No wonder the structures beneath the lake seemed so peculiar—it was all intentionally designed.

"What's wrong?" Tuoba Yan noticed the shift in Ling Feng's expression and couldn't help but ask.

"Dimensional treasures can't be activated here. Try to see if your dimensional spirit ring works," Ling Feng said, his tone serious.

Tuoba Yan tried and shook her head. Even Zifeng looked disheartened, saying, "Master, my individual space won't open either!"

1. young unmarried women ☜