Chapter 403: Crushing

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Xing Xinzhao looked incredulously at Chen Fei. The sword intent from moments ago seemed to have collided with an impenetrable barrier, shattering instantly. Xing Xinzhao immediately felt the backlash.

But Chen Fei remained unfazed, as if this were not a clash of minds between peers, but rather like a spiritual battle between an advance Aperture Tempering realm practitioner and a peak-stage Aperture Tempering realm practitioner—utterly lopsided.

Xing Xinzhao’s pitiful state caused Sui Wengong, who stood by, to furrow his brow. Both were at the advance stage of Aperture Tempering realm cultivation. Xing Xinzhao had even broken through to this stage several years ahead of Chen Fei. There was no reason for him to be inferior in terms of spiritual power.

Chen Fei, the genius of the Primordial Sword Sect, continued to surprise Sui Wengong with his unexpected strength. This only fueled Sui Wengong’s growing intent to kill Chen Fei.

Such an aberration, now an enemy, would not be allowed to escape alive. Even if it meant they both perished, Chen Fei would fall right here.

Thankfully, the Primordial Sealing Mirror had already enveloped Chen Fei, and as long as the mirror remained intact, Chen Fei had no hope of escaping.

“Get information, attack!” Sui Wengong roared, taking the lead and charging toward Chen Fei. Meanwhile, He Yunrui and the others connected their elemental energy, exuding a chilling aura that covered the surroundings.

Several tens of meters away, Chen Fei looked somewhat surprised at the radiance surrounding him. At this moment, an immense force was relentlessly crushing him, attempting to reduce him to a pile of flesh.

However, whether it was the Aperture Tempering realm power of the advance or the enhanced physical strength granted by the Suppressing Dragon Elephant, both resisted the colossal force.

For an ordinary advance Aperture Tempering realm practitioner, being hit by the Primordial Sealing Mirror would not result in instant death, but their overall strength would undoubtedly be greatly affected. Even their agility, like their ability to employ martial arts, would be severely restricted, essentially rendering them useless.

Unless they possessed a top-grade spiritual weapon to repel the force of the Primordial Sealing Mirror, they would remain at the mercy of their opponent.

This was the power of a top-grade spiritual weapon. The Primordial Sword Sect’s Soul-Locking Tower had a similar function, and it was even more potent. After all, in its prime, the Soul-Locking Tower had been a peak-grade spiritual weapon.

However, due to multiple damages and spiritual degradation over the years, it had been reduced to a top-grade spiritual weapon. Nevertheless, the Soul-Locking Tower still possessed immense power, making it a prized tool for guarding the sect’s mountain gate.

Chen Fei raised his head to look at the charging Sui Wengong. The fine iron longbow he held in his left hand shattered into pieces and scattered on the ground. Without the support of Chen Fei’s elemental energy, the electromagnetic cannon he had used several times earlier had already taken a toll on the fine iron longbow.

“Clang!”

A sharp sword resonance echoed as the Qianyuan Sword leaped into Chen Fei’s hand from behind. Sword intent radiated from Chen Fei as the center, sweeping in all directions. The radiance binding the Primordial Sealing Mirror trembled continuously, as if it was trying to break free.

Sui Wengong’s eyelids twitched. When the Qianyuan Sword landed in Chen Fei’s hand, his aura underwent a significant change, sending a shiver down Sui Wengong’s spine.

He had only felt this way when Chen Fei had been charging up the electromagnetic cannon moments ago.

The Primordial Sword Sect didn’t have any remarkable archery techniques in its inheritance. Sui Wengong subconsciously believed that Chen Fei had acquired that archery technique from some fortuitous encounter outside. He thought that Chen Fei’s greatest strength lay in archery.

Now he realized that the situation seemed to have taken a new turn.

Even though Chen Fei had only been cultivating for a few years and had recently broken through to the advance stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, what gave him the right to possess such a variety of techniques?

Sui Wengong couldn’t believe it. With the Primordial Sealing Mirror suppressing Chen Fei and his disciples supporting him in formation, there was no way he could lose in this situation!

“Sword!”

Sui Wengong shouted sharply, and a surge of sword energy burst forth from his body. However, this sword energy didn’t target Chen Fei but instead followed the flow of the formation, heading towards the other elders of the Sword Return Tower.

The Sword Return Technique, the foundational martial art of the Sword Return Tower, might not be as impressive as the Primordial Sword Sect’s Primordial Sword Scripture, but it had its unique aspects.

The most prominent feature was its ability to gather the strength of multiple individuals, much like the formation on the Sword Return Tower’s main peak. In essence, the formation on the main peak was constructed based on the principles of the Sword Return Technique.

At this moment, the sword energy within Xing Xinzhao and the others linked together to form a ring. Almost instantly, the sword energy Sui Wengong had released a moment ago returned to him, but it was now several times more powerful than when he had initially unleashed it.

Sui Wengong’s sword blade danced in his hand. Although his sword energy had surged dramatically, he still wielded it as if it were his own power, effortlessly slashing towards Chen Fei.

With this tremendous increase in power and the ability to wield it with such mastery, this was genuinely his own strength. Only with such control could he unleash the full potential of this newfound power.

Despite only Sui Wengong standing before Chen Fei at this moment, Chen Fei inexplicably felt like he was being surrounded and attacked from all sides.

“Great swordsmanship!” Chen Fei murmured in admiration, his voice initially low, but within the blink of an eye, it roared like thunder.

The roar wasn’t just in his voice. Chen Fei’s body seemed to awaken like an ancient behemoth. Amidst the resonating dragon and elephant, a vast power shook the space around him. The immense force added by the Primordial Sealing Mirror was forcibly pushed back for the moment.

“Hum!”

On the Qianyuan Sword, a black radiance enveloped it, and the fourfold power of the Primordial Sword Scripture was entirely confined within the small sword body.

If the Primordial Sealing Mirror’s power had only been pushed aside a moment ago, now, as the power of the Qianyuan Sword erupted, the mirror’s radiance was torn open, leaving a massive gap.

Although the radiance still clung to Chen Fei, it could no longer restrain him because the power Chen Fei was displaying at this moment far exceeded what the Primordial Sealing Mirror could suppress.

Sui Wengong stared at Chen Fei, feeling the energy emanating from the Qianyuan Sword, his eyes involuntarily widening.

Although this strike wasn’t as extravagant as the arrow that had been shot at the Sword Return Tower’s main peak, reaching nearly the pinnacle of the Aperture Tempering realm stage, it came very close.

How could he unleash such an attack with ease, especially considering he had only recently broken through to the advance stage of Aperture Tempering realm?

It made sense to deliver a strike that surpassed one’s own power after accumulating energy for an extended period, as the Sword Return Technique could boost one’s attack power significantly through prolonged charging.

But this casual strike defied explanation.

“Ahh!”

Sui Wengong roared loudly, and his apertures began to rupture. However, it was too late. The two blades clashed as they were too close together.

“Boom!”

A ripple spread from the point of impact between the two swords, radiating outward. The ripple started small but, in the blink of an eye, turned into a surge of elemental energy that swept in all directions.

Sui Wengong’s muscles and bones groaned, and the longsword in his hand lasted only a moment before its sword energy was forcibly shattered and then rebounded by an overwhelming force.

Sui Wengong stared helplessly as the Qianyuan Sword drove straight in, and with all his might, he placed his spirit sword in front of his chest. In the next moment, the Qianyuan Sword pierced through.

“Clang!”

The spirit sword emitted a mournful sound as Sui Wengong heard the gruesome sounds of his flesh being crushed and his ribs breaking. He had no resistance left, and he was sent flying backward.

Amidst a haze of blood, Sui Wengong was forcibly embedded into the ground, completely powerless to move. He couldn’t even muster the strength to cough up blood.

Sui Wengong couldn’t see anything; all he saw was darkness. His heart beat a few more times, gradually slowing down. A strange smile appeared on his face, a mixture of self-derision and lament.

In an instant, Sui Wengong’s life force completely dissipated. A formidable practitioner at the advance stage of the Aperture Tempering realm had been utterly slain by Chen Fei with a single sword strike.

Although Sui Wengong was not considered exceptionally strong among those at the advance stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, the visual spectacle of his death left everyone who witnessed it in shock.

Xing Xinzhao and his companions, who had been following Sui Wengong, had intended to surround and attack Chen Fei. However, upon witnessing the scene before them, they involuntarily stopped in their tracks.

They stared in disbelief at what had just transpired. Sui Wengong, the strongest figure within the sect, had died just like that after the reinforcement of the formation.

“Run, run for your lives!” Xing Xinzhao shouted loudly, as his apertures ruptured and he burned all his vitality. In a brief moment, he restored his strength to the advance stage of the Aperture Tempering realm.

Last time, when his apertures ruptured, Xing Xinzhao had a chance to seek treatment. However, his current course of action left no room for survival, regardless of the final outcome.

“Destroying our Sword Return Tower’s legacy, you’ll get retribution!” Xing Xinzhao roared and charged toward Chen Fei.

He Yunrui and the others, now awakened from their daze, didn’t dare to hesitate any longer. They turned and fled into the dense forest. They knew they couldn’t contend with this level of power.

Their only hope was to run and perhaps find a slim chance of survival.

“Your greed for our Primordial legacy should not have led to such delusions!” Chen Fei looked at Xing Xinzhao calmly.

With a single reverse stroke of the Qianyuan Sword, a powerful force swept over Xing Xinzhao. Despite his desperate efforts, he couldn’t resist the vast difference in strength.

“Boom!”

Xing Xinzhao’s body was sent flying upwards, blood mist spreading in mid-air. In his eyes, there was a sense of unwillingness and a hint of regret. If he hadn’t thought about leaving the Primordial legacy behind, the Sword Return Tower wouldn’t have faced this calamity.

Fate is a cruel mistress.

Chen Fei turned his gaze towards the several individuals from the Sword Return Tower who were attempting to escape in different directions. With a simple gesture of his right hand, a fine iron longbow from a distance flew into his grasp.

Nocking an arrow and drawing the bowstring, amidst the electromagnetic roar, several lightning-fast arrows shot out, each heading in a different direction.

“Bang!”

Explosions resounded from a distance. Under the guidance of the Star Gazing Art, Chen Fei’s use of the electromagnetic cannon could be considered flawless. Even as the others constantly shifted and moved, Chen Fei had predicted their movements.

The inevitable outcome was self-evident.

Phantom images emerged from Chen Fei’s body, and one of the duplicates rushed into the dense forest to retrieve the belongings of those who had tried to escape. The most important items were the spiritual weapons, which would serve as valuable resources for Chen Fei’s cultivation.

Chen Fei approached Sui Wengong’s lifeless body and, with a simple gesture of his right hand, retrieved the Primordial Sealing Mirror. A profound sense of weightiness pierced through Chen Fei’s consciousness, containing an astonishing spiritual essence.

While not as formidable as the Locking Spirit Tower, compared to other high-grade spiritual weapons, the Primordial Sealing Mirror was more than impressive.

Fifteen minutes later, Chen Fei appeared inside the Sword Return Tower.

The Sword Return Tower was in utter chaos at this point. Many disciples had abandoned the sect and fled, while others were hiding.

Chen Fei paid no heed to them and made his way to the main peak of the Sword Return Tower. Yuan Nanyun, who had perished due to his attempt to withstand Chen Fei’s extreme electromagnetic cannon, lay lifeless.

Chen Fei retrieved Yuan Nanyun’s spiritual weapon, then with a wave of his right hand, he turned Yuan Nanyun into ashes.

Chen Fei’s figure flickered, and he walked into the main hall of the Sword

Return Tower..