Another half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Meng, who was cultivating deep in the mountains, had successfully broken through to the later stage of the Heavenly Abode Realm and condensed his second Origin Core.
"Bang!"
A magical beast the size of a house was sent flying by a single finger from Xiao Meng, snapping towering ancient trees one after another before landing with its life or death unknown.
"With my current strength, one- or two-star Dou Masters can be easily crushed."
Xiao Meng muttered. Cultivators on the Dou Qi Continent placed the utmost importance on Dou Qi; only when Dou Qi was pure and mighty would their strength truly be formidable. As for the physical body, it was ignored by many, or rather, the path of body-refinement was so difficult that people could see no hope, so the majority of people focused their energy on Dou Qi instead.
However, the importance of the physical body could not be ignored. Xiao Meng even acutely believed that cultivating the physical body was precisely the right path.
At this moment, in his view, the world was like a living organism, and all cultivators were undoubtedly parasites, continuously consuming the energy of this world. Yet, could the energy of a world be infinite?
The answer was impossible.
The exhaustion of the Origin Emperor Energy on the Dou Qi Continent was the best proof of this.
Then would there come a day when the Dou Qi of this world would also be completely consumed and become just like Earth?
This was entirely possible.
However, if that day truly arrived, those cultivators who had grown stronger by relying on Dou Qi—without the support of Dou Qi, would their cultivation levels plummet? Would those who were originally supposed to live for a thousand years die off in two or three hundred years? In the end, would they not even dare to fight for fear that the meager Dou Qi remaining in their bodies would be completely consumed?
This was certain.
The Origin Emperor Energy was exhausted, which was why no one in this world could break through to Dou Di anymore.
Once Dou Qi was exhausted, there would no longer be any cultivators in this world, and even the former experts would become just like ordinary people.
The physical body was like this world, and the Origin Force originating from oneself was just like the Dou Qi of this world. Right now, although he still could not generate a continuous stream of Origin Force within his body and still needed to absorb the energy of this world,
he believed that as long as he tempered his physical body to the extreme, the Origin Force would eventually have a time of infinite inexhaustibility. Without relying on the outside world, he could still remain invincible and exist alongside the world.
Even if one day the Origin Force were to wither and cut off, he would still live longer than others, wouldn't he?
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if the physical body could not produce a continuous stream of energy, the impact he suffered at that time would not be very great.
Of course, this day might come very late.
But after all, that day would eventually arrive.
Because he did not believe that there was any such thing as eternity in this world; after all, even the universe had times of the Big Bang and total destruction.
On top of that, if Dou Qi was compared to water, then the physical body was the wooden bucket holding the water. The sturdier the wooden bucket, the more water it would naturally hold, and the reverse was also true by the same logic.
Therefore, no matter from which aspect one looked at it, the physical body was very important and could not be ignored.
"Although the path of body-refinement is fraught with difficulties, this is indeed the most perfect path, and with every breakthrough, strength will surge tremendously. Although cultivating Dou Qi is somewhat easier, their strength growth might not necessarily be as fast as mine."
Xiao Meng chuckled lightly. Condensing an Origin Core in a little over a month—this breakthrough speed was not considered very slow; on the contrary, it could be said that this speed was simply heaven-defying.
He was very satisfied with the achievements he had made during this period. Next, he wandered around the mountain range for a while before leaving it. Firstly, having been out for so long, he had to go back and say hello to his family; secondly, the magical beasts in here were all too weak and could not serve the purpose of tempering, so he planned to go back and notify Xiao Zhan that he wanted to take a distant trip to train in the Beast Mountain Range.
I wonder if Number Four has managed to beat Liu Xi's master to the ground. But thinking about it... the possibility isn't high, seeing as that old fellow is a third-grade alchemist while Number Four is at most second-grade. To win, the difficulty is too huge unless Yao Lao steps in.
However... his cultivation should have broken through to Dou Zhe, right?
Yet according to the original plot, Xiao Yan only broke through to the eighth stage of Dou Zhi Qi a few days before thecoming-of-age ceremony in a few months, and even that shocked a bunch of people to no end. So if he breaks through to a three- or four-star Dou Zhe, or even a five- or six-star Dou Zhe by then, he's probably going to scare a whole lot of people to death.
No matter how he strutted about, however, he still couldn't compare to him, could he?
Dou Zhe? He could pin down and flip Dou Masters, alright.
Second-grade alchemist? Big Brother now refines third-grade pills like eating and drinking water.
"Clop! Clop! Clop! Clop!"
Just as Xiao Meng was immersed in his own world and unable to extricate himself, the sound of horse hooves suddenly rang out from behind. He immediately regained his senses, stopped in his tracks, and turned around to look into the distance.
Coming into view were a dozen or so middle-aged men clad in armor, guarding a young girl of about his age. They seemed to be fleeing for their lives, as they all had injuries on them and their expressions were very anxious.
Seeing this group of people, Xiao Meng was stunned at first, and then he drew in a sharp breath. Not only were these people powerful in their own right, but even their mounts were strong—they were tier-three Wind Qilin Horses, possessing the strength of Da Dou Shi.
"They wear uniform armor, so they must be the guards of the Jia Ma Empire. Yet to protect a young girl like this with such a powerful guard, the identity of this girl is definitely not ordinary. Most likely someone from the imperial family, or even a princess. But the problem is, who the hell is bored enough to dare chase down people from the imperial family on the territory of the Jia Ma Empire?"
Xiao Meng furrowed his brows deeply, feeling very puzzled in his heart.
Could it be the Misty Cloud Sect? Xiao Meng's heart was suddenly startled. In the Jia Ma Empire, apart from the Misty Cloud Sect, it seemed there was no family or sect that had the guts and strength to provoke the authority of the Jia Ma Empire.
"And according to the original plot, the Misty Cloud Sect originally had the ambition to swallow the Jia Ma Empire."
Xiao Meng's expression tightened as he muttered. You'd think it would be people from the Misty Cloud Sect, but... isn't their action a bit too early? According to the original plot, the Misty Cloud Sect shouldn't be making a move against the Jia Ma Empire so soon.
Just as Xiao Meng was wondering, that group of guards had already arrived not far from him. That young girl, dressed in luxurious brocade robes, with a tall figure and an aura of cold detachment emanating from her entire body, gave him a faint glance before turning her head away, rapidly riding past and kicking up a thick sandstorm.
At this, Xiao Meng cursed inwardly without stop.
Damn it, is being pretty all that great? If it wasn't for seeing you run so fast, I'd have pinned you to the ground and kissed you first, damn it! Xiao Meng vented angrily.
Afterward, Xiao Meng glanced back, wanting to see what kind of people were chasing them, but after waiting for more than ten minutes, he didn't even see a ghost's shadow.
"Without even a single pursuer, why were they running so fast? And looking like it's a matter of life and death, damn it. Even if they were participating in the World Marathon, they wouldn't need to try this hard." Xiao Meng complained.
He curled his lips and then continued his return to Wutan City.
However, as soon as he walked seven or eight miles out, he heard the sounds of a fight. Judging from the sounds of battle, this was definitely experts crossing moves; it was far too intense.
"Could it be that the previous batch of people encountered opponents?" Xiao Meng's expression paused, and then he unfolded his figure, chasing along the direction from which the sounds came. Curiosity flared in his heart, and he wanted to see what was going on.
Xiao Meng hid in a large tree, parting the branches to look into the canyon below. Sure enough, it was that previous team of people being intercepted by a group of figures in black robes. Moreover, the number of men in black far exceeded that of the guards, and their strength was even much stronger than those guards, with even three Dou Ling experts among them.
"Tsk, where did this group of black-robed ghosts pop out from? Did they take a shortcut?" Xiao Meng was speechless.
"What on earth are you people? To dare intercept and slaughter Her Royal Highness the Princess, are you not afraid of your entire clan being exterminated?" A tall, burly man roared angrily.
"Princess? That wench really is the princess of the Jia Ma Empire?"
Xiao Meng felt a slight shock in his heart, and then muttered. Looking at this chick's age, she's a year or two older than me. She should be that Princess Yaoye, one of the ten great experts of the Jia Ma Empire and the granddaughter of Jia Xingtian, the protector of the Jia Ma Imperial Family.
"Humph, Kong Feng, you've already said these words many times. Aren't you tired of it?" A black-robed person sneered.
"A bunch of rats hiding their heads and tails, you will pay the price for today's actions!" The middle-aged man called Kong Feng roared.
"Hehe, even if you want to pay the price, you won't get to see it anymore, will you?" The black-robed person sneered.
Kong Feng was a three-star Dou Ling, but he was besieged by two four-star Dou Lings, and quickly suffered defeat, losing the ability to fight again.
"Uncle Kong..." The young girl let out a shrill, desperate roar as tears streamed down her face. She was extremely despairing; the guard of over a hundred men had been reduced to just these few left in order to protect her, but in the end, they still could not escape disaster.
"Bang..."
A sudden change occurred, and that black-robed person went flying.
Before you continue