"First Origin of Emergence, external discharge of blood energy!"

With a shout, Chen Feng began channelling the First Origin of Emergence formula. At the same time, wave after wave of powerful blood energy spread out from his body. The blood energy radiating out from Chen Feng possessed fierce, overbearing, pa.s.sionate and positive attributes, the counter against those evil creatures. His blood energy billowed out non-stop. The blood-coloured little bugs that were clouding the surrounding s.p.a.ce cried out sharply as they fled far away, many of them reduced to ashes. It felt as though someone had brought out a torch to drive off mosquitoes.

Due to the high pressure of the situation, the Heavenly Origin acupoint between his brows began unleashing wave after wave of formidable power as well. Within the human body, the Heavenly Origin acupoint possessed the highest potential. It was also the insight acupoint that could hold the most power. At the same time, it was also the foundation for the path of cultivation. In the face of the pressure bearing down on him, Chen Feng had gained a breakthrough. He was able to merge his Heavenly Origin acupoint with all the blood energy of his body and his sea of wisdom. They pulsed and stimulated each other. In but an instant, a powerful aura radiated out from Chen Feng's body.

"Overwhelming air of righteousness! Firmness of blood energy!" Chen Feng abruptly shouted out and he once again willed the Overwhelming Astral Sword forward. Wave after wave of formidable sword energy spread out without respite from the body of the sword. At the same time, the will of the expert imbued within the sword shook, unleashing thrumming sounds.

Boom!

With a hacking motion, a sword beam, tens of zhang in length, fired out and a whole crowd of the Wicked Peddlers were instantly incinerated (1 zhang = 3.333 m).

Shua!

Another sword beam was fired out. This time, the sword beam contained Chen Feng's blood energy. It was like a hot blast of air gushing upwards due to scorched earth, like a flaming dragon howling non-stop.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

With the Overwhelming Astral Sword in hand, Chen Feng bellowed loudly as he brandished the sword up and down. Although he did not display much in terms of sword styles, there was an imposing atmosphere radiating out from him. It was an overwhelming atmosphere where every move he made contained an indescribable concept. A mysterious aura was diffusing out from Chen Feng's body and it appeared as though his surroundings had melded together with him.

"Eh? This aura… this is probably the epiphany state of mind. Could Brother Chen have gained a breakthrough?" Ye Ziming, who was focused on recovery, suddenly snapped open both his eyes.

"Gaining a breakthrough in the midst of battle. This kid is not to be underestimated. He was at level 1 of the Concealed stage earlier. Right now, though, he might be about to break through that," said Lu Ta. There was a look of envy on his face.

Although both of them had higher cultivation bases compared to Chen Feng, epiphany was not something that could be gained just because they wanted it to.

Bang!

The Overwhelming Astral Sword unleashed a shockwave and over a hundred Wicked Peddlers were killed.

"Excellent! It turns out the Heavenly Origin acupoint possesses this function. It can stimulate every potential within the body and store blood energy. Additionally, the energy it produces can also stimulate the other insight acupoints." After entering that state of mind, Chen Feng obtained a higher level of understanding towards the Heavenly Origin acupoint. He could sense every change and minute details. It was the Initial Profundity state of mind.

Initial Profundity, Comprehended Profundity, All Profundity. Chen Feng had taken the first step towards the three mysterious states of the mind.

After cultivating up to this level, the cultivator would be capable of viewing all the minute objects within his or her body with utter clarity. The cells, energy, inspecting everything to its finest detail, gain understanding of which was superior and which was inferior. He would have better control over his primary energy and blood energy in the future.

Chen Feng killed the Wicked Peddlers without respite until finally, they began to feel fear. Dread emerged from their eyes and they began retreating.

The thought that they had gotten through the crisis had only just appeared in Chen Feng's mind when a Wicked Peddler the size of a building suddenly appeared. With a flap of its wings, it caused Chen Feng's footing to become unsteady.

"What a big bat! Surely it is not a Great Yao, is it?" cried Chen Feng in shock. Next, his figure flashed and he ducked back into the spell array.

That was the leader of the Wicked Peddlers. The instant it appeared, it launched a powerful attack towards Chen Feng. A mighty soundwave pierced through s.p.a.ce itself, locking down on Chen Feng. Even after having hidden himself within the spell array, Chen Feng was unable to avoid it.

"Break!"

Chen Feng stopped his attempts to dodge and turned to lash out with his sword. s.p.a.ce itself shuddered as the soundwave was smashed apart by his blow. Immediately after that, however, five more soundwave attacks flew in, causing Chen Feng to fall into a state of disarray.

Kacha!

Another corner of the spell array was destroyed and more Wicked Peddlers surged in. Chen Feng could even see some Wicked Peddlers with the width of one zhang amongst surging in.

"Brother Chen, what is wrong? Have you reached your limit?" Ye Ziming's voice rang out.

"Their leader has come forward. It is a very powerful yao beast. I cannot face it head on," Chen Feng shouted back. He dodged about and unleashed out a few sword beams every now and again. However, before the seemingly invincible sword beams could reach the body of the leader, they were shattered apart by the streams of energy flowing across the surface of its body.

This is probably a mid-tier yao beast. There is no way for me to fight it without utilizing the full power of the Overwhelming Astral Sword or the Longevity Tower. Chen Feng a.n.a.lysed his situation.

Bang!

A circular soundwave struck Chen Feng's body, causing a circular concave to instantly appear on his chest. The protective armour he wore was instantly pierced through as tears spread out through Chen Feng's chest and blood flowed out from them.

"Cough! Cough! This is a tough b.u.g.g.e.r." Using the momentum from the attack, Chen Feng turned and dodged the rest of the incoming attacks before ducking back into the spell array.

A gentle energy suddenly appeared, enveloping Chen Feng. Next, he was shifted to stand before both Ye Ziming and Lu Ta.

Seeing the wounds on Chen Feng's chest, Ye Ziming was unable to stop himself from asking, "Are you all right?"

"If the leader's attack were just slightly stronger, it would have torn my heart's arteries. Even so, this is not looking good. I am likely incapable of moving about anymore," said Chen Feng, the lingering fear from the earlier exchange had yet to fade away.

"Don't worry. The spatial array is set. Additionally, I have already recovered 30 % of my magic power. We can leave this place now." Having said that, Ye Ziming began performing his magic technique to activate the spatial array.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

As the spatial array began operating, a rift appeared in the sky. The size of the rift gradually increased before quickly sucking in the three of them.

As they had experienced this before, they did not feel too worried while travelling through the void. It did not take long before light shone out before them once more and the three of them landed.

This time, they found themselves within a dense forest area. Although there were also some wild beasts and yao beasts there, those beasts posed no threat to the three of them.

"We have yet to get out from Black Origin Mountain Range either. At present, all three of us are injured. We cannot dally about. We should first leave this place and find a safe place," said Ye Ziming.

Next, the three of them drove their flying swords while secretly healing up their injuries. Only after two days had pa.s.sed did they land again.

"This is the outer edge of Black Origin Mountain Range. There should be no powerful yao beasts here. I will go set up an illusion array. That way, cultivators who are just pa.s.sing by will not be able to see us," said Ye Ziming.

Ten days later, the three of them emerged. By then, their wounds had fully healed. That was especially true for Chen Feng. Although the wounds on his body was the worst, he was the first to fully recover. Additionally, his cultivation base had increased by a notch. Next, he will begin a.s.sailing level 2 of the Concealed stage.

"Brother Chen's cultivation technique is truly magical. To think it would possess such a potent recovery function," praised Ye Ziming.

"It is just a rejuvenating technique. There is nothing magical about it," replied Chen Feng coolly. He was unwilling to reveal his cultivation technique.

The three of them chatted and it did not take them long to make their way out of Black Origin Mountain Range. Observing the vast expanse of flat lands, Chen Feng felt his heart stirring. This place was far away from Black Origin City.

"Brother Chen, what are you thinking?" asked Ye Ziming with a smile.

The three of them had practically been sailing on the same boat, facing life and death together. Additionally, after the conversations they had along the way, the relationship between the three of them gradually grew.

"Nothing. I was just wondering what to do next," replied Chen Feng with a smile.

"Does Brother Chen have a plan in mind?" asked Ye Ziming.

"I want to join an immortal dao sect and practice cultivation. Brother Ye, you are highly experienced and knowledgeable. Do you have any good suggestions?" asked Chen Feng after mulling it through.

Chen Feng was not lacking in cultivation techniques. The Longevity Scripture was enough for Chen Feng's cultivation practice. However, simply entering a cultivation retreat for his cultivation practice was not the way to go. Chen Feng was lacking in experience to hone himself. Additionally, if Chen Feng wanted to find out more about his own ident.i.ty, he would have to make contact with the higher-ranking existences within the world. Since Tower was unwilling to tell him about it, Chen Feng planned to find some clues by himself.

"Given Brother Chen's cultivation base, it is not impossible for you to join an immortal dao sect. However, there are quite a number of immortal dao sects in this world. There will also be conflicts. Cultivators vying to join those sects must go through a series of a.s.sessments. When you think about it, isn't it better to be a loose cultivator? You will be free and unrestrained.

"Having said that, joining a powerful sect also means gaining their protection. It is something that loose cultivators like us cannot boast of. We have no fixed home and no cultivation mountain. Who knows when we will be killed off, have our essence extracted and used for the forging of magic treasures," said Ye Ziming.

"Joining a sect requires pa.s.sing through a series of tests. That makes sense. A cultivator with an unknown background is not someone that they would dare accept," said Chen Feng with a smile.

"Truth be told, Brother Chen, there should have been a good way for you to join an immortal dao sect. Now, however, that way is no longer possible," Ye Ziming suddenly said.

"Oh, what good way?" asked a surprised Chen Feng.

"The Six Great Sky Grottoes are va.s.sal forces for immortal dao sects. They exist to send talents to their backers. For example, the one backing Purplecloud Sky Grotto, Jade Ding Sky Grotto and Yin Yang Sky Grotto is the Nine Firmaments Palace. The one backing Extensive Truth Sky Grotto, Watermoon Sky Grotto, Goldenlight Sky Grotto is the Extreme Celestial Sect. Every once in a while, the Six Great Sky Grottoes will select some outstanding disciples and send them to the two immortal dao sects. Although they also need to go through some a.s.sessments, there are way less ha.s.sles involved."

"Brother Chen is someone from Black Origin City and a clean background. If not for today's events, you could have joined one of the Six Great Sky Grottoes, wait for the selection time and join either the Extreme Celestial Sect or Nine Firmaments Palace to practice cultivation," Ye Ziming said slowly.

"So, that's what you mean." Chen Feng nodded.

"Which means Extreme Celestial Sect and Nine Firmaments Palace are the immortal dao sects of the Northern Plains. Are there any other sects?" Chen Feng continued asking.

"No one can clearly tell just how big the Northern Plains is. Thus, there is no way to tell how many sects there are within it. However, there are 10 sects known as the strongest sects amongst those in the Northern Plains. Nine Firmaments Palace, Purple Firmaments Palace, Transcendent Firmaments Palace… it is said that those three had the same founder and are close. Together, they form the strongest power within the Northern Plains. In addition, there are also Extreme Celestial Sect, Skypond Faction, Sword Hall, Flowing Cloud Hall, Starfall Sect, Jade Talisman Sect and Pill Ding Sect," said Ye Ziming.