Everlasting

 

Seeing the three of them beg for mercy, Chen Feng let out a harsh-sounding harrumph before stopping his Soul Subduing Mantra.

“He he. Come to think about it, I still do not know your names.” Chen Feng suddenly smiled at them. 

Hearing that, Knight Yaoblade and the other two immediately felt the urge to puke blood. They thought to themselves. If only we had known this would happen, we would never have agreed to He Tian’s request! It would not have been too unbearable to have lost to a senior expert, but this? They lost to this Concealed stage child? Worst of all, they were incapable of fighting back.

“I am Grotto Mistress Hypnosis from the Seventy-two Grotto-mansions. The one who utilized poison was Grotto Master Astral Poison.” Grotto Mistress Hypnosis was the first to speak up.

Amongst the three survivors, Grotto Mistress Hypnosis was injured the most. Firstly, Chen Feng had unravelled her Soul Illusion Technique, leading to a rebound, which wounded her soul. After that, Chen Feng attacked her again using the Soul Subduing Mantra.

Seventy-two Grotto-mansions had 72 Grotto Masters. It was said that they were all wicked and savage characters. They were unlike cultivators from the immortal dao path. Whenever they encountered danger, they would do anything to protect themselves. For the sake of saving their own hides, they would betray anyone and anything.

Although Grotto Mistress Hypnosis was a female cultivator, she possessed a thorough understanding of her present situation, more so than the others. Seeing as how resistance was not an option, for now, it would be better to simply submit. At the very least, it would save her some suffering.

“Everyone calls me Knight Yaoblade!”

“Sage Beastdrive!”

Knight Yaoblade and Sage Beastdrive said through gritted teeth.

“Knight Yaoblade, Sage Beastdrive. Tsk, tsk! We are old acquaintances.” Chen Feng suddenly laughed.

“What do you mean by that?” Knight Yaoblade asked coldly.

“He he! Do you still remember the tree spirit from Black Origin Mountain Range?” Chen Feng asked smilingly.

“Tree spirit?” Knight Yaoblade thought about it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he recalled his attempts to obtain the tree spirit’s essence back then.

“Yes, that did happen. However, what does that have to do with you?” Knight Yaoblade sneered.

“It is only natural that you wouldn’t recognize me. Back then, I was just a nameless cultivator, with a large distance between me and the Concealed stage. At that time, you were riding on this black tiger while I was hiding atop a tree. He he! This black tiger had nearly killed me with its gaze alone. Speaking of which, I should be thanking you for sparing me back then. However, the you from that time was still some ways away from reaching the Sky Human stage. It seems you have had some fortuitous encounters during the past few years.” Chen Feng laughed.

After hearing that, Knight Yaoblade did not respond. Although he could recall the incident in Black Origin Mountain Range, he couldn’t – for the life of him – remember anyone who reminded him of Chen Feng.

“He he! The one who shocked me the most is Sage Beastdrive.” Chen Feng turned to look at Sage Beastdrive.

“He he.” Sage Beastdrive simply responded with a light chuckle. He did not know what Chen Feng would say next.

“Do you still remember the war between Black Origin City and Steel Stone City?” Chen Feng said smilingly.

“I remember.” Sage Beastdrive nodded.

“Back then, you were injured by an Inspector from the High Clarity Empire.” Chen Feng smirked.

“Yes, that happened.” Sage Beastdrive nodded his head again.

“He he! At that time, I was just a little soldier beneath you fellows. You were all cultivators with the ability to soar into the sky and slip underground. It is only natural that you would not notice an insignificant character like me. If the you from back then possessed your current level of strength, the one beaten back would have been the Inspector. Tsk, tsk. In just a few years, you broke through several levels. I wonder, what kind of immortal serendipity did you come across?” Chen Feng asked with a chuckle.

“Back then, you were just a minor soldier. Aren’t you more powerful than us now?” Sage Beastdrive retorted.

“It seems you two still cannot grasp the situation clearly. I’ll repeat again. At present, your souls are under my control. I can directly access all the secrets hidden within your souls. I can also refine your souls to increase my own power,” Chen Feng said sneeringly. Next, he sent out a strand of soul-coercive power, forcing Sage Beastdrive and Knight Yaoblade to involuntarily kneel.

The two of them felt terribly humiliated and they growled out. However, that was all they could do. The commanding will left within their souls made it so they could not fight back against Chen Feng.

“Roar!” Seeing their masters humiliated, the suppressed black tiger and Hissing Windroar roared out.

“These two Great Yaos are pretty decent. If you fellows make another sound, I will tear your hides out and dig out your yao cores.” Chen Feng sneered.

“Chen Feng! What will it take for you to let us go?” Knight Yaoblade shouted.

“Don’t worry. Since I have chosen to keep you fellows alive, I will not be killing you. You fellows need to submit to me. You will have a better future following me.” Chen Feng smiled.

“You want us to be your slaves? Impossible! Just kill me!” Knight Yaoblade shouted.

“That is right. In the future, you fellows will become my slaves. After getting struck by my Soul Subduing Mantra, you fellows can forget about dying. If you refuse to obey, I will utilize Soul Shackle to turn you all into puppets,” Chen Feng said coolly. 

“Greetings, master!” Suddenly, Grotto Mistress Hypnosis knelt down, her head bent low. It was a very respectful-looking gesture.

“Get up. You will not be disadvantaged by following me. Now, stay here first. When the time comes, I will let you fellows out,” Chen Feng said.

Next, Chen Feng began dealing with the corpses. Although they had been enemies, the dead should be buried so they may rest in peace. Exiting the Longevity Tower, he then created a large hole with a wave of his hand. Then, he tossed the corpses inside. Naturally, Chen Feng had seized all their weapons and storage-type treasures beforehand. 

It just so happens I am lacking Prized artefacts. I managed to acquire some harvest this time, Chen Feng thought. 

Chen Feng had already opened up 21 insight acupoints. However, he had only fused with seven Prized artefacts. While Chen Feng also possessed some high-grade Prized artefacts on him, the grades of those Prized artefacts were too high. They were not suitable for the present Chen Feng.

Killing He Tian and the others had netted him a considerable harvest.

After finishing up the matter, Chen Feng flew towards Black Origin City. Upon reaching the peripheral area of a small valley, Chen Feng suddenly stopped. He then hovered up in the sky, motionless. 

It was here that a lightning bolt had awakened the Longevity Tower and pushed Chen Feng into a new path. He was able to say goodbye to his identity as ‘trash’ and rise to his present state.

He hovered there for two joss sticks’ worth of time. There, images played through Chen Feng’s mind non-stop. Finally, he released a lengthy sigh and transformed into a stream of light before leaving the place.

Black Origin City hadn’t changed much. It was practically the same as the time Chen Feng had left. Chen Feng simply descended into Black Origin City, alarming the cultivators within the street.

“He is capable of flight! He is a Concealed stage expert!” Everyone hurried far away to avoid him, fearful that they might offend this expert.

“He is probably not a cultivator from our Black Origin City, right? I don’t remember such a young Concealed stage expert in our city!”

“Eh? Why does he look so familiar?”

“You? Forget it? Are you thinking about ingratiating yourself with such an expert?”

Chen Feng ignored then. Instead, he leisurely made his way through the street as he recalled the time he spent here in the past.

However, Chen Feng soon discovered that the only memories he had of this place were that of him getting bullied. There were practically no happy memories here.

“It’s Chen Feng! I recognize him now! That expert just now is Chen Feng!” Someone finally recognized Chen Feng.

“You mean the trash from back then?”

“Shh, quiet! By the time Chen Feng left, he was no longer a trash. I think he was chased away by the four sects and the four families.”

“So powerful? If so, for Chen Feng to suddenly return, does that mean he is here for revenge?”

“Possible. This is bad. If Chen Feng can return, it means he is confident he can take on all of Black Origin City. This city is about to fall into a state of chaos!”

“Who cares? We can just watch the show. At any rate, I didn’t have any conflict with Chen Feng before. Wait. If I am not mistaken, you bullied him before!”

“Ah, crap! I need to hurry up and hide outside for some time. If Chen Feng sees me, he might remember what happened in the past!” 

It didn’t take Chen Feng long to reach Iron Sword Sect. At that very moment, all the disciples were acting as though a great enemy had arrived. Some of the elders were running around in confusion. In this critical moment, they had no idea where their Sect Master was. Chen Feng had returned. He was surely here to settle their old accounts.

Looking at the tens of disciples standing before him, Chen Feng shook his head helplessly. Truth be told, Chen Feng did not have any ill intentions. He only wanted to come back and look around and check up on Ye Tian. If possible, Chen Feng planned on bringing Ye Tian with him to Extreme Celestial Sect. At any rate, Ye Tian had been his only friend in Iron Sword Sect.

“You guys, just step aside,” Chen Feng said coolly.

They exchanged glances. Not one said a word, not one retreated.

Chen Feng knitted his brows. Next, his eyes swept over them, causing a wave of iciness to wash over their bodies. A burst of fear rose up from the depths of their souls and they reflexively retreated. By the time they recollected themselves, Chen Feng was nowhere to be seen.

After entering Iron Sword Sect, Chen Feng moved swiftly as he made his way towards his old residence. However, when Chen Feng arrived, he found only empty space. The old courtyard was no more.

Chen Feng looked around. With a beckoning gesture, a youngster who had been furtively peeking at him floated into the sky. Before he could utter out a scream, he found himself standing before Chen Feng.

This move by Chen Feng shocked the youngster to his core and his heart palpitated so hard, it felt as though it might tear. He wanted to open his mouth, but found himself incapable of saying a word.

“He he. No need to be afraid, I mean you no harm. I just have some questions for you,” Chen Feng said with a smile. Chen Feng then waved his hand and a Magic crystal fell into the youngster’s hand. 

“This is a spirit stone!” Seeing the spirit stone in his hand, the youngster fell into a dazed state. However, he swiftly recollected himself. Forcing himself to calm down, he said, “I wonder, what questions does senior has for me?” 

Senior? Chen Feng chuckled inwardly. Unexpectedly, he had become a senior.

“I want to know why this courtyard is no longer here,” Chen Feng asked, his hand pointing at the empty space before him.

“This place used to have a courtyard, yes. However, it was demolished two years ago,” the youngster replied gingerly.