Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Since the dissipation of the Black Divine Barrier until now, several months have passed. Chen Fei had always believed that the personal connections formed within the barrier were severed.

Now, unexpectedly, the Black Divine had begun to call out actively.

Chen Fei paused for a moment where he stood, then returned to Thousand Geese City.

Even if it truly was Black Divine’s call, Chen Fei couldn’t just leave the Sacred City so casually.

Currently, this place was under sacred governance. Anyone entering or leaving the Sacred City, even those in the Mountain Sea Realm, had to report in.

If Chen Fei left the city late at night without reason, and if something indeed happened later, he could easily be traced.

Black Divine’s call to his servants surely wasn’t directed at Chen Fei alone.

In other words, it was highly likely that someone in the Mountain Sea Realm had indeed betrayed them and pledged allegiance to the Black Divine.

Whether they coveted the insights into Black Divine Barrier techniques from before, believed that neither humans nor monsters could withstand Black Divine, or had other reasons, there was now a traitor within their ranks.

Surely, those in the Sun Moon Realm within the Sacred City were already taking precautions against this.

After all, self-interest was the instinctive response of all living beings. With so many humans and monsters single-mindedly opposing Black Divine, it was inherently unrealistic.

Standing within the Tingfeng Pavilion, Chen Fei looked up at the sky.

In the recent period, Chen Fei definitely wouldn’t leave the city. At least ten days to half a month would be needed to wait for a suitable opportunity before venturing out.

Chen Fei hadn’t betrayed them, but to be labeled a traitor would be unjust.

If the Sun Moon Realm personally intervened to apprehend him, given Chen Fei’s current strength, being reduced to ashes with a single palm strike was entirely possible.

After nightfall, Black Divine’s call had ceased as well.

Chen Fei refrained from inquiring further or taking any unnecessary actions, feigning ignorance and continuing his secluded cultivation within the Tingfeng Pavilion.

This period stretched on for over twenty days.

During this time, news about Black Divine began to steadily circulate within the Sacred City.

Signs of monsters’ activities on the Middle Continent became increasingly evident. Clearly, their numbers had grown considerably, and many traces were no longer deliberately concealed.

A streak of purple light flashed through the air, and Chen Fei landed in front of the Mission Hall.

Within the Sacred City, the Mission Hall still stood, designated for issuing various tasks and rewards.

Currently, the monsters showed no interest in the Sacred City, not even approaching it. However, the city was filled with various reconnaissance missions targeting the monsters, all listed on the boards.

Those with generous rewards typically involved venturing deep into the gathering places of these creatures.

After gathering information during this period, it became evident that numerous gathering points of monsters had appeared across the Middle Continent.

These monsters seemed to be plotting something, and while the Sun Moon Realm of the Sacred City had intervened previously, they had found nothing.

Recently, in order to restrain the Sun Moon Realm, the Black Divine had employed some method that allowed these monsters to begin sensing the aura of the Sun Moon Realm directionally.

Compared to the Mountain Sea Realm, the Sun Moon Realm naturally had significant differences. Through some sort of enhancement by Black Divine, these monsters could sense the approach of the Sun Moon Realm from thousands of miles away.

Even the Sun Moon Realm cannot cross distances of thousands of miles in just a few steps.

Therefore, even if these monster gathering points are indeed up to something, prompting action from the Sun Moon Realm, the monsters can destroy their belongings beforehand.

Recently, apart from the essential few remaining in the Sacred City, the Sun Moon Realm has begun searching everywhere in the Boundless Sea for the true whereabouts of Black Divine’s body.

The Middle Continent was already vast, and the area of the entire Boundless

Sea was even more astonishingly immense.

Therefore, even if the Sun Moon Realm wishes to uncover something unusual, it cannot be accomplished in a short period.

Chen Fei entered the Mission Hall, where various tasks were listed on the board. He approached the counter and directly accepted a reconnaissance mission located thirty thousand miles away.

The rewards for the mission depended on the value of the intelligence obtained.

However, such reconnaissance missions also guaranteed a minimum reward: if no information was found, returning with the kill of a creature of the same rank sufficed.

Chen Fei did not seek to join any teams this time. His main purpose for leaving the city was to see what Black Divine, calling upon his servants, intended to do.

Or rather, whether Black Divine would offer any benefits.

It wouldn’t make sense for someone to work without receiving anything in return, right?

After enduring nearly a month of waiting, Chen Fei had been curious about this all along.

Most importantly, Chen Fei wanted to see if Black Divine would impart any insights into techniques.

After months of secluded cultivation, Chen Fei showed no signs of slackening. Even discussions on cultivation with Chi Shuqing and Tong Linyun were only occasional during his spare moments.

Despite his unwavering dedication, progress in mastering techniques remained slow.

The Water Source Shadow Technique was nearing completion, yet it still required several more months of practice to fully master.

Meanwhile, both the Purple Sky Stellar Technique and the innate Adamantine Body continued to advance steadily towards mastery.

Compared to other practitioners in the Mountain Sea Realm, Chen Fei’s speed of cultivation was indeed remarkable, but encountering excellence naturally spurred him to strive further.

Previously, when Black Divine had vanished, Chen Fei had focused methodically on his cultivation. Now that Black Divine had reappeared, thoughts naturally stirred within him.

If not for concerns about arousing suspicion in the Sacred City, Chen Fei would have left the city ten days earlier.

Exiting the Mission Hall, electric currents shimmered across his body. With a resounding thunderclap, he vanished from the spot.

Moments later, Chen Fei arrived at the city wall, where he registered the scroll given by the Mission Hall. He then leaped directly from the city wall into the clouds, heading towards the gathering point of monsters thirty thousand miles away.

Flying with full force, Chen Fei streaked through the sky like lightning.

Over the past few months of practicing the Purple Sky Stellar Technique, Chen Fei had felt it wasn’t progressing fast enough, but in reality, the improvement in proficiency had translated into a significant enhancement in his combat prowess.

Whether it was his strikes, the output of elemental power, or his current agility, all had been bolstered by the Purple Sky Stellar Technique.

Even the speed of his elemental power accumulation had increased substantially.

However, what currently constrained Chen Fei from condensing the fifth Divine Palace was no longer the accumulation of elemental power, but the speed of his innate talent growth. Without improving this, Chen Fei could only condense a Divine Palace every few years.

When Chen Fei was still 7,000 miles away from the mission location, he descended from the sky to the ground.

Surrounded by towering mountains and steep ridges, only ordinary birds, monsters, insects, and fish inhabited these hills.

After sensing his surroundings for any anomalies, Chen Fei disappeared from the spot and reappeared within a fissure in the earth’s crust more than seventy miles underground.

Using the techniques of Sword Contraction Technique and Slaughter Spirit Technique, Chen Fei concealed his aura as much as possible.

Without setting up any formations—since the energy fluctuations from formations could sometimes draw unnecessary attention.

Chen Fei began feigning sleep, waiting for nightfall.

As the sun set and the moon rose, the sounds of wild monsters in the mountains began to fade away.

Deep within the earth’s crust, strange vibrations continued unabated. Chen Fei’s eyes snapped open as the faint, elusive calling resurfaced in his ears.

In an instant, Chen Fei disappeared from his position, reappearing atop a mountain peak, gazing up at the sky.

Compared to within the Sacred City, where the purifying formations were absent, the clarity of this calling was much improved.

Standing silently on the summit, Chen Fei awaited the unfolding of events.

The calling gradually grew clearer, but upon closer listening, it was discernible only as meaningless syllables, not coherent words.

A quarter of an hour passed, and a wisp of black mist appeared overhead, seemingly out of nowhere. With its appearance, more and more of the surroundings were obscured by the black mist.

This mist was all too familiar to Chen Fei—it was the same power that had pervaded the Black Divine Barrier back then.

“Hmm!”

The ambient elemental energies trembled slightly, and ripples spread out as a rune materialized in midair.

The rune flickered in and out of view, bearing some resemblance to the teleportation rune Chen Fei had received previously, but upon closer inspection, its intermittent appearance seemed more like a form of concealment.

In contrast, the teleportation rune from before had vanished into the void, truly disappearing.

“So the first thing upon meeting is to directly deliver something?”

Chen Fei’s gaze fluctuated as he watched the rune flying towards him.

As the rune drew closer, Chen Fei could distinctly sense that besides the power contained within the rune itself, it was also tainted with a pervasive corruption.

This corruption was now completely unmasked. If previous insights into techniques had been ten parts enlightenment to one part corruption, then now it was reversed: nine parts corruption to one part rune power.

Clearly, Black Divine intended to fully convert those who submitted from the Mountain Sea Realm into his own, leaving no room for compromise.

The calling in Chen Fei’s ears had turned into urgent prompting, urging him to absorb this rune.

If there might have been impostors among those who submitted before, absorbing this rune would eliminate any chance of mishap.

Not only did the urging in his ears intensify, but even the surrounding black mist seemed poised to materialize.

Refusing to absorb the rune would likely lead to other consequences.

Chen Fei lightly touched his forehead with his right hand, and fifty illusory Xuanyuan Swords appeared within his consciousness.

These fifty Xuanyuan Swords were interconnected from tip to hilt. With a gesture of his right hand, the rune in mid-air landed on Chen Fei’s forehead.

The rune melted into his body, but before it could spread, it was enveloped by the illusory Xuanyuan Swords.

Chen Fei’s body trembled slightly. The illusory Xuanyuan Swords, tainted by the corruption, immediately shattered. Thirty of the swords shattered in an instant, consumed by the corruption.

Chen Fei never doubted Black Divine’s power, but he maintained unwavering confidence in the Xuanyuan Swords from beginning to end.

To gain Black Divine’s trust, the rune had to directly enter his body so that his body would inherently carry a trace of Black Divine’s corruption. Removing it prematurely, as done previously, would likely lead to major issues.

As forty-eight of the illusory Xuanyuan Swords shattered consecutively, the corruption within the rune was finally purged. If forty-eight swords were not sufficient, Chen Fei could continue summoning more.

Chen Fei’s soul could only withstand summoning so many true spirits of the Xuanyuan Swords at once, but if necessary, he could forcibly continue summoning.

Moreover, aside from the illusory swords, there was one sword entirely condensed from his own spiritual energy, containing a substantial number of true spirits.

The rune shimmered with a faint light within Chen Fei’s consciousness. Finding no other issues, he fully integrated it into his body.

“Phew!”

Chen Fei’s clothes fluttered without wind, and sensing the effects of the rune, his expression subtly changed.

The next moment, Chen Fei’s body twisted, and then he disappeared completely from his original position.