Chapter 84

After another half month, Luo Xiu's cultivation finally broke through to the Third Level of the Innate Realm.

From start to finish, it took him nearly three months to advance from the First Level to the Third Level of the Innate Realm.

Such a cultivation speed could be considered top-notch among geniuses.

From his storage ring, Luo Xiu took out two Seventh Rank martial arts: the Vajra Body Technique and the Netherworld Profound Net Technique.

The former is a body cultivation technique. When cultivated to perfection, it can temper the body to the level of a low-grade Earth Rank warrior, allowing one to challenge a Martial King with sheer physical strength!

The latter is a technique for cultivating Netherworld power, which aligns with the force of death among the two extremes of life and death.

Luo Xiu planned to cultivate both techniques simultaneously.

The Netherworld Profound Net Technique is considered one of the best among Seventh Rank martial arts, and it was once cultivated by the Martial Lord Su Jingyun.

Ordinary people cultivate the Profound Yin Qi of the Netherworld in the Innate Realm, but Luo Xiu condensed the Netherworld Death Flame, a combination of the power of death and fire.

The Vajra Body Technique, on the other hand, tempers the body and strengthens life essence. When the power of life and fire combine, it can form the Vitality Flame.

After cultivating both techniques for half a month, Luo Xiu extended a finger, and a black and white flame intertwined and rose from his fingertip.

With a thought, the Life and Death Flame could transform between the Netherworld Death Flame and the Vitality Flame, containing boundless mysteries.

Among these, the most powerful is the black and white Life and Death Flame, which combines the forces of life and death.

Even a Great Martial Master at the Ninth Level of the Innate Realm would be unable to withstand the power of the Life and Death Flame, and even a First Level Spirit Cultivation expert would be burned!

This is Luo Xiu's second trump card besides the Profound Heaven Transformation!

When he secretly used the Profound Heaven Transformation to instantly kill Zhang Luliang, even the Spirit Cultivation Martial Ancestor Ye Xiangdou failed to detect it.

In the following days, Luo Xiu continued to cultivate the two Seventh Rank martial arts until he brought both techniques to a level commensurate with his current realm.

His body could rival a mid-grade Human Rank warrior, and in terms of attack, a casual strike was stronger than the Shadow Sword.

At this level of strength, the Shadow Sword was no longer useful.

Mastery of a Perfect Sword Technique had reached a divine level, and Luo Xiu had also tried to comprehend sword intent, transitioning from sword technique to sword dao, but at his current realm, it was difficult to gain insight.

Comprehending martial dao intent is very challenging; many Martial Kings cannot grasp it and remain stuck at the Perfect level.

Although he could not comprehend sword intent in the short term, Luo Xiu's understanding of the Fast Sword Technique deepened.

"It's time to leave."

On this day, Luo Xiu walked out of his home without bidding farewell to his parents. Even during the period he stayed at home, he spent most of his time in seclusion.

His parents knew he was a martial artist, and the peaceful and happy life they enjoyed was all thanks to Luo Xiu.

After all, if he had not been accepted as a genius member of the Hunter's Guild, they would not have had the guild's protection, and the family might have already been killed by Zhang Luliang and Gou Hongyi's schemes.

Luo Xiu was very clear that as long as his strength continued to grow and he remained a genius member of the Hunter's Guild, his family's safety in Yunlong County would not be a concern.

Walking through the city streets, Luo Xiu's heart was calm. Zhang Luliang and Gou Hongyi were dead, and he was about to embark on the path of pursuing the peak of martial arts.

"I don't know when I'll return next."

Taking the teleportation array, Luo Xiu arrived at the Yunlong County branch of the Hunter's Guild.

"You are now a mid-grade Yellow Rank genius member. If you have the opportunity, you can go to the capital city's headquarters to compete for a spot in the Profound Nether Realm," Wen Qianhong said.

"Profound Nether Realm?"

"It is an ancient relic, enveloped by a powerful array, forming a small world of its own. You will understand once you get there," Wen Qianhong did not elaborate.

According to Wen Qianhong, the Profound Nether Realm opens every thirty years. Due to the array's restrictions, only those below the Martial King realm can enter, and every time it opens, various forces compete for entry.

There are about two years until the next opening of the Profound Nether Realm.

"Senior Wen, I want to handle some things through the Hunter's Guild. Is that possible?" Luo Xiu suddenly spoke in the room.

"Oh? You want to sell something?"

Wen Qianhong immediately understood Luo Xiu's meaning. Previously, Luo Xiu had taken out ten low-grade Earth Rank battle swords, which had left him quite astonished.

Considering the value of the treasures Luo Xiu had taken out, which amounted to over ten million Essence Stones, could he have more treasures?

How many treasures does this young man have in his storage ring?

Everyone has their own secrets, and since Luo Xiu did not say, Wen Qianhong did not pry.

Luo Xiu nodded and took out the remaining eight low-grade Earth Rank battle swords from his storage ring, placing them in a row on the table in front of them.

The reason he chose to handle these things through Wen Qianhong was that he trusted the guild president. If the president had any greedy thoughts, he could have acted long ago.

Since advancing to the Innate Realm, cultivation has become increasingly difficult, and cultivating the Vajra Body Technique requires a large amount of resources. Only by selling these temporarily unusable treasures could he provide for his cultivation needs.

"What kind of fortune have you encountered?" Seeing Luo Xiu take out another eight low-grade Earth Rank battle swords, even Wen Qianhong, a Martial King, could not help but widen his eyes.

In total, Luo Xiu had taken out twenty low-grade Earth Rank battle swords!

Since he trusted Wen Qianhong, Luo Xiu no longer hid the source of his treasures and smiled, "Senior, have you heard of Martial King Bu Chen?"

"Martial King Bu Chen? ... A few hundred years ago, there was such a person, a top-tier Fifth Rank forging master!" Wen Qianhong's eyes flashed.

The Hunter's Guild is the most comprehensive source of information, and as the guild's leader in Yunlong County, Wen Qianhong was well-informed about matters in the county.

"Rumor has it that Martial King Bu Chen disappeared seven hundred years ago. Could it be that..."

Luo Xiu nodded, "I inherited the legacy of Martial King Bu Chen."

He knew that President Wen Qianhong had already guessed, so he admitted it straightforwardly.

"I see." Wen Qianhong took a deep breath. As a top-tier Fifth Rank forging master, it made sense that Luo Xiu could take out so many low-grade Earth Rank battle swords after inheriting Bu Chen's legacy.

An ordinary Martial King's wealth is about two to three million low-grade Essence Stones.

However, if one reaches the Fifth Rank in array mastery, alchemy, or forging, having several million to tens of millions of Essence Stones is not a problem.

Sects and forces need array masters to set up large arrays, warriors need alchemy for cultivation, and battles require weapons—these are essential.

A low-grade Earth Rank battle sword is worth about two million Essence Stones. The eight low-grade Earth Rank battle swords Luo Xiu took out were worth nearly twenty million Essence Stones.

As the guild's leader in Yunlong County, Wen Qianhong's wealth far exceeded that of an ordinary Martial King, but even he would feel the pinch if he had to pay out so many Essence Stones at once.

"Is there anything else good?"

Wen Qianhong looked at Luo Xiu with anticipation. A Fifth Rank forging master would not have just these few items. He remembered that Luo Xiu had once taken out a bottle of Fifth Rank alchemy when he asked for his help.

Luo Xiu did not hesitate. Since he had already opened up, there was no need to hide anything.

With a wave of his hand, he took out three bottles of Fifth Rank alchemy, Blood Coagulation Pills.

Fifth Rank alchemy is highly valuable. According to Luo Xiu, there was only one Fifth Rank alchemy master in the entire Yunlong County, and many Martial Kings sought his help.

"Blood Coagulation Pills?" Wen Qianhong's eyes lit up. They are Fifth Rank healing pills.

The higher the grade of a healing pill, the better its healing effect, and it leaves no lingering effects, making it a valuable life-saving item.

Luo Xiu had some pills to enhance and recover cultivation, but he did not take them out because he would need them when he reached the Martial King realm.

The value of the three bottles of Blood Coagulation Pills was about five million Essence Stones.

Next, Luo Xiu took out all the Fifth and Sixth Rank martial arts he did not need, and President Wen Qianhong appraised them. The total value of all the items was about seventy million Essence Stones!

The Yunlong County branch of the Hunter's Guild could not handle so many items, so they needed to be processed through internal channels.

Luo Xiu waited at the Hunter's Guild for three days, and President Wen Qianhong's efficiency was commendable. He handed Luo Xiu a storage ring.

All the items were sold for a total of seventy-five million Essence Stones!

Luo Xiu intended to give President Wen Qianhong a commission, but Wen Qianhong insisted on not accepting it.

With these Essence Stones, Luo Xiu could purchase the various resources and treasures he needed to enhance his strength.

Taking the teleportation array, Luo Xiu arrived at Gaoyi City, which bordered the Guanlei Mountains.

His Fast Sword Technique was now at the Perfect level, and the next step was to transition from technique to dao, comprehending sword intent.

However, he had no clue about comprehending sword intent, so his goal this time was to go to the Guanlei Temple to use the pervasive blade intent there to hone his own sword intent.

"Rumble..."

When Luo Xiu appeared at the edge of the Guanlei Mountains, the sky suddenly thundered loudly, followed by a torrential downpour.

Luo Xiu had crossed this mountain range twice before, and despite the heavy rain, he did not hesitate. Holding a map, he entered the forest.

Under normal circumstances, travel between Yunlong County and Doushai County required crossing the Guanlei Mountains. Circumventing the mountains was generally safe unless one encountered high-level beasts, but Luo Xiu was not circumventing this time. He was crossing directly through the center of the forest.

Three days later, Luo Xiu appeared deep in the heart of the Guanlei Mountains, an area dominated by powerful beasts of the Fourth Rank and above, and even Fifth Rank beasts that rivaled Martial Kings.

In such a place, Luo Xiu did not dare to spread his soul perception recklessly and relied only on life perception to detect the presence of powerful beasts nearby.

"Someone is here."

Luo Xiu sensed several human martial artists' life auras not far ahead.

This was a dangerous area of the Guanlei Mountains, and even Spirit Cultivation Martial Ancestors were reluctant to venture here. Why would martial artists come here?

If they were Martial Ancestors or Martial Kings, it would be understandable, but the auras Luo Xiu sensed did not belong to such high-level experts.

Moreover, if they were truly Martial Ancestors or Martial Kings, they would have detected Luo Xiu's presence at the same time.

Suppressing his aura, Luo Xiu moved forward. As he got closer, he detected more human martial artists, nearly a hundred of them!

What surprised Luo Xiu the most was that most of these martial artists had very poor cultivation, many at the Body Cultivation stage. How did they manage to reach the depths of the Guanlei Mountains?

Luo Xiu frowned, finding the situation suspicious.

A moment later, Luo Xiu saw the people in an open area.

The instant Luo Xiu appeared, a powerful perception swept over him. Even though he had concealed his aura well, he was still detected.

The person with such powerful perception was clearly not an ordinary martial artist, causing Luo Xiu's heart to skip a beat.

"Since you're here, why not show yourself?"

In the center of the open area stood a pavilion. A man in white, resembling a scholar, walked out and looked towards the bushes where Luo Xiu was hiding.

Luo Xiu knew he could not hide, so he stepped out. His perception told him that the man in white was at the Seventh Level of the Innate Realm.

It was this man's perception that had swept over him.

Although at the Seventh Level of the Innate Realm, this man gave Luo Xiu a more formidable impression than the Great Martial Master Zhang Luliang.

The sudden appearance of a pavilion in the depths of the Guanlei Mountains was suspicious.

Seeing Luo Xiu, the hundred or so people near the pavilion showed no reaction, their expressions listless.

Luo Xiu noticed that these people had a red mark on their faces, indicating their status as slaves!

Only slaves had such marks, known as slave marks, which were special array marks that could not be removed with alchemy.

Why would someone enter the depths of the Guanlei Mountains with over a hundred slaves?