Hunting God Era

Chapter 140 Effort and Sweat

The Binding Spirit Locked Stream is a demonic realm that has expanded into the river region near Huizhou. It consists entirely of demons resembling chains within the flowing water.

The Danxia Hanging Coffin Mountain is full of hanging coffins and red rocks, and there are demons flying out of the coffins and climbing the rocks with blood vines.

The Red Miasma Rift Valley is located at the junction of the three provinces of Jianghuai, Yuzhang, and Songyuan. Within the rift valley, there are many 'malignant nests' that emit putrid gases that can spread outward with the air, causing corrosion.

Although there were few people around, there was a well-built road nearby. After the demonic realm proliferated, the road was abandoned. Corroded by the rotten energy, the road was riddled with holes and could not be passed by people at all. If a heavy object came, it would collapse immediately.

None of the three demonic realms had any resources, so naturally no civilian martial artists or companies came. Without companies, no one would give the university any missions, and no students would come to wipe them out.

The other two are easier to deal with; just suppress them and gradually eliminate them.

The Spirit Binding Flow technique directly pumps water at high power, regardless of chains or not; it disrupts the water flow pattern and that's it.

The Danxia Hanging Coffin Mountain is simply set on fire every now and then. Since there are no people around, it's easy to burn it without worry and it's also easy to deal with.

The only problem is this Crimson Miasma Rift Valley. The demons themselves don't move, and the pollution is relatively easy to control, but the putrid gas that it spews out every day is difficult to deal with. That stuff is even colorless and odorless, and it's located at a crossroads, so no matter how much you try to control it, you can't stop it.

It is estimated that it will take nearly five years to completely eradicate this problem.

Li Ye came, and the timeframe was reduced to three years.

The area in Jianghuai Province where the Red Mist Rift Valley is located is Hengcha City. The mayor invited Li Ye with a smile, and then saw him off with tears in his eyes, reluctant to part with him.

After visiting several Demon Realms in a row, Li Ye didn't even need to apply this time. Everyone in Jianghuai Province who had heard the news and were suffering from the harm caused by the Demon Realms sent Li Ye an invitation.

These demonic realms are all heavily polluted. They can't be entered unless you go through the Six Dragons Gate. They lack resources and can't attract companies. They also don't have the financial resources to issue missions to martial arts universities. They can only rely on the military to support them.

It's not that it's impossible; in fact, if the military were to get serious and mobilize weapons to plow through the entire area, they could certainly achieve the same result, or even better.

But it costs money.
This kind of demonic realm did not have a large-scale impact on human lives. Although it affected the economy, when you do the math, it's better to rebuild a fast passage or temporarily forgo the economic impact than to have the military forcibly plow through it.

Do you think weapons and equipment are free?

Moreover, it can't be fixed immediately. After plowing it once, it will at most save one or two years. Then, after the pollution in the Demon Realm recovers, it will be repeated three or four times. In between, there will be at least a year of interval before it can be completely cleared.

It's not worth it at all. It's better to just let it get rid of slowly and wait for five years.

Then, Li Ye's reputation spread.

The mayor invited them.

Li Ye's reputation in Jianghuai Province is well-known, if not universally recognized. It's not just among martial artists; even those in high-ranking positions managing public affairs have heard of him.

But in the past, they were known for their killing prowess, which had nothing to do with them. The martial arts circle in Hengcha City was relatively harmonious, and there had even been instances of organized trips to the Demon Realm.

But this time was different. He seemed to be quite skilled at clearing away demonic realms. He went to several demonic realms in a row, reducing the time required to remove pollution in the least affected realm by one-fifth, and in the most affected realm, the pollution was cleared away and the land returned to normal in a single day.

It's worth it!

With a try-it-out mentality, we invited them over, and the result was a huge surprise, directly shortening the time by two-fifths, comparable to the military spending a lot of effort to plow through the land.

However, military equipment requires funding and expenditure.

Li Ye, no!
He's all alone, with just a sword, like a perpetual motion machine; anyone who comes can do it.

In situations like this, martial arts skills are far more useful than weapons!

Moreover, his arrival also boosted the enthusiasm of the city's martial artists. Upon hearing that the King of Rebellion had arrived, all the local strongmen and martial artists from the Six Dragons Gate who could withstand the pollution of the Red Mist Rift Valley came to the scene.

Their enthusiasm was far greater than that of the disinfection bureau, who were practically begging and pleading to organize people to go to the Demon Realm. They all stood tall, afraid of being remembered by Li Ye.

Their focus is different. They don't care about whether the Demon Realm can be quickly eliminated. As long as no mobilization order is issued, it has nothing to do with them. They only occasionally go there to help eliminate the demonic forces.

After all, the bureau chief is only at the second realm, just like them, so who's afraid of whom?

They didn't do anything out of line, and some martial artists even abided by the law and followed the rules.

But Li Ye is different; he killed an entire family, wiping out all the local tyrants in the city—that's for sure.

No one bet on whether he would do such a thing, after all, they had all found out that he and Pan Zhengyang were the closest, both of them were from the same lineage who killed entire families, and Li Yeqing had surpassed his master.

When Li Ye arrived, they had no choice but to come. They also spent a lot of effort eliminating demons in the Demon Realm, but they could only watch helplessly as all the demons and monsters that Li Ye passed through turned to ashes.

With that kind of martial arts, everything is gone with a single breath!

If one hadn't witnessed this scene unknowingly, they would have thought Li Ye had turned the demon into thin air and inhaled it.

But the more this is the case, the more awe they feel.

The mayor was ecstatic. The matter had been handled brilliantly, and the enthusiasm of the martial artists had been mobilized. He was even preparing to submit a report to apply for Li Ye to be transferred here as the director of the disinfection bureau.

It doesn't matter where the rebel leader is; it's all a matter of movement anyway. Their city needs the rebel leader to come and visit.

Then, other martial artists in the city pledged their lives to venture deep into the Demon Realm and cooperate with the military to shorten the contamination period as quickly as possible, which finally led to the abandonment of the idea.

"Are you kidding me? Just one visit is enough to terrify anyone. If he were to actually settle here, they might as well give up their lives. Either they'd all abandon their businesses and move elsewhere, or they'd just sit around doing nothing. The former would easily offend Li Ye and get them killed, while the latter is simply out of the question for them. A second-realm martial artist, judging by his long aura, he's definitely broken through his Qi Meridian Barrier, and I've heard he's quite young and will surely live longer than them."

Then what's the point of playing?

As for Li Ye, he returned to Ningjiang, entered the Dragon Palace of the Fiefdom Lake, and began his cultivation.

His long-term efforts and hard work finally enabled him to break through the six barriers.

Vajra, Qi Meridians, Breaking Army, Divine Speed, Five Senses, and Soul Stabilization. The six gates are like iron being forged in a furnace, all traces fading away, the crescent moon becoming full again. It should be full, but it becomes even more sharp.

Extreme!

Upon reaching the ultimate realm, he sensed that once the Xuan Guan realm was broken, the Kai Yuan realm would naturally follow without any further obstacles.

From the second to the third realm, one can naturally break through when the realm is reached. Even earlier, Li Ye had been suppressing his Human Yuan position. Now that the time has come, his body trembled, and a peculiar energy was generated from within him. It was colorless and formless, yet it was integrated into his limbs and bones.

Snapped!
His body seemed to have unlocked some kind of restriction, and with a loud thud, Li Ye suddenly opened his eyes.

This time, there wasn't even a residual image around me during the training; it was a pure breakthrough.

He flicked his finger, and a burst of energy shot out from between his fingers, striking the jade pillar in front of him like a dart and piercing a hole in it.

In terms of power, it is much stronger than when it was in the second realm.

But it's still true qi.
As the power of a second-realm martial artist after condensing their qi and blood to break through the barrier, no matter how skillful it is, it is still generated by every move, not the true essence that Li Ye thought of.

He doesn't have that thing.

As a Heavenly Origin Rank cultivator, he felt an emptiness within his body, as if something was missing.

"In terms of timeliness, it's not as good as the human realm. In cultivation, resources are indispensable. The higher the realm, the greater the demand for resources."

Li Ye shook his head and smiled.

Li Ye easily broke through the Three Realms Opening and Heavenly Origin Position.

But after breaking it, he discovered some 'drawbacks'.

At this level, martial arts skills are no longer a concern; they have become the foundation.

The Dragon Gate Realm lays the foundation for Qi and Blood, the Breakthrough Realm lays the foundation for Martial Arts, and when you reach the Origin Realm, Martial Arts become like instinctive routines. To unleash the power of these routines, True Qi is indispensable.

However, without a suitable seed for cultivation, his true essence is just an empty shell, containing nothing. He is still using the true energy he used when he was in the second realm.

It's not that this position is weak; Li Ye can cultivate both human and earth elements. Being in the Lake Dragon Palace, he can sense the 'water' elemental seed and the true seed with the 'continuous' attribute contained in this territory.

And himself.
The true seed of 'killing aura' cultivated through overflowing murderous intent is similar to Pan Zhengyang's 'blood savagery', but if one cultivates killing aura, the emphasis is more on intimidation than power.

What power can killing intent have?
With that kind of effort, a bullet could have pierced through a person.

There is also the 'Fierce Will' seed, formed from a strong will and martial arts skill. Once mastered, it will form a powerful offensive and defensive true essence.

He can practice all of these.

However, once these true seeds and elephant seeds are accommodated, the so-called Heavenly Origin Rank becomes a complete waste, which is equivalent to lowering its own value.

The seed of Dharma is what the Heavenly Origin position requires.

"But this intensity."

Li Ye picked up the longsword that was placed beside him, held the scabbard with his left hand and the hilt with his right, and gently pulled it open, revealing the blade, which emitted a black aura.

The sword is named "Severing Heaven," which is taken from the other half of his foundational martial art, "Flowing Shadow Severing Heaven Scripture."

"With you included, that should be enough. Take advantage of this time to absorb a few more Demon Realms."

It's almost April now, and he has to go to participate in a provincial martial arts competition and then prepare for the college entrance examination.

During this time, it's also a good opportunity to absorb more demonic energy, turning all the pollution into turbid air, and condensing it all onto this sword.

True energy will dissipate, but pollution won't, probably because this sword itself is made of demonic materials.

I dare not say how much power I can accumulate, or even the final sword strike that splits the heavens, because no matter how much power I accumulate, there will be a limit to its quality.

"The gap between realms is indeed widening with each advancement, but that only applies to the fourth realm. Killing him shouldn't be a problem," Li Ye thought to himself.

The difference between the second realm and the first realm lies in the level of breakthrough. A second realm cultivator who has just broken through may still be defeated by a martial artist who is following the third realm path.

However, normally speaking, there's absolutely no chance of failure between the third and second realms. Even without cultivating the seed, the pure true energy is purer and more wondrous than that of the second realm, and also in greater quantity.
He can fight a third-realm opponent when he is at the second realm, but he can't fight a fourth-realm opponent when he is at the third realm.
The gap is a bit large, but it's not to the point where it's unacceptable.

Even without true essence, Li Ye was still confident.

If I can't cultivate true essence for now, then I'll try contamination.

Polluted turbid air is no less potent than true essence!
(End of this chapter)