Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chapter 354: Pulling the Heavens

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Xing Xinzhao was racing forward when suddenly his footsteps slowed. In the perception of the Sword Return Eye, Xing Xinzhao saw two unfamiliar auras. These two auras were particularly strong in the eyes of the Sword Return Eye, indicating that the newcomers possessed significant strength.

“There are people here to assist him!” Xing Xinzhao’s face darkened, he pondered for a moment, and then continued to pursue.

After covering a few miles, Xing Xinzhao sensed the two auras again in his spiritual awareness. His expression couldn’t help but change slightly. It seemed that the strength of the people coming to assist wasn’t anything extraordinary since he easily caught up with them.

Xing Xinzhao slid his feet and transformed into a blur, moving at an even faster pace. However, as he was about to get closer, his brows furrowed slightly, as something felt off about those two auras.

Before Xing Xinzhao could figure it out, his eyes caught sight of three figures ahead. At this point, the distance between the two sides was less than a mile.

The sense of unease in Xing Xinzhao’s heart grew stronger. Just as he was about to stop, he suddenly saw two figures charging toward him from the front.

Within the space of less than a mile, Xing Xinzhao had been advancing forward, while the two individuals had reversed direction and were now charging back toward him. In the blink of an eye, the distance between them was less than a hundred meters.

In this short distance, Xing Xinzhao managed to clearly see the appearance of the two individuals, and his face changed dramatically.

Yes, Xing Xinzhao recognized the appearances of Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun. With access to all six cultivation techniques of the Primordial Sword Sect, Xing Xinzhao naturally couldn’t help but pay attention to the members of the Primordial Sword Sect.

However, Xing Xinzhao had considered various scenarios for their encounter, but the one scenario he hadn’t anticipated was meeting them in this situation.

What was even more crucial was that the two individuals with the highest cultivation in the Primordial Sword Sect had appeared simultaneously. While Zhou Zixun could be forgiven, Qu Qingsheng, as the Sect Master of the Primordial Sword Sect, daring to venture out into the complex situation around Immortal Cloud City was quite unexpected.

Xing Xinzhao swiftly stepped his right foot forward and quickly retreated backward. Facing two Late-Stage Aperture tempering realm cultivators, he didn’t dare to engage and needed to leave immediately.

“You scoundrel, where do you think you’re going?” Zhou Zixun angrily shouted. Since hearing Chen Fei’s words, a fire had been burning in Zhou Zixun’s heart. For any sect, the inheritance of techniques was of utmost importance. Losing a technique would prompt most sects to do everything they could to retrieve it, and the Sword Return Tower held a total of six techniques from the Primordial Sword Sect.

Qu Qingsheng watched Xing Xinzhao and pointed his spirit sword forward. A black sword formation enveloped Xing Xinzhao.

Xing Xinzhao’s expression changed slightly, and his spirit sword radiated dazzling brilliance. A massive illusory sword shadow rose into the sky, blocking the Zhongyuan sword formation and preventing it from descending.

Seizing this opportunity, Xing Xinzhao frantically retreated.

When two cultivators of the same rank had a significant difference in their cultivation and there was enough distance between them, it was possible for the one who wanted to escape to succeed.

Xing Xinzhao felt fortunate that he had sensed something unusual, and there was still some distance between the two parties.

The Soaring Heaven technique from the Primordial Sword Sect was remarkable, but the Sword Return Tower’s body technique inheritance was equally outstanding. Therefore, Xing Xinzhao was confident in making a clean getaway, especially since Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun were not peak Late-Stage Aperture tempering realm experts.

“Stay!” Zhou Zixun roared, and his entire person seemed to transform into a treasure sword. In the blink of an eye, he covered hundreds of meters and appeared right in front of Xing Xinzhao.

In the next moment, Zhou Zixun collided head-on with Xing Xinzhao.

“Boom!”

A deafening explosion resounded, reaching for the skies. Even from a distance, Chen Fei could feel the immense power of this collision.

Zhou Zixun had attempted to break through to the combined aperture tempering realm but failed, causing his vital energy to deplete rapidly. However, during the breakthrough attempt, he had gained some insights, and the explosion just now was a manifestation of that knowledge.

The combined aperture tempering realm integrated all the acupoints throughout the body into one point, harnessing an incredibly powerful force that far exceeded the aperture tempering realm. Zhou Zixun’s failed breakthrough had given him some understanding of this acupoint fusion. The sudden leap of hundreds of meters just now was achieved by combining the power of his acupoints using the Giant Spirit Sword.

This technique had the drawback of injuring the user before harming the opponent, but Zhou Zixun didn’t care much about that. With his remaining lifespan being so short, minor injuries were inconsequential.

Because he had gained some insight into acupoint fusion, Zhou Zixun’s combat prowess at this moment could be considered the strongest among everyone present.

In the clash of swords, Xing Xinzhao involuntarily took a step back, clearly at a disadvantage. Although he hadn’t displayed signs of defeat, it was evident that he was on the losing side.

Taking advantage of Xing Xinzhao’s momentary loss of power, the Zhongyuan Sword Formation descended, completely enveloping him. At this point, Xing Xinzhao found it difficult to escape.

Sensing the situation around him, Xing Xinzhao’s eyes widened, and he let out a furious roar. His entire body’s elemental energy instantly boiled. Faced with the encirclement of two peers, if he couldn’t escape, all he could do was hold his ground.

Sui Wengong was only a few miles away. If he persisted for just a little while longer, Sui Wengong would catch up. When two cultivators of the Aperture tempering realm were to engage, it wouldn’t be as straightforward to determine the victor.

“Attack!”

Zhou Zixun shouted fiercely, and the Giant Spirit Sword rose, as if it could overturn the heavens, imposing its immense power in all directions.

For Zhou Zixun, who had practiced the Giant Spirit Sword for a lifetime, his comprehension was profound. The sword technique he exhibited seemed to transcend the ordinary boundaries of the Giant Spirit Sword.

Standing at a distance, Chen Fei’s gaze flickered. His own Giant Spirit Sword was also approaching perfection. Aside from the gap in cultivation level, Chen Fei suddenly noticed that there was something different about the way Zhou Zixun was wielding the Giant Spirit Sword.

Of course, it wasn’t that Zhou Zixun had made mistakes in his Giant Spirit Sword cultivation. Instead, the Giant Spirit Sword he was displaying seemed to carry a hint of Zhou Zixun’s personal artistic conception.

For the members of the Primordial Sword Sect, the Giant Spirit Sword and the Zhongyuan Sword represented the pinnacle of their cultivation and techniques. There was no further path to tread.

Either they needed to find other techniques to combine with them or carve out a new path entirely. Many years ago, when the cultivation levels of Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun were just the same as they were now, they had tried to forge a new path.

However, it was incredibly difficult, and they had not made much progress over the years. Even so, the small progress they had made gave Chen Fei a unique feeling.

“Boom!”

Inside the Zhongyuan Sword Formation, the sound of explosions filled the air. Chen Fei could hear Xing Xinzhao’s angry roar, but as time passed, the anger in his voice was gradually diminishing.

Xing Xinzhao’s fiery aura, which had been burning like a raging fire, was also steadily decreasing. However, because he was on the defensive, not making any offensive moves, although it appeared that he was in a losing position, there was still some distance from being defeated.

When two cultivators of equal cultivation realms faced off, and one side was in a purely defensive stance, it was extremely difficult to launch a successful attack. Xing Xinzhao’s mentality was also incredibly tenacious at the moment, especially since Sui Wengong’s aura had already appeared not far away.

As long as he held on for a little longer, Sui Wengong would arrive. When that happened, with an equal number of Aperture tempering realm cultivators, their strengths evenly matched, it was uncertain who would come out on top in a true battle.

The more likely outcome was that both sides would back down. Xing Xinzhao could sense that Zhou Zixun’s strength was gradually diminishing compared to the initial confrontation.

The person who had initially put the most pressure on him was now exerting less and less pressure.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Qu Qingsheng was still there, and Xing Xinzhao had no chance to escape.

Xing Xinzhao could feel Zhou Zixun’s state, and naturally, Qu Qingsheng could too. Since the failed breakthrough to the Aperture tempering realm, Zhou Zixun’s physical condition had been on a continuous decline.

He could still maintain his late-stage Aperture tempering realm’s cultivation under normal circumstances and possessed the corresponding combat power, but this combat power wasn’t sustainable. It might not be very noticeable when facing opponents below late-stage Aperture tempering realm, but in a battle between equals, Zhou Zixun could only unleash his late-stage Aperture tempering realm strength for a short period of time, just like in the current situation.

Chen Fei didn’t know when he had appeared on the battlefield about a dozen meters away. Here, he could clearly feel the aura and pressure emanating from three late-stage Aperture tempering realm cultivators.

Chen Fei’s hair fluttered in the wind as his clothes clung tightly to his body under the pressure.

Inside the Zhongyuan Sword Formation, Xing Xinzhao’s spirit sword spun continuously, blocking the attacks from all sides. He caught a glimpse of Chen Fei outside the sword formation, and a trace of fierceness flashed in his eyes.

It was all because of this person that he had ended up in such a precarious and dangerous situation. If given the chance, Xing Xinzhao would not hesitate to kill Chen Fei and would not hold back!

Chen Fei sensed Xing Xinzhao’s murderous intent and glanced at him. Feeling the approaching aura of Sui Wengong in the distance, he immediately activated the utmost refinement of the Thousand Threads technique within his sea of consciousness, causing his mental power to surge.

Godslayer!

An invisible sword light shot out from Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness, and in the blink of an eye, it entered the sword formation and arrived in front of Xing Xinzhao. Xing Xinzhao felt something unusual, and his mental power suddenly tightened.

“Hmm!”

Xing Xinzhao felt a tremor in his sea of consciousness, and there was already a gap in his mental power. The sensation was several times worse than a skin-deep wound, exploding in his sea of consciousness.

For Xing Xinzhao, this level of pain wasn’t much. Normally, he probably wouldn’t even furrow his brow. Moreover, this minor mental injury was not a big deal for him. Mental attacks were sometimes a double-edged sword, hurting both the attacker and the defender. When you hurt yourself, others would suffer from the backlash as well.

But at this moment, Xing Xinzhao was wielding his spirit sword to block attacks, and the sudden mental injury caused his movements to pause uncontrollably.

This was a very brief pause, but in a high-level duel, even a small pause could be a vulnerability.

If the mental attack had been launched by either Qu Qingsheng or Zhou Zixun just now, one of them would have likely paused, and the other would have had a hard time determining the outcome, even if they seized the opportunity.

But Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun were both unharmed at this moment. Years of tacit understanding allowed Zhou Zixun to infuse the power of the Giant Spirit Sword into Qu Qingsheng’s sword formation.

“Clang!”

The power of the Zhongyuan Sword in Qu Qingsheng’s hand instantly surged. With a single strike, Xing Xinzhao tried to respond, but it was already too late. He could only move to the side to avoid it to some extent.

In the next moment, a small portion of his arm, along with a few shoulder bones, flew into the air, shattering into a mist of blood.

It was a close call; Xing Xinzhao’s head was almost severed by that strike, and only his instinctual reaction had saved his life.

“All!”

Xing Xinzhao screamed in agony, and all his meridians suddenly expanded, then contracted, cracking across all his meridians. In the next moment, a tremendous force surged, and Xing Xinzhao transformed into a sword light, tearing through the Zhongyuan Sword Formation, disappearing without a trace.

Chen Fei looked up, and that sword light even carried Sui Wengong from afar, vanishing together from this territory..