Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chapter 861: Living Towards Death

Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Chen Fei showed no response to the gazes of these disciples from the Seven Great Sacred Lands.

The Seven Great Sacred Lands stood at the pinnacle of the Boundless Sea, their entry being a rare honor in itself.

Proud and aloof, it was almost inevitable given their lofty status over the years in this plane of existence.

Their demeanor wasn’t borne out of ignorance or arrogance, but rather the culmination of years spent at the top of the Boundless Sea.

They didn’t look down on non-disciples of the Sacred Lands, but they had never considered those people as their peers. Their comparisons were always with disciples from other Sacred Lands.

Surpassing non-disciples in martial prowess was a matter of course, nothing to boast about.

Of course, if they could cross tiers in battle and emerge victorious, that would be a notable achievement.

However, even disciples of the Sacred Lands found it nearly impossible to fight across tiers.

Only the Sacred Ones or prodigies close to their positions had a chance of accomplishing such feats.

In the minds of many disciples of the Sacred Lands, this selection was essentially a competition between the various Sacred Lands. Of course, there was also the formidable opponent of the Divine Monster Bloodline King with its Divine Monster Bloodline.

To save the Boundless Sea, only their Sacred Lands could achieve this; the importance of other Mountain Sea Realms, while not negligible, was certainly less significant.

However, Chen Fei’s performance just now somewhat shattered their understanding.

Chen Fei won too easily, giving Zhang Xidong no chance at all. Even when Zhang Xidong used his innate skills, he couldn’t shake Chen Fei in the slightest.

After an hour’s rest, the competition resumed.

On the four platforms, figures flickered, all Sacred Land disciples, their gazes fixed on the non-Sacred Land Mountain Sea Realms.

The implication was clear: the Sacred Land disciples intended to clear the field.

Not only the Sacred Land disciples, but also the Divine Monster Bloodline King occasionally glanced at the ordinary bloodline Kings.

Compared to humans, beasts took even more pride in their own bloodlines, surpassing even the Sacred Land disciples in this regard.

After all, the strength of beasts greatly depended on their bloodlines.

Some powerful bloodlines, through continuous awakening, could even acquire cultivation methods within their bloodlines.

Not only could this accelerate their cultivation speed, but it also sharply increased the degree of bloodline awakening.

Naturally, this widened the gap between them and ordinary beast Kings.

Four figures appeared on the platforms, shimmering with light, all from the Mountain Sea Realm experts outside the Sacred Lands.

Those who could cultivate to the Mountain Sea Realm possessed their own pride. These Sacred Land disciples had almost named names, so naturally they couldn’t avoid this.

In the rounds to come, given the number of Sacred Land disciples, they couldn’t possibly avoid a showdown. Ultimately, a battle was inevitable.

Or rather, if you wanted to make it to the final rankings, you had to step on the heads of these Sacred Land disciples to climb higher.

“Brother Chen, those people from the Sacred Lands will definitely target you later. That’s not good for you,” said Fei Jiaxing as he walked up to Chen Fei, speaking in a low voice.

“Of course, it’s not entirely hopeless. The strength of Sacred Land disciples varies. If those few come up later, Brother Chen can directly choose them.”

Fei Jiaxing pointed out a few individuals among the Sacred Land disciples to Chen Fei.

“Thank you for the advice,” Chen Fei replied softly with a smile.

Among so many Sacred Land disciples, those pointed out by Fei Jiaxing were indeed somewhat weaker.

“I wouldn’t call it advice; I just can’t stand their behavior,” Fei Jiaxing said, smiling with his goat beard pinched between his fingers.

The competition on the four platforms lasted longer than the previous two rounds.

To determine the winner, they would need at least a hundred exchanges.

While the Sacred Land disciples began to target him, those who had reached this stage based on their own strength were truly formidable. Winning was no simple task.

Suddenly, a cry erupted from the crowd around them. On the Fourth Rank peak platform, a Sacred Land disciple was swept to the edge and fell out of the ring.

Chen Fei’s gaze subtly fluctuated. He had been observing the competition closely, focusing especially on the battles on the Fourth Rank peak platforms.

Gu Zhongquan’s complexion turned slightly pale. He gestured apologetically to those around him and headed to the rest area, where he began taking healing pills.

In the Boundless Sea, any peak Mountain Sea Realm figure was renowned, and Gu Zhongquan was no exception.

As an elder of the Purple Mist Palace, he had lived for hundreds of years, but many could now sense a faint trace of decline in him.

This was the sign of nearing the end of his lifespan. Even with the pinnacle power of the Mountain Sea Realm, he could no longer perfectly suppress it.

Time, indeed, was the world’s strongest force. No matter how much power one possessed to move mountains and seas, when one’s lifespan reached its limit, everything would turn to ashes.

However, Gu Zhongquan’s strength was undeniably immense. How many talents had he accumulated? Outsiders couldn’t discern it, but when he displayed his innate skills, he could suppress even the peak disciples of the Sacred Lands.

In other words, Gu Zhongquan likely had condensed six innate talents, reaching the pinnacle of the Mountain Sea Realm.

The Purple Mist Palace naturally didn’t have such a lineage, but recently, during the opening of the Sacred Land, Gu Zhongquan should have exchanged for sect-protecting martial arts.

Normally, without these sect-protecting martial arts from the Sacred Land, even peak Mountain Sea Realm figures would only have condensed four innate talents.

Top forces like the Purple Mist Palace might have researched ancient and shattered techniques from extinct Sacred Lands, potentially evolving their own martial arts to the point where they could condense five innate talents.

But at this stage, it was already close to the limit. Gu Zhongquan had reached the peak of the Mountain Sea Realm after over a hundred years of cultivation, and the number of talents he possessed had long been fixed.

Yet, the saying goes, “Nine in Ten Returns to One,” and in the world, there’s always a chance of vitality and change.

From what Chen Fei knew, there was actually a secret technique in the Stellar Divine Technique.

Using the power of the Nine Palaces within the peak Mountain Sea Realm, reversing oneself, at the cost of half the destruction of the Divine Palace, one could once again step into the void and gain an innate talent.

If successful, the Divine Palace could be restored to its original state, and the innate talents could reach the ultimate six.

Of course, if unsuccessful, cultivation could regress to the initial Mountain Sea Realm stage, which would be the lightest consequence.

More likely, death on the spot!

This requires a mindset of all-out risk-taking to have any chance of success.

With five innate talents, there was actually a possibility of stepping into the Sun Moon Realm, though it remained elusive. Only with the ultimate six innate talents would the hope of breaking into the Sun Moon Realm be slightly greater.

With Gu Zhongquan’s lifespan nearing its end, he had the cultivation, the mindset, and the determination to fight. His participation in this selection was also a gamble in seeking survival through death.

Under the pressure of life-and-death struggle, he suppressed himself.

If he could ultimately make it onto the rankings and survive the life-and-death battles, breaking into the Sun Moon Realm afterward might indeed be a smoother path.

Facing death to find life—there was no other way!

Chen Fei’s gaze shifted towards the late Fourth Rank platform.

The peak Fourth Rank platform had some surprises, and it seemed there was a similar trend on the late Fourth Rank platform.

They exchanged blows, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth boiled violently like boiling water.

But in the end, the Sacred Land disciple prevailed, risking severe injury to sweep the opponent out of the platform.

At the peak of the Mountain Sea Realm, it was a gamble to break into the void and condense new talents.

In the late stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, there was actually more maneuverability, but changing cultivation techniques required time. From the arrival of the Black Divine at the Ethereal Lake to now, the time was too short.

For someone like Gu Zhongquan, learning just one secret technique would indeed speed up the process, though it also heightened the danger.

At the mid-Fourth Rank platform, they were currently in the midst of the fifth match. Just as Chen Fei turned his head, someone was knocked off the platform.

The victor was a disciple from the Sacred Land.

It was indeed difficult for people from other forces to defeat disciples of the Sacred Lands.

With inferior talent, lesser martial arts, and fewer resources, producing a prodigy was extremely challenging.

After all, if one had sufficient talent and options, who wouldn’t choose to join a Sacred Land rather than another sect?

Many eyes turned towards Chen Fei. At this moment, on the mid-Fourth Rank platform, he was the only non-disciple from a Sacred Land left.

The situation was similar on the other platforms. There were already few at the peak Fourth Rank, with only Gu Zhongquan advancing.

In the late Fourth Rank, by the third round, there were only three individuals from other forces left after the defeat of the previous contestant. The remaining battles were now between disciples of the Sacred Lands.

As for the early Fourth Rank platform, there were still several Mountain Sea Realm individuals from other forces due to their greater numbers.

However, based on the results of the first two rounds, the advantage clearly lay with the Sacred Lands.

Chen Fei smiled faintly, his figure flashing as he stepped onto the mid-Fourth Rank platform. Since the disciples of the Sacred Lands wanted to face off against other forces’ Mountain Sea Realm individuals first, Chen Fei went along with their intent.

The mid-tier Mountain Sea Realm disciples from the seven Sacred Lands exchanged glances.

Chen Fei’s combat prowess was formidable; if an ordinary disciple from the Sacred Lands challenged him, they might be swept away.

“You showed quite some strength just now, and your lightning techniques were impressive. How about you have a go with me?”

A booming laughter rang out as a golden figure leaped onto the platform. Initially a faint glow, the figure expanded several times upon reaching the platform.

Chen Fei looked at the newcomer with some surprise. It was a Thunder Dragon Ape, rumored to possess Thunder Dragon bloodline.

Having observed the newcomer’s battle earlier, Chen Fei knew the opponent’s strength was exceptional.

What surprised Chen Fei, however, was not the opponent’s strength but the fact that it was a Monster King challenging him.

In the previous two rounds, it had been warriors versus warriors and monsters versus monsters.

This was not about humility but rather a subconscious strategy to select the strongest from each side before competing against each other.

Although the purpose of this selection was to prepare for a battle to the death with the alien races.

However, if he were to lose to his opponent now, it wouldn’t just be a matter of personal pride; it would subtly diminish the standing of his own race.

Before the arrival of the Black Divine, humans and monsters had been locked in countless years of conflict.

Now, under the pressure of the Black Divine, they were forced to unite.

“Please enlighten me!” Chen Fei said with a courteous bow.

“Well then, be careful!” The Thunder Dragon Ape grinned, revealing its sharp fangs. With a swift movement, it charged forward like a thunderbolt.

The immense strength and thunderous power were innate to the Thunder Dragon Ape’s bloodline, far surpassing what the human had just demonstrated.

But Chen Fei was ready for the challenge!