'Another breakthrough is coming.'
A small smile formed on Azmond's well-proportioned facial features as the Qi in the air surrounding the Giant waterfall was gathering around him in large amounts.
'My breakthrough into the 5th stage of Quantum Qi Condensation went without a hitch, and now, after nearly another half a year of continuous cultivating. I managed to begin my breakthrough into the 6th stage of Quantum Qi Condensation.'
Excitement filled his heart as he felt the Qi within many miles swirl toward him with no end in sight.
.....
1 month later.
Azmond finally broke through to the 6th stage of Quantum Qi Condensation without a problem!
'This breakthrough gave me around the same strength boost as my breakthroughs into the 4th and 5th Stages of Quantum Qi Condensation,' he thought.
'It seems like every breakthrough after my first breakthrough into the 2nd Stage of Quantum Qi Condensation will give around the same constant increases in strength, which should be a boost of 20 times the power as compared to the previous minor realm.'
A brooding look appeared on his face as he scanned over the gains he got from the recent breakthrough.
'I managed to get all my 5000 Qi cyclones to 18 feet in diameter when I broke through to the 5th Stage of Quantum Qi Condensation, but it looks like I have to increase the size of them yet again now that I have broken through to the 6th Stage of Quantum Qi Condensation... Not that I have any issues with gaining even more power!' Azmond thought with an elated look.
"No time to waste then!"
Following his words, he began to sit in a lotus position and cultivate with a persistent mindset—a persistence that allowed no breaks in between his cultivation sessions.
...
3 months later.
'All my 6,000 Qi cyclones are now a massive 54 feet in diameter! It really is almost like I have five balls of gas orbiting around my Dantian.'
Azmond's thoughts echoed out as he inspected the inside of his Dantian space in astonishment at the sight that lay before his eyes.
After a few seconds of appreciating the view, he thought, 'Time to continue cultivating then! Power waits for no man or woman!'
A resolute look appeared in his mesmerizing blue eyes as he began to cultivate in his usual tortuous way with a wide smile on his face.
His facial expressions made for an odd contrast that would make anybody who looked at the sight of Azmond cultivating with blood coming out of all pores open their mouths agape in pure shock at the man before them.
....
Time waits for no man, and that is especially true for cultivators who can spend hundreds or even thousands and tens of thousands of years cultivating in a single cultivation session.
4 years pass in the blink of an eye.
*Splish* *Splash*
Beneath a large waterfall thousands of meters in height located within the Great Wildlands Forest, a young man with long, thick black raven hair and sapphire-like eyes was seen taking a dip in the large water surface below the humongous waterfall with a neutral look on his mature face.
He had smooth white skin and perfectly carved facial features with sword-like eyebrows, a thin nose, and a sharp jawline that only further accentuated his already Immortal-like appearance.
His body was, in a word, 'Perfect'.
And in addition to his facial features, he had chiseled muscles and abs with balance in all the right places. His body was not too bulky, but it also wasn't too thin; he had a body like someone who had been doing calisthenics all their lives.
This man stood in at an astounding 6'5, a height that perfectly suited his face and body type.
*Splash*
This devilishly handsome man was seen swimming to the edge of the large water surface and getting out while pushing his long hair out of his face with his right hand as he approached a set of pure white robes that looked as if they were the previous belongings of a banished immortal.
He picked up the robes and put them on with quick and precise movements that allowed no flaws.
....
The man, after putting on the robes, looked like an immortal who fell from the immortal realm as he walked over to a small cushion made of bird feathers and grass ties that he put together a few years ago to meditate on.
The cushion overlooked a small cliff with a picturesque view that was beyond words, as cranes and small birds flew around the area in organized pairs, making wonderful sounds that could only be described as heavenly music.
"A bath every once in a while only improves my cultivation speed." Azmond spoke to himself as he sat down on his small cushion, overlooking a cliff.
'That water has some sort of ability to perfectly consolidate my cultivation base right after breaking through... so it was the perfect place to consolidate my gains after breaking through to the 13th stage of Quantum Qi Condensation.'
A pleased look formed on Azmond's face as he began to inspect his body with his divine sense, and what he saw surprised him just a little.
He was looking at 9,000 Qi cyclones orbiting around his Dantian.
8000 of them were over 100 meters in diameter, and the last 1000 were sitting at a mere inch in diameter.
The smaller ones were barely visible within Azmond's Dantian space as they were being dwarfed by the Qi cyclones thousands of times their size.
Furthermore, in addition to his Qi cyclones, Azmond's Dantian had also grown over the years as it grew to a massive 500 meters in diameter!
One might wonder how such a thing could be possible, but once again, he was considered a special case, as his Dantian increased in size when he increased the size of his Qi cyclones to accommodate the growth of the Qi cyclones.
He couldn't exactly have thousands of huge Qi Cyclones surrounding one very small Dantian; now could he?
'I now have the strength of an average cultivator, half a step into the Nascent Soul Realm... A fact that I am looking to change with my next breakthrough into the 10th stage of Quantum Qi Condensation,' Azmond thought to himself with a blank stare as he began cultivating to the peak of the 9th Stage of Quantum Qi Condensation.
After he reached the peak, he would once again condense his cultivation base.
Following this condensation, he would repeat this process 12 times over, just like he did for the first 8 Stages of Quantum Qi Condensation.
Azmond had gone through many cocoon transformations over the years as he broke through realm after realm. His body had changed and improved many times to facilitate exponential growth, and along with those transformations came improvements to his 5 senses and, more importantly, his physical strength!
He now had the physical prowess of someone half a step into the Nascent Soul Realm—someone infinitely close to breaking through into the Nascent Soul Realm!
A 'strong body' was an understatement for the current Azmond!
In fact, he had unheard-of physical strength for someone in the Qi Condensation Realm!
This was the same case for both his energy storage and energy output levels as well. Furthermore, extending on that note, every single one of his strength parameters was infinitely close to breaking through into the Nascent Soul Realm!
He just needed one more push to be able to breach the gap he had been stuck on for years—a push that he would soon have when he broke through into the 10th stage of Quantum Qi Condensation.
.......
Right as Azmond was beginning to enter a state of perfect meditation...
*Splash*
He heard a sound come from within the water surface—a sound that was similar to something... or someone entering the water.
It was a low sound that he could only hear because of his repeated body transformations and cultivation breakthroughs.
"....Hmm....? What was that? A monster... or maybe a visitor?"
A curious look appeared on Azmond's face as he awoke from his stupor and turned his head in the direction of the splashing sound.
'I can't see what caused that sound from here... I guess I should go check it out on foot...' He thought with a look of contemplation as he got up from his cushion mat and started walking in the direction of the splashing sounds with small steps.
Of course, Azmond could've used his divine sense to see what was causing those sounds, but he didn't want to be rude just in case it was a person and not a monster making those noises.
It was considered a very rude and taboo act to scan someone with your divine sense without their permission. Even Azmond, who had very little interaction with the world of cultivation and its inhabitants, knew something as basic as that.
Additionally, it was a fact he learned from the first section of the Divine Devil Arts Scripture.
.......
*Tap Tap*
Azmond's soft footsteps were heard as he began slowly walking toward the origin of the splashing sounds in his white banished-immortal robes.
He looked like an immortal slowly descending from the mountain that led to Heaven as he came down to grace the mortals below with his presence.
*Splash Splash...*
The splashing sounds suddenly stopped when Azmond started to descend the cliff he was on. It was almost as if whatever... or whoever had heard the footsteps of him approaching.
*tap* *tap* *tap*
His footsteps were gradually getting closer and closer to the being inside the small lake.
He moved some shrubs out of the way and put one more foot forward. That was when he saw it.
A person, or rather, a young woman, was looking in the direction of Azmond the way she came into this world.
She was a woman who appeared to be around 5 '10... Droplets of water were seen sliding down her supple and bountifully gifted body with curves in all the right places, as her two cantaloupe-sized bunnies were standing proudly with their pink tips shown for all to see.
She had long silky black hair that reached her well-rounded butt, a small button nose, light pink lips, and dazzling green eyes that shone like the prettiest of emeralds as her most distinctive facial feature.
She was what the Cultivation novels that Azmond read in his past life would call a 'Jade Beauty', with enough beauty to even be capable of toppling small nations if she so wished.
"..."
Just as Azmond was admiring the glorious sight before him, the owner of the perfectly sculpted body suddenly spoke in a tone laced with killing intent.
"...Who are you?..."
A voice that was melodious yet cold as ice was heard from the beautiful girl as she materialized a sword from thin air and pointed it directly at him, followed by her two bunnies bouncing along with her movements.
'Well... shit...'
An awkward smile formed on Azmond's usually stoic face as he gazed at the sharp sword glint aimed at his throat.