Two Equipment Slots! Equipping a Demon Core! Demon-Slaying Blade Technique!

Under Yang Xiao's deliberate control, the Origin-Guiding Qi Gathering Art ran at full power.

The blue prefix Spirit Swallowing granted triple efficiency, allowing him to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth at tremendous speed.

The surrounding spiritual energy formed a faintly visible white mist that swirled around him and surged madly into his body.

Bang!

A powerful impact erupted inside him.

Yang Xiao felt as though something inside his body had been opened.

It was an entirely new sensation, as if a new space had been carved out within him.

Rumble!

The instant the aperture opened, Yang Xiao felt the spiritual energy inside him rush into it. There, it gathered and compressed, growing ever denser and more abundant.

Two hours later.

Yang Xiao felt the spiritual energy accumulated in his first aperture reach its limit.

He opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them.

The one-aperture Qi Gathering Realm!

He stood up and felt the changes within his body.

Previously, he had relied on the brute strength of his flesh and blood. Prolonged combat would leave his blood churning and his limbs weak, and once his stamina ran out, he could no longer fight.

His injuries had also healed extremely slowly, often lingering for weeks or months, or even leaving lifelong ailments that were exceedingly difficult to cure.

The instant the aperture took shape within him, the fleshly body he had previously tempered to the pinnacle of blood vitality underwent successive transformations beneath the baptism of spiritual energy.

The most obvious changes were his endurance and combat capabilities.

The Qi Gathering Realm consumed the spiritual energy stored in his apertures. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was everywhere; as long as he remained between heaven and earth, he could replenish it as he spent it.

Even after a prolonged, bitter battle, he would no longer feel that same exhaustion. He only needed to sit quietly and regulate his breathing to replenish the spiritual energy in his apertures, and he could return to peak condition.

Now, with spiritual energy empowering him, he could channel it into his fists, feet, and weapons, unleashing several times the combat power he had possessed in the body forging stage.

He could condense force around his body to strike enemies at a distance, or coat his body's surface with it for defense. His range of methods had become far more comprehensive.

Yang Xiao clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within him that far exceeded anything he had possessed before.

"So this is the power of the Qi Gathering Realm. It really is extraordinary!"

Suddenly, Yang Xiao sensed that something had changed in his mind.

He opened the equipment panel, surprise and delight entering his eyes.

Originally, the equipment panel had only one slot, which currently held the Origin-Guiding Qi Gathering Art. Its twenty-four-hour requirement for permanent fixation would not be met until the early hours of this morning.

Now, another empty slot had appeared on the right.

"This is..." Yang Xiao's thoughts stirred. "The number of equipment slots increases when my realm rises?"

"That makes perfect sense!"

Yang Xiao began checking the items on him that could be equipped.

First, he took a pale-yellow bead the size of an egg from the lining of his clothes. It was the demon core he had obtained by killing Old Yellow Dog in Wang Village.

The Inner Core of a Qi Gathering Realm demon!

Pure internal energy and impure demonic qi were mixed together within it. According to common knowledge, it could not be used directly.

But what would happen if he equipped it?

With the intention of giving it a try, Yang Xiao looked at the demon core, and the equipment panel appeared before his eyes.

[Usable equipment detected: Qi Gathering Demonic Core (single-use consumable)]

[Effect 1: Replenishes the spiritual power of three apertures.]

[Effect 2: Grants prefix (green), Spiritual Olfaction: Enhances the sense of smell. No scent within ten li can escape detection.]

[Equip "Qi Gathering Demonic Core" in the equipment slot?]

No trouble from demonic qi, and it could directly add three apertures?

Not only could it add three apertures, it would also grant the green prefix Spiritual Olfaction. This Inner Core was practically a Greater Restoration Pill!

Without hesitation, Yang Xiao placed it in the second equipment slot.

Boom!

A powerful force erupted inside him.

The internal energy within the demon core surged into his body with almost savage force, following his meridians and opening new apertures in an instant.

A short while later.

Yang Xiao examined his body internally. Four brimming apertures rested steadily within him.

The abundant spiritual energy they contained flowed slowly along his meridians, through every limb and bone, filling his organs. The sensation was thoroughly satisfying, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort and solidity.

Feeling the abundant power within him, Yang Xiao extended a finger, channeled his spiritual energy, and gently traced a line before him.

A wavering streak of white mist three feet long suddenly appeared in the air before him. When it landed on the ground, the earth instantly caved in, as though struck by an immense weight.

Now, even a casual punch or swing of his saber with a little spiritual energy added would far surpass his former strength.

As for the Basic Blade Technique he had used most often before, it now seemed like nothing but an empty framework, lacking power and crude in the extreme.

If he faced that Qi Gathering Realm Old Yellow Dog again, why would he even need a blade technique?

With Old Yellow Dog's meager physical toughness, a single Monument Splitting Palm would probably turn him into a mist of blood.

He kept experimenting with releasing and withdrawing spiritual energy in the courtyard, feeling terrifyingly powerful!

Looking at the equipment panel before him again, Yang Xiao calmed himself.

"It's still not enough. This is only the beginning. There are always people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens."

"I can't let this go to my head!"

With one equipment slot empty, Yang Xiao continued examining the items around him. Finally, his gaze settled on a book beside the bed.

Demon-Slaying Blade Technique.

It was one of the prized treasures Zhang Hu had given him.

It was a blade technique from the Demon Suppression Division, specifically designed to fight demons. Its moves were fierce, with additional suppressive and killing power against them.

But it had one restriction—he had to break through to the Qi Gathering Realm before he could formally practice it.

Now, he had met the cultivation requirement.

Yang Xiao picked up the book and flipped through a few pages, only to be stumped once again by its obscure, difficult cultivation methods. If he relied entirely on his own comprehension and practice, he might be training until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.

But that was no great problem. He simply placed it in the second equipment slot.

["Demon-Slaying Blade Technique"]

[Effect 1: Perfect mastery of the "Demon-Slaying Blade Technique."]

[Effect 2: Grants prefix (blue), Demon-Slaying: Provides minute insight into demons' vital points and increases damage dealt to demons.]

[Note: After being equipped for twenty-four hours, this item's equipment effects can be permanently fixed.]

Yang Xiao gently closed his eyes, and a wealth of blade technique memories suddenly flooded his mind.

It was as though a senior stood before him, extracting the purest essence from that dry manual and feeding it to him, hand over hand.

Demons' skin defenses, the structure of their muscles and bones, and even the patterns and weaknesses of their circulating demonic power were all laid bare before his eyes.

Countless insights piled together, as if Yang Xiao truly had spent his days diligently training and honing himself through blood-soaked battles. Today, he finally shed every trace of awkwardness, bringing the Demon-Slaying Blade Technique to perfect mastery.

Yang Xiao picked up the Spring Embroidery Saber, lightly brushing its cool blade with his fingertips. The insights in his heart were clear and transparent.

He gently swung his saber, practicing the Demon-Slaying Blade Technique in the courtyard.

All its complicated forms melded into a unified whole. A thousand moves and ten thousand variations returned to one unadorned slash. He no longer needed to deliberately recall the forms; raising his hand meant striking, and lowering his blade meant killing.

If his earlier attacks with spiritual power had been nothing more than an unplanned attempt to overwhelm others with force, he now wielded it with far greater ease.

Every slash was refined to the utmost, without the slightest waste of spiritual power.

A short while later.

Yang Xiao sheathed his saber and took stock of his current foundation.

Cultivation at the four-aperture Qi Gathering Realm, with perfect mastery of the following martial arts: Demon-Slaying Blade Technique, Monument Splitting Palm, Astonishing Swan Steps, and Iron Cloth Technique.

Prefix enhancements: Hundred-Refined Edge (blue), Demon-Slaying (blue), Spirit Swallowing (blue), Vitality Recovery (green), Shadow Swoop (green), Mountain-Opening Force (green), Spiritual Olfaction (green), and Iron Armor (white).

With this setup in hand, even if that Old Dog from Wang Village were at the peak of his youth, Yang Xiao could suppress him with one hand!

"Whew..."

Yang Xiao drew a deep breath, left the room, and stood in the courtyard.

He raised his head to look at the moon in the night sky, silently making his calculations.

By his reckoning, someone from the Demon Suppression Division would arrive in another four days. His current strength should already be sufficient.