Everlasting

 

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

When the two gazes met, a series of popping sounds rang out. It was as though fire had encountered water and both disappeared entirely.

Chen Feng shut his eyes. He could feel a cold pair of wicked pupils appearing within his sea of wisdom, staring at him. A chilling sensation suddenly rose up within him.

Boom!

His Lifebound Flame promptly burned to utterly drive away and dispel the pair of pupils.

What kind of eye technique is the other fellow practicing? It is so wicked! Chen Feng was shocked.

Within a layer of clouds 250 kilometres away was a massive golden eagle, hovering in the sky. There were three cultivators in cyan-coloured armour standing on the golden eagle. One of them was none other than Qing Zhifeng, from Soul Tempering Sect. Suddenly, a stern-looking youngster who was standing beside Qing Zhifeng closed his eyes.

“Senior brother, what happened?” Qing Zhifeng asked curiously.

The stern-looking youngster opened his eyes, and his pair of eyes, dark-cyan in colour, flashed. As a result, the clump of clouds before him disappeared, seemingly burned away by raging fire.

“It’s nothing.” The stern-looking youngster replied in a hushed tone, his face calm. It was as though nothing had happened earlier.

Someone actually cultivated the Magic Eyes of Darkness. I wonder who that is. Could it be from Abyssal Grotto or Nocturnal Mansion? The stern-looking youngster wondered.

“Brother Chen, are you all right?” Chen Feng had closed his eyes all of a sudden and black light shone out from the slits of his eyes. Seeing that, everyone knew that something must have happened.

“I bumped into an expert. That person has also cultivated out an eye technique. Additionally, it is a very wicked eye technique. Earlier, a pair of wicked-looking pupils appeared within my sea of wisdom.” Chen Feng did not conceal the matter as he informed them about what happened earlier.

“Ghost Eyes of the Dark Abyss. According to your earlier description, the eye technique must be the Ghost Eyes of the Dark Abyss,” Wen Shaoxiu said solemnly.

“Ghost Eyes of the Dark Abyss.” Chen Feng nodded. He had thought about that as well just now.

Wen Shaoxiu pondered it for a moment before continuing, “This eye technique is something that those from Soul Tempering Sect would usually practice. As I recall, Qing Zhihun managed to successfully cultivate that eye technique.”

“Qing Zhihun?” Chen Feng was surprised. The name sounded familiar.

“Qing Zhifeng is his junior brother,” Liu Quan, who was standing beside him, said.

“So, he is Qing Zhifeng’s senior brother. They are members of Soul Tempering Sect. Looks like this battle has attracted quite a number of people. We’ll have to make some changes to our plan,” Chen Feng said.

“That is right. We want to make a move after the Xu Family and Killer Palace are mutually wounded. However, there is no guarantee that the others are not thinking about doing the same thing.” Wen Shaoxiu nodded.

“No matter what happens, I must kill off the assassins and those from Transcendent Firmaments Palace,” Chen Feng said grimly.

“That’s the reason we came out this time. Besides, we have already wiped out two of their outposts. We must not let this outpost go.” Wen Shaoxiu chortled. He agreed with Chen Feng.

“Even so, the longer this drags on, the higher the possibility of unexpected variables popping up. If the reinforcements from Killer Palace arrives, then we’ll have a completely different situation at hand. However, there is something I find puzzling. The ones who ran away back then, Xu Shan and Huo Feng, why are they not here?” After saying that, Chen Feng’s eyes shone with dark light once again as he utilized his eye technique to investigate the assassins.

However, Chen Feng was soon disappointed. He only managed to discover some more cultivators observing the battle. There were no signs of Xu Shan and Huo Feng.

Is it because their wounds are too severe? Did they hide themselves somewhere to focus on their recovery? If that is the case, there will be no need to worry about them. However, if they are hatching up some other plot, we’ll need to be careful, Chen Feng thought.

“Another Xu Family cultivator has died. The assassins are truly something else. Those restrictive arrays they set up are types that I have never even seen before. The cultivators from the Xu Family are unable to break out. In the end, all of them will die here,” Wen Shaoxiu said, observing the battle.

“If those are your average restrictive arrays, the cultivators from the Xu Family can just utilize the Voidslip move to leave. However, the restrictive arrays the assassins set up could actually seal even void space. They really invested a lot into that. If we had recklessly charged in… heh, we’ll end up in a far worse state than the Xu Family cultivators,” Li Shilong said with a chuckle.

“Someone is attacking,” Chen Feng said.

Two cultivators who were watching the battle from several hundred li away suddenly rushed towards the battlefield. Even before arriving, they had begun attacking. Two beams of light, one black and one red, pierced through the sky to bombard the restrictive arrays trapping those from the Xu Family.

Boom! Boom!

Two booming sounds rang out, spreading across a distance of several hundred li. When the attacks made contact with the restrictive arrays, ripples spread out and countless talismans appeared – in sequence – in the air. Those were the restrictive arrays that the assassins had set up beforehand.

“Who are those two fellows? With their cultivation bases at level 9 of the Sky Human stage, it is impossible for them to break the restrictive arrays,” said a shocked Chen Feng.

“Heh! I don’t recognize them. Who knows where they are from? They must want to ingratiate themselves with the Xu Family,” Liu Quan said with a smile.

“Thank you for the assistance!”

As expected, someone from the Xu Family spoke up, his voice spreading outwards. Even Chen Feng and the others, who were over 50 kilometres away from the battlefield, could hear him clearly.

“My name is Xu Zishan, from the Xu Family! Today, the assassins from Killer Palace launched a sneak attack against me. I ask that you fellows help us. After this is over, our Xu Family will be sure to show you our deepest gratitude!” Xu Zishan shouted again.  

“Heh! As expected, the Xu Family is going to use this method.” Wen Shaoxiu chuckled.

“I wonder, will anyone take the bait?”

“Let’s just observe. At any rate, there is no need for us to rush into this. I am personally hoping that all the spectating cultivators would swarm forward and kill off the assassins. That would save us the trouble of attacking.”

After Xu Zishan’s voice spread out, no one responded to his request for aid. At any rate, they weren’t fools. All of them could tell how the battle was developing. Killer Palace had gained the upper hand and it would not take long for them to kill off the cultivators from the Xu Family. Besides, Killer Palace was not to be trifled with. No one would choose to provoke Killer Palace for no reason. The two fellows who attacked earlier were most likely connected to the Xu Family in some way. Another reason for their silence was the Xu Family’s actions of asking for their assistance without offering anything in return. Some who had been considering taking action ended up reconsidering.

“The assassins from Killer Palace had killed off innumerable people, stirring off countless bloody storms in the world of cultivation. I hope that everyone here can help us and kill off these assassins. If you help us, you will not just become a friend of our Xu Family. I hereby decide, I will teach you the secret technique of our Xu Family, the Void Technique!” Xu Zishan shouted once again.

When they heard that, some of the spectating cultivators were finally moved. It was not due to the offer of becoming a friend of the Xu Family. Rather, it was the two words: Void Technique. 

“Heh, a load of bull! To think that he could even spout such nonsense. How laughable!” Wen Shaoxiu sneered.

“This Xu Zishan is bullshitting.” A scornful smile appeared on Qing Zhifeng’s face.

“Who does he think he’s fooling here?”

“Only fools would fall for that!”

“Ha ha ha!”

Although Xu Zishan’s words managed to move the hearts of some of the spectating cultivators, more were smirking at his words. Clearly, they did not believe him.

Even Chen Feng was chortling at the words. He was aware that these great families view their secret techniques to be of greater importance than lives. Xu Zishan and his men aside, even if their numbers were doubled, the higher-ups of the Xu Family would still not allow the secret technique to be passed down to others. 

Chen Feng knew. The elite members of great families who had been given the right to practice their family’s secret techniques would have restrictive arrays placed within their seas of wisdom. Should someone utilize soul-searching techniques against them or if they themselves intend to pass down the secret techniques to others, the restrictive arrays inside their seas of wisdom would activate. In the best-case scenario, they would be stopped from divulging the secret. In the worst-case scenario, they would be killed on the spot.

No matter how powerful Xu Zishan may be, he had yet to cultivate up to the Human Immortal stage. Naturally, there were still restrictive arrays within his sea of wisdom. Thus, what he said earlier was a complete lie.

Chen Feng and the others, who were from great sects, knew that. However, there were many spectating cultivators there and not all of them chose to view it as a lie. Even though it was a flawed lie, some would still choose to believe in it.

Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou!

Immediately, four cultivators rushed forward. Without saying a word, they attacked the restrictive arrays.

With just a glance, Chen Feng was able to tell their cultivation bases. The strongest amongst them was only at level 8 of the Sky Human stage while the other three were only at level 7 of the Sky Human stage. Additionally, judging by their attires and techniques, it was not hard for Chen Feng to determine that they were loose cultivators.

“There are actually some people who believed him? Given their cultivation bases, stepping forward is the equivalent of suicide. Sigh! Is the Xu Family trying to drag others down the pit of fire here?”

“Birds die for the sake of feed, humans die for the sake of wealth. All I can say is, those fellows are too greedy. They want to obtain the Xu Family’s Void Technique? He he! I doubt they can even live long enough to practice it!”

“Still, Xu Zishan’s approach is quite good. Regardless of what happens, it can buy him some time.”

Seeing some cultivators step forward, the cultivators with considerable backgrounds silently scoffed. All of them chose to watch. Not a single one spoke up to warn them.

“Thank you for the assistance. After this is over, I will surely introduce you to our Xu Family,” Xu Zishan said, a somewhat excited tone in his voice.

“No need for that. You just need to teach us the Void Technique,” one of the level 9 Sky Human stage cultivators said.

“Ha ha ha! Naturally, naturally! Would I lie in front of so many people?” Xu Zishan laughed out.

“How shameless!” Chen Feng shook his head.

“He is already about to die. Is there anything he would not do? However, the cultivation bases of those cultivators are insufficient. Stepping forward is simply suicide for them,” Wen Shaoxiu said.

Sure enough, Wen Shaoxiu had only just spoken when the attacked restrictive arrays abruptly flared with light. Two chains, formed entirely using the power of space and talismans, lashed out to strike two cultivators.

The two cultivators were only at level 7 of the Sky Human stage and they were instantly ripped to pieces.

The others panicked and were drawn in by the magic arrays there. In the end, they were trapped together with the Xu Family cultivators.

Seeing what happened, the other cultivators who had wanted to step forward held themselves back. They wanted to obtain the Void Technique. They also believed Xu Zishan’s words. However, rushing forward to their deaths was a different story. No matter how important a secret technique may be, it was not as important as their lives.

“Ha ha! Looks like the spectating cultivators will not be taking action anymore,” said a laughing Wen Shaoxiu.

“We’ll continue observing the situation. Regardless if anyone takes action or not, I must make preparations. I cannot let all that blood energy and blood essence go to waste,” Chen Feng said grimly.

In order to completely repair the Blood Mustering Bead, he needed a constant supply of blood energy and blood essence. Truth be told, Chen Feng wanted nothing more than to have the battlefield expand a hundredfold. The more deaths there were, the better it would be. That way, he would be able to devour even more blood to repair the Blood Mustering Bead.

Seeing no one else step forward to help, Xu Zishan grew anxious. He shouted a few more times. Unfortunately, no one took action. Given the present situation, taking action meant committing suicide. The only exception would be those who possessed enough power to break the restrictive arrays.

Finally, two more Xu Family cultivators were killed. Even Xu Zishan was badly wounded. However, they did manage to take down another assassin.

“A Human Immortal assassin is truly formidable. If it weren’t for the void-type techniques that the Xu Family cultivators practice and the few decent Sacred artefacts in their hands, all of them would have died by now. However, it appears they will not be able to hold on for much longer,” Chen Feng said. 

“What is it, Brother Chen? Are you going to take action?” Wen Shaoxiu rubbed his fists, feeling somewhat eager.

“No rush. Taking action now is just a waste of strength. We’ll wait a little longer,” Chen Feng said with a smile. The Blood Mustering Bead in his hand kept spinning. Inside the Blood Mustering Bead, one Blood Bomb after another were taking form. They would become Chen Feng’s potent killer move.

When there were only four people left on the Xu Family’s side, Xu Zishan finally went all out. He raised his head skywards and howled. Next, a round, fist-sized, crystal-clear bead floated out from his open mouth.

The moment the round bead appeared, the surrounding space shook. Circular ripples emanated out from the round bead and the restrictive arrays around it began bursting, creating popping sounds as they did.

Even Chen Feng and the others, who were over 50 kilometres away from the battlefield, could sense the intense, fluctuating power of space. In fact, even some of the surrounding trees and rocks were pulverized by the power of space.

“What a formidable spatial fluctuation! What kind of magic treasure is that?” Chen Feng was taken aback.

Chen Feng did not recognize the magic treasure. However, Wen Shaoxiu and the others did. One by one, their faces sank and some reflexively channelled their sword energies out to defend themselves.

“That’s the Divine Voidspill Bomb! I didn’t think that Xu Zishan would be carrying something like that with him. Looks like he wants to take them all down with him!” Wen Shaoxiu said.

“Divine Voidspill Bomb? What kind of bomb is that?” Chen Feng felt somewhat puzzled. Judging by Wen Shaoxiu’s tone, the round bead sounded like something very powerful. 

“It is a type of bomb technique condensed out by extracting the power of the void. It is very powerful. Generally speaking, only Human Immortals would be capable of using it. I didn’t think that Xu Zishan would have this ability. Still, I think it’s best for us to back away some more,” Wen Shaoxiu said grimly. 

“So serious?” Chen Feng felt dubious. There was a distance of over 50 kilometres between them and the battlefield, after all. Was this Divine Voidspill Bomb even more powerful than the tribulation lightning of Human Immortals?

“Better safe than sorry.” After saying that, Wen Shaoxiu led the others back. Without even considering it, Liu Quan and the others followed suit. Shaking his head, Chen Feng then followed them, retreating over 5 kilometres behind.

“Go!”

Xu Zishan shouted, spraying a mouthful of blood essence out. At the same time, the other three Xu Family cultivators extended their fingers to stab their own chests.

Bloody holes appeared and streams of hot blood flowed out from the wounds on their chests. A thick, boiling, power of blood spread outwards and it felt as though space itself was burning.

 

Note: Qing Zhifeng first appeared in Chapter 601 in the Cloudmist Legacy arc.

 

1 li = 0.5 km