Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chapter 419: Dumbfounded (2)

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Sheng Renyuan struggled to lift his head and, upon seeing Ning Pusheng, appeared somewhat confused. He didn’t understand why Ning Pusheng was glaring at him so fiercely.

As for Ning Pusheng, Sheng Renyuan certainly knew him well. He was the top expert in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm of Heavenly Sun Mansion, and near Imperial City, he was a household name.

Sheng Renyuan had seen him from a distance a few times in Imperial City.

But now, why was Ning Pusheng looking at him like this? He was the one who had been inexplicably captured by Heavenly Sun Mansion. Even in that situation, he hadn’t shown such an expression. Why did Ning Pusheng seem so intent on tearing him apart?

“What’s going on?” Sheng Renyuan asked.

The aura sensed by the Sky-Searching Mirror pointed directly at the person on the ground. But even with a little thought, Ning Pusheng knew it was impossible for this person, with only mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation, to kill Tao Shiye.

If Tao Shiye had been killed by someone at the mid-stage Aperture Tempering realm, Ning Pusheng thought Tao Shiye had better died sooner to save Heavenly Sun Mansion from embarrassment.

But why did this person’s aura appear in the dense forest?

“Reporting to Senior Brother Ning, this person was captured by Senior Brother

Tao earlier. Later, Senior Brother Tao went to pursue another individual and left this person here,” Ni Peisheng explained. He had doubts in his heart, but he reported the situation truthfully. Ni Peisheng could tell that Ning Pusheng’s mood at this moment was quite terrible.

“Have you seen the person Senior Brother Tao was pursuing?” Ning Pusheng lowered his head to look at Sheng Renyuan.

“I have, I have,” Sheng Renyuan quickly nodded.

“What’s their cultivation level?”

-Same as mine, mid-stage Aperture Tempering realm,” Sheng Renyuan replied

without hesitation.

“Mid-stage Aperture Tempering realm?”

Suddenly, Ning Pusheng stepped on Sheng Renyuan’s calf, and Sheng

Renyuan’s calf, as if made of tofu, had no resistance at all, snapping at the slightest pressure.

Sheng Renyuan screamed loudly in pain. He didn’t know if Ning Pusheng had used some other power, but the excruciating pain of broken bones, while not common for martial artists, was something most could endure.

However, at this moment, Sheng Renyuan felt as if he had been subjected to severe torture, far more agonizing than a simple bone fracture, echoing relentlessly throughout his body, causing him to roll on the ground uncontrollably.

Sheng Renyuan couldn’t understand why Ning Pusheng would treat him this way when he had answered Ning Pusheng’s questions without hesitation.

Sheng Renyuan couldn’t comprehend it!

“Do you want to say that an Advanced Aperture Tempering realm cultivator of the Heavenly Sun Mansion was killed by someone at the Mid Aperture Tempering realm?” Ning Pusheng berated.

However, after reprimanding Sheng Renyuan, Ning Pusheng slowly closed his eyes and let out a sigh. The kick he had just delivered had been influenced by personal emotions because Ning Pusheng realized that he had been played by that person.

At this point, whether or not Sheng Renyuan had seen that person was irrelevant. The Sky-Searching Mirror couldn’t collect any traces of the person’s aura, making it impossible for Ning Pusheng to track them with it.

As for gathering the person’s aura from Sheng Renyuan, such traces would have been disrupted when interacting with others. Only in places of intense combat, where individuals exerted their full strength, could an aura linger long enough to be detected significantly. In other situations, it was practically impossible.

The Sky-Searching Mirror was indeed a top-grade spiritual tool, but it had its limitations, and it couldn’t perform miracles.

“Useless brat, useless brat!” Ning Pusheng roared softly, then kicked Sheng Renyuan’s head. Sheng Renyuan didn’t die but was knocked unconscious by Ning Pusheng. However, his skull had visibly caved in. While Ning Pusheng had held back to some extent, he hadn’t been gentle.

Several hundred li away, Chen Fei stood atop a hill and glanced back in the direction of Imperial City.

Normally, the people from the Heavenly Sun Mansion would not be able to track Chen Fei. After all, under the influence of his Sword Return Eye technique, even past auras were severed by Chen Fei.

This was precisely why Chen Fei had deliberately cultivated the Sword Return Eye technique. It was a mystical art that involved some principles of causality and proved to be quite remarkable.

With the mindset of being prepared for any situation, Chen Fei had mastered the technique to perfection, and today it had truly come in handy.

As for leaving Sheng Renyuan’s aura in the dense forest, it was entirely

unintentional.

When Chen Fei used the Sword Return Eye technique, he discovered a faint trace of Sheng Renyuan’s aura lingering on the Qjanyuan Sword. At that time, when Sheng Renyuan had desperately resisted Chen Fei’s attacks, the residual aura had been somewhat pronounced. However, in the subsequent use of the Qjanyuan Sword, that trace of aura had already dissipated.

Yet, during the process of backtracking with the Sword Return Eye technique, a faint trace had reemerged.

To be honest, this trace was incredibly faint, almost negligible, and could be equated to practically nothing. Chen Fei had casually left it in the dense forest in case the people from the Heavenly Sun Mansion could actually trace the aura, which could serve as a diversion.

As for whether Sheng Renyuan had seen Chen Fei and if that would become a vulnerability…

Remembering a person’s aura was entirely a subjective perception, and it couldn’t be extracted as a real aura, unlike one’s appearance. The dynasty was so vast that there would be no starting point for such a search.

As for appearance, Chen Fei had disguised himself at the time.

The distance between Imperial City and Immortal Cloud City was nearly ten thousand li, and that was the straight-line distance. Just thinking about it made it clear how low the probability of being found was.

As long as he wasn’t actively pursued and discovered immediately, it was highly unlikely that he would be found later.

Chen Fei glanced at the Qjanyuan Sword in his hand. The spiritual essence he obtained from slaying Tao Shiye had almost overflowed into the sword’s body. Already in a transformative state, this transformation had now accelerated, and once it became a high-grade spiritual weapon, the quality of the Qjanyuan Sword would greatly improve.

This was a case of having an insufficient foundation and making up for it with spiritual essence, forcibly elevating the Qianyuan Sword.

Thinking about the high-grade spiritual sword inside the spatial grid, Chen Fei couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation. He couldn’t understand why Tao Shiye had come after him.

The cause and process of the incident were truly baffling.

Within the Heavenly Sun Mansion, they must have been doing something, and Chen Fei and Sheng Renyuan both fit some specific criteria.

Chen Fei shookhis head, deciding not to dwell on it any longer because it didn’t serve much purpose. Chen Fei couldn’t currently storm the Heavenly Sun Mansion directly, so he had to remember this incident and deal with it later.

With a burst of electric energy, Chen Fei released all his speed and rushed toward the distance.

Several hours later, Chen Fei arrived in Lingshui City, the city where he had originally settled Ruan’s family.

However, compared to when Chen Fei had first arrived, Lingshui City now seemed a bit deserted, with hardly any people to be seen on the streets.

Although it wasn’t completely deserted, many people had indeed moved away from Lingshui City after the strange and terrifying incident that had occurred last time.

Those with abilities and skills had all left Lingshui City, aiming to put as much distance between themselves and Shangwu City as possible. They were afraid that one day they would wake up to find the strangeness of Shangwu City running rampant within the city.

Chen Fei arrived at the courtyard where Ruan’s family had lived. He found that it was also vacant.

Entering the courtyard, after a moment, Chen Fei stood in front of a hidden compartment, next to which there were torn pieces of paper.

Chen Fei picked them up and realized that they were a message left for him by Ruan Qjaojun.

However, someone had beaten Chen Fei to it and had already found the hidden compartment.

After a moment, Chen Fei’s gaze moved away from the sealed envelope. The Ruan family had moved to the more distant Beimo City, and the letter expressed Ruan Qjaojun’s hope that if Chen Fei ever had the chance, he could visit them in Beimo City.

Chen Fei smiled faintly and decided not to head to Beimo City this time. He planned to visit Beimo City the next time he came out.

Chen Fei’s figure flickered and disappeared in Lingshui City.

Instead of heading in the direction of Immortal Cloud City, Chen Fei went in another direction.

When Chen Fei had first visited the Ruan family, Ruan Qjaojun had given him a map to the location where her father had obtained the Gold Sky Stone. Chen Fei had never been there in all these years.

This time, one of Chen Fei’s destinations was this place. With Chen Fei’s current strength, most places posed no danger to him.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei stood on a rocky hill.

In front of him, there were two figures being surrounded and attacked by a group of spider-like demonic beasts.

One of the people, Chen Fei recognized as Yu Shijia from the Yu family. He had challenged Chen Fei to a duel in Immortal Cloud City, but Chen Fei had politely declined.

The other person was also from the Yu family, and she appeared elegant and graceful. She was Yu Shijia’s older sister, Yu Yuqi.

Both of them were at the Mid Aperture Tempering realm in terms of cultivation, but the current situation looked precarious..