Everlasting

 

“Three Prized artefacts. We are still lacking one,” someone shouted out.

“This old man can add to that,” a white-haired old cultivator suddenly spoke up.

Chen Feng’s sword and Mo Ji’s lance. As for Evil Moon Grotto Master, he pulled out a small seal, squarish in shape and black in colour, with a dreadful lustre.

“Sky Toppling Seal!” Mo Ji was slightly shocked.

“Miss Mo Ji has discerning eyes,” said Evil Moon Grotto Master with a smile.

“I did not think that you could forge such a magic treasure. It is truly a surprise,” said Mo Ji coolly before recollecting herself.

“I had acquired it by chance. Although it is slightly damaged, it can unleash the power of a Prized artefact,” replied Evil Moon Grotto Master with a smile.

The old cultivator with white hair and beard pulled out a one-chi long steel needle. Silvery white in colour, it dazzled with a sharp light. That was especially true of its tip, where energy current would continuously flow out from it. This was beyond the term sharpness (1 chi = 0.333 m).

Looking at the steel needle, Evil Moon Grotto Master’s pupils contracted. Clearly, he recognized the steel needle.

“It is actually the Ardent Sun Needle. To think that there is such an expert here. I was careless,” whispered Evil Moon Grotto Master.

“Likewise.” The old cultivator replied with a faint smile. The smile in his eyes made it seem as though he simply did not view Evil Moon Grotto Master as a threat.

With the four Prized artefacts gathered, the resulting pressure emanating outwards caused the surrounding cultivators to back up, their faces flickering. They had not expected this number of Prized artefacts hidden within their group.

“Hey, hey, kid. Your cultivation base is too weak. You are probably incapable of fully unleashing this Prized artefact’s full power,” Elegant Gentleman suddenly said with a chuckle, seemingly having forgotten what happened earlier.

“Oh? What are you trying to say?” Chen Feng responded with a smile.

“We are currently in a serious crisis. This is the time for us all to unite and work together. I think you should just hand over your Prized artefact and let some other cultivator with a higher cultivation base control it. That way, we can unleash the Prized artefact’s full power. Naturally, after we have gotten out, we will return the Prized artefact to you,” said Elegant Gentleman with a sneer.

“Nonsense! Why don’t you give your magic treasures to others?” Lu Ta could not stop himself from shouting out.

“I don’t have any magic treasure right now. The only Magic artefact I have had been destroyed. Naturally, if I have a Prized artefact with me, I will certainly be selfless and bring it out,” replied Elegant Gentleman with a smile.

“Right. Elegant Gentleman’s words are logical. Right now, we are all facing a crisis. This is the time to unite and work together. The strongest ones should be the one to utilize the Prized artefact.”

“I also agree.”

“High-quality steel should be used for making blades. Besides, it is not as though we will not be returning it to you.” Some of the cultivators there began agreeing to it.

The cultivation world was a cruel place. Seeing a minor cultivator like Chen Feng in possession of a Prized artefact, those cultivators had long since felt desirous of it. If it were not for their scruples, some of them would have attempted to snatch it.

Envy and greed. As long as humans exist, those behaviours would never disappear. Seeing Elegant Gentleman bring up the matter, it was only natural for some to add oil to the fire.

“Elegant Gentleman, you have a death wish!” Ye Ziming shouted icily. The Five Heroes of Pot Mountain said nothing; instead, they let their actions show their support for Chen Feng. Besides them, there were also some other cultivators who had received Chen Feng’s protection earlier; they revealed looks of disdain on their faces. However, due to their scruples in dealing with Elegant Gentleman and Evil Moon Grotto Master, they had chosen to say nothing.

Mo Ji’s face remained impassive. As for the escorting cultivators around her, they simply revealed looks of interest.

Chen Feng stretched his hand to block the furious Lu Ta and Ye Ziming before revealing a faint smile. He said, “Oh, is that so? Your words make sense. However, I wonder, who here can control my sword?”

After Chen Feng uttered those words, the Overwhelming Astral Sword left his grip as it flew up into the sky. There, it spun and ray after ray of sword energy shot out, creating a harsh sound, seemingly wanting to slice space itself.

None of them expected Chen Feng to do this. Those cultivators who had spoken up earlier all shut their mouths. They did not have the courage to say anything. This was a Prized artefact after all. Getting hit by it was not something to joke around.

“Why? Is no one going to step up?” asked Chen Feng with a sneer. His gaze swept across all present and the power of the Overwhelming Astral Sword grew even stronger. Due to the agitation from the Overwhelming Astral Sword’s power, the ground beneath cracked. At the same time, the will of an expert seeped out, causing some nearby cultivators to become surprised. They retreated.

“A Sky Human stage cultivator’s impression. It seems this kid is no ordinary character. His sect elder must have refined the Prized artefact to serve as a means of protection for him,” the elderly man hiding behind Mo Ji said slowly.

“Yes. I can see as well that this young man is no ordinary character. He can condense out his Soulflame at just level 1 of the Concealed stage. In this world, such a talent can probably be counted with just one hand. Besides, in just a few days’ time, he had broken through to level 2 of the Concealed stage. To be able to completely fuse with a Prized artefact, I would be the first to question it if you tell me there is no expert behind him,” Mo Ji replied using secret vocal transmission.

This kid has a background. Mo Ji and the elderly man were not the only ones to have felt the impression emanating from the Overwhelming Astral Sword. Evil Moon Grotto Master, the white-haired old cultivator and the other cultivators with high cultivation bases were all able to perceive the aura of an expert from the sword. The expressions on their faces flickered as they looked at Chen Feng.

Shua!

The Overwhelming Astral Sword swiftly flew above one of the cultivators and ray after ray of sword energy enveloped him.

He was a level 5 Concealed stage cultivator who had cultivated up to the entering the profound realm while Chen Feng had only cultivated up to the glimpsing the profound realm.

He was the first to chime in after Elegant Gentleman started provoking Chen Feng. At that moment, in face of the sword energy enveloping him, his whole body broke out in sweat and he dared not make a single move, fearful that he might accidentally touch the surrounding sword energy and be reduced to pieces.

“Can you control this Prized artefact?” Chen Feng asked coolly.

“No, no. I did not mean it. Mercy!” the cultivator shouted. 

“If you don’t mean it, you shouldn’t be spouting nonsense. To be able to cultivate up to this level, you should have spent quite some time in the cultivation world. How can you be so bad at living?” Chen Feng sneered. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the sword energy enveloping the cultivator began shrinking towards the middle.

“Argh! I’ll fight!” Seeing Chen Feng take action against him, the fear of death forced out the strongest level of power within the cultivator. An exquisite flying sword flew out from his body to slam against the surrounding sword energy. At the same time, layer after layer of thick astral energy shield formed over him. They were like walls of iron, capable of blocking off any attacks.

“Die!”

Chen Feng shouted and rays of sword light shone out. After just half a breath’s worth of time, the Overwhelming Astral Sword had stopped attacking. By then, the astral energy shield covering the cultivator’s body had been broken through and the flying sword he sent out had become a piece of scrap metal. As for the cultivator, he had been cut into eight pieces and most certifiably dead.

Shua!

The Overwhelming Astral Sword shone once more with a dazzling light and some of the cultivators who spoke up earlier paled. They quickly backed far away, fearful of Chen Feng’s attack.

With a thought, Chen Feng then sent the Overwhelming Astral Sword flying with lightning-like speed at Elegant Gentleman. Killing intent and sharpness flowed across the surface of the sword and those with discerning eyes could see that Chen Feng was determined to kill off Elegant Gentleman. Those people chose to stand aside and watch the show.

Facing Chen Feng’s forceful attack, Elegant Gentleman’s face sank and he quickly rushed to hide behind Evil Moon Grotto Master’s back. The Overwhelming Astral Sword did not stop. Instead, it curved and shot towards the both of them. The blade of light, seemingly capable of scouring flesh, moved to envelop even Evil Moon Grotto Master.

“The kid is powerful. He actually dares to attack Evil Moon Grotto Master. I hear that Evil Moon Grotto Master is already close to breaking through to the Sky Human stage,” one of the cultivators there started whispering.

“What? He is close to breaking through to the Sky Human stage? If that is true, this world will have another expert. Even those immortal dao sects will have to pay attention to something like this.”

“There should be no mistake about it. I hear that the Evil Moon Grotto Master had stepped into level 9 of the Concealed stage long ago.”

Evil Moon Grotto Master simply chuckled in face of Chen Feng’s attack. With a thought, the Sky Toppling Seal in his hand shot up. The seal, originally the size of a palm, quickly expanded in size to become as big as a building in a flash. Like a small mountain, it smashed towards the Overwhelming Astral Sword. The pressure created by the Sky Toppling Seal further resulted in ceaseless air currents rampaging about. The might of those air currents caused criss-crossing cracks to appear on the ground. The pressure had pushed away the air within a radius of tens of zhang to create a vacuum while the powerful energy waves were so shocking that even the distant towering trees broke down from the resulting reverberations.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

The Overwhelming Astral Sword’s surroundings immediately erupted with a loud booming sound. Chen Feng’s face turned highly serious. He could feel the intense pressure of the attack. He had already fused with the Overwhelming Astral Sword, becoming one with it. Thus, they shared a connection. At that moment, he could feel a mountain pressing down on him. Additionally, the formidable aura of suppression emanating from the mountain was completely aimed at him, making it impossible for him to dodge at all.

What a powerful pressure. This Sky Topping Seal must surely be of a higher grade compared to my Overwhelming Astral Sword. Having reached that conclusion, the three insight acupoints within Chen Feng’s body erupted with a constant stream of power. At the same time, his newly opened 2nd sea of wisdom too, sprayed out a powerful and mysterious energy into the Overwhelming Astral Sword. The power of the Prized artefact rose up by a notch.

Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!

Ray after ray of astral luminescence were condensed out; they formed tangible astral swords and shot out continuously from the Overwhelming Astral Sword. The astral swords formed a cage, which spun like a slicer, causing minor cracks to appear in the surrounding space shackling it. As the potent astral swords were charging forward, Chen Feng felt his mind lighten as the Overwhelming Astral Sword transformed into a stream of light. Like a fish jumping out from the sea, it quickly flew back into Chen Feng’s palm.

Boom!

A dull booming sound rang out as the Sky Toppling Seal slammed upon the ground, causing what felt like a magnitude 12.0 earthquake. Soil flew upwards and immeasurably deep cracks formed on the ground, spreading up to a radius of several hundred metres. The cultivators who were too close to it were send tumbling upon their backs. The frightful shockwaves even knocked some of them unconscious.

The Sky Toppling Seal rushed up into the sky once more where it hovered, waiting for the opportunity to attack again. A large, square-shaped, 10-zhang deep hole had formed on the ground.