Chapter 512: Rapid Growth

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The mountains stretched like the sea, and the trees raged like waves. This was the Drifting Cloud Sect, which had stood in the Sea Peak City for hundreds of years, and had once been the most powerful sect within the entire Sea Peak City.

Two hundred years ago, during the zenith of the Drifting Cloud Sect, they had boasted two Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts, both of them at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm Second Stage, just one step away from reaching the Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage.

If they had truly reached the Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage, the aura of the entire Drifting Cloud Sect would have undoubtedly advanced even further.

However, it was unfortunate that the Drifting Cloud Sect had not taken that step. Now, two hundred years later, the sect had not declined but had declined from its peak.

Under the leadership of Mo Shiyi, the Drifting Cloud Sect had had ambitious goals, and over the years, it had developed quite well, with several Combined Aperture Tempering realm peak cultivators among its members.

As long as someone had successfully broken through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the Drifting Cloud Sect could have replicated its former glory from two hundred years ago.

However, since their failure to contend for the Third-Grade Secret Realm a year ago, and the sudden rise of the Primordial Sword Sect, the atmosphere within the entire Drifting Cloud Sect had become somewhat tense.

“Did the Death Shadow Sect respond?” In the courtyard, Mo Shiyi looked at Meng Heng.

Nowadays, Meng Heng was responsible for contacting the Death Shadow Sect, and the Death Shadow Sect had its own method to confirm the true identity of the employer.

“Well, the assassin who originally took the mission promised to lure Chen Fei out to the open sea within a month. If he fails, he will abandon this task,” Meng Heng nodded.

“Good, as long as we can lure Chen Fei out to the open sea, the five of us, along with the Death Shadow Sect’s people, should be enough to keep him there for good,” Hu Yanwu couldn’t help but smile.

Given the injuries Chen Fei had sustained in the bloody battle, there was no way they could fully recover in just a month. Six Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators converging on one person, even at their best, would be a formidable challenge.

“The Death Shadow Sect says that if we’re still not at ease, they can arrange for a Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage expert to come along, adding four times the original fee, guaranteeing absolute success!” Meng Heng continued.

“Adding four times to the original fee?” Miao Wanhong’s eyes widened involuntarily.

When they initially entrusted the task to the Death Shadow Sect, they were offered eight hundred middle-grade elemental stones as payment. This amount of elemental stones was a considerable sum, and not many Combined Aperture Tempering realm early-stage cultivators could easily come up with it.

After all, they needed elemental stones for their daily cultivation and various other expenses, so accumulating a substantial amount was a challenging task.

Initially, the eight hundred elemental stones were divided among the five families, making it seem less painful. After all, Chen Fei posed a significant threat, and if they could spend this sum of money to permanently resolve the Chen Fei situation, it wouldn’t be a bad solution.

However, now they wanted to hire a Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage expert, and it required an additional fourfold payment, which meant they had to shell out another three thousand two hundred middle-grade elemental stones.

Adding the original eight hundred elemental stones, this amounted to four thousand middle-grade elemental stones in total. This was a terrifying amount of elemental stones.

Mo Shiyi furrowed his brow. Initially, he had thought that doubling the commission might be enough to persuade the Death Shadow Sect to send a Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage expert.

However, looking at it now, he had underestimated the Death Shadow Sect’s appetite. This quantity of elemental stones was not a matter of value; they simply couldn’t come up with so many middle-grade elemental stones.

With an additional three thousand two hundred middle-grade elemental stones, when divided among the five families, each family would need over six hundred. Adding the original reward, each family would essentially be paying out eight hundred middle-grade elemental stones.

The Blood Battle had set a fee of five hundred middle-grade elemental stones, knowing that this amount was already straining the resources of fourth-tier forces. Eight hundred middle-grade elemental stones would be a sum they couldn’t afford to pay.

“The Death Shadow Sect certainly isn’t holding back on the price,” Hu Yanwu’s expression twisted slightly.

If he had that many elemental stones, he would pile them up and there would be a good chance of advancing to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage.

After all, as long as you had enough money, there were some extraordinary elixirs that could provide significant assistance when breaking through realms.

This was also why some forces with rich resources continually produced strong cultivators, because they had the means to acquire valuable natural treasures that could significantly boost their cultivation.

In contrast, fourth-tier forces like theirs could only dream of obtaining such treasures, as the middle-grade elemental stones they accumulated were only sufficient for regular cultivation. Anything better was out of their reach.

“Or perhaps if we fail this mission, there might be other Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage cultivators willing to take it,” Meng Heng shook his head.

“Hmph, that person is just spouting empty words!” Hu Yanwu snorted.

“Alright, let’s not dwell on this any longer. If the Death Shadow Sect can really lure Chen Fei out this time, we’ll give it our all.”

Mo Shiyi glanced at the others and said in a deep voice, “This is our best opportunity, and if we miss it, we don’t know what the future holds. So, I hope that if any of you have any hidden assets, now is the time to use them!”

Meng Heng and the others exchanged glances and nodded. In this situation, if they couldn’t eliminate Chen Fei, there might not be another opportunity in the future.

They had to burn their bridges; there was no other way.

If it weren’t for the fact that the price offered by the Death Shadow Sect was so high, they genuinely wished they could hire another Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage expert to ensure absolute success.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen Fei hadn’t gone anywhere, completely immersed in his cultivation.

Thanks to the continuous supply of third-grade middle-grade elixirs and even overdosing on them within the limits of his physical endurance, Chen Fei’s cultivation progress was exceptionally satisfying.

However, each day’s consumption of middle-grade elemental stones due to the elixirs was as high as three to four middle-grade elemental stones. Even with the number of elemental stones Chen Fei had recently acquired, at this rate of consumption, it would barely be enough to sustain him for a little over a year.

Chen Fei was essentially treating middle-grade elemental stones as if they were his daily meals, and if others knew about his consumption method, they would likely be left dumbfounded.

However, this extreme cultivation method brought about the most significant change: rapid advancement in cultivation.

Even the genius disciples of major sects wouldn’t be able to support such a crazy cultivation method solely based on the elixirs, let alone their own physical endurance.

Chen Fei’s physique was on par with a Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage cultivator in terms of strength and defense. In terms of recovery and endurance, he was actually even stronger than a Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage cultivator.

At least Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage cultivators couldn’t recover as quickly as Chen Fei did when their bodies were injured. That was the difference between them.

Thanks to the Suppressing Dragon Elephant, Chen Fei not only gained a boost in combat power but also received many hidden benefits in his cultivation.

This pattern of consuming elixirs recklessly made Chen Fei feel like he was back to when he first cultivated in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, swallowing elixirs without restraint and gaining an unimaginable speed of cultivation progress.

Now, with the practice of the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant, his somewhat stagnant physique had begun to grow slowly once again.

Simplifying the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant had also cost Chen Fei a significant amount of middle-grade elemental stones, much more than when he simplified the Primordial Profound Art and the Light Slicing Shadow Sword.

Of course, if he truly mastered the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant to perfection, the benefits Chen Fei would receive would far surpass those of the other two cultivation techniques.

The fused Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant had an initial proficiency level at the Profound Mastery stage, and there was still a considerable distance to reach the Perfect Mastery stage.

According to Chen Fei’s estimate, if he could cultivate the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant to perfection, his physique would likely be on par with a Combined Aperture Tempering realm Late Stage cultivator.

If he could reach the Great Completion stage, he would directly rival Combined Aperture Tempering realm Peak cultivators.

If Chen Fei had the physique of a Combined Aperture Tempering realm Peak cultivator right now, even with a slightly lower elemental power cultivation, he could easily outclass Combined Aperture Tempering realm Mid Stage cultivators.

However, physique cultivation had always been a headache for martial practitioners. It was time-consuming, demanding, and the results were not easy to achieve.

All martial practitioners understood that a strong physique would enhance combat power. But in their daily training, focusing solely on cultivating elemental power and mental focus left little room for physique cultivation.

Moreover, trying to cultivate physique separately often led to neglecting other aspects, resulting in overall ineffectiveness in the end.

That’s why many cultivation techniques integrated both elemental power and physique training, such as the techniques of the Tiandao Sect. With these techniques, as one’s cultivation improved, their physique would also have an advantage at the same level.

Dedicating oneself to specialized physique cultivation required a combination of resources and natural aptitude that not everyone possessed.

As a result, the vast majority of martial practitioners focused on cultivating elemental power. After all, when elemental power increased, physique would also passively improve. Realm was the fundamental factor; with a higher realm, everything else would fall into place.

Chen Fei continued to immerse himself in cultivation, relishing the daily joy of rapid progress.

On the other hand, Mo Shiyi’s group was enduring the agonizing wait for news from the Death Shadow Sect.

With each passing day, they felt that Chen Fei’s injuries might be improving slightly, and they even worried that he might purchase healing elixirs to accelerate his recovery.

Healing elixirs that could affect Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators were extremely expensive, though slightly more affordable than the Mirror-Breaking Elixirs.

Typically, Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators wouldn’t purchase such divine healing elixirs unless it was a dire situation. They usually relied on time to heal their injuries.

Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators could earn elemental stones easily, but they could also spend them quickly. Each stage of cultivation had different resource requirements.

While a middle-grade elemental stone might be a significant gain for a lower-level cultivator, it might only be a short-term requirement for someone at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

With only a few days left before the one-month mark, the Death Shadow Sect finally sent news. The hired assassin had started to take action, and Chen Fei would be leaving the Primordial Sword Sect in the coming days.

At that moment, Mo Shiyi and his group focused all their attention on the Primordial Sword Sect. According to the reports from their spies, there seemed to be some unusual activity within the Primordial Sword Sect, but they couldn’t gather specific information.

Two days later, the Death Shadow Sect provided a location.

Mo Shiyi and his group activated their informants and found that Qin Haishan and the others from the Primordial Sword Sect didn’t seem to have any abnormalities and were still in their respective sects. This reassured them to some extent.

An hour later, Mo Shiyi and his group quietly left their respective sects and gathered in the middle of the open sea, dispersing without grouping together.

On a deserted island, Mo Shiyi watched his surroundings warily. Suddenly, a figure slowly emerged from beneath the sea’s surface and looked at him.

Mo Shiyi stared back at the approaching figure with a tense expression. The figure had no discernible aura, and their appearance was concealed beneath a large hood. However, the sword blade in their hand matched the information provided by the Death Shadow Sect about the hired assassin..