"Basic Horizontal Cultivation" is a prerequisite for further cultivation of the "Nine Locks Cross River Technique" and the "Sharp Gold Indestructible Body".

Meanwhile, "Beginner's Breathing Skill" is a prerequisite for further cultivation of the "One Breath Forging Organ Technique".

Since they are all Ninth Grade Skills, Li Yuan didn't want to waste any Points, so he began cultivating on his own.

He entered a phase of intense cultivation, spending each day either with his wife and children or practicing with the White Sparrow to survey his surroundings.

Half a month later, "Basic Horizontal Cultivation (1/10)" advanced to "Advanced Horizontal Cultivation (39/40)"; "Beginner's Breathing Skill (1/10)" advanced to "Advanced Breathing Skill (39/40)".

Li Yuan directly added 4 Points, skipping the process of Enlightenment, making both skills jump from Advanced to Expert Level.

Once at the Expert Level, further cultivation was enough.

When he reached the Eighth Grade, he adopted the same method of cultivation and at critical points directly added Points to overcome bottlenecks that might trap others for months or even years.

As days passed, four months had gone by since Li Yuan obtained these three Cultivation Skills.

Li Yuan had finally cultivated all three skills to the Advanced Level of the Seventh Grade.

This time, without any hesitation, he directly invested 723 spare Points, elevating the three skills to the Perfection Level.

Upon reaching Perfection, Li Yuan began testing with a saber, incrementally increasing his strength. Only when his comprehensive power reached 100 did he leave a slight white mark on himself, and if he directed his energy and blood for targeted resistance, it would take a comprehensive power of 200 to leave a white mark.

This doesn't even account for the true strength he could unleash by igniting the many Shadow Blood Drops within him.

What did this signify?

It signified that as long as he was in good condition, he didn't need to ignite the Shadow Blood Drops, and an ordinary Eighth Grade couldn't injure him.

However, his comprehensive power data didn't increase.

Evidently, "Horizontal Cultivation" was categorized as a form of soft power, an application of blood and energy.

In fact, there was a significant difference between having Horizontal Cultivation and not having it.

Having completed Horizontal Cultivation, Li Yuan began to increase his intake of Seventh Grade Demon Beast Meat, combining it with breathing, posture, and fury induction, causing his blood in his body to display an explosive momentum.

If an ordinary person were to attempt this, they would have succumbed to high blood pressure, bleeding from the seven orifices and dying immediately.

Yet Li Yuan was cultivating through this method.

Time passed, and July arrived.

In the sweltering July heat, Li Yuan felt like he was about to explode, prompting him to halt his cultivation.

Sitting cross-legged in meditation, he carefully sensed his condition, realizing that his blood had thickened greatly, to the extent that in some areas it was less like "water" and more like "sand".

His blood had crystallized, becoming extremely peculiar.

Threads of Shadow Blood Sand flowed within him, heavy and full of power.

This was an unprecedented transformation, and Li Yuan took three more days to stabilize this power before reassessing himself.

His information clearly displayed [Realm: Seventh Grade (Bone Refining)].

Li Yuan chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Still no change."

However, his comprehensive power had increased significantly, from "305~705" to "505~905".

He tested his defense, finding that when utilizing Shadow Blood for targeted defense, it required a comprehensive power of "340" to make a cut with a blade that left a white mark, and this didn't include his power after an outburst.

But regarding the Life Atlas, Li Yuan remained ignorant...

Evidently, part of his thoughts were correct, but another part was still a miss.

Breaking through the Sixth Realm wasn't so simple; certain Skills must be involved that Li Yuan had yet to master.

"No, the world is becoming increasingly chaotic; I must hurry to break through to the Sixth Grade.

Otherwise, even in this remote place, I may not survive."

"Since I cannot obtain the Life Atlas, then... I'll capture a living Cultivation Skill and ask face-to-face."

Li Yuan sprang to his feet, thinking of Zhao Xiantong and General Gu Xiang.

A year and a half ago, Zhao Xiantong's power was "340~378", and General Gu Xiang's power was "435~539", though he didn't know how they stood now.

During this period, Shanbao County had been relatively stable, despite some minor bandit activities or people arriving from the Central Plains. These were mostly subdued by the Three County Alliance, either being assimilated into the fold or setting up businesses within the county.

Some with malicious intent, upon hearing of the Blood Saber Ancestor's notorious reputation and realizing a mysterious strong presence was overseeing the area, refrained from causing trouble, and settled down peaceably.

"The last known sighting of both appeared to be heading west. Given their strength and the straggling troops they led, they must have stirred things up; I should check with Tie Sha."

With that, Li Yuan rose and took a trip to Silver Creek Square.

This inquiry quickly bore results.

The winter before last, Zhao Xiantong left Antelope Pass and attacked the neighboring Cyan Pool County and Qiutang County.

Subsequently, he stormed into the county city with considerable effort and has only just stabilized the situation.

However, General Gu Xiang hadn't appeared, only Zhao Xiantong himself.

But rumors suggested that Zhao Xiantong had a mysterious powerful figure backing him, most likely General Gu Xiang.

This approach is fairly common since people tend to fear the unknown. While they might ascertain Zhao Xiantong's overt strength, they couldn't fathom the power of the mysterious person behind him; such speculation saps morale and instills a sense of powerlessness.

Having gathered this intelligence, Li Yuan returned to his residence to ponder over the matter.

He planned to capture Zhao Xiantong and if possible, also apprehend General Gu Xiang.

Firstly, both individuals were living Cultivation Skills.

Secondly, both were sources of instability. If he didn't deal with them during this period of relative calm, they could become problematic later on.

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