Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques - Chapter 808: Black Tortoise

The formation of Thousand Geese City automatically activated, and a huge shield enveloped the entire city.

Zhao Ruizheng and his companions suddenly appeared in mid-air. Upon seeing the approaching forces, their faces changed slightly, and they immediately infused their elemental energy into the city’s formation.

Supported by this surge of power, the formation manifested a Black Tortoise phantom above the city.

“Boom!”

The Black Tortoise phantom trembled violently, its solid form suddenly becoming somewhat ethereal, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

A figure appeared above Thousand Geese City, cloaked in black mist. After glancing at the city, just as they were about to strike, a sudden explosion sounded from behind.

The figure turned to look, purple light reflecting in their eyes.

Chen Fei wielded the Qianyuan Sword, surrounded by countless electric arcs. Step by step, he approached Thousand Geese City, his focus entirely on the figure in black.

A surprised voice escaped the figure’s lips. Despite being struck by a mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator, their aura not only didn’t diminish but kept rising.

A light chuckle echoed out, crimson eyes fixed on Chen Fei for a moment before the figure abruptly dissipated in mid-air, vanishing along with its lingering aura and soul imprint.

“Return to Nothing!”

Chen Fei’s brow furrowed slightly. He had already speculated about this before, and now seeing the figure disappear confirmed his suspicions.

From sensing the call of the Black Divine to finally leaving the city, it had been over twenty days.

For the other defectors who had sided with the Black Divine outside the Sacred City, they could directly absorb Return to Nothing’s runes.

These defectors had remained silent for over twenty days, but now they could no longer hold back.

Chen Fei glanced towards the direction of Jade Spring Valley. Two late-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivators had unexpectedly come under attack.

Either the attackers were exceptionally bold, or was it a case of the thief crying thief?

Among the defectors, they couldn’t sense if the others were defectors too. It was like how monsters viewed all humans and beasts equally—attack whoever needed to be attacked.

The connection between defectors and the Black Divine was a direct line. There was no hierarchical relationship among defectors themselves—at least, Chen Fei hadn’t sensed any such information from the palm pattern.

As Chen Fei arrived above Thousand Geese City, the phantom of the Black Tortoise had already vanished. Zhao Ruizheng and his group moved forward, about to speak, when they noticed several streaks of light swiftly approaching from a distance.

The response from the Sacred City was indeed swift. It was precisely because of this that the person who had just left felt there was danger and chose to depart directly.

The Return to Nothing runes rewarded by the Black Divine were given at the Great Completion stage. Therefore, Chen Fei couldn’t use his perception to pinpoint the exact location of that person within the spatial interlayer.

The distant streaks of light split into two parts: one fell into Jade Spring Valley, and the other arrived at Thousand Geese City.

“What just happened? Tell us everything you know!” Three officials from the Sacred City demanded, their expressions serious.

“Bring out the Viewing Stone,” Chen Fei turned to Tang Shouchang and said.

Daily management of Thousand Geese City had recently fallen into Tang Shouchang’s hands. Chen Fei preferred not to manage it, and others weren’t very capable of doing so either.

So, they let Tang Shouchang, who had previously served as the rotating city lord, continue in that role.

The Viewing Stone, Chen Fei had used it before in Immortal Cloud City, but sparingly. It couldn’t record sound, the images were not very clear, and it was expensive.

However, all these shortcomings of the Viewing Stone were aimed at the Chen Fei of that time.

Back then, Chen Fei often couldn’t even come up with the money for simplified martial arts manuals, and he’d sometimes rather break a coin in two than spend it.

But for the present Chen Fei, the money for Viewing Stones was trivial. Such items were accessible even to Body Tempering realm warriors, so no matter how expensive they were, they couldn’t be considered costly.

Therefore, after moving to the Sacred City, Chen Fei proposed integrating Viewing Stones into the formation of Thousand Geese City to monitor its surroundings.

To overcome the flaws of not recording sound and having blurry images, they simply melted together a large quantity of Viewing Stones.

Chen Fei’s suggestion prompted the formation masters in Thousand Geese City to brainstorm, ultimately creating a new formation specifically designed to complement the Viewing Stones.

Now, around Thousand Geese City’s periphery, twelve segments of time each day were recorded by the Viewing Stones.

“Understood!”

Tang Shouchang nodded approvingly and vanished on the spot. When he reappeared, he held a piece of jade, precisely the Viewing Stone.

The three officials from the Sacred City looked somewhat surprised as they examined the Viewing Stone in their hands. As their minds delved into it, they could vaguely see the scene of the shattered mountain peak in Jade Spring Valley just moments ago.

Then came the moment when Chen Fei was struck by an attack, followed by the appearance of a dark figure in the sky above Thousand Geese City.

There was little recorded in the Viewing Stone because the events had unfolded in an instant and ended abruptly. Most people in Thousand Geese City hadn’t even realized what had happened.

“Thankyou for your efforts!”

The officials from the Sacred City glanced at Chen Fei and his companions, nodded, and then headed straight for Jade Spring Valley.

The images on the Viewing Stone were more straightforward than any words could convey, so there was no need for further questioning.

Arriving at Jade Spring Valley, the Sacred City’s three officials found that, unlike Thousand Geese City which was peaceful, Jade Spring Valley had been nearly half devastated.

The battles among Mountain Sea Realm cultivators were naturally intense, and even practitioners below that level could be killed by the aftershocks. Many had perished in Jade Spring Valley.

“What’s the situation over there?”

Ji Zhanfeng asked Tang Zhiliang and Duan Suizhi, surprised to see Wu Zhankun and his group return so quickly.

“Thousand Geese City had an interesting development. They integrated Viewing Stones into their formation and recorded the events as they unfolded,” Wu Zhankun said with a smile as he handed over the Viewing Stone.

“Oh?”

Ji Zhanfeng’s expression shifted slightly as he took the Viewing Stone and delved into its contents. A scene appeared in his perception.

Upon seeing the dark figure hovering over Thousand Geese City, Ji Zhanfeng furrowed his brow slightly.

While Ji Zhanfeng scrutinized the details on the Viewing Stone, Wu Zhankun turned his attention to Tang Zhiliang and Duan Suizhi.

After Tang Zhiliang broke through to the late stage of the Mountain Sea Realm several decades ago, Duan Suizhi had recently achieved the breakthrough. In their recent encounter with the attackers, Duan Suizhi’s entire right arm had been severed, and he now appeared somewhat weakened.

“Can we track down that thief?” Tang Zhiliang asked in a deep voice.

Jade Spring Valley had been inexplicably attacked, resulting in casualties including several Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators. Among them was a promising disciple who was on the verge of advancing to the Mountain Sea Realm.

“Have you had any recent conflicts with anyone?” Ji Zhanfeng raised his head, avoiding a direct answer to Tang Zhiliang’s question.

“At a time like this, who would have the leisure to create new enemies? In the past, there were some adversaries, and they have all come into the Sacred City.” Tang Zhiliang shook his head, recounting each past grievance with Jade Spring Valley.

Half an hour later, Ji Zhanfeng and his group departed from Jade Spring Valley, bidding farewell to the Mountain Sea Realm cultivators at the gate.

Once Ji Zhanfeng and his group had flown far away, the smiles faded from the faces of Tang Zhiliang and Duan Suizhi.

Inside a secluded chamber in Jade Spring Valley, Duan Suizhi’s severed arm rapidly healed, and his weakened aura gradually returned to normal.

“We agreed to wipe out Thousand Geese City. What happened?”

Duan Suizhi asked, holding his arm and looking up at Tang Zhiliang.

Jade Spring Valley staged a feigned defeat, naturally expecting benefits in return.

Originally, their plan was to raze Thousand Geese City, which would earn them sufficient rewards from the Black Divine. Jade Spring Valley would sustain some damage but could shift responsibility conveniently.

Indeed, Tang Zhiliang and Duan Suizhi had pledged allegiance to the Black Divine, with their souls tainted. However, their spiritual wisdom remained intact, albeit obedient to the Black Divine’s commands.

“That mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator, Chen Fei from Thousand Geese City, is quite unusual,” Tang Zhiliang recalled the previous events, his brow furrowing slightly.

Normally, a mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator would not be able to withstand attacks from a late-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator without serious injury, let alone emerge unscathed. This unexpected outcome disrupted Tang Zhiliang’s plans.

Anticipating the swift arrival of the Sacred City officials, Tang Zhiliang decided to leave first.

“Could he have surpassed the normal capabilities of a mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator? Could he have also joined the Black Divine like us?” Duan Suizhi’s expression shifted slightly.

The Black Divine’s rewards for insights into martial techniques were well- known within the Black Divine Barrier.

The insights they absorbed were certainly corrupted, but Duan Suizhi and Tang Zhiliang ultimately assimilated them.

Their primary reason was simple: they believed the Black Divine’s conquest of the Boundless Sea was only a matter of time, rendering futile any resistance from humans and beasts alike.

The majesty of realms above the Sixth-Tier was incomparable. Even the strongest within the Boundless Sea, limited to Fifth-Tier strength, could not hinder them.

Of course, beyond this reason, the crucial factor was that Duan Suizhi and Tang Zhiliang were nearing the end of their lifespans.

Having reached the Mountain Sea Realm centuries ago, they had exhausted the life-extending elixirs and spiritual materials available to them.

Without breaking through to the Sun Moon Realm, they would soon return to dust in a matter of decades.

Given their aptitude, their current realms were already at their limits. Duan Suizhi had long been stuck at a bottleneck, unable to advance to the late stage of the Mountain Sea Realm.

However, the Black Divine offered them hope for breakthroughs.

The top-tier techniques within the Sacred Land, even the pinnacle sect techniques, were no longer out of reach. Coupled with the insights into martial techniques provided by the Black Divine, there was potential for them to advance to the Sun Moon Realm in the future.

Even if they ultimately failed to break through, the Black Divine likely had methods to prolong their lives.

In this situation, the two naturally had no reason to hesitate.

As far as Duan Suizhi and Tang Zhiliang saw it, there were certainly many Mountain Sea Realm cultivators covertly aligning themselves with the Black Divine. Whether nearing the end of their lifespan or feeling powerless against the Black Divine, they were not alone in their decision.

“It’s possible, but we can’t confirm it.”

Tang Zhiliang shook his head. “Let’s hold off on attacking Thousand Geese City for now. In a month or two, we’ll find a suitable opportunity to strike together and level it. By then, we can collect a reward from the Black Divine!”

It wouldn’t be appropriate to strike Thousand Geese City again so soon. Waiting until disturbances arose elsewhere would divert attention from their actions.

Although a mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm cultivator like Chen Fei was somewhat unusual, they were still just mid-stage cultivators. A late-stage cultivator like themselves would find handling Thousand Geese City quite manageable, and with both of them working together, they held the city in high regard.