Chapter 265: Chaos
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
A month later, the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect officially sent invitations to the nearby sects of Immortal Cloud City, hoping that each sect would provide assistance in jointly besieging the Divine Flame Sect.
The content of the invitation was very mild, simply a request for cooperation in besieging the Divine Flame Sect. Faced with this invitation, no sect dared to refuse, and none would truly refrain from offering their assistance.
Supreme-level forces were polite to you, not because you could decline, but because it was in their character. If you were to genuinely refuse, the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect probably wouldn’t act against you immediately.
However, what would happen in the future was unknown; perhaps it would turn into the next Divine Flame Sect?
The Primordial Sword Sect responded to the invitation, sending three cultivators at the Aperture Tempering realm along with dozens of martial artists at the Visceral Tempering realm. Other sects, such as the Long Rainbow Sect, dispatched a similar number of personnel as the Primordial Sword Sect.
Chen Fei was naturally not on the list of those going to battle; he remained in the sect to continue his cultivation.
About ten days ago, thanks to the benefits of refining the Spirit Snow Pills, Chen Fei finally filled his first aperture and smoothly opened his second aperture on the same day without the slightest ripple or hindrance.
Clearly, his mastery of the Zhongyuan Sword at the Proficiency level and his core soul energy far exceeding his current cultivation level made the opening of the second aperture appear entirely natural.
The opening of the second aperture, while still far from being filled, allowed Chen Fei to distinctly sense an improvement in his realm.
The Aperture Tempering realm is a continuous process of tempering one’s core soul energy and continuously opening apertures. The level of one’s realm is entirely measured by the number of apertures opened, making it quite straightforward.
Over a month of cultivation not only advanced Chen Fei’s cultivation but also didn’t neglect his practice of the Soaring Heaven Technique and the Zhongyuan Sword.
The Zhongyuan Sword was still a considerable distance from reaching the Mastery level, but the Soaring Heaven Technique was nearing Proficiency.
Since the simplification of the Soaring Heaven Technique, the progress in his practice had been remarkably steady, without encountering any more challenges or difficulties. It progressed steadily, much like the Zhongyuan Sword, constantly advancing.
In addition, with the formula for the Spirit Snow Pill, as Chen Fei had been steadily refining the Flying Ascent Pill recently, his proficiency in the Spirit Snow Pill had gradually approached Great Completion. The external manifestation of this achievement was the increased success rate when Chen Fei refined the Spirit Snow Pills.
When the formula for the Spirit Snow Pill had just reached Perfection, for every ten furnaces of Spirit Snow Pills Chen Fei attempted to refine, about five or six would yield four pills, with the rest being three pills.
Now, when Chen Fei refined ten furnaces of Spirit Snow Pills, the number of times four pills were produced had risen to seven or eight.
Clearly, as the proficiency of the Spirit Snow Pill formula approached Great Completion, Chen Fei’s mastery of crafting the Spirit Snow Pill became increasingly effortless.
While others needed to rely on their state of mind, Chen Fei had almost solidified this state, thanks in part to the mystical power of the System he had. Once achieved, it wouldn’t fade away with the passage of time.
It wouldn’t become unfamiliar; it was a permanent skill!
Chen Fei’s reputation within the Alchemist Alliance had been spreading among various alchemists recently, and it seemed to be gaining momentum.
Previously, when he was a Tier 7 Alchemist who had improved the Flying Ascent Pill, he had gained some recognition, but it was mostly just a topic of discussion that gradually subsided.
But now that Chen Fei had become a Tier 6 Alchemist, he had entered the realm of high-level alchemists. Within the Alchemist Alliance, he was considered a prominent figure, admired by many lower-ranked alchemists.
Moreover, recently, Chen Fei had been taking on Spirit Snow Pill crafting tasks almost frantically. Almost all tasks related to crafting Spirit Snow Pilis on the task list were monopolized by him.
What’s crucial was that Chen Fei had flawlessly completed every single one of these crafting tasks, earning a substantial amount of contribution points, which made many alchemists envious.
In the eyes of many, besides accumulating contribution points, Chen Fei must have also profited by acquiring some Spirit Snow Pills. A single Spirit Snow Pill was worth over thirty thousand taels, and any extra pill produced meant significant gains.
Just thinking about this made many alchemists feel various shades of envy and jealousy.
Many people wanted to know just how many extra Spirit Snow Pills Chen Fei had earned from crafting so many. However, regrettably, Chen Fei hadn’t mentioned this to anyone.
Even within the Alliance, when other alchemists asked, Chen Fei just smiled and didn’t answer.
Telling the truth could hurt people’s feelings, and many alchemists probably wouldn’t believe him and think he was boasting. In that case, it was better not to say anything and let everyone speculate for themselves.
For Chen Fei, practicing cultivation and alchemy every day was both monotonous and fulfilling. Because he could see progress in all aspects of himself every day, this kind of progress seemed limitless.
As long as he put in effort, he could continue to receive rewards.
For others, putting in effort didn’t necessarily guarantee a return. But for Chen Fei, when he put in effort, he would definitely receive a response!
Apart from cultivation, Chen Fei also kept an eye on the battle between the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and the Divine Flame Sect. Currently, everyone in Immortal Cloud City was most concerned about this matter.
However, it took some by surprise that the fight between the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and the Divine Flame Sect was proving to be quite stubborn.
Initially, it was expected that the combined forces of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and other sects would easily crush the Divine Flame Sect, just as in the previous campaigns against them.
But the reality was that although several sects were making progress and forcing the Divine Flame Sect to retreat step by step, the daily casualties were quite high, including casualties on both sides, the Divine Flame Sect and the alliance of sects.
In fact, one of the elders from the Primordial Sword Sect had been seriously injured and had to return to the sect for treatment. Under pressure from the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, the Primordial Sword Sect had no choice but to send another elder to make up the team of three.
As for the disciples at the Visceral Tempering realm, their losses were even more significant.
It wasn’t just the Primordial Sword Sect; other sects were also facing challenges, and even the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect itself had suffered some losses.
However, judging by the current trend, the Divine Flame Sect would eventually be wiped out, albeit with some significant losses for the various sects.
Initially, the members of the Divine Flame Sect had attempted to disperse and disappear as they had done in the past.
But whether it was due to the thorough preparations made by the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect this time or some other reason, they hadn’t been given the chance. They were relentlessly pursued by the alliance of sects and denied the opportunity to escape.
Currently, both sides were approaching the Taiyan Mountain, where the Divine Flame Sect’s stronghold was rumored to be. However, nobody knew for sure if this was the case, but both sides were indeed moving in that direction.
The members of the Divine Flame Sect had attempted to escape to other areas several times, but each time, the alliance of sects forced them in the direction of Taiyan Mountain.
“Crackle, crackle, crackle!”
Inside the courtyard’s secret chamber, Chen Fei activated the Sword Essence Technique, allowing the Qianyuan Sword to continuously absorb the Gold Sky Stone.
The Gold Sky Stone, which had originally been the size of a fist, was now reduced to less than the size of a finger, and the essence that had disappeared was all incorporated into the body of the Qianyuan Sword.
At this moment, the Qianyuan Sword was emitting a faint glow, and its spiritual aura permeated the surroundings. If one didn’t look closely, they might mistake it for a spiritual weapon already.
However, it was fast approaching that point. Under the influence of the Great Completion level Sword Essence Technique, nurturing the Qianyuan Sword was incredibly efficient. With the addition of Gold Sky Stone, the Qianyuan Sword’s path to advancement had been remarkably smooth and rapid.
According to Chen Fei’s estimation, it would take just over a month at most before the Qianyuan Sword could truly advance to a spiritual weapon.
This timeframe was shorter than Chen Fei’s initial estimate by several months.
As time passed day by day, every few days, Chen Fei would go to the Alchemist Alliance to take on Spirit Snow Pill crafting tasks and then return with a few Spirit Snow Pills.
The silver taels on the interface had accumulated quite substantially. Besides occasionally selling some Spirit Snow Pills, the most significant income came from the Flying Ascent Pills.
The selling price of Flying Ascent Pills had always been considerable, but Chen Fei had refrained from crafting and selling them initially due to the limited source of medicinal herbs.
However, recently, after exchanging for medicinal herbs within the Alchemist Alliance, the issue of medicinal herb availability had been resolved. Crafting Flying Ascent Pills not only improved the proficiency of crafting Spirit Snow Pills but also brought in a significant income of its own.
At this pace, Chen Fei would soon gather enough silver taels to tidy up the Dragon Suppressing Elephant, and then accumulate some more, possibly even enough to obtain funds for simplifying the Dragon Suppressing Elephant.
In a blink of an eye, another ten days passed, and the alliance of sects finally cornered the Divine Flame Sect at Taiyan Mountain. The geographical environment of Taiyan Mountain was not favorable; there was no retreat. They were trapped there, and the Divine Flame Sect had almost no escape route left.
This was why the members of the alliance of sects chose to trap the Divine Flame Sect at Taiyan Mountain. Regardless of whether Taiyan Mountain was the nest of the Divine Flame Sect, the discovered members of the Divine Flame Sect were not going to be let go by the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.
It seemed that the members of the Divine Flame Sect had also realized their predicament. In Taiyan Mountain, they displayed astonishing determination and, in this desperate situation, they had been deadlocked with the members of several sects.
This deadlock, as seen by the people of Immortal Cloud City, was likely to be broken in a few days. However, what was surprising was that this deadlock had lasted for half a month.
During this half-month period, Taiyan Mountain had turned into a meat grinder, and many martial artists at the Visceral Tempering realm had died. Not only Visceral Tempering realm cultivators, but even Aperture Tempering realm cultivators had lost six members during these ten-plus days.
These six casualties included members of the Divine Flame Sect as well as those from several other sects.
Fortunately, the three Aperture Tempering realm cultivators from the Primordial Sword Sect had only been injured and had not suffered casualties.
The Immortal Cloud Sword Sect issued a new call to arms, urging other sects to continue sending reinforcements, and they themselves dispatched additional personnel to the area.
However, as everyone had speculated earlier, it seemed that Taiyan Mountain was indeed the territory of the Divine Flame Sect. Even with the arrival of reinforcements from other sects, the deadlock couldn’t be broken.
While there was slow progress being made, it was far too slow, and the losses were too great.
Then, the Aperture Tempering realm experts from the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect intervened!
Someone saw a streak of light flash across the sky over the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, heading towards Taiyan Mountain.
In the sky, it was the domain of Aperture Tempering realm cultivators. Those at the Visceral Tempering realm could only briefly hover in the air and were far from achieving the level of free flight. So, it was evident that the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect was pulling out all the stops.
Within the city of Immortal Cloud, a group of people was filled with excitement. It had been many years since the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect had called upon Aperture Tempering realm experts to take action. Clearly, they didn’t want to delay any longer and aimed to resolve the situation at Taiyan Mountain directly.
One day later, a massive burst of light erupted over Taiyan Mountain.
The intense shockwave could be clearly felt even from dozens of miles away.
Two days later, the martial artists from various sects returned to their respective sects in a state of panic, bearing astonishing news: the Combined Aperture Tempering realm expert from the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, who had intervened, had died..