Ah, yes, just like that

Deep within Seven Mile Peak, in a mountain valley.

Chen Xian used Origin Qi to support his body, hovering in midair.

The Origin Qi expenditure was not as rapid as he had imagined, perhaps because his reserves were simply too abundant.

But he hovered too close to the ground, only ten meters high.

He tried to rise higher, but the air pressure bore down on him, making it extremely difficult.

"Only ten meters high!" Chen Xian muttered.

Although hovering did not consume much Origin Qi at a time, staying suspended continuously still drained it at an alarming rate.

Chen Xian understood that he had only just begun. Hovering was still strenuous for him; once he reached minor or major mastery, the Origin Qi consumed would be negligible.

Bang!

With a palm strike through the air, a dark-golden Origin Qi palm shadow slammed into the ground from afar, shattering trees and rocks.

Its power was more than ten times greater than the previous Origin Qi palm shadow.

Activating the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique, a three-zhang Ox Demon phantom appeared behind him. Dark-golden flames blazed around it, gilded light flickered, and golden protective qi revolved around his body. This was minor mastery of the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique.

He clenched his fists, three hundred ding of strength surging through his arms.

Chen Xian raised his head and slowly exhaled a long breath of turbid air, then swiftly withdrew 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 slash.

Having reached the Soaring Realm, slaying demons with Origin Qi made his attacks incomparably powerful.

After hovering for half an incense stick, he had consumed roughly one-twentieth of the Origin Qi in his Jade Sea.

Though it was not much, if he fought a Demon King, his Origin Qi would drain much faster. Even one-twentieth of it was exceedingly precious.

With a tap of his toes, he landed atop a tree canopy.

Chen Xian maintained his balance with a faint thread of Origin Qi, closed his eyes, and opened his Spiritual Sense Eye. He could now see the scenery within a one-kilometer radius.

Anything farther away was somewhat blurry.

As for his hearing, its range felt five times that of the Spiritual Sense Eye.

He could hear sounds five kilometers away. Even when the Spiritual Sense Eye could not see them, he could still sense certain movements.

His sense of smell, however, was inferior to his Spiritual Sense Eye, reaching only around a hundred meters.

It was nearly noon.

Chen Xian returned to the foot of Seven Mile Peak. Zhao Tong and the other Cook Soldiers had already gone back to camp, while only Qin Fei, Xue Qishan, and the others sat cross-legged on the ground cultivating.

"Brother Xian, where did you go?"

Hearing the movement, Xue Qishan opened his eyes.

Chen Xian said, "I took a look around to prevent a demon ambush."

Xue Qishan rose to his feet. "After last night's battle, the demons suffered heavy losses too. They probably won't attack again so soon."

Chen Xian nodded. "Start a fire and roast the meat."

"Alright!"

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

These were the days they lived In front of Demon-Slaying Pass: when thirsty, they drank demon blood; when hungry, they ate demon flesh.

"They're here!"

Chen Xian's ears twitched as he looked toward Black Wind Valley.

Xue Qishan and Qin Fei looked over as well.

Before long, a group appeared in their line of sight. It was Ding Chen, Wang Yan, and the others.

What made them frown was that Ding Chen had brought only the previous fifty-six men.

The Head Chef Army had not assigned them a single additional soldier.

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

"Chen Quanwu, Li Sheng!"

A chill flashed through Chen Xian's eyes after hearing them. "Demons aren't frightening. What's truly frightening is people!"

Ding Chen and the others deeply agreed with those words.

Chen Quanwu looked reckless and impulsive, yet he had stabbed Chen Xian in the back and reported him to General Sun.

As for Li Sheng and Liu Dingchun, they were even more sinister. Ding Chen had brought the dead Cook Soldiers and seriously wounded men to seek Liu Dingchun, requesting reinforcements and medicinal resources.

In the end, he did not even get to see Liu Dingchun before being dismissed by two Head Chef Army soldiers.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

Chen Xian spent 130,000 experience points to raise the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique to perfection, and his cultivation reached the late Soaring Realm.

Martial Art: Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique (Perfection)

Experience: 69,280 points

Realm: Soaring Realm, major mastery

Lifespan: 280 years

The dark-golden fire Origin Qi erupting from the Origin Qi furnace in his Jade Sea grew ever more abundant, forming a vast lake of Origin Qi around the furnace that slowly revolved around it.

His Spiritual Sense Eye, hearing, perception, and sense of smell had all improved.

His hovering height had already reached seventy or eighty meters. At perfection, he should be able to reach a height of one hundred meters.

Chen Xian silently estimated that Pei Menglong's cultivation should be at the middle or late Soaring Realm, lower than his own. However, Pei Menglong cultivated the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art, whose grade was more than ten times stronger than the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique.

Thus, Pei Menglong's overall strength should still surpass his.

From this, he could also infer the Black Tiger King's strength. It should be at the peak of the Great Demon King realm.

Once he understood this, Chen Xian did not dwell on it. He might not be able to defeat the Black Tiger King, but the latter would find it difficult to kill him as well.

Therefore, apart from the Black Tiger King, he could cut down anyone in the demon camp with a single slash.

With sixty or seventy thousand experience points remaining, Chen Xian did not intend to raise his martial arts techniques any further for now.

When he had previously killed lesser demons and great demons, he had not noticed any shortcomings in the Demon-Slaying Blade Technique, Demon-Slaying Spear Technique, or Great Tablet Smashing Hand.

But in his battle against the Black Tiger Lesser Demon King, he had truly felt the inadequacy of those three martial skills. Even at perfection, they still fell far short.

Or rather, their power was insufficient.

As his cultivation technique improved, his martial techniques had to keep pace. Otherwise, the power of his blade and spear techniques would be greatly diminished.

Chen Xian intended to use his remaining experience to deduce and improve the three martial skills. If he could derive new martial skills or advance them to the next realm, their power would naturally double, further strengthening his combat ability.

After ten months of arduous training, your Demon-Slaying Blade Technique had reached perfection, but you could not break through to a new realm.

Light and shadows flickered through Chen Xian's mind as ten months of bitter blade training passed by.

The Demon-Slaying Blade Technique had become nothing but ever greater proficiency, while its power had not increased much.

After twenty months of day-and-night training, your Demon-Slaying Blade Technique remained at perfection. You vaguely grasped traces of the new realm, as though enlightenment had dawned.

"Some enlightenment?"

Chen Xian's eyes brightened slightly. There truly was another realm beyond perfection?

He opened his eyes and saw that night had already fallen. His ears twitched; for the moment, there was no movement in Blood River Forest.

He rose and found Ding Chen.

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

Ding Chen nodded. "The realms of martial techniques are simple: entry, minor mastery, major mastery, and perfection. Four realms in total."

Chen Xian asked, "Then what comes after those four realms?"

Ding Chen gave Chen Xian a slightly surprised look. Wang Yan, Qin Fei, Xue Qishan, and Luo Ying also looked at Chen Xian in surprise.

"Have you reached the Subtle realm?" Wang Yan was the first to speak.

"The Subtle realm?"

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

Wang Yan was speechless. "Shouldn't everyone know that?"

Chen Xian: "...!!"

Was I the only one who didn't know?

The original owner's memories indeed contained nothing about realms beyond martial technique perfection.

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

At that moment, Wang Yan said, "After perfection comes the Subtle realm. After Subtle comes Mind State, Artistic Conception, Momentum Realm..."

"The Subtle realm is still manageable. With ten or twenty years of bitter training, perhaps one can attain it. But Mind State requires an opportunity—it can be encountered but not sought."

Chen Xian repeated, "Subtle, Mind State, Artistic Conception, Momentum Realm... What exactly counts as entering the Subtle realm?"

Wang Yan froze slightly. That question had stumped him.

Ding Chen said from the side, "When blade qi enters the Subtle realm, it uses a point to break a surface. Its attack power can increase more than tenfold."

"Ah, yes, just like that!" Wang Yan nodded in agreement.