Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

“Boom!”

The thunderous roar drowned out all other sounds around. Qianyuan Sword pressed against the Shattered Moon Blade, grinding across the body of Qi Yunhong. In just an instant, half of Qi Yunhong’s body had turned into a mist of blood.

“Bang!”

Qi Yunhong was flung by tremendous force, crashing onto the array below. The array trembled incessantly, almost on the verge of being shattered.

A spray of blood mist erupted from Qi Yunhong’s mouth. He gazed blankly at Chen Fei in the sky above, then instinctively lowered his head to see that half of his body had already been lost.

His vitality, spirit, and soul rapidly dwindled at an alarming rate, his life force swiftly draining away.

On the brink of death, without treatment, in just a few breaths, he would perish outright.

Saint Xizhou and Zeng Huaizheng’s pupils contracted violently. The fact that the opponent could still teleport was something they never anticipated. This array was specially designed in Heavenly Illusion Valley to suppress teleportation.

But Chen Fei seemed completely unaffected.

And as for Qi Yunhong’s injuries, both being at the early stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, he was almost slain by a single sword strike. If it weren’t for the Shattered Moon Blade blocking some of it at the last moment, he would probably have completely turned into a mist of blood by now.

“Retreat to the valley!”

Zeng Huaizheng exclaimed in alarm, swiftly dismantling the surrounding array without hesitation. Then, he activated the jade ornament in his possession, causing ripples to emanate from his body.

There was no way to continue the fight. Regardless of how Chen Fei achieved such exaggerated strength, the fact remained that Qi Yunhong had been cleaved in half by a single sword strike.

Although their previous miscalculation, believing they had sealed the opponent’s innate teleportation ability, played a significant role, the power displayed by the opponent was indeed beyond their capacity to match.

In this situation, the natural course was to retreat directly to Heavenly Illusion Valley.

The opponent was formidable, as evidenced by the fact that even with the combined efforts of the three of them, they were overpowered. However, Heavenly Illusion Valley was one of the top forces beneath the sacred grounds, and it wasn’t just comprised of early-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators.

When the time came, deploying a mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator or directly calling upon a late-stage one would be sufficient to obliterate the opponent.

No matter how astonishing one’s talents might be, in the face of overwhelming force, survival would be impossible.

There was a much simpler solution, and they had no reason to engage in a direct confrontation with Chen Fei here!

Qi Yunhong snapped out of his daze as if awakening from a dream. His spirit ignited, clinging to his own life. He then activated the jade ornament in his possession, causing ripples to spread from his body as well.

Saint Xizhou glared coldly at Chen Fei. Last time, it was like this, he was beaten and fled in embarrassment. Unexpectedly, after several years, the outcome remained unchanged, leaving Saint Xizhou unwilling to accept it.

However, Saint Xizhou understood that he was no match at this moment. Evading the confrontation was the best choice.

“Hum!”

A fluctuation emanated from Chen Fei’s hand, instantly enveloping an area of several miles. The void fluctuations emanating from Saint Xizhou and his two companions suddenly ceased.

An array disk—Chen Fei had one too!

The best way to deal with teleportation was through arrays. Zeng Huaizheng and his companions knew this, and Chen Fei certainly wouldn’t be unaware of it either.

Chen Fei’s figure vanished from his original position, appearing in front of Qi Yunhong, his sword slashing towards Qi Yunhong’s neck.

Qi Yunhong had been waiting to retreat for healing, but the sudden interruption of teleportation turned his joy into despair in an instant.

As he saw the Qianyuan Sword slashing towards him, immense terror filled Qi Yunhong’s eyes.

He didn’t want to die yet. Qi Yunhong never imagined he would die in such circumstances. They were three cultivators of the Mountain Sea Realm, how could they end up like this?

“No!” Qi Yunhong shouted loudly.

“How dare you!”

Seeing Chen Fei’s actions, both Zeng Huaizheng and Saint Xizhou instinctively roared in anger.

“Chi!”

The blade cut through flesh, emitting a tearing sound. Qi Yunhong’s body trembled slightly, and his aura completely dissipated.

Suddenly, a burst of Blood Light shot out from Qi Yunhong’s body towards Chen Fei.

A glint flashed at the center of Chen Fei’s eyebrows as he discerned the object— a Soul Mark.

A golden Xuanyuan Sword burst forth with a sword intent, slashing through the Blood Light and completely obliterating the Soul Mark.

This Soul Mark originated from the Mountain Sea Realm. With the slightest trace of the Xuanyuan Sword’s true spirit, how could it allow such attachment?

Chen Fei turned to look at Zeng Huaizheng and Saint Xizhou. Zeng Huaizheng’s and Saint Xizhou’s expressions had initially been a mix of shock and anger, but now, as their gazes met Chen Fei’s, their hearts couldn’t help but skip a beat.

The path back to the valley had been interrupted, unless they first broke through the surrounding array. As for the shattered blood soul imprint, it was no longer a matter for immediate consideration.

The surrounding array was not particularly intricate; it only required two or three attacks to break through. But would Chen Fei give them that chance?

Zeng Huaizheng’s mind couldn’t spare time to ponder these thoughts. He immediately turned and rushed towards the array. However, as soon as he moved, a figure blocked his path—it was Chen Fei.

Countless thunder lights surrounded Chen Fei, resembling the descent of a thunder god. The Qianyuan Sword thrust forward, and the thunder lights surged towards Zeng Huaizheng with a howling roar.

Zeng Huaizheng’s mind trembled violently, warning him of the danger, prompting him to quickly retreat.

With his cultivation in the Perfection Realm, the Purple Cloud Profound Demon Sword, his innate talent in Sword Mastery, the strength of the Dragon Elephant, and all these factors combined, even without borrowing strength from others, his power far surpassed that of an ordinary early-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator.

Although Zeng Huaizheng hailed from Heavenly Illusion Valley and was stronger than the average early-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator, at this moment, facing Chen Fei’s sword, he still felt the threat of death.

“Disperse!”

Zeng Huaizheng roared, and suddenly a dozen figures emerged from his body, each one him. They scattered in all directions, fleeing desperately, not daring to directly confront Chen Fei’s sword moves.

“Slash!”

Chen Fei’s mouth twitched slightly, and the shadow of the Xuanyuan Sword appeared behind him. Sword light enveloped the dozen or so figures of Zeng Huaizheng, causing them to freeze abruptly.

A beam of light emanated from the center of Chen Fei’s eyebrows, sweeping over the dozen or so figures. Then, his figure flickered, arriving in front of one of the figures. The Qianyuan Sword slashed out.

The True Illusion Technique—real or illusory, each figure could be Zeng Huaizheng’s true body, and each could also be false. Zeng Huaizheng could freely switch among them.

This life-saving technique was undoubtedly extremely clever.

However, everything had its pros and cons. As powerful as the True Illusion Technique was, once it was exposed, the flaws became very obvious. Even the body would momentarily lose control, just like at this moment.

Ultimately, the True Illusion Technique relied on the manipulation of the soul, while the Nine Hells Profound Slaying Sword could slay souls and spirits, with the Xuanyuan Sword’s true spirit exerting an intimidating influence.

Although the Xuanyuan Sword was not yet fully inscribed and couldn’t directly slay Zeng Huaizheng, disrupting his technique and immobilizing him posed no problem.

And seizing this opportunity to use the Heavenly Eye to locate Zeng Huaizheng’s true body was effortless.

“Chi!”

The Qianyuan Sword’s blade swept across Zeng Huaizheng’s neck. Zeng Huaizheng’s struggling body froze for a moment. His mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something, but he was completely silenced by the gush of blood.

Amidst the roar of thunder, Zeng Huaizheng’s aura dissipated entirely.

Once again, a blood soul imprint surged forth, only to be shattered by the Xuanyuan Sword.

Chen Fei sheathed his sword and turned to look at Saint Xizhou.

At this moment, Saint Xizhou had already arrived beside the array, striking his palm against the array runes.

The array trembled violently, emitting sounds of unbearable strain.

Just as Saint Xizhou was about to continue his assault, he suddenly felt Zeng Huaizheng’s aura dissipate. A look of utter horror flashed in his eyes.

Another one had died—Zeng Huaizheng, the strongest at self-preservation, had also perished in an instant!

Saint Xizhou had thought Zeng Huaizheng could buy him some time. As long as he broke through this array, he could teleport back to Heavenly Illusion Valley.

Even if Zeng Huaizheng died then, he could have the people of the sect avenge him.

But now, he hadn’t broken through the array yet!

Saint Xizhou turned around, and indeed, Chen Fei was already before him.

Despite having just killed two people, Chen Fei’s expression remained unchanged.

“You dare to kill members of my Heavenly Illusion Valley Sect. Wherever you flee, death will follow!”

Saint Xizhou shouted angrily, as if only by doing so could he expel all the anger and fear in his heart.

“How come it’s allowed for you to kill people, but not for me to fight back?”

Upon hearing Saint Xizhou’s words, Chen Fei couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Saint Xizhou couldn’t help but pause. Just as he was about to retort to Chen Fei’s words, he saw the thunderous sword light surging towards him.

The sky was shrouded in dark clouds, and purple thunderbolts roamed freely within. As Chen Fei drew his sword, several thunderbolts descended directly.

Previously obstructed by Zeng Huaizheng’s array, the thunderbolts couldn’t land. But now, with Chen Fei’s array in place, there was no barrier, and all the thunderbolts struck directly onto the Qianyuan Sword.

With the assistance of thunderbolts, the Qianyuan Sword’s power surged even more than before.

Saint Xizhou stared at the approaching Qianyuan Sword, feeling as if he was facing the might of heaven.

How could mere mortals contend against the heavens?

“Ah!”

Saint Xizhou roared furiously, dispelling the fear in his heart. Suddenly, the Peak of the Celestial God Mountain behind him began to collapse, its upper half madly tilting forward.

Mountains crumbled, the earth split, and jade stones burned!

“Boom!”

The Qianyuan Sword collided with Saint Xizhou’s pure golden palms.

Thunderous light filled the air, and Saint Xizhou’s body trembled, involuntarily stepping backward.

The cutting edge of sword energy, so sharp that it shouldn’t be wielded by an early-stage cultivator of the Mountain Sea Realm, rampaged through Saint Xizhou’s body. If it weren’t for his innate talent of having Bronze Skin, Iron Bones, the injuries inflicted just now would have been unavoidable.

Even though he wasn’t heavily injured at this moment, most of the elemental energy in his body had been dispersed by the sword energy. In the short term, his strength had invisibly diminished by thirty percent.

Saint Xizhou looked up at Chen Fei, only to find that the latter showed no signs of anomaly. On the contrary, his momentum surged even higher. Now, another sword strike was coming, with even greater force than before.

Faintly, amidst the sound of thunder raging across the sky, there were also roars of ancient beasts.

Saint Xizhou widened his eyes, puzzled by the vast difference in strength between them, despite both being at the early stage of the Mountain Sea Realm. Did Chi Shengsheng possess such power as well?

“Bang!”

The Qianyuan Sword forcibly pushed apart Saint Xizhou’s palms, unstoppable. With one strike, it pierced through Saint Xizhou’s heart.

The violent thunderous power and the cutting edge of the sword energy tore through the defense of elemental energy within Saint Xizhou’s body.

While Saint Xizhou’s innate talent of Bronze Skin, Iron Bones was formidable, it was directly suppressed by the immense force of the Dragon Elephant. His self-healing couldn’t keep up with the speed of destruction.

“Spurt!”

Saint Xizhou sprayed out a mist of blood, his eyes staring fixedly at Chen Fei. In his gaze, there seemed to be a sense of reluctance, but more so, there was fear of death.

His understanding of martial arts was still improving. When he condensed his third Divine Palace, he might not be unable to attempt to break into the void and seek out a second innate talent like Chi Shengsheng.

The path of martial arts genius of the sacred land lay before him, but now, he had completely lost the chance to walk it.

He harbored hatred!

Chen Fei withdrew his sword, and Saint Xizhou fell backward, his gaze gradually dimming, his life force dissipating.

As the faint light in Chen Fei’s eyes dissipated, he seized the moment when Saint Xizhou was dying, deploying the Dream Entry Technique to capture some information.

Apart from these three individuals, there were two more who hadn’t arrived at Heavenly Illusion Valley!

A phantom figure emerged from behind Chen Fei, his clone.

As the Slaughter Spirit Technique operated, the spiritual essence within the bodies of Qi Yunhong and the others was extracted in one go. Then, it surged directly into Chen Fei’s clone, causing its aura to fluctuate violently before it confidently charged towards the barrier of the Mountain Sea Realm.

Suddenly, Chen Fei turned his head towards where Zeng Huaizheng had fallen, where a jade talisman was shimmering with a faint light.

Someone was approaching from that direction, following the position of the jade ornament.