Chapter 235: To the Death
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Inside the cave, the warrior claimed to be a disciple of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, but Lu Zhichun only believed him about thirty percent. However, Lu Zhichun was not willing to take a gamble; he feared that if it turned out to be true and he ran into a powerful member of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, he would likely meet his end.
The strength of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect was far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.
Lu Zhichun’s ability to reach the Aperture Tempering realm was often not solely due to his strength but also his cautiousness. This was especially true when facing potential strong enemies.
Yet the opportunity inside this cave was too precious for Lu Zhichun to give up.
A non-decaying body likely indicated the existence of a powerful cultivation technique, offering him a chance to advance further. If there were truly profound martial arts manuals hidden here, he would even be willing to abandon his current cultivation technique.
As time passed slowly, the surroundings remained calm. Since the mist had dissipated, Lu Zhichun could observe any movements in all directions. At this moment, he could detect any approaching warriors in the area.
Half an hour passed, and no powerful member of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect appeared. Lu Zhichun hesitated for a moment but did not immediately leave.
He had already waited for half an hour; waiting a little longer wouldn’t hurt. After all, Lu Zhichun was on guard, and any slight disturbance would catch his attention.
Chen Fei, even if he wanted to secretly escape through a hole, could still be detected by Lu Zhichun.
If Chen Fei were to make a hole, it would only confirm Lu Zhichun’s suspicions of deceit, and this might actually put Lu Zhichun more at ease.
As time gradually approached evening, an hour had already passed. Lu Zhichun straightened his body slightly, snorted, and swiftly entered the cave.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Zhichun arrived at the bottom of the cave, where he saw Chen Fei sitting cross-legged, seemingly engrossed in cultivating a technique.
Lu Zhichun’s eyebrows twitched. He hadn’t expected that Chen Fei would be quietly practicing as if he were genuinely waiting for a powerful member of his sect to come to his rescue.
This caused Lu Zhichun to hesitate once more, wondering whether Chen Fei had any protectors accompanying him. If they existed, they should have appeared by now.
But if there were none, why would Chen Fei dare to cultivate so leisurely? What did he rely on?
“Why has the senior returned?”
Feeling a slight movement in the cave, Chen Fei opened his eyes and looked at Lu Zhichun.
“Let’s make a deal. Give me that black box, and I’ll leave immediately!”
Lu Zhichun gazed at Chen Fei, pondered for a moment, and spoke with utmost sincerity in his eyes.
“Aren’t you afraid that my protectors will come, senior?” Chen Fei smiled.
Don’t try to deceive me. If you had any protectors, they would have arrived by now!” Lu Zhichun coldly remarked.
“When you have the box, will you truly leave and not trouble me anymore?” Chen Fei contemplated for a moment, showing signs of wavering but still hesitant. “How can I be sure you won’t change your mind after obtaining the box? I have no means to control you, senior.”
“My only goal is that box,” Lu Zhichun explained persuasively.
“How can you guarantee, senior, that you won’t go back on your word after obtaining the box? 1 have no means to constrain you,” Chen Fei replied, showing signs of being swayed but still cautious.
“Either you trust me, or we can continue our standoff here!”
Lu Zhichun’s expression suddenly turned impatient. He snorted coldly and sent a palm strike toward the Dragon Elephant Formation.
“Boom!”
The entire cave shook violently as numerous rocks fell from the ceiling, shattering into rubble upon hitting the ground.
Chen Fei remained still, his eyes fixed on the Dragon Elephant Formation. The barrier formed by the Dragon Elephant Formation fluctuated slightly, gradually dissipating the incoming force until it returned to calmness.
Chen Fei felt a slight disappointment. The power of the Dragon Elephant Formation didn’t seem as formidable as the Dragon-Elephant True Immortal had claimed. Chen Fei couldn’t determine Lu Zhichun’s exact cultivation level, but the Dragon Elephant Formation should have been able to withstand an attack from an Aperture Tempering realm cultivator without showing much disturbance.
According to the scroll, the Dragon Elephant Formation should be capable of resisting an attack from an Aperture Tempering realm cultivator at the very least. To create any disturbance, it would likely require a coordinated effort from multiple cultivators.
However, with just a single move, and Lu Zhichun probably hadn’t even used his full strength yet, the Dragon Elephant Formation had already reacted. The gap in power was much wider than Chen Fei had expected.
“It must be due to the passage of time. No matter how powerful something is, it can’t resist the erosion of time. The Formation is unable to be maintained at the Aperture Tempering realm level for too long,” Chen Fei thought to himself, sighing softly.
Lu Zhichun, upon seeing the reaction of the Dragon Elephant Formation, had a gleam in his eyes. Initially, when he first saw the Dragon Elephant Formation, its aura had mildly deterred him, which is why he hadn’t attacked immediately.
His previous action had been more of a warning to Chen Fei. Unexpectedly, this Dragon Elephant Formation seemed to be somewhat overrated. While it would still require considerable effort to break through, it wasn’t an insurmountable obstacle.
“This formation, if forcefully broken, will destroy everything inside, including what’s wrapped in this box,” Chen Fei whispered, taking out the black box.
“Are you trying to threaten me? Even if I destroy it, what can you do?”
Lu Zhichun laughed loudly and continued to strike the barrier with intensified force. This time, the cave didn’t shake because Lu Zhichun concentrated his power solely on the Dragon Elephant Formation.
The radiance within the Dragon Elephant Formation kept channeling the incoming force into the earth’s veins beneath Mount Guanzhou. However, as time passed, it became evident that the radiance’s fluctuations increased in frequency, and toward the end, it even started to waver slightly.
“Please, senior, cease your actions, or I’ll destroy the contents of this box one by one!”
Chen Fei’s face showed signs of anxiety as he took out the black box and pretended to be ready to destroy its contents.
Lu Zhichun’s laughter grew even louder, and he not only didn’t stop but intensified his attack. He understood human psychology well; right now, he had to reverse the threat and put pressure on Chen Fei. Only by doing so could he achieve his goal.
Seeing Lu Zhichun’s increasingly aggressive attacks, Chen Fei’s face displayed nervousness. However, in secret, he continued to control the Dragon Elephant Formation, reducing its power. As Chen Fei did this, the Dragon Elephant Formation began to tremble as if it would shatter at any moment.
“This is your doing!”
Chen Fei shouted loudly. He activated his inner energy, causing the piece of cloth in his hand to shatter into several pieces.
“You dare to destroy my opportunity, you’re asking for death!” Lu Zhichun, seeing Chen Fei’s actions, yelled in anger.
He swiftly moved, arriving right in front of the barrier, his palms turning a dark green color as he struck the barrier.
Even with attacks from a distance, energy consumption was inevitable, and the closer the distance, the more powerful the strike.
However, Lu Zhichun was cautious and did not let his palms touch the barrier directly; there was still a slight gap to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.
“You’ve finally come!” Chen Fei, who had been anxious and uneasy, suddenly became calm.
With a surge of inner energy, the Dragon Elephant Formation emitted a dazzling radiance.
As Lu Zhichun noticed the change in Chen Fei’s demeanor, he sensed something was wrong and attempted to step back. However, he was engulfed by the brilliance of the Dragon Elephant Formation in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the intense light emitted by the Dragon Elephant Formation had dissipated. When observing the situation inside the cave again, the protective barrier formed by the Dragon Elephant Formation no longer covered Chen Fei. Instead, it had trapped Lu Zhichun inside.
This transformation, from a protective formation to a restrictive one, was the result of Chen Fei’s control over the Dragon Elephant Formation during the past hour.
However, it was crucial to note that the Dragon Elephant Formation was not solely a restrictive formation. It required Lu Zhichun to be close enough to ensure he would be caught within it without realizing the danger and escaping prematurely.
“You insolent child! How dare you deceive me like this!” Lu Zhichun, realizing he was trapped, erupted in anger. He pounded his palms against the Dragon Elephant Formation, but the radiant barrier held firm, blocking his attacks.
Chen Fei knew he had to make his escape now. The Dragon Elephant Formation, while not overwhelmingly powerful, had temporarily trapped Lu Zhichun. Chen Fei was uncertain how long he could maintain the barrier. He needed to seize this opportunity to return to Apricot Fen City.
Only the vast population of Apricot Fen City allowed Chen Fei to use the Dragon Elephatn Formation technique to forcefully conceal his aura and confuse Lu Zhichun’s perception, giving him enough time to cleanse the contamination within his mind and spirit. Otherwise, in the wilderness, even with Dragon Elephant Formation’s concealment, there would eventually be traces that could be detected.
Chen Fei’s figure darted towards the exit of the cave. Lu Zhichun watched as Chen Fei disappeared from view, his gaze turning cold.
Throughout the day’s confrontation, Lu Zhichun had never expected to be outmaneuvered by a practitioner of the Visceral Tempering realm, leaving him trapped within a formation. Unless he could find a way to inflict numerous tortures upon Chen Fei, he would never be able to quell the anger burning within him.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
As Chen Fei crossed the threshold of the cave, he faintly heard the sounds emanating from within. In comparison to before, Lu Zhichun was now truly exerting his full strength in attacking the Dragon Elephant Formation.
The recent events had ignited Lu Zhichun’s fury completely, and he was likely not going to stop until he had captured or killed Chen Fei.
Chen Fei took a quick glance around to orient himself and then activated the Chasing Soul Steps at full throttle, rushing towards the direction of Apricot Fen City. Simultaneously, he continued to use the Dragon Elephant Formation technique to conceal his aura and placed fragments of the Heart Pearl throughout his body in the hope of further masking his presence.
The Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique operated at its limits, aimed at swiftly erasing the contamination within his mind and spirit.
Chen Fei seemed to transform into a phantom, vanishing from Mount Guanzhou in the blink of an eye.
With his current speed and without rest, Chen Fei could reach Apricot Fen City within a day. His hope now rested on the Dragon Elephant Formation being able to hold out for a longer duration.
Five hours later, Chen Fei’s figure appeared on a massive boulder. He surveyed his surroundings and recognized the location—the eerie mountain village he had encountered earlier was just a few miles away. Although he intended to take a slightly detoured route to avoid the village, he prepared the Red Candle just in case.
Chen Fei took the Red Candle from his spatial grid, ready to use it if needed as a precaution while continuing his journey towards Apricot Fen City.
Chen Fei recalled the route he had taken earlier and was about to set off when his Core Soul Tree, within the sea of his consciousness, suddenly trembled. The contamination that had already been suppressed by the Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique had unexpectedly become active again.
“How could this happen so quickly?”
Chen Fei’s expression changed abruptly. The Dragon Elephant Formation had been broken so quickly, and Lu Zhichun was now dangerously close to him.
Even if the Dragon Elephant Formation wasn’t as powerful as described, it shouldn’t have been this vulnerable. Unless Lu Zhichun had used a special method to call for reinforcements, allowing for an internal and external combined attack to break the Dragon Elephant Formation?
Chen Fei turned to look back, and the Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique continued to tremble, warning him that danger was rapidly approaching.
There was no way to escape now. Before Lu Zhichun caught up to him, Chen Fei couldn’t make it back to Apricot Fen City.
Chen Fei glanced at the fragments of the Heart Pearl in his hand. Unfortunately, if it were a complete Heart Pearl, it could have helped him conceal his aura. Alternatively, if Chen Fei had access to the deeper layers of the Thousand Thread Technique from the Alchemist Alliance, he could strengthen the Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique and expedite the cleansing process of the contamination. However, Chen Fei didn’t possess any of these resources, and they were all just out of reach.
Chen Fei looked ahead, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately gritted his teeth, running towards the location of the mysterious village.
There was no way to avoid it. Lu Zhichun was closing in quickly, and Chen Fei couldn’t return to Apricot Fen City before being caught.
In just a few miles, Chen Fei saw the village again. Whether it was an illusion or not, the village seemed larger than before compared to his initial encounter.
His core soul energy trembled, warning Chen Fei to stay away, but he had no other choice.
Sensing the pursuit from behind, Chen Fei made a quick decision and rushed into the village.
In less than fifteen minutes, two figures appeared outside the village. Lu Zhichun sensed the presence and concluded that Chen Fei was in the village below.
“He actually thinks this eerie place can stop us; he’s too naive,” Hua Daohong chuckled and licked his lips. The fact that the Dragon-Elephant True Immortal didn’t decay intrigued him greatly.
Let’s go!”
Lu Zhichun gave a low command and charged into the village. Hua Daohong followed suit with a hearty laugh..