Everlasting

 

“Let’s go!” Chen Feng already knew how powerful the Sky Toppling Seal was. Naturally, he would not choose to face it head-on. Instead, he quickly led Ye Ziming and the others away to dodge the attack. As Evil Moon Grotto Master wanted to save Elegant Gentleman, he did not continue attacking Chen Feng’s group. The Sky Toppling Seal had been sent out simply as an act of deterrence.

Finally, he managed to extricate Elegant Gentleman from the torrent of lightning bolts. Evil Moon Grotto Master dispelled the surging, purple-coloured lightning bolts with his attacks.

By then, Elegant Gentleman’s magic robes were in tatters and his whole body was black as a thick scent of scorched flesh wafted out. It was simply impossible to make out a human figure from what remained. If it were not for the faint energy fluctuation coming off him, everyone would have assumed Elegant Gentleman to be dead.

Evil Moon Grotto Master hurriedly pulled out a medicinal pill and stuffed it into Elegant Gentleman’s mouth. Next, he reached his hand out to press down on Elegant Gentleman’s chest. He channelled his magic power into him to help him recover.

After some time, Elegant Gentleman finally opened his eyes. It was a ferocious look. He was Elegant Gentleman, an infamous character who had condensed out his Soulflame. He was someone who could potentially reach the Sky Human stage in the future. Even disciples from some immortal dao sects had to afford him some level of respect. Some smaller sects were even hoping to recruit him, only to be met with contempt by him. 

A few years back, as he was fleeing the murderous pursuit of his enemies, he was saved by Evil Moon Grotto Master and thus ended up joining Evil Moon Grotto. After that, his magic power kept rising and he was able to cultivate up to level 7 of the Concealed stage in the span of just a few years. Recently, he had been attempting to assail level 8 of the Concealed stage. He could already be considered a leading figure amongst those of the junior generation. Unexpectedly, he ended up suffering under the hands of a minor cultivator whose cultivation base was far inferior compared to his. If it were not for Evil Moon Grotto Master’s assistance, there was a high chance he would have died today.

The lightning bolts earlier had not just torn his skin. Even his meridians, bones, membranes and sea of wisdom were horribly damaged from that. His power had plummeted to less than one tenth of his former level. He also understood that there was no point in getting angry now. Given his present state, he was far from qualified to face Chen Feng.

Thus, after revealing the ferocious glint in his eyes, Elegant Gentleman quickly recollected himself. He got up by himself and began to work on recovering his wounds and energy by himself.

Seeing that brought Chen Feng a feeling of shock. He thought to himself. Insidious fellows are terrifying, but insidious fellows who can suppress their insidious desires are even more terrifying. Even though he is not attempting anything right now, he will surely want to find an opportunity to attack me in the future, just like how he attempted to launched a sneak attack earlier.

It seems I must find a good opportunity to finish him off. However, with Evil Moon Grotto Master protecting him, finding another chance will be difficult. Chen Feng pondered.

“Kid, aren’t you being too ruthless?” said Evil Moon Grotto Master coldly as he looked at Chen Feng.

“Is that right? Still, I think I cannot compare against you two. Fellows, do you know what this is?” As Chen Feng spoke, he produced a silvery-white pearl in his hand. The silvery-white pearl was none other than the item that Elegant Gentleman had hurled at him during his sneak attack.

“Surely, everyone here recognizes this item!” Chen Feng repeated loudly.

“That is a Lightning Thunder Pearl. Its explosive power can kill a cultivator at the Concealed stage!” someone shouted.

“What a vicious move!”

“That is right. If that Lightning Thunder Pearl had gone off earlier, even if its explosion fails to kill off this little brother, it could still slow him down and make it so he gets stuck inside the barrier.”

“Elegant Gentleman’s move is too heinous. He is truly lucky he could stay alive just now.”

“Elegant Gentleman, what else do you have to say? Earlier, if I had been too slow to react and take on this secret weapon of yours by force, I would have gotten stuck inside. Hey, hey. No matter how you cut it, I had contributed a lot in our escape plan,” said Chen Feng with a sneer.

It had truly been dangerous. Earlier, Chen Feng had wanted to take the incoming Lightning Thunder Pearl head-on with his palm. It was only during the most critical juncture that alarm bells began roaring in his mind. Thus, Chen Feng had instead utilized the Longevity Tower to create a powerful capturing force. This capturing force had once sucked in that Purplebolt Silverlight Wyrm, a Great Yao. And so, before Chen Feng could even identify what that chilling light shooting towards him was, that item had been sucked into the Longevity Tower.

Facing Chen Feng’s question and the contemptuous looks from the other cultivators, Elegant Gentleman responded with a harrumph. He said nothing and walked to the side.

As Chen Feng had chosen not to continue fighting, Evil Moon Grotto Master chose not to continue as well. Originally, he thought that he had seen through all of Chen Feng’s abilities. However, Chen Feng’s ability to casually seize the Lightning Thunder Pearl had caused Evil Moon Grotto Master to grow wary. He was the one who secretly gave Elegant Gentleman the Lightning Thunder Pearl after all. Thus, the weapon contained a strand of Evil Moon Grotto Master’s divine sense. Unexpectedly, the pearl suddenly disappeared just now. At the same time, Evil Moon Grotto Master lost his connection with the Lightning Thunder Pearl. That incident brought dread to Evil Moon Grotto Master’s heart and was also the reason why he had chosen not to attack.

What is going on? Could there be an expert hiding beside this kid? Or perhaps, this kid possesses an even stronger magic treasure? Evil Moon Grotto Master revealed a calm exterior. However, his mind was continuously firing off a constant mess of speculations.

Cultivators who could cultivate up to his level – especially those from the unorthodox path –share one common trait. Overly cautious. Without a sufficient level of assurance, they will not have the courage to take action. Should they end up getting wounded, others would plunder the burning house and take advantage of them. It was a thought process shared by all cultivators without a powerful backer.

“All right. Let’s just end this matter here. Truth be told, I don’t mind if you fellows want to kill each other. However, you would do well to inspect our current situation before that,” Mo Ji’s calm voice rang out again.

“Roar!”

“Roar!”

“Roar!”

Following Mo Ji’s words, low guttural roars spread towards them from afar. It was both oppressive and thunderous, like a huge drum blaring out continuously. It contained killing intent, bloodthirstiness and a towering desire for battle. Hearing those roars gave the cultivators a feeling of suffocation and their blood energy began roiling.

One by one, large humanoid monsters roared as they leapt towards the crowd of cultivators.

“Those are demonic humans!” Even without that, everyone there had recognized what those monsters were.

They were once cultivators who had entered this place. Due to the invasion of the demonic energy within Demon Soul Valley, the cultivators were transformed into these terrifying demonic humans.

Demonic humans possessed no cognitive skills, no freedom of thought. All they possessed was the desire to kill. Additionally, due to the invasion of the demonic energy, their fleshly body had become astonishingly powerful. Some of the more high-level demonic humans could even attain magical abilities.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each of the demonic humans charging towards them had a height of three metres and their entire body had become grey in colour. They looked as though they were carved out from stone. Their arms were incomparably thick and their nails were as sharp as flying swords. Every muscle on their bodies swelled up and tough muscular structures could be seen from head to toe. Every time they leapt; they would leave a small crater on the ground while creating a dull thudding sound. Every jump took them tens of metres forward. They kept leaping forward and the speed at which they were approaching was comparable to that of a cultivator riding his flying sword.

“Although those demonic humans are powerful, they lack cognitive abilities. That is also their weakness,” said Mo Ji calmly as she pulled out her blood-coloured lance.

“Are all of them lacking in cognitive abilities?” Lu Ta could not help but ask.

“If a demonic human with cognitive abilities appear, we’ll have to escape on our own,” replied Mo Ji coolly. The blood-coloured lance in her hand transformed into a bloody beam of light as it shot out.

Bang!

One of the demonic humans was immediately torn apart by the impact. However, it seemingly did nothing to lessen the momentum behind the lance, which continued to charge towards the other demonic humans like a huge, blood-coloured dragon.

Bang! Bang Bang!

The blood-coloured lance continued to smash its way through and one demonic human after another blew up in its wake. By the time the lance transformed into a bloody stream of light to flow back into Mo Ji’s hand, 13 demonic humans had been reduced to pieces.

“The only way to deal with these demonic humans is to break them to pieces. They are monsters without cognitive abilities who only know carnage. Even if you cut off their arms or legs, they will continue attacking,” said Mo Ji.

Shua!

A small flying sword shot out rapidly to decapitate one of the demonic humans’ head. Sword beams intersected and the demonic human’s head was cut into pieces. Then, its large body slowly slumped onto the ground.

“Ha ha ha, these demonic humans are too weak. As long as we cut off their heads, they are done,” said one of the younger cultivators with a laugh.

Pa!

A snapping sound rang out and the young cultivator’s words abruptly came to a halt. A steel-like hand had grabbed hold of his flying sword. Despite shooting out powerful sword beams, it was still incapable of escaping. It was as though the hand was carved from the toughest metal. 

“Roar!”

A large demonic human, the one grabbing hold of the flying sword, rapidly descended upon the young cultivator. Its large hand swung out swiftly and the young cultivator was sent flying before he could even react. As his body was flying through the sky, the bones within his body shattered. After falling, he could no longer get up.

Kacha!

The large hand tightened its grip and the flying sword in its grip instantly burst apart, reduced to fragments.

Sou! Sou! Sou!

The charging demonic humans sped up. They howled continuously as they threw themselves upon a group of cultivators with utter disregard for their own lives.

The two sides finally met. It resembled two mighty waves smashing into each other, causing water spouts to rise high into the sky.

What an amazing speed! What a tough hand! To think it could catch and break a flying sword. That flying sword just now is a grade 4 Magic artefact. The cultivator killed with just one swing was at level 4 of the Concealed stage. Chen Feng was shocked.

Even before having to face the demonic humans, Chen Feng knew that those monsters were not easy opponents. Should he get hit by their attacks, he would surely suffer from broken bones.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

The cultivators there knew they were in a disadvantage in terms of the strength of their fleshly bodies. Thus, they instantly brought out their most powerful magic treasures, utilizing them to fight off the demonic humans.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

A flying sword was continuously hacking down on a demonic human’s body. However, in addition to creating the sounds of metals colliding, all it could do was to leave cut wounds – with a depth of less than one inch – on the demonic human’s body.

Bang!

The demonic human’s large fist quickly shot out to destroy the flying sword. Next, its sharp nails pierced right into the cultivator’s chest. Warm blood gushed out to scatter upon the hard ground.

“This is one of the most dangerous existences within Demon Soul Valley. Cultivators who choose to risk their lives by venturing into this place will be killed by the occasional demonic humans. Either that or be transformed into demonic humans themselves. They will lose their original nature and be reduced into killing machines for all time,” lamented the old cultivator.