Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chapter 826: Fleeing in Panic

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

In the middle stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, one could dominate a city or a sect.

Even in the Middle Continent, where martial artists were abundant, those who broke through to the Mountain Sea Realm were exceedingly rare, all of them being exceptional talents.

Even in a Sacred Land like this, which only accepted talents of exceptional caliber, not all disciples could ultimately break through to the Mountain Sea Realm; they could only guarantee breaking through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Therefore, those in the middle stage of the Mountain Sea Realm held considerable power even within the Sacred Land, with some of the older disciples holding the status of elders.

Yet now, in Chen Fei’s hands, someone in the middle stage of the Mountain Sea Realm was easily slaughtered, creating an unreal sensation.

Not to mention the remaining three shadows, even Zhao Tianyue and others at that moment felt a sense of daze.

Chen Fei’s strength was formidable, which had already been evident back at the Ethereal Lake.

After all, back then, even in the early stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, Chen Fei could hold his ground and eventually counter-kill a mid-stage fourth-order demon.

Having advanced to the middle stage of the Mountain Sea Realm afterward, naturally made him even stronger.

But was this strength a bit exaggerated? How could martial artists of the same level not even withstand a single move from him?

That was terrifying!

“Go!”

A low shout came from the mouths of the three shadows without any hesitation. They immediately used their Return to Nothing technique, their figures disappearing in an instant, erasing all traces of their presence in the air.

Given Chen Fei’s current display of strength, he was more exaggerated than the average late-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator. There was no chance to fight; they had to run.

Seeing the three shadows vanish, Zhao Ruizheng and the others couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, but more than that, they felt a deep sense of dread.

The ability to appear and disappear at will was simply insurmountable.

Even though they had just disappeared before their eyes, Zhao Ruizheng couldn’t perceive where they had gone at all.

Facing someone like this, regardless of one’s own strength, put them in an extremely passive position.

If they can overpower you, they’ll fight; if they can’t, they’ll disappear, leaving you completely helpless.

Chen Fei remained silent, choosing not to pursue and kill them, allowing the three to leave.

At this moment, there were too many people in Thousand Geese City who had witnessed Chen Fei’s actions. His strength had been fully exposed.

If they had further exposed themselves and managed to lock down those in the Return to Nothing state, it would have brought enormous trouble to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei naturally wouldn’t have let these few individuals off, but not at that moment.

“Thank goodness you came back!”

As the shadows disappeared, Tang Shouchang’s aura plummeted. Tang Shouchang thought he was truly going to die.

Not only him, but the Mountain Sea Realm cultivators in Thousand Geese City, except for Min Yanlu who was out on a mission, were almost all injured or killed that day.

Fortunately, at the last moment, Chen Fei appeared.

This battle, from beginning to end, actually took a very short time.

In battles among the Mountain Sea Realm cultivators, when the difference in strength is too great, it ended like this.

Five middle-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators—this strength could be said to have completely overwhelmed Thousand Geese City.

Even if Chen Fei was included, on paper, the other side still held a significant advantage.

“Let’s heal first.”

Chen Fei smiled faintly, and everyone descended into the City Lord’s Mansion.

They had expected the arrival of the emissaries from the Sacred City shortly after, but it took a full two quarters of an hour before the emissaries from the Sacred City appeared in Thousand Geese City.

“You killed two out of five middle-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators, and the other three escaped?”

The emissaries, led by Ji Zhanfeng, paused for a moment upon hearing Zhao Ruizheng’s words.

“With the aid of the formation, they were somewhat careless,” Chen Fei whispered softly.

Compared to earlier, Chen Fei’s aura had diminished significantly now, and the situation didn’t appear much better than Tang Shouchang’s.

Although many had witnessed Chen Fei single-handedly defeat two middle­stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators, due to their lower cultivation realms, they couldn’t grasp the specifics of what had transpired.

At this moment, Chen Fei had shown himself to confront two middle-stage cultivators with a desperate struggle, killing them and frightening off the remaining three.

“Killing defectors of the Black Divine earns contribution points; you can collect them at the Mission Hall later,” Chen Fei explained.

Having understood the situation, Ji Zhanfeng and the others didn’t linger but hurriedly left Thousand Geese City.

“They seem quite anxious,” Zhao Tianyue murmured as he watched Ji Zhanfeng and his group depart.

Tang Shouchang and the others nodded in agreement. While Ji Zhanfeng’s demeanor didn’t reveal anything unusual, his deeply unsettled state from within was perceptible.

A quarter of an hour later, Tang Shouchang and his companions tended to their wounds and began arrangements to restore Thousand Geese City’s formations.

Back in the secluded chamber of the Tingfeng Pavilion, Chen Fei waved his right hand, revealing two clusters of spiritual essence and two middle-grade spiritual treasures—spoils from the two middle-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators he had just slain.

Emerging from Chen Fei’s shadow, a clone absorbed one of the clusters of spiritual essence directly into its body.

Originally only at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the clone’s cultivation swiftly ascended. In moments, it reached the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and then smoothly progressed into the Mountain Sea Realm.

Half an hour later, the spiritual essence was depleted, and the clone’s strength reverted to the level of a peak early-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator.

Peak early-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivation was undoubtedly impressive, but for Chen Fei now, it provided little combat assistance.

As Chen Fei continued to advance in his own cultivation at an increasingly rapid pace, the clone could only serve as support, akin to the spatial abilities it displayed when exploring the Dragon Elephant Stone Stele previously.

Unless Chen Fei found a higher-level clone technique, this issue would persist.

Within the Sacred Land, there existed formidable clone techniques capable of reaching the later stages of the Mountain Sea Realm, which was quite astonishing but required a vast amount of contribution points.

Compared to other top-tier inheritances, it was much more expensive.

Currently, Chen Fei’s greatest shortages were contribution points and money, leaving him no spare resources to acquire advanced clone techniques.

Without the assistance of the Myriad Clone, perfecting such a clone technique would take several years of dedicated effort.

“Let it be,” Chen Fei said as his clone dispersed.

He then infused the other cluster of spiritual essence into his Qianyuan Sword. At this moment, Chen Fei was eager to possess a top-grade spiritual treasure.

The Dream Shadow Stone was also an option, but Chen Fei’s primary combat weapon was the Qianyuan Sword, so there was no reason to prioritize enhancing the Dream Shadow Stone.

Moreover, the main ability of the Dream Shadow Stone was not for combat but rather as a form of assistance.

Chen Fei grasped the Heavenly Steel Blade and the Night Demon Spear, giving them a slight shake. In an instant, the entire secret chamber was filled with top-grade elemental stones and various spiritual materials and elixirs.

Although his wealth as a mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator was not comparable to those in the later stages, it was already quite substantial.

Additionally, the two middle-grade spiritual treasures could be directly sold in the bustling markets of Green Cloud Market.

With a clear origin, there was no need to hide anything.

An hour later, all the spiritual materials and top-grade elemental stones in the secret chamber had been sorted and organized.

With over ten thousand top-grade elemental stones, Chen Fei could exchange them for about four stalks of Myriad Bamboo.

The other spiritual materials and elixirs, which he didn’t need, were worth nearly as much as ten thousand top-grade elemental stones and could fetch about two more stalks of Myriad Bamboo.

As for the techniques and jade slips, there were no surprises.

Even the techniques and jade slips collected by Duan Suizhi, a late-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator, didn’t impress Chen Fei. While the possibility of higher-level techniques appearing in the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm couldn’t be ruled out, the probability was low.

The wealth of two mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators wouldn’t only exchange for a few stalks of Myriad Bamboo; the real value lay in their middle­grade spiritual treasures.

According to Chen Fei’s estimation, if he sold the Heavenly Steel Blade and the Night Demon Spear normally, the top-grade elemental stones obtained could buy about ten more stalks of Myriad Bamboo.

Adding it all up, that would make sixteen stalks.

In addition to the ten Myriad Clones Chen Fei had accumulated, if he used them all to their limits on talent Divine Blessing, he should be able to master the skill from its basic proficiency to its full completion.

Even if he couldn’t achieve perfection in the end, he would only be short by one or two Myriad Clones.

“Still not enough. Duan Suizhi’s Bird Cloud Blade isn’t easy to sell these days, and middle-grade spiritual treasures are a bit too conspicuous!”

Chen Fei’s eyes flickered. The situation in the Sacred City was tense now.

Thousand Geese City was just an ordinary force and couldn’t pinpoint the specific reasons, but speculations in the past might have been due to the Black Divine’s influence.

The whereabouts of the Black Divine’s true body had yet to be discovered, causing increasing anxiety among the Sun Moon Realm cultivators in the Sacred City.

After all, as time dragged on, it would eventually lead to the Black Divine’s restoration to the Fifth-Tier.

At that point, instead of the Sun Moon Realm cultivators hunting down the Black Divine, it would be the Black Divine turning the tables, systematically killing the Sun Moon Realm cultivators and Monster Emperors.

In such a scenario, all Fifth-Tier powers in the Boundless Sea would need to band together for any semblance of safety.

Therefore, now was the golden opportunity to slay the Black Divine; if missed, there might not be another chance.

Chen Fei waved his hand, stowing away the Heavenly Steel Blade and the Night Demon Spear. With a step forward, he disappeared from the secret chamber.

Those three defectors of the Black Divine from earlier had been allowed to live too long; it was time to send them on their way!

Several thousand miles away,

Ji Zhanfeng and his companions were sorting through information, preparing to report to their superiors.

Each of those defectors of the Black Divine had hidden themselves extremely securely. However, this was still the Sacred City, and any disturbance under their noses would inevitably leave some traces.

Now, these traces needed to be verified by even stronger individuals within the Sacred Land.

Once confirmed, swift and decisive measures would be taken, much like what had been done with those three defectors of the Black Divine previously.

“That Chen Fei from Thousand Geese City seems to be unusually strong, and he’s growing very fast,” Wu Zhankun murmured softly.

Ji Zhanfeng was inputting information into a jade slip and paused slightly at Wu Zhankun’s words.

Joining the Black Divine might grant insights into techniques, that much was confirmed within the Black Divine Barrier at the Ethereal Lake.

Though Wu Zhankun didn’t elaborate, his implication was clear.

With such formidable strength and rapid advancement in realms, it aligned closely with the traits of those who had defected to the Black Divine.

“All of them from Thousand Geese City are seriously injured, with a few almost slipping from the Mountain Sea Realm, and they’ve even killed two mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators.”

Ji Zhanfeng shook his head, dismissing Wu Zhankun’s speculation.

The injuries in Thousand Geese City could be explained, and with proper recovery, they could bounce back. But killing two mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators and causing such a stir— it was hard to justify.

If Chen Fei truly was a defector of the Black Divine, what was his motive? Was he trying to draw their attention?

Wu Zhankun nodded silently, not pressing further. His doubts were just that— doubts.