Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery
Chapter 197 - 169: Fire Cloud Sect (Part One)

Chapter 197: Chapter 169: Fire Cloud Sect (Part One)

Actually, when it comes to speed,

the max level Rainbow Transformation Skill isn’t much faster than Sword Flight.

The speed of the Rainbow Transformation Skill can reach a bit over a hundred meters per second, and although Sword Flight is somewhat slower, it can still reach fifty to sixty meters per second. It’s barely twice as fast. However, Sword Flight consumes spiritual power far too much.

With his Foundation Establishment at the third level, he could only sustain flight for a maximum of two hours.

On the other hand, although the duration of the spell for the Rainbow Transformation Skill is only about half an hour, its low consumption means that with his current cultivation, he could cast it consecutively fifteen times, equivalent to flying non-stop for about eight or nine hours in one go.

Furthermore, with the automatic recovery of mana by the max-level Longevity Skill during such a long duration,

the spiritual power is almost never exhausted mid-flight. As long as his mental and physical strength could endure, he could fly continuously without sleep or rest. When it comes to the efficiency of long-distance travel, there’s simply no comparing the two; they are as different as heaven and earth and cannot be measured by the same standard.

Chen Li looked at the map for a while, marked a route with his pen, then stored it in his storage bag and continued to study the Phantom Skill.

...

Half a month later,

In the dead of night,

Chen Li’s mouth moved silently as his hands formed seals rapidly.

Soon, mana descended between heaven and earth, and the air bristled with qi. His figure blurred for a moment, and another person split from his body.

"Is this... success!?"

Chen Li looked at the phantom, which was as lifelike as ever, indistinguishable from a real person.

The same face, the same robe, with eyes vividly expressive and not the least bit dull. Even his spiritual sense couldn’t detect anything amiss, and it was impossible to tell that it was a construct of a spell; he could even see the hair flowing.

"This is incredibly realistic; worthy of the name Phantom Skill!"

The two Chen Lis looked at each other, both showing expressions of amazement.

It was a bizarre feeling. Chen Li felt as though he had been split into two... No, more precisely, as if he had gained an additional body.

Mere understanding couldn’t describe the sensation, it was more akin to having one mind in two bodies.

The real body was him, and the phantom across from him was also him.

The phantom’s field of vision was his own, and its sensations were his as well.

Thoughts within the phantom had a vacuous and hollow quality, feeling light and powerless.

He impulsively controlled the phantom to start taking off the robe, but as soon as it hit the ground, the robe dissipated into mist and vanished.

However, this was within expectations.

After all, it wasn’t made of real material.

Chen Li controlled the phantom to leave the quiet room and went out to the courtyard to continue experiments.

First: the phantom couldn’t speak, cast spells, or engage in any pure physical attacks.

Second: the phantom had almost no mass, and its flying speed was extremely fast, capable of shooting hundreds of meters in an instant.

Third: it couldn’t pass through walls, nor could it move underground. It was quite fragile, and forceful collisions could even cause the phantom to completely collapse.

"It seems that for now, it can only be used for scouting and confusing the enemy," Chen Li thought to himself.

Even so, this art was very practical.

It could be called a survival technique.

...

Not long after mastering the Phantom Skill, and before he had the chance to set off for the Huoyun Sect,

Chen Li was presented with a mission: to eliminate the remnants of the Tianxing Sect.

Since the massacre of the Tianxing Sect, a considerable number of those at the Foundation Establishment stage had successfully escaped, many of whom harbored deep-seated hatred for both sects.

Just a few days ago,

a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators suddenly attacked one of the markets belong to the Returning True Sect, plundering and killing anyone they came across, resulting in the deaths of more than twenty Returning True Sect disciples, including those stationed there. The number of Loose Cultivators dead or injured was countless, and the entire market was looted.

The Returning True Sect was utterly enraged. Of course, they could not let this go unanswered.

The Returning True Sect had in total seven markets (including the two newly added ones), which were extremely scattered from each other. Normally, each market only had one Foundation Establishment disciple and twenty to thirty Qi Cultivation disciples stationed there, so the defensive forces were extremely limited.

If these criminals weren’t promptly eradicated, no one could guarantee that other markets wouldn’t be attacked next time.

There were five individuals at the Foundation Establishment level among this group.

Those who could escape from such a battleground were either very lucky or truly powerful, with the latter being more common.

Logically, to minimize casualties, it would be best for a Golden Core disciple to take on this task.

Unfortunately, ever since the Sect Leader distributed the benefits among the various sects, he had been in seclusion, and the whole sect was under the leadership of Xia Hongyi.

To encircle and suppress these remnants of the Tianxing Sect, most of the Returning True Sect’s Foundation Establishment disciples had been mobilized.

However, after that one battle, the number of Foundation Establishment disciples in the Returning True Sect had sharply decreased, now standing at just over twenty, while there were seven markets. It was impossible to enact a full-domain blockade, and in the end, they could only seal off the areas near the site of the incident.

The efficacy of this was easy to imagine.

During this time, another market was breached by the remnants of the group, resulting in countless deaths.

Chen Li and the others could only run themselves ragged.

Following that, the group seemed to have completely vanished. After months of a grueling search, having scouted the entire Returning True realm, they failed to find the faintest trace. Thus, spring hurriedly passed by in this frantic rush.

This attack cast a new shadow over the Returning True Sect, which was just starting to recover from previous wounds.

"Sigh, all that hustle for nothing, not even a shadow spotted," someone lamented.

The group returned to the sect gate, all feeling despondent.

"Who would be so foolish as to stay in one place? Those who weren’t encountered were the lucky ones. Otherwise, casualties would have been inevitable," Xiao Yuan said. "I heard that this group escaped from the Hongshan Territory to come here. I wonder if it was intentional!"

"Sigh, it’s a time of troubles. When will the Sect Leader emerge from seclusion?" Chen Li sighed.

This incident turned out to be a waste of several months.

It even delayed their cultivation.

"This matter is hard to predict..."

Everyone fell silent, a hint of gloom arising in their hearts.

...

As spring turned to summer, the sun blazed fiercely, scorching like fire.

After Chen Li had mastered the Phantom Skill, he finally decided to make a trip to the Fire Cloud Sect.

After arranging everything at home,

in the early hours of the morning, Chen Li silently got up. Seeing Zhou Hong and Zhang Shuniang sleeping soundly, he dressed in his robe and quietly left the house. He then resolutely headed eastward, flying into the darkest night before dawn.

This flight was different from the trip to the Artefact Sect.

Not to mention the greater distance.

The mere name of a Nascent Soul Sect was enough to bring trepidation to one’s heart; an encounter with ill-intentioned people could put one’s life at risk. For Chen Li, it was a complete challenge and adventure.

"Hopefully, everything will go smoothly, and my luck won’t be so terrible," Chen Li murmured in his heart.

He sped through the air like a bolt of lightning for a while.

A red sun rose on the horizon, the clouds in the sky painted with a myriad of colors, and the mist on the ground was illuminated, billowing and undulating like countless rising and dancing white snakes.

As the sun climbed higher, the temperature rose as well.

The mist on the ground was quickly evaporated by the scorching sun, and with the fog gone, Chen Li swiftly reduced his altitude. Finally, he flew close to the ground, less than two hundred meters above it.

This altitude was carefully chosen.

Flying too high meant that in the event of danger, escape was impossible, and various life-saving methods couldn’t be deployed.

And flying too low made it easy to encounter sneak attacks from the ground.

Killing for treasure was a common incident everywhere, all too familiar.

He had to be extremely cautious.