Chapter 273: Breaking the Situation
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Soaring Heaven Technique?”
As Chen Fei departed, the Zhongyuan Sword Formation had already dissipated. Dong Xiuzhi recalled Chen Fei’s agility moments ago, his brows furrowing. The swiftness of his escape left no room for pursuit.
The depth of the Zhongyuan Sword technique was beyond expectations. Chen Fei’s colossal strength caught them off guard. Coupled with his current agility, it was nothing short of astonishing.
What kind of innate talent was this? Chen Fei had only broken through to the Aperture Tempering realm a few months ago, not even a full year, yet he possessed so many techniques.
Dong Xiuzhi knew that both the Zhongyuan Sword and Soaring Heaven Technique were heritage techniques of the Primordial Sword Sect, each profound and extremely challenging to cultivate. For most cultivators with slightly lower comprehension and aptitude, achieving such mastery would take decades.
Dong Xiuzhi acknowledged his own talent wasn’t lacking, but when he compared the techniques he currently possessed with Chen Fei’s mastery of the Zhongyuan Sword, the difference was humiliating.
Moreover, Chen Fei’s tremendous strength was perplexing. As far as the existing complete heritage of the Primordial Sword Sect was concerned, there seemed to be no such technique. Where did he obtain it?
“Dong, shall we continue to pursue?” Shi Zhengwu asked, looking at Dong Xiuzhi with a serious tone.
“We won’t catch up. There are too few experts in agility among us wandering cultivators.”
Dong Xiuzhi glanced at Zheng Guangfei, who was approaching with a grimace. Zheng Guangfei excelled in speed, but letting him chase after Chen Fei alone might result in a situation where they ended up killing each other.
Considering Chen Fei’s displayed combat prowess just now, if Zheng Guangfei were to somehow catch up to Chen Fei, he’d probably end up being pinned to the ground and completely powerless to resist.
With this in mind, Dong Xiuzhi couldn’t help but sigh.
For wandering cultivators, having access to a somewhat complete set of techniques was already a stroke of luck. Unlike these sects, where techniques were provided as part of a package deal.
The three sets of inheritances from the Primordial Sword Sect, although individually not as good as the techniques currently being rewarded to wandering cultivators by the Divine Flame Sect and Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, had the advantage of being compatible.
You could choose to practice Zhongyuan Sword or Giant Spirit Sword for offense, and for defense or evasion, you could opt for Soaring Heaven Technique. In just this regard, it was far better than what wandering cultivators had access to.
Zheng Guangfei arrived in front of Dong Xiuzhi and the others but didn’t know what to say. Being swept away by a fellow cultivator at the same level who had just entered the Aperture Tempering Realm was embarrassing no matter how you looked at it.
What made it worse was that when they were surrounding Chen Fei earlier, he had been boasting, and now he was left with a minor injury from a single strike of Chen Fei’s sword. The feeling was just unbearable.
Chen Fei’s figure flickered for a moment, and he realized that Dong Xiuzhi’s group hadn’t caught up to him. A smile couldn’t help but appear on his face.
With Soaring Heaven Technique, he could both attack and defend, and that was precisely the reason why Chen Fei had been so eager to simplify it back when he had first acquired it. Now, he was reaping the rewards directly.
If his movement techniques couldn’t shake off the three pursuers, it would eventually come down to a direct confrontation.
Chen Fei had only recently opened three apertures, and the strength of his sword formation couldn’t be maintained for extended periods. Even though the Suppressing Dragon Elephant’s tremendous power could be sustained for a bit longer, without the support of the sword formation, Chen Fei’s margin for error was too low.
If he sustained even minor injuries in the end, it could lead to a vicious cycle, potentially resulting in his death. At most, he might take one of them down before succumbing.
However, if he ended up dead himself, what would be the meaning of the others dying?
To be alive is to have various possibilities!
Chen Fei took a slightly detouring route and returned to the sect, where he truthfully reported his encounter to the sect leader, Qu Qingsheng.
Upon hearing Chen Fei’s account, Qu Qingsheng’s heart was filled with anger, but ultimately, he sighed helplessly.
The sorrow of the weak. Even though the Primordial Sword Sect had so many cultivators in the Aperture Tempering Realm, they were still considered weak in comparison to the Divine Flame Sect. The two sides’ strengths were not on the same level.
The Divine Flame Sect had attempted to have Chen Fei surrounded, but the Primordial Sword Sect couldn’t retaliate in the same way against the Divine Flame Sect, as it would mean directly opposing them.
If they did so, the happiest party would be the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, as it would mean the Primordial Sword Sect and Immortal Cloud Sword Sect were completely tied together.
In that case, the best option for the Primordial Sword Sect would be to collectively move into the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and become an integral part of it to ensure their safety.
Otherwise, if the Divine Flame Sect sought revenge, the Primordial Sword Sect would have no power to resist. Simply put, one person like Jian Sheng, would be enough to annihilate the entire Primordial Sword Sect, and there would be very few survivors.
Merging with the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, however, would mean severing the Primordial Sword Sect’s heritage completely.
Perhaps in the short term, the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect would allow the Primordial Sword Sect to retain some autonomy.
But as time passed, the Primordial Sword Sect’s influence would gradually diminish, until nothing remained.
In the current situation, there was no urgency to this extent. Because the primary target of the Divine Flame Sect remained the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, not the other sects.
“If there’s no urgent matter, it might be safer for you to stay within the sect,” Qu Qingsheng looked at Chen Fei and whispered.
Clearly, the sect’s members were attacked by others, and they knew who the enemy was, but they couldn’t intervene, leaving Sect Leader Qu Qingsheng feeling uneasy.
“Sect Leader, there’s no need to worry. 1’11 be careful on my own,” Chen Fei replied softly. His purpose in reporting the situation wasn’t to have the sect act on his behalf; the Primordial Sword Sect currently lacked the strength for that. He simply hoped that his fellow disciples would be more cautious.
The members of the Divine Flame Sect might not be able to make another attempt on Chen Fei this time, and the likelihood of them doing so would be much lower unless a cultivator in the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering Realm with exceptional speed came forward.
Among the loose cultivators, individuals with this level of cultivation and exceptional speed were extremely rare. Furthermore, the main targets of the Divine Flame Sect were still focused on the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.
Seeing Chen Fei’s firm attitude, Qu Qingsheng didn’t try to persuade him further, only advising him to be safe. After Chen Fei left, Qu Qingsheng summoned the other elders and explained Chen Fei’s situation.
The other elders of the Primordial Sword Sect were infuriated but had no choice. Stepping forward now meant that they wouldn’t be able to pull back later.
Merging with the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect seemed secure on the surface, but it might also mean that the Primordial Sword Sect would be at the forefront during the final charge.
Chen Fei found Feng Xiupu and cautioned him to be careful. Feng Xiupu advised Chen Fei to stay within the sect, where it was still safe for now. However, when Chen Fei displayed his Soaring Heaven Technique, Feng Xiupu had nothing more to say.
He couldn’t help but feel that in terms of mastery of the Soaring Heaven Technique, Chen Fei was now almost on par with him. Yet Feng Xiupu had been practicing the technique for many years, while Chen Fei had only just started not long ago.
At this moment, Feng Xiupu suddenly felt what it was like for those who used to be on the same level as Chen Fei, watching him surpass them.
“Don’t get too proud. The path of martial arts is a continuous journey. If you don’t advance, you’ll fall behind. You need to work even harder!” Feng Xiupu said in a solemn tone.
Chen Fei looked at Feng Xiupu with a somewhat wry smile. It seemed like only his master could say such things to him now. Others didn’t have the authority to do so.
Half an hour later, Chen Fei appeared in Immortal Cloud City.
This time, Chen Fei deliberately took a longer route. He had decided that from now on, he would take a more circuitous path when traveling to and from the sect to avoid being tracked and ambushed.
Of course, the most crucial aspect was to strive for an improvement in his cultivation.
In this chaotic situation, everyone was caught up in it, and many times they had no choice but to act. To break free from this situation, one needed to have exceptional strength.
However, the improvement of cultivation in the Visceral Tempering Realm was often accomplished through the accumulation of time. That’s why the threat faced by the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect had given Chen Fei the opportunity to progress rapidly.
Chen Fei’s current strength was still far from sufficient. If he were stronger, he could have kept all three of those assailants at the scene and shifted the blame onto the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.
Alchemy and cultivation took up every minute of Chen Fei’s time.
After a month, Chen Fei opened another acupoint, bringing the total to four. At the same time, he exchanged his contributions for the Alchemist Alliance’s cultivation technique, the Thousand Thread Technique, from its third to fifth levels.
Chen Fei now had a considerable number of contribution points at his disposal.
The Thousand Thread Technique, which had seemed out of reach in the past, could now be easily obtained.
Ordinarily, even just exchanging for aging medicinal herbs couldn’t consume the ever-increasing number of contribution points that Chen Fei possessed.
Another month passed, and Chen Fei’s aperture acupoints reached five, a level of cultivation progress that an ordinary wandering cultivator might take over a decade or even more than twenty years to achieve.
Simultaneously, as he continued to crazily refine Flying Ascent Pills and improved his proficiency in the pill formula, he achieved perfection in the formula for Snow Spirit Pills, reaching a point where there was no room for further improvement.
Within the Alchemist Alliance, Chen Fei accepted a task to refine two batches of Snow Spirit Pills.
Inspecting the spiritual herbs, setting up the fire, and every step of the pill refining process, Chen Fei carried them out methodically. To an observer, it might seem no different from his previous attempts at pill refining, but if a master alchemist were present, they would discern a subtle difference.
This difference was a sense of complete mastery.
Calm and unhurried, every detail of refining the Snow Spirit Pills was displayed clearly in Chen Fei’s hands. Though the process appeared intricate, it was a pleasure to behold when watching Chen Fei work.
Even those who knew nothing about alchemy could tell that Chen Fei’s actions indicated he had reached the pinnacle of expertise in refining Snow Spirit Pills.
Half an hour later, the lid of the pill furnace opened, and an even richer medicinal fragrance wafted out than before.
Chen Fei placed four Snow Spirit Pills into a porcelain dish and observed the faint pill patterns that had appeared on them. The proficiency in refining Snow Spirit Pills at the perfect mastery level was about to produce Snow Spirit Pills with pill patterns.
If I compress the yield to three pills, each one will definitely have pill patterns,” Chen Fei thought to himself. These pills with pill patterns would undoubtedly be superior in medicinal efficacy to regular Snow Spirit Pills. However, since Chen Fei was doing this as a task, there would be no benefit to him.
“What if 1 attempt to expand four pills into five? The increase in medicinal efficacy might be only slightly reduced, but I could still complete the task,” Chen Fei’s eyes brightened.
It was time to test his true alchemical skills!