OBS Chapter 2023 An Astounding Gain
Chapter 2023 An Astounding Gain
Chapter 2023 An Astounding Gain
"You really are useless."
A chilling, bone-piercing gust of wind, indistinguishable in gender, seemingly rising from the deepest depths of the netherworld, abruptly shattered the deathly silence of the Sky Martial Arts Arena, and also tore apart the void created by the collision.
The moment the sound rang out, time seemed to be forcibly paused by an invisible hand.
The process of Lian Guanlin's disintegrating body, which was turning into ashes and about to completely dissipate into the world, suddenly stopped. Countless ashes and specks of light that had already drifted away frantically surged back in an illogical manner.
"Uh... ah..."
A faint, painful groan rang out; it was Lian Guanlin.
His aura was extremely weak, like a candle flickering in the wind, worse than ever before. His Heavenly Origin Dao Foundation was dim and had even developed countless cracks, clearly on the verge of collapse.
But... he was still alive, forcibly pulled back from the brink of death.
"Buzz!"
Above the training ground, the void distorted, and a phantom slowly emerged.
The phantom had no fixed form, sometimes resembling a graceful woman, sometimes a ferocious monster. The only clear feature was its pair of eyes that seemed to pierce through people's hearts and disregard all things, coldly gazing down below.
Liao Ruiheng used incredible means to reverse life and death, forcibly saving Lian Guanlin's life.
"thump!"
Lian Guanlin's battered body struggled to adjust its posture in mid-air before kneeling heavily on one knee, burying its head deep in its chest. His body trembled violently from the excruciating pain and weakness, but his voice was filled with boundless gratitude and lingering fear at surviving such a calamity.
"Thank you so much, General, for saving my life! I am utterly incompetent, and you have had to intervene. I deserve to die!"
His voice was hoarse and dry, each word seemingly uttered with all his might. Without Liao Ruiheng's intervention, he would have already been completely annihilated, leaving not a trace behind.
Liao Ruiheng's illusory figure rippled slightly, and his cold eyes swept over Lian Guanlin without any emotional fluctuation.
Then his gaze passed over Lian Guanlin and fell on Chen Fei.
"He's a good-for-nothing..."
Liao Ruiheng spoke, his voice regaining its androgynous calmness, but the icy chill within it caused the surrounding temperature to plummet. "You are not bad!"
"boom!"
The moment the word "not bad" fell, Chen Fei felt as if his entire world had been suddenly stripped of all color and sound.
His mind, his thoughts, his soul fluctuations... all his conscious activities were forcibly suppressed by an irresistible force in that instant.
This is not an attack, but... a verdict!
On Chen Fei's body surface, traces of grayish-white marks began to appear, as if it were a stone weathered by countless ages.
His vitality, his breath, even his causal connection with the world, were rapidly fading and disappearing. He couldn't even muster the thought of resistance, because his very mind was frozen.
This is an absolute, desperate power gap!
"Liao Ruiheng, this was supposed to be a life-or-death duel. You're fine with saving people, but you also have to get involved yourself and bully the weak?"
Just as Chen Fei's consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by the endless desolation and darkness, a peaceful voice, like the rising sun, suddenly tore through the endless darkness and deathly silence that enveloped Chen Fei, resounding throughout the heavens and earth.
The next instant, the sun high in the sky suddenly burst forth with boundless light, and the terrifying power of annihilation that had enveloped Chen Fei silently melted and disintegrated.
The light of the sun receded and condensed, transforming into a figure that seemed to exist alongside heaven and earth. With a single step, it appeared before Chen Fei, which was none other than the projection of Kuang Yezhou's will.
"call……"
Chen Fei exhaled a breath of stale air, his face pale and his forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
"oops!"
Liao Ruiheng's illusory figure emitted a sweet and seductive female voice, completely different from its previous coldness.
"Brother Kuang, why are you so nervous? I was just curious and wanted to see where his limits were." His voice was full of innocence, as if the chilling killing intent from before had never existed.
Kuang Yezhou's expression remained calm, but the coldness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
"Whether it's true or not, you and I both know the truth. Once this matter is settled, remember your promise!"
He stopped arguing with Liao Ruiheng and with a wave of his sleeve, an invisible and vast power instantly enveloped the entire Demon Lotus Realm below.
Not only Chen Fei, but all the surviving cultivators scattered throughout the Demon Lotus Realm felt a gentle yet irresistible force enveloping them at this moment.
"Tsk, how boring!"
Liao Ruiheng's illusory figure flickered, and three streams of light of different colors flew out from his illusory figure, heading towards Kuang Yezhou on the horizon.
"This is a bet, and I mean it!"
Liao Ruiheng said with a charming smile, "Consider the extra portion as a way to buy Lian Guanlin's life, how about it?"
Kuang Yezhou remained indifferent, not even glancing at the three streaks of light, but calmly looking at Liao Ruiheng.
"Humph!"
Seeing that Kuang Yezhou remained unmoved, Liao Ruiheng let out a displeased snort, his voice returning to its icy tone: "You really are petty. Fine, this is the money for buying other people's lives, is that enough?"
As he spoke, another stream of dark golden light flew out from his phantom, merging with the previous three, making a total of four streams of light, which hovered in front of Kuang Yezhou.
This time, Kuang Yezhou did not refuse. He reached out and grabbed, and the four streams of light disappeared into his sleeves. Then, he took all the cultivators and disappeared into the Demon Lotus Realm.
Outside the Demon Lotus Realm.
"Brother Kuang, we'll meet again someday!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the dark, oppressive demonic clouds began to surge backward, like a receding tide, rushing towards the distant Black Fiend City.
As the demonic clouds rapidly receded and disappeared into the horizon, the army of cultivators from Tianhai City, still suspended in the void, erupted in deafening shouts that soared into the sky.
Although this battle was not a complete victory in the traditional sense, and the cultivators suffered heavy losses, any victory is worth celebrating.
Chen Fei stood in the crowd, looking up at the direction where the Black Fiend City's demon army had disappeared, his gaze deep.
He vividly remembered the death threat he had just received. It was not a test of limits, but an undisguised killing intent. It was only because Kuang Yezhou was present that the other party did not succeed.
Chen Fei knew in his heart that someone like Liao Ruiheng was eccentric and unpredictable. He had suffered a loss today, and if he had the chance in the future, he would definitely not mind wiping out this small pawn to vent his hatred.
Strength, or not enough strength!
"Chen Fei!"
Just as Chen Fei's mind was racing, Kuang Yezhou's calm voice rang clearly in his ears.
Chen Fei immediately composed himself, turned around respectfully, and cupped his hands, saying, "Present!"
The previously noisy shouts quickly subsided after Kuang Yezhou spoke. Countless gazes turned to Chen Fei, some filled with curiosity, some with admiration, and others with curiosity.
"You are very good!"
Kuang Yezhou looked at Chen Fei, nodded slightly, and said with undisguised praise, "You deserve the greatest credit for this battle!"
As he spoke, he snapped his fingers.
A warm, cyan light flew from his fingertips and landed lightly in front of Chen Fei, hovering quietly.
Amidst the flowing light, a faint shadow of a bamboo joint, no more than a foot long, lush and vibrant green, exuding a rich vitality and profound Daoist charm, could be seen—it was the half of the Azure Spirit Bamboo.
Although enveloped in flowing light and obscured from view, the unique vitality and Daoist charm, along with Kuang Yezhou's personal bestowal, were enough to make all the surrounding cultivators understand that this item was absolutely extraordinary.
In an instant, countless fervent and complex gazes focused on Chen Fei.
"Thank you for your generous gift, General!" Chen Fei bowed respectfully again before reaching out and putting the blue light into his sleeve.
A moment later, the army began to reorganize and assemble under the command of generals at all levels.
As soon as Chen Fei returned to the area where the Xuan Yu Realm cultivators were located, the fifteenth-level cultivators of the Xuan Yu Realm immediately surrounded him.
"Chen Fei, what happened in the Demon Lotus Realm?"
A mid-stage fifteenth-level cultivator couldn't help but ask, "Outside, we can only see changes in the celestial phenomena and sense intense energy fluctuations, but we know nothing about the specific battle situation inside the realm."
Kuang Yezhou's attitude towards Chen Fei, and the obvious reward he bestowed upon him, all indicate that Chen Fei played a crucial, even pivotal, role in the situation.
"Within the Demon Lotus Realm..."
Chen Fei briefly recounted what had happened inside, from the initial chaotic battle to the life-or-death duel at the Sky Dome Martial Arts Arena...
After speaking, Chen Fei's gaze swept over the Xuan Yu Realm cultivators present, and his heart sank.
There were eight Xuan Yu Realm cultivators at the fifteenth level who entered the Demon Lotus Realm this time, including him. At this moment, apart from him, Le Boyang, and the weakened Shi Ruifeng, the other five have not returned.
Shi Ruifeng, his face ashen, managed a bitter smile at Chen Fei, his eyes filled with exhaustion. He was incredibly lucky to have survived.
Not only in the Xuan Yu Realm, Chen Fei's gaze also turned to the place where the cultivators of the Qing Yan Realm were gathered not far away. Apart from Zheng Hongtao, the other two cultivators who had entered the Demon Lotus Realm had also not returned.
"All troops, form ranks and continue patrol!"
A loud command resounded in the ears of every cultivator.
The army of monks began to advance rapidly along the established patrol route.
This inspection lasted for a full half day.
Only when the setting sun dyed the clouds on the horizon blood red did the army complete its final count at a pre-arranged assembly point, and then, under the cover of night, embark on its grand journey back to the Tianhai City barracks.
Back at the magnificent and imposing Tianhai City military camp, the cultivators dispersed and returned to their respective barracks to rest.
As soon as Chen Fei arrived at the area where his barracks were located, many smiling, fifteenth-level cultivators approached him to strike up a conversation.
Some were driven by awe and curiosity towards the powerful, wanting to make his acquaintance. Others had gleaming eyes, subtly inquiring about what Kuang Yezhou had bestowed upon them. Still others harbored barely perceptible curiosity or even a hint of jealousy deep within their gazes.
Chen Fei responded to all these attempts to get closer, whether genuine or feigned, with polite but distant attitudes. He politely declined all further conversations and invitations, citing that he had fought too intensely and needed to recuperate in seclusion.
Chen Fei walked to his unassuming barracks, lightly touched the restrictive runes on the door with his finger, and then slipped inside. A faint light membrane completely isolated the entire barracks from the outside world.
The barracks were simply furnished, and the air was filled with the faint metallic and crystalline scent unique to military camps.
Chen Fei did not linger on the stone bed or the futon. He took a step forward and returned to the depths of the void of the Guixu Realm.
Inside the Ruins of Return, Chen Fei looked around and let out a long sigh of relief.
Sitting cross-legged, Chen Fei calmed his mind and began to examine the gains from his trip to the Demon Lotus Realm.
First and foremost are the most important space fragments.
With a slight thought, a vast number of crystals, each shimmering with a dazzling array of colors, varying in shape and texture, yet all imbued with the pure essence of the Great Dao's rules, surged forth and floated in the void around him.
The quantity and quality of the resources far exceeded the sum of any previous gains Chen Fei had made. It could even be said that this was the largest single acquisition he had ever made in his cultivation journey.
"I'm still far from being able to condense sixteenth-tier low-grade spiritual materials..."
Chen Fei's gaze swept across the sea of stars, and he quickly made a mental assessment. To condense a sixteenth-tier spiritual material using only fifteenth-tier fragments was incredibly difficult. Although he had accumulated many fragments, he was still far from reaching that threshold.
"However, it is more than enough, even... well more than enough, to condense the top-grade spiritual materials of the fifteenth rank."
A glint flashed in Chen Fei's eyes, and a smile appeared on his face.
A fierce battle in the Demon Lotus Realm allowed Chen Fei to gather fifteen high-grade and fifteen top-grade spiritual materials.
After putting away the fragments of space, Chen Fei's thoughts turned again.
"Crash..."
A series of dull sounds of objects colliding and piling up rang out, and then various colored lights surged out from the void and piled up in front of him. These were fifteenth-tier demonic weapons.
The rules of the Demon Lotus Realm are special; those who enter are forbidden from possessing anything external to them.
When Chen Fei killed the demonic cultivator, these sealed demonic soldiers did not appear immediately.
It wasn't until he left the Demon Lotus Realm and the rules were lifted that these divine weapons, along with the items stored in the internal storage space, appeared one by one in Chen Fei's sleeve.
Inside each of these divine weapons lies the lifelong collection of these demonic cultivators.
Elixirs, talismans, spiritual materials, spiritual herbs, mystic crystals, Dao crystals... a wide variety of items, everything imaginable.
While the collections of a single demonic cultivator may not be particularly impressive, the sheer volume and value of the life's work accumulated by so many demonic cultivators gathered together is enough to move anyone.
Faced with this treasure trove, Chen Fei calmed down and began a meticulous inventory.
First were the pills and talismans. Most of the demonic cultivator's pills were useless to him, or even harmful. Chen Fei selected a few general-purpose pills and some talismans with special effects and set them aside.
Secondly, there were cultivation techniques and secret manuals, mostly demonic and evil arts. He browsed through them briefly, mainly to understand their characteristics and broaden his knowledge, without any intention of practicing them.
Next were various ores, spirit wood, animal materials, crystals, and precious stones... Chen Fei categorized them according to their attributes and quality.
Finally, there are Xuanjing and the even purer Daojing, which are universal items and are in high demand everywhere.
It took Chen Fei several hours to sort through all the rare and precious materials.
"Most of the spiritual materials and these demonic weapons... can be sold to the barracks and exchanged for merit points." Chen Fei had made up his mind.
The Tianhai City barracks has a dedicated Merit Department that collects all kinds of spoils of war and converts them into merit points. The mountain of unused supplies in front of us can be turned into an astonishing amount of merit points.
After taking inventory, Chen Fei did not stop. Cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind.
Because of the special nature of the Demon Lotus Realm, Chen Fei had not yet truly cultivated after breaking through to the late stage of the fifteenth level, so he naturally needed to improve his cultivation level at this moment.
Chen Fei took a deep breath, and the rich primordial spiritual energy within the Guixu Realm flowed slightly.
At the same moment, 129,600 pieces of Xuanjing, piled up to the side, shattered simultaneously, transforming into the purest energy mist. Like an inverted waterfall of the Milky Way, it emitted a deep roar and poured down towards Chen Fei below.
Chen Fei opened his mouth and inhaled sharply, like a whale sucking in water, drawing in the vast and boundless torrent of Xuanjing energy into his stomach.
"Buzz!"
Chen Fei's body trembled violently, and countless tiny Dao patterns shimmering with various colors instantly appeared on his body. As the massive amount of Xuanjing energy was rapidly refined and absorbed, his cultivation level began to rise steadily at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within the void of the Guixu Realm, there was no rotation of the sun and moon, and the concept of time became blurred. Chen Fei was completely immersed in the mysterious rhythm of his rapidly increasing cultivation.
His aura grew increasingly profound and deep, with a subtle Daoist rhythm flowing around him, resonating with the fundamental rules of the Guixu Realm.
"Boom!"
After an unknown amount of time, a muffled sound came from inside Chen Fei's body, like stars returning to their places.
Chen Fei slowly opened his eyes, and a fleeting phantom of starry sky and the rotation of the five elements flashed before his eyes. He gently exhaled a breath of turbid air, which lingered and did not dissipate until a moment later.
The peak of the late stage of the fifteenth level!
Chen Fei's Yuan Power cultivation has firmly reached the pinnacle of this realm. Only one rank of spiritual material remains to cross the threshold of the fifteenth-level peak.
The joy brought by the breakthrough in cultivation gradually subsided, and Chen Fei's mind gradually calmed down.
This time, Chen Fei was able to defeat a Tianyuan Dao Foundation expert at the 15th level limit within the Demon Lotus Realm, but he knew that was under special circumstances within the Demon Lotus Realm. If he encountered such an expert elsewhere, Chen Fei would have no choice but to flee.
This is not self-deprecation, but a clear-headed understanding.
Chen Fei also possessed the Heavenly Origin Dao Foundation, but the difference in cultivation level prevented him from unleashing its full power.
Chen Fei closed his eyes and began to try to break through his own physical limitations.
As the Divine Palace continued to operate, an overwhelming surge of blood energy erupted from the depths of his body.
"Click, click, click..."
Chen Fei's body began to undergo miraculous changes that were visible to the naked eye.
Beneath the skin, it seemed as if countless tiny jade dragons were moving about; that was the sound of the bones and muscles being reshaped and strengthened.
Chen Fei's bones revealed natural patterns on their surface, patterns imbued with Daoist principles...
Time quietly slips away with each cycle of the celestial sphere, each regeneration of flesh and blood, and each destruction and rebirth of the celestial palace.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Finally, three heartbeats, like ancient gods beating heavenly drums, suddenly resounded throughout the entire Guixu Realm.
The invisible barrier that had blocked Chen Fei for so long finally shattered under the continuous impact and tempering of the Undying True Intent.
Chen Fei's body jolted violently, and his eyes snapped open.
A vast, profound aura, brimming with boundless vitality and power, naturally emanated from him.
Late-stage Dominator Realm Physique, achieved!
With a thought, Chen Fei caused the mystic crystals in the surrounding void to emit a dazzling light.
The next moment, a massive amount of Xuanjing crystals transformed into a visible torrent of energy, surging wildly into Chen Fei's body.
The newly upgraded physique, like a bottomless pit, greedily absorbed this torrent of energy.
Chen Fei's physical aura began to rise wildly again at an astonishing speed.
Time continued to pass, until 129,600 portions of the surrounding mystic crystals were consumed.
"boom!"
Chen Fei's body suddenly trembled, and a vast and unparalleled aura spread out with a roar. His physical strength had already reached the peak of the late stage of the Dominator Realm.