I can push my cultivation progress to the end

"Zhou Family Fortress, eh?"

Hearing this name, Li Hai's eyes immediately flashed.

What a coincidence! Isn't that the territory of Zhou Hu, the second-in-command of the Black Wolf Bandits?

Hmm... to be precise, it's the territory of the Zhou family clan, Zhou Hu's family.

From that fat Black Wolf Bandit, Li Hai learned a lot about how the Zhou family bullied the people and exploited the local community.

The reason he knew so much was that the fat bandit himself had participated in those evil deeds many times.

So, like Guo Huaijin, the Zhou family was also the kind of scum who oppressed the people under their rule and colluded with mountain bandits and bandits.

In short, they deserved to be killed!

"Brother."

Zhang Miaoji cupped his hands and said, "After this parting, I don't know when we'll meet again."

"What brother?"

Li Hai waved his hand and said, "I'm only eighteen years old. Just call me Brother Li."

"Eighteen years old?"

Zhang Miaoji said with a look of astonishment, "You don't look like eighteen... People would believe you if you said you were thirty-six."

"What can I do if I look old?"

Li Hai curled his lips and said, "Besides, you're already in your thirties or forties, and you're saying I look old."

"You're wrong about that."

Zhang Miaoji pointed to his old face and smiled, "Don't look at how old I am. Actually, I'm only twenty-three this year."

"I think you look forty-six."

Li Hai sized him up, "Could it be that you've practiced some kind of technique that damages your lifespan?"

"Uh?"

Zhang Miaoji was stunned and said, "You can even guess that? You're amazing!"

As he spoke, he gave a thumbs up.

In fact, the reason Li Hai knew so much was that he had learned all of Zhang Miaoji's skills. Combined with what the other party said, he guessed everything clearly.

As for that skill, it was a type of esoteric art that was neither martial arts, ghost arts, nor supernatural power... the 'Lifespan Reduction Technique'.

The effect of this technique is just like its name. It can temporarily boost one's mana by reducing one's lifespan. The duration is a quarter of an hour, and the increase is proportional to the lifespan consumed. For every three years of lifespan sacrificed, one can obtain a two-fold increase.

Li Hai guessed that the reason why Zhang Miaoji looked so old was probably because he felt that his mana was insufficient when he killed ghosts or enemies in the past, so he had to use this technique at the cost of his lifespan.

Wait... mana?

That's right, it's mana.

From Zhang Miaoji, Li Hai had unexpectedly learned the fourth cultivation system in this world – the Path of Esoteric Arts.

This system is completely different from martial arts and supernatural powers. It focuses more on the cultivation of the human soul.

In this regard, it is quite similar to the Path of Ghosts.

However, the difference is that the Path of Ghosts cultivates Yin energy, while the Path of Esoteric Arts cultivates pure Yang energy, or simply Yang energy.

The main content of esoteric art practitioners is to gather Yang energy from the outside world through various methods, accumulate it in their forms and spirits, and then refine the Yang energy into mana through corresponding methods, filling it between their souls and bodies, thereby continuously optimizing its quality and ultimately transforming it to become more powerful.

As for Zhang Miaoji, the self-proclaimed Extra-Departmental Talent Recruiter of the Demon Slayer Division in front of Li Hai, his personal interface was:

Character Name: Zhang Miaoji

Level Rank: Esoteric Arts → Soul Gathering and Spirit Consolidation, Orthodox Martial Arts → Qi Circulation

Skills: "Bone Shrinking and Disguise", "Ghost Hunting", "Yin-Yang Eyes", "Qi Observation", "Wave Surge Palm", "Essence Breath Yang Refining Method", "Lifespan Reduction Technique", "Heavenly Scorching Yang Attraction Technique", "Upper Origin Spirit Suppression Talisman Script (Fragment)"

Trait Characteristics: [Inspiration Level 1] [Yang Absorption Level 1] [Concentration Level 1] [Mana Level 1]

Strongest Fragments: None

It can be said that Zhang Miaoji has the most skills Li Hai has ever seen, with a total of nine.

And the number of his trait characteristics is also very large, with four.

But such a character is only an extra-departmental member of the Demon Slayer Division.

This couldn't help but make Li Hai yearn for the mysterious Demon Slayer Division even more.

He believed that there must be countless masters there, which also meant that there would be many, many unprecedented skills.

After saying a simple farewell to Zhang Miaoji, Li Hai aimed at the southwest direction and galloped away at a speed of dozens of yards per second, crossing mountains and ridges all the way.

During the run, he also unhesitatingly pushed all the skills he had learned from Zhang Miaoji to the perfect level.

So Li Hai's personal interface information was changed to:

Master Name: Li Hai

Strongest Fragments: None

Perhaps this so-called esoteric art mainly focuses on the cultivation of the soul, mind, and consciousness.

So even if Li Hai had mastered so many skills at once, it didn't produce much change on the external level.

Only his eyes and temperament became sharper and more majestic.

But from Li Hai's feeling.

After mastering these esoteric skills, he suddenly became more sensitive to the invisible and intangible mysterious Qi between heaven and earth.

At the same time, his soul, which he had previously sensed vaguely, suddenly became extremely clear.

And a gentle and ethereal force emerged and filled between the soul and the spirit.

This force is mana.

Under the support and blessing of this mana, Li Hai actually felt that his soul was so lively and agile that it could leave his body at any time and roam freely between heaven and earth in an intangible form.

However, Li Hai knew that this was actually a dangerous illusion.

Before reaching the next esoteric art realm [Concentration and Astral Projection], he must never let his soul leave his body, because that would have extremely terrible consequences.

At best, after barely returning to the body, he would suffer a serious illness due to loss of essence and energy; at worst, he would not be able to return and become a lonely ghost.

"Let's try the art of talismans."

In the uninhabited wilderness, Li Hai slowly reduced his speed to that of a normal person, and then raised his hand to take out a narrow yellow talisman from his pocket, which faintly had dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing characters on it.