```
[You've slain a postnatal realm adult boar demon and obtained 30 demon essences.]
[Detected the boar demon's tusks suitable for sacrifice, please collect.]
[Detected the "Blood Slaughter Saber Technique" suitable for cultivation, please collect.]
```
Han Zheng's vision was suddenly filled with a series of prompts, causing him to momentarily pause in astonishment.
He wasn't surprised that slaying martial artists granted Qi Blood Essence or that slaying demons provided Demon Essence.
However, he didn't expect that parts of a demon's body could also be used for sacrifices.
For Han Zheng, possessing the Taotie Furnace meant that the demon truly held treasures throughout its body.
He walked over to the demon's corpse and searched it, discovering beside its loincloth a small pouch filled with various items.
Among them were items made of bone like forks and spoons and some medicinal herbs; a blood-stained book most likely was the Blood Slaughter Saber Technique.
The Blood Slaughter Saber Technique must have come from a martial artist the boar demon had killed, but why would it keep the technique? Could demons also practice martial arts?
Han Zheng suppressed his curiosity and discretely stuffed the technique into his sleeve without alarming the others.
Then he pulled out the Yanling Blade from the boar demon's mouth and cut off two sharp tusks.
Approaching Li Sancheng, Han Zheng helped him up.
"I told you, one strike to a demon is just two holes, you believe me now?"
Li Sancheng, clutching his chest and grinning painfully, said, "Brother! You really are my blood brother!
I'm truly impressed with you; in such a crisis, you dared to act—weren't you afraid of being impaled by the demon?"
That battle was exceedingly fierce.
The boar demon's strength was far greater than theirs, and its tough armored hide was formidable, leaving them unable to find any vulnerabilities.
Without Han Zheng's desperate strike that opened the demon's belly and weakened its fighting ability, they would have had no hope of victory.
And in the end, it was Han Zheng's finishing blow that killed the demon.
"The head of the Martial Arts Hall taught us, 'In martial combat, better to act and progress than to hesitate and stop.
In a life-and-death fight, it's all about whether to act, there's no room for fear.'"
Wang Bao and Zhao Jinming watched Han Zheng admiringly.
Theory is theory, but real combat is something else.
They all understood this principle, but who would dare to make such a life-risking move at that time?
Li Sancheng, looking at Han Zheng holding the tusks, curiously asked, "What do you want with those things? To make soup?"
"Keeping them as a memento of my first life-and-death battle."
When Han Zheng returned to the caravan, he grinned at Manager Chen, startling him into stepping back subconsciously.
That strike which had torn open the demon's belly covered Han Zheng entirely in demonic blood, making him look exceedingly intimidating.
Now, grinning and showing his rows of white teeth, there was something eerie about him.
"Manager Chen, do you still think Shenghe Hall's money was wasted?"
Manager Chen forced a smile, "No, no, of course not!
Young Master Han, you've worked hard, go and rest."
Han Zheng replied indifferently, "Now is not the time to rest.
Don't forget, that boar demon said it had a mother and a brother, probably a father too.
If the whole family of demons came out, I wouldn't be able to hold them off.
Let's press on through the night— if we hurry, we can reach the Spiritual Field before dawn."
Manager Chen may have been leading the team, but Han Zheng's return, having slain the demon, changed the way Shenghe Hall's workers looked at him.
So, Manager Chen had no choice but to acquiesce to Han Zheng's orders to have the caravan travel through the night toward the Spiritual Field.
Li Sancheng and Wang Bao were wounded; Han Zheng had them board the carriage to prevent aggravation of their injuries.
Li Feng had checked their wounds, finding that it was internal damage from shock with no serious concerns.
They would be fine with a couple of doses of medicine and a few days' rest at the Spiritual Field, where medicinal herbs were abundant.
Perhaps it was the intense stimulus from the demon that energized everyone.
The men of Shenghe Hall traveled a day's journey in just six hours, as if they were never tired.
When they arrived at the Spiritual Field, it was the middle of the night, and the Hall's people were shaken awake, thinking it was thieves attacking.
Upon learning of their encounter with the demon, the residents quickly arranged food, lodging, and all manner of chaotic things.
An hour later, Han Zheng finally washed off the demonic blood and changed into clean clothes before lying down in the guest room.
He summoned the Taotie Furnace; there were 30 demon essences in his inventory.
Han Zheng also took out the boar demon's tusks, and with a thought, they too appeared in the item storage.
[Demon Essence: Concentrated from demon power, sacrificing it grants 10 points of Hunger Level.]
[Boar Demon Tusks: The most powerful weapon from the demon's body, sharpened daily with iron ores, sacrificing it grants 100 points of Hunger Level.]
"A fruitful return indeed."
Before, Han Zheng was pondering what to use as a sacrifice for the Taotie Furnace, and now the answer was clear.
The rewards from slaying demons were far greater than from killing martial artists.
Even though Demon Essence and Qi Blood Essence were valued the same at 10 points of Hunger Level each.
The demon was large and provided more essence, a full 30 compared to the paltry single essence from Wang Xiong previously.
The tusks of a pig demon were also worth a staggering 100 Hunger Level points.
Without a second thought, Han Zheng sacrificed both the Demon Essence and pig demon tusks, his Hunger Level skyrocketing to 400 points in an instant.
If he used all of them for cultivating in the Taotie Furnace, he was even confident that he could advance to the Perfect Postnatal Realm.
However, after pondering for a moment, Han Zheng abandoned this idea.
For one, after returning, he still needed to learn the White Ape Extended Arm Fist from Li Jingzhong, who would certainly check his Cultivation Level.
Being one step ahead is a sign of talent, but being far too ahead would be monstrous and could lead to unnecessary suspicion.
Another reason was Han Zheng's desire to break through either the Iron Elephant Skill or Vajra Fist first.
What he lacked now was not just the realm, but also combat power to match it.
The levels of Iron Elephant Skill and Vajra Fist were still too low.
Dealing with bottom-tier martial artists like Wang Xiong who mingled in gangs was one thing,
but facing peers with other powerful Martial Skill inheritances, he'd be easily trounced.
This encounter with the pig demon made Han Zheng realize his foundation was severely lacking; he could only resort to desperate tactics, staking his life to slay the pig demon.
Entering the Taotie Furnace, Han Zheng first checked the Skill Levels of his cultivation techniques.
The Skill Level of "Iron Elephant Skill" had reached 75%, while "Vajra Fist" dramatically increased to 95% during the fierce battle with the pig demon, nearing perfection.
Sitting cross-legged in the void, Han Zheng began to painstakingly cultivate both Vajra Fist and Iron Elephant Skill.
After forty days of training in the Taotie Furnace, consuming 40 Hunger Level points, both Iron Elephant Skill and Vajra Fist had finally achieved perfect Skill Levels.
Exiting the inner space of the furnace, Han Zheng looked towards the breakthrough options above the furnace.
[Current Cultivation Techniques available for breakthrough:
Postnatal Realm "Iron Elephant Skill" breakthrough requires 180 Hunger Level points.
Postnatal Realm "Vajra Fist" breakthrough requires 100 Hunger Level points.]
Han Zheng frowned slightly.
The Hunger Level points needed for the breakthrough were more than he had anticipated,
especially since the cultivation techniques required nearly twice as much as the martial skills.
"Break through both techniques!"
Fortunately, the rewards from slaying the pig demon were abundant; despite the high consumption, Han Zheng could still afford it.
The Taotie Dragon Pattern on the Taotie Furnace seemed to come to life once again, its gaping mouth writhing before exhaling two spheres of light that merged into Han Zheng's body.
[Postnatal Realm "Iron Elephant Skill" has broken through to Innate Realm "Dragon Elephant Wisdom," starting at 10% Skill Level]
[Postnatal Realm "Vajra Fist" has broken through to Innate Realm "Vajra Demon Suppression Seal," starting at 10% Skill Level]
Sitting on his bed, Han Zheng suddenly had the details of both techniques and even some memories of their practice surface in his mind.
The breakthrough in the Taotie Furnace even came with a 10% initial Skill Level bonus, an unexpected thrill.
10% Skill Level wasn't much, but at least the techniques were usable right after the breakthrough.
Reviewing the content of the techniques in his mind, Han Zheng, who was usually composed, couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise on his face.
The gap between the Innate and Postnatal is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth!
Sure enough, the gap between Innate and Postnatal Cultivation Techniques was just as vast.
Dragon Elephant Wisdom was a powerful protector's technique from the Esoteric Sect, divided into ten levels, each possessing the power of one dragon and one elephant.
Its Inner Strength was fierce and imposing, far more powerful than the Iron Elephant Skill by countless times.
Of course, the power of one dragon was an exaggerated description, but the strength of one elephant, the force of a thousand jun, was certainly within reach.
With his 10% Skill Level, Han Zheng had effectively mastered the first level of Dragon Elephant Wisdom.
If he were to face that pig demon again, he certainly wouldn't be slapped aside so easily.
The Vajra Demon Suppression Seal was just as immensely powerful, originating from the same lineage as Dragon Elephant Wisdom and belonging to the Buddhist Esoteric Sect's Seal Techniques.
The Martial Arts True Intent behind it was "Vajra's Angry Eyes," suppressing demons and subduing evil, with an imposing force unmatched and an explosion of power that was exquisitely refined.
Compared to Vajra Fist, it couldn't even be considered a preliminary form.
Han Zheng now understood why Li Jingzhong's White Ape Extended Arm Fist was so famous in Black Stone County and why all Martial Arts Hall disciples wanted to learn it.
Iron Elephant Skill and Vajra Fist were worth only three hundred taels,
whereas Innate Realm techniques like White Ape Extended Arm Fist couldn't be bought even for three thousand taels.
Han Zheng then took out the "Blood Slaughter Saber Technique" he had found on the pig demon.
He was in need of a saber skill, and now had one ready-made.
However, as he browsed through it, Han Zheng's frown deepened.
There seemed to be something off about this saber technique.
Instead of teaching how to execute the force or unleash Sword Intent, it instructed to gather Evil Qi and even methods to burn Qi Blood Essence.
No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like the right path. Han Zheng pondered for a moment and decided not to practice it right away, planning to let Li Jingzhong see if there were any other issues first.
This saber technique, by content, was nowhere near as refined as Dragon Elephant Wisdom and Vajra Demon Suppression Seal; it probably wasn't an Innate Level technique, so Han Zheng wasn't worried that Li Jingzhong would have other intentions to snatch it away.
Besides, Li Jingzhong's character had no problems.
Over the years, he had taught thousands of disciples, but even those who were expelled halfway through never spoke poorly of Li Jingzhong.
Glancing at the remaining Hunger Level, there were 80 points left.
Han Zheng contemplated and decided to consume 50 points to continue cultivating in the Taotie Furnace.
The remaining 30 points were to be saved for emergencies, allowing him to enhance his power in critical moments.