A total of 36 cultivators from the Demon Plane stood respectfully before Chen Feng. Although all of them appeared human, Chen Feng knew that not a single one of them was actually a human. By a.s.suming their real forms, they would transform into demonic beasts of varying shapes.
All 36 cultivators emanated the aura of a mid-level Earthen Immortal. It was a very even display of power.
Despite its might, the Demon Plane was a chaotic world that believed in the mantra "might makes right". That said, there was one exception. In the face of those from the imperial clan, hierarchy and status came first. The aura of the Demon Plane coming from Chen Feng"s body was very pure. It was something that only the imperial clan members could exude. And so, even though Chen Feng"s cultivation level was only at the mid-level Earthen Immortal stage, all of them displayed looks of respect. Rather, even high-level or peak-level Earthen Immortals wouldn"t dare put on airs before Chen Feng. The only exception would be Ascendant Immortals, someone far above the Earthen Immortal stage. Only they could unravel the indelible and suppressive effect within their genes.
“You fellows are from the Demonic Ape tribe?” Chen Feng had long since seen through their original forms. Most of them were Demonic Blaze Apes while the rest were likely subordinates of the Demonic Ape tribe.
“Yes! How should we address you, great one?” One of the Demon Plane cultivators responded respectfully.
“Chen Feng,” Chen Feng said, waving his hand. The Demonic Heavengorging Art was channelled and a black vortex appeared on his palm.
“Greetings, great one!” Seeing that, the faces of the 36 cultivators immediately changed and they promptly knelt down.
“Get up. I have some questions for you.” Chen Feng waved his hand again to retract the aura of oppression that he was giving out. In response, the cultivators swiftly got up – respectfully – and waited for Chen Feng to speak. Seeing that, Huo Yunlong felt envious.
“Great one, please ask!”
“How many came over from the Demon Plane this time and who is the person-in-charge? Tell me everything you know,” Chen Feng said.
The cultivators dared not hold anything back and they informed Chen Feng of all they knew. In the end, they even asked Chen Feng if he wanted to follow them back. They had a.s.sumed that Chen Feng was one of the vanguard units.
“You guys head back first. I still have some matters to deal with here.” Chen Feng casually dismissed the Demon Plane cultivators.
…
“How envious. To think that there is such a benefit to cultivating the Demonic Heavengorging Art. They completely regard you as an imperial clan member of the Demon Plane,” Huo Yunlong said enviously.
“It can also bring about troubles,” Chen Feng replied with a smile.
“Unexpectedly, the Demon Plane dispatched quite the sizable force for this. As expected, the one in charge is an imperial clan member. If we have the time, we should go check it out.”
That said, Chen Feng did feel somewhat pleased. Back then, he had first obtained the Demonic Heavengorging Art from a very low-level Devourer Beast. This time, however, there was a high-level Devourer Beast. The Demonic Heavengorging Art on this one must be even more complete than his.
Thinking about that, Chen Feng felt an impulse to immediately take action, but he forced it down. Given his present level of strength, he would likely be unable to do it. It would be a different story if all three of them could advance to the peak-level Ascendant Immortal stage.
“I need to set aside some time to undergo tribulation!” Chen Feng said.
Truth be told, it hadn"t been all that long since Chen Feng advanced to the mid-level Earthen Immortal stage. For any other cultivator, a.s.sailing the next level would likely require several thousand years. Moreover, they might fail their tribulation as well. Chen Feng"s cultivation base, however, had been rising too quickly. That was particularly so thanks to the soul power of the True Immortal that he had devoured back then. As a result, his soulflame had reached the vital flame realm. In other words, even though Chen Feng was only at the Earthen Immortal stage, he was already – essentially speaking – on par with Ascendant Immortals.
“Undergoing your tribulation now is a good thing. Loopholes have appeared in the Heavenly dao laws. It might be easier to overcome.” Bi Qing nodded.
“It could become more violent as well.”
Still, Chen Feng did not immediately take action to undergo his tribulation. The three of them had discovered another pocket dimension. Truth be told, given the present state that Eternal World was in, pocket dimensions would appear every day. This was nothing to feel surprised about. Only, they had uncovered traces of cultivators from Heavenly Firmaments Palace here. Due to that, they decided to enter the pocket dimension and check it out.
“Hopefully, we can get some goodies here. It"d be great if we can find some Divine-tier medicinal pills,” Huo Yunlong said expectantly.
“Even in the Immortal Plane, such happenstances are rare, no?” Chen Feng laughed at that.
The three of them joked about as they entered the pocket dimension. Next, however, they saw a ma.s.sive vortex. The central part of the vortex was incomparably deep, seemingly connected to another part of the universe. Instantly, an irresistible suction force enveloped the three of them and they were sucked into the vortex.
“Humph, this Void Maelstrom was created using a void storm. It can suppress even a True Immortal. These three fellows will have to behave themselves and stay inside.”
“We managed to gain a lot this time. Without Chen Feng and Bi Qing, East Dragon Island will quickly fall apart. By the way, who is the other fellow? I have never seen him before.”
“Judging by his aura, he must be from Flame World. I am definitely not wrong about this.”
“This time, we should be able to get the Longevity Tower, right? Should we take action now?”
“What"s the rush? Take action now? Do you have a death wish? Is the Longevity Tower so easy to collect? The first thing we have to do is to kill Chen Feng. That way, the Longevity Tower will become an ownerless object. Then, we can take our time and plan how to deal with it.”
“You guys are still exchanging nonsense here? Use the time to think how to finish off those three fellows first.”
“Those three have already entered the Void Maelstrom. What else is there to worry about?”
When Chen Feng was enveloped by the suction force, he instantly felt as though his fleshly body would be ripped apart. Only by relying on the power of his Immortal artifacts was he able to endure it, albeit barely. Energy streams surged all around him and Chen Feng felt as though he was hovering within a void storm.
Eh, this is truly the power of a void storm! Chen Feng was shocked. A thick, b.l.o.o.d.y light encased him as he gripped the Upright Heaven Sword to stabilize his position. His other hand then sent out the Chaos Chain. Thankfully, despite how disorderly and peculiar their surroundings were, both Bi Qing and Huo Yunlong were not thrown far away from him.
The two of them quickly grabbed the Chaos Chain. Cyan light flashed and Bi Qing appeared before Chen Feng. Next, flames flared out as Huo Yunlong"s whole body was engulfed in flames. However, their surroundings were constantly extinguis.h.i.+ng his flames. Even Huo Yunlong"s tough body was trembling, seemingly on the brink of tearing apart.
“Humph!” Huo Yunlong grunted and something seemingly broke within him. Next, a formidable power charged out to form a flaming suit of armour, which completely encased his body.
“Tsk, tsk. You"ve entered the half-step True Immortal stage. I say, Brother Huo. You sure play it very close to the chest.” Chen Feng laughed.
“It"s a Seed of the Fire Essence. Every Seed of the Fire Essence is comparable to a top-grade Immortal artifact.” Bi Qing"s body was protected by the Profound Light of Extreme Cyan. Given his present level of strength, there was no need for him to link up to the Celestial Clearblue Plane for this.
“What is going on here?” Huo Yunlong shouted in exasperation. He had been forced to expose his trump card. Only, there was no helping it. Without doing so, the power would have ripped him to pieces.
“Is there a need to ask? We fell into an ambush,” Chen Feng replied and waved his hand. Next, another thick barrier encased him. This was the power of the Essence Spirit Bead.
Despite having used two mid-level Immortal artifacts to defend himself, it was still somewhat lacking. After that, the Upright Heaven Sword in Chen Feng"s hand released strands of sword energy to slice the surrounding void power.
“I know this is an ambush. But who is the other party? And what is this place?” After saying that, Huo Yunlong fired out a punch. A fist blast smashed its way through the chaotic void powers to create a pathway, but the pathway quickly closed up.
Chen Feng noticed that Huo Yunlong had grown at least 10 times stronger.
“Huh!” Huo Yunlong exhaled, pleased by what he saw.
“Don"t get too happy just yet! Even if your strength rises to the True Immortal stage, it will still be difficult to get out from here,” Bi Qing said.
“I refuse to give up!” Huo Yunlong said as he fired out another punch. Due to his punch, their surroundings became even more chaotic.
“Enough. The way I see it, you should preserve your strength.” Chen Feng hastily stopped him.
“Brother Huo, do you really not know where we are right now? You are a high-level Ascendant Immortal. You must have spent quite some time exploring outer s.p.a.ce, no?”
“Void storm! Of course, I knew that.” Huo Yunlong slowly recollected himself. Even so, power continued radiating out from his body to shatter the void powers that were flowing towards them.
“It"s a Void Maelstrom created from a void storm. Although its level is not that high, it is still strong enough to suppress a True Immortal,” Bi Qing said.
“What, a Void Maelstrom?! It can even suppress a True Immortal? Isn"t this really bad?” Huo Yunlong"s face sank sharply.
The strongest power that Huo Yunlong could display was at the half-step True Immortal stage. Likewise, Bi Qing could also increase his power to the half-step True Immortal stage. Even so, it was useless. Not even 10 half-step True Immortals would prove useful here.
“Only now did I realize that our team of three is very strong. In order to set up a trap for us, they"re going as far as using such a formidable artifact against us,” Chen Feng said smilingly, waving his hand to send the Upright Heaven Sword slas.h.i.+ng forward, hacking apart a stream of void powers.
“I think the other party just wants to take action against you. I am just an unfortunate guy,” Huo Yunlong said with a disgruntled tone.
“Regardless, we are on the same team here. Rather than think that, let"s think how to leave this place,” Chen Feng said.
“Enter the Longevity Tower and borrow its power to leave!” Huo Yunlong"s eyes lit up.
“If I"m right, our enemy"s main goal is to s.n.a.t.c.h the Longevity Tower. And although I have a great deal of confidence in the Longevity Tower, I do not want to bring it out so quickly.” After saying that, Chen Feng swung the Chaos Chain and it elongated before going deep into the turbulent streams of void power. Countless streams of void powers were shattered as a result. At the same time, large amounts of void powers also entered the Chaos Chain.
“The power of chaos within these turbulent void streams is of a high grade. I can use it to help me refine the Chaos Chain. What do you guys think? By cultivating here for a while, would the Chaos Chain be able to level up to the top-grade Immortal tier?” Chen Feng suddenly said.