Breakthrough, Passion and Future
The hatred in his mind rose to greater and greater heights, fueling his uncaring massacre of the bull demons who were being directly slaughtered like lambs.
Within three days of constant combat, all that was left were hundreds of corpses, the endurance of a Fifth Stage Physical Cultivator being no joke as he felt only slightly tired at the end of it.
His Primeval Body Art had reached a standstill, retrained at near the peak, it's foundation still reeling from the previous break through, similarly his Sword Aura was vibrating!
However, his Qi had been exhausted and this place no longer had thick enough killing intent to fufill his needs quickly.
Venturing forth, he found that the killing intent grew exponentially in strength as though it were turning from a fog into a blizzard!
If not for the Hidden Heart Array, he was certain he would be torn to shreds and barely be able to walk with the Fifth Stage Physique.
Yet, as soon as he arrived within that area, he found a familiar figure once again.
She was training without a single change in her facial expression, as though a rock in the midst of a raging river, unmoving and uncaring of the surrounding rapids.
She did not notice him at all.
"Doing this for us…" His love in his mind riled itself up, rising to a height on the same at the hatred.
His gaze was more resolved as he sat down.
His foundations for the three energies was still raw, however, that was the best and worst time to breakthrough again as it would be more tightly knitted of a foundation, but it would also possibly shatter.
Yet, he did not care.
To truly be ruthless, one must start with oneself.
Such was the teachings he knew.
His cultivation speed due to the harmony between his three energies was extremely quick and in only a few days he had managed to reach the next wall for his Law.
It has now been eleven days.
The moment he sensed the barrier before himself, he knew the time had come. His foundation was robust due to the great growing pains he had been forced to endure and the immense stresses he had undergone creating a tenacious mind.
Even as the blizzard of killing intent tried to destroy it, he did not budge an inch.
He released the Hidden Heart Array.
Immediately, clouds gathered and a Lighting Flood Dragon coalesced above, yet, that was not all.
Two shadows appeared high above.
One was smaller, whilst the other was far larger… a monstrous being.
Glancing to the side, he saw the the figure was looking up was intent on the dragon.
Looking back his own way, his pupils shrank.
This was no Flood Dragon.
It was a Lightning Dragon.
Four legs with five claws and a body like a small mountain!
His Inner Sea shook violently!
The Sixth Chain Flood Dragon began to peel off the Sanguine Sword Law despite it not having been provoked yet!
However… there was no Flood Dragon!
It was a Golden Scaled Dragon, it's eyes a jet black abyss, only it's white pupils were visible within it's iron gaze.
"Guooo!!!"
The Sixth Chain Golden Dragon bleted out it's truth to the world in the form of a terrifying roar!
Shou Xin sensed the presence of the Great Path, it's tail had been seen! His hatred rose to it's peak and his eyes shone like stars!
Jumping straight into the sky, he twisted his body, Fukkatsu crying out as it was drawn! Waves of Sanguine Sword Qi gathered!
The Lightning Dragon fell down like a bolt! Crashing directly into Shou Xin's Fukkatsu Koka Kiru!
Using the strength of the crash, he pushed himself onto the head of the Lightning Dragon, the moment he did so countless arcs of lighting attacked him!
At the same time, within his Inner Sea the Sword Field rose and struck at the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon, however the thirty two whiskers were overwhelming and with his mind split, it was horribly difficult to keep up!
Flicking Fukkatsu higher into the sky, Shou Xin used his own force to soar above the Lighting Dragon's brutal assault, dodging the arcs by a hair!
It turned its head upwards, seeking to swallow him!
Fukkatsu Koka Kiru returns to Fukkatsu Kiru.
Gathering the spread out strength of the Koka, he formed a fearsome sword stroke as he was swallowed!
Lightning arcs burned long gashes into his body, however only two managed to harm him, as he swiftly shattered the soft innards of the lightning dragon all the way down. His eyes flashed.
"It's core!"
A single, stagnant lightning bolt.
His instincts over the various breakthroughs he had had in the physical cultivation had been picking up on something hidden within it's body, but he never got the chance until the Fifth Stage breakthrough where he was almost certain.
Betting his life on it, he allowed it to swallow him, his instincts screaming!
Grab it!
The moment he did, the Lightning Dragon belted out a verdant roar that shook the sky!
Shou Xin felt his body gaining strength at an astonishing rate, the strength within his Primeval Body soaring as little arcs of lighting began to melt into his very being!
Within his body, the scales which reinforced the Inner Sea shot forward to suppress the whiskers allowing the swords to rush forward however the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon reeled it's head back, it's stomach bulging!
Precisely as it did so, the Lightning Dragon began to bulge as well!
Shou Xin's instincts told him something terrible was going to happen, and without a hint of greed nor hesitation, he let go of the Lightning Dragon's core, falling through the cut he made in it's body and towards the earth.
His full focus was dedicated to the Inner Sea, where the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon had finished it's preparation.
The world within was dyed in a golden flame which burned the top of his Inner Sea, setting his Sanguine Sword Qi ablaze with golden fire!
The veins all over his body spiderwebbed as though he were about to explode from the sudden and immense pressure! The Lightning he had absorbed in the process of grabbing the dragon's core and the golden fire were reacting to each other and trying to split him into pieces!
"As if."
Shou Xin body may have been screaming, but he was unfeeling, his Hidden Heart Bloodline showing some usefulness as even in this moment, he could think calmly.
In a moment, the Sword Mound rumbled!
It raised itself, revealing the soft underbelly and his soul within.
The golden flames which had been spread out rushed together towards it, setting to burn him to death! At the same time the lighting bolts in his body collapsed into a small dragon ripping at his internal organs to distract him!
Alas!
It was no use.
His mind was fully focused.
The moment he golden flames arrived underneath the Sword Mound, the immense amount of Sanguine Sword Qi which he could not normally control at once due to the weakness of his soul, began to rumble together gathering beneath his Sword Mound into a massive ball of Qi!
Crack!
His Soul almost shattered, but he endured!
The Golden Flame was directly devoured!
Within his body, his organs began to shine with primal light, the small lightning dragon being directly overwhelmed at the instant strength from all over his body gathering in a single point!
If he did not gather both of these powers completely and at precisely the same time, his body would explode from the internal pressure or his insides would collapse from the external pressure!
At this moment, he was like a normal mortal.
Sensing it's Golden Fire being stolen, and the Lighting Dragon noticing it's Core being assimilated, the two Dragon's drew back their head to devour him!
However, the suppression of the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon was serious enough to stop it from charging too far forward, the Golden Flame, it's source of power, cut away from it it couldn't resist.
The Lightning Dragon in a similar boat with almost all of its strength drained could only fall from the sky with it's maw open to swallow him whole once again.
If eaten in his weakened state, he would certainly die.
Yet, the one in question who life was hanging by a thread, did not feel threatened.
Smiling as he stood upon his Sword Mound, his real body had a weak smirk rise upon it.
There was one power which had been ignored this entire time, and hidden away.
Sword Aura.
Gathering it into an illusory blade of it's own, the immense power of the Sword Aura which had reached Sixth Stage without a hitch, directly cut apart the hundreds of defenseless hairs left on the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon's head.
Weakened to such an extent, and with it's power quickly dwindling, the suppression turned from that, into a fearsome attack in the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon's eyes.
It charged towards the scales without a care for it's own life, but it was too late.
They were directly shattered right before it's eyes which quickly lost what life it had.
The Golden Flame of the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon spread out along his Inner Sea's top though it no longer burned away anything but the impurities, having been assimilated into his very being.
The same could be said for the Lighting Dragon's Core which he had taken the majority of it's power, his physique becoming terrifyingly robust.
An inch off the ground, he opened his eyes and his body which was about to turn into paste, shivered and vanished leaving an afterimage behind the instant his finger touched the hard earth.
The Lightning Dragon slammed into the earth, and before it could realize what happened, it's core had been dug out by Shou Xin who swiftly absorbed it.
Controlling it's flow through his body, he sensed a change as the three energies were harmonized once again.
He discovered a strange vein in his body, something he had read about in the past, something he had seen when he was given the knowledge of the Primeval Body Art.
Meridians.
Like thick highways within his body, they were relatively packed and thin, not allowing much to move through.
It was strange, and the sensation quickly vanished as though an illusion.
However, what was not an illusion was the sense through his entire body.
The Lightning Essence his Primeval Body had absorbed now purified his body like a constant weak tribulation wracking his mind with pain, however, he quickly got used to it as black muck and sludge fell off from his body.
The Golden Flame within his Inner Sea burned away any and all impurities strengthening itself only to be quickly suppressed by the three powers.
These two new powers acted like weak tribulations constantly purifying, but devouring that weaker Qi and Essence also made them stronger, making it a double edged sword.
If not careful, those powers may just devour him too.
Shaking his head, he took off the clothes he had just gotten not too long ago and switched into a pair of shorts and two line sandals once that disgusting sensation had left and he stopped having impurities dripping off him.
Strength rolled off of him as though what stood there was a sword seeking to pierce the sky and not a human.
However, like a simmering tide at sunset, it eb and flowed, soon enough flowing back to its source.
He let out a long, heavy breath.
His soul had been badly injured, but it would heal.
It was not like before where his three powers were in conflict constantly, they were him and he was them, a reflection of one another, one and the same.
His soul being injured was like them being injured.
The body of the Sixth Chain Golden Dragon was turned into dust as it's scales were used to cover a huge portion of the Inner Sea, it's body simply that huge, whilst it's pure Qi body was used to directly strengthen his soul, turning it from a smooth hardy pebble into a rough boulder though it was still relatively small not growing in size at all but having a boulders worth of soul densely packed inside.
"Your Master should be happy." A familiar, sweet tone broke into his thoughts.
Opening his eyes, a small smile caressed his face.
"You've grown far more beautiful." Shou Xin smiled gently as he looked at Feng Wuqing.
Seventh Stage Physical Cultivator.
Her skin was flawless and her hair glimmered among the dead, a frightening strength residing within her lionizing gaze.
"And you've lost your clothing again." She shook her head, flicking her wrist, she took out a spare set of clothing.
"Thanks."
"Mm."
Not feeling even a shred of embarrassment, he changed directly in front of her, and her not caring at all, directly licked him all over with her eyes.
"We're surrounded." Shou Xin remarked as he scanned the surroundings.
Fifth Stage Bull Demons.
"Let's fight." Feng Wuqing shrugged with a merciless smile.
For a moment, he wondered who had been the one to undergo mind corruption, but quickly set that aside as his hatred rose towards the Bull Demons, who dared to try and attack.
They began to link together, but Shou Xin did not care.
Fukkatsu, which had begun to wane in strength compared to Shou Xin's power, was reeling from the density and strength put into each swing and sword stroke.
It screamed after each move, letting out a spine-chilling sensation though there was no truly living beings to feel it, only the long dead Bull Demons who rushed forward.
For two days, they battled relentlessly on their way out of the gorge.
The entire way, they were beset upon by Bull Demons, the tail of the Great Path sometimes visible, and especially so when the Seventh Stage Bull Demon appeared, however, it was swiftly cut down by Shou Xin's immense Sanguine Sword Qi and Feng Wuqing's Martial Arts.
By the time they reached their starting point, they'd hardly broken a sweat.
Though the stages were similar, the difference between the Bull Demons and Xin and Wuqing was simply too vast as they both had many cards up their sleeves, yet the Bull Demons only had the chains which became simple to counter once one knew.
The two then began their climb up to the Demon Gate, which was simply enough as there were many small floating rocks and such to kick off from.
At Fourth Chain or Stage, one would not be able to make the massive jumps, but at Sixth, it was a simple matter, even more so for Wuqing who directly jumped more than four times the distance Shou Xin did.
Frowning slightly at the difference in strength, Shou Xin drew out Fukkatsu and threw it out, wrapped in Sanguine Sword Qi and Sword Aura, it began to float.
In the next moment, Shou Xin began to soar!
Using the sword as a sort of mount, he appeared beside Feng Wuqing and smiled before shooting up faster.
However, just as he was about to appear at the top first, he heard a sonic boom beneath him, and Feng Wuqing's face was quickly approaching!
Her entire body wrapped in Martial Aura she had become even stronger! Crushing the rocks beneath her feet, she soon caught up to him and smiled at him.
The two ultimately arrived at the top at almost the same time, though, who got there first would be a point of tension for a long time.
—
"Oh?" Vienna, who floated lazily above the Shou Clan, looked back at Shouai City, but was soon looking disappointed as he teleported.
Below, a great wave relieved sighs.
—
"Damn it. You were so close. Why can't you be more like your lover here?" Vienna stared at Shou Xin coldly, "Sixth Chain is all you got after two months again? Even if the time distortion is strong, that is no excuse!"
His eyes began to redden as though he were about to rampage, with the stairs collapsed from his last rampage as well, Shou Xin could not just simply leave, he needed a travel out.
"Master." Shou Xin looked at him coldly, though his emotions were extremely dulled, there was something about Vienna that simply rubbed him the complete wrong way, "I am talentless. Is this not good enough considering?"
Vienna held his next word and raised his head with enraged eyes.
"You little shit. If you would just accept my teachings, you would be Unchained by now!"
"You said that even I could become Seventh Chain in only a few months, but look at me now? Not very good at predictions, are you, Master?"
"If not for the oath, I would gut you."
"If not for the difference in strength, I would skin you."
The two of them glared at one another. Vienna raised his arm to strike Feng Wuqing with intent to kill, but Fukkatsu arrived at Shou Xin's throat just as fast forcing him to stop.
Vienna had sworn a death oath back then to make him a Master, and if Shou Xin died… it would be more of a problem to escape the consequences than to simply hold himself back right now and so he stopped.
"Tch. Don't make me wait too long." Vienna turned his back and teleported them all out.
In the end, he vanished away.
Feng Wuqing looked at Vienna's back bitterly cold.
Having dropped them in the Heart Mind Pagoda's top floor, Shou Xin directly ignored his leaving back and laid down on the bed.
"Aren't you angry?!" Feng Wuqing turned on him.
"What can we do?" Shou Xin laid on his back looking at the ceiling, "He is above Unchained, the difference in strength is unbelievable. If the mountains stood in his way, I am confident he would take issue with all mountains and destroy them all."
Without any recourse to that, Feng Wuqing cooled down, though she was still a bit angry for the near death experience, but it was as he said, they could do nothing about it.
Instead she laid back on the bed, tired as a typhoon.
"Do you think we'll get separated?" Wuqing suddenly asked as night had begun to fall and they had not said a word.
"We will." Shou Xin confidently.
She turned to him with quivering eyes which were turning wet.
"Do you really think so?" Her tone shook.
"Mhm," Shou Xin's voice grew quiet, "But not for long."
Her eyes widened as he turned towards her, a burning conviction built into his very gaze.
"If you die, I will follow." He said gently. Despite the dulled emotions, something he could not be rid of was the loneliness of living in a home filled with the living but feeling dead.
He refused it.
Refused it all.
Feng Wuqing, he had decided, would be the end.
She, who saw this written in something stronger than diamond, within his gaze, slowly calmed and smiled as she leaned into him.
"And if you should leave first, I will follow."
Their lips touched and a new emotion rose… the moon hung for a long time, that night.