Chapter 367 - Chapter 367: Arch Enemy
Chapter 367: Arch Enemy
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
It was supposed to be the doppelganger coming to investigate, but unknowingly, Chen Fei’s true self arrived at the city gate. The concepts of doppelganger and true self had been forcibly mixed up.
Chen Fei’s figure flickered, and he rushed toward the distance. This perfectly normal city had suddenly turned into a bizarre one.
Chen Fei remembered passing by Shang Wu City not long ago, and it was completely normal at that time. However, in this short span, all the people in the city had vanished without a trace.
Even Chen Fei’s consciousness, at the mid-stage of the Aperture tempering realm, had been silently guided to the city gate. If it weren’t for the timely roar of the Dragon Elephant, Chen Fei would have already stepped into Shang Wu City.
Chen Fei was like this, and for those below the late Aperture tempering realm, encountering such a situation would likely result in death. If two came, it might mean the death of a pair.
Chen Fei had experienced numerous bizarre cities and gained some benefits from them, but that didn’t mean he could disregard all bizarre cities. Some of them weren’t rule-based but were instead the forcibly suppressing type.
Encountering such forcefully suppressing bizarre cities, even with his protective measures, Chen Fei might find himself completely baffled.
Chen Fei transformed into a shadow, but just a few steps, and his expression subtly changed. With Chen Fei’s current speed, in just a few steps, he should have covered several miles in distance.
However, now Chen Fei found that he hadn’t distanced himself from Shang Wu City, instead, he was getting closer and closer. The scorching sun in the sky was no longer visible, and the enormous shadow cast by Shang Wu City completely enveloped Chen Fei.
An extreme sense of palpitation exploded in Chen Fei’s heart, and as if barely perceptible, he sensed the aura of an Aperture tempering realm expert within Shang Wu City.
Comparing the aura of Aperture tempering realm in Shang Wu City to someone like Tong Zhongqiu from the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, although both emanated turbulent and intimidating auras, the one in Shang Wu City felt even colder. It was so chilling that it didn’t resemble the aura one would expect from a living being.
“Roar!”
Within Chen Fei’s body, a tremendous roar of the Dragon Elephant erupted. All his core soul energy within his sea of consciousness was poured unreservedly into the Godslayer Sword. The once somewhat illusory Godslayer Sword suddenly radiated with a brilliant light.
The Mirror Image Godslayer Sword typically used core soul energy to create shadow images, with moderate power and no backlash on Chen Fei himself. Later, when the Slaughter Spirit Technique was added, its power increased significantly, but it still hadn’t reached a tremendously potent level.
Now, as Chen Fei’s core soul energy was truly infused, the power of the Godslayer Sword began to manifest fully, with its sharpness enveloping its surroundings.
In the next moment, a sword shadow flashed from Chen Fei’s forehead, slashing into the void ahead.
No matter how fast they ran, it was apparent that Chen Fei’s perception had been completely blinded. Seemingly running ahead, they might actually be going in circles or even heading towards Shang Wu City.
In such a situation, any exploration was futile, and the longer they delayed, the greater the danger.
“Crack!”
As the Godslayer Sword passed through, a sound of shattering came from the void, as if a black cloth obscuring his vision had been torn apart. Chen Fei suddenly saw the true appearance of his surroundings.
He didn’t know when, but he was already standing directly beneath the city gate. Just a few more steps, and he would have completely entered Shang Wu City.
Moments ago, Chen Fei was sure he had dozens of meters left to the city gate.
The Soaring Heaven Technique activated, and Chen Fei disappeared from his original spot, desperately running towards a distant location.
“Cultivation techniques, spiritual elixirs, and precious artifacts, young one, don’t you want them?”
A voice softly resonated in Chen Fei’s ears, and in a moment of bewilderment, he saw a figure appearing in front of him. With benevolent features and a countenance resembling an enlightened sage, the person was smiling at Chen Fei.
“Master Xi Lian?”
Chen Fei was filled with astonishment, and various thoughts raced through his mind. He initially believed that Shang Wu City had been invaded by some powerful and bizarre force.
Now, witnessing this scene, could it be that something happened to Master Xi Lian’s abode? Or perhaps, the long-deceased Master Xi Lian himself had issues!
Slash!
Within Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness, the Godslayer Sword emitted a radiant glow. In the next instant, its sword intent soared into the heavens, tearing apart the illusion before his eyes.
“Pfft!”
A mouthful of blood involuntarily spewed from Chen Fei’s mouth, and his head felt as if it had been struck with a heavy hammer, causing chaos in his sea of consciousness. Although the sword strike had been highly effective, it also caused a backlash on Chen Fei’s core soul energy.
Fortunately, with the operation of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant Technique and the inherent resilience of the Thousand Thread Technique, this backlash was quickly suppressed.
“Hmm!”
In the wake of Chen Fei’s recent sword strike, it seemed as if Shang Wu City had been awakened, and a terrifying pressure was directed at Chen Fei. It was as if Shang Wu City had only just become aware of Chen Fei.
All the events that had just unfolded were merely instinctual reactions from Shang Wu City.
Under this shocking pressure, Chen Fei’s elemental energy nearly stagnated, as if in an instant, he had been reduced to an ordinary mortal.
“Boom!”
Chen Fei’s right foot struck the ground, emitting a muffled sound. Although his elemental energy was nearly sealed, his physical strength remained formidable. With this kick, Chen Fei’s figure turned into an afterimage, disappearing within the boundaries of Shang Wu City.
A quarter of an hour later, after running for dozens of miles and confirming that nothing was pursuing him, Chen Fei gradually came to a halt.
He looked back in the direction of Shang Wu City, but now, the city was no longer visible, and the spine-chilling aura had vanished as well.
Chen Fei couldn’t help but release a sigh of relief, accompanied by a hint of fear.
He had come dangerously close to being dragged into Shang Wu City. Had his reaction been even slightly delayed, the outcome would have been entirely different.
Thinking back to the illusion he had witnessed earlier, Chen Fei’s brows furrowed.
The lifespan of a Combined aperture tempering realm cultivator was limited to three hundred years, with very few exceptions. Even in cases where exceptions existed, the additional lifespan gained was not substantial. As for the extremely potent natural treasures, they were rare and hard to come by.
Master Xi Lian had passed away over a hundred years ago, and his cultivation had not advanced further. It was impossible for him to extend his life for such an extended period. Unless Master Xi Lian had resorted to dark arts to transform himself into something eerie?
Chen Fei suddenly recalled what was recorded in the ancient texts: one by one, Master Xi Lian’s followers inexplicably disappeared, and as time went on, there were very few left.
At the time, many people were puzzled and perplexed. Now, thinking about it this way, could it be that those followers were directly assimilated by Master Xi Lian?
The thought of such a scenario sent shivers down Chen Fei’s spine. To be forcibly assimilated by someone, the pain was beyond imagination, a torture where one couldn’t even seek survival or death.
Moreover, those followers held deep reverence and trust for Master Xi Lian. The result was that the person they admired and trusted the most forcibly assimilated them.
This dual torment of the physical and mental realms was truly inhumane.
“A Combined aperture tempering realm cultivator turned into an eerie being…”
Chen Fei furrowed his brows tightly. He needed to report this information back to the Immortal Cloud City. Chen Fei had read in an ancient text that such beings, who transformed themselves into eerie entities, were universally condemned by all cultivators.
Other eerie beings could grow rapidly by consuming the life force of cultivators, but even without such consumption, they could slowly grow by absorbing the natural energy of the world.
However, those who had turned themselves into eerie beings needed to constantly consume various blood sources because they required human intelligence to maintain their own intelligence.
Without such supplementation, their intelligence would be quickly consumed, and they would ultimately become a type of eerie being without intelligence.
Eerie beings were the natural enemies of humanity, and these self-transformed eerie beings were even worse, as they specialized in consuming humans, especially cultivators, relentlessly without pause.
Chen Fei’s figure flickered as he activated the Soaring Heaven Technique to its utmost limit, heading in the direction of Immortal Cloud City.
Dealing with this kind of Combined aperture tempering realm person turned eerie being was beyond Chen Fei’s capabilities. Even approaching them slightly could lead to being completely devoured.
Fortunately, the anomaly in Shang Wu City had only occurred recently, allowing Chen Fei to escape. If he had arrived ten days or half a month later, he wouldn’t have been able to escape the situation he had just encountered.
By then, Master Xi Lian would have likely completely assimilated Shang Wu City, regained his consciousness, and someone like Chen Fei, who had slipped through the net, wouldn’t have had a chance to leave alive.
In less than half a day, Chen Fei didn’t take any breaks and finally saw Immortal Cloud City from a distance.
Chen Fei didn’t enter the city; instead, he headed straight for the mountain gate of the Primordial Sword Sect. Only through the Primordial Sword Sect could this matter be conveyed to the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.
Without stopping along the way, Chen Fei arrived at the sect’s main hall, where he happened to see the sect leader, Qu Qingsheng, and the elder Zhou Zixuan discussing matters. When they saw Chen Fei, both of them stopped their conversation.
“Just returned? Is there something urgent?” Qu Qingsheng noticed Chen Fei’s hurried appearance and asked with curiosity.
“Reporting to the sect leader, there is an eerie being in Shang Wu City, a Combined aperture tempering realm eerie being!” Chen Fei looked at Qu Qingsheng and said solemnly.
“A Combined aperture tempering realm eerie being?” Zhou Zixuan, who had been smiling before, suddenly exclaimed.
For a cultivator to transform themselves into an eerie being was an extremely difficult, nearly impossible task. After all, the vitality and chill of an eerie being were completely incompatible with a cultivator’s life force.
Those who attempted to transform themselves into eerie beings ultimately ended up as simple eerie beings without any intelligence, bearing no resemblance to human eerie beings.
After all, in that extremely chilling state, one’s intelligence couldn’t possibly remain intact.
The higher one’s cultivation level, the lower the likelihood of such a transformation.
A Combined aperture tempering realm eerie being was simply inconceivable, and there was no possibility of success whatsoever. This was precisely why Zhou Zixuan was so surprised when he heard Chen Fei’s words.
“Tell me all the details of what you know,” Qu Qingsheng said, his smile fading as well. If the situation was indeed as Chen Fei described it, then it was going to be a big problem.
Chen Fei briefly recounted what he knew, leaving out the part about the Yashan Army and focusing on Master Xi Lian’s cave and his encounter in Shang Wu City.
“You all stay here; I’ll pay a visit to the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.”
Qu Qingsheng furrowed his brows after hearing Chen Fei’s account. Eerie beings were public enemies, and a Combined aperture tempering realm eerie being was astounding news. However, considering the distance between Shang Wu City and the Immortal Cloud City, would the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect even care?
Each sect tended to its own affairs and rarely interfered in the business of others..