The Human Shackles, a New Realm of Outer Scenery

Seven days later, on the official road.

The mud-and-stone road, over three yards wide, was laid fairly flat. A carriage rolled along at an unhurried pace. Lu Li sat at the driver's seat, his eyelids lowered, though his mind was immersed in cultivation.

Qingzhou City was not too far from Yunzhou, but there was still a distance of a hundred li between them.

During this time, the journey had been peaceful and uneventful. While driving the carriage, Lu Li had also been refining blood qi with divided attention.

If he had been cultivating internal qi normally, this would have been difficult. Circulating internal qi through the heavenly cycle required complete concentration; the slightest mistake could damage one's meridians.

But the Demon Martial Path was different. He only needed to control his internal qi to refine blood qi.

"Phew... Fourth Layer of Meridian Opening."

Feeling the internal qi fill the fourth hidden meridian within his body, a glint of light seemed to flash through Lu Li's eyes.

Vast strength flowed through his limbs and bones, while internal qi gathered throughout his body like a babbling river. Lu Li felt that he could now kill Huang Shang in an instant.

Within the Meridian Opening Realm, opening hidden meridians was like breaking the limits of the human body. One's muscles, bones, flesh, blood, strength, agility, and other attributes would all receive a massive boost.

And the Erosion Essence Scripture cultivated by Lu Li clearly granted an even more explosive increase to his physique after a breakthrough.

Having merely crossed two minor realms, the strength in his body had already reached three thousand jin.

One had to know that warriors generally needed to reach the Sixth Layer of Meridian Opening to barely attain such a level.

"Although, in theory, completing all twelve layers of Meridian Opening can grant nearly ten thousand jin of strength, it can never truly be reached. After all, a thousand is a thousand and ten thousand is ten thousand, as though an invisible shackle is sealing off the upper limit."

"Even a warrior focused on tempering the body would be considered exceptionally gifted if, after completing Meridian Opening, he could reach nine thousand jin of strength."

Lu Li thought to himself:

"However, at my current rate of progress in the Demon Martial Path, breaking through the ten-thousand-jin limit seems effortless."

As a veteran player, Lu Li knew very well what benefits came with reaching ten thousand jin of strength.

It was like opening an invisible shackle within the human body, commonly known as the Extreme Realm. It could raise the limits of one's innate talent.

In the later Demon Martial Path, the original three major realms of Meridian Opening, Qi Solidification, and Divine Intent had been completely transformed. Above Divine Intent, there existed a new realm.

Outer Scenery!

When a warrior's Divine Intent condensed to the utmost extreme, it would penetrate the physical body, absorb the essence of demons, and undergo a transformation, forming an Outer Scenery manifestation.

Cultivating the Outer Scenery Realm meant further reflecting upon the physical body and severing even subtler shackles.

Because of the development of the Outer Scenery Realm, the martial path system naturally changed as well. Most notably, the early stages of cultivation were no longer merely about accumulating internal qi, but about striving to break the shackles limiting the human body.

The more shackles one broke beforehand, the easier Outer Scenery cultivation would become. And the boundary of ten thousand jin of strength was precisely where one such shackle lay.

"In this era, no one knows that shackles even exist. Only after the Outer Scenery Realm is fully developed will the martial path system begin to change..."

Lu Li pondered inwardly, his gaze flickering.

"One step ahead, every step ahead. If I break the limits of all three realms and reach the Extreme Realm in each one, then my cultivation of Outer Scenery will surely leave all those geniuses and heroes in the dust."

"Those who come later, meanwhile, will have to spend tremendous time and effort polishing the flaws in their earlier martial cultivation. Once the demon version arrives, I'll be far ahead of them, and I'll be able to seize countless opportunities without restraint."

Lu Li understood one thing clearly: only sufficient strength allowed one to lay hands on hidden secrets and opportunities.

If he became the strongest in the world, then all the opportunities beneath heaven would naturally fall into his hands. Even certain factions could be kneaded and crushed however he pleased.

As he sorted through his plans, Lu Li also looked toward Xuandu beside him.

In recent days, aside from refining blood qi to increase his cultivation, he had also been diligently practicing the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body.

It could only be said that it truly deserved to be a matching treasured artifact technique. With the support of Xuandu Essence, his Heart-Breaking Buddha Body had progressed rapidly as well.

"The network of force is gradually solidifying. I'm about to reach the second layer."

As Lu Li sensed the unique force circulating through his body, he realized that aside from the extraordinary effects of the Erosion Essence Scripture, the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body had also contributed greatly to his increased strength.

By guiding Xuandu Essence to merge with his body and circulating the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body, his physique was being nourished at every moment.

In the game, Zhao Xingming had possessed extraordinary talent and survived until the end of the Demon Martial Path era. In his hands, the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body had eventually become an immensely powerful Outer Scenery technique.

At that thought, Lu Li's expression shifted slightly. He had eliminated the two Huang brothers and taken Xuandu along with their martial arts. Would Zhao Xingming still appear?

"Heroes are shaped by their environment. Zhao Xingming may never appear."

After a brief sigh, Lu Li continued cultivating.

After seven days on the road, even without deliberately rushing, they were already close to Qingzhou City. Lu Li estimated that they would arrive around dusk.

During this time, Liu Yueling neither fussed nor caused trouble. Occasionally, when she was bored, she would simply stare blankly at Lu Li, which worried him greatly.

The journey was dull and long, and she had no companions her own age. Lu Li truly feared that Liu Yueling might become depressed. The only thing that put him at ease was the little girl's constant laughter and cheerful chatter.

Time passed, and the sun hung high overhead, pouring down scorching light.

The carriage stopped in a dense forest. Lu Li lit a fire and set a large pot he had bought beforehand over it, intending to stew some meat soup.

The fire crackled. Liu Yueling crouched nearby with an expectant look on her face, while the Ground Owl stood on a tree trunk, surveying the surroundings with its vertical pupils. Before long, it spread its wings and flew away.

Lu Li had already grown accustomed to this.

The Ground Owl did not eat cooked food. Whenever the time came, it would fly out on its own to search for prey.

Lu Li still found the ability to control beasts rather novel. He had discovered that Liu Yueling could communicate with the Ground Owl invisibly. With only a glance, she could understand what it was thinking.

Gurgle, gurgle~

The meat soup was soon ready. Bubbles rose in the pot, and the fragrance of meat spread through the forest.

Lu Li ladled out two bowls of meat soup and handed one to Liu Yueling. Then, one adult and one child sat beside the fire, drinking their soup.

Liu Yueling wore a satisfied expression. At that moment, the Ground Owl flapped its wings and returned. She suddenly let out a startled cry.

"Brother Li, Little Gray seems to have found people nearby."

Little Gray was the name Liu Yueling had given the Ground Owl. Hearing this, Lu Li instantly became alert.

"People? Which direction?"

In this wilderness, encountering fierce beasts was a minor concern. With his current strength, even a pack of tigers could do nothing to him.

Only the human heart was truly unfathomable, and that was something he had to guard against.

"Over there!"

Liu Yueling immediately pointed in a direction. Lu Li followed her finger, and his gaze shifted. The direction she indicated was precisely the only route leading to Qingzhou City.

"Brother Li, there are a lot of people there, and they're surrounding a strange large carriage."

Liu Yueling exchanged a glance with the Ground Owl before speaking to Lu Li in surprise.

"A large carriage?"