The variant force cultivated through a true art could actually affect the blood and qi of martial artists who had attained force.
Although its range was limited, that was already astonishing.
Hong Yuan finally understood why his blood and qi had stirred when Lei Meng ambushed him.
"Unfortunately, I've only barely crossed the threshold of a true art and can muster a little true force, while your blood and qi are inconceivably robust. In fact..."
Lei Meng's two bloody eye sockets trembled, and shock surfaced on his face.
"In fact, the vigor of your blood and qi probably already rivals that of those pill path masters."
"What extraordinary gifts. They truly inspire both envy and helplessness! What we spend our entire lives pursuing, you possessed from the very beginning."
Lei Meng gave a miserable smile, bitterly unwilling to accept it.
"The pill path?" Hong Yuan asked. "What is that?"
Having broached the subject, Lei Meng no longer intended to conceal anything. After all, once someone reached Hong Yuan's level of martial prowess, these supposed secrets were already common knowledge.
Even if he said nothing, Hong Yuan would encounter them sooner or later.
"The ultimate stage of bodily transformation is subtlety."
"Over the years, our martial predecessors opened the way forward and established two paths beyond subtlety."
"One is the true art, and the other is the pill path."
"There's no need to elaborate on true arts. The pill path involves refining and taking pills to purify and increase your blood and qi. Expanding and projecting blood and qi outward is called the outer elixir method, while continually compressing it within the body is the inner elixir."
"Which of these two paths is superior?" Hong Yuan asked.
"That lies beyond anything I've had access to."
Lei Meng said somberly, "True arts