Ah, Right, Just Like That

Deep within Seven Mile Peak, in a mountain valley.

Chen Xian used his Origin Qi to lift his body, standing suspended in the air.

The Origin Qi consumption wasn't as rapid as he'd imagined, perhaps due to his immense reserves.

However, he was hovering very close to the ground, only ten meters up.

He attempted to ascend higher, but the air pressure resisted, making it incredibly difficult.

"Only ten meters high!" Chen Xian muttered to himself.

While hovering didn't consume a massive amount of Origin Qi, maintaining it continuously would still lead to a significant drain.

Chen Xian understood that he was just starting out, and hovering was still a struggle. Once he reached minor or major completion, the Origin Qi consumed would be negligible.

Bang!

With a Soaring palm strike, an dark-gold Origin Qi palm shadow shot out, striking the ground and shattering trees and rocks.

Its power was more than ten times that of his previous Origin Qi palm shadows.

Activating the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique, a thirty-foot Ox Demon figure appeared behind his body, burning with dark-gold flames, shimmering with gilded light, and surrounded by golden protective Qi. This was the minor completion of the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique.

Clenching his fist, three hundred ding of strength surged through his arm.

Chen Xian tilted his head back and exhaled a long breath of stale air, quickly retracting the Ox Demon Body Refinement.

With his current strength, if he encountered that Black Tiger Lesser Demon King again, he was confident he could kill it with a single strike.

Reaching the Soaring Realm, using Origin Qi to slay demons, the power was indeed formidable.

After hovering for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, about one-twentieth of the Origin Qi in his Jade Sea was depleted.

Though not a lot, if he were fighting a Demon King, the Origin Qi would be consumed much faster, making even one-twentieth of it incredibly precious.

He tapped his toe and landed on a treetop.

Chen Xian used a faint trace of Origin Qi to maintain his balance, closed his eyes, and activated his Spiritual Sense Eye. He could now see the scenery within a kilometer radius.

Anything further was a bit blurry.

As for hearing and feeling, the range was five times that of the Spiritual Sense Eye.

He could hear sounds five kilometers away, and even if the Spiritual Sense Eye couldn't see them, he could sense some movement.

His sense of smell, however, was not as good as the Spiritual Sense Eye, only extending about a hundred meters.

It was nearing noon.

Chen Xian returned to the foot of Seven Mile Peak. Zhao Tong and the other cook soldiers had already returned to the camp. Only Qin Fei, Xue Qishan, and the others were sitting cross-legged on the ground, cultivating.

"Brother Xian, where were you?"

Hearing the movement, Xue Qishan opened his eyes.

Chen Xian replied, "Just checking around the area, preventing any surprise demon attacks."

Xue Qishan stood up and said, "The demons suffered heavy losses in last night's battle. They shouldn't attack so soon."

Chen Xian nodded. "Let's start a fire and roast some meat."

"Okay!"

Xue Qishan nodded and immediately called for people to start a fire and roast demon meat.

Life at the front of Demon-Slaying Pass was like this: drink demon blood when thirsty, eat demon meat when hungry.

"They're here!"

Chen Xian's ears twitched, and he looked towards Black Wind Valley.

Xue Qishan and Qin Fei also looked in that direction.

Soon, a group of people appeared in their sight. It was Ding Chen, Wang Yan, and the others.

What made them frown was that Ding Chen had only brought the fifty-six people from before.

The Head Chef Army hadn't added a single soldier to their ranks.

Soon, Ding Chen and the others arrived. They dismounted and explained the situation to Chen Xian.

"Chen Quanwu, Li Sheng!"

Chen Xian's eyes flashed with coldness upon hearing this. "Demons are not the real threat; people are!"

Ding Chen and the others strongly agreed with his words.

That Chen Quanwu, who appeared reckless and impulsive, had secretly slandered Chen Xian and already reported him to General Sun.

As for Li Sheng, Liu Dingchun, and the others, they were even more insidious. Ding Chen, bringing the dead cook soldiers and the severely wounded, went to find Liu Dingchun to request reinforcements, supplies, and pills.

However, he couldn't even get an audience with Liu Dingchun and was turned away by two Head Chef Army soldiers.

Evening arrived in the blink of an eye.

Chen Xian spent 130,000 experience points to upgrade the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique to the perfect completion realm, and his cultivation reached the late stage of the Soaring Realm.

[Martial Art: Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique (Perfect Completion)]

[Experience: 69280 points]

[Realm: Soaring Great Accomplishment]

[Lifespan: 280 years]

The dark golden Fire Yuan surging from the Origin Qi furnace in the Jade Sea was increasing, forming a vast Origin Qi lake around the furnace and slowly rotating.

Spiritual Sense Eye, hearing, feeling, and smell all increased.

The Soaring height had reached seventy to eighty meters; reaching full completion should allow him to reach a hundred meters.

Chen Xian secretly calculated the height. Pei Menglong's cultivation realm should be in the mid to late stages of Soaring, inferior to his. However, Pei Menglong cultivated the [Vajra Dragon Elephant Art], which was more than ten times stronger in grade than the [Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique].

Therefore, Pei Menglong's overall strength should still be greater than his.

From this, he could also infer that the Black Tiger King's strength was likely at the peak of the Great Demon King realm.

After understanding this, Chen Xian didn't pay it much mind. If he couldn't defeat the Black Tiger King, it would be difficult for the latter to kill him either.

Thus, apart from the Black Tiger King, he could defeat anyone in the Demon army camp with a single strike.

With the remaining sixty to seventy thousand experience points, Chen Xian did not plan to further upgrade his martial arts techniques.

Previously, when killing Lesser Demons and Great Demons, he hadn't noticed any shortcomings in the [Demon-Slaying Blade Technique], [Demon-Slaying Spear Technique], or [Great Tablet Smashing Hand].

However, after fighting that Lesser Demon King, the Black Tiger, he truly felt that these three martial skills, even at their perfected state, were still insufficient.

Or rather, their power was not enough.

If his cultivation technique improved, his techniques must also match it. Otherwise, the power of his blade and spear techniques would be greatly reduced.

Chen Xian planned to use the remaining experience to deduce and improve these three martial skills. If he could deduce new martial skills or advance to the next realm, their power would naturally double, thereby enhancing his combat strength.

[After ten months of arduous training, your Demon-Slaying Blade Technique has reached Great Accomplishment. You are unable to break through to a new realm.]

Light and shadow flickered in Chen Xian's mind as ten months of hard training passed.

The Demon-Slaying Blade Technique was only becoming more proficient, with little increase in power.

[After twenty months of day and night arduous training, your Demon-Slaying Blade Technique remains at Great Accomplishment. You have a vague understanding of a new realm, as if catching a glimpse.]

"A vague understanding?"

Chen Xian's eyes brightened. Was there really a realm beyond Great Accomplishment?

He opened his eyes and saw that it was already dark. He moved his ears and detected no movement in the Blood River Forest for the time being.

He got up and found Ding Chen.

"Brother Ding, do you know about the realms of blade techniques?" Chen Xian asked humbly.

Ding Chen nodded, "The realms of techniques are simple: Entry, Minor Accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and Perfection, four stages."

Chen Xian asked, "What about beyond those four stages?"

Ding Chen looked at Chen Xian with slight surprise. Wang Yan, Qin Fei, Xue Qishan, and Luo Ying also looked at Chen Xian in surprise.

"Have you reached Subtle?" Wang Yan asked first.

"Subtle?"

Chen Xian's eyes flickered, and he was also very curious, "How did you know?"

Wang Yan was speechless, "Shouldn't everyone know this?"

Chen Xian: "...!!"

Am I the only one who doesn't know?

The original owner's memories indeed did not contain any realms beyond Perfection for techniques.

Judging by the expressions of Xue Qishan, Qin Fei, and the others, they clearly all knew about the Subtle realm.

At this moment, Wang Yan said, "After Perfection in techniques comes Subtle. After Subtle comes Mind State, Artistic Conception, Momentum Realm..."

"Subtle is manageable; with ten or twenty years of hard training, one might reach it. But Mind State requires opportunity, something that can be encountered but not sought."

Chen Xian repeated, "Subtle, Mind State, Artistic Conception, Momentum Realm... How does one achieve Subtle?"

Wang Yan paused, this question stumped him as well.

Ding Chen said from the side, "Blade Qi becomes subtle, breaking through the surface with a single point. Attack power can increase by more than tenfold."

"Ah, yes, exactly!" Wang Yan agreed.