Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chapter 987: Killing Through
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“No… it’s impossible!”

Shi Jia’s eyes were filled with disbelief. The formation, composed of over thirty mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators, was not hastily assembled.

They had spent considerable time creating a complete Ice Crystal Formation.

With the current number of mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators, this formation could even face a peak Sun Moon Realm expert in direct confrontation.

Yet, in one move, Chen Fei had shattered the formation?

Shi Jia looked up at Chen Fei, his mouth trembling. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Chen Fei twist the sword blade.

A terrifying force erupted from the Qianyuan Sword. Shi Jia had no time to resist; he was instantly overwhelmed by the immense power and exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

Despite being the main array master and thus in the safest position, Shi Jia was the first to die.

This scene left Lu Shuzhang, who was not far away, stunned.

The method Chen Fei used to break the formation was beyond Lu Shuzhang’s understanding.

Chen Fei’s displayed power was indeed extraordinary, far surpassing any mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivator present. However, such power shouldn’t have so easily broken the Ice Crystal Formation.

Lu Shuzhang had a peculiar feeling: it seemed as though the Ice Clan deliberately left a gap in the formation for Chen Fei.

Chen Fei exploited this gap and struck Shi Jia, the main array master.

Could it be that there were spies among the Ice Clan, intentionally sabotaging Shi Jia’s position?

Lu Shuzhang considered the possibility of spies but deemed it highly unlikely. The most plausible explanation was that Chen Fei had seen through the formation’s flaw with a single glance.

But how could a mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivator achieve this?

Aside from this, there was no other explanation.

If Lu Shuzhang was merely stunned, the thirty-odd Ice Clan members within the Ice Crystal Formation felt as if the sky was collapsing.

How could Shi Jia die so easily? How could this human Chen Fei penetrate so effortlessly to Shi Jia’s position?

A series of doubts plagued the minds of the Ice Clan members. Despite the formation still operating normally, it had been broken by Chen Fei’s single strike.

A strong sense of unease filled them.

The Ice Crystal Formation still seemed powerful in their eyes, but it appeared exceedingly fragile in the hands of this human.

This stark contrast between strength and vulnerability left them at a loss on how to proceed.

“Seal Heaven Formation!”

Liao Fan’s furious shout brought the Ice Clan members back to their senses. He took over the control of the formation, initiating its operation.

The Ice Crystal Formation was primarily an offensive formation, with attack and killing as its strong points.

Originally, Shi Jia and the others believed that with so many mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators and the formation’s support, even if Chen Fei was a human genius, they could simply overwhelm him without needing to rely on trapping formations.

However, upon contact, they had lost one of their own.

Continuing with a headstrong attack was unpredictable. It was better to utilize the formation’s sealing capabilities.

Although the Ice Crystal Formation was not specialized in trapping, it was still formidable when using trapping techniques with over thirty mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators as the core.

It would not only enhance their safety but also reveal Chen Fei’s current state.

Had Chen Fei used some explosive forbidden technique for that exaggerated display?

The countless ice blades within the Ice Crystal Formation vanished, replaced by a sea of snowflakes filling the entire formation.

The barrier in front of Chen Fei, which had been pierced, had already restored itself to its original state, and Chen Fei was once again completely enveloped by the formation.

The formation spanned several hundred miles. Since Shi Jia had been standing at the center of the formation, Chen Fei’s killing of Shi Jia had not caused him to breach the formation’s boundaries.

Chen Fei looked up at the surrounding snowflakes, a white expanse that obscured visibility even from a few miles away.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the Ice Crystal Formation was being drained, leaving a silence where only the snowflakes continued to drift.

Chen Fei reached out to catch a snowflake. As it melted into water upon contact with his warmth, the water desperately tried to seep into Chen Fei’s flesh, emitting a sharp, insect-like screeching sound.

Chen Fei tightened his left hand, and the piercing screech disappeared. The towering figure of the Eternal Night Manifestation appeared behind him.

In the next moment, the Eternal Night Manifestation raised its sword and struck forward.

Whether the formation was offensive or defensive made little difference to Chen Fei; the vulnerabilities remained the same.

The main difference was that an offensive formation required more violent power, which exposed more flaws.

A defensive formation was somewhat milder, so while the flaws were smaller, they could be patched up quickly.

Chen Fei’s knowledge of formations was not extensive. Having walked the path of body refinement, he had only studied a few formations specifically.

However, the principles of cultivation were the same. Just as Chen Fei could see through almost all mid-level Sun Moon Realm techniques, he could also discern the patterns in formations led by mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators.

Even without a Seventh Stage Open Heaven Realm expert among the human ranks, the five-tier inheritance was far from weak.

Especially with the persistent efforts to solidify the foundation of each tier in the absence of breakthroughs to the seventh tier.

Perhaps the door to the Seventh Stage Open Heaven Realm would eventually open to humanity?

Thus, when Chen Fei cultivated the Desolate Slaughter Night Star Sword to Great Completion and the Celestial Suppression to mastery, the Sun Moon Realm formations had no secrets left from him.

This applied equally to his personal cultivation and his battles with enemies.

“Boom!”

The Eternal Night Sword struck through the snowflakes, as if it had hit the very foundation of the Ice Crystal Formation, sending an explosive sound soaring to the heavens.

The thirty-odd mid-level Sun Moon Realm Ice Clan members shuddered, their faces turning pale. Those with slightly weaker cultivation spat out blood.

“Shift the formation!”

Liao Fan’s expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to take control and change the formation’s core, another massive force hit the Ice Crystal Formation.

Despite the Ice Crystal Formation’s immense power, capable of crushing any mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivator, Chen Fei’s sword struck at the most vulnerable part of the formation.

The power of physical strength could be traced. Similarly, the operation of a formation had its nodes, and Chen Fei struck exactly at the weakest node.

“Boom!”

With two powerful sword strikes, the Ice Crystal Formation finally couldn’t withstand the assault and shattered, sending a storm of snowflakes in all directions.

The Ice Clan members who had not bled earlier now spewed blood mist, and those who were already injured suffered severe wounds.

As the core of the formation, Liao Fan could maximize its power and make it more flexible and adaptable. However, if the formation were forcefully breached, the damage would be severe. The shattered formation would directly tear apart one’s vital essence, spirit, and soul, leaving no chance to escape.

The Ice Clan members never imagined that such a large formation, created by so many of them, could be forcefully destroyed by a single human. It was absurd!

Liao Fan was panic-stricken, completely thrown off balance. Unsure whether to flee or stay and fight, he saw Chen Fei appearing among the Ice Clan members with his sword drawn.

Blood mist exploded in the air continuously. In a moment, more than a dozen Ice Clan members’ auras vanished, leaving fewer than twenty remaining, including Liao Fan himself.

“Run, scatter and run!” Liao Fan roared, then fled frantically into the distance.

No longer concerned with the idea of encircling and killing Chen Fei, he feared whether this human genius would decide to wipe them all out.

The terror was overwhelming. Liao Fan had no idea where they had failed or how Chen Fei utilized his power. They had been obliterated by the formation’s collapse, and now they watched helplessly as Chen Fei slaughtered their kin one by one.

These were mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators, yet they seemed as weak as ordinary beings.

Everyone was supposed to be mid-level Sun Moon Realm!

The Ice Clan’s Teng Li, with his Hundred Strange Night Walkers technique, had distorted and replicated nearly two hundred mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators. Liao Fan understood that kind of power.

If a real battle had occurred, Liao Fan would have known where he failed even if he lost.

But Chen Fei’s power was a complete enigma, as if they were operating on entirely different dimensions.

Lu Shuzhang saw the remaining Ice Clan members attempting to escape and intercepted Liao Fan with a sword strike.

“Get out of my way!”

Seeing Lu Shuzhang blocking him, Liao Fan roared in both anger and despair.

However, Lu Shuzhang did not respond, only activating the Dark Sovereign to prevent Liao Fan from leaving easily.

Compared to Chen Fei’s Eternal Night Manifestation, Lu Shuzhang’s Dark Sovereign lacked in momentum.

But this did not mean Lu Shuzhang was weak. With the power he displayed, he was not top-tier among mid-level Sun Moon Realm cultivators, but even a top-tier cultivator would need effort to defeat him.

Liao Fan’s combat power was comparable to Lu Shuzhang’s. At this moment, demoralized by Chen Fei’s assault, he struggled to escape.

Liao Fan even resorted to forbidden techniques to temporarily breach Lu Shuzhang’s defenses.

Despair gradually filled Liao Fan’s eyes. In the brief moment of delay, his senses revealed that out of the original nineteen kin, fewer than ten remained.

After exchanging three more moves with Lu Shuzhang, only two Ice Clan members remained within a hundred-mile radius.

One was him, and the other’s aura was now overlapping with Chen Fei’s.

“Ah! If you want me dead, don’t think you’ll live either!” Liao Fan roared in madness, burning his entire body in a reckless bid to drag someone down with him.

Without any defense, knowing he couldn’t survive, Liao Fan aimed to take someone down with him.

Lu Shuzhang’s expression was grim. Just as he prepared to burn his soul, he saw a sword pierce through the back of Liao Fan’s head.

Liao Fan’s body stiffened, his mouth slightly open, and then his entire form turned to ash in an instant.