Li Ming silently recalled how he entered the fifth-grade Refining Spirit Realm.
For martial artists, in order to break through the barrier between life and death, they must first comprehend the gate in their hearts and use their true intention as the key to step through it.
However, it should be noted that behind the portal, inner demons may appear.
It uses the weakness deep within a martial artist's heart as a fulcrum and amplifies it infinitely. This is the most difficult hurdle. Many people may fail because of a small flaw that they did not notice in normal times. However, this flaw is magnified infinitely. Once the person trying to break through this hurdle feels fear and becomes confused, they will fail to break through, resulting in failure and damage to their mind and spirit.
In severe cases, the practitioner's resolve may be shattered, and they may never be able to recover, thus hindering their progress in martial arts.
Mindset, though seemingly mysterious and useless, is actually extremely important.
Thinking of this, Li Ming silently looked at his own stats, where the [Martial Arts Heart] rating was dark blue.
"I've heard that the stronger a person is, the stronger their inner demon tribulation is. But the blue one seems a bit unstable... It would be more prudent to advance this [Martial Heart] entry."
With this in mind, Li Ming invested 120,000 units of life energy to advance the level once again.
The crimson color had been covered by the blue sheen, signifying the completion of its advancement.
【The Heart of Martial Arts (Red)】: 【With a heart as clear as ice, one remains unperturbed even if the sky collapses; one's mind remains undisturbed by all changes; one firmly upholds one's own martial arts path, holding onto utmost sincerity; one's heart is the heart of Heaven, one's path is the path of Heaven.】
Perhaps the system was fulfilling Li Ming's wishes in some mysterious way. This entry had more than the previous one, which was the ability to calm the mind and guard the spirit. Instantly, all of Li Ming's distracting thoughts and troubles disappeared.
Once in this state, Li Ming sat as still as an old monk, his eyes clear as water, and the slightest bit of worry he had before completely disappeared.
With everything prepared, Li Ming took a deep breath.
"Let's begin... The gate of life and death, now appears."
Li Ming immediately lit the incense in front of him, closed his eyes, and guided his mind according to the method recorded in the "True Skill of Yi Wood".
In his mind, Li Ming didn't know how much time had passed when he vaguely saw a special portal, illusory and indistinct, seemingly impossible to touch.
As for how to open this portal, many martial arts techniques use the same method: use your consciousness, use your martial will to rush into the portal.
This was very simple. He used the incense to sense the gate between life and death... Li Ming did not hesitate at all. His consciousness approached the gate, and then a rumbling sound rang out.
Li Ming became dizzy and opened his eyes, only to find himself in complete darkness.
Then, a strange voice rang in my ears:
“Li Ming, your parents are dead, and your aptitude is too poor. Why don’t you give me the resources? When I rise to prominence in the future, I will definitely promote you.”
Upon hearing the sound, Li Ming looked over and saw a black figure standing in front of him. The figure's face kept changing. These people were actually his old acquaintances, all of whom were his relatives from his previous life. They had taken advantage of his helplessness and wanted to seize his deceased parents' inheritance.
In his previous life, he had spent a lot of money to satisfy their appetites, while he himself went out to learn martial arts with only a small amount of money.
However, due to a lack of talent, even after spending all his money, his martial arts skills remained mediocre.
At that moment, Li Ming smiled slightly and said what he had always wanted to say:
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, never underestimate a young man's potential!"
After he transmigrated and absorbed the memories of his predecessor, he once fantasized about achieving mastery of martial arts and slapping his relatives in the face. However, as he experienced more things, he gradually became less concerned about it.
Unexpectedly, it was able to reappear today amidst the tribulations of inner demons.
With a sharp shout from Li Ming, the figure in front of him vanished instantly, but the scene in the consciousness space shifted, turning into a sky full of blood.
Those whom Li Ming had once killed appeared one by one in front of him.
From the very beginning, the Blood Bandits, the White Ghosts, the Zhao family, and many bandits from Lianyun Village, to Cao Lang of the Dragon Slayer Gang, these people now had ferocious expressions on their faces, their pupils filled with blood.
They roared at Li Ming:
"Li Ming, you will die a horrible death!"
"Give me back my son's life!"
"That's not fair! That's not fair!"
"I didn't do anything, why did you kill me! You're so cruel!"
A series of voices echoed in Li Ming's ears, and his body was being pulled and tugged by these people. However, Li Ming's eyes were crystal clear, and he felt no remorse. He whispered:
“I kill to protect life, I cut off karma, not people, and I have a clear conscience.”
"If you continue to cause trouble, then... we'll kill you again!"
Li Ming focused his mind and threw a punch, unleashing boundless fist intent.
Bang!
The world seemed like a shattered mirror, and all the figures vanished instantly.
The background noise disappeared instantly.
Finally, two familiar voices came from Li Ming.
"Son, turn around... turn around..."
That familiar voice belonged to his parents from his previous life.
Li Ming, however, remained perfectly clear-headed and continued walking forward step by step, showing no intention of turning back.
As the final sound of collapse rang out, Li Ming suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them.
As Li Ming's aura continued to rise, he couldn't help but let out a long roar.
"drink!"
The barrier between life and death has been broken!
Today, Li Ming has stepped into the realm of spiritual refinement.
Upon hearing the long howl and sensing Li Ming's powerful aura, Wang Chong and the others outside relaxed, and the worry on their faces disappeared.
After all, many martial artists fail at the critical juncture of life and death. Many exceptionally talented martial artists have collapsed because of even a little bit of inner demons, especially a sudden and astonishing talent like Li Ming.
Meanwhile, in the study in the distance, Lu Tian's face showed a look of relief, but then worry returned to his expression.
"After entering the Refining Spirit Realm, I feel that my comprehension has become even stronger, and the power I can exert in martial arts such as swordsmanship and fist techniques is even greater... Moreover, my realm has actually spanned so many levels?"
Li Ming sensed the change in his strength and couldn't help but gasp.
In the Refining Spirit Realm, a martial artist opens up their sea of consciousness, where their soul resides.
After entering the Refining Spirit stage, martial artists can easily utilize the power of their soul.
The main purpose of cultivation at this stage is to enhance one's spiritual strength. The most common way to enhance one's spiritual strength is to improve one's martial arts intent and use martial arts will to temper one's spiritual strength. The deeper one's understanding of martial arts intent, the better the effect of tempering one's spiritual strength.
Li Ming's true understanding of martial arts far surpasses that of ordinary people. In addition, his [Martial Arts Heart] has transformed into crimson, and his current spiritual power has unknowingly surpassed that of many veteran Refining Gods Grandmasters.
His current cultivation level is none other than the fifth level of the Refining Spirit Realm.
However, the fifth level of Refining Spirit is actually a bottleneck period. Normally, it requires many years of arduous cultivation to continuously strengthen the soul and perfect the spirit before one can reach this level.
After reaching the peak of the fifth level of Refining Spirit, a martial artist needs to construct a divine platform in their sea of consciousness.
When a martial artist cultivates the Refining Spirit Realm to perfection, a divine seed will naturally be conceived within their soul, and then this divine seed will develop into supernatural powers.
That is, stepping into the fourth-grade divine power realm.
What kind of supernatural power is this? It is closely related to the martial artist himself.
The reason why Li Ming's supernatural powers were conceived ahead of time is due to his special physique and powerful soul.
It could be said that he has gone astray in practicing the "Yimu True Skill," but it's a good direction.
The supernatural abilities that were born were more suited to his physique than to any particular cultivation technique.
"However, it seems that martial artists with high comprehension have a great advantage in their subsequent martial arts training."
Li Ming sighed inwardly.
In the lower three ranks, martial artists still focus on self-cultivation.
Only at the middle third rank stage do martial artists begin to formally cultivate their spirit.
The upper three ranks require the simultaneous cultivation of body and spirit to reach, which is why it has stumped so many martial artists in the world.
However, there are many ways to improve one's comprehension in this world, but these are much more difficult than improving one's physical aptitude.
For example, rare and precious materials that enhance comprehension only exist in certain secret realms or blessed lands.
There are also some rare secret techniques that, once learned, can enhance one's comprehension.
However, unless the skill is of a very high grade, this kind of technique is of little use to Li Ming.
After all, his comprehension was far beyond that of ordinary people, so even many treasures that could enhance comprehension were no longer effective for him.
With a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, Li Ming silently got up and pushed open the secret room door.
Seeing several familiar figures smiling at him outside, Li Ming also smiled and said:
"I'm starving! Is there anything to eat?"
"Yes, of course!"
Li Ming was then led to a room.
Looking at the table full of dishes, it was all breakfast that had been prepared in advance.
Although there weren't many varieties, the taste was good and the quantity was plentiful.
Li Ming was eating with great relish when, suddenly on a whim, he asked Wang Chong:
"How's the situation in Qing Shi City?"
Li Ming had previously instructed the other party to keep an eye on the situation in Qing Shi City.
Wang Chong's expression instantly turned serious, and he said in a deep voice:
"I didn't tell you beforehand because I knew Brother Li was about to break through to the Refinement of Spirit, so as not to disturb you... This news was specifically instructed by Lord Lu to be given to me."
"Lord Lu said... demons have appeared near Qing Shi City!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com