Through ten years of bitter training, Liu Xing had forged a body like cast bronze and iron. The most immediate result was that even the Spotted Mouse, overlord of the Frozen Earth Plains, could become a delicacy on his table.
In a sense, Liu Xing already stood at the top of the food chain on Connors Star.
Everything in the world had its cause and effect. Had Liu Xing not possessed extraordinary innate perseverance, allowing him to train the Nine Great Wilderness Forms to such an unbelievable level, he might long since have perished in the jaws of those primeval beasts.
As he grew older, Liu Xing became more mature in mind. Before, he had merely swallowed whole everything the old man taught him, memorizing it without understanding. Now, he had begun thinking for himself about what those things actually meant.
For instance, Liu Xing saw an image of a person sitting cross-legged in the Jade Slip the old man had left behind. Remembering how the old man had always meditated in that posture when he was alive, Liu Xing could not resist trying it himself. More importantly, he was actually bold enough to pick random sentences from the formulas he had memorized, choosing those he thought he understood, and attempt to cultivate with them.
For a cultivator, what Liu Xing was doing would have been extremely dangerous. No cultivation method allowed the slightest carelessness. Even a tiny misstep in the flow of spiritual energy through the meridians could, at best, cause cultivation deviation and a severe loss of power. At worst, it could paralyze all four limbs and endanger one's life.
Fortunately, Liu Xing had no Spiritual Root and could not sense even a trace of spiritual energy, so cultivation methods had no effect on him whatsoever. Otherwise, all this reckless fumbling would only have cost him his life for nothing.
Still, after all his haphazard attempts, Liu Xing did gain something. At the very least, he developed a more concrete understanding of the formulas he knew by heart.
For example, there were such readily understandable cultivation formulas as, "Raise the breath and nourish strength; open the channels and enliven the meridians; let energy roam the dantian; lay the foundation of internal training," and, "Gather energy in the meridians; turn the breath inward; guide it beyond the body; release strength like an arrow." Although Liu Xing could not cultivate according to them, he gained some understanding of what they meant. He also realized that beyond the external training methods he practiced, there were far more powerful methods of internal training.
According to the old man, internal training methods were what truly possessed great power, far beyond anything his Nine Great Wilderness Forms could match.
Those who achieved mastery of internal training could move mountains and overturn seas, soar like wild geese through the azure heavens, and even transform their bodies into rainbow light and send their souls roaming beyond the universe. Only such people were called immortals, standing proudly above the teeming masses and looking down upon all living beings throughout the cosmos.
Liu Xing had an innate love of ascending the highest peak and looking down upon all living beings. These so-called immortals fit his aspirations perfectly. Yet he also knew that he lacked an aptitude called a Spiritual Root and could not cultivate. As for whether the contents of the Jade Slip the old man had left behind really were various cultivation formulas, Liu Xing had no way to judge.
But Liu Xing was exceptionally clever. By comparing what he had memorized with his own understanding, he gradually worked out a great many things.
The key to internal training lay in the meridians within the human body. A Spiritual Root, meanwhile, was the essential aptitude needed to draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body and temper those meridians.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth could be said to embody the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon, possessing nature's supreme power. Once a person's meridians had been tempered, the more spiritual energy they stored, the greater their power became. This was also the fundamental basis for distinguishing a cultivator's realm.
Whether forming a core, cultivating a Nascent Soul, or even reaching the legendary Spirit Division realm, the purpose was always to enable the body to store more spiritual energy in a purer form.
The Nine Great Wilderness Forms Liu Xing currently practiced merely awakened the human body's latent potential. Even trained to the very pinnacle, they amounted to nothing more than human strength. How could that compare with the mighty power of heaven and earth?
Liu Xing had persisted in practicing the Nine Great Wilderness Forms until he reached his current level solely because his perseverance far surpassed that of ordinary people. Anyone else, knowing that the art they practiced was as unrewarding as a chicken rib-too little meat to relish, yet a pity to discard-would have given up at once.
Since Liu Xing lacked the Spiritual Root required for cultivation, the old man had never explained anything about the meridians to him. Thus, although Liu Xing had trained his external arts almost to the pinnacle of perfection, he knew little about the secrets within the human body.
Liu Xing understood that although he was now invincible on Connors Star, he was undoubtedly still weak in the eyes of the vast world beyond and its cultivators.
Liu Xing did not know whether he would ever have the chance to leave Connors Star, but the hot blood in his nature refused to let him label himself weak. Though he knew that external training was far inferior to internal training, he still tempered his flesh with near-mad fervor. With an almost obsessive conviction, he believed that as long as he put in more effort, his strength could rise even higher.
No one had ever made external training surpass internal training before, so why couldn't I be the first?
Liu Xing firmly believed he could create a miracle! In fact, he was already creating one. At least in this age when cultivators reigned supreme, no one could surpass the strength of Liu Xing's natural flesh-and-blood body!
Moonlight continued to shine upon Liu Xing's young, innocent face. Even then, he was probably still dreaming of growing stronger and stronger.
The nights on Connors Star were exceedingly long, taking up nearly two-thirds of each day. Even on an ordinary night, a cold north wind blew across the Frozen Earth Plains without ceasing. No matter how powerful a beast was, at such a time it would stay hidden in its lair.
But this night was vastly different from all the others!
Far away in the western night sky, a dazzling, fiery-red meteor suddenly streaked into view. Only after it passed through the atmosphere did it become clear that this was an enormous metal object, plunging toward the ground at tremendous speed. Its landing point lay directly in the hills where Liu Xing lived.
The sound of the metal object tearing through the air was like a succession of muffled thunderclaps rumbling on the horizon. Even the howling north wind could not drown it out.
After achieving mastery in the Nine Great Wilderness Forms, Liu Xing's hearing and eyesight had become dozens of times keener than those of an ordinary person. Even asleep, he woke with a start in an instant.
Liu Xing listened intently for a moment, and his expression changed. He sprang to his feet and shot out of the cave in a single dash, then stood atop the hill and gazed toward the western night sky.
PS: Brothers and sisters, remember to vote when you read! My tender, easily wounded heart needs more of your recommendation votes to nurture it.
Before you continue