Chapter 297: Self-Proclaimed Superiority
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Elemental energy surged, and the frigid aura seemed as if it could freeze all life within the entire cave. Everything, from dust to small stones kicked up in the air, slowed down.
Only those branches that blotted out the sky, with their terrifying speed and momentum, surged toward Chen Fei with a bone-chilling force. It felt like there was no escape from this onslaught, and death seemed inevitable.
“Boom!”
The entire cave trembled violently. Cracks appeared on the cave walls, but they were immediately frozen by the chilling power. A cloud of dust filled the air, obscuring the surroundings.
As the dust gradually settled, it revealed that the branches of the locust tree had surrounded a black spherical object. These branches displayed a terrifying strength, layer upon layer, continuously trying to crush the sphere.
“Crack, crack, crack!”
The branches of the locust tree emitted sounds akin to steel rods striking, indicating the incredible force it possessed. However, despite its efforts, the black sphere remained completely unscathed, resisting the locust tree’s crushing attempts.
Chen Fei stood at the center of the black sphere, which was empowered by the techniques from the Primordial Sword Scripture. After merging the Zhongyuan Sword and the Giant Spirit Sword, the defensive and offensive capabilities of this black barrier had been significantly enhanced.
Even though Chen Fei remained motionless, the locust tree couldn’t break through his defense. With the Elemental Sword Scripture in Chen Fei’s hands, it displayed a trace of the dominance that the Primordial Sword Sect had once held.
After testing the strength of the Primordial Sword Sect and this second-tier monster, Chen Fei was about to swing the Qianyuan Sword and directly slay the locust tree. However, he paused for a moment.
“Since you’ve come, why hide your head and show your tail?”
Chen Fei’s voice echoed through the cave as he broke through the locust tree’s branch blockade, appearing on a massive boulder.
His voice reverberated within the cave, but there was no response, as if everything had been a figment of Chen Fei’s imagination.
Meanwhile, the locust tree sensed Chen Fei’s escape. The entire tree trembled as if it were absorbing something. The frigid aura in the cave continued to decrease, and even the branches were enveloped in a layer of silver-gray, sending a shiver down anyone’s spine.
“Are you so cautious when dealing with someone of my unknown status?” Chen Fei glanced toward the upper right corner of the cave. A black sword aura flashed, but a shadow agilely evaded Chen Fei’s attack, landing on another rock.
“Chen Fei of the Primordial Sword Sect, who doesn’t know? Naturally, 1 have to be cautious!” Chang Shiwan wore a smile on his face, but his eyes showed no trace of amusement, only a profound chill.
“The Divine Flame Sect?” Chen Fei looked at Chang Shiwan’s appearance, his eyebrows twitching slightly. In the previous valley, no one had the same appearance and aura.
A person’s appearance could be altered in a thousand ways, and Chen Fei could easily control his muscles to do so. However, altering one’s aura was challenging and closely related to their own cultivation techniques and core soul energy.
Now, Chen Fei couldn’t change his aura, at most, he could try to conceal it. Thus, when he went out, Chen Fei didn’t bother with disguises because it was pointless.
Aperture Tempering realm cultivators could recognize people by their faces, but they relied more on auras. With a single thought, they could capture it with their core soul energy, and there were rarely any mistakes.
“You shouldn’t have made me appear!” Chang Shiwan didn’t directly answer Chen Fei’s question. His smile on his face grew even brighter. He was about to pounce on Chen Fei when suddenly his expression changed slightly. His whole body shot toward the entrance of the cave, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Chen Fei remained still. He knew why Chang Shiwan had fled because at this moment, outside, two auras were approaching this location without any concealment. In just a moment, the two auras entered the cave, seeing Chen Fei and the dense locust tree.
“It’s you!” Jin Weiming saw Chen Fei and couldn’t help but furrow his brow. Jin Weiming and Chi Yuqing happened to be nearby and sensed the commotion here, so they came to investigate.
Chi Yuqing glanced at the locust tree relentlessly attacking Chen Fei. She disliked the extreme frigid aura it emitted, which was unpleasant even for Aperture Tempering realm cultivators to face. Moreover, Chi Yuqing couldn’t quite discern the tree’s origins; it seemed more like it had undergone some mutation.
“Master Chen, do you need help?” Chi Yuqing asked gently, her soft voice seemed to have a soothing effect, even making the surrounding chilly aura feel slightly warmer.
“Thank you for your kind offer, but I can handle it,” Chen Fei replied calmly, his figure swiftly avoiding the locust tree’s branch attacks.
Chi Yuqing turned to look at Jin Weiming, silently asking if they should intervene.
For the vast majority of first-tier monsters, they held no value for Aperture Tempering realm cultivators. It was only second-tier monsters that had utility for cultivators at their level.
Jin Weiming observed the chilling aura emanating from the locust tree. Although it was a second-tier monster, there wasn’t much they could gain by slaying it. Only cultivators of specific cultivation techniques would have a particular liking for such frigid entities.
If they were to engage in a fight, Jin Weiming believed that either he or both of them could easily overpower Chen Fei. However, after defeating Chen Fei for the sake of seizing something utterly useless to them, it would be rather unwarranted.
In this hidden realm, second-tier monsters were not a rare sight. Exerting the least effort to gain the greatest benefits was the most sensible course of action. “Let’s go!” Jin Weiming glanced at Chen Fei and swiftly left the cave. Chi Yuqing smiled at Chen Fei before following Jin Weiming out of the cave.
“Do you feel a core soul mark inside the cave?” After distancing themselves several miles from the cave, Jin Weiming suddenly turned to Chi Yuqing and asked.
“A core soul mark? Was there someone else in the cave just now?” Chi Yuqing was taken aback. She hadn’t sensed any core soul mark; the cold aura inside the cave had disrupted most of her perception.
“They’ve left, but not too far. They’ve been keeping an eye on the situation inside the cave,” Jin Weiming said with a hint of a cold smile.
Chi Yuqing realized the situation. Initially, she thought Jin Weiming didn’t want to engage with Chen Fei, and that the locust tree didn’t seem valuable, so they allowed Chen Fei to have it.
However, she now understood that Jin Weiming had noticed someone monitoring Chen Fei and intentionally left a core soul mark, indicating that they might plan to harm Chen Fei.
“What a shame. If he had agreed to stay with us, none of this would have happened,” Chi Yuqing sighed softly. If Chen Fei had agreed to stay and help them slay the Strange Locust Tree while someone else left a core soul mark, they would have been much safer.
“The strength is lacking, yet he’s so arrogant. This calamity will teach him a valuable lesson!” Jin Weiming scoffed.
Jin Weiming’s dissatisfaction with Chen Fei was evident on his face. Despite Chen Fei’s extraordinary talent and combat prowess, given his recent breakthrough to the Aperture Tempering realm, his experience and time in cultivation were relatively short.
“So, are we going back later?” Chi Yuqing asked softly.
“That tree isn’t of any use to us. We’ll look for something else,” Jin Weiming replied.
Jin Weiming didn’t care about who would ultimately kill Chen Fei; he was more focused on what he could gain from this hidden realm. With the ongoing conflict between the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and the Divine Flame Sect, he wanted to rapidly improve his own strength to prepare for potential crises.
“Alright!” Chi Yuqing nodded. “Based on the information provided by our disciples, there should be a Dream Siren Flower over there. We can collect it.”
Jin Weiming nodded and transformed into a shadow, moving forward. Chi Yuqing glanced back at the previous location of the cave, shaking her head with a hint of regret.
Inside the cave, Chen Fei strolled casually, effortlessly avoiding the attacks from the Strange Locust Tree.
The branch might have appeared to block out the sky, but there were still gaps in it. These gaps were difficult for others to spot, but Chen Fei could easily control them.
His cultivation in the Soaring Heaven Technique had reached a perfect state, and his proficiency was racing toward the Great Completion level, making his body movement skills astonishingly high. The Strange Locust Tree, a newly promoted second-tier monster, was no match for Chen Fei.
Suddenly, Chen Fei’s figure twitched slightly, as if a thin rope were dragging him backward, instantly propelling him back dozens of meters. In his original position, a burst of exploding blade light had obliterated the area.
The branches of the Strange Locust Tree, as sharp as knives, were shattered into pieces under this blade light, like mere illusions.
“Your body movement skills are impressive; your talent is truly remarkable!” Chang Shiwan reappeared in the cave at an elevated vantage point, looking down at Chen Fei and saying, “But for the sake of obtaining this tree, you didn’t reveal my presence?”
“How do you know I didn’t reveal it?” Chen Fei looked at Chang Shiwan, a mysterious smile on his face.
Chang Shiwan, seeing Chen Fei’s smile, felt a shock in his heart, instinctively thinking he might have fallen into an ambush. But then, he quickly realized that there was no one else around.
This hidden realm only allowed entry for those in the early Aperture Tempering realm. Chang Shiwan admitted that there might be someone stronger than him, possibly much stronger. However, it was absolutely impossible for someone to conceal their presence to the extent that he couldn’t detect it within dozens of meters.
Chen Fei was simply playing tricks on him!
“Bold move!”
Chang Shiwan angrily shouted. He had expected to be the cat chasing the mouse, but he hadn’t anticipated being provoked like this by Chen Fei. It left him feeling disoriented, and he couldn’t help but become irritated.
“Are you certain there’s no one else around?” Chen Fei continued.
“How dare you!” Chang Shiwan brandished his blade, his entire body resembling a longsword as he slashed towards Chen Fei. His fierce aura instantly filled the entire cave, suppressing the chilling atmosphere of the Strange Locust Tree.
“No need to get angry; I’m just making sure,” Chen Fei said calmly.
He watched Chang Shiwan’s explosive blade light and maintained a composed expression. A black barrier blocked Chang Shiwan, deflecting his overwhelming blade light.
The black barrier trembled continuously, as if it might shatter at any moment, but it ultimately held firm.
In the next moment, Chen Fei raised the Qianyuan Sword, and the Zhongyuan Sword Formation appeared within the cave, completely enveloping Chang Shiwan. Sword pearls whizzed around, a total of sixty sword pearls filling every direction.
“This way, 1 can feel more at ease taking action!”