Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

“People are indeed full of contradictions.”

Chen Fei thought about how Dragon-Elephant True Immortal handled this technique, and he also considered how future generations would piece together the true follow-up techniques while not caring much about the missing part related to body protection.

Or perhaps, in the eyes of Dragon-Elephant True Immortal, piecing together these fragments into a complete whole would require great determination, wisdom, and luck. If someone learned the body protection part but couldn’t find this place, it meant they lacked great luck.

Naturally, they wouldn’t be able to piece together the broken techniques, and so, this martial art would ultimately be lost. Well, if it’s lost, then let it be.

Let’s leave this place first!”

Chen Fei’s right foot moved, creating a deep pit. He placed Dragon-Elephant True Immortal’s corpse in it and then buried it with earth and stones, giving him a proper burial.

Chen Fei then turned to look at Ling Hanjun, pondered for a moment, and pointed with his right hand.

Ling Hanjun was crouched at an angle, suddenly feeling his body stiffen, and his cultivation was once again sealed. Ling Hanjun couldn’t help but look up at Chen Fei.

“In the past, we had some grudges, but on this journey, you’ve shown some sincerity. So, I’ll give you a chance to live. Let’s see if you can make it back to Apricot Fen City on your own.”

With his cultivation sealed, Ling Hanjun was now only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. Given the current chaos outside, if his luck was good, he might survive.

If his luck was bad and he encountered the same number of mountain bandits as earlier, Ling Hanjun would be in trouble.

“Thank you, Senior, for sparing my life!

Ling Hanjun quickly kowtowed, recalling what Chen Fei had just said. Back in the day, they might have had a feud, but Ling Hanjun couldn’t remember a thing. How had he offended Chen Fei?

Given Chen Fei’s current strength, if there had been any offense, wouldn’t he have been killed on the spot? How had he survived back then?

Without receiving a response, Ling Hanjun looked up at Chen Fei, only to find that Chen Fei had already disappeared.

Ling Hanjun sat down on the ground, unable to help but let out a sigh of relief. At least he had managed to preserve his life. If he had shown any negligence on this journey or attempted to escape, he would probably have died long ago, just like Xu Wangliang and the others on the ground.

Thinking of Xu Wangliang and the others, Ling Hanjun’s expression suddenly became excited. He quickly got up and ran over. However, he soon wore a bitter smile. Chen Fei had already taken away anything valuable from those people.

Inside the cave, Chen Fei’s figure flickered as he looked at the things in his hand. Xu Wangliang and the others didn’t have anything valuable.

Or rather, for Chen Fei at this point, many of the things on their bodies were no longer worth his attention.

The most valuable items were probably the herbs. Chen Fei found a place and threw all the herbs into his spatial grid to keep them out of the way.

Up ahead, there was a bright light, and they were close to the cave’s exit. It seemed that Chen Fei had released the formation, causing the mist outside to dissipate.

His right foot moved, and he was about to rush out of the cave, but suddenly, his entire body paused.

The Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique was trembling continuously, warning Chen Fei. Chen Fei frowned, slowly retreating. As he did, the vibrations from the Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique not only didn’t decrease but actually increased.

“Whoosh!”

A burst of vital energy suddenly shot out from the position of the cave entrance, heading straight for Chen Fei’s forehead. Chen Fei was already in a tense state, so when he saw this attack, he activated Spatial Travel to dodge it, moving his body to the side.

However, before Chen Fei could even stabilize himself, that burst of vital energy curved in mid-air and continued to shoot toward him.

“Chirp!”

The Qianyuan Sword unsheathed, but even with his attempt to evade, there was simply no time. The speed of this vital energy attack was beyond ordinary. A sword shield unfolded in mid-air, colliding with this burst of vital energy.

“Bang!”

An unimaginable force surged, and even the body controlled by the Dragon Suppressing Elephant couldn’t withstand it. Chen Fei was sent crashing into the mountain wall by this force.

“Hmm? To withstand my attack, you must be worthy of seeing me.”

A voice rang out, and a figure faintly appeared at the cave entrance.

Blood trickled from Chen Fei’s mouth, and he didn’t even have time to glance at the entrance. He struggled to get away from the mountain wall and dashed madly back into the cave.

Aperture Tempering realm!

Only someone in the Aperture Tempering realm could have injured Chen Fei with a single blow. What was more critical was that at this moment, the ink-green mass within Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness had suddenly appeared on the branches of his Core Soul Tree.

In just a blink of an eye, this ink-green, deathly still energy had already corroded most of the branches of Chen Fei’s Core Soul Tree and was spreading towards the trunk.

An Aperture Tempering realm cultivator had actually hidden at the cave entrance and ambushed a Visceral Tempering realm warrior like him. Not only did they ambush him, but they also used a mind technique, completely disregarding the principles of martial ethics.

A blow like the one just now would unquestionably kill a regular Visceral Tempering realm warrior. Not to mention the overwhelming power of that vital energy, it could shatter the physical body of a Visceral Tempering realm warrior directly.

Even if they miraculously managed to survive the attack, the contamination from this mind technique would eradicate their last shred of vitality.

The Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique was running rampant, and the Core Soul Tree trembled slightly as it kept the ink-green contamination at bay. However, when Chen Fei tried to clear it away, he found it extremely difficult.

This kind of mental contamination was somewhat similar to the Strange Heart Realm. Chen Fei had even used the contamination from the Strange Heart Realm to refine his own mental power.

But the contamination in the Strange Heart Realm was ownerless, and once Chen Fei returned to the main world, that contamination was directly cut off at the source.

However, this ink-green contamination was different; it had an owner, and it was so close to Chen Fei. Trying to remove it became a nearly impossible task.

Even with his mental power refined several times over and the Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique at his disposal, removing this contamination was incredibly difficult. For any other Visceral Tempering realm cultivator, their mental power would have been contaminated and destroyed by now.

Ling Hanjun was busy searching the corpses of Xu Wangliang and the others, and he did find something of value. Chen Fei didn’t care about it, but for Ling Hanjun, who was only at the Bone Tempering Realm, it held considerable value.

Ling Hanjun was currently hesitating. Should he also dig up the corpse that Chen Fei had buried to see if there was anything valuable in it?

Although the corpse looked ragged and seemed to have nothing, a quick search might yield some unexpected surprises.

“Whoosh!”

A sound broke the silence as Chen Fei suddenly appeared, startling Ling Hanjun, who had been searching the corpses nearby. Ling Hanjun involuntarily pressed himself against the mountain wall, fearing that Chen Fei might change his mind.

Chen Fei didn’t pay any attention to Ling Hanjun. He looked at the spot where Dragon-Elephant True Immortal had been sitting cross-legged. The power of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant was circulating within him, and he placed his palm on the ground.

“Hum!”

The barrier that Chen Fei had previously deciphered rose from underground and enveloped Chen Fei.

This formation was linked to the earth’s veins beneath the Mount Guanzhou, which was why it had such tremendous power. Chen Fei had only cracked it before, not damaged it in the slightest. Now, with the power of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant, he easily activated it.

“Phew!”

Seeing himself surrounded by the formation, Chen Fei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, finally feeling some sense of security.

Ling Hanjun was left in a daze, watching Chen Fei’s actions. Why did he suddenly lock himself inside the formation?

Before Ling Hanjun could make sense of it, a figure suddenly appeared inside the cave. Ling Hanjun instinctively turned to look at the newcomer, and as soon as his eyes met theirs, he felt like he had been hit hard. Blood spewed from all seven orifices.

With a muffled groan, Ling Hanjun’s head uncontrollably tilted backward and slammed into the mountain wall, leaving a gruesome sight.

Lu Zhichun glanced at Ling Hanjun briefly and then turned his attention to Chen Fei, who was inside the formation. He couldn’t help but show a slight change in expression upon seeing that Chen Fei’s mental power had not only survived but had also halted the contamination.

His mental technique was like a deadly poison to martial artists below the Aperture Tempering realm. If they were exposed to it, death was inevitable. This was the first time Lu Zhichun had encountered someone who could resist his mental power without relying on a spiritual weapon.

Lu Zhichun scanned his surroundings but didn’t find much. There were a few corpses on the ground, including one at the Bone Tempering realm, and then there was Chen Fei and the formation before him.

“He got something?”

Ling Hanjun glanced at Chen Fei, reaching out and effortlessly grabbing him as he floated helplessly in the air. He was then thrown to the ground at Ling Hanjun’s feet.

“A black box.”

Ling Hanjun didn’t dare hesitate. He had realized that this newcomer, Lu Zhichun, was even more formidable than Chen Fei. Chen Fei had only resorted to this formation to protect himself.

“A black box?”

Lu Zhichun’s expression changed slightly, a smile appearing on his face. He said, “Tell me everything you know.”

“Yes, yes!”

Ling Hanjun’s head bobbed frantically as he began to spill everything he knew, including the beast skin martial technique and the non-decaying corpse.

Lu Zhichun’s eyes gradually brightened. He hadn’t expected to stumble upon such an opportunity here by chance.

Chen Fei was certainly going to die, regardless of whether this opportunity existed or not. There was no way a Visceral Tempering realm cultivator who had survived one blow could be allowed to leave.

“Disperse the formation, and I’ll spare your life,” Lu Zhichun said to Chen Fei, his face showing a hint of a smile.

The pit was also inside the formation. Otherwise, Lu Zhichun would have been quite interested in examining the preserved body inside.

Chen Fei didn’t answer. He had no intention of believing in such words; if he did, he would be truly naive. Chen Fei was currently using the Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique to remove the contamination from his sea of consciousness, but progress was slow, and it would take quite some time.

“Do you plan to break through to the Aperture Tempering realm here?”

The thought crossed Chen Fei’s mind but was immediately rejected. This formation was formidable, and even with his full strength, he didn’t even have the qualifications to shake it.

But just because Chen Fei couldn’t break the formation didn’t mean the person in front of him couldn’t. At the very least, if the formation were violently disrupted, Chen Fei wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his breakthrough.

Furthermore, if Lu Zhichun disturbed the surrounding vital energy, Chen Fei’s meridians might be damaged during his breakthrough.

“My patience is limited!”

The smile disappeared from Lu Zhichun’s face, and his eyes turned cold.

“Do you really think that relying on this formation can stop me?” Lu Zhichun’s voice suddenly became sharp, like a haunting wail, causing Ling Hanjun, who was lying nearby, to spew blood and tremble uncontrollably.

In just a moment, Ling Hanjun had lost all signs of life..