“Congratulations! Unexpectedly, what happened to you was a blessing in disguise. After your body was re-created, you were able to advance to the next level. A pity, the others have all died,” Chen Feng said.
“It is destiny. On our way there, I have already resigned myself for a grim ending. Unexpectedly, I got lucky. Of course, it is also thanks to the senior.” This reborn Sword Saint Windflow gave Chen Feng a different impression, but Chen Feng did not think too much about it. So long as he did not come trouble him, all was good.
As expected, the half-step Gold Immortal did not come to trouble him. For Chen Feng, this was the best possible scenario. He would be able to continue staying in the Six Daos Sword Faction to cultivate with peace of mind and ignore other matters. Perhaps, when he had grown bored, he would head out for an adventure. But for now, dealing with the newly-collected fragment of the Great Wilderness Ding was of utmost importance.
Chen Feng had obtained four of the Great Wilderness Ding"s fragments, which had fused into one. Only, the fourth fragment contained the will of a Gold Immortal, causing the soul imprint that Chen Feng inserted into the mix to be utterly wiped out. If it weren"t for the fact that the fragment was suppressed within the Longevity Tower, it would have flown away long ago.
A ma.s.sive Longevity Furnace stood within the Longevity Tower and ferocious flames kept burning it. Tower"s face was solemn and he would occasionally open his mouth to spray out stream after stream of flames. Additionally, he would also bring out some other energy streams, putting them through a transformation process before throwing them into the Longevity Furnace.
“Tower, how is it?” Chen Feng entered the Longevity Tower.
Bang!
The Longevity Furnace blew up and a sword slashed towards Chen Feng. Tower waved his hand and a golden-coloured palm appeared out of nowhere to firmly grab the sword. At the same time, a new Longevity Furnace was formed and primary flames transformed into chains to once again throw the fragment of the Great Wilderness Ding – that had transformed into the sword – into the furnace.
Chen Feng could tell that the golden-coloured palm was an ability of the extrterrestrial creature of chaos. Although the danger had been dealt with, it had still terrified Chen Feng, who broke out in a cold sweat. If that sword attack had managed to strike him, it would certainly obliterate him, both in body and soul. Even Tower had to be cautious in the face of the fragment of a high-grade Divine artifact and the will of a Gold Immortal.
“This is already the sixth time it blew up,” Tower said with a calm expression. He did not appear anxious at all. Chen Feng nodded, his soul flame spreading out. After locating a spot, it began burning the furnace as well.
At that very moment, Chen Feng"s soul flame was already far stronger compared to most Heavenly Immortals. Additionally, as Chen Feng had refined the fragments of the Great Wilderness Ding before in the past, establis.h.i.+ng a connection with this fragment was easier. At present, the most important matter was to wipe out or refine the will of the Gold Immortal inside the fragment.
“This is just the remnant will of a Gold Immortal. It should be very easy to handle.”
And yet, despite having the help of the Longevity Tower, it took Chen Feng three years to regain control of the fragment.
“This Gold Immortal had a very good plan. He left behind a strand of his ageless divine sense for the sake of resurrecting himself. If it weren"t for the Longevity Tower"s a.s.sistance, any other cultivator would have had their body s.n.a.t.c.hed. This time, though, I managed to s.n.a.t.c.h over an Ageless law. That is the biggest harvest here.”
With a thought from Chen Feng, a line of golden light resembling a thick spine supporting Chen Feng"s body appeared, illuminating his whole body. This was his biggest harvest, an Ageless Gold law. And while its power was incomplete, its structure was still there. In due time, the nature of Chen Feng"s life force would gradually undergo a transformation thanks to the law.
When Tie Zhen saw Chen Feng again, he felt an increased sense of pressure. Sensing the ageless aura coming from his body, Tie Zhen felt his heart stirring and his determination to follow Chen Feng grew even more firm.
“I have a minor cultivation formula here. It is from the Longevity Scripture. I believe that you fellows will be able to benefit somewhat by cultivating it,” Chen Feng said, light flowing out from his eyes to form a clump of light in the air. There was a rune hovering within the clump of multi-coloured light. Additionally, there were countless grand dao principles undergoing a constant transformation within.
“Thank you, Young Master!” Tie Zhen and the others revealed a look of delight. Next, the clump of light split into six before flying into their respective seas of wisdom.
In truth, it was not a cultivation formula. Rather, it was something more valuable, comprehension. It was the cultivation experiences left behind by some experts who had cultivated the Longevity Scripture in the past. The fact that these cultivation experiences could be left behind in the Longevity Scripture proved that those cultivators were true experts.
For cultivators like Tie Zhen, the cultivation experiences left behind by these experts were even more valuable compared to cultivation formulas. It was something that they could only come across through sheer luck. After seeing the contents of the clump of light, Tie Zhen and the others grew even more excited.
There were many of those experiences within the Longevity Scripture. Chen Feng had only brought out a very small portion of them. As for why he had waited so long before giving them that, he had been testing them.
During Chen Feng"s cultivation sessions, Tie Zhen"s team had been the ones guarding him. Secretly observing them, Chen Feng had not sensed any hostility from them. That was despite him utilizing the Longevity Tower"s power to observe them. In the end, Chen Feng concluded that these fellows were sincere in coming here to search for him.
His cultivation session proceeded with tranquillity. That said, some notable things did happen along the way. For example, Chen Feng had managed to open up some more of his hidden insight acupoints. It was as though some black holes had appeared within the universe and Chen Feng"s body became even more densely-packed together while also becoming even more dangerous.
The opening of the Illusion acupoint and Spirit acupoint greatly increased Chen Feng"s eye technique and soul power. His Divine Eyes of Heavenly Insight seemingly underwent something of an abnormal transformation, exceeding that of its original scope.
The opening of the Hidden acupoint and Evasion acupoint strengthened Chen Feng"s stealth technique and Longevity Wings. Even the strength of his movement technique became several times stronger.
After opening up those insight acupoints, Chen Feng fell into a deep pondering state. It was possible that his body did not actually have some of those insight acupoints. Only, thanks to his will, those insight acupoints ended up manifesting themselves.
This was the transformation of the illusory into the real.
However, after it turned real, Chen Feng"s will tempered them to make them part of his strength.
Perhaps, this was a transformation caused by studying the grand dao laws.
Chen Feng was not the only one who changed. In but a few short years, more than 10 of the magic treasures that he had been refining all this time advanced to the pseudo-Divine tier.
Additionally, amongst the many magic treasures in Chen Feng"s possession, even the weakest amongst them had – thanks to Chen Feng"s refining efforts – advanced to the top-grade Immortal tier.
In the process, Chen Feng came to learn many more things. Thanks to his level and the various valuable materials piled up inside the Longevity Tower and the Longevity Artifact Refining Technique, Chen Feng was able to become an artifact refining master in the shortest time possible.
After receiving the knowledge recorded in the Longevity Scripture from Chen Feng, Tie Zhen"s team also managed to grow somewhat stronger. As Chen Feng was wondering if he should head out for an adventure, he received some news. Hearing this news surprised him.
Ever since returning to the Six Daos Sword Faction, Chen Feng had been spending all his time in cultivation. He had practically not left his grotto-mansion at all. And yet, his name had spread far and wide. Due to that, some people wanted to come trouble him. But his followers handled those at the True Immortal stage while Tie Zhen"s team handled those at the Heavenly Immortal stage.
In just a short time, Chen Feng"s name spread through the entire Six Daos Sword Faction. As a result, the number of followers increased. So far, it had risen to the double digits. There were even a few Heavenly Immortals amongst them.
This was a very common scenario in every sect. Simply put, a small group – with Chen Feng as its head – had been formed.
If I head out, I might be able to accept even more loose cultivators. Establis.h.i.+ng my own sect or faction will be a simple matter.
Although Chen Feng was spending his time cultivating, every now and again, someone would come to report the situation and changes in the Immortal Plane to him.
On this particular day, a minor piece of news caught Chen Feng"s attention.
“The Eternal Alliance! You mean to say that this Eternal Alliance is established by those who ascended from the lower planes?” Chen Feng questioned one of his followers, a high-level True Immortal.
“Correct. It is said that most of the members from the Eternal Alliance are from Eternal World. In addition, there are also the Domain Alliance, Median Alliance, Primal Alliance, Flame Alliance and True Spirit Alliance. I believe they are all small-sized alliances.”
Noticing the show of interest from Chen Feng, the cultivator continued, “In fact, most of the cultivators who ascended from the lower planes would choose to join the established forces here. However, there are also some who would establish their own forces. After billions of years, the number of cultivators who ascended to the Immortal Plane had reached a high number and many of the forces have existed for a very long time. There are quite a few who managed to make a name for themselves in the Immortal Plane. Only, their numbers have suddenly risen greatly. It is quite a puzzling matter.”
“How strong are they?” Chen Feng asked, smiling.
“Not worth mentioning. Most of them are Ascendant Immortals,” the cultivator replied with a slight look of disdain.
“Those who can ascend to the Immortal Plane are all pinnacle geniuses, one in ten million. Although they are not that strong right now, their cultivation speed far exceeds that of the native cultivators of the Immortal Plane. I believe you understand what I am saying, no?” Chen Feng said after a moment"s consideration.
“Understood! These fellows are all talents with strong potential. They are worth recruiting!” the cultivator hastily said.
“Go check it out. Conduct a more detailed investigation on these alliances.” After Chen Feng said that, light flowed into his palm to finally transform into a book.
“This cultivation technique centres on the cultivation of the divine sense. It is just right for you.”
“Thank you, Young Master!” Receiving Chen Feng"s gift, the cultivator grew delighted and left.
Chen Feng understood. In order to have a horse run, it must be fed more gra.s.s. His number of followers was growing, but it was not simply a matter of them wanting to follow him. Most of them wanted a backer. Occasionally giving out some benefits would motivate them to work for him.
For Chen Feng, bringing out some cultivation materials that can satisfy True Immortals and Heavenly Immortals was not too big of a deal.
“Have the lower planes" speed of ascension risen so much? Did something happen?” Chen Feng mumbled, feeling puzzled.
Upon hearing that Chen Feng was interested in the matter of the cultivators" ascension, his followers were quick to take action. It did not take long before Chen Feng received a more detailed information about it. Most of the cultivators within the alliance were cultivators who had only ascended to the Immortal Plane in the past several hundred years. Some of the cultivators there were Chen Feng"s acquaintances.
After having confirmed all that, Chen Feng decided to utilize a secret technique to return to Eternal World and look around to figure out what was happening.
Looks like there is a need to borrow the Longevity Tower"s power here. After making up his mind, Chen Feng did not inform others about it. Instead, he began constructing a mysterious teleportation array within his own grotto-mansion.