Chapter 248: Can’t afford to offend

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Chen Fei arrived at the place where Lu Zhichun had disappeared. Most of the things had vanished with the impact from earlier, leaving only a damaged spiritual weapon and a slightly melted earth-rock crystal.

The earth-rock crystal was a supplementary material used in forging spiritual weapons, and its value was moderate. In the market, a piece of this size could be purchased for a few tens of thousands of silver.

Chen Fei picked up both items and focused his attention on the damaged spiritual weapon.

Its spiritual essence had nearly dissipated. If that were the only issue, with some time and assistance from spiritual materials, there was still hope to partially restore its power.

However, this spiritual weapon was not only lacking in spiritual essence but also covered in cracks. It was safe to say that this weapon was completely ruined.

To repair it was possible but would come at a cost that could easily forge several new spiritual weapons. It didn’t make economic sense.

“I wonder if the sect’s forge masters can extract anything useful from it when I return it to the sect’s treasure vault,” Chen Fei pondered, rubbing his chin.

He summoned a wooden box from his spatial grid, placed the damaged spiritual weapon and the earth-rock crystal inside, and then returned the box to his spatial grid.

Chen Fei inspected the area, making sure nothing was left behind. He noted the direction and, with a flicker of his figure, disappeared from the spot.

In the wilderness, Chen Fei’s figure stretched into a blur, appearing like a mesmerizing illusion to ordinary onlookers. His speed had increased again compared to before, thanks to the transformation of his power from technique to vital energy.

The same technique now had significantly enhanced power.

However, such speed was formidable in the Body Tempering realm but rather average within the Aperture Tempering realm. Even though Chen Fei had mastered the Soul Chasing Step to perfection, it had its limitations, preventing the full display of Aperture Tempering realm’s power.

This was a common dilemma for most wandering cultivators in the Aperture Tempering realm, as many of their cultivation methods were obtained by chance and were hard to purchase from others.

Chen Fei didn’t share this concern, as he could learn such techniques upon returning to his sect, specifically from the Soaring Heaven Technique. He also had an ambition to attempt repairing the Primordial Sword Canon.

The Primordial Sword Canon could open up to eighty meridians, making it a supreme technique compared to wandering cultivators.

No matter the cost, Chen Fei was willing to obtain it.

However, he wasn’t content with this; achieving the pinnacle of Aperture Tempering required opening all 108 meridians, not just eighty.

The Primordial Sword Canon was what made the Primordial Sword Sect renowned precisely because it could unlock all 108 meridians.

Earlier, Chen Fei didn’t have access to the sect’s secrets, but now, having reached the Aperture Tempering realm, he had the qualifications to explore these secrets.

As he contemplated this, Chen Fei’s steps didn’t pause. In a matter of moments, he arrived at the top of a hill.

From this vantage point, Chen Fei looked down at what seemed like a village obscured by mist. Faintly, he could see a group of people standing in the village, seemingly making eye contact with him.

Chen Fei blinked, and when he looked again, the villagers had turned their backs on him, refusing to acknowledge his presence.

He wondered if he was mistaken, but after a brief stare-down, the entire village was concealed by the mist once more, as if everything that had just happened was a figment of his imagination.

“The money in the panel is gone. Otherwise, why would I need to go in again?” Chen Fei thought to himself.

He had come here to confirm whether the Mi Village would disappear or not, and seeing this scene put his mind at ease. With enough silver, Chen Fei could solo the Mi Village, breaking through the mysterious domain that terrified other martial artists.

Unfortunately, due to simplifying the Aperture section of the Primordial Sword Canon, Chen Fei’s silver reserves on his character panel were running low. If he were to enter now, his fate probably wouldn’t be much better than Lu Zhichun and the others.

Of course, there was also the possibility that once Chen Fei entered, the village chief would immediately throw him out.

After all, the villagers didn’t know about his insufficient funds; they only knew that this martial artist was even more sinister than them.

Chen Fei glanced at Mi Village and, with a swift movement, ran towards Pingyin County.

Now that he had arrived here, Chen Fei wanted to take a distant look at Pingyin County. Back when that strange phenomenon swallowed the entire county, he had no idea what the situation was like there now.

In just a few moments, Chen Fei’s figure appeared about a mile outside Pingyin County. From here, he could clearly see the situation in the county.

Having broken through to the Aperture Tempering realm, Chen Fei didn’t rush too close to Pingyin County. After all, he couldn’t predict the strangeness inside the county and how it had evolved.

Standing on a rocky hill, Chen Fei closed his eyes to sense the atmosphere in Pingyin County from a distance. It was eerily cold, and his mental power felt like it was touching an abyss of ice.

“Is this strangeness already this powerful?”

Chen Fei opened his eyes, somewhat surprised. He didn’t know if the strangeness had been this strong from the beginning or if it had become more powerful after swallowing Pingyin County.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Fei decided not to approach further. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly saw the eastern gate of Pingyin County being shattered, and a figure stumbled out from inside.

In the middle of the east gate, there were faint figures trying to escape from inside Pingyin County. But with the surge of a chilling force, a powerful suction force erupted, dragging the figures back inside.

Faintly, Chen Fei heard cries for help and curses, but they quickly disappeared.

The chilling power transformed into several tentacles, shooting out like lightning, attempting to pull the person outside the gate back in. From a distance, Pingyin County seemed to come alive at this moment.

The eastern gate looked like a voracious giant mouth, devouring everything around it. Just a glance at those tentacles would likely cause an ordinary person to drop dead instantly.

Even Chen Fei could feel a chill contaminating his mental power. However, this slight contamination posed no real trouble for him at his current level; he quickly cleared it away.

“Disperse!”

Outside the eastern gate, Fang Ziqiu angrily shouted, forming hand seals. A formation instantly appeared in his hands and expanded to dozens of meters in size, blocking all of the tentacles.

“Crack, crack, crack…”

The formation and the tentacles collided, and the formation instantly froze, then shattered. But Fang Ziqiu had taken advantage of this moment to swiftly move, already a hundred meters away from Pingyin County.

By now, Pingyin County couldn’t drag Fang Ziqiu back inside. The eastern gate trembled for a moment, then slammed shut, and the entire county returned to its calm state.

It was as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.

Fang Ziqiu noticed that the strangeness inside Pingyin County hadn’t pursued him. He breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t dare to linger in the same spot. He continued running forward.

However, halfway through, Fang Ziqiu suddenly stopped and looked at Chen Fei ahead of him, his expression filled with caution.

Fang Ziqiu was heavily injured, and even though Chen Fei didn’t appear hostile, Fang Ziqiu couldn’t afford to be careless.

He remained wary, gave Chen Fei a few glances, then swiftly headed in another direction.

Chen Fei had wanted to inquire about some things, but seeing Fang Ziqiu’s demeanor, he knew that the other party wouldn’t answer his questions.

Engaging in an unnecessary battle without any grievances between them was not something Chen Fei wanted, especially considering that Fang Ziqiu’s cultivation was clearly in the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, far superior to the early stage.

Watching Fang Ziqiu depart and then looking at Pingyin County, Chen Fei’s gaze had changed.

Forcing someone at the mid-stage of the Aperture Tempering realm to flee in such a panic indicated that the danger level of Pingyin County’s strangeness was much worse than he had imagined. Moreover, Chen Fei had seen other figures inside the eastern gate of Pingyin County just now.

“I can’t afford to provoke this!”

Chen Fei thought to himself. He took one last look at Pingyin County, then swiftly moved away, heading toward the location of Apricot Fen City. Chen Fei planned to rest there for a day before returning to the Primordial Sword Sect.

At this moment, several figures were fleeing urgently from a place about a dozen miles outside Apricot Fen City, as if a raging flood was chasing them. “Bang!”

Chu Lan stumbled and fell to the ground, her hands instantly covered in blood. She didn’t utter a word and quickly got back up, but after a moment, she staggered again. Her right foot had swollen up.

Chu Wennian held Chu Lan’s back and continued running forward, but after just a few steps, Chu Wennian was gasping for breath. The wound on his chest had reopened, staining his clothes with fresh blood.

“Grandfather, I can walk on my own.”

Chu Lan felt her grandfather’s injuries and her eyes instantly turned red as she sobbed softly.

“I’m fine!”

Chu Wennian gritted his teeth and said. The pursuers were still behind them, and Chu Wennian couldn’t afford to delay.

“Take this.”

Ruan Qiaojun quickly took out a pill from her pocket and handed it to Chu Wennian. He took it instinctively, and a medicinal fragrance wafted to his nose. It seemed like his wounds were rapidly improving.

After a moment of hesitation, and considering the current situation, Chu Wennian tilted his head back and swallowed the pill.

A warm current spread through him, and Chu Wennian noticed that the itching sensation at his chest, where the wound was, began to subside. The bleeding also stopped.

Chu Wennian felt a pang of regret. Such a valuable pill shouldn’t have been used on him; it was a waste.

Chu Lan felt her grandfather’s injuries were getting better, and her anxious expression eased slightly. But when she thought about the people chasing them from behind, her expression once again became troubled.

“Grandfather, where should we go now?” Chu Lan asked in a low voice.

“Back to Apricot Fen City. It’s crowded there, and we can conceal our aura. Hopefully, we can delay those people for a few days,” Ruan Qiaojun said in a solemn tone..

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