Chapter 301: Spiritual Steel Seal
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
As time passed, the area around Chen Fei continued to be filled with the rustling sounds of approaching demon beasts. More and more of them were attracted over.
Some Visceral Tempering Realm cultivators who happened to pass by the scene were scared away upon witnessing this spectacle. They feared attracting the attention of those demon beasts, especially since they couldn’t handle a single one, let alone so many.
The little bit of flesh on their bodies probably wouldn’t even be enough to satisfy a single demon beast.
The demon beasts that had the courage to gather around Chen Fei’s vicinity were mostly at the peak of the first stage. Some weaker ones were also lured in by the commotion.
However, when they saw so many powerful demon beasts gathering, the weaker ones retreated without hesitation. They didn’t dare to linger.
As the number of demon beasts around Chen Fei continued to increase, their courage also grew. Just as many humans found strength in numbers, the same was true for demon beasts. Faced with the scent of the Strange Locust Tree’s sap in front of Chen Fei, these demon beasts were on the verge of losing their patience. They were waiting for the right moment, and at that point, they would likely surge forward.
Chen Fei opened his eyes and looked at the demon beasts surrounding him, his expression unchanged. They were nothing more than small fry. What concerned him more was the fact that so much time had passed, and the rat demon had yet to appear.
“Has it gone somewhere else? Or is it possible that it’s already dead?”
Several thoughts crossed Chen Fei’s mind. The possibility of the rat demon being dead was slim. With its incredible speed, ordinary demon beasts would hardly pose any threat to it.
Chen Fei stood up, and with a wave of his right hand, the jade bottle fell into his grasp.
“Roar!
H
Chen Fei’s movement seemed like a signal, causing the already tense demon beasts in the vicinity to react instinctively. From all directions, demon beasts surged towards Chen Fei as if they had received a command.
From above and below, from all sides, more than a dozen demon beasts almost covered the entire surrounding space. With their blood-red mouths, they bit down towards Chen Fei’s head.
Chen Fei slightly raised his right foot and then brought it down. In an instant, the ground within dozens of meters trembled abruptly. Dozens of black sword auras shot out from the ground, piercing through these demon beasts in an uninterrupted flow.
The defenses of these demon beasts, as strong as steel, were fragile before these sword auras, and the sword auras pierced through their bodies directly as if they were paper.
“Ugh!”
Pained howls instantly resounded, and Chen Fei was about to finish off these demon beasts when his expression suddenly changed slightly. He turned his head towards the left-rear direction, where a black light was rapidly approaching this area.
In the blink of an eye, that black light crossed a distance of several hundred meters, approaching at an astonishing speed.
“Here it comes!”
A smile appeared on Chen Fei’s face. He had thought he might need to lure it elsewhere, but now it seemed that he had saved some time.
“Shing!”
With a sharp sound, like a blade cutting through the air, that black light, when it was less than a hundred meters away from Chen Fei, produced this noise right by Chen Fei’s ear.
As the sound reached, the black light had already arrived in front of Chen Fei. A sharp aura rushed straight to Chen Fei’s spiritual consciousness, as if it wanted to directly kill his spiritual consciousness.
When Chen Fei had first encountered the rat demon, he hadn’t truly fought it, so he was experiencing this kind of spiritual shock for the first time.
Speed reaching such a level and still being able to release a spiritual attack, the rat demon’s talent was simply heaven-sent.
However, unfortunately for this rat demon, it had encountered Chen Fei.
For Chen Fei in his current state, this kind of spiritual attack couldn’t pose a threat at all, not even causing any disturbance.
The Thousand Threads Technique had the effect of protecting spiritual consciousness, and combined with the Spirit Suppression of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique, it was not something a regular spiritual attack could shake, let alone such a minor spiritual impact.
“Bang!”
A black barrier blocked the rat demon’s path. The barrier was violently shaking, and its oscillations were getting more and more intense, as if it might shatter at any moment.
Chen Fei’s eyebrows twitched slightly. After breaking through to the second tier, this rat demon’s strength had increased dramatically once again, and the magnitude of the increase was enormous. It was worth noting that in the cave earlier, even Chang Shiwan’s probing attacks weren’t enough to make the barrier shake like this.
Chang Shiwan had been practicing for many years in the Aperture Tempering realm, while the rat demon had only recently broken through, but its strength had already soared to such an extent.
Exceptional talent, but that’s all there is to it!
The dark pupils of the rat demon shifted slightly, and while suspended in mid-air, it made a sudden turn, heading back the way it came from. Sensing something amiss, the rat demon immediately abandoned the temptation of the Strange Locust Tree’s sap.
Chen Fei couldn’t help but be startled by this change in the rat demon’s behavior. It seemed different from its previous demeanor. Of course, it could also be because this particular rat demon didn’t sense any threat in its initial environment.
After all the effort Chen Fei had put in, he couldn’t just let the rat demon escape now.
The Zhongyuan Sword Formation blocked the rat demon’s path at an unknown moment, but before the sword formation could fully envelop it, the rat demon swiftly evaded the edge of the formation, carving out an arc to continue its escape.
“Activate!”
The Primordial Sword Scripture surged, infusing part of the sword formation of the Soaring Heaven technique with a sudden burst of acceleration, momentarily slowing the rat demon due to the increased gravitational pressure. In the next moment, the formation completely enveloped the rat demon.
Sensing the imminent danger, the rat demon let out a piercing shriek, a sound so sharp it felt like it could pierce eardrums. The rat demon’s body, which had been slowed down by the gravitational force, suddenly accelerated once again.
With a swift move, the rat demon reached the edge of the sword formation. The whizzing sword pearls barely managed to reach the edge of the formation, but at this rate, it might not be able to stop the rat demon in time.
Despite being a formation capable of defeating senior cultivators like Chang Shiwan, it showed signs of fatigue when confronted with the rat demon’s incredible speed.
It wasn’t a matter of insufficient power, but rather the speed that fell slightly short. If the sword formation could fully integrate Soaring Heaven’s Movement Technique, perhaps this issue could be resolved. Unfortunately, the third level of the Primordial Sword Scripture wasn’t complete, and Chen Fei’s choice for the second level was the Giant Spirit Sword.
Because cultivators who could train their speed to the level of the rat demon’s were almost non-existent in the early stages of the Aperture Tempering realm. When it came to pure agility, both Chen Fei and the rat demon had significant differences.
Mirror Image Godslayer Sword!
A gleam shone in Chen Fei’s eyes as a sword, nurtured within his sea of consciousness, suddenly vanished, striking directly at the rat demon’s spiritual realm.
Spiritual techniques, unlike martial skills, were almost instantaneous in their attacks, making them exceptionally difficult to evade. Spiritual techniques hardly ever missed their mark.
However, they came with significant drawbacks, primarily the risk of spiritual backlash, which often outweighed the benefits.
The Godslayer Sword, on the other hand, had no such concerns.
Taking a direct blow from the Godslayer Sword, the rat demon’s form froze for a moment. During this brief moment, the sword formation had already completely enveloped it.
As the sword threads intertwined, they encircled the rat demon from all sides. At this point, unless the rat demon’s absolute strength surpassed that of the sword formation, there was no escape.
“Screech!”
Regaining its senses, the rat demon looked at the surrounding sword threads and sensed the power contained within them. It then turned to Chen Fei and let out a low, hoarse roar.
Chen Fei remained silent. While he had never attempted to subdue a demonic beast before, he knew a relatively simple and expedited method, which involved giving the beast a taste of defeat, followed by a little bit of kindness.
To put it simply, it was a carrot and stick approach.
Within the sword formation, the sword threads converged as the rat demon wildly roared and transformed into a streak of black light, rushing toward the sword threads.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
Explosions echoed within the sword formation, but compared to the rat demon’s speed, its attack was significantly weaker. Previously, it had relied on speed to boost its attacks.
However, within the sword formation, it was challenging to maintain continuous acceleration. Relying solely on bursts, it was difficult to increase its speed, thus weakening its attacks.
In just a moment, the rat demon’s body was covered in wounds. However, it quickly healed as if these injuries were never there. This rat demon possessed exceptional regenerative abilities, even in terms of recovery, making it remarkably talented.
Every beast had its unique characteristics and specialties, and this rat demon seemed to have quite a few.
But no matter how strong its regenerative abilities were, being trapped within the sword formation meant that its fate was sealed unless it could break free from it. However, that seemed beyond the rat demon’s capabilities.
Chen Fei didn’t go for the kill. It took a full quarter of an hour, and the rat demon was left battered and collapsed within the sword formation. Its extraordinary regenerative powers were depleted, and a bit more injury might have killed it.
Chen Fei stepped into the sword formation, lowered his head, and stared at the rat demon on the ground, locking eyes with it.
“Submit, or die!”
Chen Fei’s voice was like a sharp blade, piercing into the rat demon’s spiritual realm. The rat demon understood Chen Fei’s intention. If it didn’t comply, it would face certain death.
A second-tier beast already possesses great wisdom, and for any living creature, survival is an inherent instinct and nature, and the rat demon is no exception. Although it cherishes freedom, once it dies, it doesn’t have freedom anymore; it loses everything.
A wisp of black sword light condensed in Chen Fei’s hand, and he pointed his finger at the rat demon. If it didn’t respond, the sword light would directly pierce through the rat demon’s head.
“Squeak!”
Without hesitation, the Rat Demon screamed loudly, its eyes filled with pleading and submission.
A smile appeared on Chen Fei’s lips. While maintaining the same gesture, he replaced the sword light with a burst of spiritual power and then touched the rat demon’s head.
Chen Fei’s spiritual power penetrated directly into the rat demon’s mind. The rat demon released the barrier around its mind, allowing Chen Fei to leave a spiritual mark in its consciousness.
Chen Fei didn’t know how to make a beast contract, but this spiritual mark was somewhat similar to a spiritual steel stamp, allowing him to control the life and death of the rat demon for a period of time. Only by making the beast willingly lower its spiritual barriers could this be achieved!
Sensing the mark, the rat demon understood its situation. It struggled to sit up and gently rubbed its head against Chen Fei’s hand, showing submission.
Chen Fei took out a healing elixir and fed it to the rat demon. Once its injuries stabilized, Chen Fei reached into his sleeve and took out the black stone, offering it to the rat demon.
“Smell this and lead me to find the owner of this scent!”