Everlasting - Chapter 1407: Appointment with Dong Wang
Despite that, Chen Feng was still hoping that the force under him would grow stronger and stronger. Two months after Xue Luosha finished her tribulation, two more half-step Gold Immortals successfully overcame their tribulations to become Gold Immortals. One of them was from the Celestial Longevity Plane while the other was from the Six Daos Sword Faction.
Their tribulations caught Chen Feng’s attention as well, but he did not take action. These two fellows had been cultivating for tens of millions of years. When compared to someone like Chen Feng, they were seniors. And while they were not as talented as Chen Feng, they had been stockpiling their power for a long time. Thus, they had a more solid foundation. As expected, they were able to successfully advance to the Gold Immortal stage.
It was the equivalent of ascending to the Heavens in a single bound to reach the realm of the undying.
Those two aside, there were several others who also chose to assail the Gold Immortal stage. However, they failed in the end. One died, two managed to escape with a strand of their primary spirits and one managed to survive with severe wounds.
Chen Feng provided the two cultivators who only had a strand of their primary spirits with Fruits of Life to reform their bodies. Even so, a very long time was needed to recover to their previous states. Most importantly, their essence had taken damage during the failed tribulation. The chances of them advancing to the Gold Immortal stage again in the future were very small.
At any rate, those who could cultivate up to the Gold Immortal stage were those with talent, fortune and great resolve. Many life-bearing worlds were incapable of – even after using millions of years – producing a single Gold Immortal. Even in the Immortal Plane, only large sects would have Gold Immortals. Take the Six Daos Sword Faction for example. Only in recent years did some of their cultivators advance to the Gold Immortal stage.
Chen Feng himself was feeling somewhat worried. He was worried that Paramount Gold Immortals would come knocking. But as time passed, his daily life grew increasingly tranquil. In the beginning, he had felt puzzled. Later on, though, he gradually relaxed.
Not having to face any trouble was for the best.
Moreover, the momentum behind the Longevity Alliance’s development grew increasingly ferocious as well. It also became smoother. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Longevity Alliance was the second strongest force after the East Extreme Immortal Palace in the Easternmost Region. Its momentum was gradually overwhelming the East Extreme Immortal Palace’s momentum.
To Chen Feng’s puzzlement, the Immortal Court had seemingly gone quiet as well. It did not attack the Longevity Alliance.
Naturally, the more silent the Immortal Court became, the more distrustful of them Chen Feng became. There was no telling what the Immortal Court was up to and when it would suddenly attack.
The Immortal Court will definitely not allow outside forces to grow. In the past, due to its ambition, it had allowed the bugs in before launching a war on life-bearing worlds everywhere. They even attacked the Celestial Planes. For them to go silent now, there is surely more to this than meets the eye, Chen Feng thought.
I wonder if Princess Purplejade’s side can find anything out. Thinking of that, Chen Feng’s eyes lit up. Back then, Chen Feng had sent 20 Divine Princes to assist Princess Purplejade. Surface wise, the Divine Princes would obey Princess Purplejade’s commands, but they also had a different objective. And that was to collect information about the Immortal Court.
In addition, Chen Feng had also – a long time ago – dispatched a high number of cultivators to infiltrate the Immortal Court and the various corners of the Immortal Plane. Most of them were Dark Soulsmen. Chen Feng had always held the belief that the Immortal Court had many secrets.
Only, the information that they managed to collect over the years were of no use to Chen Feng. As for Chen Feng, he chose to send even more forces.
He believed that these forces would eventually prove themselves useful.
Our territory is expanding, the Immortal Court is staying silent. Even the East Extreme Immortal Palace is staying silent. Likewise, the number of Slaughterers seems to be decreasing. The other forces in the Immortal Plane seem to be shrinking back as well. The Celestial Longevity Plane, Celestial Malla Plane, Dark Plane, Blood Plane and Demon Plane are constantly sending more men over. The strength of the Longevity Alliance is over a hundred times stronger than before. And yet, why do I feel more and more worried of late? It feels as though something bad is about to happen.
Could the Immortal Court be waiting for us to develop and gather our strength at one spot before taking us all down in one fell swoop? This could be their plan. The thought flashed across Chen Feng’s mind.
But even if he could determine the Immortal Court’s plan, he was incapable of withdrawing. At present, all they could do was to concentrate wholeheartedly on their development with all they had. Perhaps, they will be able to come up with some methods to deal with the Immortal Court. Regardless, they must not withdraw. Establishing such a large territory in the Immortal Plane was truly not an easy feat. Chen Feng had already invested too much into this. It was not something that he could give up on just because he wanted to.
Regardless if that is the Immortal Court’s plan or not, I have to make preparations beforehand. They won’t have an easy time if they think they can take down our Longevity Alliance. A look of resolve appeared on Chen Feng’s face.
After that, he gave the orders and the Longevity Alliance began to secretly make preparations. Chen Feng knew that the Longevity Alliance’s actions would not go unnoticed by the Immortal Court. At any rate, the Immortal Court was the controller of the Immortal Plane. It was simply too strong. And yet, there was no helping it. Without any preparations, the Longevity Alliance would be destroyed once the army of the Immortal Court arrived.
It’d be great if the Bug Empress could advance to the Paramount Gold Immortal stage. As long as I can provide it with some energy and materials, I will be able to increase the number of Battlers to 10 billion or more. I think even the Immortal Court will have scruples about facing this army, Chen Feng mumbled.
Time flew by quickly and Chen Feng’s strength gradually recovered up to 10% of his prime. Then, 15%. And after that, 20%.
Chen Feng could feel it. As time passed, the rate at which his cultivation base recovered was gradually rising. Sensing that made him feel happy.
Interestingly enough, during this time, Chen Feng encountered several assassination attempts.
Chen Feng could tell. These assassination attempts on him began since word got out that his cultivation base had fallen. The first time the assassins targeted him, he had just recovered up to 10% of his strength. The assassins came from within the Longevity Alliance. These fellows had long since infiltrated the alliance. Thus, they were able to find out that Chen Feng was wounded. Moreover, Chen Feng also did not stay in cultivation retreat. Instead, he had been strolling around. In the end, they were incapable of holding themselves back and attempted to assassinate Chen Feng.
When Chen Feng was alone, a total of 13 half-step Gold Immortals had attacked him.
In the end, Chen Feng singlehandedly killed the 13 half-step Gold Immortals. He did not bring out the combat puppets for the battle. Naturally, he did sustain some minor wounds from the fight.
The assassination attempt did not surprise Chen Feng. Only, it did make him feel somewhat depressed. This meant a loss of a group of half-step Gold Immortals for the Longevity Alliance. In addition to the group that Chen Feng killed, some more cultivators were sussed out. Of course, they were killed as well.
Not long after the first assassination attempt, Chen Feng was targeted again. The clones of three Ageless Gold Immortals, with the help of two planted agents, half-step Gold Immortals, surrounded Chen Feng.
After an intense round of battle, Chen Feng killed off the other party once again before spreading the news that he had become seriously wounded. This lured out another batch of cultivators that fell into an ambush that he had prepared beforehand. The ambushing soldiers killed them all.
For a very long time after that, everything was peaceful, but Chen Feng’s cultivation base still did not recover. After this information was confirmed, it spread out and more assassins came.
Every assassination attempt was greater than the previous one and also more bizarre. In the beginning, the assassins were half-step Gold Immortals. Quickly, it became Ageless Gold Immortals. Even two amongst his guards tried to assassinate him. Naturally, they were not spies from the other party. Rather, it was because the other party had utilized a puppet technique to control them.
Time passed and the number of assassins that came after Chen Feng had reached triple digits. In the end, however, none of them succeeded. Likewise, none of them managed to escape.
The assassins were from the Immortal Court, the Myriad Celestial Planes and some other forces from the Immortal Plane. Interestingly enough, there were some with backgrounds that not even Chen Feng could find out.
When Chen Feng recovered up to 20% of his strength, regular Ageless Gold Immortals were no longer a match for him. He singlehandedly killed off three Ageless Gold Immortals while the combat puppets killed several Divine Princes and Divine Monarchs. After that, no more assassins appeared.
Everyone knew that there were two combat puppets capable of killing Divine Monarchs by Chen Feng’s side.
As not even Divine Monarchs could do it, the other cultivators terminated their thoughts of assassinating Chen Feng. Moreover, it also seemed to them that his strength had recovered.
One day, as Chen Feng was idling, he received a message from Dong Wang.
This surprised Chen Feng. He had planned on contacting Dong Wang after he had more or less recovered his cultivation base. But now, it would appear that Dong Wang was in a somewhat anxious state.
And so, he decided to leave the Longevity Alliance and have a trip outside. Naturally, he did not make this public. Firstly, it was not safe. Secondly, the other high-ranking cultivators would definitely object.
And so, Chen Feng created a clone, which stayed in the Longevity Alliance. As for his main body, it left. He did not go alone. He brought the two combat puppets and Battler Bug Empress along with him. He also brought with him eight Gold Immortals. Four amongst them were Ageless Gold Immortals while the other four were Divine Princes.
The four Divine Princes were from the group of unique creatures.
As for the four Ageless Gold Immortals, they were Dao Monarch Asura, Dao Monarch Hell, He Kong and Zhuo Liu. He Kong and Zhuo Liu were from the group of cultivators from Heaven-defying races that recently came to serve him.
Chen Feng had his own reasons for bringing these fellows along. Firstly, his identity. Some matters required a certain level of display. Additionally, his strength had yet to recover. Bringing these fellows along would help him. Moreover, Dao Monarch Hell and Dao Monarch Asura were the native residents of the Immortal Plane. They would know more about some of the affairs of the Immortal Plane. As for He Kong and Zhuo Liu, he wanted to assess their strength. Furthermore, he also wanted to use this trip to send a message. Chen Feng would employ men like them. He was not one to reject cultivators just because of their background.
Not long after leaving the Longevity Alliance, he met up with Dong Wang.
“Ha ha ha ha, it has been a while! Young Master Longevity Celestial, your fame rings loud and wide.” The moment they met, Dong Wang laughed loudly as he moved forward to receive Chen Feng. He gave off a very enthusiastic and sincere appearance.
“You overpraise me. You are no ordinary character yourself,” Chen Feng said with a smile. His gaze swept around and saw that Dong Wang had brought some men with him as well. Like Chen Feng, it was a group of Ageless Gold Immortals and Divine Princes. However, their numbers exceeded that of Chen Feng’s group. There was a total of 16 of them.
Chen Feng knew. For Dong Wang to invite him out, there must be something important going on. At any rate, he was an enemy of the Immortal Court. If so, the ones that could follow Dong Wang here must be his most trusted confidants.
Chen Feng had first met Dong Wang in the East Extreme Immortal Palace. Back then, he had the title of Immortal Palace Envoy and a cultivation level at the half-step Gold Immortal stage. At present, it would appear that he had reached the Gold Immortal stage. However, Chen Feng was aware that Dong Wang was no ordinary character. Back then, he had inquired Princess Purplejade about him and found out that Dong Wang was a famous genius within the Immortal Court, possessing a combat power that surpassed War Immortals.
While he was a somewhat low-key person, Princess Purplejade speculated that Dong Wang was likely the strongest amongst the four Wangs, inferior only to Zhong Huang.
The matter that interested Chen Feng the most was the fact that Dong Wang did not appear to think highly of the Immortal Court’s interest. This was also why Chen Feng was willing to come and meet him.
“Young Master, he has more men with him. They are staying hidden,” the Battler Bug Empress suddenly informed Chen Feng, secretly of course.
“Oh, how many of them are there and how strong are they?” Chen Feng was not surprised. In his opinion, this was very normal. At any rate, he had quite the fierce reputation. Dong Wang must surely be somewhat wary of him. He also knew that this was not that important. It was possible that what Dong Wang wanted to do next was very difficult.
“Four Divine Monarchs. I think there is also the clone of a Paramount Gold Immortal,” the Battler Bug Empress said, a note of uncertainty in its voice.
Chen Feng grew serious and he looked at Dong Wang again. Having Divine Monarchs follow him was not a big deal, but Paramount Gold Immortals were a different matter entirely. However, after thinking about Princess Purplejade and Nan Wang, Chen Feng came to an understanding. At the same time, he also grew shocked. The high-level combat power of the Immortal Court seemed to be even stronger than he had imagined.
Thankfully, the Paramount Gold Immortals still haven’t intervened, otherwise I would be incapable of heading out. Who knows? Any one of the old monsters I encounter would kill me off. Dong Wang has a Paramount Gold Immortal escorting him, but the Paramount Gold Immortal imprints on me have been used up. I’ll have to be careful, Chen Feng thought.
“Ha ha ha! Looks like it is true that there is a problem with Young Master Longevity Celestial’s cultivation base,” Dong Wang said with a smile as he looked at Chen Feng. He had noticed the look on Chen Feng’s face earlier and figured that Chen Feng must have found out something.
“So what if there is a problem or not? I am still just a minor half-step Gold Immortal,” Chen Feng said with a chuckle.
“Not the same. Your half-step Gold Immortal is even stronger than some Divine Princes. I did hear of your many valiant exploits.”
“Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s talk business.” Chen Feng’s face turned serious and a piece of jade stone flew out. With a bang, it blew up into nothingness.
“You had Princess Purplejade pass this message to me. I believe there must be something important going on. How can I help you?” Chen Feng asked.
Back in the chaos space, Chen Feng had not met Dong Wang at all. Due to that, he guessed that Dong Wang did not enter the chaos space. The chaos space had an abundance of cultivation resources, something that attracted so many people. And yet, Dong Wang did not come. This was a notable issue. It meant that either he failed to make it or he had something more important to deal with than the chaos space.
“I want to partner up with you,” Dong Wang said.
“Partner up? Sure, as long as there are benefits.” Chen Feng nodded.
“Last time, we met in the East Extreme Immortal Palace. I believe you managed to obtain a bountiful harvest there, no?” Dong Wang smiled.
“It’s not bad.” Chen Feng nodded. He had indeed obtained a good number of divine objects and magic treasures in the East Extreme Immortal Palace’s Immortal Palace of Treasures. Back then, he was only a Heavenly Immortal.
“That time, you had only entered the ordinary Immortal Palace of Treasures. In truth, there are some other good places in the East Extreme Immortal Palace where higher-grade divine objects and magic treasures are kept. In addition, I wonder, are you interested in the Spiritual Fountain of Agelessness?” Dong Wang asked.
“So, you plan on targeting the East Extreme Immortal Palace.” Chen Feng nodded. As the foremost institutions under the Immortal Court, the Immortal Palaces standing guard over the four directions were very strong. In terms of ancientness and strength, they were second only to the Immortal Court. Immortal Palaces had Paramount Gold Immortals.
At the mention of the East Extreme Immortal Palace, Chen Feng was reminded of the eerie face. In hindsight, that was clearly the power of the dao of paramountcy.
“Yes, I have been staying in the East Extreme Immortal Palace for some time. When compared to some other places, I am more familiar with this place,” Dong Wang said.
“Let’s talk about reasons. Why are you doing this? And why find me?” Chen Feng asked.
“Honestly, the reason is simple. Although I am from the Immortal Court, I do not have a strong sense of belonging to the Immortal Court. Perhaps it would be better to say that I am more concerned with my own personal strength. Additionally, I do not have many friends in the Immortal Court. More, I am unable to trust them.”
“And you trust me?” Chen Feng was quick to ask.
“I believe you.” Dong Wang nodded.
“Very well. No matter if what you said is true or not, there are indeed items that I find attractive in the East Extreme Immortal Palace. For example, the Spiritual Fountain of Agelessness. I want to obtain its waters to improve the strength of my subordinates.” Chen Feng nodded, an indication of his agreement.
“I will not fight you for the Spiritual Fountain of Agelessness. You can take it all. However, there are items in the East Extreme Immortal Palace that I need. I hope that you can help me,” Dong Wang said.
“Sure.” Chen Feng smiled. It was too early to go further into the details. And so, they decided to talk more about it later.
As the two of them were chatting, the Gold Immortals standing behind Dong Wang remained silent. Appearance wise, Dong Wang was the leader here.
The two of them quickly agreed on some matters before heading to the East Extreme Immortal Palace.
The infiltration process proceeded smoothly. With Dong Wang there, they were able to enter the East Extreme Immortal Palace with practically zero obstructions.
Speaking of which, in recent years, the East Extreme Immortal Palace had been through quite the mess. Cultivators had been constantly coming over to stir a ruckus. Naturally, those cultivators were not enough to create any major ripples. But the escape of the sealed monsters nearly broke apart the East Extreme Immortal Palace. Even when their Paramount Gold Immortals took action, the other party had still managed to escape.
In addition, the East Extreme Immortal Palace also came under attack from the Slaughterers. Back then, Chen Feng had believed it. Later, upon finding out about the connection between the Immortal Court and the Slaughterers, he thought that it was just a show put up by the Immortal Court. After chatting with Dong Wang, however, he came to realize that the attack by the Slaughterers was a real attack.
When asked the reason, Dong Wang gave a simple reply.
“The Immortal Court is not united.”
With that, Chen Feng understood.
The several raids it suffered made the East Extreme Immortal Palace more stringent with its protocols. At the same time, Chen Feng also found out that the East Extreme Immortal Palace was still very strong. It had not taken much in terms of losses. It also had a reason for allowing the Longevity Alliance to develop itself.
“The Immortal Court wants us to develop up to a certain point before taking action. That way, they would be able to inflict a more thorough blow,” Chen Feng said.
“According to the information I obtained, that is indeed the case. However, will the Longevity Alliance leave the Immortal Plane?” Dong Wang nodded.
“No,” Chen Feng replied.
“So, even if you know about this, it is still useless. The most you can do is make some preparations.”
“That is also why I had so quickly agreed on partnering up with you. I need to do my best to grasp any chance to improve the strength of my Longevity Alliance,” Chen Feng said smilingly.
“You will be able to realize that goal,” Dong Wang said confidently.
“I hope so.” Chen Feng shook his head. As the East Extreme Immortal Palace had not lost much of its power, it was hard to tell whether or not they could succeed here.
Note: As per Chapter 1379, Dong Wang, Nan Wang, Bei Wang, Xi Wang and Zhong Huang are the five leading figures of their generation in the Immortal Court. The raw for ‘Wang’ is ‘王’, pinyin: ‘wáng’, is roughly translated as king or prince. Zhong Huang, the strongest of them all has ‘Huang’ instead. Its raw is ‘皇’, pinyin: ‘huáng’, roughly translated as emperor or sovereign.