"Shout, shout... Even if you scream your throat out... it's no use!"
Gu Xiaoxing wolfed down his food, listening to the roar outside, not caring at all, even with a smug look on his face, "Only a fool would go out and let you catch him!"
At this moment, there were several large pots in this cave. Gu Xiaoxing was close to the inner kitchen and had secretly learned a lot of cooking skills. He also had all kinds of tools, including steaming, boiling, baking, frying, and even making soup, making a real fish feast.
With Gu Xiaoxing's current cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Condensation, these spirit fish were basically refined immediately after entering his stomach, so he did not stop eating at all, taking big bites of the meat and gnawing on the bones. He had learned his lesson and knew that these fish bones were the essence.
With Gu Xiaoxing's physical strength, even if these bones are harder than steel, they are actually no different from brittle bones to him. They are still crunchy when he takes a bite. Not to mention, they taste really good.
The fish were from the Lingchi Lake, and the soup was made from the Lingchi Lake water. When Gu Xiaoxing had finished eating all ten or so big fish, without even a drop of soup left, he patted his belly with satisfaction. He finally felt full, and he felt that this was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
"This is what people call happiness, isn't it?" Gu Xiaoxing leaned back and sighed sincerely, then touched the purple gourd around his waist.
"Well... I can still have two meals!" Gu Xiaoxing looked at the dome of the cave, thinking leisurely. He was really pissed off this time, and he took ruthless action. Not only did he steal most of the spirit fish in the pond, he also took away four green lotuses.
Thinking of this, Gu Xiaoxing's mind moved, and a green lotus appeared in front of him. The green lotus looked extremely large when viewed up close, much taller than a human being. Even out of water, it was still swaying, as if it had great vitality. The jade lotus root connected to the root was obviously a good thing, but the most special thing was the lotus seeds on the lotus pod, which seemed to be wrapped in a layer of fairy clothes. Gu Xiaoxing had coveted it for a long time, so he gently picked one and got close to smell it.
Suddenly, the fragrance filled his nose. Gu Xiaoxing swallowed his saliva, and couldn't help but swallowed the lotus seeds in one bite.
boom!
When the "immortal clothing" on the outer layer of the lotus seed was bitten, the lotus seed melted instantly. Then, vitality exploded in Gu Xiaoxing's mouth and instantly flowed through every part of his body, as if he had received a huge tonic, filling his body with blood and energy to a point where it broke through a certain limit. Then, a nosebleed spurted out...
Gu Xiaoxing was shocked and his nose bled profusely, and he couldn't stop it. His face was red and the blue veins were wriggling on his skin like little snakes, as if his body was about to explode.
"This is... overdoing it!"
At this moment, Gu Xiaoxing finally felt fear, and suddenly used the Three Yang Alchemy Body, while practicing the Spirit Control Technique, controlling the Soul-Eating Insects to frantically devour these lives!
But despite this, some cracks gradually appeared on his skin, and blood continued to overflow from the cracks, but at the same time, a strong vitality allowed the wounds to heal quickly, and then they cracked again and healed again.
It goes on and on…
Finally, with golden runes flashing around his body, after about an hour, the nosebleed finally stopped. He breathed a long sigh of relief, and when he opened his eyes, Gu Xiaoxing was still frightened.
He didn't know that those green lotuses were actually top-grade spiritual medicines prepared by the Fifth Elder in order for him to break through to the Core Formation stage. The lotus seeds, in particular, were the most important main ingredient. The vitality contained in them was far beyond what a Qi Condensation cultivator could bear.
If it weren't for his strong physique, he would have already surpassed the level of Qi Condensation after practicing the Three Yang Alchemy Body. If it weren't for his cultivation level just breaking through to the eighth level of Qi Condensation, he might have really been blown up by that strong vitality just now.
"Broken alchemy furnace, it's so vicious!" Gu Xiaoxing said angrily. He was almost killed by a small lotus seed due to his carelessness. He directly blamed all the mistakes on the alchemy furnace and quickly put the green lotus back into the purple gourd. He decided not to eat this thing again before building his foundation. It was too nutritious!
After all, overdoing it is dangerous.
However, despite the danger, Gu Xiaoxing also gained great benefits. His physical body was at least improved to a higher level. What was even more rare was that the vitality in his body was much stronger than before. Even after the soul-eating insects devoured a lot of vitality, his cultivation reached the middle of the eighth level of Qi Condensation.
Thinking of what Master Bai said, Gu Xiaoxing fell into deep thought. He also felt that only by improving his strength could he feel more secure. Moreover, he also wanted to return to Fulai Village as soon as possible.
Laying the foundation is a must!
"Ten more months...that's enough!"
Gu Xiaoxing rarely showed a determined look, and then plunged into cultivation.
Like a flash of lightning, six months had passed again.
During these six months, Gu Xiaoxing did not rely on any spirit stones or elixirs, but relied on his own strength, step by step, to improve his cultivation to the peak of the eighth level of Qi Condensation.
At the same time, this is also the beginning of Gu Xiaoxing’s second year in the Soul-Devouring Sect!
Unconsciously, a year had passed, and Gu Xiaoxing finally understood what it meant to be without sun or moon in the mountains. To him, a few months were just a few times of practice.
After being promoted to the inner sect, he focused on cultivation and there were no trivial matters for him to do.
"I was able to reach the peak of the eighth level of Qi Condensation within one year of joining the sect. Could it be that I, Gu Xiaoxing, am a genius who has not appeared in a thousand years?" Suddenly, Gu Xiaoxing thought rather arrogantly, "Yes! Even Dongfang Yu took three years to reach the eighth level of Qi Condensation after joining the sect..."
"Hmm? Why do I miss her?"
Gu Xiaoxing quickly shook off this inexplicable sadness, then took out a pill and murmured, "It's time!"
This pill was none other than the Yuanling Pill. Taoist Master Bai had reminded that one must cultivate to the eighth level of Qi Condensation and have a completely solid foundation before taking this pill. Naturally, Gu Xiaoxing listened to these words about safety and swallowed the pill without hesitation.
The pill melted in his mouth and turned into an extremely rich spiritual power that rushed through his body. Gu Xiaoxing hurriedly activated the Spirit Control Technique to absorb and refine the spiritual power.
One hour...
Two hours...
The aura of Gu Xiaoxing is rising...
When the third hour passed, a violent aura burst out from his body and swept through the entire cave.
Finally, the ninth level of Qi Condensation!
But this was not the end. Gu Xiaoxing's aura was still rising. Several hours passed, until his aura stagnated at the late ninth level of Qi Condensation, and then he slowly opened his eyes.
After joining the sect for one year, he reached the ninth level of Qi Condensation and was close to perfection!
Even though Gu Xiaoxing is a bit cocky, he can indeed be called a genius.
What made Gu Xiaoxing helpless was that now that the burning incense was gone, the ethereal palace formed by the green smoke in his body was still at the seventh level of Qi Condensation. In fact, because he had consumed a lot of green smoke in practicing the Sealing Dust Technique before, the palace became more and more illusory without replenishment. He was afraid that he would not be able to perform the Sealing Dust Technique many times.
"Now it should be called the Sealing Divine Power!" Gu Xiaoxing thought, "After all, who can seal off another person's six senses? This is a true divine power, not like that crappy Sutra of Rebirth in the Previous Life..."
Thinking of this, Gu Xiaoxing got angry and couldn't help cursing "broken coffin" again. Being deceived by the coffin, in his heart, he didn't have the proper respect for a master. He was quite resentful. If he was strong enough, he would definitely beat the broken coffin to pieces...
At this time, there are still four months away from the foundation-building opportunity that Master Bai mentioned.
In the following days, Gu Xiaoxing did not concentrate on practicing, but spent more time in places like the library and the magic pavilion. There were too many bizarre and dangerous things in the world of cultivation. Gu Xiaoxing felt that he did not have to know everything, but he must understand some of them.
Gradually, Gu Xiaoxing was not limited to reading books on esoteric arts and strange arrays, but also books on magical herbs and elixirs, magical instruments and treasures, monsters and spirits, rare objects and treasures, and so on.
The more he understood, the more amazed he became.
In the world of cultivation, all kinds of things are possible!
He finally understood that in this world, the dangers and fears are far more than just the monsters and spirits; some flowers and plants are a million times more terrifying!
For example, there is a book that records a strange flower called Baby's Laugh. You know it is not simple just by hearing the name. This flower will make a baby-like laugh. Anyone who hears this laugh will grow backwards and eventually become a baby, and then laugh at everyone he sees...!
Just thinking about it made Gu Xiaoxing shudder!
I continued to flip through the books, and the more I read, the more frightened I became. Of course, there were some rare treasures, but most of these things were extremely rare, and unless you had the chance, you would hardly come across them.
Suddenly, he saw such an object in the book. He paused and murmured, "Rootless water... ? Rootless water, an innate sacred object, can change destiny and reshape one's bones..."
Gu Xiaoxing took a closer look and discovered that this was a rare innate holy object in the world, which could instantly transform any mortal into a spiritual genius. Books recorded that although this object was a kind of water, it was born innately and had its own intelligence, which was extremely strange!
Looking at these descriptions of the rootless water, Gu Xiaoxing felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He frowned and began to search his memory. Gradually, he opened his eyes wide.
"Could it be...?" Gu Xiaoxing was shocked, because he found that he seemed to have encountered this kind of rootless water!
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became!
When he left the village to search for immortals, he wandered in the Menghuai Mountains for a month. Although the place was full of a kind of extremely sleepy demon pig called Menghuai, he also encountered many strange things. Among them, wasn't there a kind of water that could flow on its own?
Gu Xiaoxing remembered that when they met the water, they were both frightened and fled towards each other. Now thinking about it, wasn't that rootless water?
"Oh my god!" Gu Xiaoxing's eyes widened, "I actually came across such a treasure by accident?"
He suddenly felt regretful for missing out on such a treasure. He should have grabbed the water and swallowed it at that time!
Finally, he sighed helplessly, "It's too late to say anything now. It's been a year. That Wugenshui is even more timid than me. He must have run away long ago."
In addition to reading those secret stories and tricks to broaden his horizons, Gu Xiaoxing also studied some techniques, while honing himself and not falling behind in his practice.
Time passed quickly, until one day three months later, his cultivation reached the perfection of Qi Condensation.
It felt like there was a shackle in the dark. If I couldn't break through it, my cultivation would never improve even a little bit.
This breakthrough requires building a foundation!
Finally, the one-year period has arrived!