Mountain Splitting Saber Art: Great Perfection, Houtian Eighth Level!

"Hmph!"

A hint of mockery flashed through Lu Yang's eyes as he said, "That may not be so!"

At the same time, the red light within his body spread outward, and through the meridians all around him, ninety-nine streams of mellow, upright Primordial True Qi suddenly surged into being!

In just an instant, the aura radiating from Lu Yang's body became more than twice as powerful as before!

Just now, he had quietly deducted 499 Experience Points from the system interface, pushing his own cultivation one step higher.

[Host: Lu Yang]

[Realm: Houtian Sixth Level (0/599)]

[Martial Art: Mountain Splitting Saber Art (Perfected: (10/10)]

[Experience Points: 549]

Ding, ding, ding!

The long saber and sharp claws clashed once more. Every strike Lu Yang made suddenly became far heavier and more forceful than before, faintly carrying a momentum that could split mountains and crack stone.

He, who had been retreating step by step earlier, now faced Black Tiger in its Sobered Berserk state with advance and retreat in proper measure, not falling into the slightest disadvantage.

After exchanging dozens of moves in a row and still being unable to take Lu Yang down, Black Tiger already felt something was wrong deep in its heart.

The berserk state could not be maintained for long in the end. Once the berserk state ended, in a while it would be its turn to be pressed down and beaten by Lu Yang.

"Lowly blood food, don't think you're the only one who can break through in the face of battle!" It swallowed Old Master White Crane's Demon Treasure into its belly in one gulp.

In the span of just one breath, the aura on that Black Tiger's body actually began to rise, faintly showing signs of transforming toward a third-rank Demon Race!

Around that Black Tiger, the demonic qi that had already begun to faintly fall back earlier now swelled up once again!

"Brother Lu, hurry and strike! Don't let it break through!" In the distance, Niu Hanshan, collapsed on the ground, also realized the situation was bad and shouted a reminder until his voice cracked.

If the second-rank Demon Treasures in those corpses on the ground could be dug out and swallowed, he could also rapidly advance his cultivation, draw the precious bow again, and help Lu Yang face the enemy.

But at this moment, Niu Hanshan's entire body was weak and limp. Collapsed there, he simply could not move at all.

Right now, all hope could only be entrusted to Lu Yang's shoulders alone.

"Hahaha, too late, lowly blood food! Wait to bear my wrath!" The demonic qi around Black Tiger's body skyrocketed continuously, and its rampant laughter spread across all of White Crane Ridge.

At the critical juncture, Lu Yang grew increasingly calm.

After repeated battles over these past few days, his Mountain Splitting Saber Art had become ever more perfected and pure.

There were even faint traces of new insights occasionally flowing through his heart.

At a certain instant, a trace of enlightenment suddenly appeared in Lu Yang's mind.

Though it was only a flash of inspiration, like an epiphyllum blooming for one fleeting moment, it allowed him to faintly grasp a thread of dawn above the Perfected realm of Mountain Splitting Saber Art.

At this very moment, what Lu Yang did not notice was that the word Perfected behind Mountain Splitting Saber Art on the system panel actually rippled for an instant like water!

"Ding! Detected that the host has produced a new understanding of the Perfected-level Mountain Splitting Saber Art, meeting the advancement conditions for a Perfected Martial Art. Consume 50 Experience Points to improve Mountain Splitting Saber Art?"

"Improve it!" Lu Yang suppressed the astonishment in his heart and made the decision decisively.

As a cluster of red light within his body dissipated, a vast amount of enlightenment instantly appeared in Lu Yang's mind.

Very quickly, he developed many deeper understandings of the Perfected-level Mountain Splitting Saber Art.

At the same time, a blade-light that left Lu Yang amazed appeared in his mind.

Almost out of instinct, Lu Yang's saber move abruptly changed. In that instant, his entire person seemed to merge into one with the long saber in his hand, and the outside world seemed to fall completely silent in an instant.

The whole world seemed to have only Lu Yang and the long saber in his hand, radiating a bitter, icy gleam!

"Shattering Rocks Piercing the Sky!"

Lu Yang let out a low shout. Wherever the blade edge reached, cold light flashed explosively!

In the blink of an eye, the demonic qi pervading the mountaintop was scoured by an overwhelmingly powerful surge of force and instantly scattered clean!

At the same time, the demonic qi on that Black Tiger's body had also almost climbed to a certain critical point, but in that very instant, Lu Yang brushed past it.

His figure abruptly stopped. Lu Yang held the long saber before him, swept the True Qi in his hand over it, and instantly wiped clean the remaining blood on the blade edge.

Clatter, roll!

Behind him, Black Tiger's head rolled to the ground, and within its enormous pupils there still faintly remained traces of fear and disbelief.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, for slaying one second-rank ninth-level Tiger Demon. Obtained 700 Experience Points."

Lu Yang opened the system panel.

[Host: Lu Yang]

[Realm: Houtian Sixth Level (0/599)]

[Martial Art: Mountain Splitting Saber Art (Great Perfection: (50/50)]

[Experience Points: 1199]

"Ding! Detected that the host's Experience Points meet the conditions to improve cultivation. Consume 599 Experience Points to improve cultivation?"

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Yang decided not to raise his cultivation for the time being.

Once matters here were settled, he would have to return to Black Mountain County after all.

Since it had already been confirmed that someone among the human race in Black Mountain County had turned traitor, then to guard against the unexpected, he needed to keep a few trump cards for himself.

At a critical moment, advancing one level in cultivation could not only catch the enemy off guard, but also leave him with a few more means of escape.

After all, no one knew what would happen next.

"Hmm? What's this?"

As the Black Tiger Demon died, the demonic qi within its body gradually dispersed completely.

An object that had previously been stored inside its body with demonic qi now fell beside Black Tiger's corpse as the demonic qi dissipated.

Lu Yang closed the distance in a few quick strides and picked the object up, only then discovering that it was actually a jade slip the size of a palm.

Lu Yang rubbed it for a long while, then finally, almost instinctively, injected a strand of Primordial True Qi into it.

At once, countless tiny specks of light drifted up from the jade slip, condensing before Lu Yang into a line of glowing words.

"Lu Yang has entered White Crane Ridge. Kill him at once."

Seeing that line of words, Lu Yang felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to his head.

All the guesses he had made before had now received irrefutable proof.

What he had to do next was break free of the Wang Family martial artists' blockade, return alive to Black Mountain County, and expose the Wang Family's crimes to the County Yamen.

Thinking this, Lu Yang had already crouched down and taken out a dagger. After confirming the spot, he cut open Black Tiger's flesh and dug out a marble-sized Demon Treasure.

This Demon Treasure gave off a rich, unusual fragrance all over, and its color was different from the Demon Treasures Lu Yang had seen before. It was an extremely pale translucence, almost already condensed into the embryonic form of a Pill Bead.

"Swallow it," Niu Hanshan said from not far away.

Lu Yang nodded and did not refuse, swallowing Black Tiger's Demon Treasure in one gulp.

Carrying a Demon Treasure through the woods made that strange fragrance far too conspicuous. If the Demon Race seeking revenge for Black Mountain came after them, they would immediately be able to lock onto the two of them.

After that, Lu Yang successively took out the Demon Treasures of the Bear Demon, Snake Demon, Fox Demon, and Wolf Demon. The two of them split them evenly, each taking two and swallowing them.

In truth, including Old Master White Crane, all the demons had been killed by Lu Yang. At first, Niu Hanshan felt rather embarrassed about splitting the Demon Treasures equally.

But Lu Yang insisted on doing so, and on top of that, he truly did long for Demon Treasures, so he did not refuse too much. He only silently remembered this kindness from Lu Yang.

As the medicinal power of the three Demon Treasures was digested one after another, Niu Hanshan kept breaking through, and very soon rose to the Houtian Sixth Level. Naturally, he was incomparably delighted.

Who could have imagined that only a few days earlier, when he had first entered the mountain, he had merely been at the Houtian First Level!

Hunting demons was dangerous, but the gains were great as well.

As for Lu Yang, after swallowing three Demon Treasures, his cultivation had barely risen by two levels, reaching the Houtian Eighth Level.

And that was under the condition that the medicinal power of Black Tiger's Demon Treasure far surpassed the other Demon Treasures.

Nearly eight hundred strands of Primordial True Qi flowed endlessly through the meridians all around Lu Yang's body as his cultivation method circulated, gradually taking on the momentum of a great river surging onward.