Jianghu Dream

Inside the Earthen Temple, an orange campfire burned. The air was utterly still, and Lu Li's expression was calm.

An Astral Condensation Realm martial artist possessed truly immense vitality. After circulating it through one full cycle, he had consumed only a trace of it, yet his inner qi had increased by nearly half a tenth!

Lu Li circulated the Erosion Essence Scripture, continuously moving the vitality through his body. As it cycled again and again, a hidden meridian gradually filled.

On the path of martial arts, whether it was external cultivation, swordsmanship, or any other martial skill, the true core of unleashing their power was raising one's cultivation of mental methods.

The key to the Meridian Opening realm of mental methods was opening hidden meridians within the body. As the name implied, hidden meridians were not ordinary channels, but treasures buried deep within flesh and blood.

Generally speaking, martial artists had to cultivate inner qi and sense the key to their hidden meridians before they could open them.

Lu Li did not know how talented he was, but the instant the vitality was refined, he sensed the key to the hidden meridian within his body. It seemed that with a single thought, he could open it through his inner qi.

Without hesitation, Lu Li willed it, and the key successfully opened.

However, opening the hidden meridian's key was only the beginning. He still needed to fill the hidden meridian with inner qi before he could be considered truly successful.

This kind of inner qi cultivation was the most painstaking. Due to differences in talent and cultivation methods, countless martial artists spent decades lingering at this realm without ever glimpsing the threshold of Qi Solidification.

But Lu Li realized that he seemed to be different.

The immense vitality accumulated in his body was so abundant that after refining only a trace of it, the first hidden meridian he had opened was already completely filled!

[Realm increased to the first level of Meridian Opening!]

At the same time, Lu Li's heart jolted. Flowing light filled the panel before his eyes, and new information surged into his mind:

[Taowu Meridian-Opening Divine Ability: Weapon Lord]

[Effect: You may draw the durability and vitality of weapons to increase your own strength... The attribute increase depends on the weapon's quality.]

[Weapon Mastery: You will master any weapon martial art as soon as you take it up, greatly increasing learning efficiency.]

Lu Li silently sensed it, his eyes lighting up.

Whenever a type of demon was unlocked in the Demon Compendium, it granted special attributes as well as a demon divine ability.

The divine ability provided by this Taowu had two effects. One was a talent-type ability: Weapon Mastery. It meant that from now on, he would learn any saber, spear, sword, or halberd with half the effort!

The other effect was an enhancement-type ability, and Lu Li felt exhilarated.

With Weapon Lord, as long as he had enough weapons, he could stack his attributes to an extremely high level. Combined with fierce martial arts, he would be a veritable bulldozer!

High damage in his left hand, high damage in his right!

In a sense, this was also a method of external cultivation.

The only difference was that others had to train without rest day and night, endure pain that ordinary people could not bear, and temper their bodies, while Lu Li merely needed to absorb weapons.

"This feels amazing..."

Lu Li stood and casually threw a punch. The air immediately burst with a faint crack.

The increase in realm brought an incomparably intense sensation. Especially in terms of strength, he felt that a single punch from him now carried roughly a thousand pounds of force.

More than ten times what he had before.

If he encountered the Mange Demon again now, one punch would be enough to kill it.

"The attributes granted by demon martial arts are far greater than those of ordinary martial arts in Martial World. If we compare attributes alone, I should now be about equal to an ordinary second-level Meridian Opening martial artist. If I go all out and use demon martial arts, even a third-level Meridian Opening martial artist might not be beyond my ability to fight."

Lu Li pondered inwardly as he gently clenched his palm. He had never felt better, as though he had shed shackles and chronic ailments overnight.

He even discovered that his previously mild nearsightedness had changed drastically. By the faint light of the campfire, he could clearly see the patterns on the stone tiles outside the temple from three or four meters away.

Around four or five hours had passed since he opened his hidden meridian. The campfire had dimmed, and the sky was faintly beginning to brighten.

"If I completely digest the vitality stored in the dantian of this Astral Condensation Realm martial artist, my cultivation should reach at least the sixth level of Meridian Opening."

Lu Li estimated inwardly. Although he had begun by transmigrating to Cloud Province City, his gains had been considerable.

With the corpse of an Astral Condensation Realm martial artist, he could cultivate rapidly to the late Meridian Opening Realm without encountering any bottlenecks. That was already worth decades of painstaking cultivation.

After cultivating for an entire night and successfully entering the first level of Meridian Opening, Lu Li did not feel the slightest fatigue. On the contrary, he was full of energy. Glancing at the sky, he continued cultivating.

Only when the sky had fully brightened, dawn sunlight shone everywhere, and the blazing sun hung high in the heavens did Lu Li finally open his eyes.

Within his body, the key to his second hidden meridian had also been opened. All that remained was to refine vitality and fill it.

"No, I'm getting a little hungry..."

Rubbing his stomach, Lu Li could even hear it growling. As his cultivation realm rose, his physical constitution had greatly improved, and with it came the need for more nourishment.

Three parts training, seven parts eating. The same held true here.

Suppressing the churning acid in his stomach, Lu Li glanced at the still-sleeping Liu Yueling, carried her in his arms, and headed downstream along the creek toward Liangshui Town.

After reaching the first level of Meridian Opening, his speed had also noticeably increased.

The forested mountains that had been somewhat difficult to traverse yesterday now felt like level ground.

"Back on Blue Star, I'd probably count as a teenage version of Spider-Man, except I can't shoot webs or climb walls."

Lu Li sighed, but became even more vigilant. A thousand pounds of force and swift steps were merely the beginning of martial arts.

The Lixi Inn Shuang Qiuyue had mentioned was also a rather important gathering place for NPCs in the game, so Lu Li was not unfamiliar with it.

Throughout the Jing Dynasty, every town and city had inns for travelers to stay in, but with the jianghu in turmoil, inns were not something ordinary people could operate.

The Lixi Inn was a prime example. It was an enormous faction, yet it did not involve itself in jianghu conflicts.

In the game, causing trouble at a Lixi Inn would result in being wanted and pursued by the forces behind the inn.

Thus, over time, a rule had formed in the jianghu: once inside a Lixi Inn, even if one's father's killer stood before them, they could not make a move. All disputes had to be settled outside the inn.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Lu Li felt a trace of curiosity. What would the real Lixi Inn be like?

Lu Li followed the creek for more than half a day, until he felt his eyes turning green from hunger. If not for the support of Demon Inner Qi, he truly might not have been able to endure any longer.

"Why aren't there any wild animals in this place?!"

Gritting his teeth, Lu Li continued onward. There was nothing on either side of the creek, not even an animal coming to drink. The water was also clear enough for him to see that there were no fish on the riverbed.

"Is it because demon qi leaked out...?"

As he pondered this, Lu Li walked for another half hour before finally reaching the end of the creek, where it flowed into a river more than ten zhang wide.

Lu Li stopped and looked out. The river was broad, with an arched bridge spanning it. Beyond the bridge was a dirt road stretching toward an old town.

Liangshui Town!

Lu Li quickened his pace slightly, crossed the arched bridge, and soon arrived in town.

Liangshui Town was a rural settlement under Liangzhou City. Though it was separated from Cloud Province City by mountains, it had not been affected by demons.

Outside the town, Lu Li could see from afar many farmers planting rice seedlings in the fields. The scene was peaceful and tranquil.

He strode quickly toward the town, but drew plenty of attention.

The reason was simple: his attire was strange.

Lu Li wore his hair short. In this era, only monks generally had such a hairstyle, so it was not especially unusual on its own. But the key was that he was also carrying a sleeping little girl in his arms, which naturally looked strange.

Ignoring the gazes directed at him, he walked through the streets and alleys. Before long, he found a conspicuous three-story inn.

Lixi Tower!

Lu Li's gaze swept over the plaque above the Lixi Inn. Just as he was about to step inside, order two or three dishes, and experience the world of jianghu people for himself—

To be honest, he had harbored a dream of the martial arts jianghu since childhood. Otherwise, he would never have become a veteran player of Martial World.

But before he could enter the inn, he heard someone call out:

"Brother, please wait!"