Everlasting

 

“That’s a Sky Human expert from Nine Firmaments Palace!” someone near Chen Feng whispered.

Another young cultivator appeared. There was an indistinct sword energy hidden within his body. He was none other than a member of Sword Hall.

One by one, more cultivators appeared. Wearing the same cyan-coloured clothes, they were all Sky Human stage cultivators from the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects. Due to the appearance of Driftcloud Immortal Mountain, many Concealed stage cultivators had come, but there were also a considerable number of Sky Human stage cultivators amongst them who were hiding in the dark. 

At present though, something terrible had occurred, resulting in the deaths of their sect’s disciples. There was no way these seniors could stand by and do nothing.

Chen Feng’s eyes suddenly lit up. A young woman in white was descending from the sky. She possessed a slender figure and a nebulous aura surrounded her body, which shone with a faint light. As Chen Feng’s cultivation base was much higher than the past, he could now see her white and slender neck and waists.

It’s Bai Ziyan. Chen Feng’s heart skipped a beat, a look of pleasant surprise flashing across his eyes.

“Miss Bai, you are here as well.” Someone from the group of Sky Human stage cultivators greeted her. Given their status, there was naturally no need for them to greet her as ‘Sage’.

“It’s Sage Moonbow.” By then, Luo Mingdao had come to stand beside Chen Feng.

She is here as well. Is she here for Driftcloud Immortal Mountain? Chen Feng pondered.

After the Sky Human stage cultivators appeared, the other cultivators who were observing the situation distanced themselves from the spot where the Sky Human stage cultivators were congregating. Only disciples from the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects with higher cultivation bases would step forward to greet them.

“Men in purple clothes and an overpowering eye technique. They are likely not disciples from our Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects. They might have come from other places, like the Central Plains or the Eastern Provinces.”

“I don’t think so. I think they are probably not Sky Human stage cultivators.”

“There are clear traces of spatial power here. Besides, they can also block the attacks from so many Prized artefacts at the same time. Who else can accomplish something like that if not Sky Human stage cultivators?”

“Earlier, you fellows mentioned that their eyes are purple in colour?” asked the cultivator from Nine Firmaments Palace.

“That is right, they are purple in colour. Furthermore, even their attacks have a purple colour,” replied some of the cultivators who had attacked the purple-robed men earlier.

“I remember something.” A grim look appeared on the Nine Firmaments Palace cultivator’s face. At the same time, though, there was a hidden emotion of excitement.

“They are not Sky Human stage cultivators. They cannot have gone far. I will give chase.” After saying that, the body of the cultivator from Nine Firmaments Palace transformed into a stream of light and disappeared from sight.

“It seems Sage Fireflow knows something?”

“Come! Let’s search around. We cannot allow either the two purple-robed men or the three young cultivators they captured to get away from us.”

The Sky Human stage cultivators possessed high cultivation bases. Some of them utilized body movement techniques to transform into streams of light before disappearing from sight while others simply tore open space to jump through space itself. It did not take long for most of the Sky Human stage cultivators to disappear.

It was then that Bai Ziyan suddenly sensed a familiar sensation of someone watching her. Glancing around once, she quickly noticed Chen Feng, who was within the crowd. Her figure flew gracefully to appear before Chen Feng.

“Why are you here?” Bai Ziyan asked with a smile.

Seeing Bai Ziyan approaching a nameless kid, everyone there revealed puzzled looks. When they saw her talking to Chen Feng with a smile, they grew stunned. Even Luo Mingdao had a look of shock on his face as he wondered how those two were related.

“Should I call you Senior Sister now, or Sage Moonbow?” Chen Feng asked with a smile.

“So, you have joined Extreme Celestial Sect. It has only been a while since we last met but the rate at which your cultivation base is improving seems a little too fast.” There was an astonished look in Bai Ziyan’s eyes as she carefully regarded Chen Feng. She had never imagined that Chen Feng’s cultivation base could rise so quickly.

With enough spirit-type medicinal pills and spiritual energy, increasing one’s cultivation base was a simple matter. However, cultivating Soulflame was much harder. The first time she encountered Chen Feng, he had only just cultivated up to the Concealed stage. Unexpectedly, the second time she met him, he had already condensed out his Soulflame. Now, his Soulflame burned vigorously, having reached a highly tangible state.

“I was just lucky. This time, I followed Senior Brother Luo out for the inner disciple’s promotion task,” said Chen Feng with a smile.

“Inner disciple?” Bai Ziyan cast a curious stare at Chen Feng.

“You are currently even stronger than some heir disciples. Why bother staying at the inner disciple rank? Why don’t you come to my Moonbow Summit to cultivate?” Bai Ziyan said.

“Moonbow Summit.”

Hearing that, Luo Mingdao, who was beside Chen Feng, immediately revealed a look of envy. That was a mountain for elite disciples. The spiritual energy there was far thicker compared to his mountain residence.

“I have not been cultivating long enough and my cultivation base is not high enough. I have to take it step by step,” Chen Feng replied with a smile.

“Very well. I am going to go chase after the two purple-robed men now. If anything happens in the future, you can go to Moonbow Summit. This is my token.” Bai Ziyan waved her hand and a palm-sized token – its surface flowing with light – appeared in Chen Feng’s hand.

“Prized artefact!” Chen Feng was shocked. He did not expect such an inconspicuous-looking token to be a Prized artefact.

It wasn’t until Bai Ziyan had left did Chen Feng recollect himself. Seeing the envious looks all around him, he kept the token.

“It seems you have quite a close relationship with Sage Moonbow. I will be heading to the immortal mountain to have a look now. Are you two coming?” Luo Mingdao asked with a smile.

“Forget it. We’ll just watch from afar.” Chen Feng laughed.

Half a day later, Luo Mingdao returned, his whole body stained with blood. Chen Feng and Lu Ta had observed it all. Luo Mingdao had attempted to attack the immortal mountain earlier only for the Driftcloud Immortal Light’s counter attack to send him flying through a distance of over 50 kilometres. The fact that he could survive that was a blessing.

“I think we should return to the sect,” Luo Mingdao said with a bitter smile.

Chen Feng and Lu Ta only came here because of Luo Mingdao to begin with. They had no desire to throw their lives away by going into the immortal mountain. Thus, when they heard Luo Mingdao said that, they agreed.

Although it was a long way back, the three of them were able to quickly return thanks to the existence of teleportation arrays. Luo Mingdao led them through some formal procedures before finally bringing them over to the inner disciples’ zone.

At that moment, the two of them had become inner disciples. It was only natural for them to stop staying in the outer disciples’ zone.

The outer disciples’ mountain residences were 100 zhang tall each. Moreover, each mountain was shared between 10 disciples. The environment and spiritual energy there were no match for the mountain residences of inner disciples.

The inner disciples’ mountain residences were several hundred zhang tall. Some could go up to over a thousand zhang. Each mountain covered a large area, with its own fertile lands for growing medicinal herbs. With the abundance of spiritual energy and beautiful scenery, it was one level above the outer disciples’ mountain residences.

On their way there, they would occasionally encounter some inner disciples. When they saw what was happening, they all felt surprised. Everyone there knew Luo Mingdao. He was an elite disciple from the sect who was supposedly on the verge of breaking through to the Sky Human stage. To think that someone like him would personally escort two newcomers to their mountain residence. They cast curious stares at Chen Feng and Lu Ta while secretly guessing their identities.

Luo Mingdao led Chen Feng and Lu Ta until they arrived before a mountain. The mountain was at least 600 zhang tall and its peak pierced the clouds. There were several lesser mountains around it. Rare trees grew on the surface of the mountain while stretches of medicinal herbs could be seen growing in the valley. There was an abundance of spiritual energy there while the herbal scent gave off an inviting quality. Even before entering the mountain area, Chen Feng could feel his spirits rising.

“It is normally five people per mountain for inner disciples. However, you two are acquainted with Sage Moonbow while Junior Brother Chen’s cultivation base is high enough to pass as an heir disciple. Thus, this mountain will be for just the two of you,” Luo Mingdao said with a smile.

Chen Feng and Lu Ta exchanged glances. Naturally, they understood what was going on. The so-called rules about cultivation bases and whatnot were in fact nothing in front of someone like Luo Mingdao.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Luo.” Chen Feng gave his thanks.

As the three of them were about to enter the mountain, however, three other cultivators swiftly descended from above that very mountain. Before arriving at the mountain, the three cultivators released a provocative aura towards Chen Feng’s group.

“Oh? There are some people here,” Chen Feng said in a hushed tone before turning to look at Luo Mingdao. 

Luo Mingdao furrowed his brows. With a wave of his hand, a soft force spread towards the three cultivators who were descending on the mountain.

Deng! Deng! Deng!

After landing, the three cultivators stumbled and their faces turned red. One of them nearly fell on the ground. It was an extremely miserable sight.

“Who do you think you are? You dare attack us?!” one of them shouted as he pointed at Luo Mingdao.

“Humph!”

Luo Mingdao’s face grew ugly to behold. He did not expect something like this could happen. Turning to look at Chen Feng and Lu Ta, he felt as though someone just slapped his face.

“Pu!”

With a grunt, the cultivator who was pointing at Luo Mingdao staggered backwards while spraying out a mouthful of blood.

Chen Feng and Lu Ta simply stood by and watched on the side lines. Chen Feng had already recognized one of them. It was none other than Zhao Quan, who had a beef with them. Meeting him here was a surprise. Additionally, they even ended up getting into a conflict.

“So, it is Senior Brother Luo. Junior’s name is Zhao Quan. My brother is Zhao Hai.” Zhao Quan, who recognized Luo Mingdao, quickly stopped the other cultivator who was planning to attack.

There were many disciples in Extreme Celestial Sect. Forget the outer, inner and heir disciples. Even the number of elite disciples was high. It was only natural for the inner disciples to not recognize Luo Mingdao. However, the situation was different with Zhao Quan. He was someone with a formidable backing and possessed more experience compared to the average disciple. He had even met some of the higher-ranking people within the sect. Luo Mingdao just so happened to be one of them.

“So, you are Zhao Hai’s little brother. What were you fellows trying to do earlier?” said Luo Mingdao as he looked at the three of them.

“He he, Senior Brother Luo, my brother has taken this mountain,” Zhao Quan said respectfully.

“Zhao Hai did? He is already an elite disciple. Why would he want this mountain?” asked Luo Mingdao, who raised his brows.

“I do not know,” Zhao Quan answered with a smile.

Truth be told, the mountain belonged to someone else. However, that person had recently been promoted to heir disciple. Naturally, he would not be staying here anymore. Zhao Hai was someone with quite the sway amongst the inner disciples. He had taken in a few subordinates and thus prepared this mountain for his subordinates.

Normally, seeing as Luo Mingdao was also an elite disciple, Zhao Quan would not offend him. However, after reaching the mountain, Zhao Quan saw Chen Feng and Lu Ta. That was the reason behind their move earlier.

1 li = 0.5 km

1 zhang = 3.333 m