Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chen Fei’s steps suddenly paused as he remembered something. Although the practitioners of the Sword Return Tower’s cultivation techniques had all been slain, there were more individuals who had practiced the Primordial technique than just those.

A clone emerged from Chen Fei’s body, its form flickering as it sprinted toward the mountain peak where the true disciples of the Sword Return Tower were located. Learning other sects’ techniques, once discovered, came with the lightest punishment being the forfeiture of one’s cultivation and the complete revocation of the technique.

Perhaps this seemed cruel, but it was the rule by which this world operated. Those true disciples enjoyed the various resources bestowed upon them by the Sword Return Tower, but they also had to bear the karmic consequences sown by the Tower itself.

Much like Chen Fei now, who was inexorably bound to the Primordial Sword Sect in terms of identity. If, for some reason, others sought to annihilate the Primordial Sword Sect, regardless of whether Chen Fei was aware or involved, the ultimate result would be the same.

In the world of ordinary people, it was a dog-eat-dog existence, where even the smallest gain could lead to bloodshed. Among martial practitioners, it was even more cutthroat, and sometimes, it went beyond that.

Inside the Sword Return Tower at this moment, chaos reigned, but it had not yet reached the point of total collapse. Because these disciples in the Body Tempering realm had only witnessed the attack on the Sword Return Tower, but they didn’t know the final outcome.

There were still quite a few people standing in place, awaiting the ultimate result. Because once the elders of the Sword Return Tower returned and found disciples fleeing, they would be treated as traitors.

Ordinary disciples knew the consequences, and the true disciples, of course, wouldn’t be the first to flee. At this moment, they were all watching, waiting for the final outcome.

Chen Fei’s clone arrived at the Sword Return Tower’s true disciple peak. Using the Star Gazing Art, Chen Fei’s clone had already detected the auras of several individuals who possessed the Primordial technique.

As the clone handled the cleanup, Chen Fei himself had entered the main hall of the Sword Return Tower. In just a few glances, Chen Fei spotted the location of the secret chamber.

Normally, this secret chamber should have been extremely well-hidden. However, given the disruption in the Sword Return Tower’s formation caused by Chen Fei’s arrow, the secrecy of this chamber was no longer concealed, and its aura naturally emanated.

Chen Fei arrived at the entrance to the secret chamber, where a piece of green steel stone blocked his path.

Green steel stone was exceptionally heavy and hard to move forcibly, causing a great commotion when pushed aside. Evidently, the Sword Return Tower had placed this green steel stone here as a precaution against anyone sneaking into the secret chamber.

However, it was likely that the Sword Return Tower had not anticipated the day when all their top-tier experts would be wiped out, rendering this green steel stone’s warning function essentially useless.

Chen Fei placed both hands on the green steel stone, and the surrounding Qi trembled. The stone emitted a dull sound before Chen Fei managed to forcefully push it aside.

This revealed a passage big enough for one person to enter and exit. Chen Fei removed his hands from the green steel stone and swiftly entered the secret chamber.

After passing through a narrow corridor, Chen Fei arrived in a cavern. Whether in the corridor or the secret chamber, no traps had been set anymore.

Evidently, the Sword Return Tower understood that even if someone could safely enter this place, setting up numerous traps would be futile.

However, while there were no traps in the secret chamber, there were traces of a formation. Chen Fei glanced at it and realized that this formation had both protective and self-destructive functions.

If things went awry, activating the secret chamber’s formation could destroy everything inside and outside, leaving nothing behind for outsiders.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the Sword Return Tower’s members had been slain by Chen Fei outside. Yuan Nanyun, who was responsible for maintaining the formation, had been struck down by Chen Fei’s arrow, leaving no time for him to do anything else.

Chen Fei’s keen nose picked up a faint fragrance.

Chen Fei approached a cushion, and next to it, there was a small bottle. The bottle was sealed with a cork, and the scent wasn’t escaping from the bottle itself but rather from the person who had used it before. Every time they opened the bottle, the fragrance would diffuse throughout the room.

Over time, this scent had permeated the entire secret chamber.

With a subtle motion of his right hand, Chen Fei picked up the bottle from the ground, removed the cork, and the fragrance he had just detected intensified several times over.

Inhaling this medicinal fragrance, Chen Fei felt a sense of relaxation throughout his body. It wasn’t just in his flesh and bones; more importantly, he sensed a warmth between his apertures.

This bottle of liquid was specifically designed for a martial artist’s apertures. Just smelling the fragrance had an effect, and if consumed, the results would undoubtedly be potent.

Compared to the Origin Awakening Pills Chen Fei had obtained from the Alchemist Union in the past, the effectiveness of this liquid was unquestionably much stronger.

In the entire Sword Return Tower, the one who needed and qualified to use such a premium healing item was none other than Xing Xinzhao.

Back when Xing Xinzhao was forced to rupture his own apertures in order to escape the encirclement of Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixuan, his strength had suffered a great setback. Unless there were exceptional circumstances, a drop in cultivation was inevitable.

Xing Xinzhao would certainly be unwilling to accept this, and neither would the Sword Return Tower. After all, losing a high-level expert in the advance Aperture Tempering realm would be a significant blow to the Sword Return Tower, both in terms of its current strength and its foundations.

Therefore, if there was a chance, the Sword Return Tower would undoubtedly go all out to heal Xing Xinzhao’s injuries, and they might even sell various resources to achieve this goal.

After all, when compared to the value of a advanced stage Aperture Tempering realm expert, other cultivation resources could be replenished over time, but such a martial artist was not easy to cultivate.

Chen Fei had encountered Xing Xinzhao this time and felt that Xing Xinzhao’s injuries were remarkably stable. Even the flow of his elemental energy showed no signs of hesitation.

During the final moment when he shattered all his apertures, he was even able to temporarily display the strength of an advanced stage Aperture Tempering realm martial artist. With all these factors in mind, there was no doubt about the effectiveness of the liquid before him.

Chen Fei sealed the medicine bottle and then approached a wooden crate. Upon a quick examination, he found that there were fewer than 300 elemental stones inside. There were no spiritual weapons on the shelves in the secret chamber.

However, there were some spiritual herbs, but they were quite ordinary and didn’t hold much value. There were also a few pills for cultivation, but not in large quantities, only a dozen or so bottles.

It was hard to imagine that these resources were all that remained in a sect with an advanced stage Aperture Tempering realm martial artist presiding over it, and which dominated a region spanning several hundred miles.

The combined quantity of elemental stones, pills, and some spiritual herbs in the secret chamber didn’t even compare to what the Cliff Mountain Sect possessed. The most powerful individual in the Cliff Mountain Sect was only in the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm.

However, Chen Fei didn’t show much surprise on his face. When he saw the bottle of healing liquid, he understood that there wouldn’t be much left in this secret chamber in terms of resources.

After all, everything that could be sold had likely been exchanged for the healing elixir. If it weren’t for the need to keep some elemental stones on hand for emergencies, even these 200 or so elemental stones might not have been left.

Using the Star Gazing Art, Chen Fei carefully examined the entire secret chamber once again, confirming that there were no hidden compartments or concealed items. What he saw before him was all there was.

Chen Fei shook his head slightly, acknowledging that the harvest was indeed much less than he had imagined. The remaining value of these resources, even if he tried to sell them, wouldn’t be significant. After all, those who truly needed this kind of medicine for healing were likely in extremely dire situations.

The quantity of medicine Chen Fei had in his hand might not even be sufficient to alleviate serious injuries, let alone fully recover from them. If he tried to sell them, he’d likely face strong price pressure, considering the limited demand for such a potent healing elixir.

Chen Fei decided to bring the remaining medicine back to the Primordial Sword Sect. He could sell it to the sect, and at least it was a medicine that had even more potent effects than the Origin Awakening Pills.

As long as the injuries of the sect’s advanced stage Aperture Tempering realm practitioners were not too severe, this elixir should be sufficient for recovery. Chen Fei believed that Qu Qingsheng wouldn’t mistreat him when it came to compensation.

The harvest in this secret chamber wasn’t substantial, but when Chen Fei had slain Sui Wengong and the others, the rewards were quite considerable.

Just the Primordial Sealing Mirror alone was of exceptionally high value, being a top-grade spiritual weapon. Many high-level experts in the advance Aperture Tempering realm couldn’t even possess a top-grade spiritual weapon.

For instance, in the Primordial Sword Sect, neither Qu Qingsheng nor Zhou Zixuan had a top-grade spiritual weapon. The entire sect had only one top-grade Locking Spirit Tower. This situation wasn’t unique to the Primordial Sword Sect; several sects around Immortal Cloud City faced similar circumstances.

The difficulty in crafting top-grade spiritual weapons was extremely high, and those capable of doing so were few and far between. Moreover, many top-grade spiritual weapons required extremely rare materials.

Considering all these factors, the number of top-grade spiritual weapons in circulation was quite limited. Therefore, if Chen Fei were willing to sell the Primordial Sealing Mirror, he would receive a substantial amount of elemental stones in return.

In addition to the Primordial Sealing Mirror, there were also the mid-grade spiritual swords used by Sui Wengong and Xing Xinzhao, as well as the spiritual swords wielded by other Sword Return Tower elders. All of these could be sold.

Furthermore, the Qianyuan Sword Chen Fei currently possessed was undergoing a significant transformation.

Under the Slaughter Spirit Technique, after killing so many Aperture Tempering realm practitioners from the Sword Return Tower, including some in the advanced stages, all the extracted spiritual essences had been absorbed into the Qianyuan Sword.

The Qianyuan Sword’s original spirituality was already at a high level among mid-grade spiritual weapons. Now, after absorbing so much spiritual essence, it had a great chance of evolving into a top-grade spiritual sword.

Of course, when the Qianyuan Sword was forged years ago, Chen Fei had already used the best materials he could obtain at the time. However, it was evident that the quality of those materials was still somewhat lacking compared to what was needed for a top-grade spiritual weapon.

This foundational issue meant that even if the Qianyuan Sword did eventually ascend to the level of a top-grade spiritual weapon, it would likely be considered one of the lower-ranking top-grade spiritual swords.

However, Chen Fei didn’t have any objections to this. After all, even if it ended up at the lower end of top-grade spiritual weapons, it was still a top-grade spiritual weapon, and it would provide a significant boost to Chen Fei’s combat capabilities.

Moreover, despite the Qianyuan Sword’s initial quality, as long as it could absorb enough spiritual essence, it could still forcibly elevate its grade. Chen Fei had developed a bond with this sword, which he personally nurtured, and it served him exceptionally well.

Just like Chen Fei’s own aptitude among martial practitioners, it was a complex matter, but compared to the Qianyuan Sword, it was already at a relatively high level.

Chen Fei placed the elemental stones, pills, and the various spiritual herbs into his spatial grid.

The already sparsely filled secret chamber now appeared even emptier.

Chen Fei didn’t immediately leave but instead walked over to the cushion. Under the scrutiny of the Star Gazing Art, the cushion appeared entirely ordinary, just like any common cushion made from woven grass.

However, its sheer ordinariness was what made it seem peculiar..