Chapter 471: Breaking Through to the Combined Aperture

Tempering realm

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The path of martial arts, with each step upward, represents a transformation of oneself and a struggle against fate.

In the Aperture Tempering realm, life expectancy is limited to two hundred years. In the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, it extends to three hundred.

However, in the Boundless Sea, many practitioners in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm often surpass this limit in terms of their actual lifespan.

Apart from certain cultivation techniques that can indeed promote longevity, most of this can be attributed to the influence of rare natural treasures.

In the early days of Immortal Cloud City, these life-extending spiritual materials were exceedingly rare, almost unseen. But within the Boundless Sea, thanks to the abundant essence of heaven and earth, these treasures could be found in certain special environments.

Not to mention other areas of the Boundless Sea, even within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, many powerful sects in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm have lifespans that exceed the three-hundred-year limit.

Even practitioners in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm from smaller factions might have the chance to obtain these life-extending spiritual materials. After all, many of these materials can only be consumed once, and repeated consumption has no effect.

To continuously extend one’s lifespan, it becomes imperative to constantly seek more potent life-extending treasures.

Therefore, reaching the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, aside from other benefits, simply the length of one’s lifespan is enticing enough, not to mention the various changes in status and power that come with it.

At this moment, as Chen Fei ingested the Sea Blossom Flower, his mind entered an extremely boiling state. This boiling sensation not only did not diminish with the passage of time but grew more intense.

Intense pain began to manifest within his sea of consciousness, as if someone were continuously using mental techniques to attack Chen Fei. He felt his consciousness being pulled, ravaged, and even ground down like a millstone.

His shadow clone, carrying Chen Fei’s main self, was now becoming unstable as Chen Fei’s consciousness oscillated.

Fortunately, there was little of Chen Fei’s consciousness residing within the shadow clone at this moment. Instead, it underwent a transformation of elemental energy, following the instructions left by Chen Fei. Although it was not very stable, it did not completely dissipate.

Chen Fei needed to rely on the shadow clone to buy himself some time.

The shadow clone’s combat power was lacking, but its agility was nearly identical to Chen Fei’s. Currently, as it carried Chen Fei through the school of fish, the difference in speed between them and Chen Fei’s main body was not significant.

Although the pursuing Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts were gradually increasing their speed, there was no immediate risk of being overtaken.

“Crackle!”

As Chen Fei’s consciousness boiled, corresponding changes began to occur within the 108 apertures in his body. Compression started to take place.

To achieve the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, one must completely meld the 108 apertures together, creating a new aperture. This new aperture would possess all the power of the 108 individual apertures.

No longer dispersed, no longer wasted, but unified as one.

The Dragon-Elephant Induction Point began to tremble slightly, and a powerful binding force appeared around the 108 apertures, forcibly keeping them in one position without any deviation.

To fuse the apertures, they must be in perfect harmony. If any aperture deviates, it almost guarantees failure in achieving the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Therefore, during the breakthrough, a practitioner must allocate a portion of their consciousness to control the aperture fusion.

In the midst of his boiling consciousness, Chen Fei also had to allocate energy to integrate the apertures. The difficulty and pain of this process were evident. However, with the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point, the fusion of apertures required almost no effort from Chen Fei.

What Chen Fei needed was to patiently wait for his consciousness to truly break through its limits and then invest it completely into the apertures to complete the final fusion.

As time passed, Chen Fei’s body had turned completely red, as if it had been steamed and roasted.

His fists clenched tightly, and the veins on his forehead and neck bulged, but Chen Fei did not utter a single scream. While screaming might alleviate the pain, it would undoubtedly distract him, and at this critical juncture of his breakthrough, distractions were deadly.

“Buzz!”

Inside his sea of consciousness, Chen Fei’s boiling consciousness suddenly paused. In the next moment, as if he had broken free from a binding cage, the excruciating pain of his consciousness vanished. Chen Fei saw an entirely different world within the heavens and earth.

When Chen Fei had previously broken through from the Aperture Tempering realm to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, he had glimpsed a deeper level of the heavens and earth. Now, Chen Fei realized that what he had seen back then was merely the tip of the iceberg in this vast world.

Of course, Chen Fei was aware that even the part he now saw was just a small corner of this vast world.

But at least, Chen Fei had seen more than before.

This was progress and transformation.

Chen Fei’s consciousness surveyed his surroundings and then focused on the figure behind him, the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator who had been chasing him. In this highly sensitive state of being attuned to the heavens and earth, Chen Fei was finally able to get a better look at this person.

In the early stages of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the fused aperture within the body should not have expanded much. It was one of the most common states in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Chen Fei’s understanding of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm came entirely from the jade slip he had obtained in the Haiyue Cave.

The Primordial Profound Art!

The name of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation technique given by the Haiyue Cave was relatively ordinary within the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. However, even if it was ordinary, one could still cultivate it all the way to the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. For Chen Fei, this was invaluable.

Within the Primordial Profound Art, there was a detailed explanation of the changes in various stages of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and how to cultivate within each corresponding realm.

Just after the breakthrough, it was naturally the early stages of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the lowest level within this realm. At this point, to progress further, one needed to cultivate the fused aperture within their body.

Three expansions and three collapses.

Expanding and inflating the fused aperture within the body three times leads to the mid-Combined Aperture Tempering realm. Then, collapsing the refined essence of the fused aperture three times marks the late Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Chen Fei withdrew his sensory perception and focused all his attention on the 108 apertures within his body. Under the binding influence of the

Dragon-Elephant Induction Point, most of the apertures had already gathered together. The fusion was imminent!

Chen Fei’s consciousness, now after breaking through its limits, surged into the apertures within his body.

The consciousness after breaking through its limits was like a tree without roots, seemingly powerful but lacking sustainability. Chen Fei had to gather the apertures within his body together as quickly as possible, or else the consciousness after breaking through would weaken rapidly and revert to the strength of his consciousness in the mid-Aperture Tempering realm.

That would mean a damaged consciousness and harm to his internal organs. By then, the idea of breaking through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm would become a mere joke.

Several dozen miles away, Guan Hongxuan’s brows furrowed slightly. Just a moment ago, he had a sensation of being spied upon.

However, this sensation passed in an instant, and when Guan Hongxuan tried to investigate further, it was already gone.

This unilateral sense of being observed made Guan Hongxuan feel somewhat uncomfortable and a faint sense of unease.

Guan Hongxuan looked back at the retreating figure of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator through his eyes. His face gradually showed a hint of impatience. He had been chasing for quite some time, but according to the feedback from his Backtrack Vision, the distance between them had only narrowed slightly.

At this moment, Guan Hongxuan was gradually approaching the Sea Snail City. If the person he was chasing managed to escape into the city, Guan Hongxuan would have to expend a lot more effort to track them down, and there could be other unforeseen complications.

“Activate!”

Guan Hongxuan shouted lowly, pointing his right index finger to his own forehead.

His sea of consciousness trembled, and his consciousness began to pour wildly into the Backtrack Vision. This state of using the Backtrack Vision took a toll on Guan Hongxuan’s consciousness.

Guan Hongxuan might need more than a month to repair the damage caused by using this technique.

Initially, Guan Hongxuan didn’t want to go through this trouble for just a Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator. But the lack of results so far had made him reluctant to delay any further.

He decided to use this secret technique to capture the person ahead quickly, get hold of the treasures within the Haiyue Cave, and deal with the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator accordingly.

As for the Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, Guan Hongxuan was forced to use his secret technique. There was no way Guan Hongxuan would let the person off easily. He intended to extract every bit of value from that individual and would not allow them to die too quickly!

Guan Hongxuan knew numerous ways to torture someone.

His figure flashed, and he surged forward at a much faster speed than before.

Being a Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, Guan Hongxuan was naturally much faster than Chen Fei to begin with. Previously, he had been constantly hindered, unable to unleash his full speed.

However, with the secret technique enhancing the Backtrack Vision’s power and swiftly shielding all interference, Guan Hongxuan’s speed increased dramatically.

At this rate, it was likely that Chen Fei would be completely caught by Guan Hongxuan in less than a quarter of an hour.

Meanwhile, several dozen miles away, Chen Fei, with the assistance of the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point, was gathering his apertures together. Suddenly, he sensed the approaching aura from behind.

Chen Fei remained calm, looking at the nearly completely overlapped 108 apertures within his body. He formed hand seals, and all seven techniques from the Primordial Sword Scripture began to reverse.

Reverse Primordial Fusion!

Within the Primordial Sword Scripture, there were three methods recorded to assist in the fusion of apertures, and Reverse Primordial Fusion was the most domineering among them, akin to burning bridges behind oneself.

Once the Reverse Primordial Fusion failed, all the apertures within the body would shatter. On the lighter side, it could leave someone crippled, and on the extreme end, it could lead to instant bodily explosion and death.

However, Chen Fei had no fear in his heart at this moment, only calmness and extreme self-confidence.

“Clang!”

Like the sound of a sword’s ringing, a vibration surged from within Chen Fei’s body. The reverse activation of the seven techniques created an opposing force that instantly gathered the 108 apertures together.

In the next moment, Chen Fei’s consciousness after breaking through its limits resolutely and decisively collided into the fused aperture.

“Boom!”

It was as if the world was just beginning, an unparalleled sensation spread throughout his body.

The fused aperture, which had been continuously trembling, suddenly stabilized, and the elemental energy within the apertures was rapidly refined, transforming into even purer elemental energy.

Chen Fei’s entire body was bathed in the nourishing new elemental energy. His physical body, which had already reached the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, continued to ascend in power, emitting a formidable aura.

“Roar!”

As if there was the roar of a dragon and an elephant, within Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness, the Spirit Suppression of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique operated to its utmost. Originally at the Perfect stage, it was now stimulated by the consciousness of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, and in the blink of an eye, it reached Great Completion.

A stream of light shot directly from Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness and struck the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point on his physical body. The

Dragon-Elephant Induction Point quivered, and the surrounding elemental energy surged wildly, pouring into the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point.

Breaking through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point did not disappear. Instead, it continued to strengthen the already formidable physical body, now advancing at an even more terrifying pace.

Inside Chen Fei’s body, the fused aperture and the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point resonated with each other, and elemental energy from all directions howled.

Chen Fei’s eyes opened suddenly, and his entire body slowly rose, floating above the surface of the sea..