Chapter 678  : Fate

The immense body of the Concealment Bell swayed in mid-air, while around it, the qi of blood coalesced into sparkling blood beads, gathering one after another.

Ordinary jade boxes or Qiankun bags couldn’t restrain the majestic power of the Monster King’s blood and energy, only those reaching the level of exquisite treasures like the Concealment Bell could manage it, albeit barely.

Chen Fei stood beneath the Concealment Bell, gazing at the Qianyuan Sword in his hand. With a gentle twist of his right hand, the Broken Ruler spiritual treasure detached from the sword body, and the aura of the entire Qianyuan Sword began to decline.

Combining a supreme treasure with a damaged spiritual treasure temporarily yielded satisfactory results, pushing the power to the limit of a treasure.

Faintly, there were traces of the spiritual treasures’ abilities there.

However, it was ultimately only a temporary assembly, certainly unable to breakthrough to the level of spiritual treasures. Moreover, such a combination also damaged the spirituality of the two weapons, requiring a period of recuperation after each use.

This was a discovery Chen Fei made while practicing the techniques of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant Soul Tempering, after strengthening his soul.

In the Mountain Sea Realm, cultivating the soul endowed it with various abilities, and this was just one method Chen Fei had stumbled upon.

Chen Fei speculated that to forge a true spiritual treasure, besides requiring powerful spiritual materials, the power of the soul was also an essential element.

However, Chen Fei currently lacked a genuine Mountain Sea Realm cultivation technique. Regarding many aspects of the Mountain Sea Realm, he only had a partial understanding, relying mostly on his own conjectures.

The blood and energy of the Monster King Nie Li trembled within the Concealment Bell, while the elemental energy running wild within Chen Fei gradually calmed down, and the power of the prohibition dissipated.

The battle with Nie Li actually lasted a very short time, yet during this brief period, Chen Fei’s elemental energy was depleted by nearly seventy percent. Despite Chen Fei continuously absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he still couldn’t keep up with the consumption rate.

Aside from making the destructive power of elemental energy more exaggerated, each move of the prohibition also had a terrifying output value. With his cultivation at the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, he indeed couldn’t withstand several such drains.

Precisely because of this, after discovering that he couldn’t break through Nie Li’s defenses, Chen Fei decisively gave up.

Otherwise, if Nie Li had noticed Chen Fei’s elemental energy being depleted, it would have been hard to predict what would happen next.

After all, Chen Fei was not truly of the Mountain Sea Realm. The key factor in being able to inflict such damage on Nie Li was that the latter was already severely injured.

If Nie Li were at his peak, just the power unleashed after using his secret technique might have overwhelmed the restraint of the Suppressing Dragon Elephant, and Chen Fei would truly have been reduced to minced meat. “Mountain Sea Realm!” Chen Fei’s gaze flickered.

If he truly broke through to the Mountain Sea Realm, facing this Monster King, even if Nie Li were at his peak, what would Chen Fei have to fear?

It took a full quarter of an hour for the Concealment Bell to completely contain the blood and energy of the Monster King Nie Li.

The Concealment Bell heaved violently, struggling to contain the immense power within its body.

Feeling like it was about to burst, the Concealment Bell felt utterly bewildered. What kind of master did it have? Why were things becoming more and more exaggerated lately, with increasingly higher-level entities being contained?

The power contained within the blood was only vaguely sensed by the Concealment Bell, yet it felt a sense of trepidation. Could the original owner of this blood simply crush its body with a mere squeeze?

Chen Fei reached out, retracting the Concealment Bell into his sleeve, then glanced in the direction of the fleet before flashing onto the deck.

Tong Linyun and the others approached upon seeing Chen Fei, but for a moment, they didn’t know what to say.

At this moment, Tong Linyun and the others looked at Chen Fei with somewhat complex expressions, with most of them filled with awe.

Defeating the Monster King could only be achieved with the power of the Mountain Sea Realm.

A few months ago, when Chen Fei displayed the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, Tong Zhongqiu and the others already found it unbelievable. Yet, a few months later, Chen Fei demonstrated the power of the Mountain Sea Realm.

“Chen Fei, did you make that breakthrough?” Tong Linyun whispered.

“No, I’m still in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. That step isn’t as simple as you think,” Chen Fei shook his head, smiling softly.

“Then just now…”

Seeing the smile on Chen Fei’s face, the tension in the air eased a bit, and Tong Zhongqiu voiced the doubts in his heart.

Even though Chen Fei hadn’t reached the Mountain Sea Realm, displaying its power was no less shocking than actually breaking through. Could the Combined Aperture Tempering realm truly achieve such power?

In the thousands of years of the Thousand Feathers Alliance’s history, such a figure had never appeared.

“It’s just a stroke of luck, and that Monster King was injured,” Chen Fei explained.

Tong Zhongqiu and the others exchanged glances. An injured Monster King was still a Monster King, right? And in battles, there’s no such thing as luck. Strong is strong, and weak is weak.

If one’s strength is inferior to the opponent, then death is inevitable!

After a quarter of an hour, the fleet regrouped and set sail once more towards the direction of Thousand Geese City, seemingly returning to its former state. However, the mood among the people didn’t calm so quickly.

Under the threat of the Monster King, they unexpectedly escaped unscathed, not losing a single person. This was a remarkable achievement.

And the power and potential displayed by Chen Fei directly struck everyone’s hearts. Such talent, such potential, what kind of achievements could he reach in the future?

From the disciples of the Primordial Sword Sect to the elders of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, everyone was filled with joy and excitement.

Perhaps, the Primordial Sword Sect was about to produce a Mountain Sea Realm powerhouse?

When they initially fled from Sea Dominion City and Chen Fei revealed his late Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation, many people harbored such thoughts, albeit shallowly.

After all, breaking through from the Combined Aperture Tempering realm to the Mountain Sea Realm was incredibly difficult.

Not to mention, among the top ten forces of the Thousand Feathers Alliance, countless late Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators had been attempting to break through for many years, yet none succeeded in the end.

Even for the direct disciples of the Mountain Sea Realm, breaking through to the Mountain Sea Realm was as difficult as ascending to the heavens, let alone outsiders.

But now, Chen Fei, at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, can overpower a Monster King, albeit an injured one. This achievement is almost unprecedented.

Compared to others, Chen Fei’s hope of breaking through to the Mountain Sea Realm undoubtedly increased significantly.

The Primordial Sword Sect was ecstatic, and naturally, other sects were also in turmoil, with a thought emerging in the minds of Tong Zhongqiu and the others.

Two days later, Tong Zhongqiu and the others appeared before Qu Qingsheng and handed him a letter.

With Tong Zhongqiu and the others’ cultivation at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, there was no need to be so polite to Qu Qingsheng. However, behind Qu Qingsheng stood Chen Fei, an existence far more powerful than them.

Qu Qingsheng observed the expressions of Tong Zhongqiu and the others, guessing their intentions. He opened the letter, and indeed, it was a request to merge with the Primordial Sword Sect.

Qu Qingsheng’s emotions surged as he looked at Tong Zhongqiu and the others. The Primordial Sword Sect had now reached such heights.

Especially for the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, twenty years ago, the Primordial Sword Sect was still a subsidiary of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect. Even ten years ago, when they first arrived in the Boundless Sea, the Primordial Sword Sect still needed protection.

Yet, over the years, the roles had reversed.

This kind of thing would make Qu Qingsheng even hesitate to dream about, let alone consider such outrageous dreams.

But today, the scene before him was more exaggerated than any dream.

Five days later, a simple yet grand ceremony was held on the main ship.

The Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, the Break Soul Sect, the Pinnacle Peak Sect, and five other sects were fully merged into the Primordial Sword Sect, becoming its new branches, with Tong Zhongqiu and a few other Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators becoming the heads of each branch.

Among the Pinnacle Peak Sect, there were several Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, with Tong Linyun becoming the head, while the other Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators became elders of the Pinnacle Peak branch.

On the deck of the main ship, everyone wore smiles.

The main peak of the Primordial Sword Sect, now both weak and powerful. Weak because besides Chen Fei, there was no second Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, and the strength of the Pinnacle Peak Sect was actually the strongest within the Primordial Sword Sect.

However, no one present cared about this point. Their reason for merging into the Primordial Sword Sect was solely Chen Fei.

While Chen Fei hadn’t truly stepped into the Mountain Sea Realm yet, they joined the Primordial Sword Sect, still able to lead their own branch. But once Chen Fei truly broke through to the Mountain Sea Realm, merging with them might not be so easy.

Currently, the weakest among the Primordial Sword Sect are the Sunken Water Pavilion, which was the first to merge. However, the head of the branch, Ji Ruiqing, is now at the peak of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, with hopes of breaking through to the next level.

At the end of the deck stood disciples from various branches, who were there as spectators.

The expressions of the Immortal Cloud Sword branch disciples were somewhat complex, with a mixture of happiness and a sense of loss. And this feeling wasn’t limited to just these disciples; it extended throughout the entire Immortal Cloud Sword branch.

They were happy because they no longer needed to worry about the delayed emergence of a Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator or the decline of the sect due to a lack of successors.

Joining the Primordial Sword Sect, a behemoth of an organization, would undoubtedly lead to better cultivation resources and prospects in the future.

Just a glimpse of the resources possessed by the disciples of the Primordial Sword Sect made those who knew a bit about it genuinely envy them from the bottom of their hearts.

However, the feeling of loss was evident. They were originally a subsidiary sect, and now their status had completely changed. This feeling was particularly pronounced for the elders of the Immortal Cloud Sword branch.

The former Peak Master of the Alchemist Peak, Wei Xingshan, didn’t know what to think anymore.

Over the years, Wei Xingshan had rarely thought about Chen Fei anymore. After all, what’s done is done, and dwelling on it wouldn’t change anything.

But the current scene forcibly stirred up memories for Wei Xingshan.

Back in Immortal Cloud City, there was actually an opportunity to recruit Chen Fei into the Alchemist Peak of the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect. If Wei Xingshan had pushed for it back then, despite encountering numerous obstacles, he could have made it happen.

If that had been accomplished, Wei Xingshan would have become the greatest hero of the entire Immortal Cloud Sword Sect, with a vastly different status.

However, at the time, he felt the resistance was too great, and Wei Xingshan wasn’t willing to exert so much effort for it.

He thought that although Chen Fei was outstanding, the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect had many such disciples, so he let the matter pass lightly.

Who could have imagined that this slight passiveness would result in the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect losing all its future opportunities?

This, no one could have foreseen!