Chapter 250: Rain Tower
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Senior, are you the Chief True Transmission Disciple of the Primordial Sword Sect?”
Late at night, by the campfire, Ruan Qiaojun asked softly. Two days ago, Chen Fei had introduced himself by name, and upon hearing that name, the first thing that came to Ruan Qiaojun’s mind was the Primordial Sword Sect.
It had been two days since they left Apricot Fen City, and during these two days, Ruan Qiaojun had gained some understanding of Chen Fei’s character. He was easy-going and unassuming, not one to assert dominance.
If it weren’t for the occasional sense of fluctuation coming from Chen Fei up close, Ruan Qiaojun would have doubted whether Chen Fei was truly a cultivator in the Aperture Tempering realm.
In Ruan Qiaojun’s impression, those Aperture Tempering realm cultivators were always aloof and imposing. Even from a distance, you could sense their overwhelming pressure, making one’s heart palpitate.
“Yes.”
Chen Fei nodded, not denying his identity. He stared at the sparks constantly jumping out of the firewood, sensing a vague threat from all directions.
Two days had passed, and everything had been calm along the way. However, Chen Fei knew that the people pursuing Ruan Qiaojun would soon catch up.
Although he had removed the spiritual markon Ruan Qiaojun, those pursuers could still track her and were following closely.
After two days of preparation, Chen Fei could sense that those pursuers were getting impatient.
After all, the journey to Qin Hai City was only a few days away. If there were any unexpected circumstances along the way, they might not be able to keep Ruan Qiaojun here, and the mission would fail.
The only thing those assassins couldn’t determine was Chen Fei’s sudden appearance and what kind of strength he possessed. The time was too short, and no matter how good their intelligence was, they couldn’t immediately discover Chen Fei’s identity.
Unable to discover his identity, they naturally couldn’t know his strength, which was one of the reasons those assassins had not made a move yet.
“Brother Chen, here you go!”
Chu Lan approached softly, her cheeks flushed by the firelight, and under the moonlight, she looked delicate and charming. Chu Lan handed the warm wine to Chen Fei and quickly went to prepare other food.
“Thank you!”
Chen Fei took the wine jug, smiled softly, and poured the wine into his mouth, enjoying its mellow sweetness. Compared to the wine they had on the merchant caravan journey, this wine was undoubtedly of much higher quality.
Chu Wennian was sitting beside them, happily drinking wine, occasionally glancing around with a vigilant gaze.
Although there was already a powerful cultivator like Chen Fei in the group, Chu Wennian did not relax and continued to fulfill his duties.
“Your name has recently spread throughout the surrounding cities of Immortal Cloud City. If others find out that Senior has already broken through to the Aperture Tempering realm, it might cause quite a stir!” Ruan Qiaojun said with deep respect.
When Chen Fei had achieved the second position among the true disciples of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, his fame had already resonated within a hundred miles, and it even caused a wave of people wanting to join the Primordial Sword Sect as disciples.
Ruan Qiaojun was a disciple of another sect in Immortal Cloud City, and initially, her first choice was the Sunken Water Pavilion. Unfortunately, she was not selected by them.
She had also considered joining the Primordial Sword Sect, but it was known that one could become an outer disciple by merely paying a fee, which gave it a somewhat martial arts school-like feeling.
In the end, Ruan Qiaojun hesitated and chose to join another sect.
If Ruan Qiaojun had also been a disciple of the Primordial Sword Sect, things might have been different, and they wouldn’t have felt so distant. Unfortunately, such things were unpredictable.
After all, who could have expected that the Primordial Sword Sect, which had been in decline for a long time, would produce a disciple like Chen Fei, who was not inferior to the true disciples of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and had even broken through to the Aperture Tempering realm.
Cultivating the Aperture Tempering realm and the Visceral Tempering realm was a world of difference, and one word made all the difference.
Chen Fei smiled faintly. Breaking through to the Aperture Tempering realm was certainly a cause for celebration, but over these past few days, Chen Fei had already calmed down. In his view, the Aperture Tempering realm was just a point on the path of martial arts.
There were many things Chen Fei had to do next, and he felt it wasn’t worth being proud and complacent at this early stage of the Aperture Tempering realm.
Half an hour later, after finishing their dry rations, the group began to close their eyes and rest one by one. They were all martial practitioners, and during these special times, they didn’t fuss too much about comfort and could manage with just leaning against something for the night.
Chen Fei closed his eyes and crossed his legs, his core soul energy flowing around him. The Zhongyuan Sword Technique circulated slowly within his body, his aperture points trembling as strands of vital energy flowed into them, becoming part of his cultivation.
In the Aperture Tempering realm, the cultivation primarily involved opening up aperture points. Besides filling each aperture point with vital energy, the growth of core soul energy was crucial.
Only when core soul energy was strong enough could one control the powerful forces within the aperture points and subsequently open new ones. If core soul energy couldn’t keep up, one’s cultivation progress would slow down, or even stagnate.
However, good cultivation techniques naturally tempered core soul energy during the process of cultivating aperture points, allowing core soul energy and cultivation to grow together.
The Zhongyuan Sword Technique was like this. Through systematic practice, both core soul energy and vital energy would continuously strengthen until they reached the limits of one’s talent, at which point progress would slow down.
The Zhongyuan Sword Technique emphasized depth, so the cultivation speed was not particularly fast; it could only be considered average. Chen Fei’s current core soul energy was roughly equivalent to a cultivator who had opened up a dozen or so aperture points. Therefore, he wouldn’t encounter stagnation in his cultivation in the near future.
But it wouldn’t progress too quickly either. It would probably take nearly a year to open one aperture point once he had perfected the Zhongyuan Sword Technique.
This was about the limit for martial practitioners with exceptionally strong talents.
If Chen Fei wanted to progress faster, he would have to use elixirs. Not ordinary herbs, though, even herbs that were several decades old wouldn’t suffice. He would need spirit herbs to aid his cultivation.
The Primordial Sword Sect distributed elixirs to Aperture Tempering realm cultivators every month, but the quantity was limited.
To significantly speed up cultivation, one had to find their own sources.
Alchemizing elixirs wasn’t a problem for Chen Fei, but the issue lay in sourcing spirit herbs, which was quite challenging. Trying to buy them was difficult because they were controlled by various noble families and sects.
Another way to accelerate cultivation was by strengthening core soul energy. If core soul energy could significantly surpass the progress of aperture points, it could push the opening of new aperture points in the reverse direction.
For core soul energy, the Thousand Threads Technique of the Alchemists’ Alliance was one direction, but it required a substantial contribution level to acquire.
Another potential avenue was the Dragon Elephant Formation aperture section of Dragon Elephant Formation.
However, Chen Fei had yet to explore this aspect and didn’t know if his speculation was correct.
However, with the mystique of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant’s body section, Chen Fei was certain that the technique would not disappoint him.
The only challenge was the process of refining and simplifying the Dragon Suppressing Elephant, which made Chen Fei frown because it required a considerable amount of silver coins.
As the night grew deeper, Ruan Qiaojun and Chu Lan had already fallen asleep, and Chu Wennian pretended to be asleep, keeping an eye on the surroundings.
While Chen Fei was continuously refining himself, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked ahead. After a moment, the sound of footsteps gradually approached.
It felt as if those steps were treading on the heart’s vital point, causing Chu Wennian to clutch his chest, and Ruan Qiaojun and Chu Lan were also startled awake, looking at the newcomer in shock.
“The Heart-Stepping Technique?”
Chen Fei’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and as he uttered those words, the sensation of feeling like his heart was about to burst suddenly disappeared.
“You know your stuff.”
Chen Fei didn’t get up. The Heart-Stepping Technique was somewhat well-known because it belonged to an organization, the Rain Pavilion.
“Are you assassins from the Rain Pavilion?”
Chen Fei remained seated, and the Heart-Stepping Technique was somewhat well-known because it belonged to an organization, the Rain Pavilion.
The Rain Pavilion was not just about simple assassination; they also accepted other commissions as long as the price was right. They were willing to undertake many tasks.
Of course, most people who sought the Rain Pavilion were looking for assassination missions, which was their primary expertise. Assassination was often simpler than other tasks.
“That’s correct.”
Qu Yuanen stopped his steps at a distance of about twenty meters from Chen Fei. He believed this distance was safe. Any closer, and it would become uncertain.
“Who commissioned this task? I’m willing to pay. Can you cancel the mission?”
Ruan Qiaojun had also heard of the Rain Pavilion’s reputation and hastily spoke. If the problem could be solved with money, she would gladly do so.
“Miss Ruan is joking.”
Qu Yuanen smiled faintly and glanced at Ruan Qiaojun with a hint of coldness in his eyes. He then turned to Chen Fei and said, “Since you’re familiar with the Rain Pavilion, you should know our principles. Once we accept a mission, we carry it out to the end.”
Ruan Qiaojun and the others felt a chill down their spines. Did this mean they were in for relentless pursuit? Being targeted by an organization like the Rain Pavilion was terrifying beyond imagination. Only those who had faced it directly could understand the fear.
“I’ve heard that as long as you eliminate a few of your members, the mission will automatically be canceled,” Chen Fei said with a soft laugh.
There was no need for relentless pursuit; the Rain Pavilion was an organization that operated for profit, not for other purposes. If a mission became too difficult or would undoubtedly result in losses, the Rain Pavilion would abandon it.
Unless the employer offered a higher reward, the Rain Pavilion might continue.
“I’m here to persuade you to leave. We’re just strangers who happened to cross paths. Why involve yourself in such trouble?” Qu Yuanen tried to persuade Chen Fei patiently.
Hearing Chen Pel’s words, Qu Yuanen’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued to patiently persuade.
They had checked, and Ruan Qiaojun had no prior connection to Chen Fei; they didn’t know each other at all. Given the reputation of the Rain Pavilion, most people who witnessed such a situation would think twice.
“Your persuasion seems insincere.”
Chen Fei shook his head slightly, and with a pointing motion of his right hand, a black light flashed from his fingertip and disappeared. The next moment, there was a sound of a heavy object falling in the distance.
A gentle breeze blew, and the smell of blood slowly drifted over from afar.
Chen Fei flicked his finger lightly, and thin wisps of smoke gathered in front of him. These were the poisonous gas had already been surging in their direction when Qu Yuanen appeared just now..