Chapter 551: Once in a Blue Moon
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The techniques of the top ten forces in the Thousand Feathers Alliance were all capable of reaching the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. Moreover, they also contained methods on how to break through to the Mountain Sea Realm.
Of course, the likelihood of a breakthrough was low. Over the years, none of these forces had produced a true expert of the Mountain Sea Realm.
The closest instance was when a strong figure from the Tiandao Sect had stepped into the realm, but ultimately couldn’t control the power within their body, leading to their dissolution.
As for others from different forces who had attempted to break through, they hadn’t even taken that first step and had perished at the threshold.
Nevertheless, the techniques of these ten forces had remained the most superior within the Thousand Feathers Alliance.
With sufficient talent and resources, the probability of reaching the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was extremely high. It was these ten forces that had relied on their respective foundational techniques to ensure there was no gap among the experts at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
Unlike other ordinary techniques that described reaching the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the probability of actually entering it had been exceedingly slim.
Just like the Primordial Profound Art that Chen Fei had obtained in the Haiyue Cave, it had been moderate without any particular strengths or weaknesses.
Regarding the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, there were also some principles expounded. But truly relying on the Primordial Profound Art to reach the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was almost impossible.
Even though Chen Fei had long cultivated the Primordial Profound Art to the state of Great Completion, there was still hope for Chen Fei to rely solely on this technique to break through to the later stages of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
However, reaching the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was almost unattainable. This was because the foundation forged by the Primordial Profound Art was too thin, fundamentally insufficient for a martial artist to enter this realm.
Every advancement in cultivation realm was a test of one’s own martial foundation. Only those with profound foundations could overcome all obstacles.
Chen Fei now possessed the Three Lives Slicing Shadow Sword, which combined multiple techniques and was much stronger than ordinary techniques. Even if Chen Fei were to integrate other techniques, the enhancement of the Three Lives Slicing Shadow Sword would be extremely limited.
However, with the broken spiritual treasure in hand, Chen Fei had the opportunity to continuously solidify the foundation of the Three Lives Slicing Shadow Sword over time.
In a situation where top-tier inheritances were locked away, this was already considered a smooth path.
And now, amidst the traps set by the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul, there unexpectedly appeared inheritances like the Shadow Abyss Art.
Although incomplete, even in its incompleteness, it would not lack certain martial truths.
Simply incorporating this incomplete Shadow Abyss Art into Chen Fei’s techniques would be enough to further advance the Three Lives Slicing Shadow Sword.
More importantly, since the Shadow Abyss Art appeared here, it seemed not impossible for other top-tier inheritances to appear elsewhere.
With the layout of the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul, the number of contaminated martial artists within the Thousand Feathers Alliance was definitely not small.
Even the Shadow Abyss Sect, which specialized in countering illusions, had fallen victim. It was evidently not an easy task for disciples of other top forces to completely avoid contamination.
With a sweep of his right hand, Chen Fei retrieved the inheritance stone from the dome, his figure flashing as he disappeared into the cave.
Originally, Chen Fei had only explored the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul to supplement his martial arts knowledge.
If the techniques obtained could be used, that would be ideal. Even if they couldn’t, gaining some insights and then storing them in the library of the Primordial Sword Sect would still be a good idea.
However, with the appearance of the Shadow Abyss Art, Chen Fei’s mindset underwent a sudden change.
This wasn’t just about increasing his martial arts knowledge; it was a golden opportunity to elevate the level of his techniques and solidify his martial arts foundation.
It could truly be described as a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.
After all, besides encountering the techniques of these top forces here, Chen Fei couldn’t think of any other way to obtain these inheritances without bloodshed.
Each of these forces not only had numerous experts at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm but also had masters at the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. If Chen Fei wanted to contend with them, he would need to reach the same pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
However, if everyone reached the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, perhaps by then, Chen Fei would have already found other top-tier techniques. At that point, seeking the techniques of these forces would have little significance.
In the current situation, with Chen Fei’s cultivation only at the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and still having room for improvement in his primary technique, the appearance of these inheritances undoubtedly filled him with joy.
Chen Fei’s search for the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul traps visibly accelerated, and finally, in the third hour, he obtained the foundational technique of another force.
The Tianya Sect’s End of the World Technique. It was also incomplete, but Chen Fei was prepared for this.
Within three hours, Chen Fei found nearly twenty caves, and the techniques obtained from them were ones he had already acquired from other caves.
He even stumbled upon the Shadow Abyss Art once again.
The layout of the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul was extremely deep, but evidently, the number of top-tier techniques capable of attracting martial artists was limited.
However, this was normal. After all, a martial artist would only enter one trap, so what techniques were in the other traps were irrelevant.
In fact, using only the Shadow Abyss Art as bait was completely sufficient.
However, Chen Fei speculated that the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul probably intended to spread various techniques, especially those of the top ten forces.
If these techniques were to spread, especially if they were obtained by other top forces, it could lead to chaos within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, especially if detonated at a critical moment.
After all, each force’s techniques had always been closely guarded secrets, with mental restrictions in place.
If a technique fell into the hands of ordinary people, it could be abolished or even directly eliminated. But if it was taken by an equal force, how would the issue be resolved?
Simple killing wouldn’t solve the problem, as you wouldn’t know if the technique had already been completely recorded by the opposing sect.
This would create a situation that couldn’t be easily untangled, greatly affecting the stability of the Thousand Feathers Alliance.
However, none of this affected Chen Fei’s continued search for techniques. Before the top forces and the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul could react, during this golden window of opportunity, Chen Fei aimed to gather all the techniques.
As time pa.s.sed, one hour later, Chen Fei found the foundational technique of the Fengwu Pavilion. Then, within just a quarter of an hour, he also acquired the technique of the Tiandao Sect.
Without stopping, Chen Fei spent nearly seven hours crossing several seas. By then, he had obtained techniques from nine top-tier forces.
Only the foundational technique of the Fallen Heaven Pavilion had yet to be seen.
Among the top ten forces, the Fallen Heaven Pavilion had the fewest members. Its disciples were extremely low-key, rarely leaving their own sea area.
Rumors had it that before the arrival of the Alliance Master of the Thousand Feathers Alliance, the Fallen Heaven Pavilion was the true leader here. During its peak, the Fallen Heaven Pavilion even had three experts at the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm sitting in.
However, even so, the Fallen Heaven Pavilion had yet to produce an expert of the Mountain Sea Realm.
In the past hundred years, there remained only one expert at the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm within the Fallen Heaven Pavilion, causing its disciples to become increasingly reclusive.
Although Chen Fei hadn’t found the Fallen Heaven Pavilion’s technique, he wasn’t disappointed. After all, he had already obtained techniques from nine top-tier inheritances. Missing one from the Fallen Heaven Pavilion wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Within the traps of the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul lay the techniques of nine top forces. It was evident that among the disciples of these nine forces, some had fallen victim, and they were likely experts at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, or else their foundational techniques wouldn’t have ended up in the hands of the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul.
From this perspective, the infiltration of the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul is truly alarming.
However, these were not concerns for Chen Fei at the moment. His top priority now was to return to the Primordial Sword Sect and integrate the nine techniques he had obtained into the Three Lives Slicing Shadow Sword.
Then, he would enter seclusion and cultivate until the new techniques were fully mastered.
By then, Chen Fei’s combat strength and martial foundation would reach a new height.
With the nine techniques merged together, they had already become unrecognizable, and Chen Fei didn’t need to worry about anyone from those nine forces noticing anything unusual.
Standing in mid-air, Chen Fei had no intention of continuing to search for the traps laid by the Thousand-Eyed Ghoul. There were too many repet.i.tions of techniques, which held little significance for him.
Feeling the inheritance stones specially dug out from the Qiankun Bag, a smile appeared on Chen Fei’s face.
He didn’t intend to bring these inheritance stones back to the Primordial Sword Sect. The contents of the techniques had already been recorded and stored on his panel.
If Chen Fei wanted to leave the techniques in the Primordial Sword Sect, he could easily inscribe them onto jade slips himself.
Currently, Chen Fei carried these inheritance stones with the intention of delivering them to a specific location.
Chen Fei surveyed his surroundings, identified the direction, and in the next moment, his figure vanished from the spot.
Two hours later, Chen Fei spotted a city from afar.
Descending his figure, Chen Fei plunged into the seawater, completely concealing his aura and simultaneously utilizing a secret technique from the Withering Prosperity Scripture, transforming himself into an object resembling a stone.
Chen Fei traveled a long distance, with the city ahead as his destination.
The city of Haiya belonged to an extremely ordinary category in this region, with the strongest within the city being at the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
Such cities were countless throughout the Thousand Feathers Alliance and appeared unremarkable.
However, despite its seemingly ordinary appearance and remote location, the true ident.i.ty of this city was the headquarters of the Death Shadow Sect.
Initially, what Chen Fei saw in Duan Muxiao’s memories as the headquarters of the Death Shadow Sect was merely an external communication point.
Although Duan Muxiao was an a.s.sa.s.sin at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, he wasn’t considered the most prominent figure within the Death Shadow Sect.
Only individuals like Kou Yuanheng, who had grown up within the Death Shadow Sect from childhood, were regarded as the true core members.
Chen Fei naturally gleaned all this from Kou Yuanheng’s memories.
The Death Shadow Sect had dispatched Kou Yuanheng to investigate Duan Muxiao’s current situation, as they began to suspect him.
Following everything from Duan Muxiao’s memories, Chen Fei should have been flawless in his imitation of Duan Muxiao.
However, the Death Shadow Sect had its own set of identification methods. In their eyes, there were discrepancies in Duan Muxiao’s recent activities.
That’s why Kou Yuanheng appeared, tracing the clues to find Chen Fei..