Everlasting

Originally, Tower had wanted to fly out and help Chen Feng deal with the crisis. However, seeing the sudden change in circumstances, he hid the Longevity Tower back in to observe what would happen next.

“That isn’t right. Mo Ji and the geezer didn’t manage to get to the top. Did the talisman up there activate by itself?” said Chen Feng, who was feeling puzzled.

“That is not it. Other cultivators have come, and they are experts to boot. Ha ha ha! We have a show now,” Tower suddenly laughed out.

“What? Other cultivators? What level are they at?” Chen Feng was shocked.

“To be able to reach the top of the mountain, they must have at least four or five Lightning Tribulations under their belt. Just observe,” Tower said.

“Who?” The Nine-tailed Fox roared and the aura of a Yao King surged forward, forcing Chen Feng and the others to back away.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! To think that there could be a sealed Nine-tailed Fox here! However, you only have six tails now. You have lost the power of a Yao King. It seems today is our lucky day.” A domineering and unrestrained voice rang out from the top of the mountain.

“It’s him?” Xiao Yin was shocked.

By then, the golden light shining atop the mountain had faded to reveal two cultivators hovering above the mountaintop. One of them wore robes with voluminous sleeves. He was the very same cultivator they had encountered when they entered Demon Soul Valley, the one who had used his sleeve to suck in the swarm of Bloodthirsty Poison Bees.

The other cultivator wore white robes while sporting a high coronet. A white sword hung from his straight waist. Even from afar, they could feel his elegant and lofty temperament.

Those two are really powerful. They could actually hover in the air there! Chen Feng was further shocked.

“I can’t even determine how strong they are. They must have overcome at least five Lightning Tribulations,” Tower said.

“Careful, someone is launching a sneak attack,” Tower continued.

Two astral blades shot out like lightning towards Chen Feng, intending to take his life.

I cannot take them head on. Chen Feng’s heart thumped and beam after beam of longevity-type primary energy shot out from his body, intersecting one another to form a net, which blocked off the incoming astral swords. 

Shua! Shua!

The two astral swords ripped Chen Feng’s net as though it was withered twigs. Next, a thick earthen wall rose up to block off the two astral swords.

“You have a death wish? You dare launch a sneak attack on me?” Chen Feng waved his hand and the Overwhelming Astral Sword shot out with lightning-like speed towards the two bodyguards who were attacking him.

“What are you fellows doing? Have you gone mad?” The old cultivator was also ambushed by the other two bodyguards.

Mo Ji and the elder, on the other hand, did not do anything. They simply stood at the side as they looked at the top of the mountain, a serious expression on each of their faces. They were awaiting the Nine-tailed Fox’s orders.

The Overwhelming Astral Sword smashed two astral blades in quick succession, but the two bodyguards did not retreat. Instead, they kept moving forward. The blades in their hands flashed out and blade energy surged forward as they hacked down upon Chen Feng once more.

“These two blade users have already condensed out their Soulflames. Honestly, their cultivation bases are higher than yours’. Moreover, the astral blades they condensed out are fierce. They have even merged some of their lifebound essence into those blades. If not for the fact that you have a Prized artefact as a means of protection, just one of them is enough to kill you,” Tower said with an amused tone.

As they were engaged in battle, the two cultivators hovering above the mountain made their move. It was unknown just what one of them did, but the entire mountain, 1,000 zhang in height, suddenly shook. It appeared as though it might be uprooted at any moment (1 zhang = 3.333 m).

“Doing this, are they not afraid that this fire fox will go free?” Chen Feng grew perplexed.

“As long as the suppressing talisman atop this mountain remains, this mountain cannot be destroyed. Those two must be here for the talisman. A talisman that can seal a Yao King is definitely an extraordinary item,” Tower said.

A constant stream of weapons, formed from soundwaves coming out of Xiao Yin’s mouth, shot towards the four bodyguards. Xiao Yin had joined the battle as well.

Chen Feng wielded a Prized artefact in his hand while Xiao Yin and the old cultivator possessed high cultivation bases. Although the four bodyguards were powerful, in the face of Chen Feng’s team of three, they were forced to retreat again and again.

“Enough, stop it,” Mo Ji finally said.

Hearing Mo Ji’s words, the four bodyguards instantly stopped what they were doing to quickly back away, returning to Mo Ji and the elder’s side to stand guard.

“What do we do? Should we use this opportunity to try and leave this place?” Xiao Yin said with a slight tone of fear as he regarded the massive fox yao before him.

In the beginning, they had over 100 cultivators with them as they entered Demon Soul Valley. In the end, only a handful of them had survived. Even so, the situation appeared quite dangerous for this handful of survivors. They might lose their lives the very next moment.

“We do need to leave. However, we will need to find a passageway in order to do so,” Chen Feng said solemnly.

“Careful! Hurry up and back away.” The old cultivator’s face sank and he hastily distanced himself far away from the place.

A raging swirl of flames was perpetually discharging out from the Nine-tailed Fox’s body. It quickly formed an endless sea of flames.

Those newcomers’ objective was to take away the talisman and the Sacred artefact atop the mountain, items which were suppressing the Nine-tailed Fox. However, the Nine-tailed Fox did not feel pleased.

A vast amount of fire-type power mixed with potent yao energy kept charging out from the fire fox, causing the mountain to shake at an even greater magnitude.

However, Chen Feng and the others noticed a peculiar phenomenon. The more the mountain shook, the more intense the light flowing out from the top of the mountain became. As they continued observing the mountain, they noticed flowing water upon the surface of the mountain.

More importantly, the ground too, had begun quaking violently. Even the surrounding space had begun folding upon itself.

“Could it be we have to destroy this space in order to get out?” Chen Feng could not stop himself from muttering.

“The talisman, the Sacred artefact, they may be suppressing me, but that does not mean you outsiders may take it away! The day I go free is the day those two items become mine!” The Nine-tailed Fox roared loudly and its six tails elongated. As swift as the wind, they then transformed into six pillars of fire, which blasted towards the two cultivators hovering atop the mountain.

Every one of the fire pillars could destroy mountains and put an end to rivers. However, in face of the attack, the two cultivators remained immobile. They continued to hover above the mountain with a faint grin on their faces as they regarded the incoming attack.

As the six pillars of fire were about to hit the two cultivators, a palm-sized, cyan-coloured talisman, pasted on the mountaintop, suddenly flashed out an intense light. Next, water flowed out from the cyan-coloured talisman.

The talisman was small and the amount of water flowing out appeared little. However, every drop from the flowing water abruptly exploded and streams of water surged out. In but the blink of an eye, a Heavenly river had seemingly appeared there. Turbulent torrents of water descended from the sky to engulf the six flaming tails that the Nine-tailed Fox had unleashed.

“Argh! It’s the blessed waters. It’s the damned Blessed Water Talisman!” The Nine-tailed Fox roared in rage.

The six wild and ferocious flame tails immediately shrank, returning to its original form. However, they were drenched in water. Even the flames discharging from the Nine-tailed Fox’s body were bursting and flickering non-stop. It seemed as though they might become extinguished at any moment.

After the Blessed Water Talisman unleashed its prowess, something else happened. Not too far away from the talisman was a square-shaped seal imbedded into the mountaintop. Two words can be seen on the surface of the seal: Mountainguard Seal.

Bwong!

Chen Feng and the others, who were thousands of metres away from the spot, had watched as the torrents of water crashed down earlier. It felt to them as though the entire universe was falling. Immediately after that, a colossal magic seal stamp began forming atop the 1,000-zhang tall mountain. Although it was only an illusionary silhouette, the powerful emanations coming from it struck fear into the hearts of Chen Feng and the rest. It felt as though it could suppress the lands.

“What kind of magic seal is this? It is so powerful, over 100 times more powerful compared to Evil Moon Grotto Master’s Sky Toppling Seal,” Chen Feng exclaimed, his heart throbbing.

“One hundred times? The way I see it, it is at least 1,000 times stronger,” Xiao Yin shouted back.

“That is a Sacred artefact while the dead fellow’s Sky Toppling Seal is only a Prized artefact. The two simply cannot be put on the same pedestal,” the old cultivator said with a tone of contempt.

“I think we should back up some more.” Mo Xigui had, at an unknown moment, moved close to them. 

Boom!

The illusionary and colossal magic seal abruptly smashed down and the shaking mountain became like a nail pummelled down by a sledgehammer.

The shaking mountain fell silent, nailed into the ground without deviating in the slightest. However, the mighty force from the collision created potent shockwaves, which spread out like hurricanes into its surroundings.

The ground around the mountain was shocked to the point of rising into the air. Layer after layer, they were all swept up as they swirled into the surrounding areas.

Ptong! Ptong! Ptong! Ptong!

Chen Feng and the others, who were over 1,000 metres away, were sent flying in a wretched manner by the mighty shockwaves. Tumbling through the ground, they were all covered in soil and dirt. They cut quite the wretched sight.

Still, the one who suffered the most was not Chen Feng’s group. Rather, it was the one suppressed beneath the ground, the Nine-tailed Fox. Empowered by the Sacred artefact, Mountainguard Seal, the mountain then hammered down heavily upon the Nine-tailed Fox’s body. That move nearly knocked it unconscious.

“Aargh! How infuriating! Blessed Water Talisman, Mountainguard Seal! You two have suppressed me for over 3,000 years! Is it still not enough?!” The Nine-tailed Fox roared again and again. Its deafening roars contained a feeling of resentment, one accumulated through millenniums.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Nine-tailed Fox, you had once been an invincible Yao King in the past. How could someone like you lose your dignity? Don’t be anxious. Just wait as we take away the Blessed Water Talisman and Mountainguard Seal. Then, you will be able to free yourself. When you look at it this way, you should be thankful to us, otherwise you would have to continue this suppressed life for several thousand years more. When your powers have depleted, even some random cultivators could kill you and turn your body into materials.” The tall cultivator in black voluminous robes laughed loudly.

“Who are you people? How did you know I am suppressed here?” The Nine-tailed Fox’s voice gradually grew calm, but the constant and violent bursts of flames discharging from its body revealed that this Yao King was still in a state of rage.

“I am Sage Ironsleeve and this is Sage Whitelake. After you escape, if you want to come find us, the two of us will take you on at any time. At present, however, your strength has seriously declined. You will probably require close to a hundred years to regain the realm of nine tails. Ha ha ha ha! We will not hold back today.” Sage Ironsleeve laughed out again.

“Sage Whitelake? That is a senior from my Sword Hall!” Mo Xigui suddenly exclaimed, a look of excitement appearing within his eyes.

“Oh?”

The handsome, middle-aged man in white robes and a white sword hanging from his waist seemingly heard Mo Xigui’s words. Turning around, his gaze pierced through the various folds of space to rest upon Mo Xigui.

Instantly, Mo Xigui felt the gaze piercing his whole body. The gale-type sword energy he cultivated circulated beyond his control, seemingly about to burst out from his body at any moment.