Chapter 4

When Gu Jinlai returned to the place where he had fought and killed the first three of the Xingzhou Four Evils, the old man had already left.

He had wanted to take a piece of the old man's clothing to replace his own "holey" outfit, but that was no longer possible.

Fortunately, the third of the Xingzhou Four Evils had a similar build to his, and although the clothes were stained with blood, they could be washed and worn.

...

By the river, after washing the clothes, Gu Jinlai put on a garishly patterned outfit.

Gu Jinlai, the person he had become through his穿越 (穿越 means "穿越" in Chinese, which can be translated as "穿越" in English, but in this context, it means "transmigration" or "reincarnation"), was sixty-nine years old.

Even though a Core Formation cultivator could live to 150 years, and theoretically up to 200 years, he was still not considered young.

Fortunately, having successfully formed his core, his qi and blood were in perfect condition, and he did not suffer from the aches and pains typical of a person in their seventies.

His physique was robust, and he could eat and jump with the vigor of a man in his early twenties.

With the continuous flow of true qi, his experience was quite good.

For example, the clothes he had just washed could be dried automatically through the power of true qi.

...

"Zhengyi Dao."

Gu Jinlai circulated the Great Sun Demon Brilliance Technique, which was instinctively guiding him to recover his true qi, while contemplating his future path.

To return to Changjun City, he could not avoid Zhengyi Dao.

Although Zhengyi Dao was not a top-tier sect, its sect leader was a powerful Spirit Refinement cultivator.

Moreover, their base was in Changjun City, and they had a large number of people, making them a formidable force.

This was not the key issue; the key was Lin Xiao, the deputy sect leader of the Hellfire Demon Sect, who was Gu Jinlai's enemy.

As an elder of the Hellfire Demon Sect, the reason he had been pursued by Zhengyi Dao for over ten days without any support was because of Lin Xiao's interference.

As a Spirit Refinement cultivator, the deputy sect leader had much more authority than an elder.

"Such a Hellfire Demon Sect, I might as well leave."

Gu Jinlai wanted to defect and join the righteous path.

However...

If he went to the six major immortal sects, he would likely be surrounded and killed by the elders before he even entered the gates.

Moreover, the Hellfire Demon Sect was notoriously ruthless towards defectors. Therefore, until he found a patron or had sufficient strength, he could only think about it.

"In the past month, I have shown weakness in front of Lin Xiao, and with the ten-layer karma buff, this deputy sect leader will most likely try to personally eliminate me! Therefore, I must quickly restore my cultivation to the Spirit Refinement stage. For absolute safety, I need to strive to advance further and reach the Soul Transformation stage!"

His attention focused on the green lotus in his spiritual world.

The Xingzhou Four Evils had provided him with four beams of clear light.

He turned his gaze to the red lotus sword qi.

With the clear light, he could naturally enhance his combat power as quickly as possible, especially since the crisis had not yet been resolved.

"Green lotus, give me more! Max it out!"

"Hum hum!"

A beam of clear light struck down, and countless profound secrets about the red lotus sword qi surged forth.

Red lotus sword qi: Great Success → Perfection.

However...

"Something's not right."

Gu Jinlai pondered for a moment: "I'm not nitpicking! The truth becomes clearer through debate! When I last added points, I was puzzled as to why the sword qi had to be in the shape of lotus petals, which doesn't conform to aerodynamics! Previously, I could say my sword technique was not yet perfected, and I couldn't grasp the essence of the red lotus sword qi. Now that I have reached the pinnacle of the red lotus sword qi, I have the authority to speak."

He felt that the red lotus sword qi could be optimized.

How to optimize it?

Knowledge.

Gu Jinlai perceived the green lotus in his spiritual world.

"Every time I add points and enter a state of enlightenment, key information surges from my brain, forming sparks of inspiration, as if my brain is filtering through them on its own."

He had a hypothesis: "In other words, although I don't understand these pieces of knowledge, as long as I have been exposed to them before, my brain will recall the information I have forgotten during enlightenment, digest the knowledge I couldn't fully grasp, and then combine it into the most optimized solution, turning calculus into 1+1 for me to understand and comprehend."

Therefore, this green lotus was not just a point-adding mechanism!

Its essence was a powerful research system!

"I graduated with a degree in applied physics and spent four years as a science popularizer on a forum under the name 'Ten Thousand Star Years' before finding a job. I searched for a lot of related materials, and although I later worked for two years in a small county office through connections, I have forgotten most of it, but this knowledge is still embedded in my mind."

He was very curious about what kind of sparks would be produced when this knowledge collided with the cultivation system of this world.

"Practice is the source of truth. I will set a framework for the new red lotus sword qi, and the rest... I'll leave it to my brain!"

The clear light flickered.

In the next moment, the red lotus sword qi at the perfection level, along with knowledge of aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, wave mechanics, measurement, meteorology, the integration of sword and qi, true qi principles, mechanical principles, shooting techniques, navigation technology...

Countless thoughts surged in his mind.

He felt his head buzzing, discovering for the first time that there was so much information hidden in his mind.

Some information he had only glanced at.

Even information reflected on his phone screen while riding the subway appeared.

"Hum hum!"

Gu Jinlai felt his brain heating up, his body temperature rising by several degrees.

This was due to the rapid energy supply to his brain.

He was glad he was a Core Formation cultivator; if he were an ordinary person, his brain would have been damaged by now.

After a while, the clear light dissipated.

The red lotus sword qi had transformed into an unnamed sword technique.

Gu Jinlai perceived it slightly, and this unnamed sword technique was extremely complex!

Complex to the extreme!

He didn't even think he could perform this sword technique.

Yes, he had mastered it, but he couldn't execute it.

After all...

He had mastered it in his brain, not in his body.

What the brain knows, the body doesn't, which is normal.

"I need to categorize it."

Gu Jinlai rubbed his temples.

Many enhancements were not significant but required a lot of mental effort, so he put them aside for now.

For a while, he began to simplify this unnamed sword technique.

After spending half a day slimming down this sword technique, he shifted his attention back to the consciousness in the green lotus.

"Continue!"

Another beam of clear light struck down.

This time, the effect was much better than before.

Gu Jinlai waved his hand, and a sword appeared in his grasp, true qi flowing through it.

On the sword, strands of sword qi emerged, gradually forming an invisible sword shadow.

Optical invisibility.

Aerodynamic layout.

Wave mechanics design.

With a thrust of his sword, a beam of sword qi shot out, piercing a tree thirty meters away, sending wood chips flying.

"Stealth increased by a factor of two, speed increased by 60%, reach increased by 50%, and power increased by 30%..."

This power...

Was already on par with a Spirit Refinement sword technique.

"The activation efficiency is a bit slow, the reason being my insufficient control over my true qi."

Gu Jinlai turned his gaze to the Great Sun Demon Brilliance Technique.

The Great Sun Demon Brilliance Technique was already at the perfection stage, autonomously circulating, and continuously regenerating.

However, Gu Jinlai had not experienced the cultivation of this technique from scratch, and the flow and operation of true qi were instinctive. How could he better leverage the power of this technique?

With a thought, the last beam of clear light was injected into the Great Sun Demon Brilliance Technique.

This beam of clear light did not increase the power of the Great Sun Demon Brilliance Technique, but it refined his understanding of the technique, making the flow of true qi more fluid.

"Now it's settled. If before, I could only勉强 (勉强 means "勉强" in Chinese, which can be translated as "勉强" in English, but in this context, it means "barely") exert the upper-level Core Formation combat power with the Great Success red lotus sword qi, now I have undoubtedly surpassed the top level and can rival the peak of Core Formation."

If he could also supplement his shortcomings in movement techniques and secret arts, he could even challenge a Spirit Refinement cultivator.

"The new sword technique... one that encompasses everything, called the Ten Thousand Phenomena Sword Qi, and one that is无形 (无形 means "无形" in Chinese, which can be translated as "无形" in English, but in this context, it means "intangible"), called the Intangible Sword Qi."

With a thought, a light ball around the green lotus consciousness changed.

Deep green turned to light blue.

Red lotus sword qi: Perfection → Intangible Sword Qi: Beginner.

As the light ball changed, a new deep blue light ball floated out from the consciousness.

Ten Thousand Phenomena Sword Qi: Beginner.

"Four light balls... three and a half, the light ball of the Six Desires Demon Technique is almost fading away."

Gu Jinlai withdrew his attention from the spiritual world.

In reality, he was eager to quickly master a movement technique.

Then he could advance to attack and retreat to defend.

In the month since he had transmigrated, he had focused on practicing the red lotus sword qi and the Level 8 Dragon Swimming Technique.

As a result, he had been on the run for ten days, and the movement technique he had been using had not even reached the beginner stage, while the red lotus sword qi had surpassed it.

"No movement technique, so be it. I'll just use direct firepower. Now, as long as I don't face a Spirit Refinement powerhouse, I am not afraid of any opponent."

Gu Jinlai came to his senses, squinting his eyes and looking at the forest.

After living in constant danger for over ten days, he finally had a bit of self-preservation.

Next...

It was time to let these righteous and demonic pursuers feel what true terror was.

Hehehehe!

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(Give me my nuclear-powered flying sword, 235 uranium, give me more, max it out!)