Chapter 398: Cutting Through Thorns

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

At this moment, Qu Qingsheng began to doubt if he had fallen into some kind of illusion.

Wasn’t Chen Fei just in the middle stage of the Aperture Tempering realm a few months ago? How come he’s already in the advanced stage of the Aperture Tempering realm now? Qu Qingsheng understood that some cultivators progressed rapidly, but this seemed too exaggerated.

The path of martial arts was inherently unfair. Some people seemed born to walk this path, while others didn’t even qualify to step through the door.

But was Chen Fei’s cultivation speed too extreme?

“My comprehension of martial techniques is a bit faster. As long as I have enough resources, I can advance quickly,” Chen Fei explained, looking at Qu Qingsheng’s expression.

A bit faster? Qu Qingsheng really wanted to say this, but considering his own identity, he swallowed the words forcefully. As the Sect Master, he needed to maintain some decorum.

“The Sword Return Tower also has advanced Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, not to mention their defensive formations. It’s difficult to breach their defenses,” Qu Qingsheng pondered for a moment and said solemnly.

A sect always dedicated significant effort to protect its sect grounds. It was akin to the dynamics of attacking and defending a city. Without overwhelming strength, the losses could be devastating.

The same applied when attacking other sects. If your strength was insufficient, you could easily be bogged down, and the outcome would become uncertain.

With Chen Fei, the Primordial Sword Sect now had a total of three advanced Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, making them quite formidable in the vicinity of Immortal Cloud City. However, Zhou Zixuan’s lifespan was coming to an end, and his strength had greatly declined.

The three of them launching an attack on the Sword Return Tower, with Zhou Zixuan’s aggressive temperament, could potentially lead to self-destruction if they made even a slight mistake.

As the Sect Master of the Primordial Sword Sect, Qu Qingsheng hoped more than anyone else for the downfall of the Sword Return Tower. After all, their inherited martial techniques were in the hands of others, and this situation was unacceptable.

However, when their strength was still lacking, Qu Qingsheng leaned towards caution. Given the current unstable situation in the world, every advanced Aperture Tempering realm martial force was extremely precious to the sect.

Provoking the Sword Return Tower might be tempting, but the survival of the sect should take precedence.

Just like the situation with the Big Dipper Tower earlier, despite establishing the sect for so many years, it had now crumbled, leaving only a few disciples. It was a sight that deeply troubled Qu Qingsheng.

Whenever he thought about this, his mindset became extremely rational. In the current situation, the main focus should be on safeguarding the sect, with other matters taking a back seat.

“Master, for this mission, I can go alone,” Chen Fei said, observing Qu Qingsheng’s expression and understanding his concerns.

Chen Fei had just broken through, and coming to display his strength in front of Qu Qingsheng was to give him confidence. In his heart, Chen Fei had a deep attachment to the Primordial Sword Sect, and he hoped it would continue to thrive and become even more glorious in the future.

That’s why he had kept his progress secret from others but had not hidden it from Qu Qingsheng. He didn’t want to regret neglecting Chen Fei when the sect needed his strength the most.

However, Chen Fei had never considered having Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixuan accompany him to the Sword Return Tower on this mission. With the rapidly changing situation, if another crisis like the Ghastly Puppet were to arise, it would be unthinkable for the sect to be without an advanced Aperture Tempering realm cultivator to oversee things.

During such times, it was imperative for the Primordial Sword Sect to have an advanced Aperture Tempering realm presence within the sect, and they couldn’t afford to leave easily.

“You alone? No, it’s too dangerous!” Qu Qingsheng decisively shook his head in refusal upon hearing Chen Fei’s proposal.

In such a short time, Chen Fei had elevated his cultivation to the advanced stage of the Aperture Tempering realm. With only the Primordial Sword Body left to attain, Chen Fei had a very high chance of breaking through to the pinnacle of the Aperture Tempering realm in the near future. Moreover, Qu Qingsheng harbored another hope in his heart: what would happen if Chen Fei broke through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm? That would be an extraordinary scenario.

In Qu Qingsheng’s lifetime, he wished to see the Primordial Sword Sect return to its former glory. He had managed the sect for so many years, always striving for the advancement of the sect, but his own limited talent had kept the Primordial Sword Sect from truly flourishing.

Now, Qu Qingsheng saw in Chen Fei the opportunity for the sect to reach its peak. In such circumstances, how could Qu Qingsheng possibly allow Chen Fei to take such a risk alone?

“Clang!”

The Qianyuan Sword landed in Chen Fei’s hand, emitting a clear clang. Qu Qingsheng looked at Chen Fei with some confusion and then noticed a hint of the Qianyuan Sword’s aura transforming into the Zhongyuan Sword.

The sword’s aura was thick and heavy, and as Chen Fei displayed the atmosphere of the Zhongyuan Sword, it seemed as if it could completely crush a person with no room for reversal.

Qu Qingsheng himself had specialized in the Zhongyuan Sword in the past, so he immediately recognized that Chen Fei’s Zhongyuan Sword had reached the pinnacle, matching his own mastery.

But that alone was far from enough.

Just as Qu Qingsheng was about to speak, he suddenly saw a slight change in the aura on the Qianyuan Sword. A tremendous and overpowering force spread in all directions. Building upon the foundation of the Zhongyuan Sword, it resembled the collapse of heaven itself, making it feel as if one were facing an apocalyptic scenario.

The Giant Spirit Sword!

As the Sect Master of the Primordial Sword Sect, Qu Qingsheng was naturally familiar with the Giant Spirit Sword because Zhou Zixuan cultivated it, and he was the only one within the sect who had mastered the Giant Spirit Sword to its pinnacle.

Zhou Zixuan had even hoped to forge his own path with the Giant Spirit Sword, but unfortunately, time did not allow, and his talent fell a bit short. He had not succeeded in this endeavor.

Now, the combination of the Zhongyuan Sword and the Giant Spirit Sword on the Qianyuan Sword was astonishing.

Qu Qingsheng looked at Chen Fei in amazement. Chen Fei had claimed to have a faster comprehension of martial techniques, and this was indeed quite fast. Qu Qingsheng had not even brought the Giant Spirit Sword to this level, and yet Chen Fei had already fused it.

Back when Qu Qingsheng needed proficiency in martial techniques like Chen Fei’s, he couldn’t have imagined Sword Return Tower’s Xing Xinzhao escaping from the dense forest.

The Primordial Sword Scripture, after the fusion of martial techniques, had a much greater power than the average Aperture Tempering realm martial technique, making it superior in terms of offense.

This was precisely why the difficulty of cultivation was relatively high. The founder of the Primordial Sword Sect had divided the Primordial Sword Scripture into seven sections to facilitate disciples’ learning. With a sufficiently high talent, one could attempt to fuse the seven sections and achieve the pinnacle of the Aperture Tempering realm.

If one truly achieved the pinnacle of the Aperture Tempering realm with the Primordial Sword Scripture, they would be an immensely powerful presence within that level, greatly aiding in their subsequent breakthrough to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

“If it were a one-on-one situation, your level of cultivation would indeed be sufficient. However, it’s difficult to lure them out like this. They won’t stray too far from their sect,” Qu Qingsheng patiently advised. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he noticed another change in the aura of the Qianyuan Sword in Chen Fei’s hand.

This time, a slightly more spirited aura infused into the Qianyuan Sword, causing the deep black sword energy on the Qianyuan Sword to begin circulating. This rapid transformation added another layer to the sword energy’s momentum.

Soaring Heaven Technique!

Equally, the Soaring Heaven Technique technique had reached its pinnacle state, and it was evident that Chen Fei had already mastered the third level of the Primordial Sword Scripture to be able to integrate Soaring Heaven Technique so seamlessly.

Three martial techniques, three pinnacles, and the Primordial Sword Scripture had reached the pinnacle of its third level.

Qu Qingsheng suddenly didn’t know what to say. He had been amazed by Chen Fei’s breakthrough to the advanced stage of the Aperture Tempering realm earlier, but now, seeing the progress in mastering these martial techniques, it seemed almost inevitable that Chen Fei would reach this stage. As Chen Fei had said, with sufficient resources, one could indeed forcibly elevate their cultivation to this level.

“I think we should reconsider…”

“Sizzle!”

Electric sparks danced on the Qianyuan Sword, and while the initial sound was quite soft, in the blink of an eye, it resembled the roar of thunder, echoing throughout the main hall.

Qu Qingsheng watched the thunder on the Qianyuan Sword, his expression somewhat trance-like. It wasn’t just because of Chen Fei’s awe-inspiring aura at this moment but also because of the Great Thunder Sword.

How many years had it been? It had been many years since anyone in the sect had mastered the Great Thunder Sword.

Although he knew that one day he might hear the roar of the Great Thunder Sword after successfully recovering its martial technique, Qu Qingsheng had never expected it to come so soon.

Suddenly, Qu Qingsheng snapped out of his thoughts amidst the roar of the Great Thunder Sword. Was Chen Fei’s mastery of the Great Thunder Sword also at its pinnacle? Hadn’t it been less than a year since the Great Thunder Sword’s martial technique had been recovered?

With mastery of all four martial techniques at their pinnacles and the perfect fusion with the Primordial Sword Scripture, along with advanced Aperture Tempering realm cultivation, this level of power wasn’t just about being the number one in the Primordial Sword Sect. Most advanced Aperture Tempering realm cultivators would likely not be a match for Chen Fei.

As mentioned earlier, the Primordial Sword Scripture’s offensive power far surpassed martial techniques of the same level. While the Sword Return Tower’s martial techniques were decent, they were undoubtedly inferior to the Primordial Sword Scripture.

Xing Xinzhao and the others could never rapidly master various martial techniques to their pinnacles as Chen Fei had shown. With the combat strength he was displaying now, it was indeed possible for him to conquer the Sword Return Tower. Even if unforeseen circumstances arose and he couldn’t conquer it, Chen Fei would undoubtedly be able to leave without being stopped by the Sword Return Tower.

In other words, Chen Fei’s journey to the Sword Return Tower didn’t pose a life-threatening risk.

Qu Qingsheng’s expression was somewhat distant. Just a few years ago, Chen Fei had clearly been in the Body Tempering realm, and now he had grown to this extent. There was a sense of satisfaction knowing that the sect had produced a genius like Chen Fei, and there was also a strange sense of loneliness.

The satisfaction came from having a prodigy like Chen Fei in the sect, who would undoubtedly lead the Primordial Sword Sect to greater heights in the future. The loneliness, on the other hand, stemmed from the fact that the Primordial Sword Sect would no longer solely rely on Qu Qingsheng.

Now, within the sect, there was someone even more formidable who stood at the forefront of the Primordial Sword Sect, shielding it from the storm and overcoming obstacles.

“Then take care of yourself, and don’t be careless,” Qu Qingsheng said, looking at the aura emanating from the Qianyuan Sword. There was indeed nothing to worry about now, but he still gave a word of caution.

“I understand.” Chen Fei retracted the sword energy from the Qianyuan Sword, and a smile appeared on his face.

After returning to the Primordial Sword Sect, Chen Fei rested for two days, mainly to exchange some of the remaining elemental stones for elixirs that he could use for cultivation when needed.

However, the quantity of elixirs was not large; there were only a few. Breaking through to the advanced stage of the Aperture Tempering realm and forcefully opening a cultivation aperture had consumed a significant amount of resources.

Almost all of the resources he had recently obtained had been used up. Only a small amount remained, which would not be enough for several days of cultivation..