The sight of the giant meatball, half the size of a castle, spinning and vibrating as it pulled in the surrounding qi, creating a dense layer around it, made his eyes widen in surprise. This was eerily similar to the spinning and vibrating core inside his consciousness, making him wonder if this giant meatball was truly the core of the giant that was trying to split in two and advance to the next realm. The only problem with this theory was that this core was a physical entity residing in the physical realm, whereas a core should reside within one's consciousness. Still, this was an abomination, a being that was neither human nor spirit beast. Perhaps this giant had a different path of cultivation than a normal human cultivator or spirit beast.
"I've made it in time," Liu Xing said.
It was still in the process of advancing, which meant it was vulnerable. If Liu Xing could disrupt it, the giant would suffer a backlash from the failed advancement.
Liu Xing licked his lips, sending a large amount of qi into his stone blade, holding it, and said, "How do I destroy it?"
He knew this core was incredibly tough. Even as he charged his stone blade, he knew this attack wouldn't destroy it. He needed a better way, but what was it?
As he charged the blade, the core inside his body also began spinning and vibrating with increasing frequency. A dilemma rocked his mind. Should he try to break through, or should he postpone it? A breakthrough right now would help immensely, but the process would make him vulnerable.
"It's too risky."
Liu Xing gritted his teeth. That was the logical conclusion. If there were no other choice and he was in a desperate situation, he would undoubtedly choose the risky path. But right now, while it would help, it would also bring a greater risk. Moreover, even if his breakthrough were as fast as his advancement from the Lock Opening realm to the Core Splitting realm, he would still need to sit still and guide the process. Otherwise, there was a significant risk of failure.
Still sending qi into his stone blade until it felt heavy in his hand, Liu Xing decided to stop his Flowing Meditation Method and try to close the hole into his consciousness. The process was usually easy. He just needed to release his focus, and the hole would disintegrate as easily as a bubble popped by a finger. But when Liu Xing ceased his control of the meditation method, he felt as if hundreds of needles suddenly jabbed his entire head and sunk deep into his brain.
Liu Xing flinched, and instinctively, he resumed the Flowing Meditation Method, and the pain began to ease, as if the needles were sliding out of his head. He blinked several times, and when he felt something coming out of his nose, he wiped it with the back of his left hand and saw bloodstains.
He had a nosebleed.
His brain scrambled to make sense of what had happened, and then a conclusion came to mind. It was a freaking backlash! A minor backlash since he had stopped it before it got too serious, but still a backlash.
"Why? What backlash is it?"
As far as he knew, while his core was still absorbing qi, the process to breakthrough hadn't occurred yet, so that wasn't the source. Was the source the Flowing Meditation Method? Were there still hidden aspects to it?
Liu Xing wasn't sure, so he tried to release the Flowing Meditation Method again, and once more, a pain like hundreds of needles jabbing his brain returned. Thinking fast, Liu Xing decided to cut off the qi he was sending from the Ethereal Pearl to his consciousness. This way, even if the hole remained, the core wouldn't grow bigger. With his control, the thread of his qi became thinner and thinner until it snapped like a tiny rope.
Suddenly, an agonizing pain assaulted his entire head, as if magma beneath his skin was trying to burn his head and melt his eyeballs. Liu Xing screamed, blood flowing from his nose, eyes, ears, and mouth. Instinctively, he let go of his gun and stone blade and clutched his head with both hands, trying to claw into his skin and pry out whatever was causing him so much pain.
When he let go of his weapons, his invisibility was undone, and the stone blade shot out a crescent of purple qi straight toward the meatball before plunging to the lower level of the giant.
As the crescent of purple qi hit the meatball, a brilliant purple light exploded, bathing the world, but while the attack made the core tremble, it wasn't enough to destroy it or even slow it down.
Still, Liu Xing couldn't afford to think about what had just happened. Atop the wobbling shield, he crouched and screamed while his hurting brain tried to figure out how to end the pain. While the pain slowed his mind, he realized it was happening because he had cut the thread of qi from his body to his consciousness, so he reasoned that if he restored it, the pain would cease.
As blood flowed down from his ears, nose, and mouth, Liu Xing tried to control the chaotic qi inside his body—he had almost lost control—and send it into the wobbling hole. The process was agonizingly slow, like waiting for a snail to climb a table, but eventually, his spinning and vibrating core connected with the thread, which it absorbed greedily, as if Liu Xing had just starved an innocent child and then given it a feast.
Instantly, the pain subsided, and he stopped screaming and regained control of his body. The pain still lingered, but his current condition was like heaven compared to before.
Liu Xing grimaced. He didn't understand what had just happened, but one thing he was sure of: if he cut the qi thread, the agonizing pain would return.
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"Shit," Liu Xing cursed.
It seemed he had no choice in the matter. He had to break through to the next realm whether he wanted to or not.
As he regained composure and the shield he stood on stabilized, he realized that both of his weapons were gone. The gun was easy; he could dismiss and resummon it. The stone blade was trickier.
A loud groan came from the core. It sounded like a giant steel building that had lost its balance and was about to topple. Liu Xing remembered that he needed a way to destroy the core, and he still hadn't found a solution.
Looking around, he saw many abominations that could be sources of qi. Upon seeing those backs, he realized that what he needed was a way to channel all of their qi into a single attack. His stone blade was the only thing that had a chance of holding that much qi, but since it would be so heavy that Liu Xing couldn't swing it, he needed a better idea.
He examined all the possible attacks he could use, starting with the crescent purple qi, his bullets, attacks from his Thunderstrike gauntlets, and so on. When he reached the Statute Summoning Technique, a spark of an idea came to him.
What if he used the turtle? His first idea was to stand high in the sky and hurl down a turtle as large as a hill, but then he had a simpler idea. What if he just placed the turtle atop the core and, as he sent it qi, it grew bigger and heavier? Considering the amount of qi he had, as well as the surrounding abominations, he could grow the turtle so large that even the giant couldn't hold it in its stomach! Moreover, it was an easy thing to do, one that he could probably manage while trying to break through.
Nodding to himself, he cycled his qi and summoned the turtle right above the meatball. Comparing the size of the turtle and the meatball now was like comparing a human to a medium-sized castle, but this difference would soon shrink. He caught the turtle with his potent qi to make it float, then started sending it qi, causing it to grow bigger and bigger. As he did this, he monitored his own core and nodded, seeing it still greedily absorbing the qi he was sending.
When Liu Xing was contemplating whether to send more qi to his core or to his statue, one side of the wall began to move. The flesh and the abominations, with only their backs remaining, began shuffling. Then, a single yellow eye emerged from the wall. Compared to before, this yellow eye was smaller, but it was still larger and bigger than several elephants combined.
After it fully emerged, Liu Xing had a thought to make himself invisible again, so he resummoned his gun to spread the invisibility. But before he could become fully invisible, the eye looked down and saw him.
There was a flicker of surprise in its gaze, as if asking why Liu Xing was still alive, but then it narrowed, and he could sense it was preparing to attack again.
***
Yang Liangyu sat in the front seat of an open carriage. Beside her, Yang Meilin controlled the two white horses pulling the carriage. Behind her, six women with their children sat tensely, looking around as if they were waiting for an ambush. Several other carriages followed the one she sat on, each carrying women, children, the elderly, and those unfit to fight. Though they looked vulnerable, each of them actually held a relatively high status within the Yang clan, and they were the ones who needed to be secured first.
One of the following carriages was a pristine white carriage with golden ornaments and beautiful engravings. It was pulled by a large black horse with piercing eyes and a long mane. It was one of the best horses the Yang clan had, and it should have been pulling her carriage, but instead of residing within that comfortable carriage, Yang Liangyu chose to sit with Yang Meilin.
Yang Meilin was one of her brother's guards. She was strong and capable, entrusted by her brothers to guard this evacuation effort, but the one actually in charge was Yang Liangyu, and so, she needed to act like a leader by leading the group.
As the carriage rushed along the road, with trees decorating the sides and a bright sun that made it feel like a good day to roam the city and greet people, Yang Liangyu bit her lip. Her hands never stopped moving. Sometimes she tapped the seat, sometimes she grabbed her robe and twisted it. Her stomach churned, making her feel nauseated, and she really, really hoped that her brothers, as well as the other brave people who were fighting, would come back safely.
Though, when she turned her head and saw an orange dome in the distance, with a large silhouette inside it, it was hard for her to feel at ease. Hoping they would be okay was like seeing the ocean recede far and hoping it wouldn't result in a tsunami.
"Everything will be alright," Yang Meilin said.
She turned her head and saw Yang Meilin trying to smile at her. But her face was pale, her smile rigid, beads of sweat dotting her forehead, and she looked so ill that she might collapse at any moment. There was a rumor that Yang Meilin had a lover, and perhaps that rumor was true, and this lucky man was with her brother, fighting that demonic cultivator.
"That Purple Moon Sect disciple is strong, and so is your brother. Yang Hongyin is there too. They're our best," she said, glancing back towards the distant dome. "They won't lose. They can't."
Yang Meilin was trying to ease her heart, but to Yang Liangyu's ears, it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself. So, Yang Liangyu smiled and nodded, hoping her response would reassure Yang Meilin, and when she saw Yang Meilin relax her shoulders, Yang Liangyu knew she had succeeded. Though, while she had succeeded in reassuring Yang Meilin, she herself felt as if her whole body was still suffused with a curse that made her want to puke.
"Your Highness, there's someone ahead," Yang Meilin said, pointing.
Yang Liangyu snapped her head forward and saw a woman standing in the middle of the road. She had long black hair. Her eyes were blue, cold, and piercing, as if they could freeze the world. The air around her swirled gently, making her robe and hair flutter, and she wore a beautiful purple robe with golden embroidery.
She was beautiful, so beautiful that Yang Liangyu's eyes felt trapped and unable to move.
The horses pulling them suddenly came to a halt, followed by the carriages behind. For a moment, the world stood still, as if giving Yang Liangyu a chance to enjoy the beauty of this woman. The woman's eyes swept over the group slowly, as if she were a queen trying to deem whether they were worthy in her presence.
Yang Liangyu's brain then suddenly screamed that this woman was dangerous. While her cultivation was lower than Yang Meilin's, she knew this woman's power was greater than her cultivation level indicated. Her mind suddenly went to Liu Xing, and when her eyes once again saw the purple robe, they widened.
A Purple Moon Sect disciple! This girl was one of Liu Xing's peers!
Before she could fully register the fact, the woman looked straight at her with her piercing blue eyes.
She then opened her mouth and asked, "Which one of you is the Iron Queen?"