It did not take long for Chen Feng to discover what he was looking for. Two rays of dark light shot out from his pupils and his figure flashed to swiftly charge towards a mountain that was over 50 kilometres away from his location.

Although they were uncertain what Chen Feng was up to, Wen Shaoxiu and the others quickly followed suit.

Bang!

A mountain that was over 100 zhang tall abruptly exploded and the rocky parts of the mountains scattered about. Next, several figures shot out from the mountain to quickly fly away. Two amongst the fleeing figures were none other than Xu Shan and Huo Feng.

The two appeared to have fully recovered. However, in the face of Chen Feng’s attack, they showed no desire to fight back. Instead, they swiftly fled.

“Ha ha! Didn’t you fellows come to the Central Plains in order to kill me? Why are you fellows running now?” Chen Feng utilized a vocal transmission technique to send his voice into their ears.

Despite Chen Feng’s provocation, Xu Shan and Huo Feng said nothing. They were seemingly incapable of hearing Chen Feng. The two of them displayed their flight techniques to quickly disappear from sight.

Chen Feng, on the other hand, did not continue chasing them. He regarded the shrinking figures in the distance as he reflexively furrowed his brows.

It would appear that Nine Firmaments Palace and Killer Palace had resolved to kill him. In order to kill him and him alone, they had mobilized so many half-step Human Immortals. If so, will they be dispatching Human Immortals after him next?

Generally speaking, cultivators who could reach the Human Immortal stage were characters with a certain level of pride and self-esteem. It was rare for them to attack a junior who was below the Human Immortal stage. However, Chen Feng’s situation was different. Too many of the three Palaces’ disciples had died to Chen Feng. And now, an even more formidable Killer Palace had joined their ranks. Thinking about that gave Chen Feng a headache.

Forget it, it is useless to think too much about this. I should hurry up and improve my strength. If I can overcome another two more Lightning Tribulations, even if they were to send Human Immortals after me next, I will be able to handle it, Chen Feng considered.

“The outpost has been thoroughly destroyed. There isn’t a single item left inside.” Wen Shaoxiu and the others shook their heads. They were feeling somewhat disappointed. Still, given the number of cultivators who died earlier, there were still some items left behind. For example, there were the magic treasures and storage gears dropped by those who were killed earlier.

Even so, as Wen Shaoxiu and the others were collecting the items, they ended up coming into conflict with some other cultivators. Earlier, the spectating cultivators had chosen not to interfere. That was to be expected. However, the situation had changed. The items on half-step Human Immortals would surely be quite good. Thus, some cultivators were incapable of holding themselves back. Due to their greed, they forgot what happened to those from Soul Tempering Sect earlier. One following another, they rushed forward to snatch the items.

“They have a death wish! If any of them tries anything, kill them!” Wen Shaoxiu was the first to attack, his figure rapidly arriving before a level 9 Sky Human stage cultivator.

Wen Shaoxiu was a half-step Human Immortal. He was a level stronger than this cultivator. Thus, he was able to kill off the cultivator in just the blink of an eye.

“You guys are begging for death! Kill!”

Liu Quan and the others became like wolves and tigers as they charged forward. They were ruthless in their attacks. It didn’t matter what background the other side possessed; all were killed before their attacks.

One by one, the cultivators were killed. The rest of the cultivators who had wanted to snatch the items there grew fearful and they began fleeing.

After finishing off the cultivators, Wen Shaoxiu and the others then went over to Xu Zishan. Even though some time had passed, Xu Zishan was still unconscious. This showed just how badly wounded he was.

“What should we do about this fellow? If we leave him here, the others might kill him off. Naturally, there might also be some who would choose to save him,” Wen Shaoxiu said, looking at Xu Zishan.

Chen Feng pondered for a moment. Next, he waved his hand to send a stream of longevity-type primary energy into Xu Zishan’s body. After just several breaths’ worth of time, Xu Zishan opened his eyes. When he saw the group of cultivators standing before him, light glinted across his eyes. However, he quickly recollected himself.

“So, it is the fellow cultivators from Heavenly Sword Faction. I thank you for your assistance.” Sensing a wondrous stream of primary energy healing his body, Xu Zishan became shocked. The stream of primary energy did not appear formidable. Rather, it was not even as thick as his own primary energy. And yet, the quality of this stream of primary energy was very high. Moreover, it possessed a powerful healing ability. Even though Xu Zishan had seen much in life, he could not recognize what type of primary energy that was.

“It cannot be considered as assistance. We share the same objective. We came here for the sake of finishing off these assassins as well,” Wen Shaoxiu said coolly.

“The assassins? And, my fellow junior brothers?” Xu Zishan struggled to stand up. However, he failed.

“You’re the only survivor. We killed the remaining assassins. As for your junior brothers, they died to the Divine Voidspill Bomb,” Wen Shaoxiu said.

Hearing that, Xu Zishan’s face contorted. Then, he began coughing. Next, he hastily brought out a medicinal pill, which he shoved down his throat. After some time, he calmed down.

“This time, practically all of us were killed. Unexpectedly, the assassins would set up a trap in advance. I don’t even know how they found out about our actions.” Xu Zishan shook his head, a rather dejected look on his face.

Chen Feng and the others exchanged glances, but none of them said a word. Speaking of which, the Xu Family was quite unfortunate. They ended up taking the hit for Wen Shaoxiu’s team.

The assassins had set up the trap for Chen Feng and the others. Unexpectedly, the Xu Family would arrive first to fall into it.

After a moment’s consideration, Chen Feng said, “By the way, there is something I want to ask Brother Xu.”

“What is it?” Xu Zishan cast a puzzled look at Chen Feng.

“Does your Xu Family have someone named Ye Ziming?” Chen Feng asked smilingly.

“Ye Ziming! There is no such person.” Xu Zishan shook his head. However, Chen Feng had noticed that glint of light within his eyes.

Heh! Looks like Ye Ziming is definitely a member of the Xu Family. This matter looks strange. This Xu Zishan should know who Ye Ziming is. And yet, he is denying it. There must be something else going on here. Back when I first encountered Ye Ziming, he was only at the Concealed stage. He hadn’t even cultivated out his Soulflame. This Xu Zishan, on the other hand, is a half-step Human Immortal. When you look at it that way, Ye Ziming should be a lowly existence in his eyes. And yet, what was up with that look in his eyes earlier? Chen Feng wondered. Unbeknownst to Xu Zishan, that glint of light from the depths of his eyes earlier had led to a series of thoughts within Chen Feng.

“Ha ha. I suppose I must be mistaken.” Chen Feng laughed and asked no more.

“This Ye Ziming. Is he your friend?” Xu Zishan asked, putting on a nonchalant look as he did.

“Ha ha, something like that.” Chen Feng chuckled.

“I thank you all again for today’s assistance. However, I still have matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave first. If there is an opportunity, I will meet up with you fellows again in the future.” Xu Zishan cupped his fists towards Wen Shaoxiu and the others. Next, he stepped upon a stream of light and flew far into the distance.

“Heh! Lightstream Shield.” Chen Feng chuckled. He also possessed one. However, his Lightstream Shield was of a much lower grade compared to Xu Zishan’s Lightstream Shield.

The Lightstream Shield in his hand was snatched from a member of the Xu Family. Speaking of which, this was his second time seeing the magic treasure.

“The Lightstream Shield is indeed a good magic treasure. Agile and nimble, capable of moving in various ways. However, that Xu Zishan has yet to recover. Why the rush in leaving? Is he afraid that we would do something to him?” Liu Quan chortled.

“If we wanted to do something, we could have killed him off with a mere slap just now. No matter how you cut it, we had helped him earlier. And yet, he left just like this? How rude!”

“It is probably due to my question,” Chen Feng said after a moment’s consideration.

“I saw it as well. When Brother Chen mentioned the name Ye Ziming, that Xu Zishan acted in a peculiar manner. Ye Ziming, Xu Zishan. From the sound of their names, it looks like there is a connection between the two,” Situ Nan said.

“Ye Ziming is my friend. He also practices the Void Technique. I had assumed that I could ask about him after meeting someone from the Xu Family. Unexpectedly, even though this Xu Zishan clearly knows Ye Ziming, he is putting on a façade of not knowing him. Looks like there is something else going on here,” Chen Feng said solemnly. He felt somewhat concerned for Ye Ziming.

“Brother Chen, there is no need to think too much about it. After we head back, I will find some people to help you investigate this matter,” Wen Shaoxiu said.

“Thank you, Brother Wen.”

Next up, they did not tarry. They quickly returned to Heavenly Sword Faction. They had already achieved their objective. The three outposts of Killer Palace were destroyed. Not only did tens of assassins die as a result, even two Human Immortal assassins were killed as well. This incident would likely shake the higher-ups of Killer Palace.

Additionally, there were some extra harvest. Chen Feng and the others had managed to kill off some of the cultivators from Nine Firmaments Palace and Transcendent Firmaments Palace as well. Regrettably, Xu Shan and Huo Feng managed to escape.

After returning to Heavenly Sword Mountain Range, Chen Feng immediately entered a cultivation retreat. After the battles he went through during this expedition, Chen Feng could feel his cultivation base growing yet again. Additionally, he was becoming more proficient in his use of the Blood Mustering Bead. Furthermore, after absorbing a vast amount of blood essence, the Blood Mustering Bead had recovered some more of its power.

The bloody pool within the Blood Mustering Bead expanded in size once more. Likewise, the Bloody Nethertree had grown thicker as well. Once again, Bloody Netherfruits were growing out from the tree. This time, however, Chen Feng did not take them. He had already accumulated a sufficiently high amount of power. There was no need for him to absorb more power of blood.

Given my current level of strength, undergoing tribulation should not be an issue. However, am I being too hasty here? I have yet to fully comprehend all the gains from the last tribulation.

In the end, Chen Feng suppressed his desire to undergo tribulation again. He continued with his cultivate practice for another two months before finally losing his patience. Once again, he decided to undergo his tribulation.

This was Chen Feng’s 5th Lightning Tribulation. In the past, he had overcome 4 Lightning Tribulations in a row. This time, however, he decided that he would only overcome one Lightning Tribulation, no matter how much strength he had left.

The 1st one was lightning spheres, the 2nd one was lightning bolts, the 3rd one was lightning pillars and the 4th one was lightning whips. I wonder what kind of form the Sky Lightning will take in my 5th Lightning Tribulation? Chen Feng wondered.

“No matter what kind of form it takes, it is still just Lightning Tribulation in the end. The only difference is whether it is slightly stronger or weaker.” Tower suddenly spoke up, a note of disdain in his voice.

“The Lightning Tribulation that Sky Human stage cultivators have to overcome are of the lowest level. No matter where you look, in the end, there are only so few types. Just wait until you reach the Human Immortal stage. Then, you will know what Heavenly Tribulation is!”

Sou!

Chen Feng immediately flew 10,000 zhang up into the sky. Then, he floated there. Dark clouds began gathering and the rumblings of thunder began echoing out from the dark clouds. This time, it would appear that the Lightning Tribulation was taking longer to gather its power.

Note: Chen Feng had obtained a Lightstream Shield from Xu Ziping, who first appeared in Chapter 222 in the Driftcloud Immortal Mountain arc.

1 li = 0.5 km

1 zhang = 3.333 m