Before Chen Feng could obtain any harvest, however, he encountered a cultivator. To his surprise, this cultivator was not from any particular world. Instead, he was a star wanderer. He must have wandered through the stars for over 100,000 years.
Generally speaking, there were only two reasons for cultivators to become star wanderers. First, the cultivators personally decided to leave their world, wandering through the stars to train and improve their own strength. Second, their world had been destroyed and they were able to – by relying on their own power – escape from the calamity. But with no other place to call home, they had no choice but to wander through the stars.
The aura that this star wanderer emanated contained chaos and the many vicissitudes of life. It gave off a feeling of melancholy and brutality. Sensing that, Chen Feng was quick to determine that he was the latter.
He must be from some life-bearing planet, Chen Feng speculated.
He was a peak-level Earthen Immortal, three levels higher compared to Chen Feng. When he first noticed Chen Feng, a faint look of disdain glinted across his eyes. Next, he relaxed his face and approached Chen Feng.
“Little brother, how should I address you,” he asked smilingly.
“Chen Feng,” Chen Feng calmly replied.
“Little brother, you must have only just entered, right? I believe you must still be unfamiliar with this place. Are you interested in joining me? You can call me Jian Wuming.”
“Then, I will have to thank senior. I am just in the midst of worrying about what to do now that I am here. Back then, I encountered a monster. It nearly devoured me.” Chen Feng did his best to calm down. However, Jian Wuming had still noticed the excitement hidden within his eyes.
Next up, Chen Feng formed a small team with this star wanderer to move forward together. Along the way, Jian Wuming explained the situation to Chen Feng. He gave off a feeling of sincerity.
As for Chen Feng, he displayed the looks of a newbie and obediently followed Jian Wuming.
For the next three days, Jian Wuming led Chen Feng to some places. During that time, they managed to obtain some spirit stones and spiritual herbs. They even found a mine that was at the level of a divine object. They had split the spoils evenly.
Jian Wuming"s actions made Chen Feng feel highly grateful.
On this particular day, the two of them finally reached a lush gra.s.sland. There, various types of vegetation grew to a height of 100 zhang, forming something of a strange forest. Even before entering, Chen Feng could already sense a thick malevolent energy there. It was something that did not match the fertility of the place.
“I have been here once before. According to my calculations, there should be an intact Immortal artifact here. Only, it is guarded by some malevolent, yin-type creatures. I could not get too close to it. This time, there are two of us working together. Let"s get the Immortal artifact. Once it is done, the Immortal artifact will belong to you,” Jian Wuming said with a smile.
“How can I do that?” Chen Feng repeatedly declined.
“It"s settled. Truth be told, I have an Immortal artifact on me. So, the average Immortal artifact is not that attractive to me.” After saying that, Jian Wuming stretched his hand out and a small, three-inch sword hovered above his palm. Faint-red in colour, it seemed incredibly delicate. And yet, the power contained within it caused Chen Feng"s face to pale and he swiftly backed away.
“An immortal sword!” Chen Feng exclaimed.
“That"s right. I had obtained this immortal sword when I was young. It has been with me for quite some time now. It could be said to be my second life. Unfortunately, there is no telling when it would be able to level up,” Jian Wuming lamented. Then, waving his hand, he kept the immortal sword. He was very satisfied with Chen Feng"s reaction.
“Senior, what should we do next?” Recollecting himself, Chen Feng then asked.
“No hurry. Later, just follow my instructions. You will definitely obtain the Immortal artifact.” Jian Wuming waved off the question.
“I thank senior,” Chen Feng said gratefully.
The two of them then walked through the gra.s.ses. In the face of the power emanating out from them, the 100-zhang-tall vegetation there spread to the sides to reveal a pathway for the two.
Stretching his hand, Chen Feng sliced down a piece of withered gra.s.s. After inspecting it in detail, power surged out from his palm and the piece of withered gra.s.s was disintegrated to ash.
“The s.p.a.ce here is truly wondrous. Even the weeds here are extremely tough. For the Sky Human stage cultivators, not even the act of mobilizing flying swords would be enough to cut a single weed here,” Chen Feng said with a chuckle.
“Yes, this s.p.a.ce is truly a wondrous one. Who knows what its origins are?” Jian Wuming casually agreed.
Chen Feng had already chatted with Jian Wuming about this before. Through their conversation, Chen Feng learned that Jian Wuming simply did not know about the Spirit Essence Tower. He was only able to enter this place due to luck. He had done so utilizing a spatial pa.s.sageway.
Chen Feng did not inform Jian Wuming about the Spirit Essence Tower. In fact, Chen Feng still did not understand what this whole thing was about. His own knowledge aside, he had asked Tower before, but even Tower was in the dark about this Spirit Essence Tower"s origins.
As the Longevity Tower was a Divine artifact, it was only natural for Tower to look down on an Immortal artifact, even a highly formidable Immortal artifact.
Additionally, this Jian Wuming himself was not bearing good intentions. Only a fool would believe Jian Wuming. However, Chen Feng was aware that this place was very big. Finding the treasures here will be somewhat difficult. This was why Chen Feng decided to put on an act in front of Jian Wuming. He would make use of Jian Wuming to achieve his own objective. Who will be the one entrapping the other was still up in the air.
If Chen Feng were in Jian Wuming"s shoes, a peak-level Earthen Immortal, he would not care about a minor starter-level Earthen Immortal.
The malevolent energy grew increasingly concentrated and even the surrounding vegetation had turned faint-red in colour. In the end, some plants even dripped with blood-red sap.
“What a thick malevolent energy! Could the magic treasure up ahead be something from the Blood Plane?” Chen Feng said quizzically.
“You know about the Blood Plane?” A near-imperceptible change in expression flashed across Jian Wuming"s face.
“A little.” Chen Feng nodded.
“A billion years ago, the Blood Plane disappeared. Some say that it had shattered apart while some say that it had entered a mysterious s.p.a.ce. At any rate, there are many rumours about it. There is simply no way to tell which is the truth. It will be great if the magic treasure up ahead is something from the Blood Plane. It just so happens I need genuine malevolent and b.l.o.o.d.y power to cultivate a secret technique,” Chen Feng said with an expectant voice.
“Hopefully, it is,” Jian Wuming replied. However, he was inwardly scoffing. If it weren"t for the fact that he had a plan in mind, he would have killed this kid off a long time ago.
Sou!
A b.l.o.o.d.y beam of light pierced through the sky, ripping everything in its path into pieces.
“Kid, back up a little.” Jian Wuming flicked his finger and a sword beam flashed forward. As a result, the b.l.o.o.d.y beam exploded and Jian Wuming stretched his hand out to perform a grasping motion. Next, the b.l.o.o.d.y light from the explosion converged before disappearing into his palm.
“What a pure power of blood! It must be from an Immortal artifact!” Chen Feng exclaimed.
“More or less. Let"s go! Stay behind me and be careful.”
“I"ll have to trouble senior, then.”
And so, Jian Wuming placed himself in front while Chen Feng stayed behind him. b.l.o.o.d.y beams kept shooting at them, but Jian Wuming blocked them all. By the time they advanced through several hundred li, all the surrounding vegetation had been swept away. Even the hard ground had been corroded to the point of sinking down.
Finally, they saw a ma.s.sive hole before them. Due to how deep it was, it could already be considered a bottomless pit. Streams of blood-red malevolent energy surged out from the hole like lava bursting out from an erupting volcano.
Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou!
Strands of power of blood came together to form ropes, which then swirled towards Jian Wuming and Chen Feng. More, there were also various blades – also formed from malevolent blood energy – shooting forward, desirous of killing them both.
Jian Wuming released a lengthy roar and his immortal sword flew out. Sword luminescence swept forward, slas.h.i.+ng apart a high number of the ropes and attacks aimed at them. Even so, some of the attacks had still managed to find Chen Feng.
Chen Feng waved his hand and the Lightning Bead appeared, emanating a thick power of astral lightning. This power encased him and all the attacks that struck him were melted away. Lightning was the natural counter to malevolent and blood-type powers. And even though the attacks were from an Immortal artifact, by the time the attacks reached Chen Feng, they had grown somewhat weak. Furthermore, the Lightning Bead was now already a top-grade Dao artifact.
Seeing Chen Feng bring out a top-grade Dao artifact, a near-imperceptible change once again flashed across Jian Wuming"s face. Next, he mobilized his immortal sword to create a curtain of sword trails. It was like a waterfall, blocking all the attacks coming at them both.
“Senior, you are really strong!” Chen Feng praised Jian Wuming sincerely, a look of adulation on his face.
Jian Wuming"s face suddenly took on a serious look and he chanted as both hands flew about, forming one profound hand seal after another. The curtain of sword trail blocked all the attacks from the malevolent blood energy.
As time pa.s.sed, Jian Wuming"s face gradually turned pale. In the end, it even became deathly white. It was as though all his blood had been drained away from him.
Finally, Jian Wuming released a loud shout. Like a burst of thunder, the ground beneath exploded and sobbing sounds spread up into the sky. The lands began shaking and a 10,000-zhang-tall stone man emerged from the hole to block any entry into the hole.
This stone man was very ordinary. With the exception of its somewhat tall stature, the stone used to create it was most ordinary. Only, when the stone man opened its mouth slightly, a blood-red bead could be seen in its mouth. It was emanating a malevolent energy so great, it could practically fill up even the Heavens.
“Sure enough, it really is an Immortal artifact. More, it is also a magic artifact from the Blood Plane!” Chen Feng exclaimed.
Sou! Sou!
The pair of eyes on the stone man suddenly flashed with light and two beams of red light streaked across the sky, making their way through the curtain of sword trails to attack Jian Wuming. In response, Jian Wuming shouted again. Surprisingly, a small sword flew out from his mouth. The small sword was blood-red in colour and b.l.o.o.d.y light flared out. It seemed somewhat similar to the blood-red bead in the stone man"s mouth.
Jian Wuming blocked the two forces created from malevolent yin power before moving forward to entangle the stone man. In the end, all that could be seen were two red lights continuously moving around a stream of sword energy.
“Kid, hurry up and take action! I am keeping these two malevolent yin objects busy! The Immortal artifact is yours!” Jian Wuming shouted.
“All right!” Chen Feng revealed a look of delight and he flew forward. Upon arriving before the stone man, he reached out to grab the blood-red bead.
After Chen Feng s.n.a.t.c.hed the blood-red bead away, the ma.s.sive stone man began collapsing. In the end, it was reduced to powdery bits, which flowed into the hole. Holding the blood-red bead, Chen Feng then sat down. Just as he was about to say something, the blood-red bead in his hand abruptly flared with light. The blood-coloured light then moved to envelope Chen Feng. Next, countless blood-coloured runes flashed out from Chen Feng"s body. The b.l.o.o.d.y talismans did not come from the blood-red bead. Instead, they were something that were already on Chen Feng"s body to begin with.
“What is happening?” Chen Feng cried out in shock.
1 zhang = 3.333 m
1 li = 0.5 km