Chapter 337: Breaking Through the Mid-Level Aperture
Tempering Realm
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Inside the secluded chamber of the Primordial Sword Sect, the formations around the courtyard had already been activated.
Chen Fei sat cross-legged, circulating his elemental energy within his body. The thirty-six acupoints in his body were resonating with each other, and this resonance was constantly growing stronger.
The thirty-sixth acupoint had only been opened for a few days, and at Chen Fei’s current cultivation speed, it would take at least a month to fully fill it with elemental energy.
However, over the past few days, as the synergy between the acupoints continued to strengthen, the newly opened acupoint was absorbing elemental energy at an accelerating rate, increasing at an astonishing speed.
“Begin!”
Chen Fei’s eyes suddenly opened wide, and his Zhongyuan Sword Art surged to its limits. The method of breaking through was surging within him, causing the thirty-six acupoints to tremble slightly.
Starting from the first acupoint, a stream of elemental energy flowed out, rushing into the second acupoint at an incredible speed. The second acupoint trembled as well, releasing a stream of elemental energy that flowed into the third acupoint.
One by one, in the blink of an eye, thirty acupoints were connected by elemental energy. At this point, the speed of connecting the acupoints slowed down.
As the connection between the acupoints became more proficient, an inexplicable resistance began to emerge between them. Especially the first acupoint, it seemed to have a sense of being unable to continue.
This was a problem that everyone attempting to break through the initial stage of Aperture Tempering realm would encounter. If one’s foundation was weaker, continuing to connect the acupoints at this moment would be a strenuous task.
For those with slightly stronger foundations, they could barely support it, but as they progressed beyond the thirty acupoints, the speed slowed down, and the resistance grew stronger. In the end, before they could fully connect, the elemental energy in the first acupoint would be cut off.
However, for Chen Fei, none of these situations existed. Although there was some resistance, and the connection speed was slowing down, Chen Fei maintained his pace, allowing the elemental energy to continue surging forward.
Thirty-one acupoints, thirty-two acupoints, thirty-three acupoints!
In the blink of an eye, the number of connected acupoints reached thirty-three. At this point, the resistance became much stronger, as if it wanted to directly block and even sever the elemental energy.
The first acupoint was already trembling slightly, and the pressure was getting heavier.
Chen Fei remained calm. The powerful mental power in his sea of consciousness suddenly trembled, far surpassing the mighty mental power of the early Aperture Tempering realm stage, and rushed into the acupoints.
Thirty-four acupoints, thirty-five acupoints, thirty-six acupoints!
The surging mental power directly propelled the elemental energy, and the resistance between the acupoints seemed to disappear completely in the face of this mental power, unable to offer any hindrance.
“Hum!”
The elemental energies of the thirty-six acupoints were interconnected, forming a miniature whole. A fluctuation emanated from Chen Fei’s body, causing a slight disturbance in the surrounding vital energy.
The dozen or so elemental stones placed on the ground shattered instantly. Simultaneously, the vital energy within a radius of several hundred meters was stirred, pouring into Chen Fei’s body and directly filling the thirty-sixth acupoint.
“Open!”
Chen Fei let out a low shout as the combined power of his thirty-six acupoints suddenly released a surge of elemental energy, rushing towards the thirty-seventh acupoint, breaking through its barrier directly.
The previously relatively calm vital energy in the surroundings instantly boiled, and the range of the disturbance widened again. The newly opened acupoint was quickly filled with elemental energy at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, the acupoint was completely replenished.
Normally, filling a single acupoint would take Chen Fei a month of training, with the occasional consumption of Spirit Snow Pills. However, at this moment, during the breakthrough, with the world’s vital energy being stirred, Chen Fei effortlessly filled the newly formed acupoint.
At this point, breaking through to the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm could be considered a perfect achievement. After all, the successful breakthrough and the simultaneous filling of the thirty-seventh acupoint left no room for dissatisfaction.
However, Chen Fei did not stop there. While others would be content with this level of achievement, it was because their mental power could only support them to this extent. But Chen Fei’s mental power had been enough to control forty-nine acupoints three months ago.
Now, with three months of cultivation and the mental power benefits brought by the recent breakthrough from the early to mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, Chen Fei’s mental power intensity was sufficient to control fifty-one acupoints.
The tremendous strength of this mental power, along with the consumption caused by linking acupoints, was simply insufficient to deplete Chen Fei’s mental power. Of course, he couldn’t afford to stop his cultivation either.
This breakthrough was a rare opportunity, as the activation of the world’s vital energy was unpredictable. Since it happened, Chen Fei was determined to make the most of it, elevating his cultivation to a higher level.
The Thousand Threads Technique reached its limit, and just as the thirty-seventh acupoint filled up, a surge of elemental energy immediately rushed out, heading towards the thirty-eighth acupoint.
The outer barrier of the thirty-eighth acupoint trembled slightly before being directly shattered. Vital energy from all directions surged in, continuously replenishing the elemental energy within this acupoint.
Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one!
After two hours, the vital energy within the hundreds of meters around finally calmed down, and a faint smile involuntarily appeared on Chen Fei’s face.
Stepping into the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm and opening five acupoints in one go, increasing the total number of acupoints in his body to forty-one, he had transcended the lower levels of the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm.
Others would spend years cultivating just to smoothly break through to the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm. To be able to achieve that would already satisfy them. However, Chen Fei not only broke through smoothly but also increased his acupoint count significantly overnight.
This was something others didn’t even dare to dream of, but Chen Fei not only thought about it but also achieved it. It was all thanks to his profound foundation and strong mental power.
Chen Fei slowly got up, feeling the changes in his entire body. With thirty-six acupoints forming a unified whole, every move and technique now carried the immense power of these thirty-six acupoints.
This was the confidence of the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm and the most important reason for pulling away from the early stage. Combined with the gap in cultivation comprehension, the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm completely dominated the early stage.
Although it wasn’t as exaggerated as the Aperture Tempering realm against the Body Refining realm, in general, those in the early stage of the Aperture Tempering realm rarely had the ability to resist those in the mid-stage. Even being able to escape was considered a show of strength, and it was often the only option.
Slaughter Spirit Technique!
As if a sharp blade had passed through Chen Fei, his previously imposing aura, due to his breakthrough, suddenly plummeted. In the blink of an eye, his aura returned to the level of the early stage of the Aperture Tempering realm.
Breaking through to the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm in less than three years was too fast, so fast that it seemed unbelievable. Once this news spread, Chen Fei would undoubtedly become the target of envy and scrutiny.
Such rapid progress in cultivation certainly held secrets, and in matters of martial cultivation, no one could maintain a calm demeanor. Chen Fei still didn’t have the strength to dominate in all directions, so he had to keep his level of cultivation hidden for now.
He would only reveal his true level of cultivation when he could ignore others’ prying eyes without hesitation.
Fortunately, he had the Slaughter Spirit Technique to cut and diminish his own aura. Without it, he would have to rely solely on his mental power to suppress his aura, combined with the Suppressing Dragon Elephant Technique, which would be a more challenging approach.
However, the effect would never be as natural as the Slaughter Spirit Technique.
After spending several days consolidating his cultivation level in the courtyard and familiarizing himself with the significant changes in his combat capabilities following his breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, Guo Linshan appeared in Chen Fei’s courtyard on the eighth day.
Chen Fei hadn’t seen Guo Linshan for some time. Over the past few years, Guo Linshan had been diligently cultivating on the True Transmission Peak. After all, he had witnessed Chen Fei’s journey from the Bone Tempering realm to the Aperture Tempering realm, which had been an incredibly stimulating experience for him.
Guo Linshan naturally didn’t harbor jealousy or resentment towards Chen Fei, but there was undoubtedly some envy. After all, every cultivator hoped to continually progress in their cultivation.
So, Guo Linshan had been working hard in his cultivation, and he had finally reached the late stage of the Visceral Tempering realm. There was only a small gap left before he reached the peak of the Visceral Tempering realm.
H
Senior Brother Guo, is there something you need?”
Chen Fei invited Guo Linshan to sit down, brewed a pot of tea, and placed it on the table. Despite Chen Fei’s far superior cultivation level compared to Guo Linshan, hierarchy was hierarchy, and Chen Fei couldn’t make Guo Linshan address him as senior brother.
In the realm of cultivation, strength took precedence, at least when dealing with outsiders. If others wanted to address Chen Fei as senior, he would accept it, but he wouldn’t require the same from those within his own sect.
“In a while, Master’s friend will be visiting the sect, and by then, he should become an honorary guest of our sect. Master said that if you have the time, we can go and welcome him together,” Guo Linshan said with a smile.
Compared to the restraint other people showed towards Chen Fei, Guo Linshan was naturally more relaxed, and this was related to his personality. He was a straightforward person by nature.
“Is this person close to Master?” Welcoming a guest together with disciples was considered a significant gesture and showed the sect’s respect for the guest.
“Master has mentioned him several times before, saying they have an inseparable bond. They even wandered through the imperial city together back in the day,” Guo Linshan nodded.
For people who had ventured together during their youth and shared similar ideals, they were considered close friends for life. Guo Linshan had thought about going out and traveling, but in the current state of the world, even wandering around in the Visceral Tempering realm was no longer very safe.
“All right, just let me know when the time comes,” Chen Fei nodded.
“Yes, once we get word that Master’s Twin Flying Spirit has stirred, we’ll set off,” Guo Linshan said with a smile.
The Twin Flying Spirit was a rather unique spiritual artifact that Master Xiu Pu and his friend had obtained by chance in their younger days. Its effects were similar to the Twin Stone, allowing them to sense each other within a certain distance and locate each other.
However, both the sensitivity and sensing distance of the Twin Flying Spirit far exceeded that of the Twin Stone. Currently, each of them possessed one.
After chatting for a while longer, Guo Linshan took his leave, and Chen Fei resumed his cultivation.
As days passed, Chen Fei made a trip to the Alchemist Union to take on a mission, but most of his time was spent within the sect.
He diligently practiced his cultivation, familiarizing himself with the new level of cultivation, and he found joy in being busy every day.
In the middle stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, aside from the obvious change of having thirty-six acupoints forming a collective force, Chen Fei also noticed that he absorbed more vital energy each day compared to when he was in the early stage of Qi Refining.
The collective force formed by the thirty-six acupoints seemed like an additional engine for breathing in vital energy. It didn’t require Chen Fei to manually operate his cultivation to draw in surrounding vital energy; his body automatically absorbed it.
However, a higher rate of vital energy absorption didn’t necessarily mean an increase in cultivation speed. This naturally absorbed vital energy needed guidance from his spiritual power and cultivation to convert into his own elemental energy.
Without that guidance, over time, the absorbed vital energy would gradually dissipate. Even in the Aperture Tempering realm, one couldn’t constantly utilize their spiritual power to activate cultivation and convert vital energy into elemental energy.
Most practitioners in the Aperture Tempering realm faced this limitation.
But Chen Fei had managed to overcome it!