Xu Yi had thoroughly mastered the cultivation method for breaking through the second Origin Lock long ago. What he lacked wasn't cultivation, but the resources needed to prepare for it.
In fact, while studying how to break through the second Origin Lock, he had already formed a fairly complete plan in his mind.
The methods for breaking through the three Origin Locks were different.
For the first Origin Lock, one only needed to open the visible and hidden apertures, and it would open on its own.
But the second Origin Lock required gathering abundant essence and energy, then unleashing a fierce surge to break it open.
Essence and energy came from blood and vitality. As the saying went, three parts blood became one part essence.
In other words, Xu Yi only needed to fill his body with blood and vitality, continually transform it into essence, and store it up.
Once his essence was sufficiently abundant, he could follow the cultivation method laid out in the Nine Revolutions Saint Creation Art, gather the accumulated essence, and break through the Origin Lock. Then the task would be complete.
In short, the key to breaking through the second Origin Lock lay in strengthening his blood and vitality.
As it happened, back when Xu Yi had punished the cloaked man, he had forced the Blood-Eating Method out of him.
After studying it closely, Xu Yi had understood the marvel of the Blood-Eating Method. When it came to rapidly replenishing blood and vitality, it was undoubtedly a first-rate technique.
However, the Blood-Eating Method had failed to escape the problem shared by almost every cultivation method that promised quick results: its backlash was immense.
The Blood-Eating Method had been branded an evil art precisely because the blood and vitality gained through devouring were impure and mixed.