Everlasting

 

By now, Chen Feng had left several wounds on the Phantom Beast’s body and black-coloured blood kept trickling out from them. The wounds were all the work of the Overwhelming Astral Sword. Although the demonic beast’s defence was incredibly tough, it was insufficient. How could it take on the might of a Prized artefact?

“Still not going to submit?” Chen Feng barked.

“You humans only know how to rely on the power of your weapons. If you have what it takes, come fight me with your bare hands,” the Phantom Beast said unyieldingly. During their fight, the Phantom Beast had attempted to turn invisible and hide itself but it was still found out by Chen Feng.

Kacha!

One of the hard bone spikes protruding tall from the Phantom Beast’s body was cut down. Immediately, the aura coming from the Phantom Beast’s body declined.

“Oh, I get it now. It turns out those bone spikes are your sources of strength. Say, if I cut out all the bone spikes on you, what will happen?” Chen Feng said with a smile.

Hearing those words, the Phantom Beast panicked. It began releasing a series of strange sounds.

Hearing that, Chen Feng thought that it was talking with the language of the Demon Plane.

“Kid, it is calling for its companions,” Tower warned him.

“Calling its companions? Could there be more Phantom Beasts and Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters here?” Chen Feng was shocked.

“Of course. I also know that you are being followed,” Tower laughed.

“What? Someone is following me? Why did you say anything?” Chen Feng grew displeased.

“Why should I tell you?” Tower said as a matter-of-factly.

“It seems I have to hurry up and deal with this Phantom Beast.” The power emanating from the Overwhelming Astral Sword then abruptly grew before smashing the Phantom Beast down, knocking it unconscious. Next, with a grasping motion, Chen Feng brought the Phantom Beast into the Longevity Tower where it was then suppressed.

He had only just incarcerated the Phantom Beast when he sensed a number of ferocious and bloodthirsty auras rapidly approaching his position.

“There are so many Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters!” Chen Feng was finally shocked. Chen Feng’s senses informed him that there were at least 10 Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters around him.

Chen Feng felt somewhat thankful. If several more Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters had appeared last night, all of the Extreme Celestial Sect disciples in the little town would likely have died.

Could there be a passageway into the Demon Plane here? Chen Feng thought to himself while bringing out Bloody Soul. As Bloody Soul was a demonic artefact, it should be more effective against the demonic beasts.

Sou! Sou!

Two Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters pounced upon Chen Feng at the same time, their sharp fangs and searing claws, which glistened with an icy light, cut through the air to release a whistling sound.

Chi!

Chen Feng’s figure flashed and dodged diagonally. Next, the Bloody Soul in his hand transformed into a beam of bloody light, which shot towards one of the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters.

Although Chen Feng was still incapable of unleashing Bloody Soul’s full power, Bloody Soul itself was of a high grade. The moment Chen Feng utilized it, it radiated a ferocious and bloodthirsty aura and the devilish and overbearing impression common to demonic artefacts.

Puchi!

The lance easily pierced through one of the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters. Immediately after that, Chen Feng could feel a powerful suction force coming out from Bloody Soul as the blood essence of the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunter rapidly flowed out. In the blink of an eye, its blood had been completely drained. The Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunter who was used to draining humans of their blood was instead drained of its blood, transformed into a dried-up corpse as a result.

Shocked, Chen Feng gaped at the scene.

It was not due to Bloody Soul’s blood sucking ability. Rather, it was what happened when the bloody lance was about to strike the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunter. The ferocious demonic beast had actually flinched in obvious terror. It was that moment of hesitation which allowed Chen Feng to stab it to death.

Hu!

It wasn’t until strong winds blew against Chen Feng from every direction did he recollect himself. He understood that now was not the time to be stunned. Bloody Soul whirled in a circle around Chen Feng. After absorbing the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunter’s blood, Bloody Soul became even more violent. It felt like someone who was recovering his strength.

Sensing Bloody Soul’s aura, the group of Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters revealed looks of fear. Two of them ended up halting their advance. 

Puchi! Puchi!

A series of stabbing sounds could be heard as two more Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters were stabbed in the heart.

The blood essence of two more demonic beasts was devoured and Chen Feng could feel Bloody Soul vibrating fiercely in his grip. Wave after wave of bloodthirsty thoughts assailed his sea of wisdom, causing him to enter a rampaging state.

Bang!

Suddenly, a tough fist charged out from the air to heavily smash into Chen Feng’s shoulder. Chen Feng, who had entered a rampaging state, did not avoid the attack. Although the several insight acupoints in his body had automatically opened up to exert a suction force upon it, they were still incapable of fully resolving the force invading his body.

Kacha! Kacha!

Chen Feng felt half his body going numb. He could even hear the sounds of his bones cracking coming from his shoulder.

Pu!

The might behind the punch caused Chen Feng to spray out a mouthful of blood. He quickly used Bloody Soul to stab backwards.

Unfortunately, it only stabbed thin air.

This is bad. There are Phantom Beasts hiding in the dark again. Chen Feng’s heart thumped.

For Chen Feng, facing these Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters openly was not terrifying. However, facing the cloaked Phantom Beasts that could launch a sneak attack against him at any moment was. 

Despite having Bloody Soul to help him improve his combat prowess, the fight was still a bloody one for Chen Feng. The sneak attacks from the Phantom Beasts caused his abilities to decline. Every now and again, one of the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters would find the opportunity to leave a wound on him. At the same time, a strand of demonic energy would flow into his body through the wound.

Such an issue would have been very problematic for other cultivators. For Chen Feng, who could refine and absorb demonic energy, it was not an issue at all. He rapidly refined the demonic energy in his body and broke through the encirclement.

Chen Feng had discovered something unfavourable. The surrounding Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters were beginning to howl like wolves. Chen Feng quickly understood what they were up to. They were summoning even more of their companions.

These fellows are so bloodthirsty. Even if I survive their encirclement, I will be terribly wounded, Chen Feng thought.

He began utilizing his one multitasking mind technique. He brandished Bloody Soul to constantly unleash formidable attacks while his divine sense controlled the Overwhelming Astral Sword and two other grade 5 flying swords to attack his enemies.

Utilizing this strategy, Chen Feng was able to, step by step, make his way out. By then, Zhao Qiang and Ma Wu had already discovered Chen Feng. They were hiding in the dark as they observed Chen Feng’s battle with the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters.

The two Extreme Celestial Sect disciples were so shocked, their mouths were left wide open for the longest time.

“Am I hallucinating? Is that our sect’s outer disciple?” said a shocked Ma Wu.

“This kid is truly a spy. It turns out he has always been hiding his strength,” Zhao Qiang said with a sneer.

“It seems your intel is correct. This kid must have a reason for entering our sect. Did you see that? The lance in his hand is a Prized artefact. Besides, one of the flying swords is also a Prized artefact. Two Prized artefacts. Just what does that mean?” Ma Wu’s eyes were somewhat bloodshot.

“Prized artefacts are scarce even amongst our sect’s elite disciples. For this kid to be in possession of two, how enviable.” Zhao Qiang felt a slight itchiness in his throat.

“Two Prized artefacts. Thankfully, the two of us followed him today and could discover this matter.” Ma Wu glanced at Zhao Qiang.

“If we possess a Prized artefact, we should be able to compete with elite disciples, no?” Zhao Qiang licked his lips.

“Absolutely. Perhaps, we can even exchange a few blows with core disciples.” Ma Wu’s eyes shone.

“If so, we don’t need to rush out first. We’ll wait until they are done fighting.” The two of them exchanged glances. Having come to a conclusion, they secretly chased after Chen Feng.

Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

Chen Feng unleashed his full power, killing three Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters in a row with his stabs. As for Bloody Soul, it absorbed all of their blood. The Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters had always shown dread towards Bloody Soul’s aura. Seeing Chen Feng’s savagery, they took a few steps back, giving him the opportunity he needed. Like an arrow, his figure shot forward.

Sou! Sou!

Seeing Chen Feng attempting to vault into the sky, the Phantom Beasts lurking around attacked once more. This time, two of them attacked simultaneously.

“Hey, I was waiting for you fellows,” Chen Feng said with a sneer. Layer after layer of thick astral energy flowed out from Chen Feng’s body to protect his back. At the same time, the Overwhelming Astral Sword thrummed. In a flash, tens of sword beams shot out, each possessing the power to kill an heir disciple. This was an attack that Chen Feng had been preparing from the beginning.

Bang! Bang!

Two forceful fists smashed against Chen Feng’s back while the sword beams sent out by the Overwhelming Astral Sword blew up the two invisible Phantom Beasts.

Chen Feng’s figure was blasted into the sky like an artillery blast. Next, the Overwhelming Astral Sword swiftly expanded in size to bring Chen Feng with it as it disappeared into the sky. All that remained were the Demonic Bloodthirsty Hunters on the ground, who kept howling out.

“Damn! That fellow is escaping,” Ma Wu cried out in shock.

“No worries. It would have been harder for us if he failed to escape. Now is the time for us to take action,” Zhao Qiang replied with a sneer.

…

Chen Feng kept flying, covering a distance of 800 li before landing in a tranquil valley (1 li = 0.5 km).

“Huh! My injuries this time are quite severe.” Chen Feng lay on a smooth piece of rock. He did not hastily went about taking care of his wounds. Instead, he gasped for breath. He’d not had to fight such a tough battle for a while now. His body and heart were exhausted. It felt like that one time where he was chased by a mad dog through three streets. 

Gusts of cool wind blew and Chen Feng felt refreshed somewhat. However, the winds quickly became tempestuous in nature. Only then did Chen Feng realize the dark clouds covering the sky. A storm was coming.

Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!

In the end, snake-like bolts of lightning streaked through the dark clouds, raging ceaselessly in the sky. It felt as though the lightning bolts were attempting to tear the sky.

Hua! Hua! Hua! Hua! Hua!

The storm finally came. In the beginning, there were just large raindrops falling. Later, they transformed into lines of water. The torrential rain finally arrived.

Thankfully, there was an ancient tree beside Chen Feng. It was one that required two people to wrap around, possessing a thick canopy of branches and foliage the size of a small courtyard. Thus, it was able to block off the heavy rain.

Listening to the roars of the pouring rain around him, Chen Feng instead felt the whole world going quiet. He silently felt the wounds on his body. They were in the process of healing up. Occasionally, several raindrops would fall upon his face, causing him to recall the time he was struck by lightning.

That day, a storm was also raging and lightning bolts kept rampaging through the violent weather. Back then, he was just a weak little boy who had charged into the pouring rain alone. In a small valley within the outskirts of Black Origin Mountain Range, he had stood before an ancient tree as thick as this one. There, he was struck unconscious by a lightning bolt. When he woke up, he realized that a world-shaking change had happened to his body. He had gained the ability to practice the Longevity Scripture, awakened the Longevity Tower and shed off the title of ‘trash’, allowing him to come all this way. 

Chen Feng had entered a deep state of contemplation. In the face of the tempestuous storm, Chen Feng felt no dread at all. Instead, it brought him into a thoughtful state.

The thick branches and leaves were finally incapable of stopping the descent of the rain and droplets of rainwater began making their way through the leaves to fall upon Chen Feng’s face.

Chen Feng ignored that and simply allowed the cold rainwater to fall upon his body. Finally, he slowly sat up, moved slightly and leaned slightly against the surface of the thick tree.

“Huh! You fellows are finally here.” Looking at the two fellows standing before him, Chen Feng exhaled lightly.