Chapter 477: Equal Position

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“With such potential, it is in itself a profound cultivation. Obtaining a portion of the third-tier secrets is not excessive,” Yu Shoucheng said with a smile.

“But I’m afraid the other two may not agree. After all, Chen Fei has just broken through, and his realm is probably still in a stabilizing period,” Tong Zhongqiu frowned slightly.

“We can each allocate some resources from our families to the Primordial Sword Sect. Their interests won’t be harmed, and they’ll likely be happy to befriend such a rising star,” Yu Shoucheng suggested.

“As for the third-tier secrets, we haven’t truly secured them yet. Is it a bit early to discuss these matters now?” Tong Zhongqiu couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

The Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and the Yu family had chosen this location in the Thousand Feathers Alliance for a significant reason. Aside from the abundant resources in the surrounding area, there was also a crucial factor: a third-tier secret realm that needed to be contested once again.

Due to the dense spiritual energy in the Boundless Sea, various levels of secret realms often appeared. First and second-tier secrets were quite common and mostly held by cultivators in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Of course, a small number fell into the hands of those practicing in the Aperture Tempering realm.

However, third-tier secrets were highly sought after by various factions because they produced high-grade spirit materials, and many of the materials required for cultivation in the Aperture Tempering realm could be found within these third-tier secrets. Hence, they had been a subject of contention among different forces for a long time.

In the chaotic era before the establishment of the Thousand Feathers Alliance, every such secret realm would attract endless bloodshed. Even the factions that managed to seize a secret realm would constantly be watched and coveted by the surrounding sects.

As soon as you showed even a hint of weakness, various probing attempts might come your way. If the strong cultivators within a sect were truly declining, the secret realm in their possession could directly lead to trouble.

However, later, with the appearance of the Mountain Sea realm powerhouse and the birth of the Thousand Feathers Alliance, this situation gradually changed. The competition for secret realms continued, but a time limit of one hundred years was established for ownership after winning the contest.

Within those one hundred years, the secret realm belonged to the victor, and other forces were not allowed to interfere. Any violation would result in the suppression by the Mountain Sea realm powerhouse of the Thousand Feathers Alliance.

While the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was formidable, it was truly insufficient when facing a Mountain Sea realm powerhouse. No one dared to harbor any illusions about their chances of luck in such matters. Thus, any carelessness could lead to the destruction of a sect’s gate.

Of course, if the faction holding the secret realm experienced a severe decline in their own strength, they might voluntarily transfer the right to use the secret realm to avoid any potential mishaps.

In this world, the strong held everything, and the weak had to adapt to the strong.

If a faction voluntarily transferred the right to use the secret realm, the Thousand Feathers Alliance would not interfere.

Now, in this maritime region, the right to use a third-tier secret realm is about to expire. The Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and the Yu family have already contacted the other two Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators. With one more person, a group of five can participate in the competition.

As there was still a year before the deadline, the four individuals were not in a hurry and continued to wait patiently. In other regions, the territories were already fixed, and the Thousand Feathers Alliance did not allow arbitrary relocations.

Unless your sect’s rank was promoted, you wouldn’t have the right to choose a new area. Therefore, there was no need to worry about powerful forces directly intervening in this matter.

After all, this third-tier secret realm, no matter how you looked at it, was only in the early stages of the third tier. For those mighty sects, there were better ones available, and not having it wouldn’t be a significant loss.

“Now, the only ones willing to move to this area are those who recently broke through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. If it weren’t for bringing you into the Thousand Feathers Alliance back then, the alliance wouldn’t have allowed my Yu family to move either,” Yu Shoucheng said with a smile.

When forces with strength beyond the Combined Aperture Tempering realm joined the Thousand Feathers Alliance, the alliance would provide such convenience. After all, it helped strengthen the alliance’s power, so offering some preferential treatment was only natural.

“Alright, let’s talk to those two. If they agree, we’ll go to the Primordial Sword Sect,” Tong Zhongqiu had no objections.

The Immortal Cloud Sword Sect had some previous ties with the Primordial Sword Sect, so forming an alliance with them would naturally result in greater mutual trust compared to other sects.

“Good!” Yu Shoucheng nodded gently.

A day later, Tong Zhongqiu and Yu Shoucheng ascended into the sky, heading towards the location of the Chen Shui Island.

Several thousand miles away, on Chen Shui Island,

Chen Fei sat cross-legged in the courtyard, his aura gently fluctuating as he continuously improved his proficiency in the Primordial Profound Art. Due to simplifications he had made, the rate at which he was increasing his proficiency in the Primordial Profound Art was quite fast.

Since he was already in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, according to Chen Fei’s estimation, it wouldn’t take more than a few months for his proficiency in the Primordial Profound Art to reach the perfection stage.

At that point, the power of this martial art would be fully manifested, providing Chen Fei with additional combat strength.

For many Combined Aperture Tempering realm martial artists, mastering the martial art of this realm was a significant challenge. Although their talents were exceptional, especially when they were in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, they were renowned as prodigies.

However, when their cultivation realm ascended to a new level, new difficulties arose. Compared to the martial arts of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the martial arts of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm presented a difficulty level that was significantly higher.

The idea of effortlessly comprehending these martial arts was rare.

But for Chen Fei, due to the influence of the system interface, whether it was in the Body Tempering realm, Combined Aperture Tempering realm, or his current Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the change in difficulty for martial arts was reflected in the required proficiency values.

No matter how challenging the martial arts of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm were, Chen Fei only needed to invest more time to maximize his proficiency. As long as he practiced, he would inevitably gain insights without any unexpected setbacks.

After a moment, Chen Fei slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath.

At this point, Chen Fei had achieved mastery in everything he had learned except for the Primordial Profound Art. Of course, the Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique still had another part, the Soul Tempering, but its creator had only provided a concept initially.

To derive the Suppressing Dragon Elephant Soul Tempering based on a concept, it would likely require a considerable amount of martial arts. After all, the derivation of martial arts was not a solitary endeavor.

It certainly required contributions from other martial arts to facilitate the derivation of a new technique. Given Chen Fei’s current understanding of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm of martial arts, it wasn’t yet time to attempt the derivation of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant Soul Tempering.

Chen Fei stood up and looked into the distance.

With no other martial arts to practice and focusing solely on increasing proficiency in the Primordial Profound Art, his efficiency naturally improved. However, Chen Fei still desired to practice some other martial arts, especially those related to his mental power.

Currently, his mental power excelled in defense, far exceeding that of an average early Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator. However, when it came to offense, it lagged behind his current progress.

The Mirror Image Godslayer Sword had been quite useful during Chen Fei’s time in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. It didn’t cause backlash and could be used for attacks against others without harming himself.

However, in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the power of the Mirror Image Godslayer Sword had diminished somewhat, and its effectiveness against other Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators was no longer as instantaneous as it had been in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

At most, it could serve as a minor disruption, but not much more.

When facing other early Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, Chen Fei didn’t necessarily need to rely on the Godslayer Sword. With his current physique and cultivation level, most early Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators were not his match.

Chen Fei’s consideration of mental attacks primarily stemmed from the Strange Heart Realm.

Recently, Chen Fei had been entering and exiting the Strange Heart Realm. After all, with his cultivation reaching the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the boundaries of his mental power had been broken, and he could attempt to slay third-tier Evils to promote the growth of his own mental power.

However, the strength of third-tier Evils quickly dispelled Chen Fei’s intentions.

The Godslayer Sword, which could easily slay second-tier Evils, could only inflict ordinary injuries on third-tier Evils. Moreover, these injuries could be easily healed in the environment of the Evil realm.

Chen Fei didn’t encounter any danger, though, because the third-tier initial Evil was also powerless against him. Chen Fei’s mental strength was simply too formidable, and the third-tier Evil couldn’t erode it.

In the end, it was a stalemate, and no one could overpower the other. Chen Fei decided to leave the Strange Heart Realm.

Recently, Chen Fei had been killing second-tier Evils to strengthen his mental power.

However, the benefits of the second-tier Evils’ essence for Chen Fei were not significant, and more importantly, this effect was gradually diminishing.

Based on the trend, it wouldn’t be long before the essence of second-tier Evils could no longer assist Chen Fei. This was why Chen Fei desired a mental cultivation technique because he couldn’t afford to abandon the resources of the Evil realm.

“The original Mirror Image Godslayer Sword is powerful but it exhausts the essence of my mental power too much!”

Chen Fei frowned slightly. The original Mirror Image Godslayer Sword involved severing his own mental power and then refining it into a Mind Sword.

While this had great power and would undoubtedly yield excellent results against third-tier Evils or other early Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators if Chen Fei were willing to do it, there was a downside.

It was a one-time use technique that couldn’t be undone. After using it, he would have to sever his mental power again and start the refining process anew.

Chen Fei entered the Strange Heart Realm to nurture and strengthen his mental power, not to self-harm and then return to the realm to slay Evils. That would be entirely counterproductive.

Chen Fei pushed aside thoughts of the original Mirror Image Godslayer Sword. Unfortunately, when it came to the Primordial Sword Sect’s martial arts, they ended at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, and their mental cultivation techniques had always been rather mediocre. Clearly, they couldn’t provide Chen Fei with the assistance he needed.

As Chen Fei turned to head back into the house, his eyebrows suddenly furrowed slightly. He turned his gaze towards the distant sky.

Activating his Star Gazing Art, a faint light flickered in Chen Fei’s eyes as the distant scene rapidly drew closer, allowing him to finally see the approaching visitors.

“Tong Zhongqiu and Yu Shoucheng from the Primordial Sword Sect. Why have they come?”

Chen Fei’s expression changed slightly. Even though they knew he had broken through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, it didn’t seem necessary for them to visit unless there was another reason.

Fifteen minutes later, in the main hall of the Primordial Sword Sect.

“It seems like you two have a high opinion of me if you’ve come to discuss the competition for the third-tier secret realm,” Chen Fei said with a light smile when he heard Tong Zhongqiu and Yu Shoucheng’s purpose.

“In cultivating the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, high-quality Elemental Stones and spirit materials are essential,” Yu Shoucheng replied, looking at Chen Fei with a smile.

On the side, Tong Zhongqiu watched Chen Fei’s youthful face and felt that familiar sense of heartache once again. If only Chen Fei were a disciple of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, they wouldn’t have to worry about a lack of successors for hundreds of years.

If only it were true, how wonderful that would be!

Chen Fei sensed Tong Zhongqiu’s gaze and glanced at him. Tong Zhongqiu responded with a warm smile.

Chen Fei remained silent, pondering for a moment.

One day later, news spread throughout the Primordial Sword Sect and the Sunken Water Pavilion.

The two sects were relocating their entire sect to a remote region thousands of miles away, forming a formal alliance with the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and the Yu family.

The members of the Primordial Sword Sect were quite excited upon hearing this news.

Once a subordinate of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, they had now risen to an equal footing in the blink of an eye..