Chapter 396: Men from Nine Firmaments Palace

Everlasting

 

This fellow has quite the discerning eyes, Chen Feng thought.

Although the Young Master had stepped forward to apologize, Chen Feng and the others ignored him. They did not even give him a glance.

“Fellows, please continue what you were doing. I will take my leave.” The Young Master revealed an awkward smile before leading his men away.

Only after he had reached the ground floor did a glint of killing intent flashed across the eyes of the Young Master. However, it happened so quickly that not even those beside him could notice it.

“Ironhand Sect. What kind of sect is it?” Chen Feng asked curiously.

“I have never heard of it. It must be a small local sect. This is Nine Firmaments Palace’s territory. We should exercise caution,” Jian Xiaotian said.

“I have heard of Ironhand Sect before,” Sage Beastdrive suddenly said.

“Oh? Tell us about it, then.” Chen Feng nodded his head.

“Ironhand Sect is a subordinate sect of Nine Firmaments Palace. The strongest cultivators within this sect are at the Sky Human stage. It is much stronger compared to the Six Great Sky Grottoes,” Sage Beastdrive said.

“So, it is a force working for Nine Firmaments Palace. Looks like we’ll need to be careful. If there are any movements at all, we’ll have to start a massacre,” Chen Feng said.

On the ground floor of the restaurant, the Young Master came to a halt at the lobby area. He appeared to be waiting for someone. As expected, it did not take long for four cultivators to descend from the sky. Next, the four cultivators entered the restaurant.

Two men and two women. The men were handsome with upright statures while the women were uniquely beautiful, looking like fairies from some Heavenly Palace. 

After arriving, the four of them simultaneously frowned. It seemed they had sensed something.

“Greetings, senior brothers and sisters.” The Young Master stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

“Junior Brother Tie, no need to stand on ceremony,” one of the male cultivators said, smiling.

“All four have 3 Lightning Tribulations under their belts. Looks like they are disciples from Nine Firmaments Palace,” Chen Feng said coolly.

“Disciples from Nine Firmaments Palace? Should we kill them?” Jian Xiaotian asked.

“Let’s observe the situation first,” Chen Feng said.

“Junior Brother Tie, it seems there are quite a few cultivators on the floor above.” The four cultivators used their divine senses to communicate with Junior Brother Tie.

“I was about to report this matter. One of the cultivators on top might be Chen Feng,” Junior Brother Tie responded with a secret vocal transmission.

“What?” Hearing Junior Brother Tie’s words, the four of them nearly exclaimed aloud.

“For real?”

“Most likely. However, he has some companions with him. Additionally, their cultivation levels appear quite decent,” Junior Brother Tie said.

When they heard that Chen Feng might be upstairs, all four cultivators grew anxious. At the same time, they were also feeling somewhat excited.

“What now? Should we head upstairs and capture Chen Feng?”

“No! Chen Feng is not to be underestimated. Nine Firmaments Palace has issued the wanted declaration for them for so long now, but still they could not capture Chen Feng. Additionally, it would appear that there are more than just three fellows upstairs. This is different from the information given by Nine Firmaments Palace. We must plan this thoroughly!”

“Plan this thoroughly? This is a very good opportunity! If we can capture Chen Feng and the other two wanted fellows, when we return to the sect, we can obtain a Sacred artefact, a Sky-tier cultivation technique, spirit stones and contribution points. Moreover, there are still separate rewards for sect members who capture them. Right now, I am having a hard time just holding myself back!”

“It is very tempting. However, the amount of power that the four of us possess is not enough to ensure success. We should go find a few more of our brothers and sisters for this.”

“If we do that, won’t we get less rewards?”

“Safety first, guys. Safety first. There are 11 people upstairs in total. We must not allow a single one to escape!”

The four of them quickly discussed the matter. It did not take long for them to come to a decision. However, they feared that Chen Feng’s group might suspect them. Thus, they spent some time chatting with Junior Brother Tie for a moment before leaving the restaurant.

“Those four fellows’ sudden departure is somewhat suspicious,” Chen Feng suddenly said.

“Did they recognize us?” Jian Xiaotian wondered.

“Most likely.” Chen Feng nodded his head.

“Young Master, what should we do? Should we make the first move?” Big Pot Bro asked.

“Knight Yaoblade, head downstairs immediately and kill off all of them from earlier,” Chen Feng suddenly said.

“Yes!” Knight Yaoblade did not hesitate and he quickly got up.

Next, he performed a heavy stamp with his foot, causing a large hole to break open beneath him. Then, he descended. After that, a series of wretched cries rang out from the ground floor.

After just two breaths’ worth of time, Knight Yaoblade moved upstairs once more. He had killed off Junior Brother Tie and every single one of his men.

“Let’s leave as well. Once our whereabouts are exposed, we’ll have to face an endless number of bloody fights,” Chen Feng said.

Not long after leaving the small city, however, Chen Feng’s group sensed formidable auras radiating from behind them. The auras were rapidly approaching them.

“Sure enough, they are coming after us,” Lin Shaokun said, sneering.

“Young Master, allow us to go kill the enemies!” Big Pot Bro shouted.

“That’s right, Young Master. Allow us to attack.” Knight Yaoblade said, killing intent soaring out from him.

“Very well.” After considering it for a moment, Chen Feng agreed. Originally, Chen Feng had planned on splitting up with the Pot Brothers and Knight Yaoblade’s gang of three. At that moment, however, he changed his mind. 

We are cultivators. Battles are necessary for progress. If we seclude ourselves into cultivation retreats all the time, we will have no one to blame but our lack of skills when we die from a fight, Chen Feng thought.

Seeing Chen Feng nod his head in agreement, the Pot Brothers immediately got into formation. Knight Yaoblade summoned out his Great Yao, Little Blackie. Likewise, Sage Beastdrive too summoned out his Hissing Windroar. At the same time, he also summoned out various types of yao beasts, over 100 of them.

Sage Beastdrive acquired his title because he had cultivated a technique known as Beast Mastery Formula, allowing him to command some yao beasts.

Light kept flowing within Grotto Mistress Hypnosis’ eyes as she prepared herself for battle.

It did not take long for a group of charging cultivators to arrive before Chen Feng’s group. There was a total of eight cultivators, all with Lightning Tribulations under their belts.

“Which one of you is Chen Feng?” one of them stepped forward and shouted.

“Who are you fellows? Are you here to die?” Knight Yaoblade smirked. Behind him, Little Blackie followed suit with growls.

“The weakest amongst these eight fellows has 3 Lightning Tribulations under his belt. Two of them have 4 Lightning Tribulations under their belt. Judging by their attires and demeanour, they are most likely disciples from Nine Firmaments Palace. Additionally, they are core disciples,” Jian Xiaotian said.

“They must definitely be disciples from Nine Firmaments Palace. Two of them look familiar,” Sage Beastdrive said with a chuckle.

“You are the loose cultivator, Sage Beastdrive,” one of the eight disciples, Yuan Ye, spoke up.

“Yes, I am him. Yuan Ye, Hei Tian, elite disciples from Nine Firmaments Palace. How unexpected. After just a few years, you two have succeeded in overcoming Lightning Tribulations. Not to mention, you succeeded in overcoming 3 of them. Tsk, tsk. I have long since heard that Nine Firmaments Palace has concocted a type of medicinal pill capable of increasing a person’s cultivation by 100 years. Looks like you two must have taken this medicinal pill,” Sage Beastdrive said with a chortle.

It had to be said, these three people whom Chen Feng had subdued - Sage Beastdrive, Knight Yaoblade and Grotto Mistress Hypnosis - possessed quite the reputation within the world of cultivation. Knight Yaoblade and Sage Beastdrive were loose cultivators while Grotto Mistress Hypnosis hailed from the Seventy-two Grotto-mansions. The amount of experience and knowledge they possessed far outstripped Chen Feng’s.

“I didn’t think you would know about our Nine Firmaments Palace’s Hundred Effort Pill. Yes, we brothers have taken the Hundred Effort Pills, allowing us to overcome 3 Lightning Tribulations in just three short years. You loose cultivators can just look on in envy,” Yuan Ye said with a ridiculing tone.

“Humph! Swallowing medicinal pills? What kind of ability is that? It is not the power you obtained through personal effort!” Knight Yaoblade scoffed.

“Enough! Yuan Ye, stop exchanging nonsense with them. Just attack and kill them off.” The one who spoke up was one of the male cultivators who had entered the restaurant earlier.

“Yes. Attack!”

“Five Elements Combat Array!” The ones to start making a move were the Pot Brothers. The battle array that they had been preparing shot forward to engulf Yuan Ye and Hei Tian. Sword beams flashed and lightning bolts rampaged about as the Five Elements Combat Array began its assault.

“Soul Illusion Technique!” Grotto Mistress Hypnosis’ eyes began spinning and streams of colourful lights shot out into the sky.

As Grotto Mistress Hypnosis was attacking, Knight Yaoblade and Sage Beastdrive used the opening to take action as well. Speaking of which, the three of them cooperated fairly well. Grotto Mistress Hypnosis utilized soul techniques while Knight Yaoblade and Sage Beastdrive used the resulting opening to attack. Normal cultivators at the same level as them would have been incapable of mounting any resistance.

However, these eight fellows were the core disciples from Nine Firmaments Palace. Every single one of them possessed talent, perseverance and courage. In the face of the trio’s attacks, they did not fall into a state of panic. On the contrary, one confrontation was all it took for them to put the trio in a disadvantageous position.

The Pot Brothers were not in a good spot either. Although they had managed to entrap Yuan Ye and Hei Tian, anyone with a discerning gaze could see that the five brothers were barely able to trap the two fellows. It was just a matter of time before Yuan Ye and Hei Tian broke the array.

Chen Feng shook his head. He knew. Be it their levels, strength or magic techniques, his subordinates were no match for the elites cultivated using the resources of a sect.

It was then that the remaining three fellows from Nine Firmaments Palace charged at Chen Feng, Jian Xiaotian and Lin Shaokun. The three of them were the strongest amongst the eight cultivators. Two of them had overcome 4 Lightning Tribulations. Although they were still no match for the likes of Lei Sha and Feng Lang, they were close.

“Bring it!” Without waiting for them to arrive, Jian Xiaotian instead charged forward. He had spent the past few days absorbing immortal energy for his cultivation practice. Thus, the power within him had expanded and his cultivation base had risen greatly. He had been longing for a good fight. Seeing these people attack him, he could not stop himself any longer.

“A mere level 2 Sky Human stage cultivator. You truly have a death wish!”

As Jian Xiaotian’s opponent was someone with 4 Lightning Tribulations under his belt, he simply did not view Jian Xiaotian as a threat. However, after exchanging blows with Jian Xiaotian, he discovered that he was mistaken. The great sword in Jian Xiaotian’s hand swung about wildly, radiating an extreme amount of power. At the same time, a tyrannical aura with no equal spread out from Jian Xiaotian’s body, causing the cultivator to sweat as his heart clutched in shock. This move from Jian Xiaotian was his Heavenly Sword Faction’s Hegemon Sword Technique. After displaying it, one would exude the atmosphere of an exalted, world-conquering character.

“The last two are mine.” Before Chen Feng could make his move, Lin Shaokun, who was beside him, spoke up. He, too, could not hold back anymore.

Speaking of Lin Shaokun, he did not possess a mighty or tall appearance. At that moment, however, as he exerted his entire body, a ferocious and unrestrained wave of energy broke out from his body. It was as though his entire body had become one with the earth; as stable as a firm rock. Next, however, the staff in his hand abruptly swung forward and the two cultivators facing him were immediately sent flying.

Bang!

The staff in his hand smashed heavily into the ground and it felt as though a mountain had crashed against the land. Cracks spread far into its surroundings as a result.