As his body became fleshier, the old man's aura continued to soar, rising all the way up to the high-level Earthen Immortal stage before stopping.
After that, the aura coming off him abruptly retracted and the flames within his eyes stopped dancing. Instead, his eyes shone with a dazzling light to give off an even greater atmosphere of pressure. Chen Feng was aware that the old man was mobilizing his all for this. Although he did not make any overt reactions, Chen Feng was already on guard. He knew, if he could beat back the old man's attacks this time, the old man would agree to his request.
Sou!
Before Chen Feng could even react, a flaming strand of light arrived before him. Swiftly, he employed the Longevity Steps to evade. Even so, he could feel his arm going numb. Next, a flaming sensation spread out across his whole body.
A piece of his flesh was scorched and strands of the power of fire entered his body, desirous of incinerating all of his internal organs.
Activating the Demonic Heavengorging Art, Chen Feng devoured all of the power of fire. However, as there was no time to refine the power, he simply sealed them up inside his acupoint.
Too fast! Not to mention, his power of fire is very strong. There is simply not enough time for my Demonic Heavengorging Art and Heavengulping Absorption Technique to unleash their powers, Chen Feng thought. He moved quickly, his figure fluttering constantly through s.p.a.ce to create after-images. At the same time, the scorched part on his arm healed up.
Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou!
Stream after stream of fire gushed out without respite to quickly engulf the entire sky and all of them charged towards Chen Feng to wrap around several of the after-images.
Boom!
The after-images disappeared, but so too did Chen Feng.
The old man's eyes kept sweeping around. Then, focusing on a certain direction, he opened his mouth to breath out a pure-white stream of flames. This was the Sky Fire that the old man was born with and cultivated, capable of burning everything, even the void.
Sou!
Chen Feng jumped out from the void, his clothes burned.
Hua!
A clump of water erupted above Chen Feng's head, becoming countless water droplets before turning into a cloud of water vapour. Due to that, the flames on Chen Feng's body were extinguished.
The Treasured Ocean Pearl appeared above Chen Feng. Next, Chen Feng's hands moved rapidly to form one hand seal after another. Following that, the Treasured Ocean Pearl rumbled to emanate a formidable aura of the grand dao.
Chen Feng pointed with his finger and Dawnsource Crystal Water surged out like a river towards the old man.
The amount of Dawnsource Crystal Water within the Treasured Ocean Pearl was simply too great, as vast as the ocean. If it weren't for the fact that Dawnsource Crystal Water was highly valuable, Chen Feng would have wanted nothing more than to bring out even more of the Dawnsource Crystal Water to drown the old man in it.
The old man was someone from the Skyfire Clan, possessing an innately powerful mastery over the power of fire. As they grew, they would all cultivate their Sky Fire, allowing them the ability to incinerate Heaven and annihilate the Earth. They were a very powerful bunch and their name rang loudly throughout the Myriad Celestial Planes. Knowing that, Chen Feng decided to utilize the Treasured Ocean Pearl and Dawnsource Crystal Water, using water to counter fire.
Although the Sky Fire that the old man unleashed was formidable, the Dawnsource Crystal Water from the Treasured Ocean Pearl was no ordinary object. Water and fire clashed incessantly to create an even greater power of destruction, throwing both Chen Feng and the old man backwards.
Sou!
Chen Feng waved his hand and the Deepsea Maelstrom attacked the old man once more.
By then, all the opened insight acupoints within Chen Feng's body had spun into action, power quickly surging out from them to maintain the power of the two Dao artefacts.
“I have two top-grade Dao artefacts. I don't believe I cannot defeat you!” Chen Feng sneered.
“So what if you possess formidable magic treasures? Your cultivation level is too low.”
“In that case, let's give it a try.”
The old man unleashed his Sky Fire and grand dao powers spread out while Chen Feng gave it his all to mobilize the two top-grade Dao artefacts. After a few exchanges, Chen Feng ended in a disadvantageous position.
As both of them were from the Myriad Celestial Planes, they were Heaven-defying characters with astonishing talent. In Chen Feng's case, even though he possessed two formidable magic treasures, his level was far too low when compared to the old man's level. It was only natural for him to end up in a disadvantageous position.
Despite that, by relying on the ma.s.sive stockpile of power within him, Chen Feng was able to confront the old man.
Finally, Chen Feng began mobilizing the Longevity acupoint to link up with the Celestial Longevity Plane. The aura of the Celestial Longevity Plane began strengthening Chen Feng, boosting his fighting spirit and making his attacks stronger.
Seeing that, the old man also began linking up to the Celestial Skyfire Plane and strands of Sky Fire travelled through countless layers of s.p.a.ce to strengthen the old man, making him look even stronger.
Boom!
The Treasured Ocean Pearl was knocked away and Chen Feng's whole body shook, forced to back away. Next, the old man flashed forward, leaving strands of fire behind him as he re-appeared before Chen Feng. Then, his palm landed on Chen Feng's body.
Chen Feng's body burst apart. It was a most wretched sight to behold. There was no way he could have survived.
However, the old man's face turned grim and he turned around, swinging his hand. Surprisingly, Chen Feng was actually behind him, in the midst of executing a sneak attack.
Next, their palms collided and the power of water and fire clashed once more. A booming sound rang out and the two of them were forced backwards, pushed far from each other in an instant.
“Again!” Chen Feng's will to fight soared and the two Dao artefacts, the Deepsea Maelstrom and Treasured Ocean Pearl swiftly appeared before him again, spinning quickly. The power of wind and water shook the surrounding s.p.a.ce.
Sigh! The old man sighed to himself and his beefy body began withering as he returned to his skeletal appearance.
As he was fighting Chen Feng, the magic arrays imprisoning him had been constantly recovering and half of the cracks that Chen Feng created with his attacks earlier had already repaired themselves. Even if he could deal with Chen Feng in the end, this fight with Chen Feng would take a long time. By then, the broken parts of the magic array would be fully repaired and everything he had done would have been for naught.
“Kid, stop. Let's talk about this,” the old man said calmly. Inwardly, however, he was seething with rage at Chen Feng, wanting nothing more than to kill Chen Feng off. However, he could not do that. In order to break free, he would need Chen Feng's help.
“There is nothing to talk about. Other than establishing a link to the Celestial Skyfire Plane, I also need 10 spiritual herbs that are over 100,000 years old. The fight between us had consumed a good portion of my strength,” Chen Feng said smilingly.
Seeing Chen Feng blackmailing him once more, the old man didn't even have the strength to get angry anymore. He waved his hand to give Chen Feng the 10 spiritual herbs. Next, he sat down cross-legged and began establishing a link with the Celestial Skyfire Plane.
Weng!
It did not take long before wondrous laws descended to envelop the old man. Chen Feng instantly broke into a smile. As he was from Celestial Longevity Plane, he possessed a certain level of understanding towards the aura of various Celestial Planes. Thus, he knew that the old man was not deceiving him here.
“Come, kid. I hope you can keep your promise,” the old man said with an impa.s.sive expression.
“Ha ha ha! We from the Longevity Clan are best at keeping our promises.” Chen Feng laughed loudly. Hearing those words, however, the old man nearly puked out blood.
Next up, Chen Feng stretched his hand and pulled. The power and laws of the Celestial Skyfire Plane were pulled over. Then, they enveloped Chen Feng's body before surging inside.
Truth be told, what Chen Feng wanted was not the power, but the laws. Upon grasping hold of the power of laws coming from the Celestial Skyfire Plane, Chen Feng would be able to link up to the Celestial Skyfire Plane at any time. Linking up with this Celestial Plane was much better than linking up to the Immortal Plane.
“Tower, at present, I still do not have enough power. I will leave the matter of establishing a link with the Celestial Skyfire Plane to you,” Chen Feng secretly said to Tower.
“Don't worry. I have already made a mark. In the future, you will be able to link up with the Celestial Skyfire Plane whenever you want,” Tower was quick to answer.
“If that's the case, I can rest easy.” Chen Feng nodded. He then put on a façade of absorbing the power before standing up. Then, he controlled the Deepsea Maelstrom to continue attacking the magic array.
As Chen Feng had already gotten what he wanted, he stopped slacking off. He attacked the magic array in a somewhat continuous rate, only stopping occasionally to recover for a few moments. And thus, he continued until finally, a series of explosive sounds rang out from the magic array. The magic array was completely broken and the old man cried out in delight.
s.p.a.ce began shaking and countless runes emerged from the void. The skinny old man hovered up in the sky and beams of light kept charging over from every direction to fuse with his body.
Every one of them was the old man's clone. As one clone after another fused with him, the old man's aura began changing.
Finally, his cultivation base broke through the threshold of the Earthen Immortal to reach the Ascendant Immortal stage.
Sensing the aura, the hearts of Lan Ling and the others nearly stopped. Only Chen Feng remained expressionless. He had long since speculated that this was the case.
Observing the old man recovering his strength, Chen Feng did not make use of the opportunity to leave. On the contrary, he found himself a clean spot and waited.
Due to the increase in his cultivation level, a change came over the old man's body. His pair of eyes shone with light and the sweeping gaze from them gave off a formidable aura of the unstoppable.
It was a natural form of suppressive effect that high-level cultivators would give to low-level cultivators. The Ascendant Immortal stage. That cultivation stage had already surpa.s.sed the Earthen Immortal stage. Strength wise, their attacks could instantly kill off Earthen Immortals.
By Eternal World's standard, that was the cultivation stage needed to ascend to the Immortal Plane. By reaching that cultivation stage, a cultivator's life would undergo yet another world-shaking change.
Cultivators who could reach that stage had already freed themselves from the shackles of their world and created their own pocket world. Their body would become akin to a world, allowing them to continue living on as long as their world survived. They could easily live for millions of years.
“Finally, the magic array has been destroyed. It is time we go find the treasures!” One by one, cultivators appeared all around the place.
Chen Feng counted and saw that, excluding Lan Ling's group, there were actually tens of people there.
This old man actually tricked so many cultivators. How unlucky for them. I wonder, how many would be able to leave? Chen Feng wondered.
No questions were needed to know that all of them had been duped here the same way Chen Feng was. The cultivators, seeing that they had succeeded in breaking the magic array, felt somewhat delighted. They wanted nothing more than to quickly bring out the maps they were given and head out to search for treasures right away.
“Come.” The old man abruptly grasped with one hand and the tens of cultivators there felt the surrounding energy streams flowing turbulently. Then, with a flash, they found themselves in the old man's grasp.
“Senior, what are you doing?” one of them felt something amiss.
“What am I doing? Naturally, I'm killing you all,” the old man said, opening his mouth to spit out a white-coloured stream of Sky Fire at them.
“You old b.u.g.g.e.r! You want to go back on your words? Do not forget, you have already made a Heart Oath!” one of them cultivators cried out in dread.
The old man could not stop himself from laughing aloud. His face revealed extreme smugness and delight. It was very different from the faces he had shown previously.
“Heart Oath? What is that? For cultivators at my level, that is nothing! Did you think that I would let you fellows put your hands on my treasures just because I made a Heart Oath? You're dreaming!
“Enough. In order to thank you fellows for contributing to my escape, I will grant you fellows death. A true death. Not even a trace of your souls will be left behind.”
Boom!
The Sky Fire began burning. In the face of the pure-white flames, the Human Immortals became as fragile as wooden toys and they were gradually burned to ash.
“Argh! You old b.u.g.g.e.r! You will not die a good death!”
“Let us out! I don't want to die!”
“I don't want to die! We contributed to your escape! Senior, spare us. I can be your slave! I'll do anything you ask of me in the future!”
“You devil! If you kill me, my backer will never let you go!”
“I am a student of Heavensight Academy! You cannot kill me!”
“I had to go through so many hardships to finally cultivate up to this level. I cannot die! I cannot accept this!”
Despite their formidable cultivation bases, in the face of death, they ended up losing their composure as they cried out and begged for mercy.
“So noisy. All of you must die.” The old man snickered, a scornful grin on his face. He did not view them as living beings. At best, he only thought of them as bugs. He could kill them off without any scruples.
Even Chen Feng was somewhat shocked to see that. The old man was simply too ruthless. As for Lan Ling and the others, they were so terrified that their hearts nearly popped out.
“Hurry, run!”
That was the first reaction from them. Rather, that was exactly what they did. In fact, Chen Feng didn't even have time to contact them.
“Heh! I thank you all for your efforts. However, none of you will be escaping today. All of you will be burned to ash.” The old man reached out with his hand to grasp again. A power of laws fused with the worldly powers there to instantly capture Lan Ling and the others.
The old man opened his mouth to spit out flames again, desirous of burning them all to death.
“Hold it!” Chen Feng suddenly spoke up.
“Sigh!” When they saw Chen Feng speaking up, a glimmer of hope rose within them. However, that glimmer of hope was quickly extinguished. This old man was simply too strong, after all. He was an Ascendant Immortal. Even with a top-grade Dao artefact, Chen Feng would be no match for him.
“Old man, it seems you have forgotten about me,” Chen Feng said smilingly. There wasn't a hint of concern on his face. Instead, he simply brought out the Deepsea Maelstrom, which rotated within his hand.
“Kid, why didn't you make use of the opportunity to run away earlier? By staying behind, do you have a death wish?” The old man then laughed, his body exuding an aura that cannot be overlooked.
“Run away? Death wish? What are you talking about?” A puzzled smile appeared on Chen Feng's face.
“I am the one who broke you out. Would you kill me?”
“Ha ha ha ha ha! I have to wonder, are you an idiot? I will be frank with you. Later on, I will kill you. Unexpectedly, I would be able to kill off a cultivator from the Celestial Longevity Plane right after breaking free. This is an honour!”
“Kill?” The puzzled look remained on Chen Feng's face.
“Why do you want to kill me? For what reason? Just because you are an Ascendant Immortal?”
“That's right! Because I am an Ascendant Immortal, I can kill all of you to my heart's desire.”
“An Ascendant Immortal is likely incapable of killing me. I have killed other Ascendant Immortals before,” Chen Feng said coolly.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” The old man laughed so much that he nearly had to gasp for breath.
“You killed Ascendant Immortals before? Are you trying to make me die from laughter? Enough! I have no time to be exchanging nonsense with you right now. Even if you're trying to buy time, it is useless. Now, I will kill off these kids. Then, I will kill you.” After saying that, the old man opened his mouth and a stream of white-coloured flames burned its way towards Lan Ling's group.
Lan Ling and the others had been trying to break free but to no avail. In the face of an Ascendant Immortal's move, there was no way they could break free. As the Sky Fire was about to strike them, however, Chen Feng suddenly took action.
s.p.a.ce distorted and the Sky Fire was instantly devoured. Next, the Deepsea Maelstrom spun rapidly as it shot towards the old man.
“A top-grade Dao artefact is no longer effective against me.” The old man merely raised his hand to grab the Deepsea Maelstrom. No matter how hard the Deepsea Maelstrom struggled and spun, it could not break free.
The power of a top-grade Dao artefact was no match for the old man's cultivation level to begin with. It was only natural that it could not wound him. Not to mention, Chen Feng was not going all out.
Sou!
A blast of wind flashed forward to pierce the old man's arm with lightning-like speed. It was unknown if it was due to the old man's carelessness or due to the extreme speed behind the attack. Or perhaps, it was because the old man had been looking down on the attack from Chen Feng. In the end, the old man ended up getting wounded by the attack. Due to that, his hand shook and the power he was exerting became unstable, giving Lan Ling and the others the opportunity to rush out.
“You guys, hurry up and leave!” Chen Feng shouted.
“What about you? He is an Ascendant Immortal!” Hu Xian'er cried out anxiously.
“Enough nonsense! Leave! If you stay here, you will just get in the way!” Chen Feng said solemnly before waving his hand and two more blasts of wind shot towards the old man.
Those were no ordinary wind blasts. Rather, they were the power of the Heaven Piercing Lance.
Immortal artefact! The old man's face sank and his face took on a somewhat wary look. It would appear that he was now looking at Chen Feng with a new perspective.
“Humph!” Hearing Chen Feng's words, everyone felt somewhat displeased. However, they were also aware that he was simply stating the truth. Thus, they quickly flew away. Before leaving, however, Hu Xian'er pouted at Chen Feng and gave a harrumph.
Due to the threat of the Immortal artefact in Chen Feng's hand, the old man did not pursue Lan Ling and the others. Although he was an Ascendant Immortal, he had been imprisoned for a long time. Thus, he had yet to fully recover his strength. Strictly speaking, he was a weakened Ascendant Immortal. While he could bully some Human Immortals, an Immortal artefact could still threaten him.
“Kid, looks like I have underestimated you. To think that you would possess an Immortal artefact. Looks like your position in the Celestial Longevity Plane is quite high. However, I will still you kill you! Even if it means provoking the Longevity Clan!” the old man said.
“You're so confident in your ability to kill me? You have yet to fully recover. Killing me will probably be somewhat difficult,” Chen Feng said, putting both hands together. Next, the Deepsea Maelstrom in the old man's grasp abruptly pulsed and a stream of power from the Heaven Piercing Lance shot out from within the Deepsea Maelstrom. It pierced its way through the old man's hand to strike his face.
“Courting death!” The old man had been wounded again and again. Due to that, his rage rose to its zenith. Seeing the Deepsea Maelstrom rushing back to Chen Feng, he strode forward and released a simplistic punch towards the Deepsea Maelstrom.
While he was somewhat weakened, he was still an Ascendant Immortal in the end. Thus, destroying a top-grade Dao artefact should not be a problem.
Should the punch make contact, the Deepsea Maelstrom would definitely be shattered to pieces.
Naturally, Chen Feng would not allow that to happen. The Heaven Piercing Lance appeared in his hand and he furiously unleashed a thrust with it. As a result, countless lance silhouettes charged out to stop the old man's fist.
Boom!
All of the lance silhouettes disappeared and the fist appeared before Chen Feng.
Boom!
Chen Feng disappeared and the old man's fist missed. Chen Feng had utilized the Longevity Steps to re-appear some tens of li away.
“Impossible! With your cultivation base, there is absolutely no way you could have avoided my attack! Also, how could your Longevity Steps be this powerful?” There was a look of disbelief on the old man's face.
Truth be told, Chen Feng was facing a great deal of pressure on his end as well. The Heaven Piercing Lance he was wielding was the real deal. Holding it alone was practically all he could do at the moment. Not to mention, he also had to attack with it.
The reason he could evade the old man's attack earlier with the Longevity Steps was because he had borrowed the Longevity Tower's power. Tower was absorbing power from the Celestial Longevity Plane.
One simple punch from the old man had forced Chen Feng to do so much. The superior and inferior had been decided. Should the fight continue, the one to lose in the end would be Chen Feng, unless he could unleash the Immortal artefact's full power. Either that or release all the Yao Immortals within the Longevity Tower. That way, he would have a fighting chance.
“Nothing is impossible. I have an Immortal artefact in hand, allowing me to draw the power of this Immortal artefact. Not to mention, I can also link up to the Celestial Longevity Plane. I am practically undefeatable!” Chen Feng laughed, wielding the Heaven Piercing Lance with both hands as he secretly gathered strength for his next move.
The old man pondered and said, “Kid, if you hand over the Immortal artefact, I can spare your life.”
“Heh, just shove it! If you want to attack, just attack!” Chen Feng made up his mind and made the first move. Utilizing the Heaven Piercing Lance, he displayed the Longevity Lance Technique while mobilizing the Longevity Tower's power to strengthen himself. Without that, just a soul attack from the old man would be sufficient to defeat him.
At any rate, he was only a Human Immortal. There was quite a distance between him and the old man.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
Sky Fire danced all around the old man's body and a series of popping sounds rang out. After just two exchanges, Chen Feng was beaten back. Additionally, a feeling of weakness washed over him.
Although he was already borrowing the Longevity Tower's power, empowering an Immortal artefact was still a little too much for him.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
All of his insight acupoints operated furiously. Due to the influx of power, Chen Feng felt as though he had grown a notch bigger.
Reinvigorated, he attacked once again.
In the end, Chen Feng was sent flying once more. Rather, even the lance in his hand was nearly knocked out of his grip.
“Enough. I have no more time to continue playing with you. Although you are only a minor Human Immortal, you are able to exchange blows with me. It is a glorious death for you.” The old man swiftly charged forward, his palm fully wreathed in Sky Fire. With a grasping move, s.p.a.ce was burned and destroyed. It was a result of the clash between his own world and the planet they were on.
The power of an Ascendant Immortal was simply too strong and even some essence worlds would be incapable of enduring it, let alone a small planet like this one.
Suddenly, a black hole appeared above the old man. It had appeared so suddenly that even the old man failed to notice it. Next, something flew out from the black hole. Upon emerging, that something flared with golden light as it rapidly grew big. Surprisingly, it was a grand-looking immortal palace. The immortal palace descended upon the old man.
“What? Another Immortal artefact?” The old man's heart lurched as a strong feeling of crisis finally gripped him.
Note: The words 'Immortal palace' are translated from '仙府' (xiān fǔ). I used to translate it as 'immortal mansion'. Although the character '府' (fǔ) is usually translated as mansion, it can also mean palace. I decided to change it to palace as I believe the author actually means palace instead of mansion.
1 li = 0.5 km