Chapter 528: Bedevilment
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Since the trail had ended there, they could only rely on their own abilities from that point onward, and see who could locate that person.
To some extent, this reduced the need for conflict, as the location of the spiritual treasure had originally been fixed. To obtain the spiritual treasure, one had to engage in intense battles.
But now, it was purely a matter of luck. Whoever encountered that person and seized the spiritual treasure could simply leave without having to worry about breaking through any encirclement.
As for the sudden appearance of the black mist, its quality had been extremely high. It was probably at the level of the Mountain Sea Realm. However, after those few hundred years, or even possibly over a thousand years, it had eroded away.
The spiritual wisdom had long dissipated, leaving only a trace of instinct. It had likely fused with this piece of land initially, for the sake of survival.
This fusion had been more thorough than the previous integration between the spiritual treasure and the land’s boundary. It had directly become a presence similar to an earth bound spirit.
When the representative from the Break Soul Sect had seen the appearance of this anomaly, he had initially been overjoyed. However, he had quickly realized that although this anomaly was now extremely weak and lacked spiritual wisdom.
But this anomaly still possessed the characteristics of a Fourth-Tier Evil. With his peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm strength, he had been utterly powerless to refine it due to the fundamental differences between the two.
Fortunately, within a radius of a hundred miles, there were no ordinary people at this moment, only martial artists at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. Despite the corrosive nature of this black mist, it happened to have no effect on the elemental energy of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
As a result, one way for this anomaly to recover its strength was eliminated.
At the same time, because it had become an earth-bound Evil, it couldn’t move. Now, the black mist covering tens of miles was its maximum display of power, and it couldn’t go elsewhere.
Moreover, the elemental energy from all directions was not dense enough, fundamentally determining that even if this anomaly slowly recovered by absorbing elemental energy, it would only reach the level of a Third-Tier Evil in the end.
After being suppressed and eroded for over a thousand years, without being completely worn away, this anomaly was actually quite strong.
And as time pa.s.sed, if it couldn’t continuously absorb enough power, this anomaly would, instinctively, contract the range of the black mist to avoid wasting its strength.
It was precisely because they understood this situation that a dozen Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts dared to continue searching for the spiritual treasure in the black mist.
On the other hand, after flying for some time and realizing that no one was chasing after him, Chen Fei’s heart eased slightly.
Looking at the spiritual treasure within the spatial grid, a smile appeared on Chen Fei’s face.
He hadn’t expected to obtain the spiritual treasure so easily, and with the added bonus of a spatial grid, he had no need to worry about others discovering it, not even those Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts.
Chen Fei glanced around and opened the third eye on his forehead.
At this moment, Chen Fei was thinking about whether he should leave this layer of black mist first. After all, this ent.i.ty had emerged together with the spiritual treasure, and back in the day, it must have been of the same level.
Although he hadn’t felt any danger yet, he wondered what might happen later.
As for the numerous spiritual auras scattered within the black mist, the main body of the spiritual treasure was now in Chen Fei’s hands, so he had no interest in those spiritual auras.
Of course, it’s not that he completely disregarded them, but there was really no need to go out of his way to search for them.
Chen Fei’s gaze shifted, and beneath his third eye, the black mist still pervaded. However, in Chen Fei’s field of vision, many lines had appeared, and one of them curved and extended into the distance.
Chen Fei’s expression shifted slightly; it seemed that this black mist had indeed distorted perception. If he continued in a straight line as he believed, he would end up going in circles inside it.
Stepping into the void, Chen Fei followed the guidance of his third eye and flew forward in an arc.
Just as he had flown a few miles, Chen Fei’s figure suddenly paused slightly. In his perception, a figure had arrived above him at an astonishing speed.
Chen Fei looked up, and a figure was overlooking him, especially pausing for a moment at the location of his third eye.
“Interesting eye technique,” said Gong Jianlan with a hint of interest.
Having the Phoenix Eye secret technique, there were rarely any eye techniques that would impress Gong Jianlan. Chen Fei’s current use of the Heavenly Eye technique indeed gave Gong Jianlan a feeling of admiration.
“Greetings, Senior!” Chen Fei quickly bowed and intentionally displayed a sense of respect in his demeanor.
In the face of a Combined Aperture Tempering realm peak expert, there was a vast difference between ordinary Combined Aperture Tempering realm early-stage cultivators in terms of ident.i.ty, status, and strength. The two were not easily comparable.
Gong Jianlan’s gaze contemplated the situation. In the brief moment when she had been searching just now, she hadn’t sensed even a trace of the spiritual treasure’s aura. Continuing to search in this manner would have a very low likelihood of success.
Coincidentally, she had encountered Chen Fei and had initially thought of having him use his eye technique to search, but she quickly realized it was wishful thinking.
A mere early-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, even with a good eye technique, could surpa.s.s the Phoenix Eye? She couldn’t even locate the current position of the spiritual treasure herself, so having an early-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm warrior look for it would be a far-fetched idea.
Gong Jianlan nodded slightly, then disappeared from sight. She decided to continue her search on her own.
Chen Fei watched as Gong Jianlan moved away, his gaze shifting. He noticed that the route he had just set had changed. The black mist’s interference with perception was continuously fluctuating.
Fortunately, with his Heavenly Eye, Chen Fei could safely follow that thin line and leave this place.
After flying for several miles again, Chen Fei sensed oppressive gazes several times along the way. All of them were from Combined Aperture Tempering realm peak experts, but on Chen Fei, they didn’t sense even a hint of the spiritual treasure’s aura.
In this situation, they naturally took a look and then left, continuing to search for the next person.
“Spiritual aura?”
As he flew forward for some distance, Chen Fei suddenly saw a faint shimmer of light. With his Heavenly Eye activated, his vision was forcibly zoomed in, and he could clearly see the source of the faint light.
Chen Fei hadn’t expected that while he was focused on his path, he would actually come across a spiritual aura.
However, with the entire area covered by the black mist for dozens of miles, the scattered locations of the spiritual auras were difficult for anyone to discern. Encountering a spiritual aura was indeed a matter of luck.
Chen Fei’s figure flashed, and he arrived in front of the spiritual aura.
Since he had stumbled upon it, Chen Fei had no reason to abandon this spiritual aura. Even if he didn’t use it himself, he could give it to the members of the Primordial Sword Sect.
Currently, the strength of the Primordial Sword Sect, aside from Chen Fei, was still relatively weak.
It wasn’t that the other members of the sect weren’t working hard; it was just that Chen Fei had progressed too rapidly, and they hadn’t been able to catch up. To change this situation, the Primordial Sword Sect would need at least several decades of effort.
As Chen Fei was about to reach out and grab the spiritual aura, his arm suddenly jerked, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Whua!”
A rushing sound, like a surging wave, emanated from the surroundings of the spiritual aura. Several spectral figures suddenly appeared and attacked Chen Fei.
Chen Fei looked at these spectral figures in surprise. He swung his Qianyuan Sword, cutting through all of them.
However, immediately, these spectral figures reformed, unharmed, and continued to charge at Chen Fei.
These spectral figures were all composed of the power of the black mist and only appeared around the spiritual aura. There were no such figures elsewhere.
Could it be a reactive response formed because the Evil had previously battled with the spiritual treasure for too long?
Why hadn’t they appeared around the main body of the spiritual treasure just now? Or had they been there but were all destroyed by the Combined Aperture Tempering realm peak experts?
Several thoughts flashed through Chen Fei’s mind. He took a few steps back and was about to disperse the approaching spectral figures, causing them to dissolve back into the black mist.
Chen Fei’s expression shifted slightly. These spectral figures indeed only appeared around the spiritual aura. To someone unaware of the situation, it might seem like a protective mechanism for the spiritual aura.
However, in reality, it was possible that the anomaly was subconsciously preventing any other forces from approaching the spiritual treasure, to avoid being further suppressed and eroded.
This was clearly a thought pattern that had formed over thousands of years, and even though the anomaly had lost its spiritual wisdom, this instinct still persisted.
“These spectral figures seem somewhat like Evils.”
Chen Fei recalled the characteristics of the spectral figures he had just encountered and couldn’t help but wonder. Evils needed to be slain with mental power, but the spectral figures had remained unharmed earlier. Was it because they were only affected by elemental energy?
Chen Fei’s figure flashed, and he arrived in front of the spiritual aura, reaching out to grab it.
In the next moment, several spectral figures surged, surrounding Chen Fei from all sides and attacking him from every angle.
A faint glow emanated from Chen Fei’s eyes as a dozen sword lights flew out from his sea of consciousness, shattering the surrounding spectral figures into pieces.
“Tss!”
A sharp sound echoed in Chen Fei’s ears, and the spectral figures fell to the ground like tattered cloth, wriggling continuously. The black mist around them trembled, and the frequency of the wriggling spectral figures on the ground began to accelerate.
“Maybe I could use the Heart Refinement Formation…”
An idea popped into Chen Fei’s mind. If he could refine even a small part of a Fourth-Tier Evil, wouldn’t he gain a source that was much stronger than a Third-Tier Evil?
Chen Fei hesitated for a moment but didn’t dare to set up the Heart Refinement Formation on the spot.
Being within the black mist, essentially the home turf of the anomaly, attempting to refine its essence in this situation would be like inviting trouble. Chen Fei certainly didn’t want to risk his life needlessly.
While Chen Fei suspected that this anomaly had lost its spiritual wisdom and only retained some instincts, there hadn’t been any significant danger since the arrival of the black mist, aside from the interference with perception.
However, precisely because only instincts remained, any actions that posed a threat to the anomaly could trigger a more intense counterattack, regardless of the consequences.
Chen Fei activated his Heavenly Eye and followed the thin line from earlier as he soared into the sky, continuing to head towards the outer edge of the black mist.
He didn’t go in search of Qin Haishan and the others. With the black mist erasing their auras, Chen Fei had no way to locate them.
Besides, all three of them were wearing linked jade talismans. If Chen Fei could break free from the black mist first, Qin Haishan and the others could follow the guidance of the linked jade talismans to find their way out faster.
As Chen Fei had just flown a few miles, he felt the black mist around him churning again. In the dim surroundings, several spectral figures began to form.
Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness released several sword lights, cutting down these nascent spectral figures before they could fully materialize.
Others might have concerns about using mental techniques, worrying that their minds might be infected by the anomaly. After all, the anomaly’s level was quite high, and once the mind was contaminated, clearing it out would not be an easy task.
However, Chen Fei didn’t have such concerns. The sword lights he released were all mental reflections and couldn’t infect his true consciousness.
He circled around, made turns, and sometimes had to fly backward. Finally, Chen Fei felt that the density of the black mist around him was decreasing. It was clear that he was getting closer to escaping.
Suddenly, Chen Fei looked downward and saw a figure kneeling on one knee on the ground. Not far away, there was a corpse lying in a pool of blood.
Jian Jinsheng?
Chen Fei’s heart trembled slightly. Jian Jinsheng’s situation seemed strange at the moment. Even from a distance, Chen Fei could feel that Jian Jinsheng’s elemental energy throughout his body was boiling.
Was he experiencing a demonic backlash?
Moreover, the black mist around was merging into Jian Jinsheng’s body.
Jian Jinsheng’s head suddenly lifted, and he stared straight at Chen Fei. At this moment, his eyes had turned completely black, with no hint of white.
In the next moment, Jian Jinsheng disappeared from below and appeared in front of Chen Fei..