Chapter 920: Ambush
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Besides visiting the Treasure Depository, has he displayed any other unusual behavior recently?” Fu Yongxiao asked, his expression calm.
Exchanging contribution points for three sets of cultivation techniques was somewhat strange but not unheard of; many guards had done so before.
As for the Jadeite Flower, which could directly enhance one’s cultivation after consumption, that was within the realm of normal expectations.
After returning to Sky Resonance Court from Lingxi City, Fu Yongxiao had instructed people to monitor Chi Chengyuan.
With Shen Shundong and Yan Ming’an dead, and only Chi Chengyuan surviving, it naturally raised some doubts, especially since all the information came from him.
However, there were no warnings from the mansion’s barriers, and Chi Chengyuan’s soul response was perfectly aligned. Fu Yongxiao was merely being cautious, not truly suspecting Chi Chengyuan.
“He has been healing in his room for the past few days. Judging by his current aura, he has probably recovered about half of his strength. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be fully restored in about six months,” a subordinate reported quietly.
“Mm, continue monitoring,” Fu Yongxiao nodded and closed his eyes again.
Fu Yongxiao knew the amount of contribution points Chi Chengyuan possessed and was aware of Chi Chengyuan’s previous goals for acc.u.mulating them.
However, to exchange for the right to use the Enlightenment Pool, given the normal rate of contribution acc.u.mulation, Chi Chengyuan would likely need another twenty years.
Perhaps the recent near-death experience had altered some of Chi Chengyuan’s plans.
Fu Yongxiao’s suspicion of Chi Chengyuan had diminished significantly.
“Yes, understood!” The person carefully left the room; it was Shen Huiying, who had previously delivered medicine.
Although there was some tension between Shen Huiying and Chi Chengyuan, he dared not embellish the report, knowing that any discrepancies discovered later could lead to trouble for him.
A month pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye. Chen Fei mostly spent his time in his room, improving his mastery of cultivation techniques.
He also sorted and categorized the items found in Chi Chengyuan’s three treasure vaults.
Chen Fei had already counted the number of top-grade essence stones. Excluding simplifications and previous expenses, there were still over four thousand left.
Though this number might seem modest, based on Chen Fei’s knowledge from Chi Chengyuan and Yan Ming’an’s memories, it was quite affluent for the early stages of the Sun Moon Realm.
High-grade essence stones could not be exchanged for top-grade ones, and if they could, the ratio would be extremely disproportionate.
In the Boundless Sea, due to the loss of origin, top-grade essence stones were rare, and even the Mountain Sea Realm had scarcely seen them.
In the Return to Nothing Realm, the situation was not so severe; some in the Mountain Sea Realm still had a few top-grade essence stones, though they were scarce.
Most top-grade essence stones were held by those in the Sun Moon Realm.
The difficulty in exchanging high-grade essence stones for top-grade ones was simple: high-grade essence stones provided very little help to those in the Sun Moon Realm.
Top-grade essence stones contain a portion of the world’s primal energy, which is needed by Sun Moon Realm experts, while such energy is too diluted in high-grade essence stones.
For the Sun Moon Realm, high-grade essence stones, though not insignificant, are not worth the effort to collect.
The Return to Nothing Realm produces many top-grade essence stones, but they are consumables, and with so many Sun Moon Realm experts, the number each person can hold is naturally limited.
There were over four thousand top-grade essence stones, and several dozen bottles of fifth-grade lower-tier pills that could aid in the cultivation of the early Sun Moon Realm.
Because of the presence of the Indestructible Vision, Chen Fei’s cultivation methods were quite intense.
While these dozens of bottles of pills might last other early Sun Moon Realm cultivators two or three years, Chen Fei would likely use them up in less than half a year.
Besides the pills, there were also various spiritual materials, including fifth and fourth-grade items.
The fifth-grade items were for Chen Fei’s own use, while the fourth-grade items were given to the Primordial Sword Sect.
The situation in Thousand Geese City, currently in Tianling Pendant, was relatively stable, with no signs of unusual emotions, given the city’s size.
Back in the Sacred City, people from Thousand Geese City rarely ventured out.
During their time in Immortal Cloud City, one of the main tasks of the Combined Aperture Tempering Realm pract.i.tioners was to purchase food.
Indeed, it was a ma.s.sive amount of food. Since storage was not a concern, they acquired as much as they could.
As a result, the food supply in Thousand Geese City was ample enough to last fifty to sixty years, even if consumed freely.
In fact, once warriors reached the Combined Aperture Tempering Realm, food intake was no longer a necessity but rather a matter of satisfying culinary desires.
The refinement of heaven and earth primal energy was sufficient to meet daily needs.
The main items from Yan Ming’an and his companions’ treasure vaults included essence stones, elixirs, and spiritual materials.
There were also some cultivation techniques. Chen Fei briefly reviewed them and found them quite ordinary, mostly minor secret techniques for the Sun Moon Realm, with no complete training manuals.
Chen Fei discarded these techniques into the Primordial Sword Sect as well.
Regarding the arrangement of Thousand Geese City, Chen Fei had some ideas but found them difficult to implement.
With his current status among the human race unresolved, the people of Thousand Geese City were essentially undoc.u.mented.
Given Chen Fei’s strength, even a small leak of information could easily attract trouble.
It wasn’t that someone of the Sixth Stage Rule Integration Realm would come after him; such powerful figures would not bother with him. However, anyone in the late stages of the Sun Moon Realm or above could be challenging for Chen Fei to handle.
For now, Chen Fei could only take things one step at a time.
The three techniques Chen Fei retrieved, when fused with the Stellar Divine Technique, resulted in a new technique: the Thunder Roar Stellar Technique.
Chen Fei was quite satisfied with the original cultivation characteristics of the Stellar Divine Technique. Therefore, he focused on enhancing its power, particularly the starlight needed for the peak of the Sun Moon Realm.
In the Indestructible Vision, which had thunder attributes, Chen Fei considered that since he needed to condense a flame divine power, it might be better to change it to Thunderfire. Igniting the stars with Thunderfire could potentially be more effective.
Thus, the Thunder Roar Stellar Technique was created.
Regarding its power, the proficiency of the original Stellar Divine Technique dropped to a beginner level, indicating a significant enhancement.
However, it wasn’t a drastic leap, considering it only integrated two ordinary techniques and one incomplete cultivation method.
Combining techniques in the Sun Moon Realm to create a supreme skill is extremely challenging, involving divine powers that are tied to the nuances of rules.
Even the finer details of these rules present significant challenges for the Sun Moon Realm.
Truly understanding these rules would be a task for those at the peak of the Sun Moon Realm.
Chen Fei was not in a hurry; he proceeded with his cultivation step by step while seeking an opportunity to leave Sky Resonance Court. He also maintained his ident.i.ty as Chi Chengyuan, occasionally communicating with other guards.
Generally, the guards at Sky Resonance Court had little to do. They could not go out freely, but they had a lot of free time within the mansion.
After all, outside Sky Resonance Court was Sky Sea City.
Below the Sixth Stage Emperor Realm, no one dared to cause trouble in Sky Sea City.
Sky Resonance Court was also protected by a late-stage Sixth Stage Rule Integration Realm expert, so even the most stubborn individuals wouldn’t target the mansion.
The most dangerous time for Sky Resonance Court guards was when Sky Sea City called for Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners to fight on the front lines.
During such times, the safety of Sky Sea City was at stake, and all Sun Moon Realm experts, regardless of their factions, were required to follow orders.
The difference was that stronger factions might be a.s.signed to more dangerous front-line areas.
However, danger and rewards are proportional. At least the call-up to the front lines was absolutely fair in Sky Sea City.
If it were unfair, people’s morale would falter.
The human borders were not peaceful, with battles occurring frequently. The need to call up the entire Sky Sea City’s Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners was relatively rare.
Chi Chengyuan served as a guard for over a hundred years and was called up twice.
Both times, he faced no significant dangers, but the rewards were substantial. Most of Chi Chengyuan’s wealth came from those two call-ups.
Thus, for those among the human race seeking faster cultivation, joining the front-line defenders was an option.
However, this choice came with exponentially increased risks.
“Recently, the border has been quite chaotic, especially near the Ice Clan’s territory. The intensity of the battles has increased.”
In a courtyard, guards sat in small groups, while maidservants and attendants moved among them, continuously serving snacks and tea.
Sky Resonance Court was vast, with the guards’ quarters covering an area of over ten miles.
Though their status was not as high as that of the guest elders, guards at the Sun Moon Realm level had significant differences from ordinary pract.i.tioners. Therefore, the area where they lived had many recreational and entertainment facilities.
This place was one such example.
Chen Fei sat in a corner, taking a bite of a sweet treat. The sweetness spread across his taste buds, accompanied by a surge of pure heaven and earth primal energy.
The Ice Clan’s hara.s.sment of Sky Sea City’s border had been ongoing for some time.
Previously, the Ice Clan’s Emperor had appeared in the Boundless Sea, albeit only a clone. It was evident how close the relationship between the two sides was.
“Given the current trend, it looks like we might be called up again,” someone sitting across from Chen Fei whispered.
This person was named Liu Baohai, who had a good relationship with Chi Chengyuan among the guards in Sky Resonance Court. They had graduated from the academy in Sky Sea City around the same time and had both broken through to the Sun Moon Realm roughly simultaneously before arriving at Sky Resonance Court.
“Weren’t you looking forward to being called up before?” Chen Fei asked with a smile.
“That was just a casual remark,” Liu Baohai replied.
Looking around to ensure no one else was listening, Liu Baohai leaned slightly toward Chen Fei and said quietly, “Have you heard the news? Recently, there have been attacks in other cities and in the alien tribes’ cities.”
“Where did you get this information?” Chen Fei was slightly taken aback. He had not heard of this and the other guards had not mentioned it.
“I just returned from a mission and happened to come across one of these incidents,” Liu Baohai said, leaning closer. “Let me tell you, many people have died!”
“Shh!”
As Liu Baohai spoke, a black blade silently appeared in his hand and was thrust directly into Chen Fei’s abdomen.