After running for half a day, Liu Xing finally finds a perfect place to cultivate. After washing himself, he sits in a large tree half-submerged in water. This tree has so many hanging roots that it almost looks like it was made of thousands of green snakes. Liu Xing cuts some roots, makes a hole high up in the tree, and sits down.
From his position, Liu Xing can see a wetland in front of him. The place is serene. Dragonflies flit around, birds tweet, frogs croak as if they are in paradise, and crocodiles and hippopotamuses swim with obvious happiness.
Many fallen trees look like a horde of bulldozers ran through the swamp, creating paths like highways. These paths lead to Skull Hill, and it's clear the spirit beasts that live in the swamp are rushing there, leaving a mess in their wake.
At first, he stares anxiously at the path the spirit beasts left. What if all the Purple Tailed Lizards are gone? After all, the swamp is now peaceful. Not a single spirit beast shows its head. But then, he just sighs. After all, there's nothing he can do. If no Purple Tailed Lizards remain, then so be it. His points would still be in the negative, but at least he would return as a sixth stage cultivator.
Thinking of advancing his cultivation, Liu Xing grinned, then he sat cross-legged.
"Alright, let's breakthrough!"
He closed his eyes, and not long after, he woke in his consciousness.
Seeing the white around him, Liu Xing suddenly remembered that pitch-black place where he met Nui. The feeling of loneliness crept into his heart, but he crushed that feeling and tried to calm his mind.
After calming down, Liu Xing observed the ball of lightning that flew in front of him. This ball of lightning was tied with a silver chain, and seven locks dangled from the chain. Five were already opened, and the last two were still locked.
Liu Xing willed his ball of lightning to rotate and stopped it when the sixth lock was right in front of him. Liu Xing knew that this lock was almost full. If he absorbed the energy from his bullets, then he would have the energy to open the sixth lock.
To open his lock, he needs to fill it to the brink with qi, and then fight a mental battle to open it. Hopefully, this sixth lock will be easier than the fifth. Opening the fifth lock was the most agonizing experience in his life, it felt like pulling a boulder with his teeth, but that was partially because he swallowed so many pills to finally fill the fifth lock with qi. Cultivation with pills, while faster, can lead to a bottleneck.
"I hope that my new way of cultivation will not lead me into an agonizing bottleneck."
Liu Xing cleared his mind and started to feel the qi around him. The swamp had a higher density of qi compared to Skull Hill but not as dense as in the Purple Moon Sect. Ignoring the qi around him, he focused on the gun in his lap. The gun felt like an ordinary object, just metal shaped into a specific form. It didn't emit an aura that felt dangerous, but Liu Xing knew better.
After a moment, Liu Xing sensed the six bullets inside the gun. Each bullet emitted light in his perception, almost like stars.
He pulled the energy from a bullet into his body. Instantly, his muscles tensed with energy, and he felt an urge to run around the world. Liu Xing resisted the temptation and absorbed all this energy into his consciousness. When the energy entered his white space, it looked like glittering water being poured in.
Normally, this glittering energy would be converted by the lightning ball first, but it flowed straight into the keyhole, filling the qi inside the lock. The qi settled within the lock without vibration or rejection, as though it didn't realize the qi was trying to fill it to the brim and open it. Before obtaining the gun, Liu Xing had to stabilize the qi he inserted into the lock. Some qi would pour out, rejected by the lock, and Liu Xing would have to force it inside. Now, with the gun, filling the lock with qi was effortless.
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After the energy from the first bullet fully settled inside the lock, he repeated the process four more times.
Now, the lock vibrated slightly, emitting a ripple of energy.
Liu Xing inhaled deeply, both in reality and within his consciousness. He knew this lock only needed a little more push, and he had one last bullet to guarantee his advancement.
His heart was pounding with excitement, anticipation, and fear. Liu Xing was confident that he could advance, but he couldn't help but fear complications. He had never progressed smoothly before.
"Don't think too much, just do it," he muttered.
Liu Xing absorbed the last bullet into his body, then into his consciousness. The energy poured into his consciousness, eager to reach the sixth lock. Liu Xing allowed the energy to fly toward the keyhole and braced himself for what would happen next.
As the last drop of qi entered the keyhole, Liu Xing heard a faint click.
"No way," muttered Liu Xing.
He decided to test his conjecture and reached for the lock. The lock was red, like a padlock made of solidified blood. Its surface felt cool yet hot, solid yet ethereal, as if his hand might pass through it.
Liu Xing held the lock with both hands and pulled the shackle. It came undone easily. Instantly, the silver chain around the lock loosened, and the ball of electricity vibrated happily.
Liu Xing felt the qi inside his body increase greatly, filling him with energy like when he absorbed the bullets. He smiled, opened his eyes in the real world, and stood up.
"I'm finally a sixth stage Lock Opening realm cultivator!"
He expects his progress to be more groundbreaking, or full of hardships. Instead, he advances so easily that if it weren't for the large amount of qi in his body, he would think he was still at the fifth stage.
Still, this means that his weapon is really, really great. Smooth advancement means that his foundation is stable, and stable foundation means that it would be easier for him to advance to the next realm.
Liu Xing grinned. Only one lock remained. Once he opened this lock and released the orb of electricity from the silver chain, he would have a single core and could officially be called a cultivator of the Core Splitting realm.
In the Purple Moon Sect, the Lock Opening stage was considered the beginning. One could only become a true cultivator when he reached the Core Splitting realm. That's why only Core Splitting cultivators can be accepted as inner disciples.
Liu Xing doubts that he can achieve the Core Splitting realm before his twentieth birthday. However, his prospects are good. Sooner or later, he will advance, and with his gun, Liu Xing is confident that an elder will notice him.
He observes his surroundings, eager to hunt more and reach the seventh stage faster. The Dragon Skull Forest is now a haven for ordinary animals. He has already slaughtered most of the spirit beasts here. Those that remain are either hiding or weak. Since he's at the sixth stage, he needs to kill spirit beasts with at least the same stage as himself.
Jumping from the tree, Liu Xing landed on the shallow water, his feet submerged in the water. Liu Xing started to walk around, checking his surroundings. Since he's already reached the sixth stage, it's time to complete the mission, go home, and get another mission. With his sect point now, he can't afford another technique, but he wants to have several techniques and cultivation methods later.
Jumping onto the crocodile's back, Liu Xing let the crocodile carry him and thought about what technique he would get when he had enough sect points.
First, he wants a technique that allows him to maneuver in the air. The fight with Jid Dongyang made him realize that even though he can move so fast, he needs something to launch himself. He can't do that in the air, and that makes him vulnerable in the air. The second thing he wants is a way to cultivate while moving.
He has heard this method before, and if he is not mistaken, this method is considered a joke. He has heard that this cultivation method is a hundred times slower than normal cultivation methods. Why would anyone want to move while cultivating? When normal cultivation is hundreds of times more effective?