Chapter 2166: In the Shadow

At the Snow Clan…

There was lots of snow around, as normal. Some old men were together walking on the ice.

"How strong is Zhe Tian now?" whispered one of the old men at that moment.

"He"s now a Zun cultivator. He"ll definitely break through to the Huang Qi layer within two years," replied the other one.

"Good. Have you noticed anything strange?" asked the old man.

"Nothing. He now understands several sorts of strength. He"ll be able to turn them into cosmic energies in the future. Before his eighteenth birthday, he"ll definitely be a great emperor!"

"Alright, before Zhe Tian breaks through to the Di Qi layer, don"t let him go out. Don"t spoil him, either. He must retain the heart of a newborn baby."

"I understand."

"What about Ling Long? She still refuses to come out?"

"Yes, she"s been meditating in seclusion. Sometimes, she helps Zhe Tian train. But there"s always someone following her. Nothing will happen to her. Besides, she"s trying to become a great emperor now."

"Good. Don"t put too much pressure on her. Is Xue Ao back?"

"I don"t know where he is," the old man smiled wryly and shook his head.

"No problem. If I remember well, the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds is going to start soon. Send some people to watch," said the other old man with a nod.

——-

Somewhere else, far above the clouds, floated a celestial castle. A young man was seated cross-legged within, his eyes closed. Behind him were eighty-one ancient doors. They contained a terrifying sealing Qi.

Not far from him was a middle-aged man. He looked like a G.o.d. He had his hands clasped behind his back. He looked calm and unruffled as he watched the young man who was practicing cultivation.

At that moment, the young man opened his eyes, and suddenly the eighty-one ancient doors turned into nine doors before merging into his blood. He smiled and looked to the middle-aged man. "Teacher!"

"I"ve told you many times not to call me teacher. I don"t have disciples," said the middle-aged man calmly. The young man scratched his head, looking embarra.s.sed, but he smiled and said, "In my heart, you"re my teacher. Without you, I wouldn"t be who I am today."

"As you wish. The Fortune Shrine is going to organize the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. If you have time, you can go and watch," said the older man, before turning into a beam of light and disappearing.

The young man watched the silhouette disappear and smiled wryly. Even though that man had taught him a lot, he still had some enigmatic and unfathomable powers. However, the young man didn"t even know who he was, he only knew that he was extremely strong, stronger than he could imagine.

He didn"t even know if the body he saw was that man"s real body!

"Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds?" repeated the young man with a smile. Then, his silhouette flickered and he left.

—————-

In G.o.dly Clouds City, in the Eastern Town, in Golden Mountain…

All the strong cultivators gathered together, thirty of them. They were going to partic.i.p.ate in the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. There were many people behind them, all people who had been accepted into the city.

In front of them, an aged yet strong cultivator stood there, his eyes closed. He released no Qi at all. However, the crowd knew that he was incredibly strong. He was going to bring these people to the inner part of the city for the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds.

"Is everybody here?" asked the old man indifferently, his eyes still closed.

Someone next to him replied instantly, "We can leave anytime. Everybody is here."

"Alright," replied the old man with a nod. He opened his eyes. The people had the sensation those eyes could make them faint. He glanced over at the crowd. They all had one thought: this old man was terrifying!

"Since everybody is here, let"s go!" said the old man calmly. He waved and suddenly, power surrounded the crowd. Its strength was dazzling. Everybody was lifted up into the air, before turning into a beam of light and disappearing. They weren"t teleporting, but the crowd understood that at this kind of speed, the difference between moving and teleportation wasn"t big. It was a terrifying speed!

After a few seconds, the crowd suddenly stopped. They glanced around and realized there was nothing around them, they were stuck in some other s.p.a.ce. In front of them was a door a hundred zhang high. It looked both dignified and majestic. There were some grand carvings on it, extremely lifelike. The Dragon G.o.d of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South… they looked alive. The door was truly impressive!

"That"s the door to the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City? What is on the other side?" Lin Feng studied the door. It seemed to separate two worlds. Why were the twelve towns of G.o.dly Clouds City outside? What kind of place was the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City? Why weren"t the two parts connected?

A strong wind started blowing. The crowd turned around and saw a group of people wearing black clothes. Those people had been brought by Demon Sect. Very quickly, the two other groups also arrived: Holy Cultivation Tower and Ghosts and Spirits Temple!

Lin Feng saw some people he knew. They had been brought by other groups!

"So everybody is here?" asked a Holy Cultivation Tower cultivator calmly.

The leaders of the groups nodded, and someone said, "Summon the Wheel of Fortune."

The four lead cultivators nodded, stepping forwards, and dazzling lights suddenly illuminated the door. Instantly, the door began to s.h.i.+ne, and blinding lights rose to the skies.

People raised their heads, their hearts pounding. They could see something: twelve lights! Those lights seemed indestructible and eternal…

The inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City is open!, they thought. The Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, finally!

There was a door in front of every group of people from the twelve towns. The twelve doors had now opened themselves. The crowd looked at them, but only saw boundless emptiness within.

The four strong cultivators turned around and looked at the crowd. "Cross the door. You must all respect the strict rules. If you violate the rules, you"ll get killed, you understand?"

"Yes!" everybody nodded. The four strong cultivators looked particularly grave and solemn. They glanced at one another and nodded. "Follow us!" they said at the same time as they turned around and crossed the door.

"Pfew…" Many people took a deep breath. They all wanted to see the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City, and what glories were there!

However, when they crossed the door and saw what was behind, they were stunned. Was this the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City?

All they could see was a boundless emptiness with millions of platforms, going on endlessly!

"Go, let"s go." The four strong cultivators led the way, and the crowd followed. After a short time, they arrived before flight of stairs which led to the platforms. n.o.body said anything, they just followed calmly.

After a short time, stars appeared in the sky. The platforms started glittering and showing some brilliant lights. A terrifying hurricane wind swept past them with a howl as multiple energy waves rose and fell. The platforms started rotating and rising up.

"What"s going on?" murmured Lin Feng and some others.

Where were they going? n.o.body knew…

The strong cultivators of the twelve towns rose up into the air along with the gigantic platforms. The platforms turned into real worlds. It felt like they could see the remotest corners of the world around them. Everybody seemed caught in a dream, and could only watch.

People on the platforms had the impression they had shrunk down, because they could see the groups from the twelve other towns. They understood that only a thousand people could partic.i.p.ate in the battles.

The platforms continued rising. n.o.body knew where they were going, and so they didn"t move.

Chapter 2167: Losing All Advantages

Lin Feng raised his head and looked at the sky. A warm light was illuminating the platforms and surrounding the crowd. Gradually, many gigantic stone pillars appeared before them, looking like illusions.

Finally, the people on the platforms could see everyone.

Above them, a vast layer of Qi was floating. Some ancient buildings appeared. Many people looked at them, as if they were waiting for them.

"What"s that?" The fighters were curious. Where were they? Was this the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City?

"Welcome to Fortune City!" said someone. People"s hearts started pounding.

Lin Feng was astonished. Fortune City. He knew Fortune City! In the small world, back then, he was extremely weak, but he had been to Fortune City, it was in the central part of Ba Huang!

However, at that moment, was he in Fortune City again?

He saw an old man descended from the sky slowly. When Lin Feng saw him, he frowned, his eyes suddenly filled with sharp lights. He was staring at the old man, who he was fated to meet again.

The Diviner!

His cultivation level is still enigmatic and unfathomable. But he looks more real to me now, thought Lin Feng. His heart was drumming in his chest. The Diviner was here! In the central part of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, he could once again see the Diviner. What was the Fortune City he had seen in the small world? And was it the real Diviner there?

Maybe that Fortune City and the Diviner didn"t exist for real? Maybe they were just shadows?

The Diviner looked at the crowd, smiled gently, and spoke, "This time, Fortune City is in charge of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. First, let"s talk about the meeting.

"All the geniuses of the Continent of the Nine Clouds have gathered to come to G.o.dly Clouds City. The Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds takes places every hundred years, but the powerful groups of G.o.dly Clouds City hold their tongues. They don"t reveal the secrets of the event. Some of you are here to partic.i.p.ate, some of you are here to watch. When you leave, don"t tell anyone about what happened here. People outside can see what"s going on here, but they don"t know where we are."

"I understand!" everybody agreed. They understood that the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds was the biggest battle stage of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. For the partic.i.p.ants, it might be the beginning of a new life!

"As usual, during the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, many people will die. Even if you are geniuses, you may die here. Therefore, if you want to leave now, you can. n.o.body forces you to stay. This is the last time I ask: does anyone want to leave?" the Diviner asked solemnly.

n.o.body replied. They had done so much to get here. How could they flee? Even if it was dangerous, they had to fight!

When the Diviner saw that n.o.body replied, he smiled warmly. "In the end, a hundred people will be selected. Those people will be allowed to come and go from the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City as they wish. Of course, in the future, they will know where the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City really is, and what it is."

People were startled again. They understood that the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City wasn"t something simple. Maybe the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City was the real center of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, and was the place where the Shrines were?

Lin Feng and many other people thought about that. They saw no trace of the Shrines around them. However, in the Continent of the Nine Clouds, there were many legends about the Shrines. Maybe in the inner part of G.o.dly Clouds City, they would finally discover the truth!

Only a hundred people would be selected and would have the opportunity to go to the center of the world. Every hundred years, a hundred people, an average of a mere one person a year…

"The first fifty people will have the opportunity to become part of Fortune City; in other words, a Shrine"s disciple. Of course, since we"re in charge of the event this year, you"ll have the opportunity to become a disciple of the Fortune Shrine.

"The first ten cultivators will have the opportunity to become core disciples," continued the Diviner.

That made everybody"s heart twitch. If they ended up in the top ten, they"d become direct disciples in a Shrine. Usually, when they heard about a Shrine"s disciples, they heard of ordinary disciples. Ordinary disciples had to display great abilities to become core disciples!

"Of course, the top three cultivators will receive even more. You"ll receive the gifts after the end of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds," the Diviner smiled. "Besides, I"d like to remind you that the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds doesn"t only consist of battles. We will first test your abilities, intent, understanding of cultivation, and so on. Therefore, cultivators from wealthy and powerful clans won"t have the advantage. The exam is extremely fair. Are you all ready?" the Diviner asked calmly.

People"s eyes twinkled. They weren"t just going to battle? People who had received a lot from their clans looked frustrated. The rules were against them?!

Lights descended from the sky, and the people saw a rotating fortress in front of them. A fake world appeared.

"The Fortune Wheel is activated. People who will partic.i.p.ate in the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, get onto the flight of stairs and sit on the pillars," ordered the Diviner patiently. The partic.i.p.ants raised their heads and looked at the pillars before climbing up and stepping atop them.

"Now, the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds is going to start. Go into the fortress. Once inside, fate seeds will turn into life, and you"ll all be the same: your physical strength, your soul strength, your cultivation level, you will all have the exact same level. Everything will depend on your fate. To exist inside, you"ll need to obtain new powers, I will not help you. You will only be able to rely on yourselves. All you will be able to take will depend on your most basic body, your awakened spirit, your temper, and your intent. Are you ready now?" the Diviner went on.

Everyone looked solemn and respectful. They sat down on the pillars, wondering what was awaiting them. n.o.body could be sure…

Lin Feng"s eyes twinkled before slowly closing them. Some people were going to be famous, some others were going to fall. Some people had incredible spells, others had incredible Great Imperial Weapons, but in the fortress, nothing mattered. They had no advantage in there. They were all the same!

That was extremely fair! Everybody agreed with it.

———–

Fortune lights appeared and surrounded the pillars. Lin Feng had the sensation his life was being taken away. He trembled and realized he had landed on the ground. He glanced around, and found he was in another world.

I can"t control my body anymore. What a strange strength!, he thought, somewhat surprised. He stretched out his hands; it wasn"t his body, his body was probably still on the pillar. What he controlled there was his life!

"My strength…" Lin Feng flexed his hands and realized that he was extremely weak. Everybody was the same. They had gone back to the source of cultivation. As the Diviner had said, what they could take depended on their awakened spirit, temper, talent, and intent. They had nothing else!

"Tian Qi layer!" murmured Lin Feng. He realized he had the strength of the Tian Qi layer. He was extremely weak. Why the Tian Qi layer, though? Lin Feng guessed that in the great world, they considered the Tian Qi layer the starting point of the Huang Qi layer. It was when cultivators understood human and earth fusion, they could fly, they started understanding the strength of the earth and sky, their pure Qi became real, and their spirit started taking real shapes.

From the top of the Huang Qi layer down to the Tian Qi layer, I"m not used to it, thought Lin Feng with a smile. However, he was convinced that real geniuses could start all over from the beginning and rise. That"s what the Diviner wanted to see, how they would rise again!

Chapter 2168: Start From The Beginning!

Back around the platforms, the Diviner was standing in the air. The Diviner, as well as everyone else could clearly see what was going on there. The emperors had arrived first, and were soon followed by cultivators of the Di Qi layer.

"Is that the Destiny Technique?!" whispered an old man, looking at the scenery. He knew that everything here was fake, an illusion. However, for the people in there, it all looked real.

"They"re fighting at the lowest level, their cultivation level is oppressed. They also don"t have any spells or strength."

"They have nothing anymore. They have to rise again, they"re starting from scratch. That"s the most rudimentary and yet the most complex part of the Meeting. Many people will get eliminated," the watchers were discussing.

The crowd from G.o.dly Clouds City could also see the Diviner"s fake world. It was just like everything was happening before them.

In the illusionary world, many fighters b.u.mped into beasts, many others were annoyed to have lost their special powers. Some people were torn apart by powerful beasts.

"Ah…" a horrible shriek spread in the air, the crowd s.h.i.+vered. They looked at the top of a pillar, where someone slowly collapsed and their Qi disappeared.

"Dead?" When the crowd saw that, they frowned in shock. Wasn"t it an illusion? Why was that person dead? Their real bodies hadn"t even gone into the illusion!

"Powerful illusions are connected to the real world. The Diviner is so powerful that he can create such things!" others admonished them, looking at that person. Their hearts sped up. A genius had fallen already! Many people imagined what would have happened to them if they had been there…

"I warned all the partic.i.p.ants that they could fall here. If they thought that it didn"t matter, that they would, at most, be eliminated, they weren"t determined enough. People have to understand that they can die," said the Diviner calmly.

The crowd"s hearts skipped a beat. People who partic.i.p.ated in the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds were geniuses, and determined. Only one person had fallen so far…

——

Inside the illusionary world…

Lin Feng was in a forest, where he realized that the biggest problem wasn"t that his cultivation level was restrained, it wasn"t that his physical strength was restrained either, the biggest problem was that his memories were blurry. His spells, skills, and techniques were all blurred. If he wanted to obtain strength again, he had to start from scratch. It was as if his brain had turned into a completely blank page.

Of course, a blank page was perfect to draw upon.

A strong wind started blowing, and some b.e.s.t.i.a.l Qi filled the air. Before, such a b.e.s.t.i.a.l Qi would have seemed extremely weak in front of Lin Feng. However, at that moment, he had the impression it was powerful. A great roc appeared and looked at him coldly. It looked thirsty for blood!

Oh no, a Tian level beast, and I have no spell, skill or technique!, thought Lin Feng, looking at the beast coldly. He started running, not wanting to fight at all. A moment before, he was asking himself questions about cultivation and how to pa.s.s the exam. Now he was just thinking about how to survive!

The great roc flew at him, shrieking. Lin Feng sensed the oppressive energies.

His eyes turned dark, and everything became distinct around him. That was the power of his spirit! He could only use the most original strength which his spirit granted him. He condensed pure Qi in his arms and continued flying away. However, the great roc was faster and caught up with him, opening its talons.

"Brother Lin Feng!" In the outside world, Yao Yao was shaking. How dangerous! Was the great roc going to rip Lin Feng to pieces?

Lin Feng suddenly stopped, turning and moving sideways, and the talons pa.s.sed him by. Lin Feng grabbed the great roc"s leg, and punched its abdomen using pure Qi. The bird cawed furiously as a hole appeared in its guts. But then it pushed Lin Feng from above and Lin Feng was driven down to the ground.

However, he quickly crawled back up, turning his head and looking at the injured great roc. The great roc opened his wings, rose up and flew away. Blood dripped as it flew away.

Lin Feng took a deep breath. How dangerous! He hadn"t thought the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds would be so complicated. Of course, Lin Feng was still convinced he could pa.s.s. Even though he had no spells, techniques or skills, he had experience. Rising back would be no problem!

—

Lin Feng continued walking, even more determined now. Even though Tian level cultivators could fly, Lin Feng didn"t dare at this time, as there were too many dangerous beasts in the forest. If he drew the beasts" attention, even ten lives wouldn"t be enough.

Tian level cultivators can condense pure Qi. Apart from pure Qi, they can also use intent to fight. Even if I understand only one type of intent, it should be easy, thought Lin Feng as he continued walking. Quickly, he b.u.mped into another powerful beast, a demon fox. It looked into his eyes, Lin Feng had the impression he had fallen into an illusion.

At that moment, the fox stared at Lin Feng, Lin Feng suddenly saw a celestial woman. It was Meng Qing. He surprisingly could see Meng Qing there.

Lin Feng bit his lips to draw blood. Meng Qing, the Snow Clan… his eyes became ice-cold. As the fox was attacking him, he took a step backwards, raised his fist and then punched out in the direction of the fox"s head.

Lin Feng"s clothes were torn apart. A burning wound appeared on his hip. He had almost been killed!

The fox collapsed. Lin Feng tore the fox"s thorax violently, he lifted it and absorbed the strength it contained. He continued on, still determined. He had to understand the mechanisms of the Diviner"s world. Therefore, even in the event of danger, he had to find solutions. Problems would arise if he didn"t become strong quickly enough in comparison to other people.

Lin Feng continued walking in the forest aimlessly. He didn"t need a target destination, he needed strength. He encountered many dangers, and his clothes were soon completely shredded, but he still continued on relentlessly.

———

Lin Feng saw a monumental earthworm in the forest. It could spit fire, but it was extremely slow. Lin Feng moved like the wind, swift and agile, like a petal. That was the intent he had studied these days. He landed before the earthworm and pure fire Qi attacked the earthworm"s body. However, the attack didn"t kill it!

"What an incredible defense!" At the same time, he jumped away, and a wind made of sword strength shot towards the earthworm"s back. The earthworm roared in fury.

Lin Feng attacked it a few times before the sword pure Qi crashed into the earthworm"s only eye.

After a short time, Lin Feng managed to kill the earthworm. He headed into a cave and sat down cross-legged. He said to himself, "I can condense pure Qi, I should create a skill or a technique. That would help me break through."

When Lin Feng was a Tian level cultivator, he used to use the cosmos-burning sun technique, and Tian level scriptures. Even though he could create a similar technique quickly because he had experience, he wanted to make an even more powerful technique. He wanted to absorb the strength of the earth and sky, condense pure Qi and break through. That way, he"d be able to face the other cultivators!

The geniuses were probably doing the same as him. Sooner or later, battles were going to start, and their lives would be in peril!

Chapter 2169: Breaking Out

The Diviner had sent them to an unknown world and taken everything from them. They could only rely on their talent and intent to become stronger. Lin Feng didn"t know whether that world followed the same rules as the outside world or not. Maybe it only looked similar.

Even though Lin Feng"s cultivation level was very low in this world, his experience remained unchanged. It took Lin Feng half a month to create a new skill. A powerful absorbing strength appeared in the cave as he absorbed five kinds of strength, condensed pure Qi, and used his pure Qi to refine his veins. His pure Qi grew more powerful.

Lin Feng was inhaling and exhaling Qi. It was the skill he had thought of; to become stronger, absorbing five sorts of strength to condense pure Qi was an excellent method.

More days pa.s.sed and Lin Feng opened his eyes. Lights glittered in his eyes. He had practiced with single-hearted devotion and without distracting thoughts, becoming one with the earth. He could absorb five sorts of strength and use them for himself. His new skill also contained some attacks. He could now easily defeat the beasts in this world.

I"ll go out and see if I can become an extremely strong cultivator here, thought Lin Feng. Now that he had a set of spells, skills and techniques, he wanted to know how to pa.s.s that test. Apart from leveling up, was there anything else he needed to do?

After leaving the cave, Lin Feng moved quickly, intending to leave that forest.

—

After a short time, he b.u.mped into a terrifying beast, a mahoraga which spat out poison at him. Lin Feng used wind intent and merged with the wind, looking like a great roc. He shook his arms and a real great roc"s silhouette appeared, brandis.h.i.+ng its golden claws, able to conquer every obstacle. It moved towards the mahoraga and ripped into it. Blood started gus.h.i.+ng.

The gigantic mahoraga roared defiantly. Lin Feng"s punch turned into a beam of light, his pure Qi turned into an earth attack, as heavy as a hammer. He crushed the mahoraga into pieces. After Lin Feng killed it, he took its heart and absorbed its pure Qi. He wasn"t worried, he knew that despite his cultivation level he could cope with the power of the pure Qi…

—

The forest was extremely vast. Lin Feng was walking and didn"t forget to practice cultivation at the same time. He was becoming stronger at a terrifying speed. Lin Feng understood something then; It was no surprise that extremely strong cultivators could progress quickly. Lin Feng"s cultivation was restrained in this world, but relying on his unique cultivation experience and understanding abilities, it felt like was no limit due to his cultivation level. As a Tian level cultivator, he had no limit. It was extremely easy for strong cultivators to break through until they started trying to break through to the Di Qi layer.

People in the outside world could see everything distinctly. Everybody who was stuck in that world started making skills and techniques, and also killed beasts. Some people progressed quickly, some people progressed slowly. The crowd also realized that some beasts protected caves in which there were spells, weapons, skills, and techniques, treasures there to help the fighters.

There were dozens of people in each forest. Of course, there were exits, each guarded by a powerful beast. To leave, they had go through those exits. However, n.o.body had succeeded yet. After finding an exit, many people had been encircled by groups of powerful beasts and had been killed.

Some days pa.s.sed and finally, someone managed to break free from the beasts" encirclement and leave. It was a group of people with some terrifying cultivators.

After that, someone managed to leave on their own. It was Hua Qing Feng, the First Master of G.o.dly Clouds. He was wearing white clothes, looked like a scholar, had a celestial book spirit, and he strictly enforced the principles he learned in the Holy scriptures. One word and he could release an infinity of swords. The beasts couldn"t stop him.

Lin Feng also started b.u.mping into other cultivators. He learned about the exits. At that moment, he also joined a group of people.

"It"s the valley in front of us, we can"t fly there. We must walk. If we want to leave, we have to go through it. Many powerful beasts are there. Some beasts have the strength of the top of the Tian Qi layer. Even though we could destroy them when he had the strength of the Huang Qi layer, now they can easily kill us. Some people died in there already. That"s why we started gathering together!" someone explained.

The man"s name was Lou Lan Yu. He looked skinny, but sharp lights glittered in his eyes. He looked like a supernatural being. He had started gathering people and had also invited Lin Feng to join them.

"How powerful are the creatures in the valley?" asked someone.

"I"m not sure, but I am convinced that to pa.s.s the exam of the Shrine, we have to leave the valley quickly. Even if it"s dangerous, we have to go and check. Since we"re already a big group, other people have probably thought of doing the same as us. We can"t be too weak, otherwise, the other groups will eliminate us!" replied Lou Lan Yu calmly.

"I agree with Lou Lan Yu We can, we can slowly practice cultivation in this forest, but we can"t stay here forever. We don"t know how strong other people are getting. Maybe if we become extremely strong, we might be eliminated because we"ll be too late. We have to check," said someone else. They were seven people there, but they all hid their cultivation. After all, they were all geniuses and it was an exam, some people had ulterior motives. Hiding their cultivation level was easy for them; they were geniuses, they could easily learn such small things. They were compet.i.tors in here, not allies. They had agreed to form an alliance because they really needed it.

"Let"s go!" said Lin Feng. His eyes were twinkling. At that moment, he had the strength of the ninth Tian Qi layer. Of course, he also hid his cultivation level, just like the others.

"Let"s go!" agreed Lou Lan Yu, following him. A twinkling sword appeared above him. When people saw that terrifying Tian level weapon, they were startled. It could kill some of them!

"I was lucky, I found this sword in a lake. It"s swift and ice-cold, perfect for me!," Lou Lan Yu smiled at them. Apart from him, someone else had a great blade. He had also been lucky in the forest.

They entered the valley and suddenly an extremely cold wind filled with b.e.s.t.i.a.l energies started blowing.

"Be careful, since we"re a team, we must cooperate, who wants to defend?" said Lou Lan Yu to the others.

A strong-looking guy moved forwards and said, "I will."

"Alright, Fan Jiang, you help us defend. I"ll attack quickly. Who else can attack quickly and help me destroy enemies quickly?"

"I will," said the one who had the gigantic blade.

"Good. We"ll stay in the front. Who"s quick?"

"Me," said someone else. Lin Feng also came out and said, "I control Wind intent."

"You cover us and kill those that manage to get through our net," said Lou Lan Yu, "The last two ones, you kill as you can. We don"t know what we"ll go through, so we have to be really careful and kill our enemies quickly."

They continued moving through the valley in two lines. They soon saw a group of beasts.

"So many beasts. They"re all level 4 or 5 Tian level beasts. It shouldn"t be too difficult. Let"s go!" said Lou Lan Yu. Everybody followed quickly.

"Defenders, stay in formation. If we surround them, we can win easily!"

The beasts roared furiously as they caught sight of the intruders. Fan Jiang"s spirit appeared, a gigantic s.h.i.+eld. The beast"s attacks crashed onto his s.h.i.+eld. Lou Lan Yu and the young man with the gigantic blade started killing beasts on both sides. Lou Lan Yu"s sword contained cold strength, the young man"s blade contained fire strength, they started shredding the beasts.

However, the beasts" energies blotted out the sky and covered the earth, and bore down on the group. Lin Feng and the others also started attacking and crus.h.i.+ng beasts. They didn"t stop moving, always moving forwards. As they walked forwards, beasts" bodies collapsed on both sides.

But they didn"t look happy, there were still many beasts, lions, eagles… Their eyes looked piercingly cold.

——

Half a day later, they finally escaped the valley. They saw a river and a city ahead of them. They were all covered with blood. Fan Jiang had even lost an arm to a griffon. If he hadn"t moved quickly, he would have died. People of the Tian Qi layer couldn"t recover easily. Only Zun cultivators could use their blood to grow their body parts back.

"It seems like I will fail the challenge of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds." said Fan Jiang sounding sad. His arm had been cut off, and he was injured. He couldn"t compete with other people anymore.

"Don"t give up. Even though we left the valley, we don"t know what awaits us. Let"s stick together and move on," said Lou Lan Yu, slapping Fan Jiang"s shoulder. Fan Jiang"s eyes glittered, as he looked at the others.

"Good suggestion. Let"s go to the city together, let"s not waste time," said someone. Everybody nodded and continued walking forwards. They glanced back and considered that the valley filled with powerful beasts behind them probably sufficed to stop many people…

Chapter 2170: They Hid Their Cultivation Level

"What is in the city?" wondered Lin Feng, looking at the ancient road leading to the city. It was filled with Qi. People felt extremely good in that Qi, they all looked more carefree and happier. It was completely different from the forest they had come from, which had been cold. But could that really be a beautiful city?

n.o.body thought so. But since the road was there, they followed it.

"Move!" said Lou Lan Yu. People"s silhouettes flickered, only Fan Jiang didn"t manage to follow, his legs too heavy.

Lin Feng stopped and looked at Fan Jiang, "If you don"t feel well, you should give up."

Fan Jiang looked at Lin Feng and smiled even though he looked like he was struggling. He understood what Lin Feng meant. They were seven people, they didn"t know one another, yet they had to stay together. In case of danger, n.o.body would care about him, they would protect themselves before protecting him.

Fan Jiang wasn"t stupid. His arm had been cut off. In case of danger, they weren"t going to risk their lives for him.

Lin Feng warning him, that was rather nice of him.

"Thank you. And thank you for having helped a moment before. I still want to try, though!" said Fan Jiang, smiling at Lin Feng. When the griffon had torn off his arm, Lin Feng had helped him kill it. Without Lin Feng, Fan Jiang would have died.

"It"s just my duty," replied Lin Feng. He turned around and continued walking on the ancient road. They rapidly drew closer to the city.

People stopped when they arrived in front of the entrance of the city. Lou Lan Yu turned around and smiled, "Fan Jiang, how do you feel? Can we still rely on your defense spirit? Even though the city looks calm and peaceful, we don"t know what awaits us there."

Fan Jiang nodded and walked forwards. He released his s.h.i.+eld spirit and entered the city.

People behind closely followed him into the city. Mist enveloped everything. There were many streets and roads, and darkened buildings. Everyone was nervous.

"A mist city. That"s a big mist palace," said Lou Lan Yu after taking a few steps. It was difficult to see the main road.

"A mist city?" Lin Feng was astonished. The Diviner had made a mist city in here? After leaving the forests, would everyone end up in this mist city?

"What does it mean?" the crowd didn"t understand.

Lou Lan Yu rose up into the air. When he reached the same level as the building tops, he realized he couldn"t move forwards and frowned. "It"s not only a mist city, it"s also forbidden to fly. We can only walk around and try to understand what we have to do."

Lou Lan Yu looked at the crowd. "Let"s keep the group harmonious; otherwise, it will be very difficult to move on."

"Indeed, now, we need to stick together more than ever."

"Let"s go, then. Let"s see what kind of mist city this is."

The road was extremely wide. Since they couldn"t fly, they had to run.

They tried many roads, but found nothing.

"There"s a sound." At that moment, the crowd s.h.i.+vered. In the distance, some loud sounds were audible. They stopped walking. The sounds grew louder and louder. On the path, terrifying black lights appeared, and Demon intent filled the air ominously.

"Zun level beast, that"s a Zun level beast."

"The black light is fire, a black fire. It"s a demon lion. His demon fire is terrifying. Demon fire abstruse energy can easily kill us."

People"s faces stiffened. The lion was getting closer and closer. The atmosphere became oppressive.

"Fan Jiang, s.h.i.+eld, protect us!" shouted Lou Lan Yu. Fan Jiang"s face stiffened. However, his s.h.i.+eld spirit still moved forwards and grew bigger and bigger, turning into a gigantic s.h.i.+eld. The demon lion was getting closer and closer and showing its claws. Cracking sounds could be heard as the s.h.i.+eld spirit began to shatter.

"Let"s go!" Lou Lan Yu shouted furiously. He turned around and started running. The others turned around without the least hesitation and abandoned Fan Jiang.

"No…" Fan Jiang released pure Qi and condensed his s.h.i.+eld again. With the strength of the seventh Tian Qi layer, he could resist that Zun level beast.

However, the demon lion continued advancing and destroyed his s.h.i.+eld. Fan Jiang looked desperate. However, at that moment, a strong wind started blowing. Fan Jiang sensed a strong wind carry him backwards, he had cold sweat. He turned around and saw Lin Feng as his heart pounded.

"Thank you…" Fan Jiang looked confused. He had almost died, and the others had abandoned him.

The demon lion continued running. Lin Feng was really quick, and rapidly caught up with the others.

"What are you doing?" They were all furious. Lin Feng was drawing the demon lion right to them!

"I want to kill the demon lion!" said Lin Feng indifferently. People"s eyes glittered thoughtfully. If they joined hands, they could kill the lion, but the problem was, who would dare risk their life?

Fan Jiang was a perfect example, everybody had abandoned him without the least hesitation.

"Alright, let"s kill him together," said Lou Lan Yu, his eyes glittering. He said, "Let"s join hands. Can you still defend, Fan Jiang? We"ll all join hands and kill the lion in one attack."

Fan Jiang was amazed at their gall, but Lin Feng nodded so Fan Jiang said, "Alright…"

After that, he released his spirit again. At the same time, he condensed pure Qi. Lin Feng stopped as a gigantic s.h.i.+eld appeared in front of Fan Jiang. The air began to rumble with building energy.

The lion caught up with them and its power bore down on them. Cracks appeared on the s.h.i.+eld. But at that time Lou Lan Yu also attacked from one side. The young man with the blade attacked from the other side.

"Cut!" A terrifying Sword intent filled the air. The Sword intent was really powerful, Lou Lan Yu had hidden his real strength before. The young man with the blade cut off the lion"s legs, crippling it.

"Roar!" the demon lion roared furiously and spat out black flames.

"Condense!" It was as if time had stopped. The fire stopped and then continued moving forwards. They were all in the air above the lion, Lin Feng included. They could fly as high as the buildings were, and since lion was only half as tall, they could stay above it.

A wind sword descended from the sky and split the lion"s head.

The lion exploded loudly, and then it disappeared. At the same time, two lights moved towards Lin Feng. Lin Feng raised his hand. The others were startled and stared at Lin Feng.

The lion had disappeared, n.o.body was worried anymore.

"Lin Feng, what was that, show us," said Lou Lan Yu, smiling at him.

"Lin Feng proposed killing the lion, and he carried out the last attack. The item is his. He doesn"t need to show it to everyone," said Fan Jiang coldly.

Dazzling blade lights moved towards Lin Feng. He was startled and almost didn"t have time to react. Fan Jiang turned around and looked at the young man with the blade. Then, he looked at Lin Feng and said, "Lin Feng, you have to-"

Lou Lan Yu"s sword lights shot towards Fan Jiang. Fan Jiang disappeared.

"p.i.s.s off, everybody else," said the young man with the blade. He and Lou Lan Yu rose up into the air at the same time. They were both staring at Lin Feng.

What a surprise. The two cultivators had hidden their cultivation level, of course.

They know one another from outside, thought the crowd. They all pulled long faces. Someone asked, "You two are really strong, why did you want us to stay with you?"

"As a plan B. How could we know what we were going to b.u.mp into on the way?" replied Lou Lan Yu, smiling coldly.

"I wouldn"t have thought that beast could have such great treasures. If we had known that earlier, we would have attacked already!" agreed the other one. They both knew one another, and were fellow disciples. They hadn"t even given their real names!

Chapter 2171: Exit

Blade lights illuminated Lin Feng"s face. He suddenly felt ice-cold. Lin Feng raised his head and looked at Lou Lan Yu, whose eyes looked ice-cold, detached, and emotionless.

A black sword appeared in one of Lin Feng"s hands, filled with a dark Qi. He raised his other hand and put something in his mouth.

It was the beast"s heart!

Lin Feng chewed down the heart. Lou Lan Yu shuddered with fear when he saw Lin Feng"s eyes. How cold…

"Move!" shouted Lou Lan Yu, releasing his Sword and Fire intent. His sword started burning. His fellow disciple"s blade also became more dazzling and colder. The two cultivators had opposed yet supplementary cultivation types. A cold wind started blowing around them.

(Ed. Note: The author may have forgotten that Lou Lan You was supposed to have cold energy, as he said when he pulled out his sword originally.)

The two cultivators s.h.i.+fted, one moving to the front, the other one staying behind. Their blade and sword energies hadn"t reached Lin Feng yet, but he already felt oppressed by the deadly strength.

Lin Feng moved at the same time. His black sword lunged forwards. Lin Feng moved like a leaf in the wind. He looked light, agile, and graceful. His sword looked misty, but a sword trail followed it through the air.

Lou Lan Yu"s sword stopped, and he also stopped moving. He looked petrified. Lin Feng was standing next to him. Suddenly, blood gushed from Lou Lan Yu"s waist. His body was cut in two. Despair was plain on his face as his lips twitched, and then he turned into a beam of light and disappeared.

"How is that possible?" His fellow disciple"s face turned deathly pale, and his hand was shaking. Lin Feng slowly turned around and looked at him coldly. The man shuddered with fear, and unconsciously retreated. He was a genius, an incredible sword cultivator from G.o.dly Clouds City. He had been waiting to fight on the battle stages of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds for so long, and now he was probably going to die!

Abstruse energy, wind abstruse energy. How could he be faster than my fellow disciple?, he thought, pulling a long face. Lin Feng slowly walked towards him with his black sword. The man condensed energies in his blade as Lin Feng arrived in front of him. He suddenly released his blade, trailing glittering lights as it shot towards Lin Feng.

However, his blade never reached Lin Feng at all. The same thing that had happened to Lou Lan Yu happened to him as well. He suddenly looked desperate, and then he disappeared…

A metallic sound rang out as the blade fell down to the ground. There, only the blade and the sword left, Lou Lan Yu and his fellow disciple"s weapons.

Who said the most beautiful battles would take place on the battle stages of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds? Who would have thought that the Fortune Shrine would make us start all over from the beginning? The battles aren"t as incredible as when we were emperors but still, some of them can be breathtaking. And more people are getting eliminated, thought the other members of his group.

Lin Feng glanced at them as his black sword disappeared. In his hand, a key appeared. He put his G.o.dly awareness inside and after a short time, he understood something. He started running away, ignoring the others.

—

After Lin Feng left, some terrifying sounds could be heard nearby.

"What"s going on?"

"Demon fire Qi. Another demon lion." The others frowned and gazed into the distance. They had to kill a beast to understand what way they had to go! Some people regretted because they had the feeling they weren"t strong enough, they felt like they should have leveled up in the forest before coming out, because the demon lions could kill them. Now they needed to kill the demon lions to move on. But the problem was that if they had stayed in the forest a little longer to become stronger, they might have been eliminated because they hadn"t finished the first part of the challenge within the allocated time. All in all, only heroes could pa.s.s the challenge!

"We have to join hands," said someone. They were only three of them left.

"Even if we kill the demon lion, how can we share the loot?" asked one of them skeptically. They were three people; if they killed the demon lion, only one of them would obtain the heart.

"The one who kills the lion can take it. If we separate, we"ll all die killed by the demon lions. We can"t survive alone."

"Alright, let"s attack then!" the three of them nodded. They were getting ready to fight against demon lions, but Lin Feng didn"t care about that…

—

At that moment, Lin Feng had arrived at the end of a road. There was a sealed door there. Lin Feng took out the key and put it into the lock, opened the door and went through.

When Lin Feng crossed the door, the First Master of G.o.dly Clouds, Hua Qing Feng, was done with the last battle. He was standing on a battle stage and surrounded by lights. He looked calm and composed. In front of him, someone had been crushed, but that person disappeared and was sent back in lights into the distance.

In the sky, a dazzling star twinkled and descended onto Hua Qing Feng"s body. Suddenly, Hua Qing Feng disappeared from the battle stage.

—

In the outside world, Hua Qing Feng"s real body moved. He suddenly opened his eyes. They were glittering.

"Hua Qing Feng is awake." Many people were staring at Hua Qing Feng on his pillar. A star was floating above his head and a number appeared: 1!

"Congratulations, you"re the first one for now. Get ready for the next step!" said the Diviner to Hua Qing Feng. Hua Qing Feng looked unruffled as he nodded. That was only the first part of the challenge of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. Many people were being eliminated. For now, he was the first!

"The First Master of G.o.dly Clouds is incredibly strong, as expected. Now he"s first. Can anyone still surpa.s.s him?" sighed the crowd. Real geniuses remained real geniuses. Even if they started from scratch, they were still dazzling.

The crowd had been watching the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds for a few days already. Even if the partic.i.p.ants were weak in that world, many people tried to become stronger. People outside kept staring at them. They couldn"t wait to see the results of the first round.

Lin Feng crossed the door and saw four doors in front of him. Each door was s.h.i.+ning, with words on them: skills and techniques on the first door, spells on the second, weapons on the third, battle challenge on the fourth.

Without hesitation, Lin Feng crossed the last door: battle challenge!

Terrifying beasts appeared in front of him. His face stiffened. The beasts were all Zun level beasts! He could have obtained spells, skills and techniques, or weapons, but he had chosen that last door, it was a dangerous choice. Several pairs of eyes were staring at him and making him feel cold.

He shook his hand and condensed black lights. A black sword appeared, and at the same time, his eyes became dark and cold.

Lin Feng moved like the wind and threw himself at the first beast. It was an ancient ape, roaring angrily. In a flash, sound abstruse energies filled the air and hurt Lin Feng"s eardrums. At the same time, the ancient ape brandished its claws and ran towards Lin Feng, making the ground shake.

In the air, a great roc spat out sharp wind blades which prevented Lin Feng from retreating.

Lin Feng moved like a leaf. His wind abstruse energies were already powerful. At the same time, he could see everything clearly with his dark eyes.

The ancient ape raised its fist and punched out in the direction of Lin Feng"s head. Lin Feng craned his head sideways, his cheeks burned even as sword penetrated into the ape"s throat. He grabbed the ape"s arm and pushed him with his foot to take out his sword, just as the roc"s talons moved towards Lin Feng"s head.

Lin Feng suddenly turned around and crouched, facing the great roc.

A strong wind filled with sword energies moved towards the great roc and cut apart its claws. Blood gushed and the great roc shrieked furiously as it rose up in the air.

Lin Feng stood up again, surrounded by terrifying beasts. His face was a mask under the pressure.

——-

Two days later, Lin Feng"s clothes were torn apart even more. His body was riddled with wounds. He crossed the door and at that moment, lights surrounded him. He slowly rose up into the air and ended up on a vast field. Many people were there, all of them surrounded by star lights. They looked solemn and respectful. In the center, there was a battle stage. Two people were fighting fiercely.

I"m not early. Many people are here already, thought Lin Feng glancing at the crowd. Luckily, the group he had joined had acted quickly. If he had arrived a little bit later, he might have been eliminated!