Everlasting

 

“Woah! According to the Eternal World book, this place should not be this dangerous! It hadn't been too long since we entered this place. How could a cultivator have died already?” Chen Feng was shocked as well. The hurricane, which had suddenly emerged, contained a powerful atmosphere of danger. Chen Feng had a feeling. If he were careless enough to get sucked into the hurricane, there was a high likelihood of him getting torn to pieces inside.

“Strange! Strange! The vile astral winds within Blackwind Marshes this time around is much stronger compared to before. As I recall, such a big hurricane would only appear after venturing a hundred li inside,” said the level 5 Concealed stage cultivator curiously (1 li = 0.5 km).

“Could this be due to the appearance of the immortal mansion?” someone asked gingerly.

“That is possible. Everyone, be careful. It is still possible to quit now.”

“If only we have a Wind Anchor Pearl,” someone said.

“Normal Wind Anchor Pearls are probably incapable of holding the vile astral winds here, unless they are at the Prized artefact tier.”

As they continued forward, Chen Feng exerted caution by secretly sending out his divine sense to carefully inspect their surroundings. With his powerful divine sense, Chen Feng’s mind was able to perceive the vile astral winds blowing around them, regardless if they were strong or weak. Chen Feng became like a fish, moving constantly. He would change his positioning without respite to avoid disadvantageous locations. Every path he took contained the weakest vile astral winds.

Thus, the pressure on Chen Feng lessened greatly. Later on, Chen Feng began viewing this as a form of training. He was continuously honing the reaction time of his divine sense to move in concert with his body.

“Danger!”

Chen Feng, who had been moving straight ahead, suddenly sensed one of his strands of divine sense sucked in by a powerful suction force. Before he could react, the strand of divine sense had been torn apart by the powerful force.

Swoosh!

Chen Feng’s body flashed aside just as a rapidly spinning hurricane descended upon the very spot he had been occupying. A long gully was immediately formed upon the ground.

A cultivator who was close by failed to dodge fast enough and the hurricane made contact with him. Instantly, he was swept hundreds of metres up. The astral energy he formed around his body was torn and blades of vile astral winds hacked down upon the cultivator.

Seeing the cultivator on the verge of getting minced to pieces by the sky-encompassing vile astral winds, the level 5 Concealed stage cultivator took action. His hand shot out and he opened his palm. A stream of light flowed out from each finger, moving quickly to form a force field around the cultivator before pulling the cultivator towards him.

Five Elements Cycle! This fellow has actually practiced out the Five Elements Cycle. He is not to be underestimated. It seems he must have had some fortuitous encounters before. Chen Feng thought to himself.

It had to be said. For most loose cultivators, condensing out a wholesome five elements power without any cultivation technique was something that talent and time alone could not accomplish.

“I thank senior for the assistance.” The rescued cultivator hastily gave his thanks. 

“You cultivators at level 1 of the Concealed stage, come stay beside me. The road ahead is too dangerous.” After saying that, the level 5 Concealed stage cultivator waved his hand. Stream after stream of light flowed out and several of the cultivators there were wrapped up and involuntarily dragged towards the level 5 Concealed stage cultivator.

“Follow me! I will protect you.”

At that moment, Chen Feng could feel a stream of light enveloping his body. Instantly, he felt his body becoming paralyzed as a capturing force pulled him forward.

“Humph!” Chen Feng harrumphed as his primary energy swiftly circulated. A Longevity Blade was condensed out before quickly circling around him. Next, soft cracking sounds could be heard as the capturing force around Chen Feng was cut into pieces.

“Eh?” Seeing Chen Feng break his capturing technique, the level 5 Concealed stage cultivator was stunned. Although his technique appeared simplistic, he had exerted 80 % of his power for the move. That was the Five Elements Capturing Light that he had practiced for a long time. Even Concealed stage cultivators at the same level as him would find it difficult to stop the technique.

Thankfully, the grade of my longevity-type primary energy is far higher than his. Otherwise, I would have been captured by him just now. Hey! This fellow is taking action to capture others. It seems he is up to no good. I will have to exercise caution. Chen Feng sneered secretly.

The surrounding vile astral winds ravaged about ceaselessly. The stretches of mud on the ground were interconnected and some of them roiled about, causing bubbles to rise as a result. Stench assailed them again and again. The place was the equivalent of a stinking sewer.

“Could rare medicinal herbs grow in a place like this?” Chen Feng felt doubtful.

“You all, follow me. The mud here is immeasurably deep and it contains vile energy. Furthermore, there could be some yao beasts hiding within them. Even Concealed stage cultivators would find it hard to escape after falling inside. Cultivators would die here every day,” said the level 5 Concealed stage cultivator grimly.

“Senior, are there really rare medicinal herbs here?” one of the cultivators could not stop himself from asking.

“Naturally, Hundred Poisons Fruits, Soulbiting Flowers, Vileblood Poisongrasses, Bone Eroding Grasses and even Soulguard Flowers can be found here. Other than that, there are also some rare metals and ores. Although rare, all of them are high-grade items. Some who practice demonic cultivation techniques would even come here to absorb the vile energy here.”

Soulguard Flowers! Hearing that, Chen Feng felt a thump from his heart.

“I hear that Soulguard Flowers can only be found in Demon Soul Valley. Does this place also have Soulguard Flowers?” After pondering it for a moment, Chen Feng asked.

“He he! I have only just heard about it myself. I didn’t think you know so much, little brother. To think that you would know about the Soulguard Flowers.” The level 5 Concealed stage cultivator cast an ambiguous smile at Chen Feng.

“He he, I simply read about it before from a book,” replied Chen Feng with a smile. At that moment, Chen Feng’s instincts was telling him that this person was quite a dangerous fellow. As he could not utilize the Longevity Tower for the moment, he would have to be careful. Thankfully, he possessed a Prized artefact on his person. That gave him some courage. Additionally, there was his Soulflame. With a sneak attack, he could crash the other fellow’s divine sense and reduce him into an idiot.

“There are three black flowers there!” a cultivator suddenly shouted while pointing up front.

Three black-coloured flowers, each the size of a palm, grew along the edge of a muddy area. Black as ink, they exuded a corrosive aura.

“Those are Soulbiting Flowers. They can be used to concoct medicinal pills and the forging of magic treasures. If a Concealed stage cultivator breathes it in, their soul power will be stained and corroded, causing damage to the soul. A heavy strike can lead to death,” said someone knowledgeable about the flower.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Two cultivators suddenly flew out, wanting to grab the three Soulbiting Flowers.

In the marketplace, each of the three Soulbiting Flowers could fetch a price of several thousand Basic Yang Pills. That was enough for a level 1 Concealed stage cultivator to practice cultivation for several months. Additionally, that was much more effective compared to absorbing worldly spiritual energy. It was no wonder that those two cultivators would immediately choose to take action.

Chen Feng did not take action. He had no interest in those flowers. The Magic crystals on him was at a number that he could never finish. Naturally, he would not embarrass himself by trying to snatch those flowers. Furthermore, Chen Feng had sensed a trace of fluctuation coming from the muddy spot ahead. The aura there was very weak and thus, very difficult for those without Soulflames to detect.

Those two are probably in danger. Chen Feng thought to himself. He did not attempt to warn them. They were not acquainted after all. Additionally, they might become rivals later on. Thus, there was no need for him to stand out right now.

“Got it!”

The two of them stretched their hands out to grab the three Soulbiting Flowers at the same time. Seeing the flowers on the verge of falling into their hands, they reflexively smiled.

Sou! Sou!

Suddenly, two red beams shot out from within the mud to wrap around the two cultivators. With a tug, the two cultivators were then pulled down the mud. After that, the mud there sloshed about a few times before returning to a state of calmness.

Chen Feng was highly shocked. He had managed to get a clear view of what the two red beams actually looked like. They were two tongues, coated with spikes and disgusting pustules.

That should be Mud Lizards. Chen Feng thought to himself.

Seeing the two cultivators suddenly disappearing, the other cultivators fell into a slight uproar. Some of them pulled out their swords as they get ready to attack.

“That earlier are Mud Lizards. This is their territory. Everyone, don’t attack recklessly. Our objective this time is not to kill yao beasts,” one of the cultivators spoke up.

“Look! Someone else is heading forward!” someone suddenly shouted while pointing into the sky.

Raising his head, Chen Feng saw two cultivators in defensive magic clothing flying through the sky. When the violent vile astral winds struck them, the winds were instead shattered apart. The winds had failed to slow the two figures down in the slightest.

Those two have condensed out Soulflames, at the very least. The defensive magic clothing they are wearing are likely high-grade Magic artefacts as well. Chen Feng speculated silently.

“Those two are the two Grotto Masters from the Seventy-two Grotto-mansions. The defensive magic clothing they wore could easily block off the vile astral winds. At the very least, they must be grade 7 Magic artefacts. If only I have one, there would have been no need for me to struggle on foot,” said a level 4 Concealed stage cultivator, a look of envy on his face.

“Argh! Sword Tower and Jade Talisman Court are killing people! I saw a Prized artefact. It really is a Prized artefact! What a pity! The cultivators from Sword Tower have snatched it away!” A distant voice suddenly spread out from up ahead. It sounded miserable to the extreme, a sound capable of giving others goose bumps.

It’s Lu Ta. Chen Feng’s heart gave a thump and he secretly smiled.

“What? Prized artefact! Hurry! Hurry!” Hearing the words Prized artefact, the eyes of everyone there turned red. That included the level 5 Concealed stage cultivator. One by one, they sped up.

“Oh! There is another Prized artefact! This is a pill furnace! Not good, the cultivators from Jade Talisman Court are snatching it away! Argh! You beasts! After snatching away other people’s treasure, you want to kill me? I will fight you to the bitter end!” Another distant voice spread through the astral winds to reach them.

That is Ye Ziming. Unexpectedly, the two of them are faster than me. Chen Feng secretly smiled.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Suddenly, three cultivators sped through the sky above. Sword light radiated off their bodies, defending them against any harm the astral winds might inflict upon them. Surprisingly, they were high-level sword cultivators. It would appear that they too, had been lured over by the shout earlier.

All right, the place is turning chaotic. It is time to meet up with Ye Ziming and Lu Ta. Having made up his mind, Chen Feng sped up. Slowly, he put more distance between himself and the others as he moved towards the spot where the voice had come from.