Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Apricot Fen City, Chen Fei sat in a tavern, watching the bustling streets below.

It had been two days since Chen Fei arrived in Apricot Fen City. He had made a brief visit to the Xu Family, but apart from some silver coins, there was no significant gain.

Or perhaps, the things that could catch Chen Fei’s eye were gradually becoming scarcer.

Chen Fei planned to depart for his sect tomorrow. With his current cultivation level, he didn’t need to follow the merchant caravan. The route was already familiar, and with his speed, he could reach his destination quickly.

After a moment in the tavern, Chen Fei left and headed back to the inn where he was staying. However, halfway there, Chen Fei’s footsteps involuntarily paused as two familiar auras appeared in his perception.

Since breaking through to the Aperture Tempering realm, Chen Fei’s core soul energy had grown significantly, allowing him to clearly sense changes in the surrounding auras.

After a brief thought, Chen Fei’s figure flickered, disappearing from his original location. When he reappeared, he was on the wall of another alley, looking down at three figures below.

“Zing!”

A person suddenly appeared on the wall, and Chu Wennian instinctively drew the blade in his hand. However, upon seeing the person on the wall clearly, Chu Wennian couldn’t help but be stunned.

“Brother Chen!”

Chu Lan was also surprised to see Chen Fei after so many days. She was about to smile, but when she thought of their current situation, her smile faded.

“Run!”

Chu Wennian shouted in a low voice and continued to run forward with Chu Lan and Ruan Qiaojun. There were pursuers behind them, and Chu Wennian didn’t want to burden Chen Fei.

Chu Lan bit her lip and didn’t dare to greet Chen Fei, fearing she might bring disaster upon him. However, thinking about whether she could avoid this disaster, she couldn’t help but glance at Chen Fei again.

“Stop!”

Ruan Qiaojun grabbed Chu Wennian, turned to look at Chen Fei, and her eyes were filled with surprise and a hint of disbelief.

Chu Wennian looked at Ruan Qiaojun in confusion, not understanding why she was behaving like this. Chu Lan also covered her mouth, staring at the scene in front of her with disbelief.

“Please, Senior, save us!” Ruan Qiaojun whispered.

Chu Wennian’s mouth trembled, and he was so shocked that he couldn’t find words to speak. Chu Lan also covered her mouth, struggling to comprehend the scene before her.

Chen Fei looked down at Ruan Qiaojun, his expression somewhat surprised. The fact that the other party could sense his presence was unexpected.

His ability to conceal his aura was not as perfect as it used to be due to the peculiarities of his acupoints, which caused his aura to interact with the surrounding spiritual energy.

Chen Fei’s core soul energy was still not enough to completely conceal this kind of fluctuation, especially when he had fully mastered the Dragon Suppressing Elephant’s body section but not the Dragon Suppressing Elephant’s aperture part, which would have allowed him to better control his aura.

“Elder, we are being pursued. If Elder could protect us on our way to Qin Hai City, we are willing to offer a piece of Gold Sky Stone afterward!” Ruan Qiaojun said in a low voice, kneeling before Chen Fei.

Ruan Qiaojun, seeing that Chen Fei had no immediate response, raised her head to look at him.

Chen Fei’s expression remained impassive. The distance from Apricot Fen City to Qin Hai City was approximately two to three hundred miles, not very far. As for Gold Sky Stone, it was a rare spiritual material, known for its thickness and sharpness, much like refined steel.

If he were to sell it, they could easily fetch several hundred thousand taels of silver coins.

The crucial point was that sometimes, even with money, it was difficult to obtain such materials, and many times, they had to be exchanged for other spiritual materials.

Chen Fei’s current Qianyuan Sword, with the addition of Gold Sky Stone, could be transformed from a semi-spiritual sword into a true spiritual sword in about a year, at most.

This was significantly faster than Chen Fei’s original plan, which might have taken four or five years to achieve.

The difference between a cultivator in the Aperture Tempering realm with and without a spiritual weapon was quite significant.

“Weren’t you all part of the Immortal Cloud Merchant Band before? With the strength of the Immortal Cloud Merchant Band, your safety should have been assured,” Chen Fei turned to look at Chu Wennian, expressing his confusion.

Indeed, the Immortal Cloud Merchant Band, while expensive, was known for its safety. Bandits and the like would rarely dare to provoke the Immortal Cloud Merchant Band, as it would be tantamount to seeking death.

So why had they returned to Apricot Fen City?

Furthermore, judging by the dynamics among the three of them—Chu Wennian, Chu Lan, and Ruan Qiaojun—it was clear that Ruan Qiaojun was the leader.

However, during their time with the Immortal Cloud Merchant Band, Chu Wennian and Chu Lan had never had any contact with Ruan Qiaojun.

“In the caravan, did you pretend not to recognize each other?” Chen Fei asked.

“The people from the Divine Flame Sect attacked the Immortal Cloud Merchant

Band, and the pursuers showed up at the same time. We had no choice but to flee,” Chu Wennian whispered.

Divine Flame Sect?

Chen Fei’s interest was piqued. Was it truly the Divine Flame Sect, or were they falsely accused?

“Young friend… Senior, could you help us reach Qin Hai City?” Chu Wennian asked carefully, even though he found this situation unbelievable.

He trusted Ruan Qiaojun, so he cautiously made the request to Chen Fei.

“I haven’t been to Qin Hai City before. But for now, let’s not dwell on that. We should head to a safer location,” Chen Fei said.

He reached out with his right hand and collected strands of energy that had been drifting from Ruan Qiaojun, absorbing them into his hand.

Ruan Qiaojun was surprised by what she saw. As the energy was taken from her, a sense of relief washed over her.

Chen Fei inspected the energy in his hand. It was core soul energy, and someone had placed a marker on Ruan Qiaojun.

The technique was quite sophisticated, and Chen Fei couldn’t have done it during his Visceral Tempering realm days, not due to lack of core soul energy but the absence of such a technique.

“Let’s go!”

Chen Fei waved his hand, using his spiritual energy to hold onto the three of them, and they disappeared into the alley.

A few moments later, several figures appeared in the alley. They repeatedly checked the spot where Ruan Qiaojun had last been seen, but they couldn’t sense the location of the core soul energy marker.

“The marker is gone, it seems someone erased it!”

“Report this upwards.”

“Yes!

The figures communicated for a while before disappearing into the alley.

Several hundred meters away, Chen Fei and the others appeared in a courtyard. It had been uninhabited for a long time, making it suitable for a private conversation.

“Thank you, Senior, for saving us!” Ruan Qiaojun bowed respectfully, gratitude in her words.

From Chen Fei’s recent actions, Ruan Qiaojun knew she hadn’t guessed wrong: the person before her was indeed a strong cultivator in the Aperture Tempering realm.

“Br-Brother Chen, weren’t you at the Bone Tempering realm in your cultivation?”

Chu Lan looked at Chen Fei’s handsome profile and felt a bit unfamiliar. Back when they were in the caravan, Chen Fei had only been at the Bone Tempering realm, and he had been looked down upon by her grandfather.

But how had he become so powerful in such a short time?

“I concealed my aura back then,” Chen Fei said, smiling at Chu Lan.

Seeing Chen Fei’s smile, Chu Lan’s nervousness began to dissipate.

Indeed, Brother Chen was still the same Brother Chen, just as kind as before!

Chu Wennian stood by, recalling the guidance he had given Chen Fei in the past. His old face felt a bit hot. Thinking back, his words to Chen Fei might have been somewhat embarrassing.

“Please explain your situation,” Chen Fei said, turning his attention to Ruan Qiaojun.

If the situation wasn’t too complicated, he might consider making a trip to Qin Hai City, especially with a Gold Sky Stone as a bargaining chip.

“1 am from the Ruan Family in Qin Hai City…”

Without hesitation, Ruan Qiaojun explained her entire situation.

A quarter of an hour later, Ruan Qiaojun finished her explanation, looking at Chen Fei with hope in her eyes. Chen Fei remained silent, contemplating the pros and cons of the situation.

Indeed, Ruan Qiaojun’s situation was relatively straightforward, or one might even say, very simple.

Ruan Qiaojun’s family, the Ruan Family, was a direct line of the Qin Hai City. She had been studying martial arts in Immortal Cloud City for many years, hoping to achieve greater martial success. However, due to limited talent, her cultivation had remained at the Marrow Tempering realm for many years.

According to Ruan Qiaojun, she had hoped to continue her cultivation in Immortal Cloud City. However, a while ago, news arrived from Qin Hai City that her family’s patriarch, her father, had been seriously injured and passed away suddenly.

Ruan Qiaojun’s father had been a devoted man. After her mother’s death during childbirth, he never remarried, and Ruan Qiaojun became the sole heir of the direct line.

Although there was only one direct heir in the Ruan family, there were other branches of the family. In Qin Hai City, the Ruan family was considered a large clan, so some members hoped that Ruan Qiaojun wouldn’t return.

The Gold Sky Stone Ruan Qiaojun promised was a precious item in the Ruan family’s treasury. Her father had acquired it through fortunate circumstances, and only three people in the entire Ruan family knew about it.

Ruan Qiaojun’s father had kept it for times of crisis when they might need the help of a Aperture Tempering realm expert.

As for Chu Wennian and Chu Lan, they were Ruan Qiaojun’s bodyguards and maid. They were there to provide companionship rather than attend to her daily needs, which were taken care of in Immortal Cloud City. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they even pretended not to recognize each other in the caravan.

In their return journey to Qin Hai City, Chu Wennian and Chu Lan naturally followed along. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they continued to act as if they didn’t know each other within the caravan.

However, they never expected their luck to be this bad. The Immortal Cloud Merchant Band had been targeted. If the caravan had been fine, Ruan Qiaojun might have faced difficulties only after reaching Qin Hai City.

But now, they were forced to flee back to Apricot Fen City, where they might even face death.

Chen Fei looked at Ruan Qiaojun and met Chu Lan’s hopeful gaze. He couldn’t help but smile.

The Ruan family didn’t have any Aperture Tempering realm experts; their highest cultivation level was in the Visceral Tempering realm. Even among the hired assassins, some members of the Ruan family had recruited for this mission showed limited skill.

But considering the Ruan family’s wealth, they couldn’t afford to hire Aperture Tempering realm assassins for such a task.

“Then let’s make a trip to Qin Hai City. I hope you won’t go back on your word when the time comes!”

Chen Fei agreed after a moment of contemplation. The journey to Qin Hai City would be relatively short, probably taking four or five days. After receiving the Gold Sky Stone, Chen Fei could quickly return to his sect.

It was just a couple of days delay to obtain a piece of Gold Sky Stone was indeed a profitable deal.

“Thank you so much, Senior!” Ruan Qiaojun cried tears of joy. The heavy burden on her heart had finally been lifted.

“Thank you, Brother Chen!” Chu Lan stood nearby, wanting to hug Chen Fei, but she didn’t dare.

“Thank you, Senior!” Chu Wennian grinned, although his way of addressing Chen Fei differed slightly from his granddaughter’s. At this moment, Chu Wennian wasn’t concerned about such formalities.

Indeed, the most crucial thing for them now was to return safely to Qin Hai City.

The next morning, a carriage departed from Apricot Fen City, heading toward Qin Hai City.

Chen Fei sat in the carriage, cultivating the Zhongyuan Sword, while the surrounding spiritual energy flowed into his meridians. Chu Lan sat beside him, looking at Chen Fei with starry eyes.

Chu Wennian observed his granddaughter’s behavior and thought that her taste in men was excellent..