Chapter 576: Barbarism
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Chen Fei’s cultivation at the early stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was too perplexing. Even Xu Wucheng, who was at the late stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm back then, couldn’t discern Chen Fei’s true cultivation.
Tong Linyun knew that Liu w.a.n.ggu was unaware of Chen Fei’s true strength. She thought that with her own mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation, it would be a surefire thing to suppress someone at the early stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
Initially, the three who besieged Tong Linyun, Liao Minglei, and the others thought the same way, but now their remains have been scattered who knows where.
Therefore, at this moment, seeing Liu w.a.n.ggu’s tense appearance, that strange feeling couldn’t help but emerge in Tong Linyun’s heart.
Liu w.a.n.ggu felt somewhat displeased under Tong Linyun’s gaze, but facing a martial artist of the same rank, Liu w.a.n.ggu didn’t display the same att.i.tude as before.
Glancing at Chen Fei, then at Tong Linyun, Liu w.a.n.ggu turned around and left without saying another word.
If there was a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm backing behind the Primordial Sword Sect, then under the circ.u.mstances where Liu w.a.n.ggu was only probing, he wouldn’t be able to do anything else.
Unless Liu w.a.n.ggu was absolutely sure that it was Primordial Sword Sect who caused the death of Shizhen, perhaps he would truly retaliate, even if facing someone of the same realm like Tong Linyun.
But for now, achieving what had been done was already everything.
Without any reason to offend a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, Liu w.a.n.ggu naturally wouldn’t do such a thing. After all, without significant interests at stake, ordinary people wouldn’t dare to provoke martial artists of the same level.
“I was worried you might just cut him down with one sword,” Tong Linyun said with a smile as she watched Liu w.a.n.ggu walk away.
Though it was a joke, it also indicated Chen Fei’s position in Tong Linyun’s eyes at the moment.
In Tong Linyun’s view, Chen Fei was young and yet possessed such high cultivation and combat power.
It was almost certain that he would become a late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator in the future. Even if he had enough opportunities, he might even cultivate to the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
The peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm could forge a formidable force for a top power. Considering Chen Fei’s age, if he truly reached the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, even the Mountain Sea Realm might not be beyond his reach.
Thinking of this outcome, Tong Linyun’s gaze towards Chen Fei became even softer.
“Let’s go,” Chen Fei said with a slight smile, turning to walk towards other shops.
For Chen Fei, Liu w.a.n.ggu wasn’t a troublemaker, but for the Primordial Sword Sect, he was a significant threat. That’s why Chen Fei handled Shizhen in that way, to minimize this threat.
Chen Fei purchased all the necessary materials for cultivation in the market and then returned directly to the cultivation chamber, where he began his daily routine of practice.
Cultivation is an extremely mundane affair, but the satisfaction of seeing proficiency in the cultivation technique continuously rise is so compelling that one can’t help but become immersed in it.
Moreover, whenever things truly become dull, discussing cultivation insights with Tong Linyun a few times dissipates the boredom entirely.
Time pa.s.sed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, two months had gone by.
In terms of cultivation, Chen Fei had been consistently using third-grade superior spirit pills, and relying on his robust physique and powerful Combined Aperture Tempering realm, he was consuming them in excess every day.
For others at the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, it might be possible to make no progress at all in two months, with the best-case scenario being slight improvement. But for Chen Fei, he had directly advanced further on the basis of the fourth stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
At this rate, within three years, Chen Fei would undoubtedly reach the fifth stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
Of course, Chen Fei wouldn’t wait that long. Some minor injuries within his Combined Aperture Tempering realm hadn’t fully healed yet. As soon as they did, Chen Fei would immediately choose to forcefully break through.
With rapid progress in cultivation, the comprehension of techniques naturally followed suit.
For many years, Chen Fei had spent his nights immersed in cultivation. Rest is a human instinct, but Chen Fei forcibly suppressed this instinct.
While cultivation to some extent could subst.i.tute for sleep, it certainly wasn’t as comfortable as sleeping.
Relying on Chen Fei’s almost constant cultivation over the past two months, the Shadow Escape Technique had broken through to perfection, and the clone within the Primordial Sword Sect had naturally reached the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
However, for Chen Fei now, having a clone at the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was of limited a.s.sistance, and the same applied to the Primordial Sword Sect.
Only by cultivating the Shadow Escape Technique to the grand perfection stage, where the clone possessed the combat power of the early stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, would it be a huge a.s.set for both Chen Fei and the Primordial Sword Sect.
It’s worth noting that the Shadow Escape Technique could integrate with the Subst.i.tute Shadow. This meant that when the clone’s strength reached the early stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, Chen Fei could merge it into his main body, directly empowering himself with the strength of an early-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator.
What changes would occur with a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm combined with an early-stage one? Because the technique had not yet reached grand perfection, Chen Fei couldn’t say for sure, but it was something to look forward to.
Another month pa.s.sed, and the Blood Refining Art was also cultivated to perfection by Chen Fei.
The original purpose of the Blood Refining Art was to refine the physique, but Chen Fei wasn’t interested in this aspect; instead, he valued its effect on changing one’s aura.
Although the Blood Refining Art hadn’t reached grand perfection yet, the perfected stage was already able to unleash some of its power.
Inside the cultivation chamber, there was a jade bottle placed in front of Chen Fei, containing the blood essence of an early-stage third-grade sea monster.
As the bottle was uncorked, a strong b.l.o.o.d.y smell wafted out, permeating the entire chamber.
Chen Fei formed hand seals, and the elemental force within his body began to circulate along the route of the Blood Refining Art. The blood essence in the jade bottle was stirred, immediately flowing into Chen Fei’s body.
Simultaneously, Chen Fei activated the Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique, directing all the sea monster blood that entered his body to acc.u.mulate on the back of his right hand.
In the traditional method of the Blood Refining Art, this blood essence would actually disperse throughout the body’s limbs and bones. However, due to the Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique and the perfected stage of the Blood Refining Art, Chen Fei was able to control it to this extent.
The blood essence of the sea monster began to strengthen the back of Chen Fei’s right hand, and at the same time, faint sounds started to emerge around his ears.
Initially, these sounds were barely audible, but as the back of Chen Fei’s hand continued to strengthen, the sounds grew louder and louder, eventually becoming the roar of the sea monster.
This was a inevitable consequence of refining the blood essence of the sea monster. Because the blood essence contained the imprint of the sea monster, it was difficult for outsiders to erase. By refining the blood essence of the sea monster, these imprints were absorbed as well.
Even individuals with strong willpower would inevitably have their minds affected after continuously refining the blood essence of sea monsters over the years.
Therefore, there were not many pract.i.tioners of this technique who ultimately achieved positive results; many martial artists ended up going mad and dying.
After an hour had pa.s.sed, the blood essence of the sea monster on Chen Fei’s hand had been fully refined, and the roaring of the sea monster in his ears had become fainter until it disappeared entirely.
The perfected stage of the Blood Refining Art could partially reduce the imprint of the sea monster in the blood essence. In other words, the higher the level of comprehension of the technique, the lower the risk of refining the blood essence.
And now, Chen Fei had only refined a small area of his hand back, so the impact was naturally minimal, hence the disappearance of the sea monster’s roar at this moment.
Of course, this was only Chen Fei’s first refinement. As he refined more times in the future, this impact would gradually acc.u.mulate, eventually becoming irreversibly significant.
However, Chen Fei had no intention of refining multiple times. At most, he would elevate the level of the sea monster’s blood essence a bit in the future. Currently, the blood essence of an early-stage third-grade sea monster was somewhat weak.
Chen Fei stood up and looked at the back of his hand. Compared to other areas, the color here was slightly heavier.
“Hum!”
Chen Fei controlled the Blood Refining Art and directly stimulated the power on the back of his hand. In the next moment, Chen Fei’s aura became strange.
Savage, brutal, and with a terrifying sense of preying on others, it was markedly different from the aura of ordinary martial artists.
Feeling his new aura, a smile appeared on Chen Fei’s face.
In the past, Chen Fei always had to deliberately erase his presence from the scene. But now, with this entirely new aura, he had fewer worries.
Chen Fei stopped circulating the Blood Refining Art, and his aura returned to its original state in an instant.
A technique originally meant for body tempering had been transformed by Chen Fei into a skill akin to disguise techniques.
With the completion of the Blood Refining Art, Chen Fei had achieved what he had envisioned. Continuing to cultivate it to grand perfection seemed somewhat insignificant.
However, Chen Fei decided to continue practicing it nonetheless. After all, practicing the Blood Refining Art wouldn’t hinder his cultivation of the other two techniques.
Herding one sheep or a flock of sheep was the same effort, so Chen Fei decided to cultivate the Blood Refining Art to Great Completion. Perhaps there would be other surprises, who knows?
While Chen Fei remained in the cultivation chamber practicing, the situation around the Sea Dominion City began to deteriorate gradually.
Despite the fact that almost all of the forces of the Thousand Feathers Alliance were stationed here, with the added presence of Min Yanlu, a Mountain Sea Realm cultivator, the pressure on the Sea Dominion City was increasing.
The reason was simple: the number of sea monsters was increasing.
The Boundless Sea was vast, with land occupying only a tiny portion of it. Hence, the true protagonists here were the sea monsters, as they had unique conditions for cultivation.
Because of this, no one knew exactly how many sea monsters lurked within the Boundless Sea.
Losses among the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators of the Sea Dominion City began to mount. Although most were only at the early stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm, it still caused great concern and fear.
As for the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, either they suffered only minor injuries or they were completely wiped out. There wasn’t even time for rescue when faced with such situations, as the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators couldn’t be saved in time, or when they tried to rescue them, they were held back by other sea monsters.
Over the past few months, the Primordial Sword Sect had partic.i.p.ated in guarding missions and experienced several life-threatening situations. It was only because Chen Fei’s clone happened to be there that they could sense the appearance of third-grade sea monsters in advance and promptly retreat with the members of the Primordial Sword Sect.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Primordial Sword Sect to be as safe and sound as it is now.
However, with the increasing number of sea monsters, there were times when even though the clone could sense them in advance, whether they could escape every time was still uncertain.
Another month pa.s.sed, just as the Profound Heavenly Sword was about to reach Perfection, someone arrived outside the cultivation chamber where Chen Fei was located..