Blood-red light lit up across the inscription on the stele.
A wisp of gray light flashed, shooting straight toward the offerings laid before the Heavenly Stele.
With another flash, the broken blade, blood wine, Swift Wind Grass, and other items were gathered by the light and slipped into the Heavenly Stele.
Then, another portion of vitality was forcibly drawn away.
It was half a year of lifespan.
Light flowed across the Heavenly Stele as mysterious runes flickered in and out, lasting a full three breaths.
This time, only a streak of azure light emerged. It circled above his head before burrowing into his mind.
Somewhere in the unseen.
Jiang Che felt a cool breeze.
The scene before him changed. The inn vanished, replaced by the summit of a bottomless cliff where frigid winds howled in waves.
A blurry figure appeared before him.
It demonstrated the blade forms of the Cool Wind Blade Momentum with rigid precision.
From the basics, gradually becoming practiced and proficient.
Between heaven and earth, there were only him and the figure. Every move the other cultivated influenced him without cease.
Chop, lift, sweep, slash, thrust.
The figure moved faster and faster, while the distance between them closed ever more quickly. In the end, just as when he had sacrificed Savage Bull Strength to major accomplishment, the figure completely merged with him.
Jiang Che closed his eyes. Gusts of cool wind brushed against his face, as though blade radiance after blade radiance were falling upon his body. His understanding of the Cool Wind Blade Momentum gradually became clear.
Opening his eyes, Jiang Che's gaze flashed sharply. He abruptly leaped up, reached out, and drew a standard long blade hanging at the head of the bed. With a raise of his hand, he swept it forward.
His foundation was solid, and his blade edge fierce.
At this moment, Jiang Che looked nothing like a green youth learning blade techniques for the first time. Instead, he resembled a seasoned martial artist who had trained for years. One sacrifice was worth several years of ordinary practice.
His ability to protect himself had risen severalfold out of thin air.
Especially when Inner Breath surged into the arm gripping the long blade, both his striking speed and the force of his swings increased greatly. If he fought Deng Yan again, he believed that within three breaths—
The other man would certainly be defeated.
And if he encountered Song Ji of Crouching Tiger Mountain, who had ambushed him on the spot, he now had the ability to fight him. He would not be knocked to the ground by two punches and fall into an absolute disadvantage.
After briefly testing the power of the Cool Wind Blade Momentum, Jiang Che was very satisfied. Then, he suppressed the tumult in his heart and turned his attention to the blade technique Three Absolute Shocking Fiends.
Having completed the sacrifice, he was now certain of one thing.
As long as a damaged fragment of a cultivation method or martial skill was not more than three-quarters incomplete, the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele could forcibly mend those damaged portions and still allow it to be sacrificed.
Thus, the experiment was over.
It was time for him to truly cultivate Three Absolute Shocking Fiends.
Jiang Che had kept that sheet of silver foil close to his body. With a solemn expression, he took it into his hands and read it word by word, line by line.
There were no illustrations or diagrams upon it, only rows of tiny engraved characters. It recorded neither moves nor descriptions of blade forms; rather, it resembled a scripture leading one toward evil.
A moment later, Jiang Che put down the silver foil again and closed his eyes.
Sacrifice target: Three Absolute Shocking Fiends, beginner level.
Having completed four sacrifices, Jiang Che understood that the harder the target he wished to sacrifice, the more terrifying and harsh the required offerings would be.
Liu Zhi had cultivated for years yet still failed to find the path in. This was enough to show the terror of Three Absolute Shocking Fiends and the difficulty of cultivating it. The upper limit of a method like this absolutely exceeded the scope of what ordinary people could cultivate.
Therefore, Jiang Che did not dare treat Three Absolute Shocking Fiends as he had the Cool Wind Blade Momentum and directly set the target at minor accomplishment.
He feared that if he set the target too high, he would be unable to provide the offerings and end up wasting time.
If it was merely beginner level, however, he still had a chance of accomplishing it.
Mysterious blood-red runes lit up on the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele. Only after roughly ten breaths did another line of small characters appear upon it.
Sacrifice cost: Ten drops of Heart Blood each from three Inner Breath Realm martial artists, ten strands of Yin Fiend Qi, one Corpse Blood Mushroom, two years of lifespan. Sacrifice?
The Sacrifice Heavenly Stele had given its price, but Jiang Che furrowed his brow deeply.
None of these offerings would be easy to obtain.
The Heart Blood of three martial artists at the same realm meant that he would have to kill at least three martial artists.
Yin Fiend Qi would not be easy to acquire either.
To draw Yin Qi, one must first find a baleful place.
But where could such a place be found?
As for this Corpse Blood Mushroom, he had never even heard of it before.
And there was also the sacrifice of two years of lifespan.
This was only for beginner level.
One had to know that when he cultivated Savage Bull Strength and the Cool Wind Blade Momentum, even reaching minor accomplishment had only cost him half a year of lifespan.
What did two years of lifespan mean?
It was just a tiny bit short of two and a half years!
High-grade cultivation methods truly could not be cultivated easily.
Compared to that, killing three martial artists of the same realm seemed much easier.
"Corpse Blood Mushroom?"
Inside Miao Chun Tang, an old man with graying hair dressed in cotton clothes narrowed his eyes as he studied Jiang Che. After pondering for a moment, he slowly shook his head. "This thing is not of the righteous path. This old man does not have it here."
"Then does Mr. Hu know where it might be found?"
Jiang Che refused to give up and continued questioning him.
Ever since the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele had revealed the price last night, Jiang Che had wasted no time after waking this morning and immediately come to a nearby medical hall to inquire.
"This..."
The old man surnamed Hu was somewhat wary of Jiang Che's official uniform. He had just been about to brush him off when he saw the profound look in Jiang Che's eyes. Wanting to avoid trouble, he still explained the origin of the Corpse Blood Mushroom.
This item was a variant of the treasured medicine Jade Snow Mushroom.
Its growing conditions were extremely harsh. It grew only upon corpses rich in flesh and blood essence, and it had to be cultivated for at least a year before it could mature. Most were owned by evil demons and Outer Dao practitioners, making them exceedingly scarce on the market.
"One year."
Doctor Hu's words dispelled Jiang Che's thought of cultivating it himself. He truly could not wait that long. He immediately frowned and asked several more questions, but the other man only shook his head and told Jiang Che—
He truly did not know where such a thing could be found. He had only seen it once in his early years.
Jiang Che felt somewhat disappointed. He cupped his hands and took his leave.
Since Corpse Blood Mushrooms were mostly possessed by evil demons and Outer Dao practitioners, he could begin from that angle. In the martial world, there were no shortage of martial artists cultivating demonic methods that sought rapid advancement.
He refused to believe he would not find one.
"My lord."
Just as he stepped out of Miao Chun Tang, Geng Dabiao came forward to meet him.
"What is it?"
"Someone from the Cao Gang delivered a letter, saying that you were to open it personally."
"Open it."
"Yes."
Geng Dabiao did as instructed, spreading out the paper from inside the envelope and quickly scanning it several times.
"What does it say?"
"Kou Yuansheng asks when you will be able to meet Captain Zhu. He also seems somewhat impatient."
Geng Dabiao respectfully offered up the letter. Jiang Che gave it a glance, crumpled it into a ball, and casually tossed it into the ditch. With an indifferent expression, he instructed:
"Dabiao, go back and bring some men. We've rested for so many days—it's time to make some silver."