Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chen Fei gently shook the copper coins in his hand, creating a crisp sound.

“Did you hear the sound of money?” Chen Fei asked the shopkeeper.

“Of course, I heard it,” the shopkeeper replied. His gaze was fixed on Chen Fei’s hand, and his greed was no longer concealed.

“Since you heard it, then consider the payment for looking at the items as settled,” Chen Fei stopped his hand’s movements, his eyes locked onto the shopkeeper.

Upon hearing Chen Fei’s words, the shopkeeper was momentarily taken aback, but soon after, a sinister smile reappeared on his face.

“That was only part of the payment. The Tianhui Stone requires two thousand copper coins. You have only a few coins in your hand, and this little sound can’t possibly cover such an amount!”

The shopkeeper’s eyes were fixed on Chen Fei, and a black aura began to surge from his body, instantly filling the entire shop with a shocking presence that bore down on Chen Fei.

“If you can’t pay, then stay in the shop and work to repay your debt. The day you pay it off is the day you can leave!” The shopkeeper’s voice resounded like a thundering bell, each word striking at the core of one’s soul, as if attempting to shatter it.

Chen Fei involuntarily took a step back as the overwhelming pressure, an aura he had previously only seen in the head of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, surged once again, this time emanating from a mysterious figure.

Chen Fei looked at the few copper coins in his hand, turned his palm, and threw them out towards the door.

While the seal on the door blocked Chen Fei, it didn’t hinder the coins in the slightest.

In the street, a hundred meters from the shop, Chen Fei, who had appeared lifeless moments ago, suddenly opened his eyes and caught the copper coins thrown from inside the shop. Meanwhile, the Chen Fei who remained inside the shop smiled faintly and disappeared on the spot.

The shopkeeper rushed to the front door but was blocked by an unseen force. He roared loudly, forcing his head through the seal on the door, only to see the scene on the street.

However, at this moment, there was no trace of Chen Fei on the street. The shopkeeper raged and howled, his thunderous voice echoing throughout the main street.

Everyone on the street stopped what they were doing and looked at the head in the door frame – pale and terrifying. One glance sent shivers down their spines, but those around had grown accustomed to it.

They were simply puzzled by why the shopkeeper was so furious.

Several hundred meters away, at the corner of the street, Chen Fei stood there, avoiding the shopkeeper’s gaze.

Whether it was yesterday or today, Chen Fei noticed that all the people in the shops stayed confined within their own stores and never ventured outside.

Clearly, this was governed by the rules of the Despair City.

Today, when he entered this shop, although Chen Fei didn’t sense any danger deep down, he remained cautious. He had his secondary self, created by the Phantom of the Soaring Heaven Technique, go in to gather information on his behalf.

The secondary self had an identical aura to Chen Fei but was considerably weaker. However, these differences were challenging to hide from others, especially when observed up close, as one could discern some distinctions between the real person and the secondary self.

That’s why Chen Fei decided to use the Slaughter Spirit Technique on himself.

When the Slaughter Spirit Technique was used externally, it was used for killing and seizing souls. When used internally, it could cut off one’s own aura completely. Chen Fei severed his main self’s aura and transferred it to the secondary self.

With the cover of such a massive aura, combined with the vanishing of the main self’s aura, the secondary self instantly appeared even more authentic than the main self.

Chen Fei sent this secondary self, carrying some copper coins, to investigate this shop. If there was no danger, everything would go smoothly. If any unexpected situation occurred, Chen Fei could use the Phantom of the Soaring Heaven Technique as a contingency.

However, he didn’t expect that there would indeed be a problem.

At that moment, Chen Fei began to doubt whether the information he had purchased with his money was genuine or not. Fortunately, the copper coins successfully passed through the shop’s seal, confirming at least one thing – in this eerie city, money could indeed work wonders!

On the street, the shopkeeper’s roaring gradually faded away, likely pulled back by the city’s rules. Chen Fei glanced around briefly and was about to move towards another direction when suddenly, his eyebrows lifted slightly.

A hundred meters away, a figure hurriedly emerged from one shop and walked briskly toward another direction on the street.

Chen Fei noticed this figure because it was indeed a human, unlike the peculiar entities within the eerie city. Peculiar entities and humans had distinct auras, so Chen Fei immediately recognized this as a human being.

What was even more crucial was that this person was entirely unfamiliar. They were definitely not among the dozens of Aperture Tempering realm cultivators who had been drawn into this situation, nor were they from the Divine Flame Sect, as this person’s aura was well-rounded and complete, indicating they were a late-stage Aperture Tempering realm cultivator.

The fact that this city had a late-stage Aperture Tempering realm expert was astonishing, considering that the Half-Bottle Mountain’s mystic realm could not accommodate cultivators with cultivation levels above the early Aperture Tempering realm.

In other words, this person must have been transported here from somewhere else.

Chen Fei watched as the distant figure was about to disappear, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately decided to follow. He knew too little about this city and didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to communicate with someone who might provide insights.

“Elder!”

Chen Fei didn’t rush forward recklessly. After closing some distance, he cupped his hands and called out.

However, the person, upon hearing Chen Fei’s voice, didn’t stop but instead turned into an alley.

Chen Fei furrowed his brows slightly, and with a flicker of movement, he reached the entrance of the alley. He gazed into the darkened passageway and couldn’t help but hesitate.

It wasn’t the atmosphere inside the alley that made Chen Fei uneasy, but rather the fact that the person had clearly heard his voice and chosen not to stop. It was evident that the individual didn’t want to engage with Chen Fei.

When a late-stage Aperture Tempering realm expert showed no inclination to communicate with you, and yet you insisted on pursuing, it could be seen as not showing proper respect and might lead to unexpected consequences.

Chen Fei took a deep breath, preparing to continue exploring elsewhere. While he had made some gains today, he understood that only by learning more could he increase his chances of escaping from this place.

“Squeak, squeak!”

The rat demon that had been hiding in Chen Fei’s sleeve suddenly made a soft sound. Chen Fei’s expression shifted, and he brought the rat demon in front of him.

In the rat demon’s sea of consciousness, there were spiritual imprints left by Chen Fei. Therefore, upon contact, Chen Fei could help the rat demon by slightly attracting the mist with these imprints, ensuring that the rat demon’s main consciousness wouldn’t be completely suppressed.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”

The rat demon gestured toward Chen Fei for a while, and Chen Fei’s eyebrows raised slightly. The rat demon seemed to have detected the scent of the ink-black stone that was present in Baka’s cave.

Chen Fei had previously suspected whether Baka had also been transported here, but the rat demon hadn’t reacted since it was rescued yesterday. Unexpectedly, in this location today, it suddenly detected the scent.

It was likely that the suppression of the Despair City had significantly weakened the rat demon’s various abilities.

“Lead the way!”

Chen Fei thought for a moment and decided to investigate. If Baka was indeed here, he would find a way to bring Baka with him to leave.

However, given the eerie nature of this city, Chen Fei couldn’t help but wonder if Baka had already turned into a piece of withered wood.

Following the rat demon’s guidance, Chen Fei eventually arrived at a courtyard. The courtyard was quite large, and after circling around it, Chen Fei found it comparable to the Zhang family mansion in Pingyin County.

However, despite the size of the courtyard, it remained eerily silent inside, as if devoid of any presence. Occasionally, faint sounds would reach Chen Fei’s ears.

“Squeak!”

The rat demon pointed toward the courtyard but was about to retreat into Chen Fei’s sleeve when Chen Fei stopped it. Chen Fei gestured for the rat demon to enter the courtyard and investigate.

Since his shadow clone had just dissipated and couldn’t be reformed in a short time, Chen Fei had to rely on the rat demon to do the scouting work.

The rat demon hesitated for a moment, then leaped into the courtyard. Chen Fei waited outside for a while, and then he heard the rat demon’s faint cries from inside.

There was no danger, and the rat demon had found a tree with a faint residual scent matching the stone Chen Fei had given it.

Chen Fei’s expression shifted slightly. He circled around the courtyard, coming to the spot closest to where the rat demon was. Then, he leaped into the courtyard.

At first glance, Chen Fei noticed a tree in the courtyard. This tree appeared lifeless, like any other ordinary old tree, with no observable fluctuations in its aura. However, upon closer examination with Chen Fei’s core soul energy, he sensed a peculiar, subtle disturbance within it.

“Baka?”

Chen Fei sent a spiritual call into the tree. The quiet old tree suddenly trembled, seemingly responding to the call. However, it quickly fell silent again, as if the initial reaction had been a mere illusion.

Chen Fei narrowed his eyes, gazing at the old tree. He was about to attempt another call when his movements abruptly halted. He noticed that, at some point, two individuals were slowly approaching the courtyard’s entrance.

Chen Fei turned his head to look, squinting slightly. One of the individuals, Chen Fei recognized – it was Chi Shuqing from the Sunken Water Pavilion. The other person, Chen Fei didn’t recognize, but he could tell that this individual was a ghost, and her aura was entirely connected to this courtyard.

The fact that Chi Shuqing was alive took Chen Fei by surprise. After all, the draining by the Ghost Soldiers was typically fatal, and regular cultivators at the Aperture Tempering realm couldn’t resist it. Moreover, Chi Shuqing’s eyes seemed clouded, as if her consciousness was shrouded.

Life and death seemed to be entirely beyond her control.

Could the reason lie with the Ghost Lady beside her, who appeared as a high-born young lady? Did she see Chi Shuqing as her own food, hiding her away under the cover of darkness to enjoy her later?

“Trespassing on the courtyard, are you trying to die?” The Ghost Lady stared at Chen Fei with a piercing gaze, filled with bitterness.

“I want to buy a tree from you!” Chen Fei replied after a moment, opening his palm and sending ten copper coins towards Ghost Lady..