Chapter 47: Immortal Island in the Sea, News of the Immortals

Chen Feng flicked the tiny flame in his hand toward Jiang Hong.

Infused with his spiritual energy, the flame moved with a speed that even Jiang Hong's vision could not track.

A look of horror crossed Jiang Hong's face; she knew she could not dodge this incoming spark.

She immediately pushed her blood essence and astral qi to their absolute limits, intending to endure the impact.

The flame arrived before her in an instant. Almost the moment it touched her body, the astral qi on the surface of her skin ignited rapidly.

The boost to her astral qi provided by burning her blood essence proved as fragile as paper before this flame, offering no protection whatsoever.

The fire instantly engulfed Jiang Hong's entire body, and the smell of scorched flesh filled the air.

Jiang Hong let out a piercing, agonizing scream.

"Ahhh!"

Even though her willpower far exceeded that of an ordinary person, facing this spiritual flame, Jiang Hong felt as if she were experiencing the most extreme pain in existence.

Watching Jiang Hong scream in agony amidst the flames, Chen Feng felt a sense of surprise.

This woman had not been instantly reduced to ashes.

However, judging by her state, she likely wouldn't last much longer. At this moment, Chen Feng changed his mind.

He decided to spare her life for now to ask a few questions.

Chen Feng channeled his spiritual energy toward Jiang Hong.

In an instant, the spiritual flame on her body vanished.

As the flame died out, Jiang Hong collapsed face-down on the ground.

By now, her armor had long since been burned away. She looked like a piece of blackened charcoal, with almost no patch of intact skin on her body.

But Chen Feng did not relax. Instead, he stepped forward and crushed all four of her limbs.

No one knew if the opponent might have any hidden trump cards.

Once his transcendent state ended, it would take at least several hours to recover. If he fell into a trap, it would be dangerous.

However, Chen Feng still held one final trump card: from the start of the fight until now, he had not strayed too far from the mine.

If danger arose, he could immediately return to the modern world through the teleportation channel.

Having her limbs crushed alive by Chen Feng, Jiang Hong did not let out a single scream.

The pain brought by the spiritual flame was far greater than the pain of broken limbs.

With a calm expression, Chen Feng looked at Jiang Hong and said, "You are a smart person. You should know why I am not killing you."

Jiang Hong opened her eyes, looking at Chen Feng with an expression of immense agony.

At this moment, the only intact part of her body was her eyes; everything else had been scorched.

"Hahaha... I have practiced martial arts for decades, finally reaching the peak of the martial path, thinking I could stand against a cultivator. Now it seems I was merely deceiving myself..."

Jiang Hong laughed loudly, a laugh filled with desolation. This desolation stemmed from the resentment of a mortal martial artist.

She was considered a once-in-a-generation talent, possessing exceptional martial talent since childhood and reaching the Transformation Realm by her thirties.

Even in the Imperial City, she was a renowned genius.

She had always believed that while cultivators were powerful, as a Transformation Realm martial artist, she should have been able to fight one.

Yet, Chen Feng had defeated her utterly with just a single spell.

Her previous ambition to slay an immortal was nothing short of ridiculous.

Watching the laughing Jiang Hong, Chen Feng felt no desire to show mercy.

"I don't want to repeat myself."

He had no patience to listen to a woman's self-indulgent lamentations.

If he were not a cultivator, his fate today would likely be no better than hers.

"What do you want to know?" Jiang Hong's expression had become somewhat vacant.

She was effectively ruined. The spiritual flame had destroyed all her meridians, and combined with her previous burning of blood essence, even if she survived, she would be a cripple.

"Who is the Ancestor of the State of Yue you just mentioned? What level of cultivator is he?"

Chen Feng asked the question he was most interested in: information regarding other cultivators.

Jiang Hong answered without hesitation

"He was the previous Emperor of the State of Yue. I only know that he is a Qi Refining stage cultivator. He remains in seclusion year-round and rarely appears before the world."

"What about other cultivators?" Chen Feng asked again.

Jiang Hong was somewhat confused—if Chen Feng was a cultivator himself, why was he asking her?—but she still answered

"Regarding other cultivators, I have only heard rumors. Rumor has it that in the far lands north of the State of Yue, there is a sea area with immortal islands. Immortals reside on those islands, but that is only recorded in the Imperial Family's chronicles. As for whether it is true, I do not know."

"The north?" Chen Feng frowned. His current location, the Hengduan Mountains, was north of the State of Yue.

He had once asked Liu Qian, and according to him, Liu Yang Town lay to the east of the Hengduan Mountains, which was the largest town on the border of the State of Yue.

Further east lay the territories of other nations.

To the southwest were several large mountains similar to the Hengduan Mountains, occupied by other powers.

To the north was a vast, boundless forest, where legendary demonic beasts were said to dwell in its depths.

The Black Wind Fortress had established itself here precisely because of its proximity to the great northern forest.

Many merchant caravans from the State of Yue would send people into the forest to collect various medicinal herbs and resources.

The Black Wind Fortress had primarily made its living by charging passage fees to these caravans.

It seemed that crossing this forest would lead to the sea area Jiang Hong had described.

Chen Feng then asked several more questions, all regarding the world of the Scroll. He still knew too little about this realm.

Jiang Hong answered his questions one by one, concealing nothing.

Through Jiang Hong's account, Chen Feng finally learned some information about the Scroll World.

The State of Yue belonged to the Yingzhou region, but no one knew how large Yingzhou actually was.

The Imperial chronicles of the State of Yue only recorded the surrounding areas, which consisted of various nations or martial arts factions.

As for more distant regions, even the Imperial chronicles contained no records.

At this moment, Chen Feng felt that this world was much larger than he had imagined; the place he was in was likely just the tip of the iceberg.

"Immortal Master, can you please spare the rest of my Jiang family?" Jiang Hong said, her voice faint.

She was prepared to die, but she did not want her family to be wiped out.

Chen Feng glanced at her.

"Do you think that is possible?"

Chen Feng naturally could not let the Jiang family live; he understood the principle of pulling up weeds by the roots better than anyone.

"Immortal Master, if I die, the Imperial City will surely send people to investigate. Although I do not know why an Immortal Master is in such a small place, you surely do not wish to be discovered."

"If you spare my Jiang family, I am willing to send a letter to the Imperial City stating that I am heading to another country. That way, you will have no more concerns."

Jiang Hong spoke at the opportune moment. She knew that begging for mercy from someone like Chen Feng was useless; the only way was to demonstrate her value.

His ruthless way of acting also made her realize that she could not play petty tricks on him.

Chen Feng looked at Jiang Hong; this woman was actually quite interesting.

Chen Feng immediately smiled and said, "Very well."

Hearing this, Jiang Hong's expression instantly relaxed.

But in the next second, Chen Feng's words drove her to despair.

"But I am not sparing the Jiang family; I am sparing you. By keeping you alive, I can maintain a connection to the Imperial City, and the trouble from that side will be resolved naturally."

"You!" Jiang Hong's eyes widened as she stared at Chen Feng.

She had not expected him to have such a plan.

However, just as Chen Feng said, keeping her alive was better than keeping the entire Jiang family.

Chen Feng would simply exterminate the Jiang family and then imprison her, forcing her to send regular updates to the Imperial City.

Even if the destruction of the Jiang family were reported to the Imperial City, it would be of no consequence.

She was merely a Commander of the Martial Guard; the Imperial City valued her, not her clan.

With the mountains high and the Emperor far away, who would care about the extermination of a martial family in a remote border town?

At this moment, Jiang Hong's face turned ashen, leaving her with nothing but despair.

(End of Chapter)