Chapter 470: Boiling

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The gentle breeze blew, causing ripples on the calm sea surface. Suddenly, a figure appeared silently from above, casting a high and scrutinizing gaze around.

“Quite perceptive, and you’ve deliberately moved this far away. It seems you’ve gained something valuable.”

Guan Hongxuan stood with his hands behind his back, and a Night-Luminescent Pearl floated in front of him. Faint ripples spread outward with the rise and fall of the Night-Luminescent Pearl.

The Haiyue Cave Trials was a grand event, a gathering of Aperture Tempering realm martial artists. The treasures obtained within the cave were rare and seldom seen by most people.

Some of them even had practical uses for those in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

With benefits come competition, and with competition comes conflict. Hence, powerful sects would dispatch people to protect their disciples.

Naturally, no one would dare to scheme against those with strong backgrounds. However, not everyone among the participants had influential connections.

These individuals became the prey of opportunists, like wolves and tigers watching for a chance.

Normally, what Aperture Tempering realm cultivators held in their hands wouldn’t catch the eye of those in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. But the treasures within Haiyue Cave were different.

Compared to struggling to secure resources from elsewhere, taking them from Aperture Tempering realm martial artists was much easier.

Haiyue Cave provided the right of teleportation to the participants, and over the years, many had become aware of it. Hence, there were some Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts lurking within a hundred-mile radius of Haiyue Cave, waiting for an opportunity.

One person guards a specific area, and whoever encounters it first claims it. This has almost become an unwritten rule, a hidden rule of hunting.

Because the area is vast, it’s not every time that one can hunt down another. However, for these Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, it’s just a waste of some time, with no real loss.

If successful, it means a significant catch.

Guan Hongxuan sensed some faint movements in his designated area, so he rushed over. He hadn’t expected the other person to be so sharp, as they had already disappeared without a trace.

However, Guan Hongxuan didn’t get angry. Instead, a slight smile appeared on his face. Since he had already been sensed, how could he let go of this almost within reach opportunity?

Guan Hongxuan extended his right hand and lightly touched the Night-Luminescent Pearl in front of him. In an instant, the Night-Luminescent Pearl emitted a brilliant light, encompassing everything within a hundred meters.

“Hmm, the presence has vanished!”

Guan Hongxuan furrowed his brows slightly. Under the illumination of the Night-Luminescent Pearl, every detail on the surface of the sea became vivid in his eyes, but the presence of the person from earlier seemed to have disappeared.

The Night-Luminescent Pearl grew brighter, like a moon in the night sky, yet the source of that person’s presence on the sea remained elusive. It was as if Guan Hongxuan’s earlier perception of the situation was nothing but an illusion.

“Fascinating, such a profound concealment technique!”

Guan Hongxuan formed hand seals with both hands, and then his right hand made a horizontal sword gesture in front of his eyes.

Tracking a person’s presence is the simplest and most effective method, as one’s presence is unique and cannot be confused with others. Using other methods would introduce too many variables and, as one progresses, there would be more interference.

Backtrack Vision!

This allows one to briefly present what has happened earlier.

In Guan Hongxuan’s eyes at this moment, he saw a faint figure appearing below, then leaping into the sea, disappearing without a trace.

“Now, let’s see how you escape!”

Guan Hongxuan’s figure moved slightly, disappearing from his original location like a fleeting mirage. When he reappeared, he was already deep within the sea.

Meanwhile, tens of miles away, Chen Fei was speeding through the water. With the Water-Jade Sword, Chen Fei had a good command of water, so even in the sea, his speed was only slightly slower than on the surface.

Suddenly, Chen Fei’s brows furrowed slightly. With the Star gazing Art at his disposal, his perception was much stronger than that of Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, possibly even comparable to some Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts.

Therefore, in Chen Fei’s perception, there was a mighty presence following the direction he had just run from, heading towards him.

In such a unique situation, and considering it was Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the only thing Chen Fei could think of was a potential conflict involving murder and treasure.

Such incidents were all too common in this world; anyone might take extreme risks if there were sufficient benefits involved. Moreover, from the perspective of Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, there was practically no danger in such situations.

With Combined Aperture Tempering realm strength facing Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, it was almost a one-sided crushing result. Even if the Aperture Tempering realm cultivator was at the peak of their cultivation, the outcome would remain the same.

“The presence has been eradicated, so how did the other person manage to pursue me?”

Chen Fei looked at the surrounding schools of fish, his expression slightly shifting. He rushed towards areas with more fish. Regardless of how the other person had pursued him, the more distorted the information, the more challenging it would be to track him down.

In this deep sea, there was a scarcity of many things, but fish were not one of them.

Wherever the fish were abundant, Chen Fei ran in that direction. While his speed had slowed down, the interference of information had undoubtedly increased manyfold.

Chen Fei wanted to see if, in this situation, he could slightly delay the pursuer’s progress. If this had no effect, he would have to resort to another method.

In less than a moment, a figure appeared at Chen Fei’s previous location, and it was none other than Guan Hongxuan, who had been chasing him.

However, at this moment, Guan Hongxuan frowned. In his field of vision, the figure of the person was now mixed in with countless schools of fish.

The Backtrack Vision was extraordinary, but it had its limitations. The simpler the information, the better the Backtrack Vision’s tracking effect. Guan Hongxuan had initially thought that the person, after evading for a distance, would return to the surface of the sea.

There would be almost no other extraneous interference on the sea surface, making it impossible for the target to hide from the Backtrack Vision. However, Guan Hongxuan hadn’t expected the person to be so cautious.

After escaping for several tens of miles, the person had continued to dive beneath the sea surface.

The key issue was that it seemed like the other person could sense being pursued. This couldn’t be explained simply by having a sharp intuition; there must be a special technique or art involved for this level of awareness.

“You can’t escape!”

Guan Hongxuan squinted his eyes slightly, and the lines swirling in his pupils accelerated, filtering out the surrounding distractions and focusing entirely on the representation of the person’s presence.

Running the Backtrack Vision at its limit like this indeed enhanced its effectiveness, but compared to earlier, it was still slightly slower.

After all, the interferences in the seawater were objective and couldn’t be completely eliminated.

Guan Hongxuan’s figure flickered, disappearing from his original location. He wanted to see how an Aperture Tempering realm cultivator could evade direct pursuit.

Several tens of miles away, Chen Fei sensed that the pursuer from behind was slowing down, giving him some relief. However, the pursuer was still sticking close.

Clearly, the other person had no intention of giving up on Chen Fei and seemed determined to chase him down relentlessly. Of course, from the other person’s perspective, it was Chen Fei who was ultimately doomed.

“Combined Aperture Tempering realm!”

Chen Fei’s expression became serious. At this moment, he had a choice: to run into the nearby city, seek refuge in a secluded place, and rely on the forces within the city to confront the Combined Aperture Tempering realm pursuer from behind.

However, there was a significant issue to consider. Would the city’s powers, in order to curry favor with a Combined Aperture Tempering realm expert, be willing to abandon Chen Fei?

It was a possibility, given the vast difference in value between Aperture Tempering realm and Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators.

The crucial point was that Chen Fei had no significant background, being just a Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, and there would be little psychological burden in abandoning him.

The nearest city to Chen Fei at this moment was the Sea Snail City. The city wasn’t large, and the strongest individual within it was at the early stages of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. Chen Fei could reach it at his current speed in about an hour.

In an hour, after realizing Chen Fei’s intentions, what choice would the Combined Aperture Tempering realm pursuer behind him make?

Would they give up or accelerate their pursuit?

An hour was a long time, and if the Combined Aperture Tempering realm pursuer continued to chase relentlessly, it was uncertain what might happen.

Chen Fei furrowed his brows, lowering his gaze to his left hand, where the Sea Blossom Flower appeared in his palm.

There was another option, and that was to directly break through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

However, breaking through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was something that any martial artist would approach with extreme caution. It involved adjusting one’s state to its peak, finding a secluded place with no interruptions, and seizing the opportunity to break through.

Even someone like Zuo Tianying, a prodigy, would treat the process with great care. After all, breaking through carried the risk of lifelong regrets if a misstep occurred.

To attempt a direct breakthrough to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm during an escape was indeed an extremely daring choice, one that few Aperture Tempering realm cultivators would consider. However, now, this seemingly insane choice lay before Chen Fei.

Chen Fei’s eyes squinted slightly. Going to Sea Snail City was an option, but it meant placing his fate in the hands of others, with too many variables at play.

Alternatively, he could take the Sea Blossom Flower right now and attempt to break through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

For most Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, the latter option was a desperate gamble, often considered a near-suicidal act due to its perceived madness. But for Chen Fei, his physical body had already reached the threshold of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm; it was only his mental power that lagged behind.

The 108 acupoints in Chen Fei’s body had gathered around the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point after his physical body had reached the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. He was just one step away from directly entering the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, which required breaking the mental power limit.

Breaking the mental power limit was, of course, extremely risky and considered the most dangerous aspect of attempting a Combined Aperture Tempering realm breakthrough. A slight mistake could lead to failure.

However, within Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness, the presence of the Spirit Suppression of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique had minimized this risk to the lowest possible level.

Chen Fei looked at the Sea Blossom Flower, then turned to sense the Combined Aperture Tempering realm pursuer relentlessly closing in behind him. As the pursuer continued to adjust, their speed gradually increased.

Countless thoughts raced through Chen Fei’s mind, and a trace of determination flickered in his eyes.

Murder and treasure?

A shadow clone emerged to slow down and distract the pursuer while continuing to charge ahead.

Chen Fei’s main body trembled slightly, and the Sea Blossom Flower floated to his mouth, swallowed with a single gulp.

“Boom!”

It was as if a resonant sound echoed in his soul, causing Chen Fei’s once calm mental power to boil over completely..