One year later, the ma.s.sive asteroid had become perfectly spherical and smooth. Patterns filled the surface of the asteroid and various types of power coursed through the lines of the patterns. Top-grade crystals, s.h.i.+ning with light, could be seen there as well. Additionally, there were Spirit Gathering Arrays everywhere, each placed a certain distance apart from one another. The arrays were constantly absorbing power from s.p.a.ce.
Just the amount of Spirit Gathering Beads used for the asteroid"s arrays amounted to a total of 1.8 million. This was truly a grand and delicate undertaking.
One year later, Huo Yunlong and Premier Golden Earth finally returned as well. The formidable energy fluctuations coming from their bodies informed Chen Feng that the two of them had managed to gain quite the harvest during this time.
With the additional help of the two new arrivals, the construction rate of the teleportation array rose even further. Rather, Chen Feng had even handed over some of the simpler tasks to the Ascendant Immortals who had been staying inside the Bedazzling Star Map.
And so, they used upwards of five years to construct the teleportation array. During that five years, Chen Feng had practically not rested at all. Instead, he poured all of his time and effort into the teleportation array. With the completion of the large-scale teleportation array, Chen Feng also managed to gain a deep understanding of magic arrays.
“Do you really plan on going back?” Huo Yunlong was somewhat reluctant to leave. Although this Death Dimension was dangerous, exploring it had still brought them a considerable amount of harvest.
“With this teleportation array, we will have an easy time returning in the future. Not going back to check it out doesn"t sit right with me,” Chen Feng said with a smile.
Chen Feng wondered what had become to Eternal World.
“Whatever! I"ll head back with you, then. Premier Golden Earth, what say you?”
“I also want to head out and look around. Although I was able to increase my cultivation base by staying in this Death Dimension all this time, some death energies have gathered within my body.”
“If so, let"s go!” Chen Feng said with an air of heroism. As for True Immortal Soulboost, he had no right to say anything about it.
The four of them stood on the teleportation array and Chen Feng fired out a beam of energy, activating the ma.s.sive teleportation array. The power that it had been acc.u.mulating since its moment of construction – all of it – gushed out.
Unexpectedly, the teleportation process proceeded smoothly. The surrounding s.p.a.ce, encompa.s.sing a distance of 500 kilometres, began contorting before a deep pa.s.sageway swiftly took shape. It seemed like a black hole connected to another universe.
But when the four of them entered the pa.s.sageway, they saw golden light swirling around them. It was a bizarre sight, seemingly something from a dream.
“This is due to us travelling at a certain speed. It has surpa.s.sed that of time itself,” Chen Feng said. The surrounding streams of golden light were none other than the flow of time.
Materializing that which could not be touched. It was not something that the present Chen Feng could accomplish on his own. He could only rely on the magic arrays for it.
Not long after Chen Feng and the others entered the teleportation array, the ma.s.sive teleportation array slowly turned invisible, disappearing from sight. This was one of the functions that Chen Feng had set up during the construction of this teleportation array. Eternal World would end up in trouble should others find this teleportation array, after all.
The teleportation process ended quickly. Looking at the flas.h.i.+ng stars and the clear stretch of s.p.a.ce spanning out before them, Huo Yunlong grew somewhat dubious.
“Surely we did not arrive at Eternal World so quickly?”
Chen Feng himself could not confidently declare it to be true. Instead, his divine sense surged – like a world-encompa.s.sing tidal wave – to spread far into the distance and it engulfed the nearest star regions.
“Yes. We"re here. There are still five billion kilometres between this place and Eternal World. Looks like the error is not too great.” Chen Feng nodded and he retracted his divine sense. Even though it was done silently, power continued to surge about as a result of his actions.
“This is power. Back when we were forced to leave, we had to fly through s.p.a.ce for a long time. Unexpectedly, we would be able to return so quickly by using the teleportation array.”
“However, we"ll need to construct another teleportation array if we want to return to the Death Dimension.” There was a bitter look on Huo Yunlong"s face. He had partic.i.p.ated in the construction of the teleportation array back then. It was no easy task.
“No need to rush that. For now, let"s head back to Eternal World first.” Taking a step forward, Chen Feng was greeted with a feeling that the s.p.a.ce there was too fragile. It was not even 1% as strong as the s.p.a.ce in the Death Dimension. By unleas.h.i.+ng all his might, he could probably lay waste to this stretch of starry s.p.a.ce.
“We haven"t even entered Eternal World, but I can already sense the suppression of the Heavenly dao,” Huo Yunlong said with a smile.
“Let"s go.”
A distance of five billion kilometres was nothing for them and it did not take long before they saw Eternal World, floating within the starry s.p.a.ce of the universe.
Due to the attack from the 100,000 wars.h.i.+ps from the Heavenscrown Immortal Region, Eternal World was nearly destroyed. It was left damaged and much of its terrain had been changed. Even so, the major structures of Eternal World remained unchanged.
Upon entering Eternal World, the four of them immediately sensed a formidable power of rejection. Chen Feng was not that badly affected. Huo Yunlong and the others, however, were all True Immortals. Thus, even before they landed, their arrival had seemingly caused the entire Eternal World to shake.
The three of them had their own secret techniques and they quickly blocked the suppression of the Heavenly dao and the pulling power of the Immortal Plane.
“This is somewhat unexpected,” said Chen Feng, who a.s.sessed the surrounding worldly laws. As someone that had gained Eternal World"s complete recognition, Chen Feng could already be considered as a native cultivator of Eternal World itself. Even so, Chen Feng could still sense that the power of Eternal World"s restrictive arrays – meant to repel foreigners – had weakened considerably.
“It may be due to the great calamity that it had to face in the past. Even the Heavenly dao laws have been affected. In the past, given my current level, I would not have such an easy time entering it,” Huo Yunlong said smilingly.
Chen Feng flicked his fingers once to send three streams of light into the bodies of Huo Yunlong, Premier Golden Earth and True Immortal Soulboost. In response, their bodies shuddered, now truly at ease with Eternal World.
Chen Feng"s divine sense instantly enveloped the entire Eternal World. He also deliberately made it so all the cultivators at the Ascendant Immortal stage and above would feel the crus.h.i.+ng atmosphere of power, one that reached their very souls.
“How is it?” After Chen Feng retracted his divine sense, Huo Yunlong quickly asked.
“It is as I had predicted. Heavenly Firmaments Palace has taken over Eternal World completely and all the cultivators from the other sects have become their slaves. I also found something interesting. It might be why Heavenly Firmaments Palace wants to take over Eternal World.”
“There will be a need for the three of you to take action,” Chen Feng said, smiling. He was not feeling too concerned. Back then, they were chased away from Eternal World by the True Immortals from the Immortal Plane. The main reason for that was because they were not strong enough.
But the present Chen Feng already possessed the power to fight against high-level True Immortals. Rather, he could even kill them. Moreover, he also had Huo Yunlong and the others on his side. Even if they had to face the True Immortals and army from the Immortal Plane again, they would not back down. Additionally, Chen Feng had already determined the state of the enemy forces with his actions earlier.
“Back then, we were forced to run away. Now, it"s time to exact sweet revenge.” Killing intent billowed out from Huo Yunlong.
“It"s not yet time for us to take action.” After saying that, Chen Feng waved his hand and the four of them were instantly transported to the ocean.
The boundless ocean seemed even bigger than before. Waves of water surged up high and water yaos and ocean monsters could be seen devouring the clouds and exhaling mists out there. In addition, there were also countless cultivators moving in groups there. In the past, Chen Feng had taken away a high number of the islands there when he left Eternal World. At that very moment, however, there were even more islands there. An even bigger island could be seen resting upon the very spot that East Dragon Island used to be.
Their appearance immediately alarmed the cultivators from Heavenly Firmaments Palace who were stationed there. Instantly, three Ascendant Immortals appeared before Chen Feng"s team of four.
Chen Feng found himself secretly admiring this rate of response. It showed that Heavenly Firmaments Palace"s control over Eternal World was very thorough.
“Who are you fellows!” The one who spoke was wearing a silvery-white suit of armour. He gave off an atmosphere of majesty and arrogance could be seen within his eyes.
“They must be the immortal soldiers from the Immortal Plane,” Huo Yunlong said.
Chen Feng nodded. Ignoring them, he then waved his hand again and a rapidly-spinning vortex appeared and a portal rapidly expanded in size.
The first to walk out was Heavenly Premier Absolute, followed by Patriarch Heavenly Sword, Heavenly Premier Aquafire and the other Ascendant Immortals from the East Dragon Island Alliance. Since leaving Eternal World, they had spent all their time inside the Bedazzling Star Map. It had been nearly a thousand years since then and they had all undergone a world-shaking transformation. That was particularly true for the most important cultivators from the East Dragon Island Alliance. Their cultivation bases were already very close to that of the True Immortal stage.
The faces of the three cultivators from Heavenly Firmaments Palace turned into one of extreme shock. Their atmosphere of loftiness transformed into an atmosphere of meekness and their faces turned red, seemingly on the verge of bursting apart. And yet, the three of them dared not run. No, they could not even think about running.
The three of them were only starter-level Ascendant Immortals while the number of Ascendant Immortals on the other side had exceeded 20. Every single one of the enemy Ascendant Immortals could easily kill them off.
How could such a force appear on this world? This is impossible! The hearts of the three cultivators had fallen into a state of turmoil.
“You fellows should already know what happened here,” Chen Feng said. Back then, they had seen – through the divine sense that Chen Feng spread out – what happened to Eternal World.
“Unexpectedly, Heavenly Firmaments Palace could truly conquer Eternal World.”
“Humph, it"s all due to the support of the Immortal Plane. There"s nothing remarkable about that. We"ve been cultivating for so many years. Now, it is time we get ourselves some action!”
“Yes. We haven"t been able to help out for so many years, it"s been suffocating me.”
“I overcame two Heavenly Tribulations in a row. My cultivation base has risen greatly. Even if a True Immortal comes, I will still be able to put up a fight against him.”
These cultivators had been spending all this time cultivating inside a pseudo-Divine artifact and their cultivation bases had advanced by leaps and bounds. However, they never had the chance to help out. Add the fact that they were forced to run away back then caused rage to burn within their hearts. And so, upon returning to Eternal World, all of them swiftly unleashed an air of power.
When the number of Ascendant Immortals. .h.i.t a certain number, the faces of the three Ascendant Immortals from Heavenly Firmaments Palace began contorting and a high number of cracks spread out across their bodies. Then, with a banging sound, their bodies blew up. Even their souls had been utterly wiped out.
The deliberate display of power from the hundred plus Ascendant Immortals was simply too strong. Three minor starter-level Ascendant Immortals were simply incapable of enduring it.
“The war has begun,” Chen Feng said.
By then, the portal had grown to a width of a thousand zhang and a high number of cultivators, groups of them, began appearing.
Patriarch Heavenly Sword and the others did not simply stand by and do nothing. Instead, they began forming teams to begin expanding their territory.
With the return of the cultivators from the East Dragon Island Alliance, a tempest roared within the ocean. But it did not take long before the entire Eternal World shook as well.
Heavenly Firmaments Palace had several strongholds in the vast ocean region. Some of them housed cultivators from various sects and factions who were taken captive and turned to slaves for hard labour.
The slaves had lost all hope, living in perpetual darkness. However, when they sensed the power surging out from East Dragon Island"s direction, they seemingly saw hope.
Thousands of Ascendant Immortals, millions of Earthen Immortals and over a hundred million Human Immortals descended and light flowed out to envelop the sky. No power could stop them.
1 li = 0.5 km
1 zhang = 3.333 m