Everlasting

Chapter 119: Scarlet Yang City

Translator: podao001

By relying on the Overwhelming Astral Sword’s power, Chen Feng’s group flew hundreds of li away and the cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes gave up on chasing them once again (1 li = 0.5 km).

“Brother Chen, we have killed a considerable number of cultivators from the Six Great Sky Grottoes this time. I fear this will be quite a calamity for us,” said Ye Ziming in a concerned voice.

“So what if we killed them? If it were not for how low our strength is, given the many times they kept trying to kill us, we should have just killed them all,” replied Chen Feng with a sneer.

“Besides, in half a year’s time, I will be joining Extreme Celestial Sect. With such a powerful backer, there is naturally no need to fear the Six Great Sky Grottoes,” Chen Feng continued.

“Ha ha ha! That is right! The Six Great Sky Grottoes can only be arrogant before ordinary humans. When they meet disciples from the immortal dao sects, they will definitely become as obedient as grandsons!” said Lu Ta with a loud laugh.

After flying for several hundred li, Chen Feng’s group landed. Chen Feng kept the Overwhelming Astral Sword back. After all, three Concealed stage cultivators controlling a Prized artefact was too much of a conspicuous sight. Chen Feng had no desire to attract too much trouble.

“There is a small town up front. Let’s go there and have a rest and inquire some information,” Ye Ziming suggested.

“Alright.” Chen Feng nodded his head.

The name of the little town was Scarlet Yang City. Size wise, it was far inferior compared to White Cloud City. However, its population size was high and there were plenty of cultivators within it. Even before entering the city, Chen Feng could already see a constant stream of cultivators flying in and out of the city. Some of the stronger cultivators managed to attract even Chen Feng’s attention.

“There are so many Concealed stage cultivators here?” Chen Feng exclaimed.

“Maybe something is about to happen. Or maybe, this is due to the emergence of the Driftcloud Immortal Mountain. All of these cultivators are probably incapable of stopping themselves from coming out. They are either going to test their luck or join the liveliness,” said Ye Ziming with a smile.

Only after entering Scarlet Yang City did the three of them realize that the number of people going about within the city was even higher than they had expected. Although cultivators at the Training Body and Energy stage made up the majority, there was still a considerable number of Concealed stage cultivators. Back in Black Origin City, Concealed stage cultivators can only be seen once in a blue moon. At present, however, Chen Feng could see at least 10 Concealed stage cultivators with every glance.

As Chen Feng’s divine sense was sweeping around, an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man sensed someone probing about and released a soft cough. Immediately, Chen Feng felt his divine sense shudder as a result. He retracted his divine sense and searched through the crowd with gleaming eyes.

I encountered an expert earlier. That person has at least condensed out his Soulflame. How unexpected! To think that an expert of such calibre would appear in this little city. Chen Feng pondered silently.

Finally, the three of them found a relatively luxurious restaurant and entered. After seating themselves, Chen Feng asked casually, “Waiter, why is Scarlet Yang City so lively today?”

“He he! Fellow guests, it seems you have not been to Scarlet Yang City for quite some time. Recently, someone posted a high-paying task here in Scarlet Yang City. Thus, large numbers of cultivators would come here every day. They want to sign up for this task,” said the waiter with a smile.

“Task? What is the task?” Chen Feng, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta became puzzled. They did not understand.

Next, Chen Feng waved his hand and a fist-sized Magic crystal appeared in the waiter’s hand.

“This is a Magic crystal! What a big piece of crystal!” The waiter’s eyes bulged widely.

A piece of Magic crystal was the equivalent of 100 Basic Yang Pills. As the waiter had yet to cultivate up to the Concealed stage, he could absorb and refine the energy of the piece of Magic crystal for quite some time.

“Yes. Give us the full details of what happened and this crystal is yours,” said Chen Feng heartily. As there were at least over 10 million Magic crystals on his person, he could be considered a rich man in the cultivation world. Thus, he was generous in tipping.

“Thank you! Thank you!” The waiter immediately kept the Magic crystal.

“Some time ago, a mysterious woman came to our city and posted a task. She wants to recruit some Concealed stage cultivators to venture into a danger zone. I think it is to acquire something. Due to the generous rewards, many cultivators have been lured over.” The waiter quickly gave them a general description of the issue.

“So, that is what’s going on. Do you know where this danger zone is? And, who is that mysterious woman?” asked Chen Feng after a moment’s consideration.

“He he! I do not know that. Back then, the task was issued out by several of our Scarlet Yang City’s trade associations. As for the destination and identity of the person who requested this, I do not know. All I know is that the person is a woman. Additionally, she is an alluring stunner.” The waiter lowered his voice.

“As for the reward, I hear that those selected will immediately be given 100,000 Basic Yang Pills. After the task is complete, there will other treasures as rewards. Tsk! Tsk! So rich! A pity, my cultivation base is insufficient. If not, I would definitely sign up as well,” said the waiter with shining eyes.

“100,000 Basic Yang Pills!” Chen Feng, Ye Ziming and Lu Ta exchanged glances. There were looks of shock on their faces.

“The other party is truly generous. Right. Did they specify how many people are they recruiting?” Chen Feng asked again.

“I don’t know. I can see that you three have high cultivation bases. If you are interested, you fellows may give it a try. You can sign up at any trade association within our city. Please continue with your chat. I will take my leave now.” After saying that, the waiter smiled and walked away.

“100,000 Basic Yang Pills to hire a cultivator. And that is just the down payment. Tsk tsk! I believe that place must be incredibly dangerous,” said Ye Ziming with an amused smile.

“100,000 Basic Yang Pills is the equivalent of 1,000 Magic crystals. I wonder how many cultivators will they be recruiting? Ten recruits will cost 1 million Basic Yang Pills. One hundred recruits will cost 10 million Basic Yang Pills! Moreover, the employer is a mysterious woman. This is interesting,” said Chen Feng with a smile.

“What is it? Is Brother Chen interested?” asked Ye Ziming with a grin.

“I have nothing to do anyways. There is still half a year to go before I can head to Extreme Celestial Sect and I was wondering what I should do. Finding such an interesting task is no easy matter. I cannot let this slip,” replied Chen Feng with a smile.

“That is true. Later, we can go find a trade association and ask more about it,” said Ye Ziming.

After making up their minds, Chen Feng’s group began sending out their divine senses to carefully listen in on the conversations between the other cultivators. The biggest reason the three of them chose this restaurant was because there were Concealed stage cultivators there.

As Chen Feng had already condensed out his Soulflame, his divine sense was very strong. Those without Soulflames would find it hard to notice his actions.

“Did you fellows hear? Recently, a sky-shocking, earth-shaking event happened in our Northern Plains.”

“Hey! You are talking about the Driftcloud Immortal Mountain, right? That is indeed a huge incident. I had just returned from there myself.”

“What? You have already gone there? Hurry, tell us about it. What happened there? I hear there are countless immortal pills there. Is that true?”

“Nobody knows if there are any immortal pills inside because no one has managed to enter yet. The Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects of our Northern Plains have already sent their men out. They even utilized Sacred artefacts against it but gained nothing for their troubles. Additionally, the rebound powers of the immortal light coming off the Driftcloud Immortal Mountains ended up killing many cultivators.”

“What? That happened? I was just thinking about going there with my friends to try our luck and see if there is any immortal serendipity there.”

“Immortal serendipity? Ha ha ha ha? You? Forget it, man. Since the moment Driftcloud Immortal Mountain appeared, over a million cultivators from our Northern Plains have gone there. I hear that even some powerful experts from the Central Plains and Eastern Provinces have gone over. There are even some Immortal Humans amongst them, but they have gained nothing in the end. Hey, hey! If you fellows want to go, just go and watch the show. Don’t blame me for not advising you about this. Do not get too close to the mountain. Otherwise, the immortal light will suck you in and reduce you to ashes.”

After hearing that, Chen Feng’s heart gripped and he came up with some speculations.

Judging by their words, no one could break through Driftcloud Immortal Mountain just yet. According to my cheap master, some cultivators will be able to break open a small hole and enter every time it emerges. Why is it that no one could succeed this time? Could it be because some of the experts have yet to take action? Or could it be something had happened to the immortal mountain? Has it become even harder to break through? Chen Feng pondered silently.

Hey! What is the point of thinking too much about it anyways? It has nothing to do with me. Chen Feng smiled.

Next, he sent out his divine sense again to observe the cultivators on another table.

To Chen Feng’s surprise, the topic that the cultivators were discussing was something that he was interested in.

“100,000 Basic Yang Pills! No matter what, we cannot miss out on this! Not to mention, after the task is complete, there are still more treasures given as rewards. Tsk tsk! I haven’t seen such a profitable task in a long time.” A rough and brutish voice entered Chen Feng’s ears.

Chen Feng understood that there were some organizations that specialized in putting up recruitment tasks in the cultivation world. They would attract some cultivators to risk their lives for the organization. The ones attracted were mostly loose cultivators. Loose cultivators were the only ones who would risk their lives for some cultivation materials. Naturally, some disciples from immortal dao sects would sometimes step forward to accept those tasks. Most of the time, however, those tasks were special types of tasks. Either that, or those disciples were truly in need of those cultivation materials.

The environment that disciples of the immortal dao sects get to cultivate in was not something that most loose cultivators can hope to compete against. Magic techniques, medicinal pills, weapons, cultivation places, all of them were superior compared to loose cultivators. In order to keep on practicing cultivation, loose cultivators required medicinal pills and other materials. What can they do about it? Concoct and forge the items themselves, murder and plunder, those were all feasible. However, the best method was to sign up for tasks and get the rewards. Thus, the employment market for cultivators was very big within the cultivation world.

The thought merely flashed through Chen Feng’s mind and he continued listening to their conversation.

“That is right. I wonder who could possess such a vast amount of wealth. Did you fellows see who it is? It is stated on the notice that EVERY person gets 100,000 Basic Yang Pills. Additionally, I obtained some inside information that the employer wants to recruit at least 100 Concealed stage cultivators.”

“100 Concealed stage cultivator and 100,000 Basic Yang Pills each. That would require 10 million Basic Yang Pills in total. If I have that many Basic Yang Pills, I won’t come out and risk my life. I will just find a place and practice cultivation safely.”

“We shouldn’t be too happy just yet. Do not forget the rules in our profession. Rewards and risks come hand in hand. For the employer to put out so much rewards, the place we need to go must surely be dangerous to the extreme. We might lose our lives at any moment,” a calm voice suddenly spoke up.