Chapter Fourteen: The Phantom's Trail
Boom—
A scorching aura surged beside Mu Feng, layers of spiritual energy rippling outward from within him.
Low, resonant roars of dragons and elephants echoed through his body.
“This Dragon-Elephant Pill is truly a top-tier elixir; its effects are overwhelmingly powerful,” Mu Feng thought with quiet admiration.
Since swallowing the pill, it had taken him only half an hour to reach the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm.
At his previous pace, who knew how long it would have taken?
In martial cultivation, each realm has a notion of completion.
Whether one achieves perfection in the previous realm determines how smoothly the next realm’s training will proceed, and how far the martial path can extend.
Though one can break through at either the tenth layer or at perfection, breaking through at the tenth layer today might lead to failure tomorrow due to a slight flaw.
Yet many warriors, constrained by talent or resources, choose to break through at the tenth layer.
For example, Elder Xiao of the Xiao family broke directly from the tenth layer of the Spirit Entrance Realm to the Mysterious Yellow Realm, which took him three long years.
At this moment, Mu Feng was preparing to break into the Spirit Entrance Realm.
Ten streams of sword Qi swirled around him, his blood boiling ever more fiercely.
His aura surged upward, and spiritual energy emerged to envelop his entire body.
This was the hallmark of entering the Spirit Entrance Realm.
A spiritual aura shield.
Boom!
With a sharp explosion, Mu Feng abruptly opened his eyes, his vision clear and bright, the power of the dragon and elephant surging wildly within him.
A punch exploded outward, shockwaves rippling around.
“What terrifying power—is this the might of the first layer of the Body Scripture?” Mu Feng marveled with delight at this unprecedented strength.
Having broken into the Spirit Entrance Realm, both his swordsmanship and body scripture had successfully reached the first layer.
What surprised Mu Feng was that the ten streams of sword Qi he had painstakingly condensed had now fused into a single sword Qi.
From now on, refining sword Qi would be far more difficult than before, when he had ten separate streams.
Hum!
A faint tremor, and a longsword dropped into Mu Feng’s hand.
As his power grew, the sword became sharper and more formidable.
What delighted Mu Feng further was that the sword now resonated with his thoughts.
Not only was it easier to wield, but it could also shrink or enlarge at will!
“Shrink!”
At his command, the sword immediately shrank to half the size of his finger, hanging like a pendant in his palm.
For Mu Feng, who lacked a storage ring, this was incredibly convenient.
“I didn’t expect you to break into the Spirit Entrance Realm in just a month. Congratulations,” came a lazy voice beneath the dim moonlight.
Mu Feng hung the small sword from his earlobe, grinning cheerfully.
“Well, I have you to thank for that, Lady Fairy.”
“What are you up to now?”
Noticing Mu Feng’s unusually respectful tone, the fairy immediately grew wary.
Mu Feng rubbed his hands together, chuckling slyly.
“Lady Fairy, now that I’ve entered the Spirit Entrance Realm, shouldn’t I start practicing some martial techniques?”
“Your swordsmanship and body scripture already contain offensive and killing techniques. Why do you want more? Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” the fairy scolded him with a derisive tone.
But Mu Feng was persistent.
“That’s not right. Even if you don’t give me combat techniques, how about some agility skills?”
“Think about it—the Xiao family has marked me for death. This time they sent the Blood Eagle; next time it could be someone even stronger.”
“If I have agility techniques, if I can’t win a fight, I can at least run away.”
“Lady Fairy, you wouldn’t want me to die and leave no one to help restore your body, right?”
Hearing this, the fairy reconsidered.
Mu Feng made a good point.
“Fine, stand still.”
With a single finger pointed, streams of golden light poured into Mu Feng’s mind.
In an instant, a set of agility martial arts appeared before him.
“Spirit Shadow Wander!”
When activated, it grants incredibly swift speed. When fully mastered, it can leave multiple afterimages to confuse the opponent’s vision.
“What a unique agility skill—is it a high level?”
Like cultivation techniques, martial arts have different ranks.
From lowest to highest: Earth, Yellow, Mysterious, and Heaven.
Swordsmanship and body scripture, being special, do not fall within this hierarchy.
The fairy smiled faintly.
“Low Earth rank. An old friend gave it to me.”
Low Earth grade!
Mu Feng’s eyes widened.
Even the Mu family’s highest technique was only low Mysterious.
For the fairy to casually offer something Earth rank was terrifying.
“Low Earth rank? What’s there to be surprised about?”
“If you were at a higher realm, I have even stronger techniques.”
The fairy chuckled proudly.
At these words, Mu Feng’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
“Could you have Heaven rank techniques?”
“Heaven rank? That’s nothing. I have even stronger ones! Work hard, and you definitely won’t be neglected.”
The fairy patted Mu Feng’s shoulder like a boss promising big rewards to an employee.
Composing himself, Mu Feng concentrated on cultivating Spirit Shadow Wander.
This technique had three layers: the first allowed leaving one afterimage and increased speed by 50%.
Mu Feng’s physique was already extraordinary; with a 50% speed boost, even peak Spirit Entrance Realm warriors might not outrun him.
He lightly tapped his toes, and his figure surged forward like a phantom, speed unfathomable.
Within half an hour, he had left Yellow Sand Town and reached the outskirts of the Snow Moon Mountains.
“Even just the first layer grants such terrifying speed. Combined with my newly reached first layer swordsmanship, the power must be extraordinary,” Mu Feng felt exhilarated.
It had been a long time since he’d felt such a resurgence of peak strength.
Just then, the fairy’s voice suddenly rang out:
“Run! Someone’s coming after you!”
Run?
Mu Feng’s expression changed abruptly. He hurriedly took off toward the distance; he had never seen the fairy so serious.
Even with the Blood Eagle, the fairy had never told Mu Feng to flee.
But no sooner had he moved than a powerful aura enveloped him.
“I never imagined you would not only recover your cultivation but grow even stronger. We all underestimated you!”
“Perhaps we were wrong to replace your engagement with Ruo Xin back then.”
“But unfortunately, you’ve offended Jiang Wuying. Death is your only path!”
A hoarse voice echoed in Mu Feng’s ears.
He turned to see an old man slowly approaching, each step radiating immense pressure.
Surging spiritual energy vibrated the surroundings, unsettling the mind.
“So it’s you, Xiao Mo!”
Startled, Mu Feng immediately activated Spirit Shadow Wander and dashed away at top speed!
This man was no mere Blood Eagle.
Xiao Mo, the elder of the Xiao family, was one of their top experts.
Three years ago, he had already reached the tenth layer of the Spirit Entrance Realm.
Judging by his aura now, he was undoubtedly at the Mysterious Yellow Realm.
Though confident, Mu Feng had no assurance against a Mysterious Yellow Realm master.
The gap was not something martial techniques or cultivation could bridge!
“Trying to run?”
“Do you really think footwork can make up for the difference in realms? Ridiculous!”
Xiao Mo raised his hand; countless spiritual energies converged, forming a giant palm that reached out toward Mu Feng!
Boom!
With a fierce strike, dust and smoke billowed.
Mu Feng’s figure vanished without a trace.
“An afterimage! I didn’t expect someone so young to have such formidable footwork. Looks like you’ve had some serious fortune!” Xiao Mo laughed greedily rather than grow angry.
Then, he charged forward with a burst of speed.
He quickly closed the distance to the fleeing Mu Feng.
“You brat, let’s see where you can run this time!”
He unleashed the Celestial Power Palm!
With a roar, a palm imbued with unprecedented power slammed toward Mu Feng.
So fast, there was no way to dodge!
Mu Feng gritted his teeth, summoned the small sword from his earlobe into his palm, and spun around, slashing with a sword strike!
Swordsmanship, first layer: Sword One!
Surging sword Qi rushed forth, striking at the giant palm.
Two mighty forces collided, instantly stirring thick smoke.
Xiao Mo waved his hand; the smoke cleared, leaving only scattered blood stains on the ground.
“To survive my palm and still escape? Mu Feng, you truly hide great strength.”
“But where do you think you can run now?”