Chapter 573 - 573: No Blood
Liu Shizhen fell to the ground, his heart filled with both fear and anger.
He never expected someone from the Primordial Sword Sect to dare to attack him, and what’s more, he found himself utterly defenseless.
Before coming here, Liu Shizhen had specifically investigated that the strongest in the Primordial Sword Sect was only at the early stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm, and none of them were currently stationed in this area. Even the others in the Primordial Sword Sect hadn’t reached the peak of Aperture Tempering realm.
Confronting someone at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm head-on was something Liu Shizhen dared not do, even though his father was at the mid-stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm. But Liu Shizhen hadn’t planned to confront them directly; he had intended to take advantage of their absence.
Now, he found himself struck in the heart by someone, and he didn’t even understand what had happened.
Liu Shizhen rolled on the ground for a few rounds before struggling to stand up.
He didn’t intend to issue any threats; all he wanted now was to leave quickly. His life was his own, and when faced with danger, he would surely run first. As for what would come after, once he reported the situation to his father, a decision would be made.
“Clang!”
A footstep sounded beside Liu Shizhen’s ear, and he instinctively looked up, meeting Chen Fei’s gaze.
In the next moment, Liu Shizhen’s expression became bewildered, his mind trembling slightly, but it was quickly suppressed by a force.
The look of shock and anger on Liu Shizhen’s face relaxed, and he casually left disappearing into the Primordial Sword Sect’s residence.
The members of the Primordial Sword Sect watched in surprise as Liu Shizhen’s figure vanished, then turned to look at Chen Fei, their eyes filled with astonishment.
The events had unfolded rapidly, catching many off guard, primarily due to their scattered thoughts, unsure of how to handle Liu Shizhen.
Although Liu Shizhen’s cultivation at the peak of Aperture Tempering realm posed a challenge, it was not insurmountable for the current Primordial Sword Sect. With the development of the sect in recent years, the strength of Qiu Qingsheng and others had approached the peak of Aperture Tempering realm. With sufficient resources and guidance from Chen Fei, their progress in cultivation had been rapid. Without such conditions, Qiu Qingsheng and the others would not have reached the late stage of Aperture Tempering realm as they did in Immortal Cloud City.
However, the Eternal Spring Sect behind Liu Shizhen was, relative to the current Primordial Sword Sect, an entity they couldn’t resist.
“It’s okay, no need to worry,” Chen Fei said to Qiu Qingsheng and the others with a smile.
Dream Entry Technique!
First, he pierced through Liu Shizhen’s mental defenses, then he let the Dream Entry Technique take effect. The strength of Chen Fei’s clone was only at the late stage of Aperture Tempering realm, so the intrusion of the technique was limited to that level, unable to exceed the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
Thus, for the Dream Entry Technique to work, Liu Shizhen’s mental state had to be compromised first.
In addition to the Dream Entry Technique, Chen Fei also utilized the illusions from the Profound Heavenly Sword Technique.
Among the top nine forces, each excelled in slightly different directions, and one of the lineages recorded top-tier illusion techniques.
Combining the Dream Entry Technique, Chen Fei directly obscured Liu Shizhen’s mind, making him forget what had happened today.
However, this kind of obscuration was only temporary and couldn’t last forever. Once Liu Wanggu noticed Liu Shizhen, he would probably sense something amiss.
For the Eternal Spring Sect, while others in the Primordial Sword Sect might worry, Chen Fei himself naturally had no such concerns. He had already killed several at the mid-stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm and didn’t care about adding one more in Liu Wanggu.
However, Chen Fei currently didn’t want to provoke such unnecessary trouble. “Thank you, Elder Chen!” Ji Ruiqing walked up to Chen Fei and nodded slightly. “No need to be so polite,” Chen Fei waved his hand and returned to the residence, continuing to answer questions about cultivation techniques. Seeing Chen Fei’s lack of concern, the other members of the Primordial Sword Sect could only keep their worries to themselves.
On the other hand, after leaving the Primordial Sword Sect’s residence, Liu Shizhen went straight back to the area where the Eternal Spring Sect was located and then locked himself in his house.
The other members of the Eternal Spring Sect didn’t notice anything unusual when they saw Liu Shizhen; his behavior was completely normal compared to usual.
The Dream Entry Technique and illusions only made Liu Shizhen forget what had just happened; they didn’t erase his other memories.
Liu Shizhen returned to his room to rest at this moment because he felt a faint pain in his sea of consciousness and wanted to take a good rest.
At night, Liu Shizhen left the Eternal Spring Sect’s residence and went to the Fengyue Tower in Sea Dominion City. During the period, he had conflicts with others, but it ultimately ended without further escalation.
With the reputation of the Eternal Spring Sect and the fact that his father was at the mid-stage of Aperture Tempering realm, ordinary people indeed tended to give Liu Shizhen some face and were unwilling to escalate matters.
The next day at noon, Liu Shizhen found himself in another argument at the gambling house, but it also ended hastily.
Liu Shizhen felt irritable, as if something was clouding his mind, yet he couldn’t pinpoint the reason. Liu Wanggu and the other two members of the Eternal Spring Sect at the mid-stage of Aperture Tempering realm were currently outside Sea Dominion City on a mission.
Therefore, even if Liu Shizhen wanted to ask someone, he couldn’t find anyone at the moment.
Three consecutive days passed, and Liu Shizhen’s mood worsened. Coincidentally, a task was issued under Sea Dominion City, and the Eternal Spring Sect, along with several other sects, left the city to carry out the mission.
Some disciples of the Eternal Spring Sect dared not approach Liu Shizhen too closely. His temper had become increasingly erratic recently, often resorting to violence and abuse. Many disciples had been seriously injured by him.
In the past, Liu Shizhen had been extremely arrogant within the Eternal Spring
Sect, but after arriving at Sea Dominion City, he had toned it down considerably.
After all, this wasn’t the Eternal Spring Sect. Meeting anyone outside could mean encountering someone at the Aperture Tempering realm or even at the later stage.
In such an environment, continuing to behave arrogantly could easily lead to problems.
Liu Shizhen understood this principle, but in the past few days, he just couldn’t control his temper.
“Whoosh!”
The waves surged hundreds of meters high, then crashed down with force. Sea monsters began to emerge, among them, there were faint outlines of third-order sea monsters.
The members of the Eternal Spring Sect formed a battle formation to kill the monsters. Suppressing the annoyance in his heart, Liu Shizhen cooperated with the surrounding disciples. However, as the smell of blood grew stronger the bloodshot veins in Liu Shizhen’s eyes began to increase gradually.
“Buzz!”
A third-order sea monster appeared, and the members of the Eternal Spring Sect immediately retreated. At the same time, strong individuals at the Aperture Tempering realm from Sea Dominion City rushed up to intercept.
Liu Shizhen watched the appearance of the third-order sea monster ahead and the bloodshot veins in his eyes suddenly increased. An uncontrollable impulse surged in his sea of consciousness.
“Kill!”
In an instant, a surge of killing intent flooded Liu Shizhen’s mind. He wanted to rush towards the third-order sea monster, but the instinct for survival made him stay put.
The members of the Eternal Spring Sect quickly retreated. With the speed of those at the Aperture Tempering realm, they could cover a hundred meters in an instant. Only Liu Shizhen stood still, his body trembling slightly.
The members of the Eternal Spring Sect were stunned when they saw Liu Shizhen not retreating. With the third-order sea monster right in front of them, any delay in retreat could lead to death.
This was the result obtained by many Aperture Tempering realm cultivators sacrificing their lives.
“Liu Shizhen, come back!” Someone shouted loudly from the side, their expression filled with anxiety. They wanted to rush up and pull Liu Shizhen back, but after just a few steps, they were overwhelmed by the aura of the third-order sea monster, making it difficult to move.
Liu Shizhen looked up at the sea monster, the clash between his killing intent and survival instinct ongoing. But seeing the sea monster so close, he subconsciously wielded his sword and thrust forward.
Some Aperture Tempering realm cultivators who were rushing towards the sea monster from afar were surprised to see this scene. They wondered if Liu Shizhen had gone mad, daring to attack a third-order sea monster.
“Boom!”
Amidst a violent explosion, Liu Shizhen was sent flying backward. While still in mid-air, his aura had already plummeted. Even those Aperture Tempering realm cultivators who wanted to rescue him were a bit too late.
“Bang!”
Liu Shizhen crashed into a reef, his entire body embedded within it. Blood continued to trickle from his mouth, his breathing becoming shallow.
“Shizhen, are you okay?” A figure appeared beside Liu Shizhen, the same person who had tried to call out to him earlier.
At this moment, the person observing Liu Shizhen’s condition felt as if his heart was about to stop beating. It wasn’t because he felt particularly sorry for Liu Shizhen, but because Liu Wanggu had specifically instructed him to keep an eye on Liu Shizhen on the battlefield and prioritize his safety above all else.
Now, seeing Liu Shizhen in such a state, how could he explain this to Liu Wanggu?
He tried to force some medicine into Liu Shizhen’s mouth, but it was washed away by the blood, and the medicinal ointment had no effect.
Liu Shizhen looked at the person, his eyes regaining some clarity. He wanted to say something, but he was already too weak to speak. After struggling for a moment, his breath ceased altogether.
Seeing Liu Shizhen’s life force dissipate, the person’s face turned ashen. Liu Wanggu was about to return from his mission. What should he do now?
The next morning, the news of Liu Shizhen’s death spread among the members of the Primordial Sword Sect.
In Sea Dominion City, it wasn’t uncommon for an Aperture Tempering realm cultivator to die, let alone one at the peak of the Aperture Tempering realm. However, due to the recent conflicts, the members of the Primordial Sword Sect had been paying special attention to the situation in the Eternal Spring Sect.?? B
While everyone felt that Liu Shizhen’s death was somewhat deserved, there was a subtle suspicion in their hearts that this incident might have something to do with Chen Fei.
They only knew that the Aperture Tempering realm cultivators were powerful, but they had never imagined that they could silently kill someone, only for it to erupt days later.
No one went to inquire about Chen Fei, and everyone buried this matter in their hearts.
Chen Fei’s clone acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to explain doubts about cultivation techniques for everyone, while also joining in defensive tasks with the others.
The strength of Chen Fei’s clone was stronger than that of all the members of the Primordial Sword Sect, and he was fearless in the face of danger. As long as they didn’t encounter a third-order sea monster, he could protect everyone almost completely.
Even if they did encounter sea monsters, Chen Fei’s clone could attract their attention, providing a time delay for others to escape, and allowing time for Aperture Tempering realm cultivators to intervene.
With the arrival of Chen Fei’s clone, although members of the Primordial
Sword Sect still suffered injuries, most were minor.
In this atmosphere where death could come at any moment, the efficiency of cultivation for the members of the Primordial Sword Sect actually improved.
While the clone protected the Primordial Sword Sect, Chen Fei’s main body continuously adjusted his cultivation methods.
Improving the proficiency of the three cultivation techniques went without saying. The speed of comprehension was already very fast and could not be further improved. What Chen Fei was currently adjusting was how to quickly elevate his cultivation base.
As Min Yanlu said, the cultivation of Aperture Tempering realm was essentially the process of constantly tempering the fused essence in the body.
Absorbing the elemental energy of the heavens and earth to gradually elevate oneself was one path.
But was it possible that there were other shortcuts for quicker advancement?