The Long Road of the Martial World

After the meal, Liu Yueling obediently lay on the bed. Ever since she had awakened, the Emerald Jade on her chest had continuously emitted a hazy glow, making her extremely drowsy.

Before long, she fell soundly asleep again. Lu Li glanced at her, and his gaze shifted.

"This jade... is improving the little girl's constitution."

After helping Liu Yueling straighten her bedding, Lu Li lowered his eyes slightly. Feng Xuanzi had given Liu Yueling the Demon Token; he would certainly come looking for her again someday.

And when that time came, it might also be his chance to obtain the Ancient Secret Order.

Rather than actively searching for a Divine Intent Realm expert whose whereabouts were uncertain, it was better to wait for the other party to come to him.

"I need to grow stronger. At the very least, I need to reach the Divine Intent Realm by then. Otherwise, I'll have to try talking my way through it, but that would be far too risky."

Lu Li shook his head inwardly, then sat at the table beside the window. He spread open the Poison Astral Body in his hands and quietly scanned it.

The Poison Astral Body was not particularly lengthy. Excluding the circulation routes, it contained roughly two thousand characters.

The writing of this world differed from Chinese, yet fortunately, he could understand it for some strange reason.

After reading through it again and again, the panel in his field of vision suddenly trembled and displayed new information:

[Martial Art: Poison Astral Body]

[Level: First Layer (Not Yet Begun)]

[Effect: Absorb poisons into the body and turn them to your own use. Devour a hundred poisons to condense astral force; temper bones, flesh, blood, and marrow into steel. Your skin, flesh, and inner qi carry fierce poison, and you may control the release and withdrawal of poison at will.]

"Freely release and withdraw it... not bad. I don't want to actually become a poison man, poisoning anyone who touches me."

Looking at the information on the panel, Lu Li relaxed. At a glance, this Poison Astral Body was indeed a martial art perfectly suited to the Erosion Essence Scripture and Poison Blood Hand, complementing them flawlessly.

Lu Li continued reading. The Poison Astral Body had three layers, and the first was Poison Condensation.

It required applying poison externally, then using a specific qi circulation method to draw out the medicinal properties within the poison and strengthen the sinews, bones, flesh, and blood.

This process was extremely dangerous. One needed to be born with strong poison resistance and rely on a sturdy physique to endure it, the purpose being to gradually acclimate the body to poison.

Ordinary external cultivation arts could still yield results through perseverance even if one's aptitude was poor, but the Poison Astral Body was different.

No matter how well one could endure pain, it was useless if the body could not withstand it. The result would be becoming like Red Ghost Buddha, covered in festering poison sores.

"Using poison to temper the physique, sinews, and bones... what a genius idea. In a sense, poison is also a kind of medicine, but its effects are far more intense."

After reading the entire manual, Lu Li gained a faint understanding.

"It is simply too extreme, taking a dangerous path. The slightest mistake during cultivation can kill someone. Someone like Red Ghost Buddha could even be considered lucky, since at least he survived."

Lu Li closed the booklet and took out a fire starter to burn it. Red Ghost Buddha's appearance remained vivid in his mind, but he did not care much.

Others might need to weigh their options before cultivating it, but he had no such concerns. With Xiangliu Martial Dao's innate poison immunity, cultivating the Poison Astral Body would pose no difficulty at all.

His only constraint was that he had no poison on him at the moment, so he could not cultivate it for now.

"External cultivation and poison, both taken to the extreme..."

Lu Li pondered inwardly, then sighed. "It's all about stats and mechanics..."

In the stable behind the inn.

Two wooden carriage frames stood at the entrance, while four fine horses of different colors lowered their heads and grazed inside the stable.

After Liu Yueling woke up, Lu Li carried her to the stable, intending to rent a carriage and head to the Miao Poison Sect's territory in the Southern Wasteland.

It was not that he had not considered refining all his blood qi before leaving.

But this place was not far from Cloud Province City, and he feared that Shuang Qiuyue might be watching him from the shadows. After thinking it over, he decided it was safest to refine his blood qi along the road.

Or he could travel farther away first, find somewhere to lie low, and continue on after finishing the refinement.

Inside the stable, Lu Li quickly found the horse keeper. Lixi Inn was a frequent gathering place for martial world travelers, so horse rentals were common. There were even caravans one could travel with.

"Going to the Southern Wasteland? That's quite a long way!"

The horse keeper puffed on his dry tobacco, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. Upon hearing this, he looked troubled.

Lu Li could not be bothered to haggle and asked directly, "How much?"

He looked every bit like someone who did not lack money. In truth, after yesterday's battle, he had gained quite a bit of silver in addition to the Poison Astral Body martial art.

He had found three taels of silver on Flow-Ring Blade's corpse. The expenses at Lixi Inn had been refunded, and the innkeeper had also paid him twenty taels in compensation.

Hearing this, the horse keeper glanced at him and immediately became warm and friendly.

"Sir, the Southern Wasteland is far away, and you're headed toward the Miao Poison Sect's territory. The entire route runs through deep mountains and old forests, with bandits everywhere. The inn does have a reliable route, and you and this little child..."

The horse keeper paused. "How does one hundred and twenty taels sound?"

Lu Li calculated inwardly upon hearing the price.

He currently had around forty taels of silver on him, along with ten gold beans. Each gold bean was worth ten taels of silver, so even one hundred and twenty taels was fully affordable, with some left over.

Seeing that Lu Li seemed to be considering it, the horse keeper added proactively.

"Sir, if you find the price unsuitable, I happen to know that in three days, Changyuan Escort Agency will have a convoy heading for the Southern Wasteland. It won't reach the Miao Poison Sect's territory, but you can travel with them to the Southern Wasteland and then change routes. It would only cost around ninety taels of silver."

After saying that, he continued smoking his dry tobacco and did not look at Lu Li again. He had connections at Changyuan Escort Agency as well. Introducing someone there would earn him a commission of one or two taels of silver.

Either way, he would not lose out.

But Lu Li shook his head. "No need. I'll rent your carriage directly."

As he spoke, he took out his money pouch and removed gold beans and a banknote.

The horse keeper's eyes widened, and a fawning smile immediately spread across his face as he led Lu Li to the Yahang Agency.

Yahang Agency.

"Lu Li, a native of Yunzhou, is renting two strong horses from horse keeper Liu Tou, accompanied by his distant relative Liu Yueling. Driver Tian Wang will travel to Nanliu Prefecture..."

The clerk sat before a desk, writing the contract's contents onto specially made paper.

Nanliu Prefecture lay at the border between the Jing Dynasty and the Southern Wasteland, a great distance from Liangshui Town.

Moreover, the rental fee was substantial, so a contract had to be signed at the Yahang Agency.

After Lu Li, Liu Tou, and Tian Wang confirmed that everything was correct, they all pressed their seals upon it.

Lu Li handed ten gold beans and a twenty-tael banknote to the Yahang Agency.

The clerk took out a travel document and handed it to Tian Wang, whose dark face made him appear honest and simple.

Tian Wang hurriedly accepted the document. It needed to be stamped at every location along the route. Only after he returned to Liangshui Town with the horses and document could he receive his share of the payment.

Still, he could earn at least forty taels from this trip, enough to cover his family's food and expenses for an entire year.

Once the clerk had arranged everything, Liu Tou led over the two horses, with the carriage frame already attached behind them.

After spending some silver to buy enough dried provisions and water, Lu Li climbed into the carriage with Liu Yueling in his arms.

The carriage rolled through the town, swaying slightly over the uneven road.

When they passed Lixi Inn, Lu Li sensed someone watching them. He lifted the curtain and looked over, only to see Tong Xinghe standing on the inn's second floor with his hands behind his back, Qiao Baichuan and Qiao Xiong standing beside him.

Their eyes met. Tong Xinghe clasped his hands in greeting from afar as a farewell, and Qiao Baichuan and Qiao Xiong did the same.

Lu Li gave a slight nod in response, then lowered the curtain.

Inside the inn, Qiao Baichuan watched the departing carriage and asked in confusion, "Mr. Tong, that brother helped us capture the thief last night. Why didn't we ask his name, so we could repay him someday?"

Tong Xinghe shook his head slightly.

"Since he did not give his name, why force the matter? A gentleman's friendship is light as water. The long road of the martial world stretches far ahead; if fate wills it, we will meet again someday."