Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chen Fei sat in the courtyard of the Primordial Sword Sect, where there was a straw mat. During his usual practice sessions, he would often sit on it.

Chen Fei’s mat was woven from spiritual herbs and had the modest ability to absorb and gather spiritual energy passively. Its effects were not particularly strong, but one could say it was better than nothing.

Moreover, the mat had a calming effect on the mind, though not particularly potent, it was still better than having none at all.

Mats like this were possessed by every cultivator in the Primordial Sword Sect who had reached a certain level of cultivation. Since they were made from common spiritual herbs, they weren’t considered very valuable.

However, their effects were still noticeable over time.

Since they weren’t expensive, it made sense to have one on hand; after all, it wouldn’t hurt.

But at this moment, the mat in front of Chen Fei seemed to lack any trace of spiritual energy. Placing such a mat in the secluded chamber of the Sword Return Tower, it looked odd no matter how you examined it.

Chen Fei stood to the side, continuously observing the mat with his eyes and sensing it with his spiritual awareness, but he couldn’t detect anything unusual.

Both his eyes and his spiritual awareness clearly told Chen Fei that this was just an ordinary piece of straw.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Fei sat cross-legged on the mat.

A faint chill spread from beneath the mat, and Chen Fei’s restless thoughts, which had arisen due to his recent battles, slowly calmed down in response to this chill.

A look of surprise appeared in Chen Fei’s eyes. Just the calming effect alone exceeded the mat he had in the Primordial Sword Sect.

Or perhaps, there was no comparison between the two at all.

This chill was not a forced suppression but more like a gentle spring breeze, soothing the scattered thoughts in your mind and allowing you to relax effortlessly. There was no coercion, just a natural flow, like eating or drinking.

Chen Fei reached out and touched the mat. It still felt like ordinary straw, quite rough. However, he didn’t intentionally break or investigate the material of the mat, even though he knew it was extraordinary. Without absolute certainty, Chen Fei wouldn’t destroy it.

Whether it was an illusion or not, as the chill from the mat continued to spread, Chen Fei’s mind not only became calmer but also filled with more and more thoughts.

This seems somewhat contradictory because tranquility represents purity of mind, free from other distractions.

The increasing flow of thoughts is a sign of the resurgence of distractions, and the two concepts almost seem at odds with each other.

Yet, this very contradiction was happening in Chen Fei’s mental realm at this moment, as if a person were thinking about various things in a remarkably calm state of mind.

Chen Fei’s expression twitched slightly as he considered a possibility. He closed his eyes and began to operate the Blade-Slaying Sword technique.

A sharp aura began to emanate from Chen Fei’s body. Most of the cultivation techniques Chen Fei had practiced were already at a high level of mastery. What he was mainly focusing on now were the Blade-Slaying Sword technique and the Water-Jade Sword technique, both of which were still in the realm of expertise, with a small gap remaining to reach perfection.

The Primordial Sword Scripture had been mastered quickly by Chen Fei, as it was just an outline. The key lay in the degree of proficiency in other cultivation techniques, which would eventually connect them together.

As Chen Fei operated the Blade-Slaying Sword technique at this moment, various thoughts related to this technique began to emerge in his mental realm. These thoughts collided with each other, including both correct and incorrect ones.

The correct thoughts directly advanced the level of comprehension of the Blade-Slaying Sword technique. Incorrect thoughts were not necessarily bad; they could serve as the dialectical opposite of the correct ones, also promoting the understanding of the technique.

In just a short while, Chen Fei gained a new perception of the Blade-Slaying Sword technique.

This was quite different from practicing the Blade-Slaying Sword technique after simplifying the method, and it provided a unique experience.

After simplifying the Blade-Slaying Sword technique, all you needed to do was practice, and the insights would directly appear in your mind. If you were to make a comparison, it was like having access to the correct answers at the back of several textbooks.

This mat, on the other hand, allowed you to solve the problems step by step, providing many joys in the process.

One approach was to have immediate possession, while the other involved gradually moving forward to gain possession.

These two methods had their differences, and if Chen Fei had to choose…

Why did Chen Fei need to choose? Both were now in his hands, and he would choose whichever was more convenient. In simpler terms, he wanted it all.

Only children make choices; adults always want everything!

Chen Fei’s eyes opened, and the sharp aura around him receded.

He stood up and looked at the mat in front of him. At this moment, Chen Fei began to understand why Sui Wengong and Xing Xinzhou had both made breakthroughs to the advanced stage of the Aperture Tempering realm in recent years.

Having such an accelerator for cultivation would significantly increase the speed of comprehending techniques.

Compared to the spontaneous breakthroughs that occurred when advancing to the advanced stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, there was simply no comparison. Those breakthroughs were akin to sudden enlightenment.

Moreover, it was a question whether this mat would maintain such a strong effect in the latter half of comprehending techniques.

After all, the Blade-Slaying Sword technique was still in the proficiency stage, and it was understandable that it could have a more noticeable effect. Besides, Chen Fei’s own insight had reached a new level, not much weaker than some geniuses.

From Chen Fei’s observation, this mat was more of an enhancement. It added another layer of effect on top of your own foundation.

This mat was somewhat similar to the effect of having a great teacher. However, sometimes when faced with a particular problem, if you couldn’t solve it, you really couldn’t, even if someone taught you once, you might still be baffled the next time.

But no matter how you looked at it, having this mat would undoubtedly save a lot of time in cultivating techniques. For the strong, it would yield astonishing results when given to those talented individuals.

Chen Fei stored the mat in his spatial grid, not knowing where the Sword Return Tower had obtained this item. Unfortunately, the person who could provide answers was no longer around, and Chen Fei had no way to inquire further.

Even if the people were still around, Chen Fei knew they probably wouldn’t reveal anything.

Knowing that death was inevitable and leaving things for others was a rare occurrence in the world.

Chen Fei glanced around the chamber, confirming that nothing was left behind. With a quick movement, he left the spot.

When Chen Fei reappeared, he was already at the inheritance ground beneath the lake.

Compared to when Chen Fei first arrived here, nothing had changed. The only difference was that the array formation here had been strengthened by the Sword Return Tower.

Clearly, Chen Fei’s previous visit had left the Sword Return Tower feeling uneasy, prompting them to enhance the formation here.

A surge of sword energy rose from Chen Fei’s body, shattering the stone tablets of several Primordial Sword Sect techniques. Then, with a flicker of his sword energy, he excavated the inheritance stones of three Sword Return Tower techniques and placed them in his bag.

At this moment, Chen Fei’s clone was dealing with several disciples of the Sword Return Tower. Afterward, it rushed into the Sword Return Tower’s scripture repository, searching for valuable mental cultivation techniques.

Chen Fei no longer had any interest in the other techniques stored in the scripture repository. Only the mental cultivation techniques might not necessarily be of high rank or exceptional in terms of techniques, but if they could provide good insights, they held immense value for Chen Fei.

As for the Sword Return Tower’s treasure vault, Chen Fei didn’t have much interest either. However, following the principle of not wasting opportunities, Chen Fei’s clone still paid a visit.

But the outcome was as Chen Fei had expected. Even in the main peak chamber and the Sword Return Tower, there was nothing substantial. These places were meant to provide resources for Body Tempering realm disciples; one couldn’t expect to find exceptional treasures here.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei left the Sword Return Tower. The real chaos would erupt in the Sword Return Tower only now.

Because the elders of the Sword Return Tower had been absent for too long, this silent fact indicated something unsettling, something that sent shivers down their spines.

Chen Fei had no reason to kill the ordinary disciples. It served no purpose for him. He did not derive pleasure from killing, and his pursuit of martial arts was not for the sake of slaughter.

Longevity and control over one’s destiny; these were the true reasons Chen Fei practiced martial arts.

Carrying a large bundle on his back, Chen Fei had distanced himself from the Sword Return Tower by over a hundred miles in a matter of moments. He found a cave on the mountain, cleaned it up a bit, and then took out the mat, sitting cross-legged on it.

Chen Fei spread out the mental cultivation techniques he had obtained from the Sword Return Tower’s scripture repository on the ground, and he went through each book one by one. After finishing each one, he would pause for a moment to contemplate before moving on to the next.

It took him more than an hour to go through about a dozen mental cultivation techniques.

The results were not negligible, but they were indeed quite limited.

Some of the ideas in a few of the techniques were intriguing, but they currently couldn’t provide substantial assistance to Chen Fei. They could only be regarded as a form of reserve knowledge.

Chen Fei wasn’t too surprised because the Sword Return Tower was not a dominant force, and having limited preserved techniques was normal.

If Chen Fei could visit the scripture repository of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, the gains would undoubtedly be significant. However, Chen Fei wasn’t at that level yet.

Chen Fei took out three inheritance stones from the Sword Return Tower, chose one of them, and then immersed his consciousness into it.

An hour later, Chen Fei opened his eyes. This was the Sword Return Tower’s martial art inheritance known as “Flying Swallows Sword,” which opened seventy-five acupoints.

With Chen Fei’s current perspective, Flying Swallows Sword’s movement capabilities were impressive, especially in terms of straight-line speed.

If Chen Fei had come across Flying Swallows Sword before acquiring the Great Thunder Sword, he might have considered practicing some of its essence. However, now there was no need for it.

Chen Fei turned his gaze to the remaining inheritance stone and immersed his consciousness into it.

Another hour passed, and Chen Fei opened his eyes again. This was the primary cultivation technique of the Sword Return Tower, the “Sword Return Technique.” It was overall decent, but the part that would be useful to Chen Fei was likely the “Quick Sword Return” technique.

When used with the electromagnetic cannon, it would probably allow Chen Fei to shorten the charging time.

As for the rest, it was far inferior to the Primordial Sword Scripture and had no value for cultivation.

Chen Fei then immersed his consciousness into the last inheritance stone. It took only half an hour, but this last inheritance stone brought Chen Fei a different kind of surprise.

The “Sword Return Eye”!

Leaving traces as you pass, as long as someone has been here, even if they have left, they will be captured by the Sword Return Eye.

According to the technique, if practiced to its peak, it might even forcibly extract traces from the past.

The law of cause and effect?