Xiao took deep breaths as he calmed down his beating heart. The technique he was about to use was dangerous and crazy! In truth, due to the book Heavenly Opposers, he had gotten a sneak peek into several techniques that can be used before the construction of the Qi path.
He had thought long and hard about the path he should take. In the end, he chose the technique of the Zerkain family that is attached to the shrine of death in the fourth Heaven. Their technique was deadly and danced on the edges of death.
But the rewards they got for it were tremendous. However, there was a difference in what Xiao was going to do. He was using the same method to take an even crazier path! This was something he had contemplated, and after finding out about his second chance, he had made up his mind. Since this was his second chance, why not go all out?
Seeing that he had calmed down, Xiao closed his eyes and focused on the dense Qi that surrounded him. It had been a long time since he felt the familiar Qi that paved a path to fight against the inevitable.
The first thing one must do after feeling the Qi is to take it inside their body, opening the premature meridians that have yet to experience the delight of Qi. One must open the 32 paths of the meridian that lead to their martial core.
Normally, in the lower heavens, the elders guide this path, but it causes one to lose the chance to create a faster pathway by borrowing strength. Of course, the plus side is safety and no pain. First, one must open their meridians, then their core, and lastly, they must adapt their body to its strength.
But Xiao was going to do the opposite. He would first open his core. It was a suicidal move, as how could one open the core without the pathway for it? That's the technique the Zerkain family used.
Xiao didn't wait any longer as he gathered Qi into his body. Just as he did, he quickly moved and pressed several areas of his body, sealing his meridians. Now, his body had Qi inside, but the meridians were like sealed dams that refused to break.
Slowly, his body started to bloat like a balloon, and at the same time, indescribable pain filled Xiao's body. Blocking one's meridians is not child's play, and the pain that comes with it is even more intense. Now he had meridians that were bloating up.
The pain would be as if someone forcefully expanded their veins and vessels—a pain that would be unimaginable. No wonder the members of the Zerkain family were labeled as crazy. They truly were if they went through such pain at such a young age.
But to Xiao, this was nothing. To him, who had used "those" methods to reach the Third Heaven in his previous life, this was child's play. The Qi within his body started to act berserk as it didn't have a path to move forward. His internals started to bleed as blood leaked from his head.
But even at this time, Xiao remained calm. He focused on the inside of his body as a new meridian path was created for the Qi to flow. That's right—the secret technique of the Zerkain family allowed them to have an extra meridian, just like having extra energy storage.
A smile appeared on Xiao's bloodied face as he saw the creation of the new meridian. He could see it moving towards his martial core, which was located beside his spiritual core. The pain was enough to make an experienced cultivator cry out, but Xiao remained calm.
Soon, the new meridian connected to his martial core, causing all the gathered Qi in his body to rush toward it. They were like a jammed group, trying their best to reach their destination. The use of such a method was not only to create a new meridian but also to increase the size of his core and meridians, raising his talents to a higher level.
Soon, they reached his core as they started to fill it up. The gathered Qi in the core spread towards the broken meridians, attempting to break the blockage from all angles. This was where the meridians should be open so that the process could be complete. But Xiao didn't stop there. He wanted to use this momentum to open his mind realm!
The opening and cultivation of one's mind realm were typically achieved when one reached a terrifying cultivation realm. However, Xiao wanted to do it now. He didn't hesitate anymore. As his core and meridians continued to be hit, he used his third skill, {Mind Split}!
{Mind Split} simply raised the capacity of his mind to an inhuman level, allowing him to perceive everything in slow motion and push his brain beyond what anyone could imagine, that is splitting his brain into different subconsciousness, capable of handling different tasks of the brain, with that, he used his soul energy to attack the mind realm that was blocking him.
A thud was heard across the room as Xiao fell backward with his eyes rolled up. If anybody saw him now, they would think he was in a frenzied daze. At this moment, he was engaged in a dual battle—with his body and with his mind.
Loud thumping sounds could be heard from his body. The earlier bloating that had subsided after the creation of the new meridian returned with even greater force. Now, he looked like an overinflated balloon.
If Xiao had attempted this without his skill, {Mind Split}, he would have undoubtedly died. But thanks to his superior mental ability at the moment, he was able to survive and engage in this battle. With time, his core started to crack while the new and old meridians worked beyond their limits.
Then, his soul energy, which was supplying his skill, came forward and started affecting his body and the formation that surrounded the room. The room trembled as an intense amount of pure primordial Qi formed. It swirled and condensed into a single drop that flew into Xiao's body.
Soon, the trembling in the room and in Xiao's body subsided. The primordial Qi that had entered his body began to cover him in a cocoon of Qi. It was the second time a cocoon surrounded him, and if Xiao could see it, he would definitely laugh in happiness.
The primordial Qi that all will fight for just appeared and entered inside Xiao, a free gift from the sky the same happening of luck as those chosen Heavenly Ones, ones that Xiao disdained from the bottom of his heart, ones he won't hesitate to kill and plunder.
Ones he had killed and plundered but does Xiao remember that?
Is Xiao the same as he is in the past?
And what hidden secrets do lay within his memories overwritten by the fear of the past?