Chen Feng had spent up to 100 years inside the Spirit Essence Tower this time. Although Chen Feng was still a starter-level Earthen Immortal, his combat power had risen several times and the average Ascendant Immortals were no longer worth squat in his eyes.

After returning to East Dragon Island, he found that everything was stable. Chen Feng then spread his divine sense out, like water ripples spreading outwards. In just an instant, it had spread across a distance of over a million li. However, Chen Feng was not done. With a calm expression on his face, Chen Feng's divine sense continued expanding, reaching up to a distance of three million li before stopping. That was already enough to envelop all the territories of East Dragon Island.

Hmm, not bad. Chen Feng nodded slightly. After scanning about, Chen Feng was able to find out everything that was happening within East Dragon Island. Chen Feng's sea of wisdom was so big, it was even bigger than that of an Ascendant Immortal.

The eight Demon Kings under him back then had already cultivated up to the Demon Deity stage. In other words, they were now as strong as Earthen Immortals.

Furthermore, the other cultivators and water yaos of East Dragon Island had also improved greatly. During the 100 years that Chen Feng was away, East Dragon Island had gained another 30 Earthen Immortals. As for Human Immortals, that number reached 10,000. The number of cultivators in East Dragon Island had doubled. Due to that, East Dragon Island's position grew even more secure.

Chen Feng was aware that, for either a sect or force, a stable rise in power was not something that could be done quickly. The fact that East Dragon Island could reach this point in just several hundred years was something beyond Chen Feng's imaginations.

Moreover, Chen Feng himself was not exactly a qualified person to be establishing a sect.

Chen Feng's return to East Dragon Island did not create too much of a stir. Only some of the high-ranking cultivators came to visit Chen Feng. As for Chen Feng, he only asked them some random questions. At any rate, Chen Feng's divine sense could already envelop all of East Dragon Island's territory. Thus, most things could not escape his notice.

“What has been happening in the Northern Plains as of late?” Chen Feng suddenly asked.

“During the past 100 years, Heavenly Firmaments Palace has completely stabilized the Northern Plains. Additionally, its power has been growing at an extremely rapid pace. Its strength may have surpa.s.sed the Four Great Academies,” Patriarch Golden Turtle, now a Yao Immortal, said respectfully.

Patriarch Golden Turtle was already a Yao Immortal. And yet, even though Chen Feng was not releasing his aura out, Patriarch Golden Turtle could still feel a suffocating atmosphere when facing Chen Feng.

“Surely not? Heavenly Firmaments Palace is so powerful? Logically speaking, even if Heavenly Firmaments Palace makes use of secret techniques, it should only be able to nurture out Human Immortals. Unless, some high-level cultivators are taking a hand in this. Did Heavenly Firmaments Palace make contact with the Immortal Plane again?” Chen Feng grew surprised.

“In recent years, some forces had wanted to spread their influence into the Northern Plains, but all of them were beaten back. On the contrary, Heavenly Firmaments Palace made use of the opportunity to expand its power instead. Its hands have started reaching the Central Plains,” Ye Ziming said. Ye Ziming was still just a mid-level Human Immortal, but he was someone that Chen Feng trusted. Thus, he was also qualified to partic.i.p.ate in the meetings of the high-ranking members.

“Impressive. Looks like Heavenly Firmaments Palace is feeling gutsy.” Chen Feng smiled.

“Yes. It is able to occupy the entire Northern Plains. Its power is definitely not to be underestimated.”

“There is one more thing of note regarding Heavenly Firmaments Palace. Killer Palace and Void Palace have submitted themselves under Heavenly Firmaments Palace. More, there are some other forces in the Central Plains, Western Regions and Eastern Provinces that have secretly entered the Northern Plains. Most likely, they have joined Heavenly Firmaments Palace as well,” Patriarch Skytour interjected.

Chen Feng pondered for a moment before saying, “That happened? Looks like Heavenly Firmaments Palace is really setting itself up. Does it really want to unify the entire Eternal World? That is only possible if they can borrow men from the Immortal Plane. This won't do. I want to go investigate. You fellows may return now.”

After everyone had left, Chen Feng's figure flashed as he entered the Longevity Tower. He condensed his divine sense to the point of tangibility and linked up with the Longevity Tower.

Investigating a place that was millions of li away was still beyond Chen Feng. Thus, he had to borrow the Longevity Tower's power.

His divine sense then became like a thread of silk before piercing through the void, where it jumped through s.p.a.ce. It did not take long before it jumped through millions of li to arrive in the Northern Plains.

The moment he arrived, Chen Feng sensed an aura, one that was different from the past. It was a very fleeting aura and the average cultivator would be incapable of detecting it. Even for Chen Feng, he was only able to faintly sense it. Getting a firm grasp of the aura was impossible.

The atmosphere of the Northern Plains has changed drastically. The very nature of the place, all of it, has undergone a change. This doesn't seem like the handiwork of the Immortal Plane. Chen Feng had verified that a change had come over the Northern Plains. However, there was still a need to investigate the details.

Chen Feng was confident that even Ascendant Immortals would have a hard time detecting him. It did not take long before he wandered all over the Northern Plains. As a result, he felt both shocked and puzzled.

To think that Heavenly Firmaments Palace's strength has reached this level. It is far beyond anything I had imagined. Even the combined might of the Four Great Academies is no match for it.

By Chen Feng's estimate, the number of Earthen Immortals and Human Immortals on Heavenly Firmaments Palace's side was at least 10 times that of East Dragon Island. There were over 1,000 Earthen Immortals and over 100,000 Human Immortals. Just what kind of concept was that? Furthermore, this was not all the power that Heavenly Firmaments Palace could field.

There were still some secret spots within the Northern Plains that Chen Feng could not casually inspect. Doing so would allow the other party to notice him.

Heavenly Firmaments Palace's strength is growing rapidly. Given its rate of growth, in a hundred years' time, Eternal World will end up facing a disaster. No, this is already a disaster.

Chen Feng frowned. It had to be said. If Heavenly Firmaments Palace were to attack East Dragon Island now, one clash was all it would need to destroy East Dragon Island.

Did Heavenly Premier Absolute and the others not notice this situation? Looks like there is a need to discuss this with them. Just as Chen Feng was about to leave, his divine sense suddenly reacted as he discovered something.

Eh? What is that over there? Chen Feng's divine sense instantly entered the ground. It moved down rapidly. After descending for 50 kilometres, however, he encountered some restrictive arrays. The restrictive arrays were very complicated and some contained the laws of s.p.a.ce, causing Chen Feng's divine sense to lose its sense of bearing many a time.

Just what could it be? Why is it giving me this foreboding feeling? In the end, Chen Feng's divine sense was blocked by a thick spatial barrier.

Break!

The Longevity Tower shook slightly and a stream of power was channelled over, improving the strength of Chen Feng's divine sense. Next, his divine sense became like a steel needle to pierce through the barrier.

However, it did not take long before another barrier appeared before him. At the same time, Chen Feng was able to sense the essence power of Eternal World. Additionally, there was also a faint hint of devilish energy.

Could there be a demonic cultivator hiding below? Or some devilish object? Just the aura is causing alarms to ring out. Looks like this other party might not just be an Ascendant Immortal. Chen Feng hesitated for a moment before continuing to descend.

Finally, after breaking the barrier, Chen Feng saw a blurry figure. Despite trying all the moves in his disposal, he was incapable of making out just what that blurry figure was. It felt as though there was limitless s.p.a.ce between the two of them.

As Chen Feng was in the midst of trying hard to figure it out, the blurry figure moved slightly and a mote of fiery light abruptly exploded to envelop Chen Feng's strand of divine sense.

Instantly, 90% of the divine sense was melted away. Chen Feng's sea of wisdom roiled and a wave of stinging pain a.s.sailed him. The Longevity Tower roared and a stream of formidable power surged forward, promptly causing Chen Feng's remaining strand of divine sense to grow bigger before breaking out from the fiery light. With a spatial jump, it moved through layer after layer of s.p.a.ce to arrive somewhere over half a million kilometres away from the place.

Huh! That was really dangerous! The other party nearly succeeded in burning up every part of this strand of divine sense that I sent out. Chen Feng could still feel the lingering sensation of fear within him. However, he did not return to the Longevity Tower. Instead, he went to Absolute Academy.

The moment Chen Feng's strand of divine sense entered the Absolute Mountain Range, Heavenly Premier Absolute, who was deep in cultivation there, noticed him. Power surged to guide Chen Feng's divine sense into a grotto-mansion.

The strand of divine sense wriggled for a moment before a.s.suming Chen Feng's appearance. Next, he casually found a place to sit down.

“Senior, congratulations on making great progress in your cultivation efforts,” Chen Feng said smilingly.

After a hundred years, Heavenly Premier Absolute's cultivation base had improved. There was only one step left between him and the mid-level Ascendant Immortal stage. Chen Feng could also tell that the reason Heavenly Premier Absolute did not undergo his tribulation yet was because he would be incapable of stopping the resulting pull from the Immortal Plane after successfully overcoming his tribulation.

Naturally, it was also not an appropriate time to be ascending, given how chaotic Eternal World was at the moment.

“No need to congratulate me. I have been staying in this level for tens of thousands of years. If I still cannot make a breakthrough, that would have been unacceptable. Rather, I should be the one congratulating you. You have cultivated up to the Earthen Immortal stage. I fear that I am no longer a match for you. Take this soul projection technique that you are using as an example; I am incapable of doing this,” Heavenly Premier Absolute said smilingly. He was truly shocked. Chen Feng's presence here had given him an incredible feeling of shock.

Comparing with others was truly a vexing thing. Heavenly Premier Absolute had spent hundreds of thousands of years to reach this level. And yet, this Chen Feng had only used several hundred years to reach this level. It was, unparalleled.

“Senior, you are too modest. I came here because there is something going on,” Chen Feng said.

“Is it due to the Northern Plains?” Heavenly Premier Absolute said with a smile.

“Yes. Senior, let's talk about the present situation of the world of cultivation.” The human form that Chen Feng's divine sense had taken was practically identical to his real body. Even his flesh appeared vivid and lifelike.

“No need to call me senior now. As it is, I can no longer carry its weight. In a few more years, we old fogeys will likely be depending on you. As for the world of cultivation, it is still in a very chaotic state. Rather, it is terribly chaotic. Heavenly Firmaments Palace has unified the Northern Plains and is now turning its sights on other places. Speaking of which, our Central Plains is the most chaotic of them all. Naturally, your ocean region is also not at peace. The many islands of the Eastern Provinces, Western Regions and Southern Seas are in the midst of killing one another. Honestly, the Northern Plains is the most peaceful place now.”

Next up, Chen Feng would occasionally forward one or two questions while Heavenly Premier Absolute did most of the talking. The things that Heavenly Premier Absolute knew was more or less similar to what Chen Feng already knew. There was not much in terms of discrepancies.

“By the way, Bi Qing is likely exploring outer s.p.a.ce now. Before leaving, the two of us had once tried to check up on the Northern Plains and fought Heavenly Premier Ninelink and his pals. Heh! If it weren't for Bi Qing, who made use of some methods, the two of us would have suffered from a serious loss. It's possible that we might not have been able to return.” As he said that, Heavenly Premier Absolute scoffed. However, there was also a lingering sensation of fear.

“Did you discover anything?” Chen Feng was quick to ask.

“Some. It looks like there is still a connection between Heavenly Firmaments Palace and the Immortal Plane. In recent years, Heavenly Firmaments Palace has been growing at an extremely rapid pace. The way I see it, this is definitely connected to the support from the Immortal Plane.”

1 li = 0.5 km