Three days had passed in the blink of an eye.

Including the day he arrived in Qinghua County, Han had now been part of the Tianmu Sect for four days.

Four days, and eleven prayers.

The Tianmu Sect had lifted its surveillance on Han, and now, he had earned their trust.

Having prayed to the Heavenly Maiden eleven times, Han had long since pledged his loyalty to her.

As long as Han wasn’t forced into a situation where he had to commit suicide or had his interests severely harmed, he would never betray them.

This was the general understanding within the sect.

In truth, Han hadn’t been affected by any of this.

At this very moment, Han was fully focused on his training, immersed in his secret martial techniques.

Each move was like the appearance of the Ox Demon in the world—every step and motion embodied the essence of the Ox Demon.

Han’s flesh glowed with intensity, the air crackling, and steam rose as his energy surged.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His heartbeat reverberated like a drum. His skin gleamed, and his internal energy rushed wildly within him.

Han stamped the ground heavily, and the stone floor cracked under his foot like it was made of paper.

Over and over, he practiced the "Pingtian Ox Demon Transformation," but as time passed, each movement grew slower, as if encountering some kind of resistance.

Though slower, Han didn’t lose his rhythm and continued pushing forward, until, at a certain moment, he completed another round of the secret technique.

Boom!

It was as if a thunderous sound echoed inside Han’s body. He stood still, motionless for a long while.

Hoo!

He exhaled deeply, and his spiritual attire activated, automatically brushing off the dirt and grime from his body.

Han’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he clenched his fists.

"The refinement of my flesh is at its limit. There’s no further improvement to be made."

Half a day to enter the state, seven days for small progress, another five for major progress—now, it had reached perfection.

Feeling the surging power within his body, Han had the urge to throw his head back and let out a triumphant roar.

With his life’s essence, the Nine Aperture Golden Dan, dual cultivation of soul and martial arts, various pills, spirit plants, and extraordinary martial techniques… Han's foundation was profound beyond compare.

His monstrous training speed and strength far exceeded that of others at his level.

The few rare treasures he used were truly one of a kind in the world.

"It’s time. After my flesh, it’s time for my meridians!"

Han took out several spirit plants and a pill from his Taibai Bag and consumed them in succession.

A tremendous wave of medicinal power exploded within his body. Han briefly reflected, then began training a new secret technique.

Ocean Overturning Dragon Demon True Power!

This was a martial technique for refining the meridians, and when mastered, the meridians would be as powerful as the Dragon Demon!

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Unlike the Ox Demon transformation, Han’s movements now exhibited flexibility and resilience.

Activating the soul transformation trait, Han turned his soul into the Ocean Overturning Dragon Demon.

At once, faint traces of a dragon-like posture appeared in Han’s movements.

Though still a novice in practicing this martial technique, even with the Dragon Demon soul, Han was somewhat unfamiliar. However, thanks to the foundation built with the Ox Demon transformation and his exceptional talent, progress was swift.

As he advanced through the Dragon Demon’s techniques, Han felt the same intense pain he had when practicing the Ox Demon. But now, the pain wasn’t in his flesh—it was in his entire meridian system.

It felt as though someone were twisting his meridians or using a knife to sever each one, a constant wave of excruciating agony.

The Dragon Demon soul didn’t automatically grant him the Dragon Demon body.

Meanwhile, beside the image of the Ox Demon in Han’s mind, a pair of Dragon Demon eyes flickered in and out of focus.

Roar!

After completing one round of the Ocean Overturning Dragon Demon True Power, the sound of a dragon’s roar echoed, and Han’s entire body shuddered. His internal energy surged violently, pushing against his meridians as if they were about to change.

It wasn’t enough!

Han pushed on, continuing to hammer away at his meridians with the Dragon Demon True Power.

Ocean Demon, Overturning Heaven and Earth!

After three repetitions, a few strands of Han’s internal energy began to compress and merge, eventually transforming into a black energy that flowed into his meridians.

This seemed to signal something. More of his internal energy started to undergo this transformation, continuously turning into this black energy and entering his meridians.

True Qi!

A more advanced form of energy than internal energy—just a single strand of true qi could match the power of ten strands of internal energy.

And Han’s internal energy was already far more solid and abundant than most people’s at his level, so a single strand of his true qi wasn’t about how many strands of internal energy it could replace.

Instead, it was about how many strands of true qi from the same level it could rival!

As the true qi flowed through his meridians, it continuously tempered them.

The moment true qi was born, it marked Han’s breakthrough into the Meridian Realm, reaching the second stage of martial arts!

With Han’s talent, foundation, and the Dragon Demon soul aiding his cultivation, failure was simply impossible.

The transformation of internal energy to true qi concluded quickly, but not all his internal energy was converted.

Turning all internal energy into true qi was part of training in the Meridian Realm.

Many martial artists who reached the Meridian Realm only managed to convert one strand of true qi due to their shallow accumulation.

But Han wasn’t limited to just one strand.

As the true qi filled his meridians and spread throughout his body, it marked the completion of the first stage of the Meridian Realm.

"Sixteen days. I’ve entered the Meridian Realm." Han couldn’t help but smile.

He was eager to return and show his big sister what he had achieved.

Looking up at the sky, he realized it was already late at night.

"It’s time to wrap up here."

In three days, Han had gathered a lot of information about the sect's stronghold.

Now that his cultivation had broken through, he didn’t intend to waste any more time.

Tomorrow was the day of the Tianmu Sect’s seven-day Heavenly Maiden Assembly, where all the sect members would be present. It was the perfect time to strike and wipe out the entire sect.

After the incident with the Snake Fang Staff and Moonlight Stone during his tree chopping, Han had spent the last two days cutting down more trees.

In these two days, he had harvested seven spirit plants, two soul plants, and four rare items:

* Item: Ghost Tree– Can be fused with the Ghost Dwelling to enhance it and nourish spirits.

* Item: Netherfire– Yin fire, useful for refining pills and weapons.

* Item: Demon Attracting Stone– A stone that attracts demon beasts like Qi Demons. Shattering it summons demons during the day.

* Item: Plum Fragrance– A rare fragrance that can cause spirits to exude a pleasant scent.

The Ghost Tree was intended for use with the Ghost Dwelling, so Han gave it to An Lang.

The Netherfire had some use, though it didn’t generate high heat, but it was still effective for battle.

The Demon Attracting Stone was purely ornamental at this point. Han couldn’t even deal with Qi Demons, let alone risk summoning higher-tier demons.

As for the Plum Fragrance, while it had some use, Han had no intention of using it on his soul. He had already developed a natural fragrance after consuming the Nine Aperture Golden Dan, and adding more would only make him resemble a walking target for enemies.

Not every item dropped from the celestial tree was useful to Han, especially now that the drops had increased, and Han had grown stronger. It was only natural for some items to be less relevant to him, particularly the rare ones.

Additionally, Han had also acquired two semi-weapon-class items:

* Semi-Weapon: Flame Blade– A weapon forged from Fire Famine Stone, though its rank dropped due to a sudden ice storm.

* Semi-Weapon: Ten-Thousand Pound Hammer– A weapon of extreme violence, but it had cracked during the forging process, causing its rank to drop.

Even though Han preferred using a sword, this cursed tree hadn’t dropped a single sword for him.

He also obtained four pills: one Wolf Power Pill (similar to the Tiger Power Pill), two daily body-enhancing pills for cultivation, and a special one.

* Special Pill: Heart-Twisting Pill– Whoever consumes this pill will be temporarily enchanted, following the user’s commands. After the effect wears off, the person won’t remember anything. Crushing it releases its effects on souls, with a limit for Night Walker-level souls.

The celestial tree was becoming a bit questionable.