Nine Hells Origin-Resolving True Intent

By the time he returned to the Zhou Residence, the time limit for Nine Heavens Profound Intent on his panel was nearly up.

Inside the little room that belonged to him alone.

Zhou Muzhi dismissed the servants, shut the doors and windows, and sat upright in his square-backed armchair.

A few breaths passed.

At last, Nine Heavens Profound Intent disappeared completely from the skills section.

A chill immediately filled the room. For something so abnormal to happen when daylight was at its brightest was enough to show that the vengeful spirit was about to appear.

The screen shook, making creaking, grinding sounds. Then the sound fell silent, making one's skin crawl, as though even breathing had grown much quieter.

Zhou Muzhi's eyes resembled deep pools, as unruffled as an ancient well, yet they carried the faintest, almost imperceptible stirrings of emotion-a few traces of anticipation.

Without the protection of Nine Heavens Profound Intent, it seemed he would have to face this vengeful spirit directly.

Compared with a Blood Gate Martial Artist, just how much could this vengeful spirit do?

Suddenly, something stirred before his eyes. A figure in a long dress, blood-red from head to toe, floated out of the screen. It was none other than the blood-red vengeful spirit from before.

Strength surged throughout Zhou Muzhi's body. He deliberately drew upon the faint wisp of Scorching Fire True Intent within him, spreading it over his entire body and making the already meager true intent even finer.

Looking at the spirit again as it emerged from the screen, its overall condition had changed considerably from before. Apart from its head, which remained insubstantial, everything else had a sense of solidity.

"Judging by this, Sun Yao is dead."

Zhou Muzhi reached this confident conjecture inwardly, and at the same time fully understood that this vengeful spirit could never let him go.

As long as he died, the vengeful spirit would gain a completely solid body and become something no different in appearance from a human.

This time, the vengeful spirit did not simply wait several meters away from Zhou Muzhi. Instead, it floated straight toward him, blood-red waves howling around it, until almost his entire field of vision was covered in bloody shadows.

"All flash and no substance. Take a punch from me first!"

Facing the vengeful spirit, Zhou Muzhi chose the most direct martial approach: meet it head-on!

Of course, if he could not withstand it, he still had a fallback he could use.

He stamped down and leaped into the air from in front of the armchair. His muscles swelled at that very moment, his arms like massive timbers and his fingers like curved hooks. The inhuman strength within his body, soaring to nearly three thousand jin, poured into his fists.

A low shout rang out.

"Since you like coming here so much, stay here this time."

His voice carried icy killing intent.

Boom!

His punch drove out, churning the air and actually producing a low rumble.

This was absolute strength.

But this strength seemed to have no effect on the vengeful spirit. His fist passed through streak after streak of blood-red light and finally landed on the screen.

With a sharp crack, the screen shattered into pieces.

The blood-red vengeful spirit first re-formed its body. This time, its re-formed shape was more dispersed, developing from a human silhouette into strands.

His strength had actually done nothing to the blood-red vengeful spirit. What had truly worked was the Scorching Fire True Intent Zhou Muzhi had expended.

After briefly sensing his remaining Scorching Fire True Intent, Zhou Muzhi determined that he could throw four more punches.

In all honesty, he was not confident that he could kill this vengeful spirit completely within those four punches.

At present, they were evenly matched.

Fortunately, Zhou Muzhi did not have to agonize over it for long. After he turned around, the blood-red vengeful spirit vanished once more without a trace.

"Phew!"

He exhaled a stale breath, and his muscles slowly returned to normal. Standing before the broken wood, Zhou Muzhi frowned slightly, seemingly very dissatisfied with this result.

A short while later, the Scorching Fire True Intent within him also began slowly recovering.

"Forget it."

After saying this, he took the booklet from inside his robe, thinking that the stronger this blood-red vengeful spirit became, the more useful it would be once he subdued it.

With this mindset, Zhou Muzhi examined the deduction panel's deduction paths for the cultivation method.

Perhaps because of the cultivation method, the deduction paths had changed somewhat this time.

[Yuanchu Sect introductory martial arts (annotated version)]

[Current deduction paths]

[1. Complete subsequent introductory Lincheng Great Realm text of the "Three Origins Profound Treatise," including annotations / Deduction Points required: 2]

[2. "Nine Hells Origin-Resolving True Intent," a lost supreme art of the Yuanchu Sect, one of the strongest foundational martial arts for the Lincheng realm. Current text: Qi Gathering chapter / Deduction Points required: 6]

Things had become interesting.

Zhou Muzhi did not hesitate at all. When choosing a cultivation method, naturally, the stronger the better. As for the subsequent portions, with the deduction panel available, they would not be a major problem as long as he found a few similar books.

With a thought, the panel changed instantly, and his Deduction Points were emptied out.

The contents of that lost supreme art began appearing in his mind.

Gathering the Five Qi also had another name: Bone Cultivation. Bones were the measure by which qi and blood circulated; each inch of bone held an inch of qi, and five sites in the body could yield the Five Qi.

Zhou Muzhi closed his eyes and sensed it, the various details of the cultivation method appearing in his mind until he had digested them all.

He opened his eyes, a strange light in his gaze.

He had not expected this cultivation method to have some connection to the Treasure Pill he had swallowed.

The opening of this art stated that, to begin practicing it, one had to develop a special supernatural quality while still in the Blood Gate realm.

These special supernatural qualities referred to various extraordinary constitutions, or to people who had swallowed unusual treasures and successfully undergone beneficial changes.

The special supernatural qualities they possessed were an important prerequisite for cultivating this method. Their purpose was to temper the bones, thereby helping the practitioner gather the Five Qi.

The Scorching Fire True Intent he had obtained also possessed supernatural properties, allowing him to meet the entry requirement without realizing it.

Afterward, by circulating his power according to the method, he could successfully begin practicing "Nine Hells Origin-Resolving True Intent," and his cultivation would advance very quickly in the early stages.

For Zhou Muzhi, who possessed Scorching Fire True Intent, this was not difficult. In fact, it could be called extremely simple. He could begin attempting cultivation at the Five Qi stage right now.

He walked to the edge of the bed and sat down. Crossing his legs, he closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, and circulated the Scorching Fire True Intent within him according to the cultivation formula.

That wisp of scorching fire moved toward his left arm.

With ample qi and blood as fuel, the scorching fire suddenly surged until it covered the bones throughout his entire arm.

"Ngh!"

Pain erupted through his arm section by section. After a muffled groan, Zhou Muzhi gritted his teeth and held on.

This was a necessary path to beginning the art.

Without the pain of tempering one's bones, how could one gain abilities that reached the heavens?

Only once the bones in his arm had been fully tempered did Zhou Muzhi, his clothes soaked in sweat, open his weary eyes.

"I've gathered Light Body, one of the Five Qi!"

It really had gone exceptionally smoothly, and quickly, too!

This qi could make the body as light as nothing. Its most exaggerated outward manifestation was the legendary feat of crossing a river on a single reed.

And "Nine Hells Origin-Resolving True Intent" would only make that manifestation even more exaggerated-so exaggerated that a person could lie upon the surface of the water, settling upon it like duckweed without sinking.

Applied to any movement art, fighting method, or skill, such a state would provide an incomparably terrifying enhancement.

For no one would know whether your attacks were as soft and feeble as they appeared, nor could anyone easily discern your true capabilities.

This was what made the stage of gathering the Five Qi so terrifying. Moreover, his Five Qi inherently carried supernatural qualities, and the supreme art could nourish those qualities. Complementing one another, they could make them even stronger.

The cultivation method he practiced was the most complete version, so its strength was comprehensive: it could deal not only with humans, but with inhuman things as well.

After calming his thoughts.

He opened the panel again.

[Name: Zhou Muzhi]

[Status: Curse (mark)]

[Skills: Martial arts (Qi Gathering · Light Body "Scorching Fire True Intent", incense maker (beginner)]

[Deduction Points: 0]

After reading it, Zhou Muzhi put it away.

Having sat cross-legged for so long, his body was slightly stiff.

He got down from the bed and moved his body a little.

Glancing around the room, which was still a complete mess, Zhou Muzhi made his way around the wreckage and headed outside. He pushed open the door, and the sight of dusk outside came into view.

Without his noticing, his cultivation time had flown by. Night was already almost upon him.