In Chen Feng"s opinion, the most reliable of the bunch were his old subordinates and friends who ascended from Eternal World. These people had been with Chen Feng even back in Eternal World. And after ascending, they came over to join him. Additionally, they were all cultivators who had ascended from a lower-levelled world. This proved that they possessed quite the talent. Unfortunately, their cultivation levels were low. It was not something that they could increase quickly.
Following that were the members of the original Six Daos Sword Faction. Although the Six Daos Sword Faction was terribly damaged by the war back then, it was once a large sect with quite the foundation, after all. Be it the number of members or their quality, they were still the strongest force in the alliance. Additionally, they were a very reliable and loyal force. The only drawback here was that they had too many members. Chen Feng could only select a portion of the geniuses from amongst them to nurture.
Then came the cultivators from the alliances that Xue Luosha brought over. These fellows had the most diverse backgrounds and the weakest cultivation talents. In terms of reliability and loyalty, they were far inferior compared to those from the Six Daos Sword Faction and even some other alliances of cultivators from lower-levelled worlds. That said, they do have a good number of Heavenly Immortals. Over all, though, their number was quite high, making them an indispensable force for the Six Daos Alliance.
In the last place were the loose cultivators that they had recruited over the years. These loose cultivators were the most unreliable. Only after having stayed with the Six Daos Alliance for a long time would they have a sense of belonging towards it.
One by one, Chen Feng a.n.a.lysed them all while making plans for the alliance. Thankfully, Chen Feng"s divine sense was strong enough and he also had the one mult.i.tasking mind technique. If it weren"t for that, dealing with this issue would have given him quite the headache.
Naturally, the force from the Celestial Longevity Plane was very strong. In terms of high-level combat power, they were superior to even the Six Daos Sword Faction. However, this was Chen Feng"s personal force. They could not be considered as part of the alliance.
I wonder, when will those Dao Monarchs advance to the Gold Immortal stage? Still, it will likely be hard. Right now, the most important matter is to nurture out some half-step Gold Immortals. Given the level of fights we have to face, half-step Gold Immortals are already the highest combat power, Chen Feng thought.
“Young Master, you are bringing out so many cultivation materials, is it appropriate?” One day, Da Feng spoke up his mind. Chen Feng had been continuously bringing out cultivation materials for the Six Daos Alliance. The vast amount and high quality of the cultivation materials secretly shocked some of the half-step Gold Immortals. Unbeknownst to them, these cultivation materials that Chen Feng brought out were only a small portion of his h.o.a.rd. Most of them were still stored inside the Longevity Tower.
“I want to develop my own force. Although this force is still weak at the moment, I believe that they will be useful in the future.” After saying that, Chen Feng smiled.
“Surely, you fellows are not thinking of having me return to take control of the Boundless Corps?”
Da Feng nodded. Clearly, that was what he believed.
“The Boundless Corps is indeed a very strong force. However, do not forget. I had left the Longevity Clan for a long time. More, I also have some brothers. I have no desire to compete with them on this. In order to carve my way back and stabilize my position, I will need a force that truly belongs to me,” Chen Feng said.
“Young Master!” Da Feng and the rest knelt down on one knee.
“Of course, you fellows are my most important force. Enough, get up. Someone is coming.” Chen Feng raised his head. s.p.a.ce fluctuated as power began seeping out from a certain spot.
“The aura of the Celestial Longevity Plane. I wonder who came down?” Da Feng grew surprised.
“We did not receive any notifications. Could it be an enemy?” Tun Ri made ready for a fight.
“Ha ha ha! It"s us!” Following the sound of laughter, someone then stepped out from thin air.
What a formidable killing energy! Although this person did not let his aura spill out, Chen Feng could still sense the grand dao of carnage within his body.
“It"s Sha Xian! Sha Gui and Sha Shen as well! You"ve finally arrived!” Tun Ri exclaimed.
The one in the lead was none other than Sha Xian. Beside him were two other cultivators with an icy expression on their faces. But when they saw Chen Feng, the icy expression on their faces revealed excitement.
“Greetings, Young Master!”
All three stepped forward at the same time and knelt down on one knee.
“Ha ha, good! All of you are half-step Gold Immortals.” Seeing the three of them, Chen Feng laughed. These three fellows were also his bodyguards in the past. After a million years, they had made quite the progress. Only, when Chen Feng thought back to the others who died during the chaos, he felt somewhat saddened.
“Young Master, you"ve had a hard time,” Sha Xian said, his voice cracking.
“Not really. Most of it was spent sleeping. Get up, let me see how many people you fellows brought over,” Chen Feng said with a smile. The spatial pa.s.sageway had yet to close up and more cultivators continued to step forward.
The cultivators who emerged wore identical suits of armour, weapons and even possessed the same icy aura. One glance was enough for Chen Feng to tell that they were a.s.sa.s.sins trained by Sha Xian and the others.
“Young Master, the 100 a.s.sa.s.sins here are all at the Heavenly Immortal stage. They are the force that the three of us have trained over the years. They had a.s.sa.s.sinated many half-step Gold Immortals before,” Sha Xian said.
“Young Master, we did not spend all these years staying idle. We have all been developing our own forces, waiting for your return. This time, only the three of us set out. Lei Long and Wu Jin are in charge of the residence,” Sha Gui said.
Chen Feng nodded. These a.s.sa.s.sins were all elites. He would be able to accomplish much with this force.
“Alright, alright! Stop showing off your contributions. You think you guys are the only ones who have contributed? Me, Da Feng and the others have also developed a force in the Celestial Longevity Plane. Do you see us boast about it?” Tun Ri said loudly.
“So, you have advanced to the half-step Gold Immortal stage. No wonder you are so arrogant. Let me teach you a lesson,” Sha Shen said before his figure twisted a few times. Next, he unleashed an attack at Tun Ri from an unbelievable angle.
“You think I am afraid of you?”
Tun Ri roared and the two of them began fighting each other. Seeing that, Chen Feng burst into a smile. This was a scene that he would only see back when he was a child.
“How are Lei Long and the others?” Next up, Chen Feng began inquiring how the others were doing and the recent happenings in the Celestial Longevity Plane. One by one, Sha Xian and the others informed Chen Feng what they knew.
“Unexpectedly, Lei Long and the others managed to develop such a force.” Chen Feng was somewhat surprised.
“Some other forces had wanted to recruit Lei Long and Wu Jin, but they were all rejected,” Sha Xian was quick to continue.
“There are probably those who tried to recruit you fellows as well, no?” Chen Feng said with a smile.
“Yes, but we will only follow Young Master!” Sha Xian replied.
“I had originally thought that, after that war back then, the Celestial Longevity Plane would be able to have a moment"s peace. Unexpectedly, it is still so chaotic. To think that it would get into a fight with the other Celestial Planes again. Additionally, there are also new Heaven-defying races who want to get their hands on the Celestial Planes.” Chen Feng was surprised. Only then did he find out that the major corps of the Celestial Longevity Plane had been mobilized. This was a large-scale war.
“War is the fastest way of expanding one"s strength. However, doing so will exhaust our strength as well. Given how strong the Immortal Plane has become, are the Celestial Planes not doing anything to deal with it at all?” Chen Feng asked.
“Young Master, as you know, the various Celestial Planes have been fighting one another since antiquity. How could they possibly stop? That said, the Celestial Planes are also wary of the Immortal Plane. Our Celestial Longevity Plane has sent many cultivators into the Immortal Plane to collect information regarding the Immortal Plane and establish our own forces here,” Sha Xian said.
“It"s good that we are taking precautions. I have this feeling. The Immortal Plane is likely going to attack the Celestial Planes, Chen Feng said.
By then, the duel between Tun Ri and Sha Shen had ended. It was clear to all that Tun Ri had lost. There were several sword cuts on his body and he muttered in dissatisfaction.
“I am very happy that you fellows can come. I am presently in need of manpower,” Chen Feng said with a smile.
“Young Master, please give us the order.”
In recent years, the Six Daos Alliance had been focused on developing itself within the Primordial Mountain Range. If it weren"t for the fact that the Six Daos Alliance needed time to develop itself, Chen Feng would have taken action against the surrounding forces long ago. Having the forces from the Starsource Order and other sects cast predatory gazes at them was not a good thing for their development. The arrival of Sha Xian"s group ignited the flames of battle within Chen Feng.
“Expand our territory!” Chen Feng said.
Following Chen Feng"s instructions, the Six Daos Alliance began mobilizing their men. Working together with the cultivators from the Celestial Longevity Plane, they steadily expanded their territory.
Their expansion efforts proceeded very smoothly. With the secret protection of half-step Gold Immortals, the Six Daos Alliance"s Heavenly Immortals and True Immortals left the Primordial Mountain Range and swept their surroundings, defeating all opposition. There were practically none who could put up a decent fight against them.
As for some of the larger forces like the Starsource Order, it would appear that they had discussed this issue beforehand. In the face of the Six Daos Alliance"s expansion efforts, all of them – surprisingly – chose to simply retreat.
In just one year, they had managed to retake 30% of the territories that used to belong to the Six Daos Sword Faction.
During the years that followed, the Six Daos Alliance maintained their momentum to reclaim a total of 70% of the territories that once belonged to the Six Daos Sword Faction. Only then did they stop their expansion efforts. They pulled back their forces and began working on stabilizing their position and growth.
“Still need more time.”
Chen Feng sighed before revealing a wry smile. In Chen Feng"s opinion, ever since he began cultivating, he had been constantly complaining about the lack of time.
“Alliance Lord, the Starsource Order, Immortal Sword Sect and Immortal Slaying Pavilion sent their men over, requesting a meeting with you.” On this particular day, Chen Feng suddenly received a message.
“No. I am currently in the middle of cultivating. Have someone else deal with it,” Chen Feng said.
Chen Feng, who had been spending his time cultivating, had managed to gain greater understanding towards the Heavenly dao laws and was about to enter a cultivation retreat. Would he be bothered to deal with something like this?
However, three years after Chen Feng entered a cultivation retreat, he found that the Six Daos Alliance had entered a large-scale war.
Spreading his divine sense out, Chen Feng was able to sense the energy waves fluctuating in the air. His face turned dark.
“Young Master!” Da Feng was the first to come to Chen Feng.
“What happened?” Chen Feng quickly asked.
“The Starsource Order, Immortal Sword Sect and Immortal Slaying Pavilion have joined forces to besiege our Six Daos Alliance,” Da Feng said.
“Joined forces to besiege us? Did something happen to these three forces?” Chen Feng calmed down. He possessed some knowledge about the three forces. He did not believe that they would do something like this for no reason.