Chapter 588: Aperture Condensing Pill

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

In a courtyard within Sea Dominion City, Shi Yuanmin sat behind his desk, leisurely flipping through a book.

Suddenly, a slight change flickered across Shi Yuanmin’s expression as he turned his head towards the corner of the study where a figure emerged.

“Please, have a seat,” Shi Yuanmin gestured with his right hand as he observed the newcomer.

“This time, we were fortunate enough not to act hastily, and thus narrowly escaped a calamity,” Tan Mingxiang spoke solemnly.

Min Yanlu unexpectedly hadn’t truly left the Sea Dominion City but rather observed everything that occurred within it. Those at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm who acted within the city were now all deceased.

In the face of the Mountain Sea Realm, the strength of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm was insignificant, much like how the Combined Aperture Tempering realm viewed the Aperture Tempering realm.

“Our target is the sea monsters. We are not aiming for any major issues with the Thousand Feathers Alliance. If Sea Dominion City truly falls, it won’t benefit us in the slightest,” Shi Yuanmin shook his head.

Their objective was always about self-interest; whichever side offered more benefits would garner their support. Currently, it was undeniable that the sea monster had more to offer, thus attracting their attention.

“What should we do next?” Tan Mingxiang asked in a hushed tone.

“We’ll observe quietly for now. Let’s refrain from making any rash moves in the near future,” Shi Yuanmin pondered for a moment before speaking with a grave tone.

Nowadays, no one knows what Min Yanlu, this Mountain Sea Realm powerhouse, was truly thinking.

The focus now lay in either dealing with external threats or decisively resolving internal issues. No one knew Min Yanlu’s true intentions.

However, for safety’s sake, it was best not to provoke Min Yanlu’s anger at this moment. Otherwise, one might end up in ashes before realizing it.

“Very well!” Tan Mingxiang nodded and disappeared into the study.

Shi Yuanmin watched the spot where Tan Mingxiang vanished, his gaze subtly flickering.

Shi Yuanmin didn’t mention his attempt to probe Chen Fei of the Primordial Sword Sect. Instead, he decided to keep this matter hidden in his heart.

Shi Yuanmin felt somewhat fortunate that he had only made a move against Chen Fei once and then immediately retreated, without attracting Min Yanlu’s attention.

At that time, although Min Yanlu was concealed within the Sea Dominion City, all his attention was not on the martial artists wreaking havoc nor on other areas.

Min Yanlu had almost all his focus concentrated on the fourth-tier sea monster outside the southern wall, observing its every move.

Compared to that fourth-tier sea monster, the martial artists within the city were merely insignificant nuisances.

Moreover, the defensive zone where Shi Yuanmin was stationed wasn’t far from the Primordial Sword Sect. It was precisely because of this proximity that Shi Yuanmin caught sight of Chen Fei and decided to probe him.

During this probing, Shi Yuanmin sensed that something was amiss. The resistance Chen Fei offered was far beyond what an Aperture Tempering realm early-stage practitioner should possess.

Although Shi Yuanmin didn’t exert full force at the time and merely used a casual move, mainly to better conceal his aura and form, it should be noted that a typical Combined Aperture Tempering realm early-stage practitioner wouldn’t have been able to resist, and death would have been a possibility.

However, Chen Fei survived. After the incident, Shi Yuanmin had someone investigate and found out that Chen Fei had safely returned to Sea Dominion City.

Breaking through to the Aperture Tempering realm within just a few years was definitely abnormal. Chen Fei must have a major secret, as such rapid progress in cultivation was impossible without it.

This cannot be solely attributed to exceptional talent.

Shi Yuanmin concluded that there was a significant secret about Chen Fei and, therefore, chose not to inform Tan Mingxiang about this matter. Instead, he intended to uncover this secret alone.

Shi Yuanmin would clandestinely align himself with the sea monsters to obtain sufficient benefits. Now that such a potentially substantial benefit had presented itself, Shi Yuanmin wouldn’t let it slip away.

Currently, Chen Fei rarely appeared, hiding within his cultivation chamber. However, Shi Yuanmin wasn’t in a hurry. He didn’t even plan to apprehend Chen Fei in the near future.

Nowadays, with the rumors swirling around the Sea Dominion City and having been played by Min Yanlu in a game of cat and mouse, Shi Yuanmin couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear deep down.

Shi Yuanmin decided to play it safer and refrain from betraying the interests of the Thousand Feathers Alliance any further. The recent events had temporarily satisfied Shi Yuanmin’s appetite.

It would take some time to digest this wave of benefits.

As for Chen Fei, Shi Yuanmin was well aware of the whereabouts of the Primordial Sword Sect where Chen Fei resided. There would be plenty of opportunities for Shi Yuanmin to capture Chen Fei.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and over a month had gone by. The battles outside the Sea Dominion City intensified, and the number of tasks within the Task Hall began to surge, accompanied by increasingly enticing rewards.

After more than a month of arduous cultivation, Chen Fei emerged from his cultivation chamber. First, he activated the Blood Refining Art, changing his aura.

In the market, Chen Fei sold all the treasures and some spiritual materials he had obtained from Liu Wanggu, earning nearly four thousand pieces of medium-grade elemental stones.

Chen Fei had almost depleted his stock of medium-grade elemental stones, but he managed to replenish a portion of it.

For over a month, he had continuously used spiritual treasures for cultivation, and the over ten thousand medium-grade elemental stones had been drained down to just a few hundred by Chen Fei’s vigorous consumption.

The consumption was immense, but the results were indeed remarkable.

The injuries on the Combined Aperture within Chen Fei’s body were nearly restored to their original state. In another ten days or so, the Combined Aperture would be in perfect condition, perhaps even stronger and more resilient than before.

Simultaneously, the Dragon-Elephant Induction Point continuously absorbed the special energy from the spiritual treasures, and the progress of the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant was astonishing. Just a year ago, the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant had only reached the Perfect stage, but now, it was nearing the Great Completion stage.

Once the Profound Suppressing Dragon Elephant reached the Great Completion stage, Chen Fei would directly possess a physique at the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. Moreover, his restorative abilities would surpass those of a peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm practitioner by a significant margin.

Furthermore, the energy released by the spiritual treasures, imbued with innate intelligence, naturally had a promoting effect on the comprehension of martial arts.

In the past, in the Imperial City, the Elemental Tide that occurred every few years was triggered by spiritual treasures, which could aid individuals in comprehending martial arts.

Now, with the spiritual treasures in Chen Fei’s possession, this ability to assist in martial arts comprehension naturally remained, and its effectiveness was even stronger.

While Chen Fei diligently improved the proficiency of three martial arts techniques, the spiritual treasures also provided a boost to his comprehension of these techniques. Over the course of just over a month, the progress in the proficiency of the three martial arts techniques was remarkably satisfying.

The Blood Refining Art and the Shadow Escape Technique, with slightly lower difficulty, were now nearing the Great Completion stage in proficiency. It was estimated that with some more time, they would complete their final stages of cultivation.

The Profound Heavenly Sword, with the highest difficulty level, naturally required the most proficiency. Nevertheless, despite the substantial consumption of medium-grade elemental stones, it had reached about thirty percent of the way to the Great Completion stage.

It must be said that money could be incredibly useful at times!

Using the identity generated by the Blood Refining Art, Chen Fei made a brief trip to the market in the city, attracting some minor tails behind him. The composition of these followers was somewhat complex, but Chen Fei had no intention of dealing with them.

After wandering around the Sea Dominion City to shake off the tails, Chen Fei transformed back to his original aura and headed towards the Task Hall.

Over a month ago, outside the Sea Dominion City, when Shi Yuanmin struck him with a sword, Chen Fei could have reported this incident to Min Yanlu. Even if he couldn’t meet Min Yanlu, he could have informed Gu Danying.

However, if Chen Fei had done so, he would have faced a dilemma: how did he manage to survive against someone like Shi Yuanmin, a late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm practitioner?

At the early Combined Aperture Tempering realm stage, he wouldn’t have stood a chance against a late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm practitioner’s sword strike. The likelihood of death would have been the highest, rather than Chen Fei’s current lively state.

Initially, when Chen Fei informed Min Yanlu about the infiltrators, he claimed to have used the Dream Entry Technique to investigate.

At the early Combined Aperture Tempering realm stage, using the Dream Entry Technique to probe the mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm might be possible to some extent. However, probing a late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm with the Dream Entry Technique, even as remarkable as it is, wouldn’t achieve the same result.

Chen Fei’s plan to entangle Shi Yuanmin might ultimately expose many of his own secrets.

Shi Yuanmin’s strength, condensed as it was, surpassed that of an ordinary late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm practitioner by quite a margin. Chen Fei currently had no choice but to acquiesce, but in a month’s time, the situation might be different, and it would be up to Chen Fei to decide.

Amidst the bustling activities in the Task Hall, Chen Fei approached one of the attendants and accepted a special mission.

Given Chen Fei’s previous completion of urgent tasks, the attendant didn’t raise any objections to him taking on this mission, which offered the reward of an Aperture Condensing Pill.

Not all missions required combat; many demanded other auxiliary abilities.

The primary ability of the Aperture Condensing Pill was to elevate the level of the Combined Aperture to the sixth level upon reaching the Combined Aperture Tempering realm’s sixth transformation. However, in reality, the Aperture Condensing Pill could be taken at any stage up to the sixth transformation of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

While breaking through to the sixth transformation of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the Aperture Condensing Pill provided assistance. Similarly, breaking through to the third transformation of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and entering the mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm was no exception, albeit with some potential waste.

Thus, for Chen Fei to desire such a mission reward would seem entirely normal to outsiders.

With the mission jade token in hand, Chen Fei returned to his cultivation chamber and then focused his consciousness into the token.

After a moment, Chen Fei’s consciousness withdrew from the jade token, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The next moment, a black bead appeared in Chen Fei’s palm.

Examining the black bead closely, it emitted a radiant glow, resembling waves rolling. Chen Fei had two of these beads, both obtained during his time in the Imperial City.

One was obtained from Heavenly Sun True Immortal, and the other from Sui Minghua.

Black Divine Bead, that was the name mentioned by Sui Minghua and the others.

After returning from the Imperial City, Chen Fei had been busy with cultivation, focusing on improving his cultivation level. He hadn’t delved deep into the significance of these two Black Divine Bead.

After all, at that time, Chen Fei’s resources were sufficient for his cultivation, and he didn’t need to take unnecessary risks to explore what these so-called Black Divine Bead were all about.

However, today Chen Fei was surprised to find that the area where he had accepted the mission from the Task Hall overlapped somewhat with the location of the Black Divine Bead.

Chen Fei put the Black Divine Bead into his Qiankun Bag and then resumed his seated position, adjusting his state of mind.

Early the next morning, Chen Fei utilized the Blood Refining Art to appear within the Sea Dominion City and then left through the east gate in this guise.

With a flicker, Chen Fei vanished from sight.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei’s figure halted in mid-air, a shimmering light appearing at his brow. In the distance, several figures caught Chen Fei’s eye.

Among them was Chen Daoheng from the Fallen Heaven Pavilion!