Chapter 809: Do I Need Your Guidance in My Cultivation?
Thousand Geese City’s Tingfeng Pavilion. Chen Fei gazed towards the direction of Jade Spring Valley, his eyes subtly shifting.
Instinctively, Chen Fei felt something was amiss with Jade Spring Valley. Despite superficial appearances suggesting Jade Spring Valley had suffered considerable losses, Thousand Geese City seemed completely unaffected.
It appeared that this incident had only harmed Jade Spring Valley.
If Chen Fei hadn’t absorbed the Return to Nothing of the Black Divine, he might have only perceived this much. Understanding the Black Divine’s plan, however, made Chen Fei suspicious of Jade Spring Valley.
Yet, lacking evidence, acting directly now would seem hasty.
“Two late-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators!”
Chen Fei sat cross-legged, slowly closing his eyes.
The six Divine Palaces formed into a formation, each move and gesture unleashing tremendous elemental power. With numerous exceptional talents, combined innate skills, and the profound sect techniques, Chen Fei was becoming even stronger.
However, facing two late-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators while currently in the mid-stage realm posed challenges in swift elimination.
If the encounter dragged on, attracting the attention of the Sacred City’s Stewards, Chen Fei’s circumstances would be exposed—something he was determined to avoid.
“I hope it’s not them!”
This thought flashed through Chen Fei’s mind before he completely immersed himself in cultivation.
Two martial techniques, insights into a talent, continuously appeared in his sea of consciousness, then absorbed.
Compared to the insights absorbed from the Black Divine, the progress was indeed slower. However, in this state, Chen Fei didn’t need to rely on anyone else’s help. Through his own efforts, he could elevate his realm without encountering any bottlenecks.
Early the next morning, without any unexpected incidents, Chen Fei arrived at the Mission Hall.
“I saw what the monsters were doing at their gathering point,” Chen Fei said solemnly at the counter.
The steward of the Mission Hall’s expression changed slightly, and he escorted Chen Fei into a nearby quiet room.
In a matter of moments, Elder Yang Dingwu of the Mission Hall appeared. At the pinnacle of the Mountain Sea Realm, his imposing aura filled the entire room as soon as he entered.
Ripples of the Purple Sky Stellar Technique within Chen Fei resonated with Yang Dingwu’s aura.
Resonance was mutual, and Yang Dingwu also sensed the fluctuations in Chen Fei’s techniques, casting a somewhat surprised glance at him.
“You’ve managed to acquire the Seven Star Illumination Technique through good fortune. Impressive!”
Chen Fei stood up and respectfully clasped his hands. Yang Dingwu hailed from the Stellar Sacred Land, which explained the slight resonance between their auras.
“You seem remarkably suited to this martial technique,” Yang Dingwu nodded with some realization.
It was quite normal for major holy lands to exchange various inheritances for cultivation.
“This is what I observed inside the monster gathering point.”
After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Fei used elemental power to conjure the scene he had witnessed within the mountain’s depths. Seeing the altar, Yang Dingwu’s expression grew exceedingly solemn.
This was a known gathering point for monsters, and those creatures hidden away undoubtedly had something to do with the inscribed altar.
Chen Fei had already considered this possibility beforehand, and now Yang Dingwu naturally arrived at the same conclusion.
“This matter is of utmost importance. Come with me to meet the other Sacred Masters!” Yang Dingwu said, leading Chen Fei out of the quiet room directly.
In less than half an hour, Chen Fei followed Yang Dingwu to the central hall of the Sacred City.
Looking around, Chen Fei noticed there were no defensive formations set up here. However, as he approached, an eerie sensation involuntarily crept into his soul, as if something was fixating on him.
“Here, we have a Celestial Treasure,” Yang Dingwu explained upon seeing Chen Fei’s expression.
While not equivalent to the Sun Moon Realm, this treasure posed no problem dealing with ordinary Mountain Sea Realm cultivators.
“Come in!”
Yang Dingwu stopped in front of the hall, but before he could speak, a voice resounded in both Yang Dingwu’s and Chen Fei’s ears.
Inside the hall, several figures appeared on a raised platform, looking down upon Yang Dingwu and Chen Fei.
Chen Fei’s body suddenly felt heavy, as if several towering mountains were about to crush him into dust.
However, this sensation vanished in an instant, disappearing without a trace.
Chen Fei’s heart tightened slightly. This was the power of the Sun Moon Realm. Just the natural pressure in their gaze made it difficult for a Mountain Sea Realm cultivator to resist.
The gap between the Mountain Sea Realm and the Sun Moon Realm was astonishing.
“Yang Dingwu, greetings to the Sacred Masters!” Yang Dingwu bowed respectfully.
“Chen Fei, greetings to the Sacred Masters!” Chen Fei also clasped his hands in respect.
“What brings you here?” Zhan Xuming, recognizing the elder from his own sect, spoke up.
“Reporting to the Sacred Masters, someone has detected monsters gathering and inscribing a teleportation altar. We have come to report this matter!” Yang Dingwu said solemnly, then glanced at Chen Fei.
Chen Fei understood and took a step forward. Just as he had done in the Mission Hall earlier, he used elemental power to directly display what he had seen inside the monster-infested mountain.
As Chen Fei revealed the detailed features of the altar, the atmosphere in the entire hall instantly grew heavy, filled with a terrifying pressure.
“It seems those monsters won’t rest until they’re eradicated!” Zhan Xuming frowned.
“We can clear out the gathering points of those monsters, but dealing with the hidden ones will require the intervention of Mountain Sea Realm cultivators,” another Sacred Master from the sect remarked.
The energy of the Sun Moon Realm was limited. While seeking the true body of the Black Divine and clearing these monster gathering points, there was simply no spare capacity to deal with those creatures covertly inscribing altars.
“We intended to defend our cities, but the Black Divine won’t let us have our way!” another Sun Moon Realm cultivator spoke solemnly.
The altar must hold significant importance for the Black Divine. As long as humans and beasts remained unaware, those monsters would continue their inscriptions undisturbed.
If they were discovered, so be it—they would face off against the Mountain Sea Realm cultivators.
Compared to the slow growth of the Mountain Sea Realm, the appearance of monsters was far simpler for the Black Divine.
With such a high realm, if not for the suppression of the Boundless Sea in this world, there would be no need for such elaborate schemes—they could dominate straightforwardly.
Even though the Black Divine was currently suppressed, many things remained where humans and beasts could only react passively.
“Chen Fei, well done!” Zhan Xuming looked at Chen Fei with a slight smile on his face.
To have discovered this matter at the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm must have involved significant risk. Such merit deserved recognition.
“You overpraise me, Sacred Master,” Chen Fei replied, bowing respectfully.
After a moment, Chen Fei left the central hall with Yang Dingwu and returned to the Mission Hall.
Five major achievements were credited to Chen Fei, equivalent to slaying five late-stage Fourth-Tier monsters. Importantly, simply killing late-stage Fourth-Tier monsters no longer earned such contribution points.
As for verifying the truth of Chen Fei’s report, a sweep of the monster gathering point by the Sun Moon Realm would reveal traces even if the monsters had attempted to cover their tracks.
Therefore, the Sun Moon Realm cultivators saw no reason for Chen Fei to lie.
Chen Fei looked at his contribution points. This time, he wasn’t in a rush to exchange them because he still had spirit materials left over from his last exchange at the Ethereal Lake.
After bidding farewell to Yang Dingwu, Chen Fei returned to Thousand Geese City.
This time, Chen Fei had no intention of leaving the Sacred City.
Before, he had said the same, but the call of the Black Divine had compelled Chen Fei to venture out.
Now, with the Return to Nothing in hand and without having perfected the Water Source Shadow Technique to Great Completion, Chen Fei truly had no intention of leaving home.
However, before entering seclusion, Chen Fei wished to visit the Strange Heart Realm.
Not to kill the Evils, but to claim the legacy of the Dream Shadow Master.
Originally, the plan was to advance his cultivation to the late stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, gaining the strength to confront those late-stage Fourth- Tier Evils, and then pursue the legacy.
However, unexpectedly obtaining the Return to Nothing from the Black Divine, with its unparalleled hiding capabilities among the many powers Chen Fei had encountered, changed everything.
Chen Fei merged the Return to Nothing with his innate talent Teleportation, elevating the concealment capability of this power to unprecedented levels.
Below the Fifth-Tier, he would remain undetected without fail.
Thus, facing late-stage Fourth-Tier Evils, Chen Fei no longer harbored any fear.
In the secluded chamber of the Tingfeng Pavilion, a figure emerged behind Chen Fei, guarding him.
Cross-legged, Chen Fei closed his eyes slowly.
When he reopened them, the environment had completely changed. A sense of decay and chaos filled his vision and perception, marking a place devoid of any vitality.
Chen Fei’s brow emitted a faint light, confirming his position.
The Strange Heart Realm corresponded with the Boundless Sea, but it wasn’t a direct one-to-one correlation; the Strange Heart Realm was not as vast as the Boundless Sea.
Standing still for a moment to orient himself, Chen Fei leaped into the air and headed southeast.
Three hours later, Chen Fei halted in mid-air above a mountain range.
The Dream Shadow Stone lay roughly three hundred miles ahead. Starting from here, every few dozen miles, there would be a Fourth-Tier Evil King. Deeper into the realm, there were more Evil Kings, each stronger than the last.
Without the strength of the late stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, or even the peak, rushing in recklessly could easily result in being overwhelmed by these Evil Kings.
With a slight forward lean, Chen Fei disappeared in an instant.
Within the Strange Heart Realm, there were spatial interstices and rifts, without which these illusions couldn’t teleport into reality.
At this moment, Chen Fei swiftly navigated through the spatial cracks, his presence completely masked by the spatial fluctuations. He proceeded boldly forward without restraint.
Covering over three hundred miles took only moments.
The Evil Kings along the way remained oblivious to Chen Fei’s presence, even when they were face to face and less than a step apart.
Passing by a Fourth-Tier late-stage Evil King, Chen Fei landed on a mountain ridge.
Scattered and fragmented stones littered the mountains, with the Dream Shadow Stone disguised among them as a piece of rubble.
A hand abruptly appeared, grasping one of the pieces of rubble, and then vanished.
Over thirty miles away, a Fourth-Tier late-stage Evil King suddenly turned its head towards the mountain ridge.
A frenzied storm of spiritual energy instantly crushed the mountains, yet nothing appeared.
A hundred miles away, Chen Fei glanced back at the position of the Evil King. The next moment, he vanished within the Strange Heart Realm.
In the secret chamber of the Tingfeng Pavilion, Chen Fei opened his eyes, spreading his right hand to reveal a black stone held within.
As Chen Fei activated the Dream Entry Technique, the stone began to tremble slightly. Its surface peeled away, revealing the true form of the Dream Shadow Stone.
“I thought I had truly killed you back then. I never imagined that over thousands of years, you would manage to alter a bit of the rules of spiritual treasures!” Chen Fei’s voice echoed calmly.
In the next moment, a spiritual light was forcibly extracted from the Dream Shadow Stone by Chen Fei, twisting desperately in mid-air.
The spiritual essence of the Dream Shadow Stone, back when Chen Fei was at the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, had led him to believe that this spiritual essence had been completely obliterated.
At that time, Chen Fei’s perception of spiritual matters was too weak to detect any anomalies.
Now, personally grasping the Dream Shadow Stone and having advanced to the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, the hidden nature of the Dream Shadow Stone’s spiritual essence had become utterly meaningless.
“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I will help you refine the Dream Shadow Stone! I will help you cultivate the Divine Blessing Dream Entry Technique!”
From within the spiritual light burst forth the desperate pleas of the spiritual essence. What was wrong with this human? It had only been a short time, yet he had already advanced to the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm.
The spiritual essence of the Dream Shadow Stone had been plotting within the Strange Heart Realm on how to sever the connection between Chen Fei and the Dream Shadow Stone. It had thought it had plenty of time because normal Mountain Sea Realm cultivators couldn’t enter due to the numerous Evil Kings around the Dream Shadow Stone. It believed it had enough time to accomplish its plans.
But how had this human managed it?
With a slight shift of thought, Chen Fei’s intent abruptly silenced the spiritual essence, and the spiritual light shattered instantly.
“Do I need your guidance in my cultivation?”