8 Upper Tier Soul Palace Realm!

First, Gao Xuan followed a woman to the Internal Affairs Department to collect his official uniform and waist token before returning.

Looking at the brand-new purple official uniform, a slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Now, he held an official position and even had his own independent courtyard. He no longer had to worry about living in a crowded dormitory where people might discover the secret of his weapons.

Moreover, it would be more convenient for him to cultivate or engage in other activities in the future.

The location of the courtyard was not far from where he used to live, so he was familiar with the surroundings.

After presenting his waist token, the duty eunuch handed him the key and provided some essential supplies.

Although the courtyard was not large, it was sufficient. It consisted of a main room, two side rooms, a separate toilet, and a small bathhouse, all kept clean and tidy. If there were any additional needs, someone would be ready to fulfill them upon request.

This was the advantage of holding an official position. Not only did he have someone to attend to his needs, but even the meals had been upgraded.

After casually inspecting every corner of the courtyard and ensuring that there were no prying eyes or surveillance, Gao Xuan returned to the main hall where he slept and locked the door.

He splashed his face with water, and as he did so, it seemed as if he had transformed into a different person. His face was calm, his gaze profound and icy, completely devoid of the servile and sycophantic demeanor he displayed in front of others.

Recalling the events of the past few hours since his transmigration, he had narrowly escaped danger several times, his life hanging by a thread. If it weren't for his own wit, he would have long met a gruesome end.

Ultimately, it was because his strength was too weak, leaving him with no room for resistance in the face of danger.

Therefore, the main goal now was to quickly improve his cultivation.

Gao Xuan sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the book " Introduction to Qi Cultivation ". He read it carefully. After a while, he truly understood the general idea of cultivation.

In this world, the martial path consisted of nine realms, divided into the Lower Three Realms, Middle Three Realms, and Upper Three Realms.

The Lower Three Realms were: Qi Condensation Realm, Ling Sea Realm, and Soul Palace Realm.

Reaching the Middle Three Realms would earn one the title of Grandmaster. These realms were: Four Symbols Golden Core Realm, Five Elements Sealing King Realm, and Six Harmonies Sealing Emperor Realm.

Next came the Seven Mansions Martial Sovereign Realm, followed by the extraordinary Transcendent Saint of the Eight Desolations Realm, and finally, the Nine Heavens Void God Realm.

By cultivating to the extreme, one could shatter the void, ascend to immortality.

After some consideration, among the people he had encountered so far, Gao Xuan's intuition told him that Wan Deshou's cultivation was the lowest, but he should have reached the final stage of the Lower Three Realms, the Soul Palace Realm.

The Beautiful Emperor and the white-robed Ling Shuang should both be high-level masters in the Middle Three Realms, but he couldn't accurately determine their specific realm. The probability of being in the Golden Core Realm was higher.

The most terrifying one, Wei Xian, was undoubtedly a powerhouse in the Upper Three Realms, at least at the level of the Seven Mansions Martial Sovereign Realm, if not higher.

Fortunately, he hadn't directly faced Wei Xian at that terrifying level yet, so he had time to grow.

Next, Gao Xuan opened the system. The points required to increase cultivation varied for each realm, with higher realms requiring more points.

Without hesitation, Gao Xuan directly consumed all 2000 points of his villain value, allocating them all to cultivation.

Instantly, an incredibly pure force surged from his dantian throughout his body. The Demon Devouring Art spontaneously operated, and Gao Xuan quickly followed the methods described in the "Foundations of Qi Cultivation," sensing the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth and accelerating his absorption.

His body gradually became enveloped in a layer of black mist. His bones trembled, and his blood boiled, as if he had fallen into a state of demonic possession.

This was the manifestation of tempering the body with spiritual energy, indicating that he had officially stepped into the first realm and become a cultivator.

Soon, the spiritual energy condensed into substance and gathered in his dantian. Before long, it turned into an endless, deep, and rolling black sea of magic. Thunder crackled and evil spirits howled upon the sea's surface. He had entered the Ling Sea Realm!

But it didn't end there!

The force surged upwards toward his heavenly spirit. Behind Gao Xuan, a dark and menacing demon shadow appeared, with enraged eyes and bared fangs. It extended sixteen arms, each holding various treasures. A great demonic bottle floated above its head, emitting ancient patterns that radiated with brilliance.

His divine soul condensed, and the Soul Palace Realm was achieved!

The surge finally subsided after reaching the later stage of the Soul Palace Realm.

Gao Xuan's gaze was sharp as he clenched his fists, feeling an immensely powerful force coursing through his body. He couldn't help but feel excited.

In this world, where the weak were preyed upon by the strong, strength was the foundation for survival.

Although he was not yet considered strong, he no longer had the same feeble strength as before, easily controlled by others.

However, having power and reaching a certain realm was not enough. It wasn't like he could fight with a set of fancy punches, right?

He took out the books "Cloud Ranking Palm" and "Thunderbolt Legs" given to him by the Beautiful Emperor, placing his palms on them. With a thought, the Demon Devouring Art began to operate.

Strands of black fog wrapped around the two cultivation techniques from his fingertips. In an instant, he had already grasped all the subtleties of these two cultivation techniques and cultivated them to the great success realm.

Strands of black mist wrapped around the two martial arts manuals, and in an instant, he had mastered all the intricacies of these two martial arts, cultivating them to perfection.

This was the terror of the Demon Devouring Art. He didn't need to practice at all. He could just devour and absorb!

Gao Xuan opened the door and stepped into the courtyard. With a single palm strike, a fierce wind swept up, stirring clouds of dust in the air and causing the large, green stone displays in the courtyard to shatter with a thunderous boom.

If that palm had landed on a person, there would likely be nothing left but ashes. Its power was terrifying.

Satisfied, Gao Xuan brushed off the dust from his body and quickly tidied up the courtyard. Then, he used the system to retrieve all three martial arts manuals given to him by the Beautiful Emperor.

He no longer needed them after studying, but they could still be put to good use.

The three books exchanged for a total of 300 villain points, which was still far from enough to allocate points for cultivation. Gao Xuan thought about buying a suitable weapon for himself from the store.

After browsing, he found that 300 points were just enough to purchase a decent-quality treasure.

However, weapons such as swords and staffs were too long and inconvenient to carry. After much thought, Gao Xuan chose the venomous snake fang dagger he had seen before.

This little dagger was exquisite in craftsmanship, compact in size, and could be concealed on his person at any time. Moreover, according to the description, its poison was quite potent. Even a master in the Golden Core Realm would suffer greatly from its poison, greatly diminishing their cultivation.

After the purchase, the snake fang dagger appeared in his hand.

After playing with it for a while, Gao Xuan tucked it inside his sleeve for easy access when needed.

Looking up at the sky, he realized it was getting late. It was time to rest.

He went to the bathhouse for a shower and then prepared to sleep, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

Just then, a sinister voice came from behind him.

"Little Xuan, oh no, I should call you Deputy Minister Gao now, shouldn't I?"

Gao Xuan was startled and quickly turned around.

He saw a slightly hunched blue-robed eunuch standing under a tree. Half of his old face was covered by shadows, and his eyes resembled venomous snakes. It was Wan Deshou.

This old fellow was like a ghost. Gao Xuan had no idea when he had entered. With his current cultivation, he should have been able to sense it, yet he had no inkling!

Gao Xuan's heart sank. This old man gave him a much stronger feeling than before. He must have made a breakthrough!

He pretended to be somewhat flustered and hastily paid his respects, "This humble one pays his respects to Minister Wan. I apologize for not visiting earlier. It was a lapse on my part."

Wan Deshou walked closer, his voice tinged with an eerie tone. "We thought you were dead, but you unexpectedly came back alive and even became the Deputy Minister of the Mixing Hall."

"It's all thanks to Minister's blessings. Otherwise, how could I have the position I have today?" Gao Xuan smiled ingratiatingly.

Wan Deshou snorted coldly. "After we asked you to come back, why didn't you show up? Were you trying to avoid us?"

"Absolutely not! It's just that I saw it was already late and didn't want to disturb Minister's rest. I planned to visit you early tomorrow morning," Gao Xuan explained, bending over respectfully.

It seemed that Wan Deshou hadn't discovered his cultivation progress, which relieved him.

...