Chen Feng, Lu Ta, Ye Ziming and Four Ears attacked the youngster from Nine Firmaments Palace.
Given Lu Ta and Ye Ziming's combat power, they could kill off a level 5 Concealed stage cultivator. As for Four Ears, he was a variant yao beast. By relying on his fleshly body, he could do battle against a level 5 Concealed stage cultivator. And then there was Chen Feng. Despite his cultivation base at a mere level 1 of the Concealed stage, he had already condensed out his Soulflame. He could be considered the strongest amongst their group.
Additionally, Chen Feng was also wielding a Prized artefact, the Overwhelming Astral Sword, to unleash an explosive power. The concerted attack from them, three cultivators and one yao beast, was something that even a level 7 Concealed stage cultivator would find difficult to take on.
The moment the youngster said that he was a disciple of Nine Firmaments Palace, Chen Feng and the others had determined to kill him off. At any rate, they had already begun fighting. Since they had begun fighting, they should kill him to avoid leaving any future troubles. The one standing behind this youngster was not a minor existence like the Six Great Sky Grottoes. Rather, it was one of the great immortal dao sects, the Nine Firmaments Palace. This was an existence that Chen Feng cannot afford to offend, not even after reaching the Sky Human stage in the future.
"Kill!"
The thought flashed across all their hearts and the attacks they executed became even stronger.
In face of the attacks, the youngster from Nine Firmaments Palace did not dodge. Instead, a circle of light quickly shone out from his body. It was like sea waves spreading out into his surroundings.
"Nine Firmaments secret technique, Flowing Ripple Power!" With a low growl, the waves of potent energy spread out from the youngster's body. Shockingly, they were capable of stopping Four Ears' attack.
Bang!
Four Ears sent a heavy punch towards the circle of light and felt as though his fist had punched into mud and 80 % of the force behind his punch was dissipated away as a result.
At the same time, Lu Ta's iron staff and Ye Ziming's flying sword were blocked by the diffusing circle of light. Like powerful waves, the circles of light stopped their attacks, scattering the force behind their attacks away.
"Not good! This is Nine Firmaments Palace's martial technique!" Ye Ziming exclaimed.
"Pierce it!"
Chen Feng growled and his clumped up Soulflame slammed into the rippling circles of light to break the youngster's defence. Then, he charged in.
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
The surrounding ripples of light were evaporated by Chen Feng's Soulflame. As Chen Feng was attacking, Four Ears, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta could feel the force behind their attacks plummeting. They quickly shook off the power shackling them and renewed their attacks.
"I want to see how you plan on blocking our attacks!" Chen Feng sneered.
"Heh heh heh!"
Chen Feng's Soulflame was on the verge of striking the youngster's face. Should the attack make contact, the youngster would be reduced to dust. It was at that moment that the youngster from Nine Firmaments Palace made his move. His whole body rapidly spun as he displayed a spiral technique. Another wave of ripples spread out from his body. This time, the ripples were even stronger than before. The moment they emerged; they emanated an atmosphere of a power capable of sweeping everything away.
"Not good! This is Soulflame! Hurry up and retreat!" Chen Feng was the first to sense the danger. He directed his own Soulflame to hastily retreat.
Ye Ziming, Lu Ta and Four Ears were quick to react as well. Hearing Chen Feng's shout, they instantly backed away.
However, their opponent was even faster. This time, the ripples moved 10 times faster than before. The ripples, formed using Soulflame, swept outwards to engulf the attacks that Chen Feng's group had executed.
"Secret soul technique, Quaking the Eight Corners!"
Chen Feng felt as though his divine sense was being torn apart by a forest of swords. His divine sense was turned upside down and his Soulflame flickered unsteadily, seemingly on the verge of extinguishing.
"Soul maelstrom!" In that critical moment, a lightning bolt seemingly flashed across Chen Feng's mind and the nearly extinguished Soulflame rapidly spun. Instantly, it escaped the enemy's attack before transforming into a stream of light to enter Chen Feng's mind again.
Immediately, Chen Feng channelled the Longevity Scripture to restore the damaged Soulflame. As he did so, his hand swung the Overwhelming Astral Sword against the youngster from Nine Firmaments Palace. Ye Ziming and the others were still stuck in his attack.
I got careless. I did not think he had condensed out his own Soulflame. Besides, he is clearly more skilled in using it than me. Additionally, he knows some secret techniques. I am no match for him. Given the current situation, I can only depend on the Prized artefact, Overwhelming Astral Sword, to beat him back. Chen Feng thought to himself.
Bang!
The first to break free was Four Ears. Facing the Soulflame attack from the youngster, the Four-eared Spirit Monkey hastily threw himself backwards, creating a large hole on the wall as he slammed into it.
"Ah, c.r.a.p! My sea of wisdom is about to be fully evaporated!" Lu Ta screamed out. His fleshly body was powerful, but not his divine sense. The enemy's Soulflame attack instantly wounded him horribly. As for Ye Ziming, his face was pale. It was apparent that he was not in a good state himself. If it were not for Chen Feng's Soulflame, which had blocked off part of the earlier attack, their sea of wisdoms would have dried up from the attack.
"I will destroy your Soulflame!" Chen Feng bellowed as a sword beam shot out from the Overwhelming Astral Sword towards the youngster from Nine Firmaments Palace.
"Prized artefact."
A look of seriousness appeared on the youngster's face. He hastily retracted his Soulflame back into his body before quickly darting away to avoid the sword beam.
"Brother Ye, are you two all right?!" Chen Feng quickly asked.
"This is quite the pickle," said Ye Ziming weakly.
"To think that a minor level 1 Concealed stage cultivator like you really do possess a Prized artefact. A magic treasure of this tier is not something that someone like you should possess. You should just give it to me." After saying that, the youngster attacked Chen Feng.
"The rivers flow into the sea, overturn the seas!"
Ripples spread out through the s.p.a.ce in the cavern to simultaneously attack Chen Feng and the others.
"You guys stay behind me; I will block him!" After saying that, Chen Feng swiftly stepped forward. The Overwhelming Astral Sword in his hand swung out, creating sword trails, which formed a defensive screen. The approaching ripples were hacked into pieces by the screen. Ye Ziming, Lu Ta and Four Ears, who were behind the screen, were protected from the ripples.
"You are simply incapable of unleashing this Prized artefact's true power. Just hand it over to me." The youngster reached out with his hand and the surrounding ripples of flowing energy rapidly gathered up, condensing into a large palm. The large palm then moved forward to capture Chen Feng. The wind brought forth by the palm was such that Chen Feng found himself suffocating.
"This is bad! This is bad! This opponent is too powerful! Even after utilizing a Prized artefact, I am still no match for him." Chen Feng quickly a.n.a.lysed the situation.
Tower, hurry! Come out and help! Chen Feng shouted inwardly. His divine sense was badly damaged earlier and had yet to fully recover. Thus, he could not gather the strength needed to utilize the Longevity Tower himself.
"This trifling situation is beneath me. You handle this." There was a somewhat uninterested tone in Tower's voice. Clearly, he had no intention of interfering.
"You heartless m-" Chen Feng could not stop himself from swearing. However, there was nothing else he could do.
"Kid, you should properly hone yourself. As it is, my strength must not be casually used. Wait until I have absorbed the Magic crystals here and increased my power. Then, I can help you fight," said Tower with a chuckle.
Chen Feng kept getting the feeling that Tower was a sinister, thousand-year-old ghost.
However, Chen Feng did not have the time to argue with Tower. The opponent's attack was already upon him. A suffocating pressure descended, encasing him.
"Go all out!" Chen Feng screamed to himself as he mobilized all his power, channelling them into the Overwhelming Astral Sword to fight off the enemy.
"Capturing Water Ripple!"
"Overwhelming air of righteousness! Astral invincibility!"
A large palm and a 10-metre long sword beam collided and the entire Purplebolt Mountain shook uncontrollably as a result. Deep cracks began appearing within the surface of the tough mountain. The potent energy spread out ceaselessly and even boulders weighing up to hundreds of jin were sent flying (1 jin = 0.5 kg).
As for Ye Ziming, Lu Ta and Four Ears, the power of the collision was so strong that it pushed their bodies down.
"Cough! Cough! This fellow is truly powerful. If not for this Prized artefact in my hand, I would have died from the attack." Chen Feng had to retreat again and again. The shockwaves from the earlier collision caused tears to appear on Chen Feng's palms. At least half his body was aching. If it were not for the wonders of the Longevity Scripture, Chen Feng would probably fail to even stand straight.
Still, the collision earlier had shattered the Capturing Water Ripple technique used by the youngster from Nine Firmaments Palace. The dispersed potent energy created deep holes upon the surrounding cavern walls.
"Humph!" Seeing his attack blocked, the youngster was immediately infuriated.
The youngster's body suddenly pulsed and he seemingly became much bigger. Wave after wave of powerful energy radiated out from his body. At the same time, various illusions revolved around the youngster. Water, fire, wind, thunder, sky, earth, mountain, lake. It seemed as though a new world was forming around the youngster.
"Eight Trigrams of the Antecedent Heaven, development of the revolving domain and myriad beings! Not good! This youngster is probably a cultivator at level 8 of the Concealed stage!" Chen Feng's heart gave a thump and he quickly understood what cultivation base the youngster was at.
Even though Chen Feng had yet to cultivate up to that level, having practiced the Longevity Scripture, he had gained some understanding about the cultivation techniques of the later levels. Moreover, Chen Feng had recently been reading up on books pertaining to cultivation. Thus, one glance was all it took for Chen Feng to judge that this youngster was at least a level 8 Concealed stage cultivator.
In the cultivation world, the difference of one level was generally the difference between Heaven and Earth. A cultivator at this level could kill off Chen Feng and the others with just a flick of his finger. If it were not for the Prized artefact in Chen Feng's hands, all of them would have been captured already. Either that, or dead.
"Development of a revolving domain! This fellow is probably an elite disciple from Nine Firmaments Palace. We are seriously no match for him. Hurry, escape!" Ye Ziming's face turned pale. He quickly grabbed Chen Feng as he began performing his secret Voidslip technique.
"Eh? Voidslip technique? That is the technique of the Xu Clan from the Central Plains. It seems my harvest today is quite considerable. Not only can I get a Prized artefact, I can also get the core secret technique of a great clan," said the youngster from Nine Firmaments Palace with a smile.
At the same time, the various illusory images around him began revolving to seal off the surrounding s.p.a.ce. Ye Ziming attempted to perform his Voidslip techniques several times only for them to fail.
"I have sealed up the surrounding s.p.a.ce. This place is now my world and I am this world's master. You fellows don't even have a chance to escape. Behold, my Capturing Revolving Domain!" said the youngster. Next, four large palms rapidly condensed out before flying forward, closing in on Chen Feng, Ye Ziming, Lu Ta and Four Ears respectively.