The simulation ended!
Jiang Yi's qi and blood began to surge wildly, propelling his cultivation in one stroke to the peak of the Blood Qi Realm First Layer.
He was only one step away from the second layer of Blood Qi!
It was merely a kick at the threshold!
From this point on, all five layers of the Tiger Demon Body Tempering Art had been perfected.
Unless he continued deducing it upward and raised the upper limit of this martial art!
Otherwise, he could not cultivate it any further.
Jiang Yi had no intention of doing that. With his pitifully meager knowledge of martial arts,
if he wanted to continue deducing it, who knew whether he would have to wait until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.
It was practically as difficult as ascending to the heavens!
Compared to that!
The Nine Cauldrons Returning Origin Art before him undoubtedly held greater promise.
If he were to deduce something, this was what he should deduce!
"Consume one hundred years of lifespan. Simulate martial art—the Nine Cauldrons Returning Origin Art."
[Year 1, you began attempting a breakthrough.]
[Year 7, you broke through to the Blood Qi Realm Second Layer, and your martial art accordingly reached the second layer.]
[Year 30, you broke through to the Blood Qi Realm Third Layer. Your qi and blood became vast and mighty, your blood energy fell like rain, and it passed through your body to transform into astral force.]
[Year 90, you broke through to the Blood Qi Realm Fourth Layer.]
[Year 100, you had stabilized your current realm, and your qi and blood improved somewhat.]
"Continue. Consume one hundred years of lifespan. Simulate martial art—the Nine Cauldrons Returning Origin Art."
[Year 120, Blood Qi Fourth Layer, mid-stage.]
[Year 150, Blood Qi Fourth Layer, late-stage.]
[Year 190, Blood Qi Fourth Layer, peak.]
[Year 198, you broke through to the early stage of the Blood Qi Realm Fifth Layer, and your martial art reached the fifth layer.]
[Year 200, you stabilized your current cultivation.]
As the simulation ended!
A rushing sound came from within Jiang Yi's body.
His qi and blood were like liquid mercury, surging like a flood!
Immediately after!
Dull booms rang out one after another, as though layer upon layer of invisible barriers had been pierced through!
The floodgates had opened, and the deluge had burst free!
His cultivation climbed step by step—peak first layer, early second layer, mid third layer...
Until it reached the early stage of the Blood Qi Realm Fifth Layer!
Only then did it finally stop!
Above his head!
His qi and blood billowed like wolf smoke, cascading down!
It shrouded his entire body. For a moment, azure radiance gleamed as blood energy coiled around him, like mist and gauze!
It gave off an air of weighty grandeur.
Upon reaching the fifth layer, his qi and blood had already transformed into astral force. Within, it could protect his entire body; without, it could command qi to kill and conquer!
In terms of strength, he was comparable to an ordinary Blood Qi Realm martial artist at the sixth or seventh layer!
Perhaps even the eighth layer was not out of the question!
Nine Cauldrons Returning Origin!
He had now formed five cauldrons. With the power of five cauldrons, his strength reached eighty thousand jin.
He was like a humanoid ferocious beast!
Very soon!!!
The aura around him settled, his vast qi and blood lay dormant, and his current cultivation was stabilized.
[Life Master: Jiang Yi] [Cultivation: Blood Qi Realm Fifth Layer] [Physique: None] [Cultivation Scriptures: Nameless Scripture (Incomplete), Eagle Claw Technique (Perfected), Cauldron Origin Mountain Splitting Art (Perfected), Tiger Roar Fist (Perfected), Cloud Snake Step (Perfected), Wrathful Blade Art (Perfected)Tiger Demon Body Tempering Art (Perfected), Nine Cauldrons Returning Origin Art (Five)] [Lifespan: 50]
It was obvious that once cultivation reached the later stages, advancement became increasingly difficult!
At the slightest turn, it required decades, even centuries!
From the fourth layer to the fifth layer!
It had already cost one hundred years of lifespan!
If he wanted to reach the next layer, the sixth layer, it probably would not be possible without two hundred years!
After all, this was simulated cultivation. It would not provide any Heavenly Materials, Earthly Treasures, spirit medicines, or mystic pills.
If it did!
Why would it take so much time!
To put it bluntly!
His cultivation had all been earned bit by bit through his own efforts, without the slightest bit of dilution.
The remaining fifty years of lifespan were clearly not enough!
Jiang Yi did not intend to continue deducing and cultivating.
He would save it for now and wait until he had enough!
The next day, the group set out once more!
They traveled along the main road, but the region they were passing through was rather remote and mostly uninhabited.
Thus, forests covered both sides of the road, concealing jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards!
In some mountains!
Bandits also gathered in groups, claiming the hills as their strongholds!
However, no blind fool dared come over and cause trouble.
The Huang family banner flew high at the front!
It was enough to deter petty villains!
Several more days passed!
On the fourth day, they failed to find a village!
But they were accustomed to traveling north and south, eating in the wind and sleeping in the open, so naturally they did not force the matter.
They directly set up a crude camp beside the main road.
They gathered some dry firewood and lit several bonfires!
Some escorts, carrying spears and bows on their backs, entered the forest to search for game.
If luck was on their side, they could have something hearty to eat.
By nightfall!
Everyone gathered around the bonfires!
Jiang Yi glanced around. Among the dozen or so escorts, nearly all were martial artists.
Even the weakest had already touched upon the threshold of the Skin Refining Realm!
The strongest was naturally the escort chief, Huang Qi, who was impressively at the Blood Qi Realm Second Layer.
"Tonight, we can only make do! Rest for one night, then continue our journey! If we move faster tomorrow, we should be able to reach Rock Mountain City before dark!"
Huang Qi tore a deer leg from the fire rack and handed it to Jiang Yi!
"Thank you, Uncle Qi!"
Jiang Yi did not stand on ceremony. After taking it, he bit into it.
Over the past few days, they had eaten nothing but dry rations and dried meat, and he had grown rather tired of it.
Now that he could have a bite of hot food, naturally he would not let the chance pass!
What if they were martial artists?
They were not immortals who could abstain from food!
At their core, martial artists were still people. They still needed to eat, drink, piss, and shit.
The night passed without incident!
Other than the occasional roars and cries of ferocious beasts and savage birds from deep within the forest, it was fairly peaceful.
At dawn on the fifth day, when the sky had only just begun to brighten!
A dense clatter of hoofbeats rolled over, the rumbling shaking the earth and startling the resting escort party awake.
By instinct!
Everyone swiftly rose to their feet, gripping their weapons tightly. Their bodies tensed, their faces solemn!
They stared fixedly toward the source of the sound!
The hoofbeats came in waves, drawing closer and closer!
Jiang Yi also woke up. He stood beside Huang Qi at the front.
"Hoofbeats?"
"Whose people could they be?"
"Or perhaps... horse bandits coming down from some mountain stronghold to plunder?"
The escort party stood ready in grim formation.
Before long!
Dust billowed and earth and stones flew!
It swept swiftly over from afar, with vague figures visible within.
They gradually entered everyone's sight!
"It's the Li family!" Huang Qi's gaze sharpened as he said in a low voice!
The Li family?
One of the four most powerful major forces in Rock Mountain City?
Jiang Yi looked up!
He saw seven figures racing toward them, each mounted on a tall horse.
And!
They were no ordinary horses!
They were all horned horses!
A single horn, about three inches long and bearing faint patterns, grew from each horse's forehead.
The figures on horseback!
Nearly every one of them wore silks and brocades, with Treasure Swords at their waists.
Their attire was worth a fortune.
One look was enough to tell that they were children of wealthy families!
People who had come from some domineering and powerful force!
As for why it was nearly every one?
Naturally, there was an exception!
Before you continue