Everlasting

 

Liu Quan’s mountain residence was far grander and more magnificent compared to Chen Feng’s mountain residence. At any rate, he had been living there for a long time. Thus, everything there was well cared for.

Layer after layer of seals and magic arrays surrounded the mountain. After making his way through the layers of seals, Chen Feng found that the mountain was like a world of its own. The spiritual energy there was much thicker compared to the outside world. Lush trees could be seen there, stretching from the bottom part of the mountain all the way to the peak. The mist of dawn flowed upwards, concealing the pavilions established upon the mountain. Walking forward, Chen Feng could also see flowing springs. Spirit animals darted in and out of appearance as birds chirped amongst the fragrant aroma of flowers. The place gave off an atmosphere of immortal cultivation.

“What is it, Brother Chen? You look very surprised.” A half-step Human Immortal, Situ Nan, laughed as he looked at the surprised look on Chen Feng’s face.

“Yes, I am surprised. I didn’t think that Brother Liu’s place would have such a good view,” Chen Feng said smilingly.

“Ha ha! The view in Senior Brother Liu Quan’s mountain is famous amongst us fellow disciples here. However, that is because Senior Brother Liu spends some time to take care of this place, unlike us who focus mostly on cultivation,” Situ Nan said, smiling.

“No need to overpraise me. You guys have beautiful mountain residences as well. Besides, a good environment helps us settle our minds and cultivate in tranquillity.” Liu Quan smiled as well.

Liu Quan was a half-step Human Immortal, someone with quite the status in Heavenly Sword Faction. Thus, there was quite a number of Sky Human stage cultivators tasked with taking care of the mountain residence. Some of them came as part of the arrangement from the sect. However, many more had voluntarily come.

For these level 1 or 2 Sky Human stage disciples, the chance to become retainers and menial workers for a half-step Human Immortal was something worth fighting tooth and nail over. Cultivators at the Concealed stage can just forget about it. The spiritual energy in Liu Quan’s mountain residence was much thicker compared to the spiritual energy in Chen Feng’s mountain residence. Additionally, even a minor advice from this half-step Human Immortal would save them a great deal of detours.

After his level in the Concealed stage rose back when he was still in Extreme Celestial Sect, Chen Feng’s mountain residence also had some ordinary disciples to take care of the menial tasks.

It did not take long for them to seat themselves within a large pavilion somewhere halfway up the mountain. Naturally, the attending disciples came over to serve them. Soon enough, some delicious foods and wine were served.

“Ha ha! You fellows helped me earlier by standing guard for me. I should have been the one to play host, but instead, I have to trouble Brother Liu.” Chen Feng laughed.

“What are you saying? We are all friends here. This is just a trivial matter, no need to mention it.” Liu Quan waved it off.

Naturally, Chen Feng was not stingy as well. He brought out some spiritual fruits for everyone. Speaking of which, the only items Chen Feng could bring out were the spiritual fruits. Thankfully, there was quite a number of spiritual trees in the Longevity Tower, otherwise Chen Feng would have been incapable of being generous, no matter how much he wanted to.

When they saw Chen Feng bring out all those spiritual fruits, all of them felt slightly shocked. At least half of them were half-step Human Immortals, cultivators with quite the experience and knowledge. They even possessed some treasures. It was not as though they had never eaten those spiritual fruits before. Even Liu Quan’s mountain residence had a few spiritual trees.

The reason for their shock was the many types of spiritual fruits that Chen Feng brought out.

Fire Dates, Fire Pears, Ice Fruits, Bloody Dragon Fruits, Waterspar Dates, Bluetree Fruits, Resolute Fruits, Cyan Cluster Fruits, Earthroot Fruits, Thunderclap Fruits, ten plus types of spiritual fruits were laid out on the table before them. The fragrance of the fruits wafted outwards, causing them all to salivate.

“Impressive, there are so many spiritual fruits. Looks like Brother Chen is quite rich,” Liu Quan said with a chuckle.

These spiritual fruits were different from the ordinary fruits. All of them contained worldly spiritual energy and the essence of the sun and moon. Some even had certain power types. Not only can taking these fruits satisfy their appetite, the spiritual energies and essence within the fruits could also increase their cultivation bases. Additionally, they were unlike medicinal pills that could lead to side effects in cultivation.

This aspect made the spiritual fruits more valuable compared to certain types of medicinal pills.

Jian Xiaotian was not surprised. At any rate, the two of them had entered the pocket dimension in the Starsea Region together. He already knew that Chen Feng had managed to obtain some harvest from the pocket dimension. Even Jian Xiaotian had managed to gain himself a considerable number of harvests from the pocket dimension.

Thus, Jian Xiaotian was the first to pick up an Ice Pear. Munching into it, he said to the others, “Fellows, there is no need to hold back. Brother Chen has plenty more of these wild fruits!”

“Wild fruits? If these can only be counted as wild fruits, then the fruits growing in my mountains are no longer the edible kind.” Liu Quan laughed.

Next, they chatted and laughed amongst themselves. One of their topics of discussion was Chen Feng.

“I say, Brother Chen. Junior Brother Xiaotian is correct. You should formally join our sect and become a formal elder. It is far better than being an honorary elder,” Liu Quan said smilingly.

“That’s right. No matter how you cut it, our Heavenly Sword Faction is a first-rate sect in the Central Plains. We are much stronger compared to the Nine Firmaments Palace from the Northern Plains. If you become a formal disciple of our sect, you will be able to receive more resources for your cultivation efforts.”

“That’s right, Brother Chen. It is normal for a cultivator to join more than one sect. Although you are a disciple of Extreme Celestial Sect, joining our sect as well is nothing out of the ordinary. At present, Nine Firmaments Palace is after you while Extreme Celestial Sect is incapable of protecting you. Not to mention, there is no telling when you will be able to return to the Northern Plains.”

Everyone there persuaded Chen Feng, but he only smiled and said, “Thank you for your kind intentions. I am currently only an honorary elder of Heavenly Sword Faction, but I don’t feel too different from a formal elder. Truth be told, this feels quite nice. So, there is no need for you all to persuade me anymore.”

Truth be told, during the past three years spent living in Heavenly Sword Faction, the only limitations Chen Feng faced was that some places were off limits and that the sect guardian sword codex of Heavenly Sword Faction was inaccessible. Other than that, Chen Feng was no different from the other disciples of Heavenly Sword Faction. Like the others, Chen Feng could enter the Teaching Hall to listen to the lecture given by the seniors from Heavenly Sword Faction regarding cultivation and sword techniques. He could also enter the Book Keeping Hall to peruse some of the cultivation manuals and secret techniques recorded there. Additionally, he could even go to the trading zones within Heavenly Sword Faction and trade or purchase the items there.

“Ha ha! Guys, stop persuading him. Brother Chen is going to join Absolute Academy. It is highly likely that he will not be staying long in our Heavenly Sword Faction,” Jian Xiaotian said.

“Absolute Academy. That’s right, given Brother Chen’s talent, joining Absolute Academy should be a piece of cake. Sigh! Even if guys like us break through to the Human Immortal stage, we still wouldn’t be able to join the Four Great Academies,” Liu Quan lamented.

Everyone there believed that Chen Feng was talented enough to easily join Absolute Academy. Unknown to them, Chen Feng possessed the Absolute Token given by Lan Ling, giving him the right to join Absolute Academy without even having to take the necessary assessments. It would not be an exaggeration to say that, by possessing the token, Chen Feng was already a disciple of Absolute Academy.

Naturally, this was also one of the ways Absolute Academy recruited talents.

Next, they moved on to talk about the legacy of Immortal Cloudmist. Only then did Chen Feng realize that Jian Qingwu and Jian Qingling had already invited Liu Quan and Situ Nan for the adventure. They will be going together to explore the legacy site of Immortal Cloudmist.

“I knew that Jian Qingwu and Jian Qingling would invite Brother Chen. Brother Chen, you have already successfully overcome your Lightning Tribulation and your cultivation base has risen greatly. When the time comes, please take care of me,” Situ Nan said smilingly.

“Brother Situ, you are too modest,” Chen Feng hastily said.

They continued to chat about everything, the things they saw and experienced during their travels and adventures and some knowledge they gained when cultivating. Hearing all that opened Chen Feng’s eyes, giving him a great deal of new information. At any rate, all of them had spent longer within the world of cultivation compared to Chen Feng. Thus, they were more knowledgeable than him.

Finally, their topic moved towards the Ancient Battlefield of Immortal Humans. Once they got to the topic, they also ended up talking about the war with Heartless Heaven Sect and the other sects. After recounting what happened, they all grew emotional, filled with the desire to rush out and kill more disciples from Heartless Heaven Sect.

The war between the two sects this time around was at a scale far exceeding that of the previous wars. Both sides had lost a great deal of disciples in this war, leading to an even deeper level of grudge between the two sides.

Chen Feng understood. Although both sides had ceased fighting, any encounter between the disciples of the two sects in the future would certainly lead to a battle to the death.

“I wonder what is the current situation?” Chen Feng asked. He had been spending most of his time in cultivation. Even when he had gone to visit his friends, they would rarely discuss this matter.

“There is now a ceasefire between our two sides. The territories taken by Heartless Heaven Sect have been returned. Additionally, they have also compensated us with several spirit stone mines,” Liu Quan said. 

“Looks like our sect has compromised in the matter of the Ancient Battlefield of Immortal Humans.” Chen Feng could already guess what Liu Quan would say next.

“Yes. Nominally speaking, this minor pocket dimension is still under our Heavenly Sword Faction’s management. However, those sects that had a hand in this matter, Heartless Heaven Sect, Warlord Pavilion and Divine Demon Grotto have the right to send their disciples to explore the pocket dimension. Though, they need for pay some spirit stones as entry fee for every disciple,” Liu Quan said. 

“It’s better than I expected,” Chen Feng said.

“Heh! Even though all the sects involved are first-rate sects, they are still fearful that we, Heavenly Sword Faction, would fight to the bitter end. At any rate, the offensive power that sword cultivators like us can field is very powerful. Additionally, we have already obtained some high-grade magic treasures from the pocket dimension. If we are to continue with the war, it would surely end in mutual destruction for either side,” Situ Nan said.

Chen Feng nodded in understanding. Although Heavenly Sword Faction did compromise in the end, it had still managed to make some gains in some matters.

“Brother Chen. Once we are done with Immortal Cloudmist’s legacy, we can form a team to explore the Ancient Battlefield of Immortal Humans,” Liu Quan suddenly said.

“That’s right, many of our fellow brothers and sisters came across great fortune inside. It would be great if I could obtain an Immortal artefact from it,” Situ Nan said as well.

“The Ancient Battlefield of Immortal Humans is indeed more tempting compared to the legacy site of an Immortal Human. All right! Once we are done with the legacy site, we’ll enter the Ancient Battlefield of Immortal Humans together.” Chen Feng nodded his head in agreement.

Even if Liu Quan had not brought up the issue, Chen Feng would have taken the initiative to request entry into the minor pocket dimension. It was the battlefield of Immortal Humans, after all. There must surely be a high number of magic treasures buried inside. It was true that all of them were damaged magic treasures and most were just fragments. However, those items were of great use for the Longevity Tower. If he could get his hands on a high number of Immortal artefact fragments, it would be much easier for the Longevity Tower to recover.

When everyone finally left, Chen Feng followed Jian Xiaotian to his residence. Since his mountain residence had been destroyed, Chen Feng had no choice but to go stay in Jian Xiaotian’s residence.

Time went by quickly and it did not take long before the agreed upon date with Jian Qingwu and Jian Qingling arrived. Reading the incoming message from the jade talisman, Chen Feng bade farewell to Jian Xiaotian before moving out.