Chapter 542: Follow Like a Shadow

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The location of the secret realm was not far from the true open sea, with a considerable distance still remaining.

Therefore, the sea monsters that appeared here varied in strength, with the majority only at the Second Tier. Considering the protective power of the secret realm, they could generally hold their own.

What truly prompted them to seek help was the occasional presence of Third Tier sea monster auras. Such formidable sea monsters could not be dealt with without the assistance of Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts.

On a small island several tens of miles away from the entrance to the secret realm, the figure of Chen Fei slowly emerged.

Chen Fei landed on the island, took a step forward with his right foot, and channeled his elemental energy, swiftly forming a formation.

A vial appeared in Chen Fei’s hand. He uncorked the vial, releasing a strange fishy odor into the air.

Chen Fei poured the liquid from the vial into the formation. Initially faint, the fishy odor suddenly became intense, then spread in all directions.

Sitting cross-legged nearby, Chen Fei closed his eyes and patiently awaited the outcome.

The liquid in this vial is a concoction of monster blood combined with spirit herbs, possessing great allure to other monsters.

However, the vast majority of warriors wouldn’t choose this type of potion when hunting sea monsters outside. It’s not because they think the potion is ineffective, but rather they fear its effectiveness might attract too many sea monsters.

In the maritime domain, the ones truly favored by nature are, in fact, those sea monsters. It’s hard to say exactly how many sea monsters lurk in the depths of the sea.

If using the potion leads to a swarm of sea monsters, it’s likely that it won’t be warriors hunting sea monsters anymore, but rather warriors being devoured by a group of sea monsters.

However, that’s the mindset of ordinary warriors. For someone like Chen Fei now, wanting to deal with the sea monsters around the secret realm, using this potion is the simplest and most efficient way.

Not to mention permanently resolving the trouble around the secret realm, as long as sea monsters continue to flood in from the open sea, this trouble won’t cease.

But at least, after this cleansing, for a short time, there won’t be any worries about sea monster disturbances around the secret realm.

After a quarter of an hour, a second tier sea monster slowly approached.

It was a sea turtle-like creature with an enormous shell on its back, the edges of which were full of sharp saw-like protrusions, and its two eyes gleamed with ferocity.

This second tier sea monster was extremely cautious. Despite its intense craving for the scent wafting over, it didn’t rush onto the island immediately.

Four sturdy legs paddled through the seawater, and the sea turtle monster was just considering whether to investigate when suddenly, it felt a shiver in its mind. Before it could comprehend what was happening, a force so powerful that it couldn’t be resisted struck it.

The turtle shell that had always protected its entire body was shattered without any decent resistance, directly breaking apart along with its entire flesh.

On the island, Chen Fei’s eyes remained closed from beginning to end. It was just a second tier monster, easily slain with a casual sword strike.

The disparity between a second tier monster and a Combined Aperture Tempering realm expert was too vast. Once targeted, there was no chance of escape.

The crimson blood dyed the surrounding seawater red, mingling with the scent from the potion to create an even more enticing fragrance, drifting in all directions.

That’s how this potion worked; the more it killed, the stronger its allure became.

This is also why many warriors dared not use it, because sometimes, if not handled carefully or if there was a slight mistake in operation, it could lead to enormous trouble.

It was better to approach one by one, even though it was more troublesome, it was safer.

Hunting monsters in the maritime domain was already an extremely risky endeavor; if one wasn’t careful, the question of whether they could return at all became uncertain.

Perhaps the stimulation of the fragrance intensified, or perhaps there were sea monsters nearby from the start, but before the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Chen Fei’s perception sensed three sea monsters drifting over.

They were still second tier monsters, but their strength was considerably greater than the previous turtle monster.

All three sea monsters had reached the late stage of the second tier, and they usually traveled together.

If a warrior encountered this number and strength of monsters and didn’t have the peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation, they would have no choice but to leave obediently. Even if there were four or five late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts, it would be difficult to handle these three sea monsters.

“Hiss!”

A faint sound of breaking air rang out, and before the three sea monsters could comprehend what was happening, their bodies stiffened, following the same fate as the turtle monster from earlier.

Chen Fei remained cross-legged on the island, whether facing one sea monster or a group, his response was always a sword strike.

The power of this sword strike was too strong for these second tier sea monsters; even if there were many of them, they couldn’t resist in the slightest. They didn’t even have the qualification to weaken the sword strike.

In the face of truly powerful forces, quantity had lost much of its meaning.

This was why a Mountain Sea Realm expert could rule over such a vast territory like the Thousand Feathers Alliance, while the numerous Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators didn’t dare to have the slightest thought of resistance.

Because the two sides were simply not on the same level, a Combined Aperture Tempering realm expert wanting to kill a Mountain Sea Realm cultivator was as easy as Chen Fei killing these second tier sea monsters at this moment.

In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed. During this hour, Chen Fei had slain nearly a hundred second tier sea monsters.

However, the surrounding seawater hadn’t been dyed red. Towards the end, Chen Fei simply captured these sea monsters and threw them into the nearby formation, enhancing the potency of the potion within the formation to its maximum.

Second tier sea monsters hadn’t appeared for some time; those in the vicinity had likely been drawn in. However, the third tier sea monster had yet to make an appearance.

Just when Chen Fei thought that the third tier sea monster might have wandered off somewhere else, a faint, almost imperceptible aura rose in the distance, but it quickly disappeared.

Third tier monsters already possessed extraordinary intelligence, comparable to, if not exceeding, that of ordinary humans in some aspects.

Obviously, this third tier sea monster, after wandering for a moment, sensed that something was amiss and decided to leave again.

Chen Fei’s eyes snapped open, and with a sword strike, he shattered the formation before him, turning everything within it to powder. At the same time, a spiritual essence was drawn out and absorbed into the Qianyuan Sword.

Although they were only second tier sea monsters, leaving them here unattended would be somewhat wasteful with such a sufficient quantity. It was better to feed them to the Qianyuan Sword.

Although the spiritual essence alone wouldn’t have much effect on the Qianyuan Sword, which was currently at the level of a middle-grade magical treasure, it was better than nothing.

Chen Fei’s figure flickered, disappearing from his original position and reappearing several miles away.

If this sea monster hadn’t shown itself, it would have taken considerable effort for Chen Fei to track it down.

But now that it had appeared, even if it only showed itself briefly, it couldn’t escape Chen Fei’s pursuit.

Chen Fei’s figure moved through the sky, leaving no trace behind. After breaking through to the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, Chen Fei’s speed had increased once again. However, the corresponding enhancement provided by the phantom shadow had also decreased.

Chen Fei’s current speed still held a considerable advantage compared to the average mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator.

But if compared to those who specialized in body techniques or the top powers, the advantage wouldn’t be so obvious.

As cultivation progressed, sometimes the advantages of techniques would become more pronounced.

Fortunately, the cultivation technique Chen Fei currently practiced had already reached the state of Great Completion. Even though the mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators from those top powers might practice extraordinary techniques, they couldn’t possibly comprehend them as deeply as Chen Fei.

This sea monster was extremely fast underwater, but in just a moment, Chen Fei caught up to it.

Chen Fei looked down at the sea surface and could clearly see a dark shadow.

At the early stage of the third rank, equivalent to the sea monsters Chen Fei had previously slain, it was possible for them to break through the defensive line and intrude into various maritime domains. Most of the sea monsters were of this rank.

Any stronger ones had already been slain at the defensive line. Otherwise, if sea monsters at the mid-stage of the third rank or higher roamed freely within various maritime domains, hardly any power within those domains would be able to withstand them.

With his right foot stepping into the void, Chen Fei touched the air with the sole of his foot, creating faint ripples. In the next moment, a cavity was blasted out of the sea surface, and Chen Fei appeared in front of the sea monster.

Just as Chen Fei was about to strike, his brows furrowed slightly. His figure shifted, and in an instant, his entire body turned into flowing light, seemingly teleporting a few meters ahead.

“Huh?”

Where Chen Fei had been standing before, a figure slowly appeared, reaching forward but failing to grab hold of Chen Fei, which was somewhat unexpected.

The sea monster below was startled, and a huge tentacle slapped towards the figure. However, before it could get close, the figure casually swept it aside with a hand.

With the sea monster’s piercing scream, the tentacle broke, and in its panic, the sea monster desperately swam towards the depths of the sea.

Chen Fei didn’t stop the sudden appearance of the figure, nor did the figure stop.

“I have never met with you, why did you attempt to capture me?” Chen Fei looked at the newcomer with a cold expression.

At the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, attempting to capture Chen Fei directly with a sneak attack was unexpected.

Kou Yuanheng withdrew his hand and looked at Chen Fei with interest, somewhat surprised that he had failed to capture him just now, despite being confident in his attempt.

According to the information he had, Chen Fei had only broken through to the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm a few years ago.

Although he was exceptionally talented and had forcefully suppressed several other sects in the Sea Peak City, he was still within the realm of the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

The capture just now would have been successful if any other mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator had been slightly careless.

Kou Yuanheng had been doing this for many years, and he never expected it to fail today on a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator.

“Is Duan Muxiao dead?”

Kou Yuanheng stared at Chen Fei, a smile playing on his lips. “Killing someone from the Death Shadow Sect and then impersonating their identity, you have quite the audacity!”

“I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying!”

Chen Fei’s brow furrowed slightly at the mention of the Death Shadow Sect. His figure flickered, and he appeared in mid-air, glancing around.

Kou Yuanheng remained as close as a shadow to Chen Fei, still several meters away. As he saw Chen Fei looking around, the smile on Kou Yuanheng’s face grew even broader..