In Azure Moon Sect,

Outer Sect,

Outer Affair Hall.

A male disciple responsible for checking and accepting quests from the outer sect disciples sat behind the counter , looking bored , as if he were about to fall asleep.

"Yawwwn… I hope my shift ends soon ," he murmured.

If it weren't for the rewards being quite good , he wouldn't have wasted his time sitting here all day , doing nothing.

Just then, he sensed a presence in front of him.

Without lifting his head, he said casually,

"Just put the quest on the table and write your name…"

But a melodic voice responded.

"Oh ? I see."

'Hmm? Have I heard that voice before?' the male disciple wondered inwardly.

He looked up and froze.

Before him stood a mature, graceful figure in a blue robe, her calm, serene blue eyes fixed on him.

"E-Elder Yu!" he stammered, hurriedly standing and bowing politely.

Yu Lianru, seeing the flustered disciple, smiled softly.

"No need to worry. I just came here to check on something."

"O-Oh ? Please let this disciple know what you need, Elder!" the disciple said hurriedly , thumbing his chest.

"Find me information about an outer sect disciple named Li Feng. Check if he has gone out somewhere or not, " Yu Lianru said calmly.

"I understand. Please wait a moment , Elder," the disciple replied, hurrying to check the records.

Yu Lianru simply stood there, waiting and thinking of Li Feng.

Before the Secret Realm opened , she had been relatively free and had been planning to find Li Feng and initiate her plan to clear her ....dark history.

But alas , she couldn't locate him anywhere within the sect.

Then she thought that perhaps he had gone outside to complete a sect quest, which was why she came to confirm.

After a while , the disciple returned with a scroll containing the details of those who had gone out on sect quests.

"Elder Yu, I managed to find some information. It seems this disciple, Li Feng, has gone out for a sect quest."

Yu Lianru just nodded as this was within her expectations.

Then she noticed the disciple tilt his head slightly, as if he had noticed something odd.

"What is it ?" she asked.

"O-Oh… it's nothing. It's just that the quest this disciple Li Feng took is rather… unusual," the disciple said as he look at the record.

Seeing the elder's questioning look , he continued.

"The first quest he took was normal, just a typical escort mission. But the second quest… it's an investigation combined with extermination of a possible Rank 1 demonic beast."

Hearing this, Yu Lianru raised a brow, her expression questioning as that seemed like a normal quest to her.

Seeing her look , the disciple hurriedly explained further, pointing out what he found strange.

"…But the second quest, not only is the reward extremely low,"

he paused a bit, looking at Elder Yu before continuing,

"…it was apparently issued… two years ago."

_

_

_

Meanwhile ,

At the Swamp

"…Falling Star Fist! "

A brilliant silvery light smashed straight down toward the swamp.

BOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted from the muddy swamp below.

Then , a soundless, eerie scream echoed out.

"SRKKKCH..!"

Li Feng , having already landed nearby, grinned at the sound.

He now confirm that the demonic beast was truly inside the swamp.

Suddenly, a familiar shadow burst from the swamp , heading straight toward him.

Seeing the huge maw filled with razor-sharp teeth coming at him , Li Feng didn't panic.

He clenched his fist.

Just as it was about to reach him , he sidestepped to the side, dodging effortlessly, and immediately followed up with a punch toward the beast's head.

SMASH!

The punch landed solidly , sending a wet crack through the air as the creature's massive head jerked sideways, splashing mud everywhere.

The beast roared and lashed its long tail , whipping through chunks of earth and striking Li Feng back before being sent flying toward a tree.

BAMM!

Li Feng raised his arm to block , but the impact still sank his feet slightly into the ground , cracking the earth beneath him.

"Tch… This thing sure knows how to counter ," he muttered, feeling the force of the blow along with the sharp, blade-like teeth grazing his hand.

Yet he remained unscathed , as if the teeth couldn't penetrate his skin at all.

Soon , through the trees, the serpent-like monster slithered at a terrifying speed straight toward the swamp.

"Oh, no you don't !" Li Feng shouted, already prepared this time, refusing to let it escape.

He burst forward, his figure flying like a cannon, smashing directly into the serpent's body.

BAMM!

"SRKKKCH..!"

The beast let out another painful scream as it was sent flying into a nearby tree, smashing those poor tree to pieces.

The serpent's body hit the tree with a heavy crash , splintering it into fragments before tumbling back onto the ground.

Li Feng landed a few steps away, shaking the slimy liquid off his shoulders while his grin widened.

"Now you're not running anywhere."

"SRKKKCH…!"

The serpent hissed furiously , its mouth along its body flaring as a faint green mist began to ooze from its jaws.

Li Feng's eyes narrowed.

"Poison?"

Now on guard, he didn't let his defenses down like last time.

Then the serpent lunged again , spewing a cloud of thick toxic mist that seemed to cover its body and the surrounding area.

Li Feng quickly leapt backward , silver aura gathering around his fist.

Midair, he spun his body and slammed his fist toward the approaching mist.

BOOM!

A shockwave of silvery light erupted outward , instantly clearing the poison cloud and blowing away mud and debris.

The serpent was hit by the shockwave as it staggered mid-charge.

Li Feng didn't waste the chance.

He dashed in, his fist glowing brighter this time, with starlight energy crawling up his arm.

"Let's end this! Falling Star Fist!"

But just as his fist was about to hit the serpent's head,

Its huge figure suddenly disappeared.

"..!"

Li Feng's eyes widened in surprise , but he couldn't stop his strike, punching into empty air.

BOOM!

The shockwave from his punch tore through the forest , blasting trees and rocks in its path to dust.

Li Feng landed , sliding back a step, his eyes darting around.

"Where—?"

Then below him , the earth seemed to ripple as if it were made of water, despite being rock hard.

Suddenly , it turned muddy, and Li Feng's leg sank into it.

"A swamp? When—"

Before he could finish his word, something yanked his leg hard into the newly formed swamp below.

His body immediately sank fully into the murky water.

Li Feng's expression darkened as water seeped into his nose.

As a cultivator , he could hold his breath for a long time, so that didn't bother him but the surrounding darkness and thick murkiness gave him pause.

'…This thing can create a swamp ? Is that how it managed to disappear like that ?'

The thick , muddy water pressed against his ears, muffling all sound except for the faint gurgling of bubbles and the distant rumble of movement.

Soon , he felt a presence approaching as he glance down.

From the darkness below , two eyeless sockets stared straight at him before the creature shot upward once more, jaws wide open.

'Hmph, cheap trick.'

Li Feng sneered, already feeling his impatience rising.

Clenching his fist tightly, as silver light began to shine through the dark , murky water.

'…Falling Star Fist! '

He punched downward , with silver light tearing through the murky depths.

BOOOM!

_

_

Outside,

Goldie, who had been waiting in another direction , suddenly saw its master being dragged down into a newly formed swamp.

Just as it was about to rush to help —

BOOOM!

A huge silver pillar of light burst from the swamp.

The explosion shook the entire area , sending waves of muddy water and debris flying dozens of meters into the air.

Even the nearby trees bent under the shockwave , their leaves scattering like rain.

Goldie froze mid-step, staring at the blinding silver pillar as it tore through the darkness , reaching toward the sky.

For a moment , the world went silent.

Then—

SPLASH!

A massive, rotten serpent body burst from the swamp, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Steam rose from its damaged flesh, half of its head completely blown apart.

The creature twitched once, then slowly tried to move, attempting to escape but a formation suddenly lit up at its position.

Multiple golden chains shot forth from the ground, binding its body tightly.

Goldie stared at the scene, then noticed a familiar figure slowly rising from the still-glowing crater where the swamp had been.

Li Feng emerged from the murky water , drenched but standing tall.

The faint silver aura around him flickered like embers before fading completely.

He exhaled, brushing mud off his shoulders as he looked at the half-dead, trapped serpent beast.

"Hah… stubborn thing."

Just as he was planning to finish it off for good , he stopped mid-step , noticing that the serpent's body seemed to begin disintegrating.

Li Feng tilted his head slightly , unsure of what was happening.

'Normal demonic beasts don't just disintegrate when they die…'

"…But I guess it's going to stay dead anyway?" he muttered, scratching his head with a small smile.

"Well, no matter, at least now the beast won't be a problem for the villagers in the future."

Li Feng called Goldie and turned his back on the dying, disappearing beast.

"Hehe… that ended early. Now I just need to go back and ....celebrate all night with Senior Sister ," he grinned lewdly, feeling a rush of desire after the fight.

Just as he was about to walk back with an excited heart , he froze abruptly , as he look toward the village direction.

…A strange discomfort suddenly spread through his senses.

Li Feng frowned deeply at the uneasy feeling that had appeared out of nowhere in his chest.

"Did something happen?", he murmured.

Just as he was about to hurry back , he heard a barely audible whisper from behind that stopped him in his tracks again.

"…Big… brother… immortal…"

Li Feng step froze , recognizing the familiar childish tone but this time, instead of its usual cheerfulness, it was filled with… pain.

He slowly turned his head, eyes wide, and saw those hollow "serpent"-like eyes, seem to be "crying",

.... with tears of blood streaming down.

"…What?"

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