Jin Feng's Fury

Ye Han sat cross-legged in the Cultivation Room of his cave abode. Specks of green spiritual light drifted around him, slowly seeping into his body as though drawn to it.

Of course, he had heard Jin Feng shouting outside. The first shout had come four hours ago.

He certainly wasn't going out, nor was he going to pay that damned Jin Feng any attention.

Five days ago, to shake off Jin Feng's pestering, he had played for time, telling Jin Feng to give him five days to think it over. He had even borrowed two spirit stones from him, putting Jin Feng at ease. Jin Feng figured that once Ye Han had borrowed his spirit stones, he wouldn't dare deceive him.

With those two spirit stones, Ye Han had taken a brief walk around Seven Mysteries Peak. There weren't many inner sect disciples there.

According to Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan, Seven Mysteries Peak was the worst Mountain Peak among the Azure Profound Sect's inner sect peaks.

Long ago, however, Seven Mysteries Peak had been the strongest Mountain Peak in the Azure Profound Sect. Back then, inner sect disciples had competed to join it, and its true disciples were heaven's favored children, dragons and phoenixes among men—the finest of the sect's true disciples.

But for some unknown reason, Seven Mysteries Peak's true disciples had disappeared or died in battle one after another. Its peak master, the Seventh Elder, had been so deeply shaken by these incidents that he had stopped attending to the peak's affairs and no longer accepted true disciples.

Seven Mysteries Peak had thus declined to the bottom of the seven great inner sect Mountain Peaks.

Now, the disciples Seven Mysteries Peak accepted were essentially inner sect disciples the other Mountain Peaks didn't want...

But even the worst inner sect disciple was far stronger than Ye Han...

After all, even outer sect disciples were at the fifth or sixth level of the qi refining realm. As Zhang Qingshan had put it, they could already wield Immortal Arts. Even a small fireball could wipe him out.

Inner sect disciples had to be at least in the late stages of the qi refining realm, and they also had to pass the inner sect selection before earning that status.

The so-called inner sect selection involved outer sect disciples facing off in real contests of Immortal Arts. Only after passing trial after trial could they become inner sect disciples.

Ye Han, a mere mortal, had only been able to become an inner sect disciple because of the Azure Mystic Token.

So, knowing how weak he was, Ye Han kept an extremely low profile as he walked around Seven Mysteries Peak. If anyone gave him a second look, he turned and left, keeping them from learning anything about him.

Even so, some people had recognized him as the Ye Han everyone had heard about. As Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan had said, the truth about his circumstances had already spread throughout the sect.

Unfortunately, before Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan could find out who was spreading these stories, he had left on a mission. He still hadn't returned.

Of the two spirit stones Ye Han had borrowed from Jin Feng, he had exchanged one for a large quantity of food and used the other to buy a Low-Grade Qi Refining Pill to improve his cultivation!

He had done this because his cultivation was still low, and he needed enough to eat and drink. Going hungry was no pleasant experience.

That food would last him more than a month.

As for the Low-Grade Qi Refining Pill, he planned to try using it to improve his cultivation.

He had been cultivating diligently every day lately, but remained stuck at the Second Layer of the Qi Refining Realm, unable to reach the next stage...

Still, Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan had told him that even highly gifted cultivators with abundant spiritual energy would encounter bottlenecks or stages that were difficult to cross.

Immortal cultivators had to endure these periods when their cultivation refused to advance. There were many ways to deal with such situations, such as asking a higher-level cultivator for guidance...

Taking pills to break through, settling down to cultivate diligently, or going out to seek resources and treasures born of heaven and earth...

In short, cultivation was a highly individual pursuit. How one broke through differed from person to person. Fortuitous encounters, pills, cultivation sites, even duels to the death could all lead to a breakthrough.

So, under these circumstances, Ye Han held to the principle of improving his cultivation by whatever little amount he could.

More importantly, Ye Han had originally hoped that by stalling for five days, he could hold out until Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan returned. But five days had passed.

Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan still hadn't returned, and he was truly starting to worry. Perhaps it really was as Jin Feng had said, and Zhang Qingshan might never come back.

Now Jin Feng was waiting outside again, while Zhang Qingshan had yet to return.

Ye Han knew he was in serious trouble this time. It was just like back in Green Ox Village, when he had made a fool of the village chief's son, and that fellow had brought his men to corner him all over the village...

Luckily, he had been clever enough to evade them and lay a trap, setting the village chief's son against Wang Laocai's son. Both were local tyrants, and they had fought for several days. Wang Laocai's son had won by a narrow margin, while the village chief's son had been confined by his father for a month.

As time passed, the whole affair had blown over.

But Jin Feng was an immortal cultivator at the twelfth level of the qi refining realm. He had plenty of patience to wait for Ye Han and was now blocking his doorway. The gulf in their strength left Ye Han with no way to deal with him. Was hiding inside his cave abode his only option?

He did know that the cave abode's defenses were extraordinary. Even a powerful cultivator at the foundation establishment late stage would expend a great deal of magical power trying to force it open, and cause an enormous commotion in the process.

Besides, attacking a fellow sect cultivator's cave abode was forbidden. Anyone who did so would face severe punishment.

So Ye Han knew he was safe inside his cave abode. All he could do was wait for Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan to return or for Jin Feng to lose patience...

Unfortunately, although Ye Han knew the cave abode had restrictions he could activate to block outside sounds, he didn't know how to do it. He could only let Jin Feng keep shouting...

Forget it. Ignore him! I'll muddle through this month first!

Jin Feng was far more than merely angry. He had arrived outside Ye Han's cave abode early that morning because they had agreed that Ye Han would give him an answer after five days on whether he would let Jin Feng use his cave abode to cultivate. He had even lent Ye Han two spirit stones for that purpose.

Yet after waiting there for half the day, with noon fast approaching, he still saw no sign of Ye Han coming out. Unable to hold back, he had shouted for Ye Han to come and see him, so he could find out what the brat was playing at.

That brat must be hiding because he's afraid I'll come after him!

Is he in there pretending to be deaf and mute?

Hmph!

How long does he think he can hide?

The more Jin Feng thought about it, the angrier he became...

More importantly, he had even lent the brat two spirit stones to keep him reassured. Damn it, what a loss!

He was a grown man, yet he had actually been duped by a child?

At that thought, Jin Feng couldn't help roaring, "Ye Han! If you don't come out, don't blame me for getting rough!"

As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and a Flying Fork gleaming with red light appeared before him...