"Si Mubai... is gravely injured."

    Li Che murmured, his heart stirring with a rare opportunity. If he could find and eliminate Si Mubai, who was so fixated on using Xi Xi as a Spirit Child catalyst... it would bring him peace.

    One could say that the relationship between Li Che and Si Mubai was one of life-and-death enmity.

    If Li Che found an opportunity to take down Si Mubai, he certainly wouldn''t show any mercy.

    "Divine Cultivator... I''ve heard that only Channel Opening Martial Artists can contend with them. Now that I''ve activated the second state of ''Dragon Elephant Vajra,'' I wonder if I could fight him?"

    "Otherwise... could a barrage of a hundred Wood Ravens possibly bombard him to death?"

    "However, the main thing about Divine Cultivators is their cunning methods. The reason Channel Opening Martial Artists can contend with them is their thorough qi and blood circulation and unwavering will, sealing away the six senses to avoid the influence of Divinity."

    Li Che shook his head slightly.

    Killing Si Mubai... would be very difficult.

    This was a direct descendant of the Si Family, one of Fei Lei City''s noble families; he had impressive cultivation, and even with severe injuries, the security around him was top-notch.

    Moreover, to kill Si Mubai, one would have to infiltrate the Si Family''s inner workings...

    "It''s too dangerous."

    "Inside the Inner City, there''s an Old Master Si who has established a Divine Foundation... I''m afraid it would be a one-way trip."

    He suppressed the eager emotions swirling within him.

    A Divine Base Cultivator... He couldn''t afford to provoke such a being now—they were existence on a whole different level!

    Li Che was not in a hurry. Xu You said that Si Mubai had nearly had his Divinity shattered and would need at least a year or two to recuperate.

    During that time, while improving his own strength, there would be chances to seize the right moment.

    Now that Li Che had acquired the Blood Exchange Method, if he could truly step into the realm of Blood Exchange...

    The odds would be even greater.

    ...

    ...

    After a night of turmoil.

    Xu''s Wood Carving Shop resumed its usual, orderly routine.

    The Wood Carvers started to take on commissions again, bustling about as they transported timber and finished wood carvings to earn their hard-earned money.

    As usual, Li Che was carving wood, practicing martial arts, and secretly studying how to create complex mechanisms.

    Of course, Li Che also fulfilled his promise, finishing work early every day to teach Zhang Ya martial arts in the courtyard.

    Old Chen had returned, and for someone seasoned in the martial world like him, a trip to the dungeon wasn''t anything rare; it left no psychological shadows.

    Light snowflakes gently drifted down.

    Li Che had gone to the Outer City to get some braised beef and brought back a jug of old rice wine.

    In the courtyard, Old Chen sat on a wicker chair, watching Xi Xi awkwardly holding a horse stance, and couldn''t help but grin, showing his yellow teeth.

    "Little Stinky Xi, keep your back straight, arms straight, get your horse stance right."

    Old Chen lifted the gourd''s lid and took a swig of wine.

    Wrapped in a red jacket, Xi Xi''s little face was red from the cold. She turned to Li Che, who had just returned, seeking justice: "Daddy, Grandpa Chen is calling me Little Stinky Xi!"

    "So, if I have the chance... I must get a Superior Blood Exchange Dharma."

    Li Che stretched lazily, his entire body creaking with the nine robust muscles on his back vibrating, filled with formidable power.

    After wiping off his training sweat with a clean towel, Li Che donned his outer garments and sat down in a chair, taking out "Tang''s Mechanism Essentials."

    As he looked at those increasingly absurd and strange mechanisms, Li Che was somewhat at a loss for words.

    "Among the twelve recorded mechanisms, Wood Raven comes in at eighth. Going further up, they become even more ludicrous and peculiar, with only theoretical possibilities of creation... However, the mechanism ranked seventh, ''Bodhi Blood Tears,'' seems worth a try."

    Bodhi Blood Tears, as per the introduction, requires an extremely ingenious technique, time-consuming and laborious, yet its lethality... is truly formidable!

    Both ruthless and powerful!

    Li Che was very interested.

    "Tang Family Mechanism... who knows where Old Chen got this book from."

    If not for possessing the Immortal Artisan Dao Fruit, Li Che wouldn''t even understand it at all.

    After closing the book.

    Li Che rested with his eyes closed.

    In front of his eyes, details slowly emerged.

    ...

    [Name: Li Che]

    [Bonds: Li Nuanxi (daughter)]

    [Dao Fruit: Immortal Artisan (lv3, 9%), Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv2, 15%), Pure Heart (LV1, 5%)]

    [Prototype of Divine Powers: Immortal Worker: Thousand Analyzing Hands]

    ...

    Over the course of two months, aside from the Dragon Elephant Dao Fruit, which improved due to the Blood Change breakthrough, the other increases were not significant.

    The growth of Pure Heart was still slow. Although Li Che captured and absorbed the free divinity between heaven and earth every day, since he was also using divinity to comb through Xi Xi''s body daily, only barely managing to push it to 5% maturity in two months.

    Persistence is key in cultivation, a heavy responsibility with a long path.

    Li Che was far from discouraged.

    However, the lack of a way to acquire Divine Methods did give him some headaches.

    After tidying up, Li Che ended his daily cultivation, changed into clean clothes, and, with an oil-paper umbrella in hand, went to pack some food and wine from a restaurant. He then headed towards Xu''s Wood Carving Shop.

    Yet, upon arriving at the entrance of the wood carving shop, he sensed that something was off about the atmosphere of the place.

    The temperature inside the shop seemed to have risen considerably.

    Li Che passed through the entryway and entered the shop.

    There, in front of his workshop, stood a Nanmu chair.

    Sitting astride it in a wide stance was a burly figure clad in black and red official robes.

    Noticing Li Che''s return, the officer''s eyes shifted slightly, glancing over.

    Li Che felt as if his eyes were scorched, an endless fury boiling within them as he saw an image of the Wrathful Maitreya glaring down upon the human world from behind the figure!

    "I am Zhao Xuanhai..."

    "Master Li, it''s a pleasure to meet you."