Chapter 182: Sensing the Aperture Points
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Eternity Moment!
The Thousand Origin Technique trembled, and with a mental technique, the whole world seemed to pause for a moment in Chen Fei’s perception. Chen Fei looked up and saw an almost invisible black line, which had appeared not far away without him knowing when. It was the rat demon.
After being thrown by Xiao Liling, the rat demon had ultimately set its sights on Dreamlike Lotus. Once it obtained the Dreamlike Lotus, the rat demon had other ways to pursue and hunt down these humans.
Chen Fei’s advancing figure suddenly paused. He stepped forward with his right foot, his body retracting instead of advancing, unexpectedly rushing into the gap between An Shijie and his two companions. This placed him within their encirclement.
An Shijie and his companions were momentarily stunned. Just as they were about to instinctively strike, they also sensed that something was amiss. A savage aura was sweeping toward them from not far away, as if it could engulf them.
Rat demon!
The hearts of the three trembled. They had seen the rat demon’s strength clearly back at the water pool. While they were adept at body techniques, they didn’t dare face the rat demon alone.
Originally, in their plan, they believed that the rat demon wouldn’t return so quickly. After all, the Dreamlike Lotus had long escaped, and the rat demon shouldn’t have been able to track it down.
However, the rat demon had somehow managed to track them all the way here, disregarding even those who had attacked it, like Xiao Liling.
Now, they faced a dilemma. If they continued to fight for the Dreamlike Lotus, they would have to face the rat demon alone, the outcome uncertain. Yet, the Dreamlike Lotus was right in front of them, and they were reluctant to give up so easily.
Duan Yinfeng gritted her teeth. Ultimately, fear overcame desire. Her combat strength within the Visceral Tempering realm wasn’t strong, and facing the rat demon was akin to courting death.
When they came here just now, they hadn’t even considered obtaining the entire Dreamlike Lotus. They had at most hoped to get some and then escape quickly.
Now that they hadn’t obtained anything and the rat demon was pursuing them, Duan Yinfeng couldn’t afford any more delay. She twisted her body and ran towards a distance.
Folding Fan Stealth!
The folding fan in Wei Baolai’s hand flickered and suddenly disappeared, reappearing next to Chen Fei. The folding fan transformed into a sharp blade, slashing toward the Dreamlike Lotus.
Wei Baolai didn’t dare to take the entire Dreamlike Lotus, as it would lead the rat demon to relentlessly hunt him down. However, not taking any of it was also unacceptable to Wei Baolai.
As long as he could obtain a small portion of the Dreamlike Lotus and consume it, his mental power would undoubtedly increase. This was a crucial spiritual material that determined whether he could advance to the Aperture Tempering realm. Wei Baolai was determined to fight for it.
An Shijie roared, his body turning into a giant wave, completely blocking Chen Fei’s retreat. The blade in his hand turned into coastal cliffs, pressing down on Chen Fei.
“Bang!”
The folding fan struck empty air, the blade cutting into the ground nearby, leaving behind a thin and long trench.
The giant wave cleaved through, but it only shattered the illusion Chen Fei had created. Chen Fei’s true body was already behind An Shijie at this moment. If Chen Fei were to counterattack now, it would surely throw An Shijie into chaos.
However, there was no need for that now. The most crucial thing was to find a way to secure the Dreamlike Lotus.
Bacca!
“Coming!”
A massive figure suddenly appeared at Chen Fei’s side. With a swift movement of his right hand, Chen Fei cleanly severed less than ten percent of the Dreamlike Lotus and then tossed it to An Shijie.
As for the remaining ninety percent of the Dreamlike Lotus, Chen Fei held it in his hand. The Heart Pearl fragment appeared, wrapping around the Dreamlike Lotus. Then, Chen Fei madly dashed away toward the distance.
Fleetfoot!
Chen Fei’s speed increased slightly as he turned into a blur, disappearing from the view of the others.
This was a plan Chen Fei had discussed with Bacca. The rat demon would definitely not let go of the Dreamlike Lotus, so there had to be someone to divert its attention. An Shijie and his companions were well-suited for this role.
The Heart Pearl fragment couldn’t completely conceal the aura of the Dreamlike Lotus.
If they didn’t give a portion of the Dreamlike Lotus to An Shijie as bait, the rat demon could still track the Dreamlike Lotus. With this two-pronged approach, they could distract the rat demon’s attention.
Chen Fei’s figure flickered as he heard roars and explosions from behind, indicating that Bacca had already engaged the rat demon in a fight. As for An Shijie and the others, they were likely being held up at the scene as well.
After running about a mile away, Chen Fei, taking advantage of the empty surroundings, quickly summoned a wooden cabinet from his spatial grid. He then threw his jade token and the remaining Dreamlike Lotus into it.
“Phew!”
Chen Fei couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief. The spatial grid blocked all auras, and no matter how strong the rat demon was, it couldn’t be stronger than the monk within the Heart Pearl back then.
If the monk couldn’t see through the spatial grid, a first-level rat demon certainly wouldn’t be able to either.
Chen Fei identified the location and headed toward Bacca’s residence.
Now that he had obtained the Dreamlike Lotus, Chen Fei could easily consume it alone. However, he felt that a bit of integrity was necessary. Bacca had countless medicinal materials accumulated over decades, and they would be needed to refine the Dreamlike Lotus later.
At most, Chen Fei could deceive Bacca later, leaving the majority of the Dreamlike Lotus for himself.
Chen Fei ran cautiously back near the cave entrance without encountering any other incidents. Without the fluctuations from the iron plate, and with Chen Fei being so careful, it would be extremely difficult for someone to intentionally find another person in such a vast mystic realm.
However, this method will become less effective in the future. While the aura of cultivators might not be entirely constant, it does vary from individual to individual. As time goes on, when cultivators identify each other, it becomes more about recognizing the aura, the techniques they practice, and the moves they employ.
With utmost caution, Chen Fei made his way back near the cave entrance without encountering any further incidents. There were no fluctuations from the iron plate, and with Chen Fei’s vigilance, deliberately searching for someone in such an expansive secret realm would undoubtedly be exceedingly difficult.
An hour later, Bacca returned, and Chen Fei had already prepared the medicinal solution. He soaked the entire Dreamlike Lotus in it. The unique aura of the Dreamlike Lotus had long disappeared, and even if the rat demon’s sense of smell were sharper, it wouldn’t be able to track it here.
Bacca’s appearance seemed somewhat miserable, much worse than when he went to find the Strange Locust Tree. Three of the roots on his head had directly withered, indicating significant losses.
However, Bacca didn’t seem to mind at all at this moment. His eyes gleamed as he looked at the Dreamlike Lotus.
Bacca had worried that Chen Fei might have left, as memories of people often showed such behaviors.
Bacca wasn’t sure if Chen Fei would do the same.
Fortunately, Chen Fei hadn’t left and was waiting for Bacca to return to share the Dreamlike Lotus.
“Next, we’re going to start preparing the medicinal solution. Do you want to refine it for scholarly pursuits or for martial cultivation?” Chen Fei looked at Bacca, a smile playing on his lips.
Bacca blinked. Refine it for scholarly pursuits or for martial cultivation? But Chen Fei not running away had greatly increased Bacca’s trust in him. Bacca believed that Chen Fei wouldn’t deceive him.
Chen Fei was a good human!
An hour later, Chen Fei held a stone bowl containing eighty percent of the Dreamlike Lotus’ medicinal power.
“This was Bacca’s own choice, it has nothing to do with me.”
Chen Fei silently thought, then took a sip of the medicinal solution from the stone bowl.
“Boom!”
As if a deep tremor within his soul, Chen Fei’s mental power surged. Illusions filled his sea of consciousness as he tightly controlled it, vigorously employing the Thousand Origin Technique.
One day, two days, three days…
Although most of the physical form of the Dreamlike Lotus had dissipated, leaving only its essence, the benefits it provided for mental power were far superior due to its essence compared to the lotus seeds and leaves.
Chen Fei had been refining the medicinal solution for several days now, and his mental power had been continuously growing. Even so, the medicinal power of the Dreamlike Lotus hadn’t been fully digested yet.
Every time Chen Fei finished a period of refinement, he would pause and rest briefly before continuing his practice.
Bacca, on the other hand, had quickly assimilated the medicinal power of the Dreamlike Lotus. His strength had further increased, and he had started to assist Chen Fei in guarding. Clearly, Chen Fei had completely gained Bacca’s trust.
In Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness, his mental power had turned into countless threads, like a towering tree, securely guarding his mental essence within it.
The mental power outside of the essence kept surging, allowing this mental tree to continuously grow.
While Chen Fei was diligently refining the Dreamlike Lotus, conflicts in other parts of the secret realm started to intensify and become more frequent.
As the one-month deadline approached, almost all the exploration that could be done within the secret realm had been completed. Even the terrifying Half Bottle Mountain had been entered by cultivators.
Of course, the ultimate outcome was unknown, and the group of individuals hadn’t been seen again.
In the later stages of the trial, the most important matter was on the table: the iron plates.
Only by gathering all five jade tokens could one become a true disciple. At that point, whether it was techniques or other resources for cultivation, they would be prioritized for true disciples.
For a sect, aside from considering the strength of top fighters, the quality of disciples, especially the quality of true disciples, was a crucial factor.
Whether a sect’s heritage could truly be carried on depended on how capable their true disciples were. This was why every sect placed a great deal of importance on their true disciples.
The four factions within the secret realm were competing with each other, hoping that true disciples would not just be delicate flowers but could adapt to the harsh world of martial arts.
Survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle—advance or fall back!
In a certain part of the mystic realm, Guo Linshan wiped blood off his face. He looked around, many were injured, and there had been numerous casualties. Their group had unexpectedly fallen into an ambush, but fortunately, they had managed to endure and eventually turned the situation around.
“I should have enough jade tokens now.”
Guo Linshan murmured to himself, leaning tiredly against a tree and thinking of Chen Fei. But Guo Linshan knew that with Chen Fei’s strength, obtaining five jade tokens would surely be no problem.
Amidst the turmoil within the mystic realm, after nine days of receiving the Dreamlike Lotus, Chen Fei had finally absorbed all of its medicinal power. His mental sea had already transformed into a lush tree with numerous branches and leaves.
“My mental power has doubled directly.”
Feeling the situation within his mental sea, Chen Fei murmured to himself. Mental power became increasingly challenging to grow as one progressed further, even more so than cultivating inner energy.
Yet, even so, as the essence of the Dreamlike Lotus was absorbed, his mental power skyrocketed, and faintly, Chen Fei even sensed the locations of his acupoints.
However, Chen Fei didn’t have a way to measure the acupoints, so he wasn’t sure if he was correct.
Meanwhile, the internal energy within Chen Fei’s body was rapidly circulating. Due to the might of his mental power, he didn’t need to expend any mental effort to operate his inner energy.
Moreover, due to the unique martial technique of the Zeng family, the Divine Refinement Chant, the stronger the mental power, the faster the inner energy cultivation. Following this rhythm, Chen Fei wouldn’t need to consume any spiritual materials. He could likely advance his cultivation to the Visceral Tempering realm within a month.
And perhaps even faster!
It seems like the mystic realm is about to end!”
A jade token appeared in Chen Fei’s hand, emitting strong fluctuations. It not only guided other jade tokens but also pointed to the portal leading out of the mystic realm.
The mystic realm lasted for a month, but in reality, one could leave freely during the final three days, and there was more than one portal.
Although the four factions wanted their disciples to be tested through competition, they also didn’t want to see everyone wiped out in the end. That would be going a bit too far.
“Friend, are you leaving?” Bacca emerged from the cave, seeing Chen Fei’s alertness and suddenly asking.
“Yes, I’m leaving.”
Chen Fei nodded. There were still three days left, and he could continue to search for some mystical ingredients. However, the drastically enhanced mental power had given Chen Fei a deeper understanding of this mystic realm.
There were great dangers everywhere, from all directions, but the greatest danger lay in Half Bottle Mountain.
That ever-present sense of crisis constantly pressed on Chen Fei.
Simply obtaining spiritual materials must have already been done by others. Those that were difficult to deal with, even relying on Chen Fei and Bacca, probably couldn’t be overcome due to insufficient strength.
Since that’s the case, why not leave now and return to the Primordial Sword Sect to accept the inheritance of a true disciple?