Chapter 33

In Qingzhao's residence, Hu Gao, with a mischievous look on his face, gazed at Hu Yinxue, who was as beautiful as a feast for the eyes, and teased her half-jokingly, "Do you want to sit down and have something to drink?"

This line was a classic pick-up line in his past life, and Hu Gao had always wanted to find an opportunity to say it to a girl but never managed to. Today, he finally got his wish.

"Hmph, if you dare to look at me with that kind of gaze again, you'll end up like that green ox!" Hu Yinxue left this harsh warning and turned to leave.

"What the heck, am I not handsome enough?" Hu Gao, feeling a bit embarrassed, ran his hand through his long hair. Although he had just deliberately provoked Hu Yinxue, he still felt a bit annoyed.

Although Hu Yinxue had saved his life today, he didn't actually like having someone always following him like a shadow. This made him feel extremely uncomfortable, as he would have no secrets. He wanted to make Hu Yinxue dislike him so that he could have some space for himself.

However, today was quite a mess. Hu Gao tidied up the room, boiled some hot water, took another bath, and changed his clothes before sitting cross-legged on the bed.

He took out all the spoils from tonight, and Xiao Wu immediately came out from his body, jumping onto his shoulder, his eyes gleaming.

"Hey, can you at least tell me, your master, before you come out next time?" Hu Gao was a bit afraid of this glutton, who always scared him.

Xiao Wu waved his golden claws and put on an innocent expression, then immediately focused on the prey in front of him.

Tonight's harvest was quite substantial, including a demon core, snake gallbladder, tiger eyes, leopard gallbladder, bear penis, and other treasures. However, Hu Gao planned to sell these items for money, while the demon cores were for him and Xiao Wu to consume.

"Master, I'm going to start cultivating now!" Xiao Wu said in a cute tone.

"Go ahead, I'll keep watch for you," Hu Gao nodded.

"There are only about twenty demon cores, give me an hour," Xiao Wu said without hesitation, immediately entering a cultivation state, absorbing one demon core after another.

Hu Gao didn't start cultivating right away but watched over Xiao Wu. After Xiao Wu finished, he would absorb the demon cores without demonic energy in one go.

Time passed quickly, and Hu Gao could clearly feel that each time Xiao Wu absorbed the demonic energy from a demon core, his aura grew stronger.

"Sigh, still can't break through. If I had one more late-stage first-rank demon core, I could definitely break through to the mid-stage first-rank."

After absorbing the last demon core from the green-winged ox, Xiao Wu threw it away in frustration, disappointed that he hadn't broken through despite absorbing so many demon cores.

"Don't worry, take it slow..."

Hu Gao's lips twitched. Want another late-stage first-rank demon core? If they were as common as cabbage, I'd get you one right away.

He still vividly remembered being chased by the green-winged ox. He was no match for a late-stage first-rank demon beast. Demon beasts were already stronger than human martial artists at the same rank. To deal with a late-stage first-rank demon beast, he would need to at least reach the seventh-rank Condensation Shadow Realm. At that time, with the help of the Bloodlight Snake totem and Xiao Wu, he might be able to kill a late-stage first-rank demon beast.

After all, repelling, defeating, and killing were different things. Perhaps after breaking through to the sixth-rank Condensation Shadow Realm, he would have the strength to resist a late-stage first-rank demon beast. Breaking through to the seventh-rank Condensation Shadow Realm would allow him to defeat a late-stage first-rank demon beast, but to kill one, he would need more than just the seventh-rank Condensation Shadow Realm cultivation; he would need to use other means.

"Master, you can cultivate with peace of mind. My cultivation has reached the peak of the early-stage first-rank, and my perception range has doubled. I will definitely let you know the moment someone approaches."

Xiao Wu left the rest of the time to Hu Gao.

Hu Gao nodded. Next, it was his turn to cultivate. He looked at the demon cores beside him, his eyes gleaming. He wondered what level his cultivation would reach after absorbing the energy from these twenty-odd demon cores.

Holding a first-rank early-stage demon core in his hand, Hu Gao focused his mind and sensed the energy within the demon core, slowly guiding it into his body.

"Whoosh!"

A faint energy fluctuation sounded from his hand, and a strand of energy from the demon core entered his body. Hu Gao was slightly surprised by the immense energy contained within the demon core, which filled his entire qi sea, making him feel very comfortable.

Since it was his first time absorbing a demon core, he was still a bit unskilled and took five minutes to completely digest the energy from this first-rank early-stage demon core. A pile of black powder appeared on the ground.

After absorbing the energy from one demon core, Hu Gao could clearly feel his internal energy rapidly increasing.

"Continue!"

Hu Gao didn't stop and continued to cultivate.

He had a total of fifteen first-rank early-stage demon cores, six first-rank mid-stage demon cores, and one first-rank late-stage demon core.

Hu Gao then absorbed all fifteen first-rank early-stage demon cores in one go, and his cultivation level rose from the early-stage fifth-rank Condensation Shadow Realm to the late-stage fifth-rank Condensation Shadow Realm.

He didn't stop and continued to absorb the energy from the six first-rank mid-stage demon cores.

The energy aura emanating from his body rapidly increased...

When all six demon cores were absorbed, he was just one step away from the sixth-rank Condensation Shadow Realm.

"Boss, keep going, break through quickly, or you'll be caught up by me soon," Xiao Wu cheered him on from the side.

Hu Gao opened his eyes and gave him a glare. You're a divine beast, do you really have the nerve to compare yourself to me? If you can't catch up to me, it's your fault. If you do catch up, it's only natural. As a divine beast, you shouldn't feel superior to me.

Hu Gao picked up the green-winged ox demon core, held it in his hand, and looked at it confidently. "If I can't break through, I might as well bash my head against the wall and die!"

Hu Gao snorted inwardly, then focused his mind and directly absorbed the energy from the green-winged ox demon core into his body.

"Boom..."

Instantly, he felt a fierce torrent surging through his body, impacting all sides. The energy from the green-winged ox demon core was even more substantial than all the previous demon cores combined.

It was truly terrifying. Demon beasts were indeed stronger the higher their rank. It was almost impossible for a demon beast to fight across ranks. Xiao Wu's ability to instantly kill a mid-stage first-rank demon beast with his early-stage first-rank cultivation was almost a miracle.

"Absorb it!"

Hu Gao shouted lightly, his mind like a giant net, locking down all the energy and pulling it into his qi sea, forcibly merging it.

However, the energy from the green-winged ox demon core was too substantial. With Hu Gao's mental strength, it was difficult to merge it in a short time, making the process quite challenging.

Xiao Wu's expression was serious. He could see that Hu Gao was struggling to control such a large amount of energy, as the green-winged ox's cultivation was already a rank higher than his.

"Whoosh..."

When he saw sweat on Hu Gao's forehead, he finally acted, spitting out a ball of golden gas that merged into Hu Gao's body.

"Good timing!"

Hu Gao felt a surge of energy enter his body, giving him a renewed sense of strength. He focused his mind and quickly merged all the energy with the existing energy in his qi sea.

"Whoosh!"

"Boom!"

At a certain moment, Hu Gao's aura suddenly surged, breaking through from the fifth-rank to the sixth-rank Condensation Shadow Realm, and continued to rise rapidly.

Sixth-rank early-stage!

Sixth-rank mid-stage!

Sixth-rank late-stage!

It only stopped when he reached the peak of the sixth-rank.

"Wow, this is bad, how can you break through so much at once? Even with enough energy, it's not good. Quickly, stop and solidify your foundation, or you won't be able to break through in the future."

Seeing Hu Gao's cultivation rise like a rocket, Xiao Wu was so anxious that he jumped up and down. This was not a good sign.

Thanks to Xiao Wu's reminder, Hu Gao immediately understood what was happening. It was like building a house; if you don't lay a solid foundation and just keep building up, the higher you build, the faster it will collapse. You must lay a solid foundation before building up.

This rapid cultivation was indeed very dangerous. He began to run the secret technique again, continuously condensing the energy in his qi sea and injecting the excess energy into the nearly lifeless Bloodlight Snake. Since the last time it blocked Bai Xiao's attack, the little guy had been listless.

Fortunately, Hu Gao didn't let Xiao Wu worry for long. In a short while, the surging aura from Hu Gao's body quickly subsided.

Sixth-rank late-stage!

Sixth-rank mid-stage!

Until it stabilized at the sixth-rank early-stage.

Although his cultivation level had dropped, the aura emanating from Hu Gao's body was more solid and heavy, giving the impression of being unbreakable.

"Wow, you're amazing, boss, you can control it so well." Xiao Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Um... finally broke through." Hu Gao opened his eyes, feeling the surging energy within his body, and stretched with joy.

If others knew about his cultivation speed, the entire Ningcheng would be shocked.

He had just broken through to the fourth-rank Condensation Shadow Realm in the morning, then to the fifth-rank in the evening, and now to the sixth-rank in the early morning. Such a cultivation speed was probably unprecedented in the history of Ningcheng.

Of course, Hu Gao would never reveal this. If others knew his current cultivation level, no one from the ordinary hall would dare to challenge him, and how would he earn benefits? The people in the inner hall were all high-rank Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists, and he couldn't defeat many of them.

Most importantly, the Bloodlight Snake, which had been weak, had regained a lot of vitality under the nourishment of his energy and could now move its head. The effects of the mutated totem were significant. When he developed it further, with two abnormal totems in hand, he might soon be able to enter the elite hall of the Battle Academy.

Thinking of the story Hu Yinxue told him about Bai Xiao slaughtering 108 elite martial artists in one night, he felt an infinite longing. He wondered how that kid was doing now.