Chapter 246: A Fellow Cultivator Should Die, But A Penniless Priest Should Not
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Did he actually manage to escape?”
Chen Fei sensed the fluctuations of the emerald energy in his hand, and it could only be like this when Lu Zhichun was nearby. Chen Fei hadn’t expected that Lu Zhichun could actually escape from Mi Village.
The rules in Mi Village were so stringent that they were almost impossible to resist for any outsider.
The martial arts he had taught were instantly learned by the villagers of Mi Village, followed by a surge of vital energy. Then, in the evening, they were catered to and absorbed another wave of it.
What was even more outrageous was that the next day, when they started learning new martial arts, as long as they began listening, their vital energy would continuously drain away.
Most importantly, their mental faculties were suppressed, rendering all their previous methods of dealing with enemies useless, leaving only some instinctual reactions.
In this situation, being able to confront Mi Village was truly unusual.
In such circumstances, if you wanted to escape from Mi Village, either your own strength had to completely surpass that of Mi Village, forcibly tearing apart their rules with immense power, or you had to be like Chen Fei, possessing a panel that almost countered all of Mi Village’s rules.
Or there was one more possibility: being genuinely extraordinary, with an intellect that still soared despite spiritual suppression, rendering Mi Village helpless.
Therefore, sensing that Lu Zhichun had actually escaped from Mi Village at this moment left Chen Fei somewhat surprised.
Breaking through the Aperture Tempering realm with the identity of a rogue cultivator, it seemed that everyone had kept all their cards close to their chest. Until the very end, you wouldn’t know what methods the other person had up their sleeve.
“However, what kind of strength do you have left in you now?”
Chen Fei thought back to the dire situation Lu Zhichun and he had been in at Mi Village. At that time, both of them had already suffered significant damage to their vital energy, forcing them to deplete their spiritual weapon’s spiritual essence just to maintain their spiritual wisdom.
Even so, they wouldn’t have been able to escape Mi Village for sure. Chen Fei wondered what method Lu Zhichun had used in the end to break free.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Chen Fei’s mouth. They had all entered Mi Village together, and now they had escaped together. It wouldn’t hurt to go and see what was going on. If the other party encountered any difficulties, he could lend a hand!
Several miles away, a figure was running somewhat unsteadily. It was none other than Lu Zhichun, who had just escaped from Mi Village. If anyone familiar with him were here and saw his current condition, they would probably be shocked.
A formidable cultivator at the Aperture Tempering realm, but now his face was pale, even tinged with a bluish-gray hue. It wasn’t just his complexion; even the aura emanating from his body was gloomy, far from resembling the appearance of a cultivator at the Aperture Tempering realm should have.
This was a severe injury, and it had affected his vital energy; that was the only explanation for those signs. Yet, strangely, Lu Zhichun didn’t show any signs of injury right now. It was as if his vital energy was sucked away out of thin air.
Hua Daohong, who was with Lu Zhichun, had now vanished without a trace. No one knew where he went.
Lu Zhichun’s expression was gloomy as he constantly surveyed his surroundings, on guard for any potential danger.
At this moment, both his mental and elemental energies were at their weakest. To escape from Mi Village, Lu Zhichun had deceived Hua Daohong and resorted to desperate measures, ultimately using self-reverse to gain powerful strength and break free.
Without any one of these steps, Lu Zhichun wouldn’t have made it out. But even though he had escaped, his condition was now at its lowest point.
Lu Zhichun was keenly aware of his condition. Five of the seven apertures he had previously opened had shattered, and the remaining two were in a precarious state.
It can be said that Lu Zhichun’s path in martial arts had been thoroughly blocked. Unless he could find something like the Origin Awakening Pill to heal his apertures, he could forget about making any further progress in his lifetime.
Lu Zhichun couldn’t help but tighten his fists, his inner fury hard to put into words.
In the early stages of the cultivation realm, a total of thirty-six apertures could be opened. Opening seven may not seem like much, but for a rogue cultivator, it was a rare achievement.
Aside from the techniques themselves, the cultivation of apertures in the early stages was a gradual process of accumulation. It also depended on whether one’s mental power was strong enough to support the opening of so many apertures.
In sects, those considered exceptionally gifted individuals could open one aperture per year, reaching the peak of the early cultivation stage within at least thirty-six years.
Breaking through from the early to the mid-cultivation stage involved a minor bottleneck. If everything went smoothly, one might break through within one or two years. If not, it could take ten or even twenty years, or more for those with slightly weaker talent.
If that were the case, then in this lifetime, it would be nearly impossible for Lu Zhichun to progress from the mid to the late cultivation stage, let alone attempting to reach the combined apertures stage, which would be incredibly challenging.
Even those with excellent talent who could open one aperture per year would need at least three decades. If one’s talent was slightly weaker, opening a single aperture could take two or even three years, if not longer.
As a rogue cultivator, Lu Zhichun had managed to break through to the cultivation stage due to serendipitous factors, but his talent was by no means poor. However, due to the restrictions of the technique and the slow growth of his mental power, Lu Zhichun had spent over twenty years to open only seven apertures.
That’s why Lu Zhichun was so interested in venturing out and taking risks. When he saw the body of the Dragon-Elephant True Immortal, which didn’t decay, he thought of seizing this opportunity.
This opportunity could very well change his predicament of slow cultivation growth and give him a chance to explore higher realms of martial arts.
But now, after opening seven apertures with great difficulty, five were shattered, and the remaining two were in peril. Lu Zhichun didn’t even acquire the Dragon-Elephant True Immortal’s techniques, and his spiritual weapon was destroyed, leaving him back where he started in just one day.
Recovering from these injuries would be extremely challenging, and he would have to avoid appearing in front of other mid-cultivation stage martial artists to avoid being targeted.
As a rogue cultivator, Lu Zhichun knew all too well what kind of thoughts people would have when they encountered a weakened mid-cultivation stage individual. In this world, it was survival of the fittest. This is why, to escape from Mi Village, Lu Zhichun could deceive and abandon his good friend Hua Daohong because, above all, Lu Zhichun wanted to survive.
“I should find a place to recuperate first, and then return to Mount Silver for seclusion!”
Lu Zhichun pondered in his heart. He spotted a cave up ahead and was about to investigate when suddenly, his heart trembled. A tremendous sense of danger abruptly descended upon him, causing him to involuntarily stop in his tracks.
Lu Zhichun slowly raised his head and looked to his right. He didn’t know when, but there was a figure there. Lu Zhichun squinted his eyes and, upon closer inspection, his eyes widened slightly.
“It’s you! You actually managed to escape from Mi Village!”
Lu Zhichun looked at Chen Fei incredulously. Even though Chen Fei had behaved quite strangely in Mi Village, Lu Zhichun had never thought that Chen Fei could escape from Mi Village.
A mere Visceral Tempering realm martial artist like him, how could he possibly leave Mi Village? Even Lu Zhichun himself had to sacrifice so much just to barely escape.
“It seems like you’re really badly injured!” Chen Fei said as he casually crushed the emerald green energy in his hand.
A martial artist at the Visceral Tempering realm only realizing his presence when he’s so close is not a trait typical of someone at that level. This could only happen if Lu Zhichun’s injuries were so severe that he couldn’t pay attention to his surroundings.
“I just lamented that the technique fell into Mi Village, and now you appear before me, it’s like a gift from the heavens!”
Lu Zhichun burst into manic laughter, and his aura suddenly surged, pressing down on Chen Fei with the might of the Visceral Tempering realm. In the next moment, it was as if a ferocious beast roared, and a malicious aura rushed toward Chen Fei.
Chen Fei’s expression remained unchanged as he activated his Spatial Travel, leaving behind a phantom in place while his true body had already pounced toward Lu Zhichun.
However, at this moment, Lu Zhichun’s figure had already moved dozens of meters away, running wildly in the distance.
Everything that just happened was a bluff. The moment Chen Fei appeared, Lu Zhichun realized that Chen Fei was already an Aperture Tempering realm martial artist.
In his prime, Lu Zhichun, facing a newly advanced Aperture Tempering realm, couldn’t guarantee a victory, but defeating them would certainly not be an issue. Even if it was a sect disciple, the outcome would be the same.
After all, newly advanced Aperture Tempering realm martial artists were at their most fragile stage. But now, Lu Zhichun had severely injured himself, and his spiritual weapon was also shattered. If a newly advanced Aperture Tempering realm martial artist was considered the weakest, then he was even weaker than that.
Lu Zhichun’s current body couldn’t withstand combat at the same level. Even a slight vibration in those two almost shattered apertures might cause them to break.
If he still had the hope of recovering from his injuries through a healing elixir, once those two apertures shattered, Lu Zhichun would lose all hope, falling from the Aperture Tempering realm and even suffering severe injuries leading to death.
In this situation, facing Chen Fei, as long as he had a bit of rationality left, his first choice would be to escape. As for his attitude just now, it was purely to mislead Chen Fei and create an opportunity for himself to flee.
However, it seemed that the effect wasn’t too good!
Lu Zhichun dashed madly, only sensing Chen Fei’s pursuit from behind, his face darkened as if it were about to drip water. The feigned strike just now had produced no effect at all.
Chen Fei directly ignored such a trick, showing excessive shrewdness. His ability to subtly probe with his mental power was also not typical of someone who had just broken through to the Visceral Tempering realm.
“The grudges from the past few days are all on me. If you can spare me today, I will surely repay you in the future!”
Lu Zhichun shouted loudly. Now that he couldn’t win in a fight, he could only hope that the other party would spare him.
Chen Fei remained silent. After all, Lu Zhichun had stooped to the point of ambushing a Visceral Tempering realm while he was still at the Aperture Tempering realm. Chen Fei had no reason to believe any of Lu Zhichun’s words..