Chapter 73 You Won’t Die

Everyone ate and drank until after two in the afternoon, and in the end, the two large black carp were reduced to nothing but bones. Only then did they call it a day. Still savoring the lingering flavors, Fan Youzhang and the others discussed with Chu Tianfeng the idea of coming to the island every evening to rest, and to enjoy Chu Tianfeng’s grilled fish as well.

After seeing Fan Youzhang and the others off, Chu Tianfeng returned to the island to continue his cultivation. The monster core he had been using had very little spiritual energy left, so he decided to absorb its remaining essence in one go, and only then slowly cultivate the art of invisibility. He was eager to improve his cultivation and strengthen his combat power. After being hunted by the Salt Society for months, he was already simmering with rage. Now, with his cultivation advancing and the art of invisibility at his disposal, he was confident he could finally go toe-to-toe with the Salt Society, and let Sima Lin taste what it felt like to be the prey.

His progress was swift. By dusk that same day, the spiritual energy within the monster core was completely absorbed, leaving behind only a small cluster of white powder. Chu Tianfeng then began to practice the invisibility technique. This technique, known as “Heaven and Earth’s Formless Art,” normally required one to reach the Foundation Establishment stage before beginning, with small mastery at the Golden Core stage, and true mastery at the Nascent Soul stage. Thanks to the immense true energy from cultivating the Five Elements Sutra, Chu Tianfeng, though only at the mid-level of Qi Refining, was able to practice the art of invisibility. Fortune had favored him.

As for when he might achieve true mastery, Chu Tianfeng dared not speculate. The spiritual energy on Earth was thin; even reaching the Golden Core stage was uncertain, and as for the Nascent Soul stage, it was but a distant dream. This was his second time cultivating the Heaven and Earth’s Formless Art, so he encountered few obstacles. By dusk on the third day, he could already turn his body into faint wisps of smoke, blending into the twilight and the forest—imperceptible unless one looked closely. He estimated that in two more days, he would be able to achieve true invisibility, undetectable to the naked eye. Of course, this was only the initial stage—enough to fool ordinary people, but still useless against cultivators. Cultivators possessed spiritual sense, and as long as he was within their range, Chu Tianfeng would have nowhere to hide.

At its initial stage, the Heaven and Earth’s Formless Art differed little from ordinary invisibility techniques—it could not evade spiritual sense.

Around midnight that night, as Chu Tianfeng completed a round of cultivation and was about to sit cross-legged to recover his true energy, a gunshot rang out from the eastern side of the island. Moments later, gunfire erupted in earnest, punctuated by one or two screams.

Something’s wrong!

Chu Tianfeng leapt up and dashed toward the water on the eastern side. He knew Fan Youzhang, Du Jingjing, and the others were all there, spending the night on the boat.

With his cultivation greatly advanced, Chu Tianfeng’s speed had also increased. In less than two minutes, he reached the water’s edge. By the dim moonlight, Chu Tianfeng saw that two speedboats had appeared by the shore, both moored near Fan Youzhang’s boat, less than a dozen meters apart.

The gunfire became sporadic, echoing loudly through the night like the popping of old-fashioned popcorn—except here, after the pop, there was no popcorn, only blood.

Fan Youzhang’s boat was not far from shore, at most ten meters away; with a sweep of his spiritual sense, Chu Tianfeng quickly located it. He “saw” Fan Youzhang slumped by the helm, eyes closed, blood soaking his body. The other three were nowhere to be found.

Chu Tianfeng frowned, sweeping his spiritual sense through the water. Soon, he detected two figures—Lu Hui and Du Jingjing—swimming toward the shore. Du Jingjing appeared to be injured, and Lu Hui was carrying a bundle, determinedly dragging her along.

Perhaps the speedboats blocked the enemy’s view; the assailants had not noticed Lu Hui and Du Jingjing, and continued firing at their boat.

Chu Tianfeng rushed to the shore to meet them. In the past, he might not have intervened, but now, after spending so much time with Du Jingjing, he could not bear to let her die.

When Lu Hui and Du Jingjing saw Chu Tianfeng, they were overjoyed.

Lu Hui hurriedly supported Du Jingjing and moved toward Chu Tianfeng. Chu Tianfeng took Du Jingjing’s arm, enveloping her with his true energy, gently pulling her ashore and lifting her in his arms. Lu Hui leapt onto the shore behind them.

By now, the gunfire on the lake had ceased; the attackers had likely sensed that something was amiss.

“Let’s go!” Lu Hui growled, quickly heading into the island’s interior. Chu Tianfeng could only follow, carrying Du Jingjing.

In a flash, the three reached the center of the island. Chu Tianfeng scanned Du Jingjing with his spiritual sense and found she had been shot in the chest, dangerously close to her heart.

“Thank you,” Du Jingjing said weakly, her face pale. Though the bullet had missed her vitals, she had lost too much blood and her life was in grave danger.

Chu Tianfeng sighed and turned to Lu Hui. “Go get some vines, as many as you can.”

Though puzzled, Lu Hui agreed and rushed into the trees.

“If I die,” Du Jingjing struggled to say, “please…give the pendant around my neck…to my grandfather.”

Chu Tianfeng sat cross-legged, placing Du Jingjing on the ground. “With me here, you won’t die.”

Du Jingjing managed a bitter smile, thinking he was only offering comfort. She was no stranger to cultivation and had a rough sense of her own injuries. She knew that if she were in a hospital, she might have a chance at survival, but here, in this barren wilderness with no medicine or doctors, she saw little hope.

She didn’t want to die, but she could feel death approaching, and could only accept her fate.

“There’s more…” she tried to leave her last words.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die,” Chu Tianfeng cut her off, placing his left palm on her chest and his right palm against her back.

“You…” Du Jingjing knew he was trying to save her, but being suddenly touched like this, she couldn’t help but panic.

“Don’t speak.” Chu Tianfeng steadied her heartbeat with one hand, and with a sudden surge of energy from the other—

Whoosh!

The bullet shot out from Du Jingjing’s chest.

She screamed in agony and fainted.

Chu Tianfeng quickly took out a Returning Essence Pill, split it in half, fed one half to Du Jingjing, and used his true energy to help her swallow it. The other half he crushed completely, reached into her clothing, and carefully applied the powder to her wound.

Soon, Lu Hui returned with a large bundle of vines.

“How is she?” Lu Hui asked anxiously, looking at the unconscious Du Jingjing.

“She’ll be fine,” Chu Tianfeng replied casually. As long as there’s still breath, the Returning Essence Pill could save her—Chu Tianfeng was certain of this. With half a month of restful recovery, Du Jingjing would be completely healed.

“That’s good,” Lu Hui said, though his face was grave. “This place isn’t safe—they’ll catch up soon.”

“It’s all right,” Chu Tianfeng said softly, picking up Du Jingjing. “I know a place that’s hard to find. Take the vines and follow me.”

In the past few days, he had explored the entire island while practicing the art of invisibility. He knew the terrain well.

Chu Tianfeng carried Du Jingjing in front, Lu Hui followed with the vines, and after a few minutes, they reached a cliff on the west side of the island.

“There’s a cave five or six meters below the cliff,” Chu Tianfeng whispered. “You can use the vines to lower yourself.”

“And you…” Lu Hui hesitated, knowing Chu Tianfeng’s lightness skill was superb, but still worried since Chu Tianfeng was carrying Du Jingjing.

“Hurry,” Chu Tianfeng said with a faint smile, strapping Du Jingjing to his back with the vines.

Lu Hui tied several vines together to make a long rope, found a large tree at the cliff’s edge, and secured one end firmly.

Chu Tianfeng formed a spell with his hands, his figure floating gracefully down the cliff. Lu Hui was left gaping in awe—he had witnessed Chu Tianfeng’s miraculous skills more than once, but each time left him shaken.

After settling Du Jingjing in the cave, Lu Hui slowly climbed down.

“Stay here and watch over her. I’ll handle the aftermath,” Chu Tianfeng instructed in a low voice before flying out of the cave again.

He had already spent over an hour cultivating the invisibility art, and with all this exertion, his true energy was nearly depleted. Otherwise, with such a perfect environment and night, he would never have chosen to flee.

He returned to the cliff, gathered all the vines Lu Hui had used, wiped away any traces, and then went back to the cave.

“What happened, exactly?” Chu Tianfeng sat cross-legged, beginning to cultivate the Five Elements Sutra.

“Ah!” Lu Hui sat down beside him, shaking the bundle on his back. “To tell the truth, we discovered a tomb chamber at dusk, and found some valuable items.”

Normally, such treasures were a secret, not to be shared, but since Chu Tianfeng was their guide and had just risked his life to save them, Lu Hui felt obliged to be honest.

“I see.” Chu Tianfeng was not surprised. His spiritual sense had been weaker before, and he had not carefully checked that site. Perhaps it was just too remote and he had missed it.

“We found a luminous pearl, a water-repelling pearl, and a treasured sword,” Lu Hui continued.

Chu Tianfeng casually swept his spiritual sense over the bundle. Sure enough, there were two fist-sized pearls inside—one faintly glowing, undoubtedly the luminous pearl; the other, clear as crystal, looked identical to the water-repelling pearl Chu Tianfeng himself possessed. There was also a treasured sword, its blade slightly chipped.

Huh?

Chu Tianfeng was startled. He discovered traces of an array diagram on the sword—obviously, this weapon had once been a magical implement. Now that the array had been destroyed, its true energy had dissipated.

Chu Tianfeng was not skilled in artifact forging; in his previous life, he was a formation master, able to craft only basic flying swords, array flags, jade slips, and other items related to formations. The sword was badly damaged—only a true artifact forger could restore it.

Still, such a sword was quite useful to Chu Tianfeng; he could extract the metals he needed—obsidian gold, for example—to forge new flying swords.

However, the sword belonged to Lu Hui and the others, and to the Special Operations Unit. Chu Tianfeng disdained stealing from others, especially those weaker than himself—unless they were foolish enough to beg for it, like Peng Yongliang and Yuan Qi.

“And then?” Chu Tianfeng asked.

“We finished the grilled fish and returned to the boat to rest, planning to head back to the capital with the treasures at dawn. We slept until midnight, when we suddenly heard the sound of engines, and then found ourselves surrounded by two speedboats.”