46. Actions and Consequences II
On top of a barren hill, Clay is motionlessly sitting on a rock and not far above him is an unknown Foundation Establishment expert who had been following him for almost half an hour and not once did this person shorted their distance. It is as if this person knew what exactly is his weakness.
Clay is hoping this man will exhaust all his Qi but judging from the flow of Qi reflected on his Godly Eyes, his opponent seems to use Qi Crystals to power the flying artifact.
He is tempted to take out the magic raft again but even if he successfully make it fly by imitating the flow of Qi revealed by his Godly Ability, he might not be able to move it fast enough and deliver a fatal move.
Since this man has not made a move, Clay decided to conserve his energy. From his estimate, this man’s reinforcement should show up any minute now.
Clay looked into his spatial rings again. He was hoping for a defensive artifact but most of items he got are weapons all unknown Inscriptions on them.
As he was analyzing one of the swords inside his ring, his train of thought was disrupted by a powerful divine sense which scanned his whole body.
Clay felt as if he had been stripped naked and molested and when he was about to put up a barrier around him, a middle-aged cultivator arrived next to the man who had been following him.
Clay got to his feet as he can tell this newly arrived guest is far stronger than anyone he had met. This person’s aura resembles the old Elf he met right before he parted with Ulvar. Clay guessed this is probably what people call Nascent Expert. To be capable of releasing a baleful and suffocating aura, Clay reckons his life force will instantly wither if he did not have his Boosted Power.
Clay was thinking what he should do next but in a split second, he saw the Nascent expert pointed his finger at him then released a deadly lightning bolt.
SWISH!
Clay was surprised by the abnormal casting speed but he was able to put up a barrier and reinforced it with his first Beast Core’s energy.
BOOM!
With the impact, dust and debris scattered everywhere.
“Your source of power is quite interesting.”
Clay did not dare put down his barrier and looked towards the Nascent expert. He wanted to attempt and extend his Qi projections but when he looked up, he saw six more cultivators rapidly approaching the area.
Clay clenched teeth and forced himself to calm down. With the arrival of new enemies, he needed to thread more carefully especially that the enemy reinforcements are all Core Formation experts. At least none of them is emitting that mysterious power like the swordsman did.
As Clay prepared to defend himself, the next move of the Nascent Expert surprised him.
“I don’t know how you’ve obtained your powers but wait here. There is something I want to show you before the sun sets.”
Clay was getting ready to reinforce his barrier using his 2ND Beast Core but after the man finished his sentence, the man summoned six silver and tall pillars and threw them on the ground evenly distributing them to form a hexagon.
And the moment the pillars landed, unknown Formations inscribed on the pillars gave off golden bright lights which later created invisible barriers trapping Clay inside.
Everything happened too fast and as much as Clay would like to destroy the Sealing Formation, his enemies have still maintained a safe distance.
“What do you want?” Clay asked but his voice immediately echoed back like had had been confined on a tight space that even sound is not allowed to escape.
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Clay thought he will be attack and was about to reveal his strength but when he looked up again, he saw the Nascent expert turned around and left.
Clay looked around and observed the pillars using his Godly Eyes. He can tell how dangerous the pillars are as he could see complex runic pattern similar to Lightning Obelisks attack Inscriptions. If his Qi gets in contact to the surrounding barrier, he probably will be fried and electrocuted to death.
Clay is beginning to worry but after a few more seconds, the six Core Formation expert and the Foundation Establishment old man who had been following him landed on the ground. He is positive he can easily destroy the Sealing Formation if he boosts his power to the 3RD Degree but he might not have time to attack them given their reaction speeds.
Since their leader left and he has until tomorrow, he may have a way to surprise everyone.
Clay sat on meditative position and took out the remaining Qi Reinforcement Pills from his spatial ring and swallowed them in one go.
Ever since his body grew, he had a feeling his body constitution has significantly improved and the only reason he wanted to stay at Peak-Early Qi Condensation is because he wanted to first understand if integrating with Beast Core has some serious side effects.
But since he is once again cornered, he will breakthrough and maybe then that he can further extend the range at which he can attack. Rather than wait for death, at least he can die trying.
After a minute, Clay felt a strong surge of warm energy spreading from his stomach. At the same time, he guided the energy towards his dantian and prepared to connect the relevant Nodes to breakthrough to Mid Qi Condensation.
“I knew it.” Clay muttered to himself.
In the past, he would immediately feel a tearing sensation but this time, the flow was smooth and unhindered.
Having confirmed he can breakthrough without experiencing Qi deviation, Clay began to form patterns on to his other five meridians and after a minute, Clay felt his dantian expanded followed by an automatic Qi Circulation involved three Nodes.
Clay smiled as he had finally broken through to Mid Qi Condensation. At the same time, his Beast Cores simultaneously followed as well.
Clay opened his eyes and assessed his surroundings.
In less than five minutes, his power increased by leaps and bound but he is still not confident he can kill everyone all at the same time. As he was planning his next move, Clay’s nose was assaulted by a pungent and nauseating smell.
For moment, he thought it was poison but when he looked at the back of his hand, he saw beads of black oily putrid sweat excreted out from his skin.
Clay remembered the first time he woke up from the cave. His entire body was covered by a layer of dried goo and his body is doing the same thing again now that he had broken through. From what he had read in the past, cultivators call it impurities from the body and they are forcefully removed as one’s body is being refined when entering Mid Qi Condensation.
Clay undressed and wiped his body then put on a loose brown garment.
And seeing that his enemies had not made a move, he sat down in meditative position again.
“I still have time.”
Clay decided to break through again however, upon checking his spatial rings, he realized only has Foundation Establishment Breakthrough Pills.
If it was a normal day, he would avoid any risky actions as he may explode from the inside however, he really does not have much of an option. Beside, no matter how potent his pills are, he has five other sets of meridians he can distribute it to.
As a test, Clay took out one Foundation Establishment Breakthrough Pill and placed it into his mouth. As the pill travelled through his throat, he could already fell an explosive amount of energy that is about to be released within his stomach.
Clay did not dare lose focus and concentrated on guiding the energy towards all his meridians. He was only thinking about reaching the next level but with the huge amount of power present in his body, he decided to break through to Late Qi Condensation instead.
Slowly, Clay laid out the pattern and involved nine Major Qi Nodes and skipping Mid Qi Condensation entirely.
Unlike earlier, the circulation when he broke through instantly became automatic but this time, he had to constantly guide the flow his energy. Honestly, it is all thanks to his perfect Qi Control, that he can simultaneously control all six sets of meridian breaking through all at the same time.
If his enemies were to see his actions, they probably all die in disbelief and shock.
Meanwhile, time passed and the Nascent expert who left earlier is on his way to where Clay is busy stabilizing his cultivation. As someone standing on what people call the pinnacle of cultivation, he rarely relies on artifacts when flying.
When he left a few hours ago, he went to kidnap to people from San Ruk Town.
Earlier when he first witnessed Clay’s power, it was clear Clay was not using an artifact and even he was apprehensive he had to maintain a safe distance as well like his subordinates. And it is evident as well that Clay does not have the slightest diabolical aura showing signs of being possessed which means Clay is holding on to some heavenly secrets.
If it was combat, he had nothing to fear and believes that he can easily eliminate Clay but does killing Clay even benefit him one bit?
The answer is obvious.
He will capture Clay using the safest method and Soul Search him.