Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Ling Hanjun had been in the Bone Tempering realm himself, and he had even been one of the most exceptional practitioners in that realm. However, when he faced Chen Fei, he couldn’t manage to get past a single move.

Alternatively, it could be said that in front of Chen Fei, Ling Hanjun felt like an ordinary person with no knowledge of martial arts, completely devoid of any resistance.

“Can we have a proper conversation now?” Chen Fei calmly looked at Ling Hanjun and inquired.

This was their second meeting, and the time between the two encounters hadn’t been very long, not even two years had passed. For cultivators, especially independent ones, two years was quite short so short that their cultivation might have remained stagnant.

Ling Hanjun’s cultivation had almost remained stagnant. When Chen Fei had encountered Ling Hanjun in Pingyin County, the latter had been at the peak of the Bone Tempering realm. Two years had elapsed, and his cultivation was still the same.

But this was the norm for many independent cultivators. Without good techniques and resources, reaching the Bone Tempering realm was already considered remarkable talent.

Most couldn’t even reach the Bone Tempering realm, much like the guards of many clans, whose cultivation only reached the Body Tempering realm.

For independent cultivators who reached the Bone Tempering realm and progressed further to the Marrow Tempering realm they became high-level combatants in many places. Their treatment and access to resources underwent significant changes.

Unfortunately, many independent cultivators remained stuck in the Bone Tempering realm for their entire lives.

“E-Elder… Is there something you’d like to ask? I will certainly share all that I know, holding nothing back!”

Ling Hanjun nervously swallowed and responded. Even though Chen Fei’s expression appeared calm and devoid of any killing intent, Ling Hanjun had no doubt that a single wrong answer might mean not seeing tomorrow’s sun.

“Do you remember this piece of hide?”

Chen Fei casually dropped the hide onto the ground, walked over to a chair, sat down, and simultaneously reached into his sleeve. In reality, he was taking out the hide of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant from his spatial grid.

He showed Ling Hanjun the side with the recorded technique.

Seeing the hide of the mythical beast in Chen Fei’s hand, Ling Hanjun’s eyes widened slightly. He had been incredibly familiar with this hide. After obtaining it years ago, Ling Hanjun had practically obsessed over comprehending the technique written on it, to the point of neglecting sleep and food.

If a technique isn’t properly learned, its details gradually fade from one’s mind. Even this alone had made Ling Hanjun realize that it was a genuinely profound art.

For independent cultivators, the path of martial arts was exceedingly challenging. Leaving aside pills and resources, just getting stuck on a technique had hindered countless individuals.

Ling Hanjun’s first martial technique to cultivate had been quite rudimentary. Later, due to his fierce character and a bit of luck, he had acquired some better techniques and managed to elevate his cultivation to the Bone Tempering realm.

However, progressing further to the Marrow Tempering realm had been an arduous task for Ling Hanjun. This hide’s appearance had represented his hope to break through to the Marrow Tempering realm and even further, to the Visceral Tempering realm.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Ling Hanjun had tried and how diligently he had pondered, he had never been able to truly grasp the essence of this technique. In the end, he had had no choice but to entrust the hide to his good friend, Jian Liang.

He had hoped that together, they would be able to comprehend the technique.

However, Jian Liang hadn’t been able to make sense of it either, and he had even been killed in Pingyin County, leading to the direct loss of the hide.

For the sake of this hide, Ling Hanjun had wandered around Pingyin County and had eventually joined a rebel army. Yet, he still hadn’t been able to find the hide.

Over a year, almost two years, had passed. Ling Hanjun had never expected that he would see this hide again today, in this place. What had puzzled Ling Hanjun, though, was why this person before him, who had been ridiculously strong, had known that the hide had something to do with him?

“Hmm?”

Chen Fei had noticed Ling Hanjun’s silence and had raised his voice slightly.

Startled, Ling Hanjun had quickly lowered his head and had replied, “I remember, I remember this hide. Back then, 1 had even tried to comprehend the technique on it. However, my aptitude had been dull, and in the end, I had gained nothing from it.”

Ling Hanjun dared not lie. Since the other party had found him and displayed this hide, they must have deduced his connection to it.

“Elder, where did you obtain this hide?” Ling Hanjun hesitated for a moment before voicing his inner doubts.

Ling Hanjun was certain that he had never seen Chen Fei before. This skill, this realm of cultivation, if Ling Hanjun had encountered it, he would have surely remembered it.

Unfortunately, Ling Hanjun had no impression whatsoever of Chen Fei’s face. Although Ling Hanjun addressed Chen Fei as “elder” now, he could feel that Chen Fei was likely quite young, at least younger than him.

Being so young yet so powerful, it was probably only disciples of prominent sects who possessed such potential.

However, Ling Hanjun had always lived in a small area, so how could he have had the chance to encounter disciples from those major sects?

“How did you obtain this hide back then?” Chen Fei didn’t answer Ling Hanjun’s question because it wasn’t necessary. Today, Chen Fei had approached Ling Hanjun solely to find out the whereabouts of the subsequent techniques of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant.

The information recorded on this hide regarding the Dragon Suppressing Elephant wasn’t complete; only the part about restraining its body was present. There was no trace of the subsequent techniques for restraining its spirit and soul.

When Chen Fei had started practicing the Dragon Suppressing Elephant, he hadn’t felt the loss of the missing parts too much. After all, he hadn’t known how powerful this technique would become at the time.

Although the cost to simplify it was quite expensive – a hefty sum of fifty thousand taels – for many independent cultivators, it was an unattainable amount of money.

At the time, this high cost had merely led Chen Fei to believe that the technique was likely valuable. Having a complete set of techniques for restraining the body was still a good thing, after all.

However, now that Chen Fei had completed the body tempering part of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant to Great Completion, he could genuinely sense its immense power. Even before achieving Great Completion, Chen Fei had recognized the extraordinary nature of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant.

Among the three complete lineages of techniques within the Primordial Sword Sect, Chen Fei believed that the body-restraining part of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant was no less impressive than any of those lineages. In some aspects, it even surpassed them.

Previously, Chen Fei had been unable to change anything; he had only possessed a portion of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant techniques, unable to produce the subsequent parts. However, encountering Ling Hanjun in Apricot Fen City had indeed surprised Chen Fei.

In the past, Chen Fei had been able to achieve second place or even first place in the True Transmission Ranking of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect. Naturally, his mastery of the Zhongyuan Sword and the core soul energy couldn’t be discounted. However, without the Dragon Suppressing Elephant, Chen Fei would never have been able to reach that level.

If he had the opportunity to obtain the subsequent techniques of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant, Chen Fei would definitely try, even if it involved a certain level of risk.

Chen Fei had a feeling that the subsequent parts of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant techniques corresponded to practices beyond the Aperture Tempering realm. If he could acquire them, Chen Fei could continue advancing vigorously within the Aperture Tempering realm.

Chen Fei didn’t answer his own question, and naturally, Ling Hanjun didn’t dare to get angry. He merely smiled awkwardly and replied, “This hide, 1 obtained it back then from a cave on Mount Guanzhou in Pingyin County.”

“Mount Guanzhou?” Chen Fei’s heart stirred slightly. This mountain was located about twenty to thirty miles north of Pingyin County. Chen Fei hadn’t been there before, but he had heard about it.

Because Mount Guanzhou was near a major road, many caravans coming from other places passed through it on their way to Pingyin County or elsewhere.

It was a relatively significant transportation hub, which was also why there were quite a few bandits on Mount Guanzhou who specifically targeted passing caravans or ordinary people.

The village where Chen Fei’s original body had lived wasn’t too far from Mount Guanzhou, about forty-five miles away. With Chen Fei’s current pace, he could cross the distance quite quickly.

“Where is that cave? Do you still remember?” Chen Fei leaned slightly forward, looking at Ling Hanjun. A surge of pressure suddenly bore down on Ling Hanjun, as if in the next moment, he would be devoured.

“I remember, 1 remember… It’s just…”

Ling Hanjun quickly nodded but hesitated halfway through his words, not daring to continue.

“Just what?” Chen Fei’s voice turned stern.

“A little over ten days ago, Xu Wangliang had already taken a group of people and gone there,” Ling Hanjun quickly lowered his head and spoke.

Ling Hanjun had been able to join the Xu family not only due to his peak Bone Tempering realm cultivation, which was useful to Xu Wangliang, but also because he had made a contribution: he had provided Xu Wangliang with the location of that cave.

Years ago, Ling Hanjun had stumbled upon that cave and obtained the hide from within. However, for several years afterward, Ling Hanjun hadn’t dared to continue exploring the cave. Inside it resided a pack of spider demons that congregated there. Ling Hanjun’s cultivation had become insufficient for him to venture deeper into the cave.

Nevertheless, Ling Hanjun hadn’t disclosed the location to anyone else. His plan had been to raise his cultivation and explore the cave with others in the future.

Unfortunately, Ling Hanjun hadn’t been able to learn the techniques from the hide, and his cultivation hadn’t improved significantly over the years either.

After escaping Pingyin County and arriving in Apricot Fen City, in pursuit of a better life, Ling Hanjun had aligned himself with Xu Wangliang and divulged this secret.

Initially, Xu Wangliang hadn’t paid much attention to the cave; he had merely sent some people to investigate. However, the results of their investigation had been surprisingly positive – the cave contained many highly-aged medicinal herbs.

The spiders didn’t eat those herbs at all; instead, they had helped preserve the herbs, allowing them to grow until now.

Ordinary cultivators couldn’t handle those spider demons. Xu Wangliang had personally led expeditions several times with little success. They had even faced life-threatening situations.

Given no other choice, over ten days ago, Xu Wangliang had finally gathered a few friends who were also in the Visceral Tempering realm and set off for the cave once again.

“Tak, tak, tak!”

After hearing Ling Hanjun’s account, Chen Fei lightly tapped the tabletop. It had been over ten days, and they still hadn’t returned. It was possible that they were still in the cave.

Now, Chen Fei had two options: wait for Xu Wangliang and the others to return, then catch them by surprise, or have Ling Hanjun guide him directly to the cave.

Both options had their advantages and disadvantages, mainly due to the awkward timing. If it had been a few days earlier, Chen Fei would likely have charged straight in without hesitation.

“Guide me. We’re going to Mount Guanzhou today!”

After contemplating for a moment, Chen Fei made a firm decision.

If Xu Wangliang and the others returned early, there was a chance they could encounter each other on the way. Even if they didn’t, Chen Fei could head to the village where his original body had lived and dispel any lingering attachments..