What? Someone came again? Why can't I sense anything? Chen Feng was shocked. He was constantly spreading out his soul power into his surroundings, on guard for anything. Earlier, Chen Feng had detected the black shadow the instant the black shadow approached his courtyard.

At present, however, Chen Feng had failed to notice anything. It could only mean that the other party's cultivation base far surpa.s.sed Chen Feng's cultivation base.

"The other fellow is already very close to reaching the Human Immortal stage. Even if you are several times stronger, you would still be incapable of noticing him," Tower said amusedly.

Chen Feng did not reveal any overt movements. However, he secretly melded part of the Longevity Tower's power with himself. Immediately, his vision changed. His soul power rose geometrically and the entire inn fell under the scope of his soul power. He could even sense the cells of the insects crawling on the ground.

A cultivator was utilizing a strange technique to hide himself somewhere not far away from Chen Feng. Although Chen Feng had already set up layer after layer of soul-type defences beyond the door of his building, he had failed to detect the other party's arrival.

Without the Longevity Tower, killing me would have been a simple matter for the other party, Chen Feng thought, feeling shocked.

"Who are you? Why are you spying on me?" Chen Feng asked.

"Eh? You discovered me?" Seeing Chen Feng's gaze directed towards him, the City Lord immediately realized that he was discovered. He became thoroughly shocked.

As Chen Feng had affixed both his Soul and Anima acupoints, his soul power was firm. However, the City Lord's cultivation base was high. It was only natural that he would be able to determine Chen Feng's true cultivation state. Thus, he had grown shocked.

To be capable of detecting him at the Concealed stage, this Chen Feng must possess some secrets. Instantly, the City Lord's heart grew inflamed as a trace of greed and ambition sprouted within him. However, he was very much capable of controlling himself.

Without making any sound, a stately-looking middle-aged man appeared before Chen Feng. His eyes were focused and they stared right at Chen Feng.

"How did you discover me?" the City Lord asked, his voice containing a bewitching quality. However, it failed to affect Chen Feng's mind.

"Who are you?" Chen Feng responded with his own question instead.

"Ha ha! I am the City Lord of this place. You should know why I am here, no?" The City Lord cast an ambiguous smile at Chen Feng. It was unknown just what was going on within his mind.

"For what happened during the day?" Chen Feng asked.

"Yes."

"Were you the one who sent the shadows earlier?"

"Yes."

"So, why aren't you attacking? I believe you must have identified me, no?"

The two of them would ask and answer, their exchanges performed quickly. Although it appeared like a serene conversation, the atmosphere within the courtyard began turning grim. Jian Xiaotian, who was inside the adjacent courtyard, had finally sensed that something was amiss. He wanted to charge inside only to find that there was an invisible barrier blocking his way.

Despite having fired out a series of sword beams, Jian Xiaotian was still incapable of breaking down the barrier. However, he then grew still. He knew that Chen Feng had the means to protect himself. Thus, he was not feeling too concerned.

"He he! Truth be told, I am considering whether to take action or not. At any rate, the rewards offered by Nine Firmaments Palace is very tempting," the City Lord said with a snicker. There was a gentle look on his face. Inwardly, however, several thoughts were surging within his mind.

Chen Feng was just a Concealed stage cultivator. Logically speaking, he should be able to easily capture Chen Feng the moment he took action. However, an inner voice was constantly reminding him: Chen Feng is more than meets the eye! Should he actually take action against Chen Feng, he would be the one to suffer. Rather, he might even die. There were no signs that the City Lord could see to prove it. It was just the intuition of a cultivator.

Chen Feng leisurely sat down on a chair and poured himself a cup of tea. Then, he nonchalantly sipped it. It was as though he simply did not view this City Lord standing before him as a threat.

"The ones you killed are from the Lu Family. Although they are no match for the great sects like Extreme Celestial Sect, they are still a clan of heroes. Now that you have killed the Three Lu Brothers, they will never let this slide." The City Lord then changed the topic of discussion.

"Ha ha! Countless cultivators have fallen under my hands during this time. Not to mention, some of them are from the various great immortal dao sects. What's the big deal about killing off a few cultivators from a Lu Family?" Chen Feng said with a derisive tone.

Hearing Chen Feng's words, the City Lord immediately sucked in a breath of air. He could sense a faint and devilish blood energy radiating out from Chen Feng's body.

The City Lord's eyes flickered ceaselessly. The desire to attack was thoroughly suppressed down. The reason why he could stay alive this long was his cautious character, otherwise he would not have been able to obtain this position of City Lord.

After making up his mind, the City Lord's figure swayed before disappearing from Chen Feng's sight. At the same time, his words rang out, "You should hurry up and leave Starcloud City. I cannot guarantee that news of you staying here will not be leaked!"

Chen Feng smirked. He understood what the City Lord meant. As he was a cautious character, he did not want to attack Chen Feng. However, he also did not want Chen Feng's presence to bring any troubles to Starcloud City. Thus, he had left the warning before leaving.

After the City Lord's departure, the invisible barrier around the courtyard promptly dissipated and Jian Xiaotian dashed inside. Seeing Chen Feng safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Chen, are you all right? What happened earlier?" Jian Xiaotian was quick to ask.

"It was the City Lord of Starcloud City." Chen Feng then informed Jian Xiaotian what happened earlier.

"I didn't think that our ident.i.ties would be exposed so quickly. Looks like this Starcloud City Lord is not to be underestimated," Jian Xiaotian said solemnly.

"No matter how you cut it, he is already someone close to reaching the Human Immortal stage. He is someone capable of mostly doing as he wishes in the world of cultivation. For him to occupy the position of Starcloud City Lord, he must surely have some cards up his sleeves. However, he did not attack earlier. I believe he will not attack us in the future as well. As for the others, it will likely be hard for them to determine our ident.i.ties. Next up, we need to be wary against the retaliation from the Lu Family," Chen Feng said.

"Originally, I was planning on leaving Starcloud City as soon as possible. However, if we are to leave now, it would look like we are fearful of the Lu Family. The way I see it, we should stay here for a while and see what the Lu Family has up their sleeves." Jian Xiaotian was a pure sword cultivator who also possessed the Absolute Combat Const.i.tution. He was innately someone who leaned towards the path of battle and carnage. In the face of this situation, the only option for him was to move forward and fight. How could he simply run away?

"Yes, my thoughts exactly. Let's stay in Starcloud City for a few days and learn a little about the situation within the world of cultivation. We had spent quite some time in hiding; we are practically out of touch with the outside world." Chen Feng nodded.

Somewhere 500 kilometres away from Starcloud City, hidden within a mountain forest, was a castle. Inside the castle, a mighty-looking old man was shouting furiously.

"What? To think that something like this would happen! Who did it?" the old man said grimly, his beard and hair billowed upwards and a powerful atmosphere swirled out around him.

"It was perpetrated by two youngsters. They are still within Starcloud City!"

"Humph! No matter who they may be, the fact that they dared kill off members of our Lu Family means they must die. Send out our men right now! They are to head to Starcloud City and kill off those two fellows!" the old man shouted.

"Affirmative!"

The next day…

Early in the morning, all of Starcloud City grew lively, more so compared to the past and many of the cultivators within the city moved to converge upon a certain spot.

After walking out from their inn, Chen Feng and Jian Xiaotian saw what was happening. Curious, they inquired about and found out that Starcloud City was holding an auction for treasures today.

"Treasures? What kind of treasures?" asked a curious Chen Feng.

"I have heard that it is a Sky-tier cultivation technique!"

"No, I hear that it is a Sky-tier medicinal pill!"

"You are both wrong! I received reliable news that this auction will feature a Sacred artefact!"

"Braggart! Can Sacred artefacts be auctioned in our place?"

"Enough! No need for you fellows to argue. Let's just head to the auction house and find out for ourselves. Besides, it is not as though our Starcloud City has never auctioned off any Sacred artefacts in the past."

Watching those cultivators move far into the distance, Chen Feng and Jian Xiaotian exchanged glances.

"It's so lively. Looks like there will be some good items in this auction. Let's go join in the fun," Jian Xiaotian said smilingly.

"Very well." Chen Feng nodded.

Chen Feng was not interested in any cultivation techniques. As he was already practicing the Longevity Scripture, it was only natural for him to disregard other cultivation techniques. Of course, cultivation techniques like the Demonic Heavengorging Art was an exception.

At present, Chen Feng was not lacking any cultivation techniques, medicinal pills or even magic treasures. He was only heading to the auction for the same reason as Jian Xiaotian, to partic.i.p.ate in the liveliness. At any rate, the two of them were still young. It was not easy for them to put up with solitary cultivation all the time.

By following the flow, they quickly came before a tall building. It was at least 100 zhang tall, rising all the way up into the clouds. Giving it a glance, Chen Feng saw that the building had at least 64 floors.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Feng immediately blurted, "This is actually a small mountain!"

"Ha ha! Brother, this must be your first time here in our Starcloud City, right? You are correct. This auction house is actually a stone mountain. Every floor and room are carved out from the mountain," the cultivator beside Chen Feng smiled and said.

"So that's how it is. However, this stone mountain is quite durable," Chen Feng replied with a smile of his own.

"Of course! These are Cyanstar Stones, an excellent material for constructing buildings. Additionally, they are whole," the cultivator said.

After paying some spirit stones, Chen Feng and Jian Xiaotian entered the auction house. The auction house was in no way small. However, there were simply too many cultivators there, resulting in a somewhat raucous scene.

Chen Feng's brows knitted. Next, he moved forward with Jian Xiaotian to find one of the auction house's receptionists.

"He he, is there anything you need?" The receptionist was quite polite.

"I have some items I want to auction," Chen Feng simply said.

"Items to auction?" The receptionist was puzzled. He did not understand what Chen Feng was up to. The auction had already begun. Bringing items out for auction now? There was not enough time for that.

"Yes. It's some Prized artefacts." After saying that, Chen Feng brought his hand out and a staff, emanating green light, appeared on his palm.

"It really is a Prized artefact. However, its grade is somewhat low." Although the receptionist was not a Sky Human stage cultivator, he did possess discerning eyes. One glance was all it took for him to determine the grade of the Prized artefact in Chen Feng's hand.

The staff's name was Aquamarine Poison Staff. It was something that Chen Feng had obtained by s.n.a.t.c.hing from others in the past. As it was only a grade 1 Prized artefact, Chen Feng had found it lacking. Thus, he decided to take it out.

"He he! I still have some more here." Chen Feng waved his hand again and a spear appeared within his grasp. Standing upright upon the ground, the spear kept releasing strands of spear intent, forcing the receptionist to take a few steps back.

"Grade 3 Prized artefact. Not bad, right?" Chen Feng said with a smile.

"Not bad, not bad. Please come with me." A look of shock flashed across the receptionist's face. However, he quickly put on an enthusiastic expression as he entertained Chen Feng and Jian Xiaotian.

1 zhang = 3.333 m