Chapter 544: Mind Painting Scroll
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Escape!
The excruciating pain tore through his body, but in Kou Yuanheng’s mind, a clear thought emerged.
Confronted with this utterly unreasonable force, Kou Yuanheng felt his state of mind shatter in an instant.
He knew that with his current strength, enduring another strike like this wouldn’t just result in severe injury as it did now; it might lead to his immediate demise.
The physical prowess cultivated from the Mountain Binding Technique and the two forbidden techniques he had mastered offered him no refuge at this moment.
If he didn’t escape immediately, he might never leave, condemned to remain here forever.
“Boom!”
Kou Yuanheng’s heart throbbed violently once, and a surge of blood flowed through his body in an instant, seeping out through his pores.
In just a moment, Kou Yuanheng transformed into a figure drenched in blood, his form becoming ethereal.
Blood Shadow Escape!
In this dire situation, this escape technique, especially with the two forbidden techniques still in operation, enhanced its potency.
In the blink of an eye, the Blood Shadow Escape could carry Kou Yuanheng tens of miles away, requiring only a moment to completely leave Chen Fei behind.
Chen Fei’s displayed power was too overwhelming, and Kou Yuanheng no longer cared about how Chen Fei would endure the aftermath of the three forbidden techniques. At this moment, Kou Yuanheng only wanted to escape far away.
As long as he survived, there would be various methods to seek revenge. While Kou Yuanheng couldn’t defeat Chen Fei alone, he wasn’t without allies.
Although the Death Shadow Sect didn’t rank among the top ten elite forces, they could still enlist late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts. Considering Chen Fei’s astonishing progress to the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm in less than seven years, many would be interested in him.
“Could that spiritual treasure be on him?”
A thought involuntarily surfaced in Kou Yuanheng’s mind, occupying his thoughts.
Currently, within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, the two hottest topics were the sudden increase in sea demon numbers outside the alliance, posing a serious threat to its defenses.
There was also another thing. The emergence of a spiritual treasure.
Despite the spiritual treasure being in a state of disrepair and having emerged two years ago, speculation persisted about who ultimately obtained it.
The phrase “s.n.a.t.c.hing food from a tiger’s mouth” was hardly enough to describe the methods used by the person who acquired the spiritual treasure.
In the presence of sixteen peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts, the individual managed to seize the treasure and smoothly deceive everyone without revealing the slightest clue or anomaly.
Such methods truly set one’s imagination ablaze.
Most people turned their attention to those late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts, as only they had a slight chance of s.n.a.t.c.hing the spiritual treasure from the hands of peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators.
Chen Fei, at the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, and possibly only at the initial stage two years ago, shouldn’t possess such capabilities.
But despite Chen Fei’s rapid cultivation progress, even surpa.s.sing the geniuses of top factions, if this was the result of the spiritual treasure, then everything made sense.
Kou Yuanheng didn’t care whether the spiritual treasure was in Chen Fei’s possession. After escaping, he planned to use this incident to attract the attention of those late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts.
The likelihood was slim, but those late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts wouldn’t overlook even the slightest possibility.
“Buzz!”
As Kou Yuanheng swiftly moved tens of meters away, his movement was abruptly interrupted, and his entire figure appeared in mid-air.
Kou Yuanheng covered his head, and within his sea of consciousness, the mental blades formed by his mind shattered all the incoming sword lights.
It was these sudden sword lights that had disrupted Kou Yuanheng’s movement just now.
The operation of all techniques requires the manipulation of one’s mental energy. When the mind is disturbed, the execution of techniques will inevitably be delayed or even rendered impossible.
Kou Yuanheng hadn’t reached the point of being unable to perform techniques, but using the Blood Shadow Escape, which relied heavily on the precise control of mental energy, was riskier. Any slight error could trigger a chaotic surge of power within his body.
As Kou Yuanheng shook his head and prepared to continue his escape, he suddenly sensed a dark shadow appearing before him. Looking up, he saw Chen Fei standing calmly in front of him.
With an aura akin to blazing flames, Kou Yuanheng gazed at Chen Fei’s serene expression and the orderly arrangement of his elemental energy, feeling as if he had encountered a ghost.
Having engaged in combat with someone who had employed the three forbidden techniques, even exchanging blows, it was astonishing to see Chen Fei appearing unscathed. Were these truly the three forbidden techniques?
Kou Yuanheng could accept even greater displays of power from Chen Fei, but what he couldn’t accept was Chen Fei’s unharmed state.
Because for Chen Fei, employing the three forbidden techniques seemed like an everyday occurrence.
What level of physical fort.i.tude was required for this, and what level of comprehension of techniques was needed to control the elemental energy within one’s body?
Can someone who broke through the Combined Aperture Tempering realm seven years ago achieve this? So, is it really the support of the spiritual treasure?
No one answered Kou Yuanheng’s question. Instead, all he received was the sweeping edge of the Qianyuan Sword.
“Boom!”
A ma.s.sive wave of energy formed a sweeping arc, crashing outward, pressing the sea surface down by dozens of meters and leaving a huge void in the sky.
After colliding with Kou Yuanheng’s dagger, the edge of the Qianyuan Sword paused briefly before pressing against his chest, where the dagger was located.
Clothing, skin, flesh, bone—all disintegrated as the sword edge pa.s.sed, leaving a path of destruction.
Kou Yuanheng’s eyes bulged, and his body crashed through the sea surface, completely unconscious within the seawater.
In the final moment, Chen Fei restrained some of his power; otherwise, under this strike, Kou Yuanheng would have been reduced to a mist of blood. The physique cultivated by the Mountain Binding Technique wouldn’t falter under such force.
In mid-air, Chen Fei watched Kou Yuanheng sinking into the sea, and his aura began to subside as he retracted the three forbidden techniques.
In truth, Kou Yuanheng’s cultivation wasn’t very high, only at the fourth stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. Compared to Chen Fei’s current state, his realm was slightly lower, and his Combined Aperture process had undergone a collapse, requiring a purification of his elemental energy.
However, when combined with Kou Yuanheng’s physical strength, he was indeed stronger than other warriors at the fourth stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, and he could even match wrists with ordinary fifth-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators without much difficulty.
It’s just a pity that Kou Yuanheng had chosen Chen Fei as his target this time.
Kou Yuanheng’s proud physique fell short by a whole level in front of Chen Fei.
Moreover, Chen Fei relied on the astonishing recovery and toughness of the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant, recklessly employing the three forbidden techniques to directly overwhelm Kou Yuanheng.
Under this single move, the only retaliatory measure Kou Yuanheng could think of was to call for reinforcements. Facing Chen Fei again, Kou Yuanheng had lost all courage.
Unfortunately, even so, Kou Yuanheng couldn’t escape and was brought to the brink of death by Chen Fei’s second strike.
Half an hour later, Chen Fei grabbed Kou Yuanheng by the neck and tossed him into a cave on an uninhabited island.
Watching Kou Yuanheng lying on the ground, Chen Fei used his elemental energy to stimulate him awake.
Kou Yuanheng emitted a m.u.f.fled groan, feeling almost numb all over. He saw a dark shadow at his feet and instinctively looked up, meeting Chen Fei’s eyes.
Kou Yuanheng’s eyes became dazed, but suddenly, a tremor shook his consciousness within his sea of consciousness, and his confused eyes cleared in an instant.
Chen Fei’s expression changed slightly; unexpectedly, his Dream Entry Technique failed. The opponent’s consciousness autonomously resisted the power of his Dream Entry Technique.
The restrictions of the Dream Entry Technique are significant. Previously, when he was at the early stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, as long as he brought someone to the brink of death, he could easily invade their dreams.
However, now that he was at the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, even when someone was on the brink of death, the Dream Entry Technique could no longer freely manipulate their dreams as before.
With only twenty percent of the complete Dream Entry Technique available to Chen Fei, he’d clearly reached a bottleneck.
If he had the complete technique, he wouldn’t encounter such an awkward situation.
Stimulated by Chen Fei’s Dream Entry Technique, Kou Yuanheng suddenly understood his current situation and also sensed Chen Fei’s attempt to invade his consciousness just now.
“Relying on one’s own mental strength, you dare to attempt to control the mind of someone at the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. How arrogant!”
Kou Yuanheng looked at Chen Fei, knowing that his time was limited, and sneered directly.
At the same time, Kou Yuanheng finally confirmed that Duan Muxiao was most likely killed by Chen Fei, and he had been used by Chen Fei to unearth secrets, taking advantage of the situation.
Before coming to confront Chen Fei, Kou Yuanheng couldn’t be sure whether Duan Muxiao was truly dead. He sought out Chen Fei only because Chen Fei was the last task Duan Muxiao had undertaken, which had ended in failure.
Kou Yuanheng, relying on his own strength, had thought that his probe was almost certain to succeed, but the result turned out to be what it is now.
After all, no one could have antic.i.p.ated that Chen Fei could break through to the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm so quickly.
Even at the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, his strength has reached such unimaginable levels. I, Kou Yuanheng, a mere fourth-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, don’t even have a chance to escape.
Upon hearing Kou Yuanheng’s words, Chen Fei remained expressionless. A dozen sword lights surged toward Kou Yuanheng from his forehead.
Kou Yuanheng sensed the sword lights, his expression changing, and his mental energy oscillated, shattering the incoming sword lights.
However, in just a moment, Kou Yuanheng let out a piercing scream.
With his near-death state, his mental energy was naturally weak and couldn’t withstand several sword lights. In no time, Kou Yuanheng’s mental energy was slashed into pieces.
Sensing Kou Yuanheng’s breath, on the brink of death, Chen Fei once again employed the Dream Entry Technique.
It was indeed difficult for the Dream Entry Technique to break through mental defenses.
But what if the mental energy had been shattered into pieces?
Kou Yuanheng’s gaze became vacant, and his mental energy in his sea of consciousness trembled slightly, unable to resist. The power of the Dream Entry Technique surged in, completely seizing control of Kou Yuanheng’s mind.
In Chen Fei’s eyes, it was like flipping through a scroll, witnessing the life story of a warrior who grew up in the Death Shadow Sect.
Unlike Duan Muxiao, Kou Yuanheng grew up entirely within the Death Shadow Sect, being the most loyal and trusted type of person within the sect.
Many parts of the scroll flashed by, with Chen Fei only pausing to look at those parts that interested him.
“The Mountain Binding Technique?”
Chen Fei’s expression changed slightly as he looked at the contents of the scroll. This should be the reason why Kou Yuanheng’s physique was stronger than others at the same level.
Chen Fei never refused any techniques because they were the fundamental reason for his strength.
“He obtained it in the trench… No, why would Kou Yuanheng go to that trench?”
Chen Fei’s brow furrowed slightly as he attempted to scroll the image forward. Suddenly, the entire scroll came to a halt, and a gigantic eye emerged from the scroll, glaring at Chen Fei.
The eye was pupil-less, filled with bloodshot veins!