The Marvelous Uses of Merit! Wild Bull Force!

The flames gradually died down.

All that remained was a charred figure frozen in a roar, slowly crumbling to the ground.

Jiang Zhe let out a slow breath of turbid air.

His body slowly descended, and he glanced down at his arm. Fire patterns flowed across the magnificent metal armguard, containing enough power to burn mountains and boil seas.

Truth be told, he had barely exerted himself in that fight.

With just one ordinary Flame Fist, he had utterly killed the old yellow ox at the peak of the Human Immortal realm.

He had not even had time to use his real killing moves, such as Flame Saber and Demon-Sealing Slash!

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Zhe slowly turned toward the pile of charcoal that had once been the old yellow ox, a flicker of disappointment passing through his eyes.

He did not know whether the old yellow ox had always been poor or whether all his possessions had been burned away by the Samadhi True Fire. Either way, there was practically nothing left in the ashes.

He canceled his transformation and casually stepped on the remains.

The charcoal crumbled underfoot, turning into a pile of dead ashes.

Just as Jiang Zhe shook his head slightly and prepared to turn around, retrieve the immortal garment, and give it to Weaver Girl to complete this task once and for all-

Suddenly!

A few specks of light flickered in the ashes.

"Huh? It dropped a little gold!"

Jiang Zhe's eyes lit up, and he reached out and grabbed it!

He opened his palm and examined it by moonlight. It was a tattered page!

Only a few dozen characters were written on it. The brushstrokes were crude and unadorned, yet they faintly conveyed a savage, primeval force.

[Wild Bull Force]

"Is this the cultivation technique that old yellow ox practiced?" Jiang Zhe leaned closer to read it.

After a quick skim, his eyes suddenly lit up!

[Cultivation technique detected: Wild Bull Force]

[The host can spend 100 merit to raise it to the introductory level]

Seeing the notification before him, Jiang Zhe could not help clicking his tongue.

Good grief, this merit really was useful.

He needed it to upgrade his armor, draw prizes in the shop, and raise his cultivation. Now it could even directly simplify the practice of cultivation techniques!

It was practically good for everything!

He gave the page of Wild Bull Force another quick look and got the general idea.

It was probably a demonic technique the old yellow ox had practiced before taking human form, later improved by Joyful Buddha or some other Buddhist master.

Put simply, it tempered the body, making magical power surge through it like a wild bull and erupt with mountain-shattering force far beyond the ordinary the instant one struck!

Though it had originated as a demonic technique, it was a genuine road to the heavens, capable of cultivating one into an immortal!

It could not have suited Jiang Zhe better.

Refine essence into Qi, refine Qi into spirit, refine spirit and return to the void, return to the void and unite with the Dao!

These corresponded to the four great mortal realms: Essence Refining, Qi Refining, Spirit Refining, and Return to Void!

And now, because the Samadhi True Fire had washed through his very roots and bones, Jiang Zhe's essence, Qi, and spirit had long since reached perfection. He needed only that final step to break through the peak of Spirit Refining and enter the Return to Void realm!

"Use it!"

He did not hesitate.

His original 300 merit instantly dropped to 200.

But the next moment, an invisible force merged into his body! Wild Bull Force, which he had only been able to grasp in the rough, now became clear to him, every word and sentence!

The technique began circulating on its own. His skin was like a placid lake struck by a boulder, ripples spreading across it in circles.

Jiang Zhe could clearly feel his skin growing tougher, as though it had been repeatedly hammered and tempered. The strength in his body also increased by a visible margin.

And most importantly!

His magical power now had a guide, a place to return to!

Boom.

The bottleneck that had held him back broke as naturally as could be!

The Samadhi True Fire had already brought him to the peak of Spirit Refining. Now that the technique was circulating, everything fell into place!

Return to Void!

Coming back to his senses, Jiang Zhe walked step by step to another pile of ashes.

This was Cowherd's corpse.

Jiang Zhe stood in silence for a moment.

He had listened to the whole thing from the side!

The old yellow ox had made it perfectly clear: as long as he could find a wife and carry on his family line, Cowherd had readily agreed even to offer his own wife to his master for his enjoyment.

Perhaps he had been bewitched, or perhaps that was simply his nature.

But a man who could offer up even his own wife in exchange for a future...

A man without virtue was dead, and that was that.

Jiang Zhe bent down and picked up the gauzy garment, which shone like the stars, from beside the ashes. He dusted it off, then turned and walked toward the lake on the back mountain.

Passing through the woods, he came upon an immense lake.

In the moonlight, a long-haired girl lay pitifully at the water's edge near the center of the lake, feeling around for something. From behind, she looked aggrieved, as though someone had stolen every treasure in her world.

"Miss... are these your clothes?"

Jiang Zhe took a deep breath and asked in a quiet voice.

"Huh?"

The girl hurriedly turned toward his voice. When she saw the garment sparkling with specks of starlight in Jiang Zhe's hand, she sprang to her feet in excitement.

"They're mine! They're mine!"

Pfft!

Jiang Zhe almost cursed aloud on the spot.

No!

Why couldn't you just stay in the water? Why did you suddenly stand up?!

He wanted no karmic ties with Weaver Girl whatsoever, so he hurriedly shut his eyes and raised a hand in front of his face.

"Miss, it would be improper for me to look. Since these are your clothes, I'll leave them here."

"We're out in the wilderness, miss. You should head back soon."

As he spoke, he felt his way quickly to the lakeside and gently set down the gauzy garment. Then he turned and left without looking back.

"Hey! Wait!"

Only then did Weaver Girl come to her senses, hurriedly ducking back beneath the water.

When she lifted her head again, she swam quickly to the shore and reached for the garment!

The instant her fingertips touched the fabric!

Specks of starlight blazed to life, enveloping both her and the garment! Drawn by a dense surge of magical power, the immortal garment turned into a stream of light and covered her body again in an instant.

Weaver Girl gently bit her lip, a flicker of regret in her eyes.

If I'd known, I wouldn't have hidden my magical power in my clothes.

It had left her, Weaver Girl herself, in such an embarrassing predicament before a mere mortal.

Besides, now that I think about it, mortal lakes aren't all that special. They're not even a tenth as good as Yaochi in the Heavenly Court...

But!

The people in the mortal world are quite interesting.

Weaver Girl slowly floated into the air.

The Vega patterns on her gauzy garment flickered, her long silver-white hair fluttered gently in the wind, and her star-like eyes smiled as they fell on the figure hurrying away from the back mountain.

"Humans really are interesting."

"Oh?!"

Suddenly, she let out a soft cry, as though she had been burned.

She looked closely. At some point, a karmic thread connecting her to the departing mortal had appeared!

And the magnitude of this karma...

It was almost as great as the debt owed for saving her life!

What was going on?!

Weaver Girl froze in midair, her face full of bewilderment.

Had he not merely picked up a garment for her? How had she incurred a karmic debt of this magnitude?

Could it be... if he hadn't intervened, losing this garment really would have caused my death?!

At that thought, Weaver Girl's expression changed slightly.

She hesitated no longer. Her figure flickered, turning into a streak of starlight that sped off in the direction Jiang Zhe had gone!

If she did not personally settle such a great karmic debt, it would greatly hinder her future cultivation!

She might even develop a heart demon!