Chapter 516: Breakthrough

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The night fell, and the mountains appeared divine.

In the Tingfeng Pavilion, Chen Fei sat cross-legged in the moonlight, his figure slightly moving. The vital energy within him was trembling ever so slightly.

“Hum!”

A ripple emanated from Chen Fei’s center and spread outwards. As the ripple passed through, the surroundings seemed to be encased in amber. Leaves fell but remained suspended in mid-air, motionless.

Chen Fei slowly opened his eyes, and as the night breeze brushed past, the leaves gently descended to the ground. It all felt like an illusion.

Reaching the Second Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was achieved with such calmness. In contrast to the turbulence caused by advancing from the First Stage, this promotion felt like a natural progression.

Normal advancements from the First Stage to the Second Stage wouldn’t bring about significant disturbances.

The reason Chen Fei experienced such turbulence during his previous First Stage advancement was because he had used a secret technique to forcefully expand his Combined Aperture. This had left the aperture with slightly lower elemental energy, necessitating the absorption of a considerable amount of natural elemental qi to fill it.

However, this Second Stage advancement was different. The elemental energy within his Combined Aperture had already been replenished by various elixirs in his daily cultivation, making this advancement feel like a gentle breakthrough.

Breaking through was breaking through, and it was much easier than the last time Chen Fei had forcibly advanced to the First Stage.

For those who lack sufficient insights into many cultivation techniques, this step can be exceedingly difficult, taking several years or even a decade.

At this point, one can either forcefully break through using breakthrough pills or diligently comprehend the cultivation techniques. When the comprehension reaches its zenith, the realm naturally advances.

Chen Fei had no such issues. He was currently practicing the Profound Light Slicing Shadow Sword, which included two complete Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation methods, both of which had already reached perfection.

If he were still stuck at the Second Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, it would undermine the quality of the cultivation techniques he had practiced before. It would mean that all the heritage he had cultivated so far had been in vain.

Chen Fei stood up and gazed at the bright moon. In the next moment, he disappeared from his original location, reappearing high in the sky.

With a casual movement of his right hand, a faint glint of the sword emanated, filling the surroundings with a sharp aura.

Chen Fei sheathed his sword, returning to the courtyard with a slight smile on his face.

Compared to the First Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the Second Stage brought about a significant improvement in both the power of his sword techniques and the enhancement of his agility.

Having reached this level of cultivation, he was now standing at the peak of the early Combined Aperture Tempering realm. At this stage, if he still had a lifespan left, he would need to prepare for the breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Compared to the early Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was on a completely different level, both in terms of combat power and status. The available resources one could enjoy would also take a step up.

Within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, there were quite a few Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts, but the majority were still at the early Combined Aperture Tempering realm, with most of them being at the First Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Reaching the First Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was almost achievable for anyone who followed a systematic cultivation path, unless they had suffered a severe injury that severed their martial path.

Only at the Second Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm did it require a certain level of talent and sufficient resources. Even among those at the Second Stage, only a minority would eventually break through to the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Most people would be stuck at the threshold of the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, unable to progress before their natural life came to an end.

“Cultivation is the foundation, but it’s also the most time-consuming,” Chen Fei said, glancing into the distance.

He then resumed his seated position and began taking more pills while continuing to cultivate the Profound Light Slicing Shadow Sword.

With surplus resources at his disposal and both the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant technique and the Profound Light Slicing Shadow Sword not yet perfected, Chen Fei decided to continue honing his skills in this way.

Within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, despite numerous restrictions, they managed to provide a secure environment for cultivation.

Of course, other Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators couldn’t practice as Chen Fei did. Setting aside the difficulty of comprehending techniques in isolation, just the resources for cultivation were beyond the reach of ordinary Fourth-tier forces’ Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts, let alone someone like Chen Fei.

Not to mention others, even Qin Haishan and the others within the alliance were envious of the quantity of medium-grade elemental stones Chen Fei possessed.

However, without Chen Fei’s strength, possessing so many medium-grade elemental stones could attract trouble.

As Chen Fei immersed himself in cultivation, there were no major developments in the Sea Peak City. The only noteworthy event was the current turmoil within the Drifting Cloud Sect.

With their sole Combined Aperture Tempering realm expert within the sect having passed away, the entire Drifting Cloud Sect was in a state of unrest.

Although things appeared calm for now, if the sect failed to produce a new Combined Aperture Tempering realm expert, it was almost inevitable that their surrounding interests would be eroded.

Some forces that had originally aligned with the Drifting Cloud Sect were now wavering, all observing how the sect would develop next.

It was a stark, unfeeling reality, but it was the most genuine portrayal of this world.

Since the last time Tong Zhongqiu came and specifically mentioned the matter of that passage, Chen Fei had also instructed people to keep an eye on it.

Initially, it was some Combined Aperture Tempering realm warriors who attempted to go through the passage, but as Chen Fei had anticipated, they all returned upon discovering the sparse elemental energy on the other side.

Sparse elemental energy indicated scarce resources, much like the area near the Primordial Water Island where the Primordial Sword Sect had stayed before, where elemental energy was not as rich as in the Sea Peak City.

With few resources and sparse elemental energy, it would take an extremely long time to break through a meridian relying solely on absorbing the natural elemental energy.

In their view, the other side of this passage was practically worthless.

Furthermore, they found that there were also Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts on the other side of the passage, and they couldn’t even become the local powers with their Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation alone, let alone something like a regional ruler.

With their cultivation affected and no additional benefits to be gained, no one had any interest in going to such a place. It was similar to the Primordial Water Island before the Primordial Sword Sect arrived; it had been completely ignored.

On the side of Immortal Cloud City, the Divine Flame Sect had only dispatched Combined Aperture Tempering realm observers to monitor who came through the passage. As for questioning or other matters, they didn’t bother with them at all.

When the Mysterious City vanished and the passage was revealed, the Divine Flame Sect had sent people over, and naturally, they had learned about the Boundless Sea, as well as the Thousand Feathers Alliance.

The Divine Flame Sect understood that with their own strength, they were utterly incapable of stopping people from coming through such a colossal entity.

If they tried to forcefully interfere, they would ultimately be the ones at a disadvantage.

Therefore, the Divine Flame Sect essentially allowed this passage to exist without any plans to claim it as their own. In fact, many members of the Divine Flame Sect were tempted, wondering if they could travel to the Boundless Sea for cultivation.

While Immortal Cloud City was a good place with abundant resources in the vicinity, there was simply no comparison between it and the Boundless Sea.

The only advantage was that the Divine Flame Sect held uncontested dominance near Immortal Cloud City and didn’t have to appease anyone. Here, they had the final say in everything.

As the time the passage had been discovered extended, Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators began to venture through it.

Compared to Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators had a much larger area to explore. Many people within the Thousand Feathers Alliance were curious about this previously undiscovered place.

“Some Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators got injured over there?” Chen Fei asked with some surprise.

Inside the Tingfeng Pavilion, the fragrance of tea filled the air, relaxing one’s mind involuntarily.

Tong Zhongqiu lifted his teacup, took a sip, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

The Insightful Spirit Tea, when consumed regularly, could enhance mental clarity and provide a slight boost to comprehending martial arts techniques. However, whenever it came to cultivation-related items, they were never cheap.

Tong Zhongqiu hadn’t consumed much of the Insightful Spirit Tea because it was too expensive, and at his age, he felt it wasn’t necessary.

Chen Fei also didn’t typically drink tea, but on occasion, when he found a few boxes of tea leaves among his belongings, he decided to brew some. Surprisingly, the taste turned out to be quite good.

These tea leaves had been found in Mo Shiyi’s Qjankun Bag, indicating that Mo Shiyi hadn’t given up on them even in the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Chen Fei occasionally enjoyed them for their taste, without much concern about whether they would accelerate his understanding of martial arts techniques.

“I heard it’s near the Imperial City, and someone seemed to have noticed something and wanted to investigate further but got injured. If they hadn’t run fast enough, they might have been left there permanently,” Tong Zhongqiu whispered.

Compared to Chen Fei’s relatively simple monitoring, Tong Zhongqiu had invested significant effort into the matter on the other side of the passage.

Clearly, he still harbored deep resentment towards Immortal Cloud City. If given the opportunity, Tong Zhongqiu would definitely consider reclaiming Immortal Cloud City.

Of course, there was also Jian Jinsheng from the Divine Flame Sect, who remained a significant concern for the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect. Just as Tong Zhongqiu had his sights set on Immortal Cloud City, Jian Jinsheng hadn’t given up on his ambitions regarding the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.

This grudge had persisted for many years, and it wouldn’t disappear just because the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect had arrived in the Boundless Sea.

“The Imperial City!”

Hearing that term, Chen Fei couldn’t help but think of the Elemental Tide that had occurred in the past. Beneath the Imperial City, there had to be secrets, or else the royal family wouldn’t have maintained their presence there for so many years.

However, Chen Fei wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about uncovering this secret. Moreover, after so many years of development, that Imperial City was like an impenetrable fortress.

For a Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator of the early stage to venture into the Imperial City and get into a real fight would be disastrous. Under a moment of carelessness, they could easily be cut down, which was quite normal.

Half an hour later, after bidding farewell to Tong Zhongqiu, Chen Fei returned to his daily cultivation.

Thanks to an ample supply of third-grade medium-quality elixirs, Chen Fei’s cultivation at the Second Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm stabilized quickly, and he continued advancing towards the Third Stage, which was the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

The mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was a hurdle for any martial artist, including Chen Fei.

Of course, the size of the hurdle varied. But until he truly reached that stage, Chen Fei wouldn’t know the extent of the challenge he would face.

Thinking too much at this point was futile. Chen Fei focused on raising his cultivation to the threshold of the Third Stage, and when the time came, he would discover the true magnitude of this hurdle.

Half a year had passed in the cultivation, and the Profound Light Slicing Shadow Sword, integrated with the Azure Sky Technique, was approaching Great Completion. The search for another Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation technique needed to be added to the agenda.

“There are shattered spiritual treasures below the Imperial City?”

On this day, Tong Zhongqiu once again arrived at the Tingfeng Pavilion, and as soon as he came, he brought astonishing news..