Chapter 63 ~ Frog (4)
The frog croaked, as if mocking the attack, almost like it was saying that the attack had done nothing to him.
Seeing this, Liu Xing realized that the only real weapon capable of injuring the frog was the Thunderstrike Gauntlets.
He aimed his right hand at the frog, but before he could act, several leaves flew at him, faster than before.
Forced to summon his shield, Liu Xing swiftly retreated. As he moved, the pink leaves followed him, creating a vibrant trail. Liu Xing gritted his teeth as he maneuvered over the lake, gliding like a bird in flight. He struggled to focus, knowing the attack from his gauntlets could wound the frog, but it would take multiple strikes to bring it down. The relentless leaves also distracted him, making it nearly impossible to launch an effective attack. He needed one powerful strike to end it.
As he darted across the water, Liu Xing remembered the Ethereal Pearl, and a risky plan began to form in his mind. The risk was high. There was a chance the Red Wings of Stability could be destroyed, but at this point, Liu Xing would be satisfied just to survive the battle.
Grabbing the Ethereal Pearl from his spatial bag, Liu Xing tossed the black pearl into his mouth, holding it there. There was no other place to keep it since he needed both hands free for offense.
Liu Xing decided to dive into the lake again. As his body submerged in the water, his vision blurred. He flared his Lightning Cloak and summoned his shield.
Kicking the shield in the water, he maneuvered through the lake, hoping the pink leaves wouldn't follow. But as he moved, he noticed blurry shapes trailing him in the water, shattering his hope.
Liu Xing zigzagged through the water, trying to fill the Ethereal Pearl with qi from his gun. Occasionally, he had to fire explosive bullets to thin out the leaves chasing him. Eventually, Liu Xing decided to surface and move across the lake again. He bounced from spot to spot, still cloaked in invisibility, but the frog seemed to predict his movements. It tried to slap him with its blue, skinny hands, whip him with its pink tongue, and control the leaves to trap him.
Half an hour passed. There was a moment when the gem in his shield stopped glowing, forcing Liu Xing to pause and recharge it. That moment nearly cost him his life, but he narrowly escaped the frog's snapping jaws.
Now, Liu Xing was circling the giant frog. The creature knew he was close, as the shield materialized around it, and it swatted at him like an annoying mosquito, croaking angrily each time it failed. The frog's face had fully regenerated, except for some burn marks on its right side.
"Enough!" the frog croaked. "I'll end you here!"
The frog started forming hand seals with its four hands again.
Liu Xing's heart pounded. The last time the frog used hand seals, it created thousands of leaves that could strike him with incredible force. If not for his Lightning Cloak, he would have been dead many times over. Now, in its anger, the frog was preparing something else.
Aiming his gun, Liu Xing fired six explosive bullets at the back of the frog's head. The frog snapped its head toward him, canceling two of the hand seals, and covered its head with its blue hands. When the bullets hit its blue hands, the bullets exploded and pushed the frog forward.
The frog managed to complete the hand seals with its two remaining hands, smiling gleefully as Liu Xing gritted his teeth, knowing the frog's technique would activate.
As it croaked, Liu Xing saw the frog's two blue hands suddenly explode. Blood and blue flesh showered the area around him. Liu Xing, who was close when the hands exploded, was drenched in blood, rendering his invisibility useless.
The frog's eyes are now locking onto him, it's eyes are still spinning, and when the eyes suddenly send a ripple of wind around, Liu Xing can feel that the blood drenching him feels hot, as if Liu Xing is being drenched with boiling water.
Standing on his shield, Liu Xing watched as the thousands pink leaves suddenly changed color to red, growing slightly larger and taking on the shape of swords. Each red sword pulsed with a glowing hue, their tips all pointing at him.
Realizing what had happened, Liu Xing understood the frog was furious with his invisibility and speed, which made him hard to hit. The frog had sacrificed its two hands to activate a technique that marked him. Liu Xing had no doubt these thousands of blades would chase him to the ends of the earth as long as the hot blood clung to him.
Liu Xing inhaled deeply. This frog was formidable, and while it could use powerful techniques, they were not deadly enough to finish him off. He knew he still had one chance to win this fight. The chance of getting the Red Wings of Stability was drastically reduced, but at this point, Liu Xing was exhausted and just wanted to end the battle.
The frog turned its body, its two blue stumps still gushing blood like twin waterfalls. With its remaining hands, it pointed at Liu Xing.
"Try to escape if you can!" it shouted.
Every red blade pointed at him, and then, as if a starting gun had fired, they all flew at him with incredible speed.
Seeing this, Liu Xing realized he couldn't escape. Sooner or later, one of the blades would pierce him. But luckily, the Ethereal Pearl inside his mouth was now filled with pure qi from his gun.
Every second he wasn't attacking, he had been sending qi to the Ethereal Pearl, and now, it was ready to be unleashed.
Liu Xing had two ways to attack. Use his gun or the Thunderstrike Gauntlets. If he chose to use his gun, Liu Xing would have to activate the Exploding Fist with a considerable amount of qi, a feat he wasn't confident in. He was afraid that using too much qi to activate this technique might cause his meridian where his qi traveled in his body to rupture. Since he did not have much confidence in his body to handle large amounts of qi, he decided to use the Thunderstrike Gauntlets to end this fight quickly.
Standing on the shield and adjusting his stance, Liu Xing aimed his palm at the thousand red blades trying to pierce him. Through the gaps in the blades, he could see the frog grinning sadistically.
The qi traveled from his mouth to his right hand. Liu Xing suddenly felt his body go numb, as if his mouth, neck, and right hand had vanished. For a moment, he imagined that some of his body parts had been blown away without him realizing it. But when he saw his hand glowing slightly, still intact, Liu Xing knew that this numbness was the effect of his pure qi.
He didn't dare send all of it at once, knowing the gauntlets would break if overloaded, but Liu Xing still channeled a significant amount of qi into the gauntlet until a ball of white lightning, the size of a basketball, materialized in front of his palm.
With a shout, Liu Xing thrust his palm forward. A blinding white light flooded the world, a deafening thunderclap shook the air, and a massive pillar of lightning extended from his right hand, engulfing a large portion of the red blades threatening to pierce him.
As the attack receded, Liu Xing directed some of the pure qi from the Ethereal Pearl to his feets and kicked off the shield. He moved so fast that he appeared as a blur, materializing suddenly in front of the frog's face who have its eyes wide with shock.
Wasting no time, Liu Xing channeled more pure qi into his right gauntlet, creating another ball of white lightning. He unleashed a pillar of lightning as large as the frog's head. The frog tried to duck, and while its face from the eyes downward was spared, the top of its head was turned to dust.
The frog screeched and attempted to swat Liu Xing with its hand. But Liu Xing summoned his shield, kicked off again, and suddenly found himself near the frog's belly. A ball of white lightning, as big as a human torso, had already materialized in his right hand.
"Eat this!" he shouted.
Liu Xing delivered a palm strike directly to the frog's belly, and when the ball of white lightning made contact, a massive pillar of energy extended from his hand, piercing through the frog's belly and jutting out from its back.
The frog croaked in pain, but Liu Xing roared and swung his hand as if wielding a blade of lightning. The pillar slashed to the side, splitting the frog in two. As the frog's upper body began to fall, it tried to punch Liu Xing, but another ball of lightning, the size of a basketball, had already materialized in his hand. This was Liu Xing's final attack. The Ethereal Pearl was now completely empty.
"Goodbye!" Liu Xing shouted as he delivered the final palm strike.
Chapter 64 ~ Mummy (1)
Another pillar of lightning shot from his hand. It pierced the frog's fist, disintegrating it into dust. The remaining torso and neck also crumbled away.
The last part of the frog was its head. Its eyes were full of fear and regret. They pierced Liu Xing's gaze as its mouth began to open, as if it wanted to curse him. But before it could utter a sound, Liu Xing aimed his gun at the frog's head. He activated the Exploding Fist, converting the technique to explosive bullets, and fired. The bullet struck the frog right in the forehead, causing it to explode into a million pieces. Red and yellow liquid splattered, falling into the murky water below with a splash.
Liu Xing now stood atop the floating shield, watching the lower part of the frog collapse like a tall building toppling to the side. As the remains hit the lake, waves rippled across the surface, and a cacophony of sorrowful shouts suddenly erupted.
Some of the trees and crocodiles emerged from the ground and the lake. The trees vibrated, making sounds like nails scratching glass, their eerie noise full of sorrow. They launched themselves at Liu Xing like spears, their branches whistling through the air. The crocodiles spat green acid from their gaping mouths, their eyes fixed on Liu Xing with hateful glares.
Seeing this, Liu Xing activated his lightning blade. The air crackled with electricity as he slashed at each incoming attack, his movements a blur of speed and precision.
He then moved swiftly, slashing at the spirit beasts that tried to enact revenge. The air filled with the scent of ozone and the sound of his blade cutting through flesh and wood alike.
At the end, Liu Xing stood beside the now still lake. He was still drenched in red blood, but unlike before, it no longer felt hot like boiling water.
Glancing at his gun, He found six green strips that glowed faintly in the dim light. Seeing this, Liu Xing nodded. The frog was dead, and it's beast core had been absorbed by his gun.
The fight with the frog was finally over.
***
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Liu Xing began absorbing the bullets into his body and then his consciousness. As always, the qi poured into his consciousness as easily as water flowing downstream, and it entered the last lock as if it truly belonged there.
When the six bullets were completely absorbed, Liu Xing knew he was stepping closer to finally opening the seventh lock. He calculated he needed around seventeen more spirit beasts to finally open it.
Opening his eyes and standing up, Liu Xing stretched his body. At this rate, Liu Xing was pretty sure he could become immortal within his lifespan, and probably become a legend as he wanted. Since becoming an immortal was almost guaranteed, Liu Xing needed to make sure he could defeat or contain the darkness lurking in this world. That way, he would become an immortal who would know that he successfully helped his friends in other worlds.
Nodding to himself, Liu Xing resolved to become stronger faster. To do that, he closed his eyes and tried to sense the qi around him.
There was a high chance the Red Wings of Stability had been destroyed along with the frog, but there was a small possibility that the treasure was still intact.
The frog's qi still lingered in the area, a faint feeling that made the air feel prickly. Liu Xing wondered about the nature of that frog. Its ability to use techniques was unheard of for a spirit beast. While spirit beasts were strong and sometimes had unique abilities, their powers were more similar to bloodlines than learned techniques. Seeing that frog use techniques made Liu Xing wonder what would have happened if he hadn't killed it. Would the frog have become stronger by learning more techniques? Would the frog and its army have become a calamity?
Liu Xing shook his head. There was no use wondering about the frog now. It was already dead.
Focusing his mind, Liu Xing tried to feel the qi under the lake. If the Red Wings of Stability were still intact, chances were it was in the deep waters.
Liu Xing sensed some qi that belonged to hiding crocodiles, their presence a dull throb in his awareness, and after about a minute of searching with his senses, Liu Xing finally felt an object emitting a weak qi that felt stable.
Comparing this object to the frog when it used the Red Wings of Stability was like comparing the sun to a candle, but the feeling was similar enough that Liu Xing felt his hope rising.
Liu Xing jumped into the lake and began swimming toward the object. After swimming for around a minute, Liu Xing found himself in the deepest part of the dark lake. The water here was murky and dark, with only some plant-like blue seaweed swaying in the gentle current. The object that emitted the stable qi was in front of him, and Liu Xing realized that this place was where the giant frog was crouching in the lake. The object was quite large, its color was deep blue, and it looked like a giant egg. Seeing this, Liu Xing thought that maybe it was not crouching, but hugging this object.
For several moments, Liu Xing wondered if it was actually the egg of that dangerous frog. But after getting closer and really looking at it, he realized it wasn't an egg at all, but a rock with some kind of blue coating that made it almost glitter when seen up close.
Liu Xing placed his ear against the blue rock and knocked on it several times. When a hollow sound reached his ears, Liu Xing nodded. It seemed this object was where the frog hid its most important belongings. There was a chance the Red Wings of Stability were inside this rock, but Liu Xing didn't hold his breath. After all, the Red Wings of Stability were a treasure that needed to be worn, and Liu Xing had a hard time imagining how a treasure inside this rock could also be worn by the frog. Still, he needed to check inside, since the interior of this rock emitted a similar feeling to the frog using the Red Wings of Stability.
Liu Xing struck the rock with his palm. As his hand made contact, several cracks spread from the point of impact like a spiderweb, but the rock remained intact. Liu Xing hit it with his palm once again, and this time the rock crumbled. The bits and pieces that broke off turned to dust and were carried away by the lazy current inside the lake, revealing a giant transparent bubble hidden inside the rock.
His eyes scanned the inside of this bubble, and what he saw puzzled him even more about the frog. Inside the bubble was what looked like a room with a bamboo bed, a little desk, and women's clothes, scrolls, and canvases strewn around the floor. On the bubble's walls hung many paintings, and at the top, a yellow gem illuminated the room with a soft, golden glow.
Liu Xing's eyes snapped to one corner of the bubble, where a mummy leaned against the wall. The mummy had dried skin with the texture of an old tree, but it was white and still looked soft. The face of the mummy wore a peaceful smile. From the red clothes it wore and the gold hairpin clinging to the few remaining strands of black hair on its head, Liu Xing was pretty sure it had been a beautiful woman. Even as a mummy, Liu Xing could imagine a charming smile, soft eyes, and a gentle laughing voice.
Liu Xing touched the bubble, and when he realized that there was no resistance, he easily entered it.
Inside, he could feel that this bubble was truly homey, as if the girl had lived here for years, making it her own private sanctuary.
After his eyes wandered for a moment, Liu Xing realized that the mummy didn't have a right arm. He imagined that something or someone had chopped her hand off. Seeing this, Liu Xing wondered if this girl had a connection to the deaths of Qian Biau, Duan Hai, and Bai Lin's grandson, or if it was merely a coincidence. After all, judging from the condition of the mummy, Liu Xing estimated that this girl had died hundreds of years ago.
Liu Xing's eyes found a painting not far from the mummy. As he got closer, he saw a charming girl smiling atop a lotus floating in a lake. The girl was youthful, with red lips and a cute nose. In her palms, she held a red frog that smiled contentedly, as if it were the happiest frog in the world.
Seeing this painting, Liu Xing's eyebrow rose. That frog had the same face as the one he had killed. But the expression of this little frog compared to the one he had slain was like heaven and earth.
Liu Xing wondered what had happened to them. Was this girl imprisoned or hiding here? When the frog talked, it spoke about how Liu Xing would be nourishment for its army. What did the frog intend to do with this army in the future?
Chapter 65 ~ Mummy (2)
Sitting cross-legged in front of the girl's mummy, Liu Xing felt as if the frog was trying to enact revenge for her. Thinking this, Liu Xing sighed. He could speculate all he wanted, but in the end, none of it mattered. The girl had died hundreds of years ago, and that frog and its army were long gone. The story of this girl and this frog was already over.
Liu Xing focused his eyes on the necklace the mummy was wearing. It was a delicate piece, glinting softly in the dim light. There was an engraving of two wings, and Liu Xing suspected that this necklace was the Red Wings of Stability.
For a moment, Liu Xing hesitated to take it. After all, this room was also a tomb, and he would be desecrating it by stealing the necklace. But Liu Xing couldn't ignore the necklace, so with a heart full of resolution, he decided to take the necklace. Still, he felt he should at least pay his respects before he took it.
After bowing his head in a brief moment of silence, Liu Xing reached out to touch the necklace. As his fingers brushed the cool metal, the world suddenly became white, as if Liu Xing had been transported inside his own consciousness.
But instead of a ball of lightning tied with a silver chain, what he saw was a girl and a frog, sitting atop a lotus, singing.
"It's a memory," Liu Xing muttered.
He had heard that an item could hold memories, but this was the first time he had experienced it. Usually, memories were a method to teach a technique, and usually the items that held memories were jade slips, but it seems that memories can also be imbued into a necklace.
As he sat cross-legged and enjoyed the song from the girl and the frog, Liu Xing could see happiness radiating from them, as if they were the happiest beings in the world.
Suddenly, someone materialized beside him. This being was transparent, but he could see her cute face, little nose, and charming aura. She smiled as she seemed to enjoy the song, but Liu Xing could see deep sadness in her eyes, as if she was happy and sad at the same time.
She turned her face to Liu Xing, and when their eyes met, she pursed her lips as if she didn't know what to do with him. In the end, she only nodded at him, and suddenly she and this white world vanished.
As he blinked several times, Liu Xing realized that the necklace he had touched was suddenly gone, but a moment later, he noticed it was already around his neck, as if that ghost had helped him wear it.
The necklace is warm, like a coin that had absorbed heat from a bonfire, and felt like it could ward off the cold air. As he felt the warmth of the necklace under his fingers, he wondered what exactly had happened. The image of the girl and the frog singing was a memory, but the transparent girl that suddenly appeared beside him was not. Was that a ghost? Liu Xing had heard there were demonic cultivators who used ghosts as fuel to cultivate, but he had never dreamed he would meet a ghost or spirit someday.
As Liu Xing tried to digest what had just happened, he suddenly heard a loud pop. The bubble that had kept this cozy room dry for probably hundreds of years suddenly vanished, and water rushed in. The paintings and many little trinkets were suddenly carried away by the current. Seeing this, Liu Xing hugged the mummy in his arms. While he still hadn't fully processed what had just happened, Liu Xing understood that this girl had given him her necklace, and to repay her, he would make sure her mummy was buried properly.
As the water started drowning everything around him, Liu Xing decided to snatch a painting of her and her frog before it was carried away by the current.
After resurfacing, Liu Xing summoned his shield to jump from the water into the air, and then used the shield again to jump, making him soar while hugging the mummy and a painting. Not long after, Liu Xing landed on the side of the lake and glanced back at the water. There was a little swirl on the surface of the lake before it vanished as if nothing had ever happened.
Glancing at the mummy in his arms, Liu Xing decided he needed to find the most fitting place to bury her. Not far from the lake, there was a tree with lush leaves, creating a nice shade below it. Its leaves were a vibrant green, swaying gently as if dancing in the breeze. Liu Xing walked unhurriedly to this not-so-large tree, put the mummy in a sitting position, placed the painting in her lap, and started digging.
As he dug, Liu Xing tried to piece together the story of the girl and the frog. While he didn't know the full story, Liu Xing knew that this girl had either been imprisoned in that bubble or had lived in it for the rest of her life. The only one who had accompanied her was the frog in the painting, which was probably the frog he had killed.
Liu Xing remembered the transparent girl before the memory shattered. While she had pursed her lips, she had also nodded. This gesture made Liu Xing think that the girl wasn't too happy about him killing the frog, but she also approved of it. Liu Xing could imagine why. That frog was a strong spirit beast; it could use techniques, and it wanted to create an army. But why? Liu Xing wasn't sure, but there was a high probability that the frog wanted revenge, and the girl didn't want the frog to take revenge.
After digging a deep hole, Liu Xing tried to create a simple coffin for the mummy. It was challenging since he wasn't a carpenter, but with his lightning blade, he could make do. After about half a day, the mummy was laying in a coffin. Liu Xing then put the coffin in the grave, buried it, and placed an unmarked tombstone atop the mound. He then leaned the painting of the girl and the frog against the tombstone.
As he nodded, Liu Xing actually wondered if burying her inside the coffin was the right thing to do culturally. On Earth, he didn't know how people in China buried their loved ones, and surprisingly, as Liu Xing, he had never seen a proper burial ceremony in this world either.
Still, this was the best he could do, and hopefully, it was enough.
Liu Xing then paid his respects to the deceased and hoped that she could lead a good life in her next incarnation.
After he finished praying, Liu Xing looked up and saw that the sky had already turned orange, the setting sun painting the clouds in vibrant hues. He could go to retrieve the next treasure now, but as he leaned against the tree with its nice shade, a gentle breeze caressing his cheek and making his black hair sway, Liu Xing felt really tired. He needed to rest. Moreover, Liu Xing needed to test the new necklace he was now wearing. There was a high chance that it was the Red Wings of Stability, but he needed to use it to make sure.
But for now, Liu Xing decided to shut his eyes and sleep for a while. As his consciousness started drifting, he wondered when the last time he had slept was, before he fell fully asleep. A light snore could be heard, accompanying the sound of the breeze and rustling leaves. And if someone had sharp enough hearing, they might catch a faint sound as if there was a girl singing, accompanied by the croaking of a happy frog.
***
Liu Xing woke up when the moon was already high in the sky. It shone brightly, illuminating the entire area around the serene lake with a silvery glow. Liu Xing got up and stretched his body, feeling his mind and body fully refreshed, his qi fully regenerated. Liu Xing felt that he could retrieve the Diamond Pill, the next treasure he needed to find, this very night, but before he did that, he needed to check the necklace that he had received from the ghost girl.
Glancing at the tomb with the painting still leaning against the tombstone, Liu Xing paid his respects and bowed slightly. After all, this necklace was something that had been given to him, and Liu Xing needed to be grateful for it.
After that, Liu Xing started to walk away from the lake. He wanted to check this necklace's capabilities, but doing that near the tomb didn't feel proper.
After walking for a while, Liu Xing felt as if he was crossing some kind of barrier. The space and wind around him rippled, and as he turned around, instead of a lake reflecting the moon, what he saw was a small shallow pond with colorful fish swimming inside it. Seeing this, Liu Xing took a step toward the pond, thinking that he could enter that space where the lake was again, but there was no ripple around him, and instead, he got a step closer to the pond.
"Seems like I need to retrace my steps if I want to go inside," he muttered.
The condition to enter that space was to walk from the inverted triangle. Liu Xing could probably enter again if he retraced his steps, but since that inverted triangle was now already gone, there was a high chance that the lake would never be visited again, nor would the tomb. Thinking about this, Liu Xing wondered who the girl was. Did she have a family? A lover? Would someone close to her visit her tomb if they knew where he had buried her?
Chapter 66 ~ Snakes (1)
Shaking his head, Liu Xing stopped thinking too much about her and walked closer to the pond. The water's surface shimmered in the soft light, reflecting the lush greenery surrounding it. Several large stones sat in the center of the pond, and Liu Xing thought this was the perfect place to test the necklace's abilities.
Leaping from the pond's edge, Liu Xing landed atop the biggest rock in the center. As his feet touched down, tiny ripples spread across the water's surface. Black, yellow, red, and blue koi fish swam happily below, occasionally splashing their tails and creating their own little ripples.
Liu Xing was pretty sure someone had built this pond, though when he looked around, he saw only trees, bushes, and moss-covered boulders. There were no houses or clan compounds nearby.
Standing on the boulder, Liu Xing touched the necklace and examined it closely. An engraving of two fiery wings caught his eye, and he hoped that this necklace was indeed the Red Wings of Stability.
"Let's activate it," he muttered.
If this necklace was truly the Red Wings of Stability, then when he activated it, two small fire wings would sprout from his back.
Sending qi to the necklace, Liu Xing felt the familiar sensation of his energy being drained. He let the necklace absorb his qi, wondering if it would suck it indefinitely like the Thunderstrike Gauntlets. After several minutes, with half his qi absorbed—a considerable amount—the necklace stopped absorbing his qi.
Now, the necklace emitted a warm feeling, as if it had eaten its fill and was ready to work. Liu Xing willed the necklace to activate, and instantly, he felt his body wrapped in what seemed like warm honey.
Checking himself, Liu Xing couldn't see any glow coming from his body. If someone saw him now, they would see a man wearing only pants, still dirty with blood, but nothing more and nothing less. Liu Xing turned his head to check his back, expecting two fire wings, but found nothing.
Seeing this, Liu Xing grimaced. "Looks like this necklace isn't the Red Wings of Stability."
Although Liu Xing could feel that the qi around his body was stable and he felt more durable, as if his vitality was boosted, he was still disappointed. After all, the Red Wings of Stability was one of the treasures he had planned to give to the sect to win the race. This necklace was probably similar to the Red Wings of Stability, but it wasn't listed as a gift for Hao Yun. Moreover, Liu Xing felt the stable qi in his body wasn't as strong as that of the frog.
Liu Xing sighed, but soon tried to cheer himself up. He looked at the bright side, at least he got something out of this fight.
"Let's see how strong this necklace is with my gun's qi," Liu Xing muttered.
Liu Xing summoned his gun in his left hand. He sent qi to the gun, which converted it into bullets, and then reabsorbed it into his body and sent it to the necklace. As the necklace absorbed it, Liu Xing felt it vibrate happily, and when the qi was fully absorbed, he felt the familiar warmth from the necklace.
Liu Xing activated the treasure, and like before, he felt warm qi surrounding him. Once again, he turned his head to check his back for wings, but was left disappointed.
He then tried to feel the warm qi that surrounded him, hoping it would be denser or stronger than before. Instead, Liu Xing found the effect was actually the same. The only difference was the amount of qi needed to activate it.
"There's no way it would be the same." Liu Xing furrowed his brow.
He refused to accept this conclusion. The qi from the gun was special; every technique and treasure became stronger using the converted bullets. There was no reason this necklace should be different.
Liu Xing experimented with the stable, warm qi. Soon, he found a difference. Before, the warm qi surrounding him had felt like mud—stable, but hard to move. Now, even though it felt almost the same, this stable qi was obedient and moved easily.
This was a good feature. Liu Xing knew that when the qi surrounded his whole body, it felt thin, and the effect wasn't as strong as the frog's. But since he could move the qi, Liu Xing could concentrate it in one point and make it stronger.
Excited, Liu Xing tried to concentrate all the stable qi into his right gauntlet. This gauntlet was the one he used more often. In the last fight, it had almost broken because it held so much pure qi. He hoped that with this enhancement, the gauntlet could hold more pure qi, creating a stronger attack.
The moment he willed the stable qi to move to his gauntlet, it obeyed like a soldier following orders. In a fraction of a second, Liu Xing felt the stable qi concentrate on his right gauntlet.
As this stable qi concentrated in his right gauntlet, yellow lines appeared, circling the metal surface like delicate strokes of paint. Seeing this, Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. To test if it was mere coincidence, he moved the concentrated qi from his right gauntlet to his left.
As the stable qi settled in his left gauntlet, similar yellow lines appeared, adding color to it. Liu Xing moved it again, this time to his stomach, and as the qi settled there, he looked down and saw a yellow spiral on his stomach, as if he were a certain knuckleheaded ninja imprisoning a giant fox.
Seeing this, Liu Xing moved the concentrated qi back to his right gauntlet.
He pinched his chin thoughtfully. These yellow lines seemed purely aesthetic and unnecessary. If yellow lines suddenly materialized on his gauntlets, an opponent would instantly be alerted, thinking Liu Xing was trying something. But it wasn't too bad. He might look silly if these yellow lines suddenly appeared on his face, but if he needed to make his face more durable, Liu Xing would choose looking silly over dying.
"All right, let's test how durable my Thunderstrike Gauntlets are now," Liu Xing said with a smile.
With this, his power was increasing again. He still thought he lacked the strength to confront a Core Splitting realm cultivator with a single core, let alone one with four cores, but Liu Xing was inching closer to closing the gap every day.
***
Early in the morning, as golden rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves and cast mottled shadows on the forest floor, Liu Xing walked leisurely along the dirt path. On either side of him, countless snakes slithered through the underbrush.
A giant green snake, as big as a normal-sized crocodile, fixed its piercing yellow eyes on him. Dozens of black and red snakes moved as one, each sporting a tiny horn with red tips.
A massive python, the size of a cow, bulldozed through bushes and small trees, its black eyes making it look like the boss of the hundreds of snakes accompanying Liu Xing. There were countless serpents, perhaps a thousand, each moving in its own way. Some slithered on the dirt path, others wound their way from branch to branch, and some tunneled through the ground, leaving small furrows in their wake.
Liu Xing walked as if he was unaware of the thousand snakes following him, but in reality, he simply didn't feel threatened by them. Even though their number was large, he could easily dispatch them. The question on his mind was why they suddenly decided to follow him, and even though some of them looked hostile, some of them constantly bared their fangs as if challenging him to fight, and some of them tried to obstruct his movement, they made no attempt to attack. So Liu Xing let them accompany him.
Before long, Liu Xing spotted a suspension bridge ahead. Seeing this, he realized he would soon arrive at the location of the Diamond Pills.
Liu Xing retrieved the token from his spatial bag and summoned the interface about the Diamond Pills.
Name: Diamond Pills
Location: Near the Second Gray Cloud City
Description: These pills were concocted by a master alchemist named Zhang Ye. He was a loose cultivator allied with the Purple Moon Sect. He died four hundred years ago, poisoned by his rival at a pill-concocting tournament held by the Verdant Mountains Sect.
Additional info: The five remaining Diamond Pills are now guarded by a fox spirit beast.
There was other additional information, one of which was that someone had to go south from an inverted triangle to find these five pills, and Liu Xing suspected that they were hidden in a place like the lake he had visited yesterday.
Closing the interface, Liu Xing now stood in front of a long suspension bridge. The bridge was actually quite short, and he could see the other end. There, a single red snake had raised its head, its red eyes gleaming with intelligence.
Chapter 67 ~ Fox (1)
The thousand snakes around him bowed to the red snake as if they were in the presence of a king. And seeing this, Liu Xing realized that the red snake was the ruler of these snakes. The red snake slithered across the bridge and soon arrived at the beginning of the bridge a few meters away from him, positioning itself as if it were guarding the passage.
Liu Xing prepared for a fight. However, suspecting that the red snake might be intelligent, Liu Xing clasped his hands and spoke.
"My name is Liu Xing. I'm a disciple from Purple Moon Sect. May I cross the bridge?"
After all, if that red snake did not attack him, he would not attack it either.
The snake's eyes widened in surprise. Then, it answered in fluent human language, its voice surprisingly melodious. "What a polite cultivator! In my long life, you're the only one who didn't attack instantly. You can call me Emerald Fang, and yes, you may cross the bridge."
Liu Xing's eyebrows rose. "You would let me pass that easily? Why?"
Emerald Fang glanced at the snakes surrounding Liu Xing. "Because you didn't kill any of my kin. If you haven't noticed, we're not normal beasts, but we're not too special either. We're underlings of Emerald Fox and ordered to hinder everyone from meeting it."
"That's the opposite of what you're doing here. Not only did no snake attack me, but you're also letting me cross the bridge."
The snake smiled, its forked tongue flicking out briefly. "Well, let's just say that we're not fond of our current master. The situation would be wildly different if you had attacked one of my kin, but since you did no harm, there's nothing we can do."
Liu Xing still found it suspicious but nodded nonetheless. Since he was allowed to cross the bridge, he would do so.
Emerald Fang slithered to the side, and Liu Xing walked onto the bridge. When he stepped onto the weathered planks, Liu Xing paused and turned, checking for any potential sneak attacks. But Emerald Fang only smiled, and the rest of the snakes remained still.
Liu Xing began walking again. Halfway across the bridge, he glanced back and saw Emerald Fang still watching. When he finally reached the other side, there was still no attack. Then, the snakes began to disperse, some tunneling into the ground while others slithered into the lush bushes nearby, as if returning home. The red snake kept its head up, still smiling.
Liu Xing turned and continued on his path. Before him stretched a narrow passage between two enormous rocks that seemed to have been split by a giant's blade. The rough stone walls towered above him, casting deep shadows across the path.
As he walked between the imposing rocks, Liu Xing pondered Emerald Fang and its kin. He knew they were underlings of something called Emerald Fox, which was likely the spirit beast guarding the Diamond Pills.
The red snake had spoken normally like a human, but its cultivation was low, only around Lock Opening realm second stage, which was something unheard of.
Gaining intelligence wasn't guaranteed for spirit beasts. Even if they became immortal, there was a chance they would remain creatures of instinct. Yet, most intelligent spirit beasts had high realms. This meant the red snake was either talented or concealing its strength. Since it said it didn't attack Liu Xing because he hadn't harmed its kin, Liu Xing thought perhaps it would gain strength if he had attacked.
"Restriction," Liu Xing muttered.
In this world, there were cultivators called saints. They possessed unparalleled strength, each like an enlightened monk with unfathomable power. Liu Xing had heard of six saints in the entire continent, but he only knew of one: Lin Fan, a loose cultivator highly regarded in the Purple Moon Sect, a master swordsman who lived for his craft.
They said each saint was unique, and they avoided fights like a plague. But when they did fight, they were beyond their realm, displaying power that defied common understanding. Rumors about Lin Fan claimed that he couldn't point his sword at others. The other saints similarly had weird and seemingly ridiculous peculiarities, and from these peculiarities stemmed the idea of restriction—a way for saints to gain strength by limiting themselves.
But these were only rumors, and Liu Xing had never seen someone with a restriction. It might be nonsense, but what if it wasn't?
Liu Xing remembered how confident the snake had been. It was a spirit beast with low cultivation, yet it had spoken to Liu Xing as if he posed no threat.
"Am I overthinking?"
Deciding that he probably was, Liu Xing shook his head and refocused on his quest.
Soon, he passed the split rocks and arrived at a small clearing. In the center of the clearing sat a humanoid red fox, cross-legged as if in meditation. It wore a green cultivator robe and looked muscular, and Liu Xing suspected that if it stood, it would tower over him.
As Liu Xing approached, the fox opened one eye. Its gaze shone with contempt, as if seeing a maggot crawling before a king.
Liu Xing understood the fox's disdain. He was a cultivator at Lock Opening realm sixth stage, but the qi emanating from the fox was so dense and vast that Liu Xing felt he stood before an ocean of power. This was his first encounter with a being at Core Splitting realm. Though his heart raced, with Ethereal Pearl and the necklace that was similar to Red Wings of Stability, Liu Xing still believed he had a chance if they fought.
When Liu Xing was about ten meters from the fox, it opened both eyes.
"Who dares disturb me?" its voice boomed across the clearing, scattering nearby birds.
Liu Xing didn't answer. Instead, he looked past the fox to a tree covered entirely in moss—from its roots to its branches and leaves. In the center of this modest tree was a hole containing a glass box. Inside the box, Liu Xing saw five red pills the size of chocolate balls, each emitting a whitish hue as if reflecting moonlight. These were the Diamond Pills he sought.
The Diamond Pills were known for their great effects, and additional information had made them irresistible to Liu Xing:
Additional info 3: There are five Diamond Pills remaining. Disciples can claim they retrieved these pills as long as they give three to the sect.
This information blatantly suggested that Liu Xing could consume two of these pills, which had motivated his quest.
"I said, who dares disturb me?" the fox shouted, its piercing eyes locked on Liu Xing.
Liu Xing clasped his hands respectfully. "My name is Liu Xing, a disciple from the Purple Moon Sect."
The fox snorted. "A brat from Purple Moon Sect? Since you arrived here, that damned snake must finally be dead. Good. He was fucking annoying, and even in death, he still gives me trouble by letting you pass."
Liu Xing remained silent. Emerald Fang had let him pass, but he wouldn't reveal this to the Emerald Fox. This spirit beast was of a higher realm and possessed intelligence. Though Liu Xing believed he had a chance in a fight, he wouldn't act recklessly.
"What do you want here? To extract my beast core? Grind me into an elixir? Create a robe from my fur? Steal my treasures?" The fox's voice dripped with anger and contempt. Its eyes bulged, turning red as veins pulsed around them. It vibrated like a volcano about to erupt. "You humans are all the same. Despicable, cowardly, and weak. Yet you claim this world is yours! I'll do this world a favor by reaching the pinnacle and getting rid of all of you! You are foolish to come here. You are courting death!"
The fox's body began to grow, its muscles and fur writhing until the green robe ripped. Its snout elongated, fangs jutting out as saliva dripped from its mouth. In an instant, the fox transformed into a four-meter monster that looked like it could tear a giant boulder apart with its bare hands. The torn remains of its robe hung from its massive frame, revealing bulging muscles beneath its red fur.
Liu Xing felt every single hair on his body standing on end, his heart beating, and his brain trying to scream for him to run. Seems like this fox really hates humans, and seeing Liu Xing makes him want to rip him apart. But, Liu Xing would not back down here, although it is a spirit beast in the Core Splitting realm, it also did not feel too overwhelming. Most likely, this fox has recently advanced.
Liu Xing still thinks he can win this fight, and it's a chance for him to try to fight a cultivator with a higher realm than him, as long as he's cautious and fights smart, he can probably win.
Chapter 68 ~ Fox (2)
Liu Xing summoned his gun in his left hand, activated Lightning Cloak, as well as his invisibility.
"You all trash need to die!" The fox growled with a low-pitched voice. It balled its paw into a fist and kicked the ground. The ground where it stood cracked, and it leaped like a speeding truck.
Liu Xing pumped as much qi into his feet and jumped backward. As he jumped, the fox smashed its massive fist into the ground where Liu Xing had been standing, and the ground surged like a boulder hitting a water surface.
Liu Xing landed on a boulder covered in moss, half of his body was already invisible. The fox looked at him with an enraged expression and took off like a rocket. Liu Xing jumped backward again. The fox hit the boulder, and as its fist made contact, the boulder exploded into smithereens. A gray cloud of dust and moss spread everywhere.
Liu Xing jumped back several times, using the cloud of dust to hide. Several moments later, Liu Xing was fully invisible and perched on another large boulder that jutted out of the ground like a giant fang. On top of this boulder, Liu Xing calmed his heart and his breathing. He stood silently, willing his presence to be as thin as possible.
The fox's shout scattered the dust cloud around it. Liu Xing noticed that even though the fox was in the Core Splitting realm, it didn't seem much more dangerous than the frog he'd fought before. Still, he'd learned his lesson about facing tough enemies head-on, and he needed to use his invisibility more frequently. But Liu Xing knew his invisibility wasn't perfect. The frog had found a way to track him, so this fox might have a trick up its sleeve too.
Liu Xing jumped silently from the fang to one of the trees circling the clearing. Unlike the tree in the center, not all of these trees were fully covered by moss; only the bottom of the trees was invaded by green moss.
Liu Xing could see the fox searching left and right. It was growling like a normal wild animal, its ears, eyes, and nose twitching every second.
Liu Xing jumped back as slowly as possible. His main strategy now was just to hide, making the fox think that Liu Xing was already gone. When it showed its weakness, Liu Xing could strike.
"Coward human, show yourself!" The fox shouted, and as it shouted, the moss surged from its two feet, creating a green wave with blackish tints that spread everywhere.
Seeing this, Liu Xing realized that this moss was probably its way to detect nearby enemies. He pursed his lips and jumped several times, making sure the green waves didn't touch him.
As Liu Xing moved, he observed the wave of moss covering everything around the fox, whether it was trees, rocks, flowers, or even a small pond not far from the clearing. Everything was covered with green moss.
"Coward! Coward! All of you humans are cowards!" As it shouted, the moss surged faster and higher from its feet, as if it were a green geyser. Then, the moss started floating around the fox, circling it, and creating a green tornado. At first, the tornado was around the size of the fox, but it grew bigger and taller until the clearing was filled with a green tornado so tall Liu Xing needed to tilt his head to see its upper part.
The wind picked up speed, and the trees covered in moss started bowing to the tornado, as if pleading not to be uprooted.
Seeing this, Liu Xing's eyes widened slightly. He knew that Lock Opening and Core Splitting realms were different, mainly in how much qi they held and how much control they could exert over it. But seeing the size of the tornado and feeling the massive qi it used, Liu Xing now truly understood that the Core Splitting realm was the first step to creating wide-area techniques that could engulf everything.
"Should I attack?" Liu Xing muttered.
While he couldn't see the fox, he could feel it. It was in the center of the moss tornado.
Since this fox could control the moss tornado, Liu Xing had no doubt that it was trying to spread its moss rapidly to find him, like that frog jumping to the sky and hitting the lake to create rain.
Deciding it was better to attack while still hidden, Liu Xing aimed his gun at the center of the tornado. He grabbed the Ethereal Pearl and held it in his mouth. This pearl was now filled with much more qi than when he fought the frog, thanks to his efforts in refilling it during his journey from the pond and before encountering the snakes.
Liu Xing used the qi from Ethereal Pearl to activate Lightning Palm, using more qi than usual, hoping the lightning bullets would become stronger. When the technique activated, his gun absorbed it, and Liu Xing could feel six lightning bullets inside his gun.
Still invisible, Liu Xing pulled the trigger. A lightning bullet shot from his gun with speed so fast it looked like true lightning. The lightning bullet flew through the air, piercing the moss tornado and creating a hole for a split second.
Through the hole, Liu Xing saw the fox snap its head at him, but before it could react, the lightning bolt struck its face, and the hole closed. The fox screamed painfully, no doubt arcs of electricity dancing around it, paralyzing it. The moss tornado halted, as if it were a cog that was stuck, and Liu Xing, with his heart beating fast and adrenaline coursing through his body, kicked the ground and flew straight into the tornado.
He crashed through the wall of moss in front of him and landed right in front of the fox, still surrounded by blue electricity. As his feet touched the ground, he saw the electricity around the fox diminish, the fox's red eyes focused on him, and with effort, its clenched fist tried to strike his face.
Seeing this, Liu Xing aimed his gun and shot in less than a fraction of a second. When the furred fist was mere centimeters from his nose, another lightning bullet hit the fox right in the center of its torso, making the receding arcs of electricity around it roar again, paralyzing it further.
He rapidly fired all his lightning bullets, ensuring the creature couldn't move for several seconds. The fox now appeared trapped in a prison of electricity. It growled deeply, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Liu Xing didn't waste any more time and poured half of the qi from the Ethereal Pearl into his right gauntlet. The yellow line already spirals around it, making it more durable and able to withstand more qi than usual. In a mere fraction of a second, Liu Xing adjusted his stance, and a ball of white lightning three meters in diameter suddenly materialized in front of his palm, as if teleported from somewhere.
As he shouted, Liu Xing thrust out his palm. The huge ball of white lightning struck the front of the giant fox, engulfing it and exploding with brilliant white light. The white light was so bright, so intense, that Liu Xing almost thought he was inside his own consciousness.
The white light that bathed everything held for almost a second, and then the sound of an explosion, as if millions of lightning bolts were hitting a single spot, made the world tremble, as if an earthquake were suddenly happening. And then, a pillar of condensed light, around three meters in diameter, shot from his palm, engulfing the Emerald Fox fully. Amidst the ringing in his ears and the sound of the explosion, Liu Xing could also hear a painful wail.
Liu Xing gritted his teeth and tried to hold his position. The attack from Thunderstrike Gauntlets usually didn't have much backlash. He could hold it, even when he was in the sky. But this attack, with its sheer size, made Liu Xing need to plant his feet into the ground so he wouldn't be blown back.
Liu Xing shouted, holding the attack for several seconds that felt like minutes.
Several moments later, the giant condensed lightning receded, the white light disappeared, and the world was suddenly silent. Only the howl of the wind and creaking of the swaying branches could be heard.
In front of Liu Xing, there was a deep trench with burning red ground, almost looking like lava. This trench stretched several dozen meters, obliterating boulders, trees, and everything in its path. Seeing no one in front of him, Liu Xing scanned his surroundings. This attack was so strong, but Liu Xing doubted that the fox had died so easily.
Liu Xing scanned his surroundings and quickly noticed that the fox had been blown into the sky as if it had been caught in a gust of wind. As it soared through the air, he could clearly see that both of its hands were gone, leaving only smoldering stumps. It seemed that the fox had tried to protect himself from the attack, sacrificing his hands in the process.
The green robe it once wore had completely disintegrated, revealing burnt fur covering its body. Even from a distance, Liu Xing could see plumes of black smoke rising from the charred fur.
Despite the damage, it was less than Liu Xing had hoped for. He had hoped to disintegrate at least half of its body. After all, this fox wasn't supposed to be tougher than the frog he had easily sliced with less qi. However, the fox proved to be more resilient than it looked.
Chapter 69 ~ Moss (1)
As gravity began to pull the fox to the ground, Liu Xing saw its eyes roll upward, revealing only the whites. He realized that it had fainted.
Seeing this, Liu Xing poured more qi from the Ethereal Pearl into his right gauntlet. While his previous attack was impressive, he had only used half the qi from Ethereal Pearl. Now, he could unleash another full attack.
Liu Xing kicked the ground hard and launched himself into the air toward the fallen fox. The wind whistled past his ears as he soared upward. As he flew past the fox, Liu Xing summoned his shield and used it to stop his ascent. He then turned around to face the still-falling fox from above.
After adjusting his stance in the air, Liu Xing summoned a giant ball of lightning in front of his palm.
As the condensed lightning stretched out from his hand, Liu Xing saw that the fox had suddenly awakened, its eyes as wide as saucers, its expression painted with fear. The fox's feet then turned into moss, forming a large shield to defend against his attack.
"Eat this!"
The pillar of light swallowed the moss shield and the fox. From a distance, it looked like a huge white pillar descending from the sky, as if a shining heavenly foot was trying to trample the fox. In a split second, the pillar of light crashed into the ground. The earth around it rippled like water, erupting in a shockwave of debris and blinding light that radiated outward.
When the attack receded, a deep hole several meters in diameter had formed in the ground. At the center lay the unconscious fox, its eyes rolled back once more. It had lost its feet, leaving only its head and torso. The previously blackened fur was now gone, revealing charred skin across its entire body. It looked as if someone had thrown the fox into a fire for an hour before tossing it to the ground. At this point, the fox resembled charcoal more than flesh.
Despite its grievous injuries, the fox was still alive, demonstrating the incredible resilience of a Core Splitting realm creature. Still, he couldn't complain. This fight had been much easier than his battle with the frog.
Falling through the air, Liu Xing aimed his gun at the unconscious fox. He activated the Exploding Fist technique and let the gun absorb it. Now his gun was loaded with six exploding bullets.
Liu Xing pulled the trigger six times, sending six exploding bullets hurtling toward the target. When the bullets were mere meters from their mark, the mouth of the still-unconscious fox suddenly opened. Green moss poured out, creating a small dome that encased the fox. The six bullets hit the dome, obliterating it, but not the fox.
Six green appendages, like insect legs, extended from the fox's charred torso. It scurried away like a cockroach, carrying the still unconscious fox with its eyes rolled upward. Seeing this, Liu Xing's eyebrows rose. What was happening? The fox was unconscious, but the moss moved as if it had its own mind.
The fox climbed out of the hole and zigzagged between trees like a true cockroach, weaving through the undergrowth.
Liu Xing, still invisible, summoned his shield and kicked it, trying to follow the blackened fox that was being carried by six moss feet. As he aimed his gun and fired at the fox, the feet seemed to sense his bullet, and it jumped onto a branch and began jumping from tree to tree.
As Liu Xing followed the charred fox, the forest blurring around Liu Xing as he chased after it, he suspected that the moss really did have a mind of its own. Either it was the fox's special ability, or it was actually a symbiote living inside the fox. Either way, the moss was trying to keep the fox alive.
Liu Xing scanned his surroundings and soon realized that the six appendages were trying to carry the fox into the clearing where the Diamond Pills were located.
Jumping from a tree until it exploded, Liu Xing shot like a bullet and flew right over the scurrying creature. He aimed his gun and fired an exploding bullet at it. The still unconscious fox suddenly opened its mouth and spat out green sludge that looked like wet moss. His bullet hit the ball of sludge and exploded. The explosion was enough to blow away both the scurrying fox and Liu Xing.
In the air, Liu Xing spun around, summoned his shield, and kicked it. The world blurred, but he knew that the explosion made the six moss appendages successfully arrive near the tree that held the Diamond Pills. Knowing this, Liu Xing kicked the shield again and again, accelerating faster and faster through the air.
One of the moss appendages stretched into the hollow of the tree and pierced the glass box where the pills were placed. The tip of one appendage, which before looked like a cockroach foot, transformed into a claw and pinched a Diamond Pill. The five remaining appendages then pulled open the fox's maw and the last green appendage dropped the pills right above its mouth.
Just as the pills were about to fall into the fox's mouth, Liu Xing arrived. With an outstretched hand and his heart beating frantically, he caught the pill before it could land inside the fox's mouth.
"Too slow!" Liu Xing smiled.
Liu Xing then summoned his shield, twisted his body, and shot at the tree containing the remaining pills. He heard the moss wail, high-pitched like squeaking mice. One of its appendages turned into a spear and lashed out, but it hit nothing but air.
As he flew towards the tree, Liu Xing reached out and grabbed the glass box. His body slammed into the tree, and the tree exploded in a shower of bark, branches, and moss-covered leaves. After the tree shattered, Liu Xing spun in the air and landed smoothly on the ground, holding the glass box tightly in his hand.
When he stopped, Liu Xing examined the glass box containing four Diamond Pills. He then threw in the pill he had snatched from the fox's mouth, and the glass box was now filled with five Diamond Pills.
Seeing that he had successfully retrieved all five Diamond Pills, excitement began to fill his heart. There were many pills that outer disciples needed to retrieve, but these Diamond Pills were among the rare ones. He could eat two of it and give the rest to the sect.
Liu Xing itched to grab his token and reconfirm the information about the Diamond Pills, but before he could do that, he suddenly heard high-pitched sounds emitted by the six appendages extending from the charred fox.
Seeing this, Liu Xing wondered what exactly this fox and the moss were. Were they truly symbiotes? Or was the moss fully controlling the fox? Seeing that the fox was still unconscious, Liu Xing suspected the moss was controlling it, but still, it was the fox that had achieved the Core Splitting realm, not the moss.
Whatever it was, Liu Xing watched as moss began to pour from the fox's mouth. The amount was staggering, and soon the charred body of the fox was engulfed entirely by dark green moss. The high-pitched wailing grew higher and louder, and then the moss started standing on two newly created feet that looked big and muscular. Two large hands sprouted from its sides, and the unconscious fox's torso and face emerged from the moss.
Instead of charred black, the fox was now invaded by dark green, as if the moss had injected itself into the charred flesh, creating dark green veins that wriggled like worms. The fox's face was also full of green veins, most prominently around its eyes, as if the entirely white eyes were leaves held by several green vines. The eyes were lifeless, as if the fox was already dead, but the qi around the moss-fox started surging, becoming denser and stronger, as if it had suddenly broken through to the next stage of the Core Splitting realm.
The fox, now entirely controlled by the moss, roared. The sound was thunderous, like the roar of a mighty lion, making the wind ripple and leaves tremble on nearby trees.
Then it crouched, its green feet entirely created by moss kicking the ground. The green fox hurtled at Liu Xing like a bullet.
Seeing this, Liu Xing realized that these Diamond Pills were incredibly important to the moss. It would probably hunt him to the edge of the world to retrieve them. But unfortunately for his opponent, Liu Xing had no intention of giving up the pills.
With adrenaline coursing through his body and electricity coating his skin, Liu Xing kicked the ground and jumped into the sky.
In the sky, Liu Xing rotated his body so his head pointed downward. He watched the ground become farther and farther away.
When his momentum slowed and the world came back into focus, Liu Xing saw that the moss-fox had also kicked off the ground and jumped, trying to follow him like a hound smelling blood. Although Liu Xing was still invisible, the glass box he held in his right hand was not, so the creature was probably following the box.
Chapter 70 ~ Moss (2)
Liu Xing aimed the gun at the moss-fox, infused the bullets with Exploding Fist, and shot. The bullets flew true, striking the moss-fox right in the middle of its forehead. When the bullet exploded, a high-pitched wail echoed as the moss-fox fell to the ground like a meteor.
Liu Xing summoned his shield and stood atop it, looking down at the moss-fox that hit the ground with a loud thud. The moss-fox roared again, opening its maw. A green ball of moss formed in front of its mouth, and it shot the green ball at Liu Xing.
Seeing this, Liu Xing jumped from the shield while repeatedly shooting at the green ball. The first bullet made it explode, and the five remaining bullets flew straight toward the moss-fox. Seeing his attack, the moss-fox roared, and as if responding to a command, the moss around it surged, creating a green wall in front of it. When his bullets hit the moss wall, five holes appeared, and Liu Xing saw the moss-fox jumping through them and flying toward him.
Liu Xing tried to insert the glass box into the mouth of his spatial bag, but soon realized that the box was too large to fit through the bag's opening. He had to extract the pills before he could secure them.
The moss-fox roared again, and Liu Xing turned his head and shot at the moss-fox rapidly.
Seeing the bullets, the moss-fox roared again and two green wings sprouted from its back. It flapped its newly created green wings and then turned sharply to the side. The six bullets flew past the moss-fox moss and hit the ground, exploding on impact.
Liu Xing began to fall and he let the gravity pull him down. Below, he saw a forest of stone-gray spires. Each spire's tip was pointy, as if sculpted from a towering stone. Liu Xing landed on the brown ground between the forest of gray spires. Each spire cast a long shadow, making Liu Xing feel as if he were in a city full of skyscrapers. Looking around, he didn't see a single tree, flower, grass, or moss, as if this place was dead and toxic for plant life.
Looking up, he saw the moss-fox flying. The moss-fox's eyes were still rolled upward, its green veins twitching madly like worms, and its dark green wings resembled those of a bat.
Liu Xing hurriedly smashed the glass box in his right hand with his gun. The glass shattered, and Liu Xing saw five red pills glowing white, like an eclipse, falling with the shards of glass. He snatched all the pills from the air and held them in his right hand.
Just as he grabbed the last pill, a wind ripple formed behind the moss-fox, and the moss-fox suddenly accelerated. In a split second, the moss-fox that had been tens of meters in the air suddenly appeared above Liu Xing. It descended like an angry god, with a green hand made entirely of moss reaching out to Liu Xing's right hand holding the pills. From the moss-fox's perspective, the five pills seemed to be floating, but it knew that Liu Xing was holding them.
With wide eyes and his body still cloaked by lightning, Liu Xing pulled back his right hand. He lowered his body, ready to roll to the side, when he saw the moss-fox's green feet suddenly lash out toward his face. Liu Xing didn't know if the moss-fox could see him or if it was just luck, but he couldn't dodge the attack.
As the green feet came closer, Liu Xing gritted his teeth and sent the yellow line toward his face. Just as the yellow line settled on his face, the feet hit him and Liu Xing felt his brain rattle and his nose cave in. For a moment, he saw only blackness.
When the darkness faded, Liu Xing realized he was flying backward through the air so fast that the gray spires around him passed in a blur. Soon, Liu Xing's back hit one of the spires, causing him to stop and the spire to fall like a tree. As the spire hit the ground, the world trembled and a huge cloud of dust rose to the air.
Amidst the cloud dust, Liu Xing's stand. His eyes moved to his right hand, hoping that he still had the pills, but when he saw only one pill in his hand, he grimaced and searched his surroundings.
There, flying in the sky above the moss-fox that had hit the ground and created a cloud of dust, were three red pills. The pills shot into the sky like reverse meteors, each flying in a different direction: north, east, and west. Liu Xing tried to find the last pill and realized that he could see a green hand holding a red pill. Seeing this, Liu Xing's eyes narrowed.
Liu Xing realized his left hand was empty. When he looked at it, he saw that the gun he always held was gone, probably having fallen somewhere when the fox kicked him. Liu Xing dismissed his gun, making himself fully visible again, and then resummoned his gun.
The moss-fox suddenly roared, the roar pushing away the dust cloud floating around it. The fox was still fainted, but on its forehead, a green eye had formed, with a pitch-black pupil. Liu Xing somehow felt that eye seeing him with rage and contempt, as if he were a thief who dared to steal an emperor's crown.
They stared at each other, and as Liu Xing's eyes seized upon the red pill in the green hand, that green eye also focused on the pill in Liu Xing's right hand.
Liu Xing knew they had the same thought. Neither would let the other get all the pills, but they also needed to get the pill from their opponent's hand, lest the other party consume the precious pills.
"All right, moss-fox, I think we know what happens next!" Liu Xing shouted.
The moss-fox roared, as if agreeing with Liu Xing.
"After this fight is over, only one of us will be standing!"
As he shouted, Liu Xing's brain tried to form a strategy. After all, this moss-fox was strong, tough, and fast. Fighting it would be flirting with death, but Liu Xing still thought he had a chance. He needed to form a strategy that could help him seize victory.
The moss-fox and Liu Xing sized each other up as the wind blew between them.
"Let's dance!" Liu Xing shouted as he threw the pill in his right hand toward his mouth, trying to eat it right then and there.
Seeing his move, the moss-fox kicked the ground. The ground below it shattered, spider cracks forming around it, and it suddenly stood in front of Liu Xing as if it had teleported. Its left hand tried to snatch the pill that was thrown toward Liu Xing's mouth.
Liu Xing activated the lightning blade, and when the green fingers were mere centimeters from his pill, he slashed the blade right at its wrist. While the blade didn't cut its wrist, it still had enough power to push the hand to the side. Unfortunately, the tip of its index finger touched the pill, causing the pill to shoot to Liu Xing's shoulder and bounce into the air instead of his mouth.
The moss-fox roared, its hand flying toward the bounced pill. Liu Xing ducked below the moss-fox, and with a shout, Liu Xing kicked its waist and pushed as hard as he could, dragging the moss-fox to the side, its feet creating a trail in the ground.
The moss-fox roared angrily when its hand did not successfully catch the pill, and Liu Xing whipped his lightning blade at its right hand, where it held one of the Diamond Pills. His lightning blade struck the hand dead in the wrist, making the hand swing to the side and causing the pill to fall from its grasp.
Seeing this, the moss-fox kicked the ground and tried to grab it, its finger only inches away from grabbing the newly released pill, but then Liu Xing aimed his gun at the moss-fox's wrist and fired. As his bullet exploded on the wrist, the explosion pushed the pill and the moss-fox's hand in opposite directions.
Now, two pills were in the air. Should he snatch the pill he lost or should he grab the pill the moss-fox lost? In the end, instinct took over, and Liu Xing jumped as hard as he could toward the pill near the moss-fox.
Seeing this, the moss-fox stretched its green hand toward the pill, but when the hand didn't reach, its five fingers suddenly elongated, trying to reach the still airborne pill that was now being pulled down by gravity. Liu Xing slashed his lightning blade toward the fingers, coating it with the enhancement from his necklace, making his blue lightning blade have a slightly yellow hue. When the blade touched the fingers, it cut them completely.
The moss-fox snapped its head toward Liu Xing, the green eyes in the middle of its forehead looking really furious, and it decided to open its mouth and spat a ball of green moss at him.
Chapter 71 ~ Moss (3)
Seeing this, Liu Xing summoned his shield in front of him and, for the first time, used it as intended. The green moss ball hit the shield, and Liu Xing slightly adjusted his body and kicked the ground again so he flew straight toward the fallen pill. He couldn't catch it with his hands full, so he opened his mouth and tried to catch it with his mouth.
The moss-fox leaped toward him, its right foot swinging at his head like it wanted to kick a ball. Seeing the whipping foot, Liu Xing summoned his shield right beside his head. The shield popped up dutifully, and the green foot hit the shield. A sound so loud, like a gong, reverberated. Unexpectedly, while the shield successfully intercepted the kick, the force of the kick pushed the shield, and the back of the shield hit his head right before his teeth could catch the pill.
Hit by the flying shield, Liu Xing's head snapped to the side. His neck felt like it would break, and Liu Xing was flung to the side, where there was a gray tower spire. He hit it until the spire trembled.
While his head and body were stinging, Liu Xing's eyes were focused on the moss-fox, its hand stretched toward the pill now sitting on the ground. Liu Xing got up, kicked the spire until it toppled to the side, and launched himself toward the green creature.
When the green hand touched the red pills, Liu Xing rotated his body so he flew with his feet first. With a shout, Liu Xing kicked the moss-fox's torso. The creature was dragged backward, and instead of touching the pill, its hand only touched a pebble.
The green eyes shot a murderous look at him, and Liu Xing grinned ferociously.
This fight was slightly different from his previous ones. Instead of trying to defeat the opponent, Liu Xing needed to make sure the moss-fox didn't get its hands on the pill, let alone eat it. The moss-fox must be thinking the same thing. It would be simple if Liu Xing could defeat the creature and then eat the pill. But at this point, they were both more or less equal. If one of them successfully ate one pill, it would change the tide of the battle, guaranteeing one side a victory.
Liu Xing tried his best to stop the moss-fox from reaching the pills. He used his lightning blade to slash at the creature. With stable qi reinforcing the blade, it was actually becoming slightly sharper, making his attacks slightly more deadly. The moss-fox tried to pummel Liu Xing, as well as trying to snatch the pill and eat it.
From the outside, the blue and green blur moved and bounced so fast around the great gray spires. The ground was uprooted, several more spires fell and made huge noises and clouds of dust when they hit the ground.
At some point, Liu Xing successfully became invisible again making it harder for the moss-fox to predict his moves. With his invisibility active, Liu Xing actually managed to hold the pills a few times. Unfortunately, each time his hand touched the pill, the moss-fox's attacks became more ferocious, and the pill was flung into the air again.
The moss-fox then spewed a mist of green moss into the air, trying to combat his invisibility. The forest of green spires was colored by the green air, as if they were submerged in a dark sea full of algae. This trick by the moss-fox was slightly successful, as it made Liu Xing easier to spot.
Their fight to get a pill brought them closer to the second pill, and the fight became slightly more complex. When one pill accidentally flew into the sky, Liu Xing would choose to get his hand on the nearby pill, but the moss-fox, seeing a trail of green behind him, would follow him and try to pummel him.
Sometimes, they exchanged attacks. Liu Xing used his slightly sharper lightning blade, exploding bullets, and even lightning bullets, while the moss-fox used its ball of moss and its strong hands and feet that were so flexible they moved like a whip.
Liu Xing couldn't use the Thunderstrike Gauntlets because the fight was too fast-paced. He also couldn't put the Ethereal Pill inside his mouth since he intended to eat it once he got the pill. But clearly, after about fifteen minutes of scrambling for pills, his way of doing things was not the best course of action.
He needed to find a better strategy, and fast.
Liu Xing kicked his shield and appeared on top of the moss-fox, which had successfully caught a pill and tossed it toward its mouth. Liu Xing slashed his lightning blade right into its neck. When his lightning blade touched its neck, it successfully bit into it, and while green blood gushed from the wound, his attack was only enough to move the moss-fox's head slightly to the side, making the pills fall right above the creature's left eye and bounce into the air again.
Seeing the pills airborne, Liu Xing transformed his lightning blade into a wide, flat shape. With a powerful swing, he struck the pill sideways, propelling it high into the sky like a rocket.
After the pills were saved from the moss-fox for a few moments, Liu Xing kicked the shield again, repositioning himself so he was right behind the creature. He could see two green wings sprout from its back, with their base actually being bones protruding from the flesh.
Liu Xing channeled six bullets into his Thunderstrike Gauntlets, creating a ball of lightning the size of a chicken egg. He tried to hit the back of the moss-fox with it, but when the creature suddenly turned around and caught his wrist, Liu Xing grimaced and realized he had made a mistake. His attack was too slow.
Grasping Liu Xing's right hand, the moss-fox pulled him towards it. It balled its fist and swung it towards Liu Xing's face. Seeing the impending attack, Liu Xing tried to free his right hand from the moss-fox's grip and summoned his shield in front of his face.
When the fist hit the shield, the sound like that of a gong reverberated. His right hand was finally freed from the moss-fox's grasp, and Liu Xing rotated in the air and used the back of the shield to launch himself toward another nearby pill, where it nestled between two little pebbles.
He heard a thunderous sound behind him and glanced over his shoulder. The moss-fox was also launching itself.
As he moved amidst the gray spires and the ocean of moss mist, Liu Xing tried to think as hard as he could, trying to find a factor that could decide the fight, with Liu Xing successfully consuming the two pills, retrieving the rest of the pills, and defeating the moss-fox.
But he couldn't think of a way for a perfect victory, so he settled for an imperfect one.
Hopefully, the moss-fox was still clinging to the hope of a perfect victory, where it wanted to get all the pills.
Kicking the shield again and again to accelerate, Liu Xing soon arrived on top of the two pebbles that nestled the pills, which were still glowing a white hue. As Liu Xing arrived, so did the moss-fox, appearing on top of Liu Xing and trying to swing its feet toward his back, trying to split him in two.
Still in the air, Liu Xing touched the ground with his left hand, pushed his body, rolled like a breakdancer and successfully dodged the kick. When the moss-fox kick connected with the ground, it exploded like a bomb, sending dirt, pebbles, and the pills flying into the air.
While the circumstances were not what he expected, Liu Xing decided to further his plan. Liu Xing's right hand, which still had the lightning blade active, stretched the blade further and further until it looked thin and long, almost like a needle. He then whipped his arm, and the lightning needles moved like a whip, right toward the airborne pill. His lightning needles cut the red pill into two parts, and the two parts flew in different directions.
Liu Xing had time to glance at the stunned green eyes in the middle of the moss-fox's forehead. It froze for a fraction of a second, as if dumbfounded by what Liu Xing had done. Then, the green eyes looked furious, and it kicked the ground and stretched its hand toward the half pill that had fallen nearby.
Seeing this, Liu Xing jumped to the half pill that had fallen near him, his hand also stretching, while he also aimed his gun toward the half pill that the moss-fox was trying to catch and shot repeatedly, aiming to destroy the pill.
Seeing the bullets come, the moss-fox swiped its green hand, shielding the pill from the six bullets. Its green arm was pushed to the side, and while successfully shielding the pill, the hand moved farther from the pill. The moss-fox tried to readjust its position and reach for the fallen pill with its other hand, but it was too late. Liu Xing had already caught the pill he was aiming for, feeling it land in his right palm. With a triumphant smile, he flicked the half pill into his mouth, knowing victory was within his grasp. As he did so, he continued firing at the other half pill, which the moss-fox was still desperately protecting.