Inside the cave, everything had been packed up.
Lin Feng toyed with the tattered beast-hide map, his gaze resting on the immortal island deep within the East Sea. A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved his lips.
Just as he was about to name their next destination, he caught sight of Qiong Xiao beside him from the corner of his eye. Something seemed off about her expression.
The young woman, who had just been flushed with happiness at being acknowledged as "one of us," now had a slightly pale face. Her delicate brows were tightly drawn, and her beautiful eyes were filled with lingering worry.
She looked as though she were burdened by some enormous concern.
Lin Feng put away the map and calmly turned his gaze on her.
"What is it?"
Those simple three words made Qiong Xiao's body tremble slightly.
She raised her head to meet Lin Feng's star-deep eyes. Her lips moved, as though she were hesitating over whether to speak.
But when she thought of what might happen, she ultimately could not remain silent.
"Master..."
Qiong Xiao's voice carried a barely noticeable tremor. "Are we... going to the East Sea?"
Lin Feng nodded noncommittally, tacitly confirming it.
Upon receiving that answer, the worry on Qiong Xiao's face deepened. She bit her lower lip and hurriedly said, "Master, to be honest, my second sister Bi Xiao and I had agreed to meet on an immortal island in the East Sea."
"Now... I was hunted by those villains and delayed for so long. I've also lost contact with her. I'm afraid..."
By the time she reached this point, Qiong Xiao's voice had taken on a tearful edge.
She, Yun Xiao, and Bi Xiao had depended on one another ever since they gained sentience. Their bond far surpassed that of ordinary sisters.
Her eldest sister, Yun Xiao, had a steady temperament and was always able to consider the bigger picture.
Her second sister, Bi Xiao, was the complete opposite—hot-tempered and impulsive, always acting on whatever came to mind. Not even nine oxen could pull her back.
That was precisely why Qiong Xiao was even more worried.
They had been out of contact for so long. With Bi Xiao's impatient nature, who knew what she might have done?
Lin Feng listened to her explanation without much change in expression, though something stirred faintly within him.
Bi Xiao?
The fierce woman who had dared to chase Yuanshi Tianzun around with the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors?
Interesting.
Seeing Qiong Xiao's helpless, tearful appearance, he offered no comfort. He merely tossed her the beast-hide map he had just put away.
"Is the immortal island you mentioned here?"
Qiong Xiao instinctively reached out and caught it, still somewhat dazed.
But when her gaze fell upon the map and she saw the clearly marked end of the route, her entire body froze as though struck by lightning.
Her beautiful eyes widened instantly, and even her breathing seemed to stop.
"Th-This is...!"
Qiong Xiao's trembling finger pressed tightly against the outline of the immortal island surrounded by Chaos energy flow on the map.
"That's right! This is it! The place where my second sister and I agreed to meet is this Hun Yuan Immortal Island!"
She cried out in shock, her heart pounding wildly as an indescribable chill shot up her spine and straight to the crown of her head.
How could it be such a coincidence?
The destination marked on a tattered map her master had casually obtained from the Golden Immortals pursuing her was exactly the meeting place she had agreed upon with her sister!
Could such a coincidence truly exist in this world?
No!
Impossible!
A terrifying thought, like crazily spreading vines, instantly climbed through every corner of Qiong Xiao's mind.
This was not a coincidence!
This was absolutely not a coincidence!
Her master... had known from the very beginning!
He knew she would suffer a calamity here, so he had come to rescue her!
He knew her sister Bi Xiao might encounter danger in the East Sea, so he had deliberately taken this map, which pointed the way, from those Golden Immortals!
Everything, every single thing, had been within her master's calculations!
He had not merely happened to pass by. He had come to save her! He had not casually seized a treasure. He had done it to help her find her sister!
Boom!
Once she understood this, Qiong Xiao's mind buzzed and went completely blank.
Looking at the man standing before her with his hands behind his back, his expression as indifferent as an ancient divine mountain, a tremor and reverence rising from the depths of her soul nearly suffocated her on the spot.
What heaven-reaching methods were these?
What flawless, all-encompassing planning was this?
Foreknowledge? Insight into Heavenly Secrets?
No, such words could not even describe one ten-thousandth of her master's power!
This was clearly... the Supreme Power to toy with the Heavenly Secrets and fate of the entire Primordial World in the palm of his hand!
What she saw as a life-or-death calamity, a desperate situation in which sisters had been separated, was merely a play with a script already written in her master's eyes.
And she was only a character in that play, following the path he had written step by step toward the ending he had already arranged.
Terrifying!
Too terrifying!
Yet after that extreme terror came an incomparable sense of security and wild joy.
With such an omnipotent master, one who had calculated everything across the ages, as her support, where in this vast Primordial World could she not go? Who would dare provoke her?
At the same time, an even more alarming thought surfaced in Qiong Xiao's mind.
The map marked an Ancient Cave Mansion!
With Bi Xiao's fearless personality, if she failed to find Qiong Xiao at their meeting place and discovered an ancient ruin, what would she do?
The answer was obvious!
She would definitely charge in alone!
At the thought of the unknown dangers that might lurk within the Ancient Cave Mansion and her sister's reckless nature, Qiong Xiao felt as though an invisible hand had tightly gripped her heart. The pain nearly left her unable to breathe.
No!
Absolutely not!
If anything happened to her sister, then she... she would not want to live either!
But with her own strength, what could she do even if she rushed there now?
If even Golden Immortals coveted that cave mansion, its dangers were obvious. If she charged in, she would only be throwing away her life and might even become a burden to her sister.
What should she do?
What was she supposed to do?
Despair and helplessness, like an icy tide, instantly swallowed Qiong Xiao whole.
Her gaze instinctively—and as though there were no other choice—turned toward the towering figure ahead of her.
Master!
That was right, she still had her master!
He was omnipotent! He calculated everything flawlessly!
Since he had brought out this map, he surely had a way!
He was her only hope! He was also her sister's only chance of survival!
Like the only ray of light in the darkness, that thought instantly illuminated Qiong Xiao's heart, which had been shrouded in despair.
She could no longer care about dignity or etiquette. All reason was replaced by her concern for her sister and her boundless trust in Lin Feng.
Thud!
With a dull impact, Qiong Xiao's knees slammed heavily into the hard stone floor.
She scrambled to Lin Feng's feet, stretched out her trembling hands, and tightly wrapped them around his leg as though she were clinging to her last lifeline.
The tears that had long gathered in her eyes finally burst forth, streaming down her pale, beautiful cheeks.
"Master!"
"Please! Please save my sister!"
Qiong Xiao's voice was hoarse, filled with a blood-curdling plea.
"Bi Xiao is impulsive. She must have entered that cave mansion alone! Please show mercy and save her life!"
"Qiong Xiao... Qiong Xiao is willing to do anything for you, Master! Even if I must serve as an ox or horse, become your slave and maid, and never be reborn for all eternity, I will do so willingly!"
The young woman's cries echoed through the empty cave, filled with despair and humility.
She buried her head deeply against Lin Feng's trouser leg, as though only by doing so could she draw even the slightest trace of safety from him.
Lin Feng lowered his head and looked at the tear-streaked young woman at his feet. She had cast aside all dignity and pride, begging only for him to save her sister. His eyes remained as still as an ancient well, without the slightest hint of emotion.
Only the faint upward curve of his lips revealed a trace of amusement.
That was more like it.
If you wanted to beg someone, you needed to show the proper attitude.
Before you continue