Chapter 63 of 100
Chapter 63
12 min read3,096 words
In the outer regions of Longjia Mountain, there are countless small hills. If the entire mountain range is compared to a woman's bosom, these small hills are like the tiny grains of rice that densely cover the area.
Hu Gao, following the map given by Qi Hong, found a hill in a secluded spot. The area was surrounded by thorns, with few traces of beast activity. Although it was rather desolate, it was an excellent place for cultivation.
It had been several days since the battle with Qi Hong.
Hu Gao stood on the hilltop, his body radiating a bright red glow as his primordial energy flowed, causing his sleeves to flutter without any wind.
"Perfect control of power is not just about simple control; it must also be accompanied by sufficient momentum. Only then can ten parts of power be magnified to twelve."
Although the battle with Qi Hong was brief, he was not without insights. Momentum, like the seasoning in cooking, is essential. No matter how skilled the chef, without the right seasoning, the dish will lack flavor.
Facing the mountain breeze, Hu Gao punched the air, fully mobilizing two types of power, which he then blended. He moved like a fierce tiger at one moment and a raging dragon the next, exuding a myriad of auras. The degree of power blending rapidly increased.
As his control over the blending of the two powers improved, the sound of his punches breaking the wind gradually diminished, eventually becoming almost imperceptible.
If a skilled practitioner were to observe him at this moment, they would be astonished to find that every subtle movement, even his breathing, was perfectly timed, not wasting a single bit of power.
"Whether in cultivation or battle, one must achieve complete control of power. However..."
Hu Gao stood quietly on the hilltop. Although the past few days had brought his control of power to a perfect ten, he had a new realization. Beyond perfect control, there seemed to be another realm, known as the unity of heaven and man.
If he could achieve the unity of heaven and man, every breath would perfectly align with the energy of the universe. At that point, even a mere thought could unleash the most terrifying and fierce attack, leaving enemies defenseless.
Unfortunately, his cultivation time was too short, and his strength was too weak. He was still far from being able to draw on natural energy and achieve the unity of heaven and man.
"Even though I cannot yet reach the unity of heaven and man, with my current perfect control of power, I can defeat a Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist who can use a high-level human-grade primordial technique."
Hu Gao's eyes were filled with confidence. He was very clear about his combat strength. The reason he could easily defeat high-ranking Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists like Guo Deyun and Qi Hong was mainly because their combat strength was much weaker. Although Guo Deyun had cultivated a high-level human-grade primordial technique, his realm was not high, and he was only at a minor level, far from the major level.
Most of the primordial techniques Hu Gao studied were low-level human-grade techniques. If someone were to use a high-level human-grade primordial technique against him, he would find it difficult to spot the flaws in their moves. What he perceived as a flaw might be a trap, and he would have to rely on his own strength to confront them, rather than taking advantage of any weaknesses.
"However, my current strength can still be greatly improved!"
"Boss, are you going to start cultivating?"
Not far away, Little Five, who had been lazily basking in the sun on a tree, opened his sleepy eyes. Sensing Hu Gao's mental fluctuations, he became excited and asked, waving his arms and legs.
"Yes, we've delayed for a few days, and it's time to break through." Hu Gao smiled and walked over to Little Five, taking down a cloth bag hanging from a tree branch. When he opened it, he was surprised to find dozens of mid-rank first-stage demon cores inside. "Little Five, are you trying to turn the Longjia Mountain Range into a slaughterhouse?"
Little Five tilted his head and pouted. "I am a divine beast. There's another bag on top, with some late-stage demon cores inside."
Hu Gao's lips twitched. He had always hoped that Little Five's strength would improve quickly, but now that it had, he felt a bit anxious. He couldn't fall too far behind.
"Being surpassed is acceptable, but being left behind is not... hmm, I'll surpass you soon."
Hu Gao ignored Little Five, sat cross-legged on the ground, and grabbed a handful of demon cores from the bag, beginning his cultivation.
To use demon cores to enhance cultivation, a martial artist must have strict control over power. Generally, after a martial artist uses a demon core or other energy-containing treasure to advance one rank, they will pause for a while before continuing cultivation. During this time, they must master the newly added primordial energy; otherwise, they might harm themselves in battle due to poor control, which would be counterproductive.
"Huff..."
Under Hu Gao's mental control, the pure primordial energy from the demon cores flowed into his body, then slowly into his dantian, where it was easily absorbed. The entire process was smooth and effortless, taking less than a minute to completely absorb the energy from a mid-rank first-stage demon core, much faster than when he first started absorbing demon core energy.
Little Five lay beside him, watching Hu Gao cultivate and feeling the rapid increase in his aura. His eyes kept shining, though he didn't realize that his master was a bit annoyed about being surpassed.
Time passed, and Hu Gao's aura continued to rise.
Mid-rank Sixth Rank Condensation Shadow Realm!
Late-rank Sixth Rank Condensation Shadow Realm!
Peak Sixth Rank Condensation Shadow Realm!
...
"Boom!"
As night fell, Hu Gao opened his eyes, and his aura suddenly surged, like a flood breaking through a dam, impacting all around. The surrounding leaves and grass trembled.
Mid-rank Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm!
After absorbing demon core energy for a day, Hu Gao's primordial energy cultivation finally broke through a major rank, advancing from mid-rank Sixth Rank Condensation Shadow Realm to mid-rank Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm.
"Wow, congratulations, Boss! You've successfully broken through to mid-rank Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm. Now you can be considered a late-rank Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist," Little Five said excitedly, clapping his front paws, even more excited than if he had broken through himself.
Hu Gao took out a jade bottle from his chest, filled with Green Body Pills. He planned to use the pills to enhance his physical strength while his cultivation realm was still fresh, so that he could maximize the power when blending the two types of energy.
"Boss, why don't you give these pills to me? The energy inside can help me replenish my dragon qi, and I can provide you with dragon qi to temper your body," Little Five said, jumping in front of Hu Gao.
"Can these pills provide you with dragon qi?" Hu Gao asked, surprised, as he hadn't considered this.
If dragon qi could temper his body, he wouldn't want to use these low-quality pills. This was evident from the fact that his physical strength could already match a Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist.
"Don't worry, these pills are a bit low-quality, but they can still provide me with some dragon qi," Little Five said, leaping up and grabbing the jade bottle from Hu Gao's hand. Hu Gao didn't stop him, letting Little Five open the bottle and take out the dark green pills, swallowing them one by one.
"Boss, use the dragon qi to temper your body."
After swallowing all the Green Body Pills, Little Five did not disappoint. A golden gas spewed from his mouth and, under Hu Gao's control, entered his body.
As soon as the golden gas entered his body, Hu Gao could clearly feel his physical strength undergoing a qualitative change, continuously strengthening. In less than an hour, he could sense that his physical strength had surpassed his primordial energy cultivation.
"Wow, I didn't expect your dragon qi to be as potent as a virility enhancer. If I could get more spiritual herbs, couldn't I continue to cultivate like this?" Hu Gao said excitedly.
Little Five understood Hu Gao's thoughts and said after a moment's consideration, "Boss, there's no rush. Since we're in the Longjia Mountain Range, we can definitely find similar herbs like Black Leaf Grass if we go deeper. With so many demon cores, and your physical strength already far surpassing your primordial energy cultivation, you can easily advance your primordial energy cultivation to peak Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm."
"Alright, I'll continue cultivating..."
Hu Gao nodded and, without wasting time, opened another bag and continued his cultivation.
As night fell and enveloped the land, especially on the hilltop hundreds of meters high, the temperature became quite cold. However, Hu Gao, sitting cross-legged on the hilltop, was completely unaware of the cold air, continuing his cultivation.
His aura, which had already broken through to Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm, continued to grow as he cultivated.
The next morning, as the first light of dawn appeared in the east, Hu Gao finally stopped his cultivation after a whole night.
"A whole night of cultivation, absorbing all the demon cores, and I only advanced to peak Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm."
Hu Gao opened his eyes, a hint of helplessness in his gaze. "At the late-rank Condensation Shadow Realm, low-rank demon cores are hard to enhance primordial energy much. If it weren't for the twenty late-rank first-stage demon cores, I might not have even reached late-rank Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm."
At a price of 50,000 gold coins per demon core, this was a million gold coins, all turned to ashes, not a single coin left.
"Both my primordial energy cultivation and physical strength have reached peak Seventh Rank Condensation Shadow Realm. I wonder what level my combat strength has reached..."
Hu Gao's eyes flashed with a hint of battle intent. Although his cultivation had significantly improved, the increase wasn't too large, only from Sixth Rank to peak Seventh Rank. With his control over power, there was no problem at all.
"Boss, your current combat strength can directly kill an ordinary late-rank first-stage demon beast. As for human martial artists, even a general Ninth Rank Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist might not be your match."
Hu Gao's improved combat strength made Little Five the happiest. "Boss, now that your cultivation has reached a certain level, we should delve deeper into the Longjia Mountain Range to hunt demon beasts and find treasures, right?"
"Sure, let's see who can kill faster!" Hu Gao said, then directly rushed down the hilltop!
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