After leaving the stone chamber, Lu Zhaozhao was shocked to find that the maze she had broken in the forest had been restored. However, her immediate priority was what she had just seen in the secret chamber, so she hurried out of the city and returned to Pingyang City. She booked a room, set up the magic tools, and then sat on the bed to begin meditating.

The moment she opened the secret scroll, the words on it were deeply imprinted in her mind, and she memorized them the moment she emerged.

This secret manual is called "Zhili Yi," and it contains almost all bloodthirsty and slaughterful techniques. Just looking at its training requirements is chilling, such as killing a hundred people to form an array. Although it is extremely powerful, it is ultimately immoral, so Lu Zhaozhao does not intend to learn it.

But aside from these, there are many things that do not harm others.

For example, this body-refining technique called Puji Fang is exactly what she needs right now.

Body refinement refers to using techniques to train the body or using medicine to temper the body. The Universal Relief Manual states that although practicing body refinement methods does not greatly help improve cultivation level, it can make the muscles and bones of the body as if cast in bronze or iron. When the cultivation is perfected, it cannot be harmed except by divine weapons.

Although the name of this Puji Fang is unremarkable, its practice method is extremely demanding.

The cultivation is divided into five levels. The first level only requires foundation building. A large pot is used to boil water, and a person is boiled in it until the skin and flesh soften and fall off. Then, the body is rebuilt with bone and blood water. After being rebuilt, the body can withstand a heavy blow, and even severe injuries that expose the bone can be recovered very quickly.

"Ouch, this is 'cooking people'!" Lu Zhaozhao grimaced as she read it, but she could almost feel the pain just by looking at the words. "This book is really something, it's either harming others or harming itself, it's really immoral."

Nevertheless, she quickly prepared the items.

Looking at the pot in front of her, which was at least one and a half times her height, she felt a little apprehensive.

She borrowed this pot from an old Taoist's alchemy room. The old Taoist said it had been passed down from his ancestors and had been used to refine many pills. When Lu Zhaozhao looked at the inner wall, she saw that there were indeed many medicinal residues on it, some of which could even promote cultivation. So she quickly spent a lot of money to borrow it.

The water had already boiled inside, and the sound of boiling water gurgling was heard. Occasionally, a drop would splash onto the back of Lu Zhaozhao's hand, making her wince in pain.

If a single drop is so bad, how could a whole pot withstand it?

Lu Zhaozhao sat in front of the pot, supporting herself with her hands, and collapsed.

"Holy crap—Aaaaaaah, it's so hot—it's burning me, ah—"

Logically speaking, a cultivator's physical fitness should increase with the growth of their cultivation level, but this only strengthens the hardness of their body. Therefore, even though Lu Zhaozhao activated her true energy to protect her body, she was still scalded so badly that she lost her bearings.

Having already bought it, Lu Zhaozhao closed her eyes and jumped into the pot, but as soon as she entered, she regretted it.

The boiling water submerged her skin, causing an unbearable stinging pain. The burning sensation, mixed with the pain of thousands of silver needles piercing her skin, almost made Lu Zhaozhao faint.

Before long, the aroma of meat broth wafted into my nose.

Lu Zhaozhao thought to herself, with a touch of wickedness, that after eating meat soup for so many years, she had become the food herself today.

Actually, she didn't expect to be able to endure it for so long. At first, she just held on with the thought that since she had already given birth, it would be a waste to go out and endure the pain. Gradually, the pain seemed to have gone numb, and the continuous pain was more bearable than the momentary stinging pain.

After an unknown amount of time, the skin and flesh completely melted away, and the blood and bone fluids began to take effect, gradually reshaping the body along the meridians and bones.

This process was actually quite torturous. Unlike the intense pain at the beginning, this prolonged agony was almost unbearable for Lu Zhaozhao. It felt like a thousand ants were gnawing at her heart, and the stinging sensation traveled along her meridians straight to the top of her head.

Lu Zhaozhao felt like crying. This was just a transmigration mission; she didn't need to go to such lengths. There must be other cultivation paths. But she was also terrified. She was afraid she would never be able to go back, and even more afraid that if she failed to change her fate and complete the mission, she would never be able to return to her own world. She was only in her twenties; she didn't want to die.

In the midst of prolonged agony, Lu Zhaozhao fainted in the pot.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but when she woke up again, her body was no different from before. However, upon closer inspection, it was as delicate and fair as a newborn baby's, and the boiling water was no different from soaking in a hot spring for her.

Lu Zhaozhao has always been one to forget what she's done wrong.

She carefully observed the new skin and flesh, sniffed, and thought that this face was already beautiful, and with this skin, it was simply perfect.

Then, she stepped out of the pot, and before leaving it, she looked back and saw that the once clear water was now full of floating debris.

It really was boiled meat. Lu Zhaozhao felt a little nauseous and quickly cleaned it up.

After dealing with these things, Lu Zhaozhao opened the Puji Prescription and continued reading.

The second level requires the Golden Core stage, which she meets. However, the instructions state that the second level requires bone refining, which requires drinking Ice Vine Bamboo Sap and then being burned by Nine Heavens Fire to forge the bone.

She did know about the Ice Vine Bamboo Sap; the Lu family of Jiangning had given her a whole host of valuable items when they escorted her to the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Qing Dynasty, including this Ice Vine Bamboo Sap. But the Nine Heavens Fire was a problem; the original owner had never heard of it in her memories.

"Sigh, it seems I'll have to postpone this second step a bit." She sighed.

Turning two pages to the next page, she saw a sword technique called "Moon Reflecting Ten Thousand Rivers".

A single sword can manifest countless sword intents, yet all these countless sword intents are ultimately governed by the swordsman's most fundamental sword essence. This is what is meant by "the moon appears in all waters, and all waters are encompassed by the moon."

This move immediately reminded Lu Zhaozhao of her sword, Niye.

The swordsmanship, though hidden in the shadows, can also shine brightly in the light. The sword intent it commands is dazzling and difficult to discern, truly a combination of thousands of swords into one.

Lu Zhaozhao was overjoyed and immediately rushed out with her sword, asking the waiter if there was a river nearby.

The waiter replied that the moat of Pingyang City originated from the Minghai Sea. Although the Minghai Sea is named after the sea, it is actually a large river with countless branches.

So Lu Zhaozhao quickly set off and arrived in no time.

Only then did I realize that the vast sea truly lived up to its name. The boundless expanse of water, the high and deep blue of the sky, and the countless white clouds, seemingly floating aimlessly, were all reflected in the smooth surface of the water. Its grandeur, encompassing distant mountains and swallowing the Yangtze River, was beyond description without a painting. Until the sun set behind the mountains and the moon began to appear, its reflection serene and still on the sea. As it rose, countless tributaries shared the moon's reflection, and only then did I understand the true meaning of "the moon reflected in ten thousand rivers."

"Zheng—"

He drew his sword against the wind, twisted his body, and pulled it out. Moonlight shone on the sword, instantly creating countless flashes of light.

Following the instructions in the Zhili Yi, Lu Zhaozhao believed that the moon reflected in ten thousand rivers required the stimulation of countless sword intents. She used the sword in her hand as the main weapon, scattering and thrusting in all directions before returning to one.

First, the sword is held upright, then leveled, the tip held at shoulder height, and then thrust out! Then, the sword flashes, the sword is raised…

The moonlight shone brightly, cascading down the lake for miles. The dancers of Ni Ye, moving gracefully in the water, resembled an ink wash painting. The complex sword techniques unleashed sword energy like a continuous, rosy cloud, blurring the lines between sword shadow and moonlight. The splashes of water stirred up by the sweeping sword were instantly broken apart, and the overlapping sword intents lightly grazed the stubborn rocks, reverberating across the lake's surface. Dust billowed and pebbles scattered everywhere.

One, two, three...

Not enough, we need more sword energy!

Ten, twenty, thirty...

It's still not enough!

Lu Zhaozhao bit her lower lip hard; her mouth was already full of blood, but no matter how hard she tried, her sword energy still couldn't reach a hundred.

If even a hundred are not enough, how can one talk about a thousand or ten thousand paths!

If once doesn't work, try twice; if twice doesn't work, try three times; if three times doesn't work, try four or five times!

Even if we try a hundred or a thousand more times, what's so difficult about it!

"bass."

The sword emitted a muffled thud, and the resulting waves pushed back, slamming against the blade.

Lu Zhaozhao only had time to hold her sword across her chest, but she was still forced to retreat repeatedly by the backlash of the sword energy.

"Sizzle—" She kept backing away, planting the reed in the ground, trying to stop the force.

"Cough." A trickle of crimson blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. Lu Zhaozhao casually wiped it away with her sleeve and looked up at the center of the lake again.

This is her fifth night here, and her sword energy has increased from fifteen strikes on the first day to over a hundred strikes today.

However, as the number of sword energies she unleashed increased, she found it increasingly difficult to control their direction and force, which led to her momentary lapse in judgment and being overwhelmed and devoured by the sword energies.

So what exactly should we do?

Lu Zhaozhao picked up the sword and pointed it at the moon. The moment Niye was raised, it released countless dazzling lights, which made her subconsciously close her eyes.

As I slowly opened my eyes, the moon was gradually being covered by a dark cloud.

The light surrounding Ni Ye grew weaker and weaker until the moon was completely covered. Ni Ye's sharp sword intent was completely subdued, replaced by a somber and cold aura like that of a hermit. At this moment, it was a killing sword in the hand of an assassin.

Lu Zhaozhao seemed to be deep in thought. She looked at the sword in her hand, which had changed shape, and then shone brightly again after the dark clouds dispersed.

What does it mean for the moon to reflect across ten thousand rivers?

Is it that the moon appears in all waters, encompassing all waters and the moon itself; or is it that the infinite gives rise to the ultimate; or is it that the principle is one yet manifests in many forms?

Lu Zhaozhao couldn't tell either at this moment, because Niye had already made the choice for her.

Once again, we arrived at the center of the lake. At this moment, the smoke from the long stretch of water had cleared, and the bright moon shone for thousands of miles.

The water splashed up by the sword energy was then split apart by even more sword energy in the next moment.

There have been countless sword energies, or perhaps there were never any to begin with.

At this moment, it was not Lu Zhaozhao who was wielding the sword, but the Reverse Karma Sword that was carrying her. It moved freely and spontaneously, with countless sword energies scattering across the Myriad Rivers and Moon Shadows before converging on the Reverse Karma Sword and forming a single sword.

There could be no better time to draw the sword, Lu Zhaozhao thought.

And so, naturally, he swung his sword.

Like a beam of moonlight, the small hill in front of us was cut in half in a moment!

"Clap clap clap".

Several rounds of applause came from the lakeside pavilion in the distance. Lu Zhaozhao was somewhat surprised, as she had not sensed anyone else's presence before.

She turned around and saw an old man with a white beard, accompanied by a young man in a blue robe.

"A sword that splits a mountain in two, what a fine sword! What a powerful spirit!"