"Heavenly Demon, interesting."
"The strongest Martial Artist... this water is a bit deep, Hua Wu, did you set a trap for me?"
Walking out of the Martial Artist Association branch in Xingcai District, Zhong Shenxiu talked to himself in his heart.
He had already read through the information from beginning to end.
The Heavenly Demon was strong!
Even the weakest type, a common specimen called the ’Horned Demon,’ stood over two meters tall with immense strength, comparable to an Innate Expert.
What’s worse, within the Spirit Realm where the Heavenly Demons appeared, not only were modern technological weapons useless, but even metal would decay and shatter upon touch.
According to the Star Alliance Think Tank’s speculation, it might be because the Heavenly Demon’s world lacked metal.
At the point where the two worlds overlapped, some of the laws from the other side seeped through, affecting this world, rendering technology and metal ineffective.
This left Martial Artists with no choice but to rely on their own fists to fight the Heavenly Demons to the death, unable to even procure a decent set of armor and weapons.
As for the so-called special new materials, they too were proven useless, completely dashing any hopes of cutting corners.
Fortunately, the wormholes usually occurred in remote places and not frequently, which was lucky, as it hadn’t caused severe casualties to humanity—just an increase in various ghost stories and chemical pollution leak incidents.
"Although most of the Heavenly Demons that appear can be dealt with, I have a feeling things are a bit dicey..."
Even though he had reached the limit of the Innate, Zhong Shenxiu was still very cautious, not wanting to take risks unless forced into a corner.
After some thought, he took out a black cell phone and made a call.
"Hello, is this Mr. Hua?"
The phone was answered after just one ring, and Bai Yu’s gentle voice came from the other end.
"I’ll be providing my services to you during this period, right?"
Zhong Shenxiu spoke with a heavy tone, "I have some things I need you to do for me."
On the other end, there seemed to be a sound of a deep breath, Bai Yu’s voice remaining gentle, "Please go ahead..."
’This woman... she doesn’t think I want to seduce her, does she?’
Zhong Shenxiu was somewhat speechless, then quickly added, "I need to visit some special places, so find me some information... The criteria are places where massacres have occurred, ideally mass graves and ancient battlefields that are well-preserved, the larger, the better... Send the information to me, and then I want to go there."
Since Innate was a bit risky, he might as well break through Innate.
According to tradition, Martial Artists typically pass evaluations with just their strength, but to play it safe, he decided to attempt it with a higher level of power.
Zhong Shenxiu glanced at the four Heavenly Show Points and smiled happily.
As for looking for mass graves, it was to prepare for cultivation after the breakthrough.
Gang Sha Realm cultivators follow a path in cultivation where they initially refine Evil Qi to form their own signature Spell.
Cultivating one Spell is to reach the Refining Evil First Layer, and nine Spells reach the ninth layer; after that, one can refine the Yang Gang Qi and achieve the Yang Gang Skill.
The inheritance of the White Bone Scholar leaned towards the Evil Demon, requiring a similar type of Evil Qi.
The White Bone Evil and Yin Demon Evil were most likely found in places like mass graves or unique geomantic shafts of Evil Qi.
"The Heavenly Demon is ferocious, I better level up first!"
Zhong Shenxiu returned to his rented apartment and checked his original cell phone, finding quite a few calls, most of them from Luo Xiaoqing and a few from Uncle Niu.
"Uncle Niu probably wants to know the truth and is worried about me..."
Thinking of Niu Dingtian, Zhong Shenxiu could only sigh.
He sat cross-legged, quietly waiting for the night.
According to the White Bone Scholar, the nature of White Bone Magic Power tends to be yin, making a breakthrough at night easier.
’Although, I’m cheating with the Heavenly Show System, day or night makes no difference... but this is about the ritual feeling...’
With a thought, Zhong Shenxiu whipped the stupid system:
[Would you like to spend 4 Heavenly Show Points to upgrade the White Bone Yin Demon Skill to White Bone Magic Power with the help of the White Bone Visualization Method?]
"Over this period, I’ve been diligently practicing the White Bone Visualization Method, but it’s a pity that since I started, the results have been minimal..."
He sighed and made his choice, "Yes!"
In an instant, Zhong Shenxiu’s body shook, and in the sea of his consciousness, a White Bone Demon God, as if it had taken some powerful tonic, expanded massively in size, becoming immensely tall and fierce.
Not only that, its White Bone Demon Armor, the White Bone Sword in its hand, the White Bone prayer beads... each Magic Artifact became incredibly solid, with skeletal patterns emerging on their surfaces as if tangible.
Through adding points with the Heavenly Show System, Zhong Shenxiu instantly broke through to the Great Achievement Realm of the White Bone Visualization Method!
"However, this White Bone book truly deserves to be a Demon Technique, with some backlash, this White Bone Demon God... doesn’t quite obey..."
Zhong Shenxiu’s brows furrowed as he watched the White Bone Demon God roar, causing a change in his spirit.
Through this frequency, he sensed for the first time in the world’s vital energy the existence of countless vague ’qi’.
At this time, other ’qi’ repelled his spirit, but a kind of qi that was yin and soft became very close and was accepted by his spirit, pouring down from the Heavenly Gate into his Dantian, leaving it cool and breezy.
"The breakthrough to the Gang Sha Realm is now."
Zhong Shenxiu coldly shouted, stirring up the White Bone True Qi from his Dantian, combining it with that streak of worldly vital energy.
The two initially didn’t fuse immediately but clashed vigorously, causing the meridians in Zhong Shenxiu’s body to swell with intense pain as if they would explode.
’Mana requires the unity of spirit, energy, and mind.’
Suddenly, a glimmer of enlightenment flashed through Zhong Shenxiu’s mind, he shouted, "Go now!"
The White Bone Demon God inside his sea of consciousness seemed reluctantly to roar, yet it was still urged forward, flying into the fiercest battle between the White Bone True Qi and the worldly vital energy, turning into a White Bone Relic.
The three became one, suddenly vibrating to reveal a brand new power.
White Bone Magic Power!
With this, Zhong Shenxiu officially stepped through the door and began his cultivation journey!
Even in the Second Yan Han Empire, the celebration of a cultivator’s breakthrough to the Gang Sha Realm was a momentous occasion.
This entry to the Heavenly Gate, indeed, blocked countless cultivators seeking the Path.
"The Gang Sha Realm, huh? I’ve finally achieved it."
Zhong Shenxiu stood up, carefully comprehending this new realm.
His bones crackled with a series of pops, marking the start of his second tempering.
The nature and strength of the White Bone Magic Power were undoubtedly more than ten times that of ordinary True Qi; even a simple gesture could now unleash a power far surpassing his previous martial prowess.
"However, using Mana to wield martial arts is idiotic. Mana must be paired with Spells. Only with Mana can the full potential of spells be reached. Using True Qi always feels... somehow off."
Zhong Shenxiu had a feeling that even though it was the same Third Level of the Profound Yin Soul, leveraging True Qi as opposed to Mana resulted in a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
"Nonetheless, I’m not yet a true Gang Sha Realm cultivator, since I have yet to refine a strand of Evil Qi and master an inherent Spell."
Zhong Shenxiu remembered the White Bone book, perusing the Spells and Evil Qi of the Yin Evil Realm carefully.