Chapter 115: Breakthrough: Third Stage of Heaven!

"Yes!"

【Corpse detected. Pick up?】

"Yes!"

……

Corpses littered the ground, blood flowing everywhere.

Chen Mu picked up each card one by one, then turned to look at Guan Xingce, who had lost a leg and lay in a pool of blood.

"Spare… spare me…"

Guan Xingce spat blood as he struggled to beg, "Young Master Nie, I was wrong! If you spare me, I'll give you money—fifty thousand taels… no, one hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"I also have three low-grade spiritual weapons in my manor—all top quality."

"And more…"

Hss~!

A blade's light condensed into a thread, slicing through air and severing Guan Xingce's neck.

Guan Xingce's pleading stopped abruptly; his face retained fear and despair as the light in his eyes faded rapidly.

Plop~

A line of blood sprayed out, his head tumbled free.

【Corpse detected. Pick up?】

"Yes!"

Card acquired, opened for inspection.

Four months of True Qi card!

The card taken from Tie Xiangtong was also a True Qi card—six months of True Qi.

As for the others, most were Internal Force cards, ranging from three to nine months.

Adding these Internal Force cards to his previous accumulation, his Internal Force cultivation once again reached ten years—and exceeded it by over a year.

Previously, ten years of Internal Force was roughly equivalent to one year of True Qi.

Now, with over eleven years of Internal Force, after conversion and absorption via the Duan Tianhe Scripture, it should yield about one year of True Qi.

Chen Mu had already figured out the nature of the "Duan Tianhe True Qi" cultivated by the Duan Tianhe Scripture.

Externally, it appeared as tiny, dense specks, like stars in the night sky.

When released in small quantities, it was hard to discern.

But when released in large amounts, it merged into a continuous flow, resembling a river shimmering with countless stars.

Even if the sword was swung swiftly, cultivators of high cultivation could still perceive it.

When Chen Mu killed the supporting youth of Sun Jindong, he fully unleashed the Ni Ming Dao; though the True Qi released at once was minimal, its extension and diffusion were different.

Tiny starlight glimmered within the blade's radiance!

This was why Fang Yuanfu had deduced the True Qi voice transmission.

If paired with the Bo Tian Sword, and sufficient True Qi was released, the sword qi would appear as a flowing, clear stream filled with a field of starlight!

The starlight blended into the flow—unless one looked closely, it was invisible.

Yet, when True Qi quantity was low, the starlight was nearly imperceptible.

If the sword strike was fast enough, even a Ground Altar realm expert would fail to notice!

Just now, when Chen Mu defeated Guan Xingce and Tie Xiangtong with a single sword stroke, he used the Bo Tian Sword and expended very little True Qi.

Paired with the newly acquired mid-grade spiritual sword, Guan Xingce and Tie Xiangtong couldn't even block a single strike.

Chen Mu thought for a moment, and named this sword "Solitary Star!"

Wo Hu Bow, Zhan Sha Blade, Solitary Star Sword!

Both bow and sword were mid-grade.

Solitary Star Sword surpassed Wo Hu Bow by a wide margin, only lacking attribute enhancement to reach high-grade status.

Yet Chen Mu discovered Solitary Star Sword also possessed a unique aura.

Cold! Lonely!

This unique property perfectly matched "Duan Tianhe True Qi," achieving an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

……

The thick stench of blood spread through the mountain forest.

Low growls and howls of beasts rapidly approached from afar.

Chen Mu sheathed his sword and searched the bodies of Guan Xingce and Tie Xiangtong, finding several silver notes, a few throwing darts, and three vials of pills.

One vial was unmistakably Yang Yuan Pill—high-grade Yang Yuan Pill.

Chen Mu did not wish to use pills to boost his cultivation unless absolutely necessary.

Because all pills carried pill toxicity, leaving residues in the body that required time to purge afterward.

But for now, he'd use them anyway.

The Second Stage Innate realm was indeed rather low for a Supervisor overseeing an entire prefecture's Peacekeeping Bureau.

High-grade Yang Yuan Pill, Internal Force cards, True Qi cards.

Combined, these should be enough to break through to the Third Stage of Heaven!

Thinking of this,

Chen Mu quickly left Hu Wang Ridge.

He traveled swiftly, and by dusk, found a natural cave atop a mountain peak.

He inspected the cave, confirmed no threats, then rolled a massive boulder to block the entrance.

Then, sitting cross-legged on a clean stone slab, he took out Yangyuan Pills, swallowed them one by one, and activated the Duan Tianhe Scripture to absorb and convert them into true qi.

After using up all the Yangyuan Pills, he took out the Internal Power Cards.

He used up all his accumulated Internal Power Cards at once; a massive surge of energy spontaneously arose within him, propelling the Duan Tianhe Scripture to circulate, refining and forming his own true qi, boosting his cultivation.

Indeed, the increase in "Duan Tianhe True Qi" amounted to roughly one year's worth.

He did not pause.

He took out True Qi Cards and used them one after another, increasing his true qi until his cultivation reached the peak of Innate Realm Second Stage, then launched an assault.

Assaulting the Third Stage of Innate Realm!

Once, twice, three times…

Boom~ Boom~ Boom~!

His heartbeat pounded like a drum, echoing in his ears.

Whoosh~

His blood swirled, surging like a river.

In his dantian space, "Duan Tianhe True Qi" spun repeatedly, using quantity to force a qualitative breakthrough.

Finally, accompanied by a trembling hum, Chen Mu shuddered all over; his "Duan Tianhe True Qi" expanded by a full circle, and his blood and qi grew even more vigorous.

The strengthening of essence and qi stimulated his spirit, causing it to grow as well.

Hum~

A faint hum surrounded his entire body.

A thin, glowing membrane covered his entire body, enveloping him completely.

Third Stage of Innate Realm — True Qi Becomes Armor!

Compared to the Second Stage's shield, which only protected the front, the Third Stage's protection expanded several times over, guarding front, back, left, right, top, and bottom.

The First Three Stages of the Innate Realm are all about accumulating true qi, increasing true qi, and refining true qi.

……

"Huuu~"

He ceased his cultivation, opened his eyes, and exhaled a thick breath that shot out over ten meters, lingering in the air without dissipating.

"The Duan Tianhe Scripture is powerful, but hard to advance."

"The next realm — Fourth Stage Innate — is a threshold; it will require at least ten years' worth of True Qi Cards!"

Chen Mu's eyes remained calm, his mind silently calculating.

The higher one climbs in the Martial Dao Realm, the harder each advancement becomes.

No matter how gifted one is, one cannot escape the need for cultivation resources.

Without external energy supplementation, where would internal power come from? Where would true qi come from?

Absorbing the power of heaven and earth to strengthen oneself — the Innate Realm cannot do that.

Even the Earth Altar Realm cannot!

……

……

Entering Third Stage Innate, his strength surged again.

By the time he reached Wulong Fucheng, Chen Mu had completely purged the remaining poison pills from his body.

Wulong Fucheng also had "Hero Tower."

To understand the power distribution of a region, entering "Hero Tower" is the most convenient.

Chen Mu made slight adjustments to his appearance, sat in a corner of the first-floor hall, ordered some small dishes and rice wine, and ate while listening to the conversations of the martial artists around him.

At first, he heard only gossip, rumors, or exciting events.

Until someone mentioned the name "Chen Mu!"

"A prodigy of the Sixteen-Year-Old Dragon, impressive indeed."

"I remember Nan Yun Fucheng is even weaker than our Wulong Fucheng — such a backwater place produced a prodigy? Truly remarkable."

"I wonder what this 'Chen Mu' looks like?"

"What he looks like doesn't matter — his identity is the key! A hall master of the Great Knife Gang — a faction leader from a single city — became a prodigy of the Dragon List? That's what's astonishing!"

"……"

Nan Yun Fucheng, Great Knife Gang hall master, Chen Mu.

Putting these pieces together…

"When did I get on the Dragon List and become a prodigy?"