Martial artists usually only needed to open four regular meridians before they could smoothly break through into the next major realm and continue cultivating upward.
Other than geniuses from wealthy lineages who never lacked resources, few were willing to suppress their cultivation and repeatedly attempt to open more regular meridians.
The reason was simple: it was difficult!
Simply too difficult!
It was not something that could be achieved merely by having a cultivation method and resources. One also had to endure the loneliness of arduous cultivation.
Yet the improvement it brought was not that great, amounting only to the combat strength of one or two minor realms.
The effort and reward were utterly disproportionate, with pitifully low value for the cost. Even geniuses from major lineages would not choose to open too many regular meridians. They would usually break through quickly and enter the next major realm.
This was the essence of cultivation for Pulse Opening Realm martial artists in this high-martial world!
But at this moment, Xu Jie had not yet reached the Pulse-Opening Peak Stage, yet he had unexpectedly opened two new meridians.
They were not regular meridians, but extraordinary meridians that had never appeared in this high-martial world!
No, strictly speaking, it had not been an accident!
This should have been the unique effect the Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture brought him!
The consumption involved in Xu Jie's cultivation of the Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture was immeasurable, but the special effects it brought were equally extraordinary!
How many extraordinary meridians would the Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture eventually open?
Xu Jie had not read many novels in his previous life, and he had read even fewer wuxia novels.
He was not very clear on exactly how many extraordinary meridians existed in the settings of wuxia novels.
Seven, eight, or nine?
Xu Jie did not know!
But what he did know was that if the Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture could truly open new extraordinary meridians—
Then once he reached the Pulse-Opening Peak Stage, would those extraordinary meridians also be able to open extraordinary branches, just like regular meridians?
By that calculation, the Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture Xu Jie had drawn through the Life-Slaughter System was equivalent to cultivating at least four or five more minor realms than martial artists of the same realm in this high-martial world!
He had already completed nine Blood Shifting transformations. If he further developed his Pulse Opening to its limit, and even cultivated every realm in the future to its utmost limit...
Once all that stacked up, would his combat strength among those of the same rank not become heaven-defying?
The cost of cultivating the Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture had been worth it!
Xu Jie was not afraid that his Martial Arts and Techniques would be difficult to improve. He only feared that they would be too trashy to cultivate to the limit.
As expected of a system-produced item—it had to be top-quality!
The ancients truly had not deceived him!
The next moment, Xu Jie thought of how he only had fifty-nine years of usable Lifespan left and revealed a trace of distress.
His usable Lifespan was gone!
Though he still had fifty-nine years, it was actually too little. Even if he used it, he could not raise the level of any Martial Arts and Techniques.
For the Nine Extremes Demonic Saber to break through to the Fourth Extreme, it would take at least a hundred years.
The Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture was even more outrageous!
Just to cultivate from entry level to minor mastery, it had consumed two hundred and fifty years of usable Lifespan!
And Xu Jie's progress toward his next draw was even more absurd!
It required consuming three thousand years of Lifespan, and he had only just passed one-fifth of the way.
Therefore, even if he threw in all fifty-nine years of usable Lifespan, it would be useless. It would not even make a splash.
Moreover, Xu Jie currently had no way to obtain cultivation resources or usable Lifespan.
Whether it was the Nine Extremes Demonic Saber or the Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture, both were resource-devouring monsters. Without smashing them with massive amounts of usable Lifespan, there was simply no way to improve them.
Damn it!
Although Xu Jie's cultivation had surged to the fifth level of the Pulse Opening Realm in one go, opening two additional extraordinary meridians within his body and increasing the power of his qi and blood by at least tenfold, even he did not know exactly how much his combat strength had risen.
But after cultivation ended, when Xu Jie opened his eyes, his brows were still tightly furrowed.
He lacked usable Lifespan, and he had nowhere to acquire more...
Given the various Martial Arts and Techniques he cultivated now, the pills rewarded by the school were utterly useless!
He had truly been forced into a corner!
Could he really go beg Chu Mingyue?
If Xu Jie went to her, Chu Mingyue would definitely give him cultivation resources...
It was just that doing so...
Irritated, Xu Jie subconsciously picked up the thing in his hand and wanted to hold it between his lips, only to discover that it was the little black snake. He quickly stopped himself.
Was this little fellow asleep?
Xu Jie soon noticed that Little Black, the pet he kept, seemed to have fallen asleep.
Yet it still refused to let go of his finger, like a young beast that had eaten its fill but still would not release its bite.
Seeing this, Xu Jie silently tucked both his hand and Little Black into his pocket, then sat in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
His Lifespan was severely lacking...
Where could he get some?
Sigh, being a sophomore was rough!
If Xu Jie were now in the second semester of his junior year or the first semester of his senior year, he could find an excuse to leave school and slaughter demons outside the city.
Unfortunately, school rules stated that no student could leave before the first semester of junior year unless there was a genuine emergency.
For example, Xu Jie's former self had once taken a day off and left school to receive the inheritance entrusted to him by his father.
But for Xu Jie now, leaving campus was harder than ascending to heaven!
When he woke the next morning, Xu Jie's expression was still rather unpleasant.
He could say that he had not slept all night, having spent the entire time thinking about where to obtain usable Lifespan.
Ordinary cultivation resources would not do either!
The Muscle-Tendon Changing Scripture consumed too much. By choosing to cultivate this method, he had made most cultivation resources useless to himself. He could only forcefully raise it with the system's usable Lifespan.
Thus, Xu Jie developed the idea of secretly slipping out of school to hunt demons outside the city.
He had no choice!
He had been forced into it!
He could not just sit in school and wait for death.
However, it was daytime now, making it inconvenient to leave school openly. Xu Jie planned to act that night.
It just so happened that, with nothing to do during the day, he could go to the school library and look up information about Little Black's species, as well as...
Some clues about his mother!
Jinwu University Library.
Xu Jie sat in a corner, surrounded by stacks of books documenting all kinds of demons.
He was mainly searching for demon species from the Outer Regions!
Because Little Black's species name clearly did not sound like a demon breed that could be born within Xia Country. It could only have come from the Outer Regions.
Heaven never disappointed those who worked hard!
In the end, Xu Jie found scattered passages about the Nine Heavens Underworld Divine Dragon in an old book with yellowed pages.
It really existed!
This book did not document demon species. Rather, it recorded legends of the Outer Regions, and it mentioned fragments concerning the Nine Heavens Underworld Divine Dragon.
The Nine Heavens Underworld Divine Dragon, one of the most powerful demon gods of the Outer Regions!
It occupied and ruled the Underworld Domain, which was actually very far from the world where Xia Country was located.
Legend had it that there was only one Nine Heavens Underworld Divine Dragon, a unique and singular existence born of heaven and earth.
It had reached the god level the moment it was born. It had once swept invincibly across that realm, then fought beyond its borders and shook the heavens.
Xia Country had specifically marked this demon god as an existence that absolutely must not be provoked.
A demon born as a god?
This...
Xu Jie glanced at Little Black, which was asleep against his chest, drooling and occasionally smacking its lips, and felt slightly speechless.
He simply could not believe that this thing was the descendant of that god from the Outer Regions. It was far too pathetic!
Before you continue