My cultivation method shines upon all heavens.

The drill ground, the main tent of the Tiger Patrol Camp.

The tent curtains were drawn low, and the charcoal fires in the braziers on both sides were burning brightly, making the entire tent both dry and bright.

Shi Lei sat upright behind the main table, his broad body supported by a tiger-skin chair.

Wang Chengbao stood below, bowing respectfully.

"so……"

Shi Lei put down his wine glass, the bottom of which made a soft tapping sound on the table.

"You mean, Lu Ming is a knife handed to me by Liu Zhiyuan, meant to be used to get rid of me?"

He stared intently at Wang Chengbao, the scar on his face twitching slightly in the firelight.

"Yes, sir."

Wang Chengbao replied in a deep voice, "Chief Wang specifically sent someone to deliver this message to remind us to be careful of this person."

He appeared solemn, but inwardly he felt quite helpless.

The reason my uncle gave for using someone else to do his dirty work was far too far-fetched, but at this point, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep playing along.

Shi Lei stared at him with a cold and stern expression for a long while, then a slight smile appeared on his lips, and finally he couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"Hahaha... Just a nobody, trying to kill me? What's his strength now? Muscles? Bones? Are you overestimating him, or are you completely underestimating me?"

His smile vanished abruptly, and the scar on his face twitched.

"Even if you want to use someone else to do your dirty work, you don't need to come up with such a reason to fool me."

Although he was unaware of Wang Chenghu's death, he was by no means a fool who could be easily fooled.

Let alone building muscle, even the difference between the bone-strengthening realm and the marrow-refining realm is immeasurable.

After bone forging, the cultivation speed drops drastically, and the difference in strength between each realm becomes like a chasm.

Strengthening muscles and refining marrow is no different from comparing an ant to an eagle.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengbao's heart tightened, and he bowed repeatedly, saying:

"Why do you say that, sir? How could we dare to deceive you? According to my uncle, that little beast has already advanced to the Bone Forging Realm."

He stepped forward, solemnly took out a gold note from his pocket, and presented it with both hands:

"This is a gift from your family. Whether you believe it or not... as long as you get rid of this person, your family will also present you with a Spiritual Scripture-level martial arts manual at the Blood Condensation Realm."

Shi Lei took the gold note, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the amount of one thousand taels on it.

Upon hearing "Blood Condensation Realm Spiritual Martial Arts," he abruptly stood up, his face filled with excitement:

"really?"

As for Lu Ming's Bone Forging Realm cultivation level?

He had already automatically ignored it.

As someone who has reached the peak of Marrow Refinement, how much difference could there be between the Muscle Strengthening Realm and the Bone Forging Realm in front of him?

It's just a matter of whether it's one slap or two slaps.

Wang Chengbao nodded repeatedly: "It's true, I would never dare to deceive you, sir."

Shi Lei was overjoyed, and his earlier displeasure had long since vanished.

He paced back and forth excitedly for a moment before speaking in a deep voice:

"This is easy. From today onwards, I will issue a notice to the entire army, citing the pretext that 'a fierce-level demon is spying outside,' and launch a full-scale search and capture operation."

"Take this opportunity to keep pushing him to search deep into the wilderness. The wilderness is full of monsters of the 'Ghostly' level, and even monsters of the 'Fierce' level are not uncommon."

"Even beings at the level of Li or above have appeared in the vicinity before."

He turned around, a sinister smile spreading across his scarred face:

"At that time, he will be utterly destroyed."

Wang Chengbao's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, but he quickly regained his composure and cautiously raised his head:

"Sir, what if the other party... is lucky?"

A cold smile curled at the corner of Shi Lei's lips:

"Lucky? Then punish him for negligence. He's afraid of death and the search was fruitless... He'll be dealt with according to military law."

Wang Chengbao was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help but give a thumbs up:

"Brilliant! Your Excellency is truly brilliant!"

He praised it repeatedly, but inwardly he sneered.

Another lowly peasant, yet he dares to dream of becoming the Lord of the Guards... He's overestimating himself.

What if I give you a Blood Coagulation Technique of the Spiritual Scripture level?

Before long, you will go mad from your cultivation and explode, dying.

At that time, the position of head of the Wang family and the position of leader of the Yin Tiger Guard will both be in Wang Chengbao's hands.

He looked up at Shi Lei, and the two smiled at each other.

The firelight reflected on their smiling faces, and everything was understood without words.

……

For the next month, Shi Lei ordered martial law to be imposed on the entire army, citing the pretext that "fierce demons are eyeing us from the outside."

The Yinhu Guard was raised to Level 1 alert, and double posts were added to all sentry posts.

The beacon towers were manned day and night, and a new moat was dug around the edge of the drill ground, filled with sharpened wooden stakes.

At the same time, the external search efforts were suddenly intensified.

Every day, several small teams take turns venturing deep into the wilderness, combing through the barren mountains and meadows like a comb.

Lu Ming's feet barely touched the ground.

In the morning, he had to deal with the ever-increasing quota of Akazuri sake at the brewery.

In the afternoon, Wang Chengbao would appear at the entrance of the winery on time and, with a businesslike expression, shoo him away to the deserted wilderness.

Military orders are absolute, and he could not refuse. He could only change into his armor, carry his rations, and step into that desolate land overrun by demons.

He knew that the other party clearly wanted to kill him, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

Therefore, he could only delay the search as much as possible.

When entering a new area, I deliberately slowed down, took more detours, and hid in more shadows to avoid going too far into obviously dangerous areas.

Even so, he still narrowly escaped death several times.

He fought demons almost every day, each time fighting until his robes were stained with blood and he was exhausted before he could barely escape.

Covered in wounds, the only consolation was that he had gained ten Heavenly Heart Points.

But he had already noticed that Wang Chengbao's gaze towards him was becoming increasingly impatient.

"Can't wait?"

Inside the brewery, Lu Ming sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, muttering to himself.

The night wind outside the window swept across the drill ground, bringing with it the distant sounds of armor clashing as sentries changed guard.

He knew that Shi Lei and Wang Chengbao had made such a big fuss, they wouldn't just let him run a few more mountain roads and be done with it.

The map is about to be revealed, and the dagger is about to be shown.

But he would never sit idly by and wait for his doom.

"Let me see... what surprises you can bring me."

He lowered his eyes to look into them, a hint of expectation in his heart.

The Heavenly Heart Scroll slowly unfurled, and the swirling clouds and mist quietly dissipated.

The text on it rippled endlessly like water, refreshing line by line:

[Martial Arts: Azure Ox Transformation (Low-grade Earth-level Manual; Perfected 39999/40000)]

[Martial Arts: Cloud Dragon Concealment (Low-grade Earth-level Technique; Perfected 30000/40000)]

[Martial Arts: Shaking Mountain Palm (Superior Spiritual Scripture; Perfected 4000/4000)]

[Martial Arts: Thunder Tiger Roar (Mid-grade Spiritual Scripture; Perfected 1/4000)]

[Celestial Point: 10]

During this period, with the blessing of the Heavenly Heart Scroll and his continuous consumption of medicinal wine and pills, his cultivation level made significant progress once again.

The only slight regret for him was that the difficulty of cultivating to the Bone Forging Realm had increased dramatically, and with only one bottle of Bone Forging Pills to maintain appearances, his progress was relatively slow.

The other martial arts techniques advanced rapidly, almost all reaching the pinnacle of their respective realms.

The Green Ox Transformation is only one step away from perfection.

Time slowly passed, and finally, a line of numbers jumped up gently—

[Azure Ox Transformation, Experience +1]

[Martial Arts: Azure Ox Transformation (Low-grade Earth-level Manual; Perfected 40000/40000)]

"Moo—!"

A deep, resonant bull's bellow exploded in his mind, causing his entire sea of ​​consciousness to tremble slightly.

In a daze, he seemed to see a blue ox standing on the clouds above the nine heavens, its tail swaying gently as it raised its head and bellowed.

Its body was surrounded by flowing blue light like emerald waves, and purple mist like the morning glow.

The purple and blue colors intertwine and flow endlessly, and the Daoist principles of Yin and Yang naturally arise from the flowing halo.

It seems to exist yet not exist, but it is everywhere.

"Boom—!"

The Heavenly Heart Scroll trembled slightly, abruptly pulling his wandering thoughts back.

On the scroll, the text spreads and recombines like ink wash, its content having changed:

[Martial Arts: Azure Ox Transformation (Low-grade Earthly Book; Perfected 40000/40000)] →

[Talent: Yin Yang Robe (Supreme)]

At the same time, a message slowly entered his mind:

"The green ox embodies yin and yang, its mortal skin transforming into a Dao membrane. At the extreme of skin tempering, it becomes a yin-yang Dao garment."

"Immune to water and fire, possessing both strength and gentleness, free from defilement and pure, self-healing and eternal..."

Lu Ming suddenly opened his eyes, and a black and white Tai Chi symbol flashed in the depths of his pupils.

He looked down at himself, and on his skin, fine purple-blue Dao patterns were slowly emerging.

The purple and blue patterns intertwine like the shape of a Tai Chi symbol, flowing endlessly and exuding boundless Taoist charm.

He felt as if he were completely free of dust, as if an invisible membrane kept all external things away from him.

No more essence or energy was leaked from the body, and every bit of heat was stored and circulated internally.

On the Heavenly Heart Scroll, the cultivation speed is increasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The wounds, large and small, sustained from fighting demons these past few days are healing rapidly, becoming smooth and firm.

He was acutely aware that his skin was now so tough that even a martial artist at the Bone Forging Realm would have a hard time breaking through his defenses.

As for those at the Marrow Refining Realm, he has never directly fought one, so it's difficult to make a judgment at the moment.

"So... the so-called characteristics of a precious body are actually physical talent."

Lu Ming slowly stood up, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"So, is the so-called 'physical treasure raft' simply a combination of various physical talents? The more comprehensive and harmonious it is, the higher the quality of the treasure raft?"

In that instant, he finally understood the ultimate goal of the Seven Realms of Martial Arts.

Tempering the skin, strengthening the tendons, building up the muscles, forging the bones, refining the marrow, coagulating the blood, calming the internal organs...

Each realm refines a part of the physical body, much like a craftsman carving seven jade discs to eventually piece them together into a complete picture scroll.

The so-called "building a raft to ferry people across the world" refers to building a perfect body of Tao.

"Seven realms, different paths; the precious raft has cracks... How can we cross this vast ocean of heaven and earth, and harness the true energy of heaven and earth?"

The words of the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva echoed in my ears once more.

Lu Ming pondered for a moment, and a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind:

If I want to continue down the Seven Realms Path, is it possible to avoid the fate of exploding and dying simply by completely integrating the talents of the Seven Realms and forging a perfect Dao body?

But then he gave a wry smile.

He had personally witnessed the difficulty of cultivating the Earth Book.

He had almost entirely relied on the Heavenly Heart Scroll to "cheat" and connect with the cultivation of geniuses from all realms to reach this point.

To think that one could master all seven Earth-level martial arts techniques, solidify one's talent, and then integrate them into one is nothing short of a pipe dream.

"Never mind... now is not the time to think about this."

He quickly dismissed the thought.

Now, he has something more important to do.

"Imperfectly protected, impervious to water and fire... So this was where you were waiting for me."

He gave a wry smile, recalling the words of that great and wise teacher transmitted across time and space in his heart, and was both surprised and delighted.

What was astonishing was the sheer extent of the opponent's cultivation.

No wonder the Taiping Dao was able to become the number one sect in the Great Zhao Dynasty, suppressing all the demons and monsters in the world.

Even someone of this stature still needed to seal Jiazi (a unit of time) before he could kill the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva, and then rely on others to do so.

Such a demon is merely one of the "Four Great Bodhisattvas"!

To his delight, he finally saw a glimmer of hope in breaking through his current predicament.

Shi Lei forced him to venture deep into the wilderness to fight demons, intending to kill him;

Liu Zhiyuan used his family as hostages, forcing him to use his bone-forging body to kill Shi Lei, who had reached the peak of marrow refinement.

The Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva used the "Seven Gods' Record" as bait to lure him into breaking the seal...

Everyone was hunting him down, pushing him step by step to the edge of a cliff.

Previously, he could only feign compliance and eke out a living.

Now, he finally sees a glimmer of hope.

Even if behind this glimmer of hope lies a life-or-death struggle.

"Even when imprisoned, I still draw my sword, daring to demand my life from Yama, the King of Hell."

He walked to the window with his hands behind his back, gazing at the cool moonlight outside:

"This game... I'm going to make my move."

With his innate talent, at this moment, he was no longer willing to be a pawn whose life and death were not in his own hands.