As Ling Feng lay asleep on the bed, his tightly shut eyes began to twitch. Then his hands and feet began to move as well.
"Whew..."
At last, Ling Feng woke fully and let out a deep breath of stale air. "Finally awake."
After his long coma, the sudden light made his eyes uncomfortable. He closed them, then opened them into a squint. "I didn't expect to sleep for so long this time. The aftereffects are pretty severe, too. Ah, this Taotie ability to heal through sleep is far too passive. I had no chance to prepare."
When someone with the Taotie bloodline suffered a fatal injury, they would automatically fall into a dormant healing state. Ling Feng had only learned this through the system. However, even while asleep, he could still perceive the outside world.
Simply put, his body had been asleep, but his consciousness had remained awake the entire time.
"Ah-sss!"
Having slept for far too long, Ling Feng tried to rise, only to find his head unbearably heavy, as though it were about to explode. He instinctively clutched his aching head with both hands, while anger surged in his heart.
"Damn you, Ling Ying, Yao Chen, Xiao Yan! Just you wait! One day, I'll make you repay this blood debt in blood!"
Hatred threaded Ling Feng's eyes with bloodshot veins. He clenched his fists so tightly that they bled, his appearance turning somewhat savage.
"And Gu Xun'er! Sooner or later, I'll rape you and make you regret it for the rest of your life! You'll never be with your Brother Xiao Yan!"
His chain of schemes had been ruined, and he had been gravely injured-all because Gu Xun'er had intervened. That had filled Ling Feng with hatred for her and a desire for revenge as well.
His anger came quickly and faded just as quickly.
As his headache gradually eased, Ling Feng calmed down, and his eyes slowly adjusted to the light. Only then did he sit up in bed. Looking around the unfamiliar room, he muttered to himself, "Who would have thought I'd end up in the world of Martial Universe? And in Flame City, no less-Lin Dong's starting area."
Although Ling Feng's body had been asleep, his consciousness had remained awake. Over the past six months, the information he had gleaned from Xuan Su had quickly confirmed that the world he had randomly traveled to was the Tianxuan Continent of Martial Universe.
He was currently at the Myriad Gold Merchant Association in Yan City, Tiandu Commandery, in the Great Yan Dynasty of the Tianxuan Continent.
"Xuan Su?"
Recalling the woman who had cared for him for over half a year, Ling Feng smiled warmly. "She's a good woman. I'll have to repay her properly when I get the chance."
Although Xuan Su had not nourished him with spirit herbs to help him wake sooner, Ling Feng knew she had feared that giving him medicine indiscriminately would harm him instead.
Besides, without Xuan Su's care, who knew what might have happened to him? For that reason, Ling Feng was quite grateful to her.
Moreover, after half a year under her care, he had learned many of Xuan Su's secrets. He found her an interesting woman.
"Cough, cough..."
Just then, Ling Feng suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He covered it with his hand and coughed twice.
"Looks like my injuries haven't fully healed yet."
Ling Feng immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began circulating Dou Qi to nourish his body.
Even though Ling Feng had used Spirit Imbuement with Kakashi Hatake and possessed the strength of a Peak Dou Ling, Ling Ying, with his Peak Dou Emperor strength, could still kill him in a single move.
That was the gap in their power.
A Dou Wang could already suppress a Peak Dou Ling, while a Dou Emperor could crush one outright-let alone Ling Ying, who already had one foot in the Dou Zong level.
Had Ling Feng not fused with the Taotie bloodline and gained its powerful self-healing ability, even his Dou Ling body would likely have perished.
Of course, even with effective treatment, he would have needed to recuperate in bed for several years. There was no way he could otherwise have recovered as quickly as Ling Feng had.
Time trickled past, and the sun reached its zenith.
At last, Ling Feng opened his eyes. His complexion and spirits had improved, and he was no longer as pale as before. His condition had returned to its best.
However, when Ling Feng dispelled his Spirit Imbuement state and checked his own strength, he was somewhat dissatisfied.
"What a waste. Half a year gone, and my strength hasn't progressed at all. Everything went toward passively healing my body... Damn you, Ling Ying!"
Those unpleasant memories resurfaced. Ling Feng gritted his teeth and could not help cursing again.
As long as Ling Feng did not choose to dispel Spirit Imbuement, it would remain active, and its strength would remain with him. Once it ended, however, his cultivation would return to its original level.
Because he had spent half a year asleep and healing, Ling Feng's strength had not increased at all. He was still a Five-Star Dou Master.
Had he cultivated at his previous pace, Ling Feng might already have broken through to Da Dou Shi within those six months. Yet now he remained a Five-Star Dou Master, which naturally displeased him greatly.
"Jia Lie Bi, Ling Ying, you've taught me a lesson. I'll take your lives as the tuition fee!"
His fists clenched tightly, Ling Feng's cold murmur drifted through the room.
"Aunt Su!"
"Aunt Su, are you there?"
Suddenly, a clear, pleasant female voice came from outside the courtyard, making Ling Feng turn toward it. Aunt Su? Is she looking for Xuan Su?
Ling Feng darted forward, becoming a blur as he stopped by the door. Peering through the gap, he saw that the visitor was a young woman dressed in green.
She looked eighteen or nineteen, with a lovely face and a slender figure. Her green clothes traced her curves perfectly, making her quite eye-catching.
Yet a touch of valor marked her features, along with traces of pride that were difficult to conceal.
Clearly, she was a cultivator as well.
"She actually knows her way around a fight..."
Sensing a faint pressure emanating from the woman, Ling Feng murmured to himself before asking the system, "System, how strong is that girl?"
[Ding!] [Please wait, host...]
Shortly after the system's voice faded, it sounded again.
[According to the cultivation information gathered by the system on the Tianxuan Continent and the Dou Qi Continent, both worlds are medium chiliocosms of the same rank. Therefore, the strongest experts in both worlds should be at the same level.] [The cultivation levels of the Tianxuan Continent, from lowest to highest, are the body tempering realm, earthly origin realm, heavenly origin realm, origin pill realm, three realms of creation, nirvana realm, life profound realm, death profound realm, samsara stage, reincarnation stage, and ancestor realm. On the Dou Qi Continent, they are the Dou Qi foundation stage, Dou Zhe, Dou Shi, Da Dou Shi, Dou Ling, Dou Wang, Dou Emperor, Dou Zong, Dou Zun, Dou Sheng, and Dou Di.]
The system explained slowly, [Comparing the combat strength ratings of the two worlds, the body tempering realm corresponds to the Dou Qi foundation stage, the earthly origin realm to Dou Zhe, the heavenly origin realm to Dou Shi, and the origin pill realm to Da Dou Shi. The three realms of creation correspond to Dou Ling, Peak Dou Ling, and Peak Dou Wang. The nirvana realm corresponds to Dou Emperor, the life profound realm to Dou Zong, the death profound realm to Dou Zun, the samsara stage to Nine-Turn Peak Dou Zun, the three reincarnation realms to Dou Sheng, and the ancestor realm to Dou Di.]
"So that's how it is."
After hearing the system's explanation, Ling Feng gained a clear understanding of the cultivation levels of the two worlds.
[As for the girl you mentioned, host, a scan of her bare body indicates that she is slightly stronger than you. She should be in the late heavenly origin realm, with the strength of a seven- to nine-star Dou Shi.]
"She's actually stronger than me?"
Ling Feng was somewhat surprised. After all, on the Dou Qi Continent, anyone who could become a seven-star Dou Shi at eighteen or nineteen would be a genius among geniuses in the Jia Ma Empire.
[Host, compared with the Dou Qi Continent, advancement through the two stages after the body tempering stage is relatively easy on the Tianxuan Continent. However, from the origin pill realm onward, advancement becomes increasingly difficult. These cannot be compared directly.]
The system's further explanation put Ling Feng at ease. Just then, the green-clad woman's calls continued to ring out beyond the door.
"Aunt Su!"
"Aunt Su!"
At that moment, one of Xuan Su's maids appeared. She jogged over to the green-clad woman and respectfully said,
"Miss Zhi Lan, Manager Su has gone to the Council Hall to discuss the Pill Immortal Pool with the two stewards. She isn't here."
Upon hearing this, the green-clad woman called Zhi Lan immediately turned and ran outside.
Listening secretly behind the door, Ling Feng's eyes lit up. "The Pill Immortal Pool? That natural treasure that can help someone in the heavenly origin realm quickly advance to the origin pill realm? If I soak in it and devour its energy, perhaps it could help increase my strength!"
At that thought, Ling Feng immediately formed a plan. He hurriedly slipped out and followed the green-clad woman called Zhi Lan.
Thoroughly familiar with the world of Martial Universe, Ling Feng knew perfectly well that this green-clad woman was Xia Zhilan, daughter of Xia Wanjin of the Myriad Gold Merchant Association.
Following her was definitely the right choice.