Chapter 277: Black Thread
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Do you have any other leads? Just this alone, it’s challenging to track down the culprit,” Chen Fei placed the Blood Serpent back into the plate and looked at Qian Jianlong.
Relying solely on a trace of energy, even someone as powerful as an Aperture Tempering expert couldn’t easily find a person in a vast sea of people. It wasn’t very realistic. If they couldn’t locate the thief, this mission would likely take a very long time to complete.
As for guarding the Moyang Manor and waiting for the thief to return, it was also not a viable option. Nobody knew when the thief might strike again.
The reason the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect had dispatched two Aperture Tempering experts for this mission was twofold. One was to be prepared for any unexpected events, and the other was to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
The situation around Immortal Cloud City was becoming increasingly complex. Only by resolving all the issues within their controlled territory could the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect free up more resources to deal with the Flame God Sect.
“We haven’t found any other leads,” Qian Jianlong shook his head.
“So, how do you propose we search?” Fang Zhehua’s brows furrowed, and as Chen Fei had pointed out, with just this small piece of evidence, it was practically impossible to find the culprit.
Qian Jianlong gave a bitter smile. He had very limited information at his disposal, and there was little he could do to uncover more useful clues.
“Let’s go and check out the place where you first spotted the dark figure,” Chen Fei suggested after some thought.
“Very well, please follow me,” Qian Jianlong nodded and led Chen Fei and Fang Zhehua to the rear of the manor.
Chen Fei surveyed his surroundings. While the Moyang Manor primarily cultivated Green Yang Grass and bred Blood Serpents, they also cultivated various other medicinal herbs.
After all, the environment here, along with the specially arranged formations, made the vitality in the Moyang Manor relatively superior to other places.
Under these conditions, the growth of any medicinal herbs would be exceptionally good. So, as they reached the rear of the manor, various medicinal fragrances wafted through the air.
“Right here, 1 had it cordoned off,” Qian Jianlong led Chen Fei and Fang Zhehua to a slope. In front of them, an area was enclosed by a fence, and some medicinal powder was sprinkled on the ground. When other Blood Serpents smelled it, they instinctively avoided the area.
Fang Zhehua flashed over to stand above the fence, seemingly weightless as he examined the situation below. After a moment, he returned with a furrowed brow.
Chen Fei followed suit, lightly stepping onto the fence and sensing the aura below.
“At that time, the guards activated the formations in time, so they managed to capture a trace of the aura,” Qian Jianlong explained.
The Moyang Manor was enveloped by a massive formation, which could gather and protect vital energy. In a situation like this intrusion, if the intruder was slightly weaker, they would likely be trapped by the formation.
“The aura matches the one on the Blood Serpent, but it’s too weak,” Fang Zhehua looked at Chen Fei and spoke in a low voice. “How about this: we each search separately for an hour, then meet back here?”
“Agreed!” Chen Fei nodded. In a situation with no leads, it made sense to split up the search, increasing the likelihood of finding something.
This task assigned by the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect came with a reward – five elemental stones. The Primordial Sword Sect didn’t act as middlemen, so these five elemental stones would be given directly to Chen Fei if the mission was successfully completed.
The Long Rainbow Sect was likely in a similar situation, so Fang Zhehua had some enthusiasm for this task. After all, five elemental stones, especially considering the current circumstances, weren’t a trivial gain when facing opponents of the same level.
From this perspective, the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect’s way of doing things was quite reasonable. At least when they assigned you a task, they provided you with some compensation, which could be seen as a sign of respect for Aperture Tempering realm cultivators.
Of course, if it were a task given to Body Refining realm cultivators, there wouldn’t be any compensation at all. Tasks for such cultivators were usually obligatory cooperation with the sect, like when Chen Fei had just joined the Primordial Sword Sect and was required to gather medicinal herbs simply because the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect needed them.
Five elemental stones didn’t hold much value to Chen Fei now. He simply wanted to complete the mission quickly so that he could return to alchemy and cultivation. Delaying the tasks here for too long would result in more losses than the mission reward could compensate for.
Fang Zhehua vanished from sight, and Chen Fei scanned his surroundings. He then appeared on a rooftop in the manor, overlooking the entire Moyang Manor.
It was an easy place to defend and hard to attack. Infiltrating it was extremely difficult, and an ordinary Visceral Tempering realm cultivator would likely be discovered shortly after entering.
Chen Fei furrowed his brows. Under these circumstances, how could that shadowy figure have infiltrated the manor? Either their cultivation technique was extraordinarily unique, capable of concealing them from everyone inside the manor, or perhaps that shadowy figure wasn’t just a Visceral Tempering realm cultivator?
But if he wasn’t at the Visceral Tempering realm, there were many inconsistencies. Chen Fei contemplated for a moment, then with a flick of his right foot on the rooftop, he turned into a fleeting shadow, vanishing into the sky above Moyang Manor.
Qian Jianlong stood below, watching Chen Fei disappear. A mysterious and inexplicable smile gradually crept onto his face.
In the forest, a fleeting figure darted through the foliage, finally coming to a halt on a treetop. It was none other than Chen Fei, who had left Moyang Manor.
At this moment, a faint black thread encircled Chen Fei’s fingertips, continuously moving, representing the trace of aura he had intercepted from Moyang Manor a while ago. The only clue he had now was this trace of aura, and Chen Fei could only follow its guidance, hoping to find something different.
However, after being out for just fifteen minutes, Chen Fei had gained nothing. After all, Chen Fei hadn’t placed a core soul mark on the other person’s body. If he had, he could have used the connection between the mark and his own core soul energy to track the person from afar.
With only this trace of aura, he had no starting point. What Chen Fei was mainly doing now was scanning the surroundings for any unfamiliar traces. Since this place was remote, normal warriors wouldn’t be found here, and civilians were even less likely to show up.
If he could discover some human traces, he could potentially follow them and gather more information. Otherwise, he would truly be at a loss.
Half an hour passed quickly, and Chen Fei had yet to find any new leads. He realized that with just this trace, it might take him three days and nights or more to make any significant progress.
Chen Fei thought for a moment, activated the “Thousand Threads Technique,” and divided his mental energy within his sea of consciousness. He then gently infused it into the black thread in his hand.
Since the aura was too weak, Chen Fei decided to provide nourishment for it, directly increasing its concentration. This way, when he started searching for the person, it would be easier to detect.
Chen Fei wasn’t sure if the method he was attempting would work. But since he couldn’t find the person through conventional means, he decided to try something different. After all, it was just a strand of core soul energy, and if it failed, it wouldn’t have a significant impact.
His slender core soul energy flowed bit by bit into the black thread, causing it to gradually expand. However, after a moment, Chen Fei stopped. The black thread seemed to be struggling to withstand the infusion, on the verge of collapsing. Additionally, the aura within the black thread had become peculiar because it was mixed with Chen Fei’s own aura. After all, his core soul energy carried his imprint.
“Feeding it is feasible, but I need to remove my own aura,” Chen Fei thought. He activated the Thousand Threads Technique to its limits, making his already fine core soul energy even more transparent. However, the aura related to Chen Fei remained faint but did not dissipate.
Chen Fei furrowed his brows, focused, and continued to strip away the core soul energy. However, this process seemed to exceed Chen Fei’s endurance, and his core soul energy started to boil.
“Hum!”
The Spirit Suppression part of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique suddenly activated, suppressing the boiling core soul energy to prevent it from harming Chen Fei’s core essence. As Chen Fei continued the extraction, a strand of pure core soul energy, devoid of any traces of Chen Fei’s aura, drifted out and merged with the black thread in his hand.
The black thread began to gradually thicken, and the contained aura became clearer. It felt as though Chen Fei had sensed a connection between the black thread and somewhere distant.
“It’s effective!” A smile appeared on Chen Fei’s face. He took out the fragment of the Heart Pearl, keeping it outside the black thread. As the black thread continued to grow, its owner wouldn’t be able to sense the aura left behind in this place.
A quarter of an hour had passed, and the black thread within the Heart Pearl fragment had expanded to more than ten times its original size. However, at this point, no matter how much core soul energy Chen Fei injected, the black thread could no longer absorb it. It had clearly reached its limit.
Chen Fei didn’t insist further because, at this moment, the black thread had already developed a vague sense of connection to a distant location, providing a rough direction.
“Remarkable that the lingering aura can be guided like this. It seems I need to pay more attention in the future. There might even be specific techniques related to this,” Chen Fei thought. However, considering the Thousand Threads Technique, he felt reassured.
As the Thousand Threads Technique progressed, according to the manual, it could conceal the residual aura of one’s own presence. Furthermore, it could detect anomalies and even remotely sever connections.
“It’s been an hour. 1 should go back and see if Zhehua has made any progress,” Chen Fei said to himself. He stored the black thread at his fingertip and headed back towards Moyang Manor.
In just a short while, Chen Fei returned to the manor, and Zhehua had already arrived. Upon seeing Chen Fei, Zhehua walked up to him.
“I’ve found something, but I can’t confirm it yet. It’s probably not just a Visceral Tempering realm cultivator,” Zhehua said solemnly.
Chen Fei’s expression changed slightly as he nodded and followed Zhehua into the forest.
In less than a cup of tea’s time, Zhehua stopped on a treetop, pointing to a mountain cave about a hundred meters away. He spoke in a hushed tone, “There are some traces there, and the residual aura is similar to what’s inside the manor.”
Chen Fei looked down. The cave wasn’t large, and its interior was pitch black, making it impossible to see completely even with the vision of an Aperture Tempering realm cultivator. Clearly, the cave was more extensive than it appeared from the outside.
Without saying a word, Chen Fei directed his black thread, which now pointed to a different location, not inside this cave..