rule 8

Chapter 109 ~ Asking For Help (2)

"E-elder Zhang Zhenking? Is that really you?"

"I am. Who are you?" The voice from the orb replied.

The confirmation struck Liu Xing like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened, and his heart hammered in his chest. Even Elder Yang Zhaoyan's mouth fell open in shock. They had expected the communication orb to connect to some random person, or in a miraculous scenario, perhaps someone from the Tang Dynasty. But this... this was beyond their wildest expectations. The orb had connected them directly to Elder Zhang Zhenking of the Purple Moon Sect.

"Hurry, answer him!" Elder Yang Zhaoyan mouthed urgently.

Liu Xing nodded and gathered his wits. "My name is Liu Xing, elder. I'm an outer disciple of the Purple Moon Sect."

"How did you connect to my communication orb?" Elder Zhang Zhenking asked abruptly.

Liu Xing was about to mention that he got the orb from a man named Wang Lin, but fearing the elder might cut the connection, he decided to give the full story.

"It happened like this," he began, carefully recounting the events from Mystic Moon City to their current situation with the Yang clan. Several times, Elder Zhang Zhenking instructed him to shorten his tale, which Liu Xing did. He aimed to portray the Twelve Sun Empire as a victim in need of help, subtly reminding the elder of the empire's status as a vassal state.

"Wang Lin said he didn't know where the orb came from, but one of the children he saved mentioned it was thrown by a black tentacle," Liu Xing concluded.

"A black tentacle?" The elder mused, as if recognizing something significant. This unexpected line of communication between the Purple Moon Sect and the Wang Clan still fills Liu Xing with questions.

After a moment of contemplation, Elder Zhang Zhenking's commanding voice reverberated through the orb. "Liu Xing, I accept your report. The Twelve Sun Empire is indeed our vassal, and we have a duty to protect it. I will send four groups of inner disciples to your location. They should arrive within four days at the latest."

Hearing this, Liu Xing couldn't help but smile. While the elder hadn't sent another elder, four groups of inner disciples was a significant force. Although waiting four days seemed long, it was better than nothing. Liu Xing hoped they would all be at the Sun Refining realm.

"Thank you, elder!" Liu Xing said gratefully.

A grunt came from the orb before the connection was severed. The glow of the communication orb faded until it disappeared, leaving a normal, slightly warm orb in Liu Xing's right hand.

He looked at Elder Yang Zhaoyan, who nodded approvingly, as if Liu Xing had accomplished a great feat. And in a way, he had. He'd successfully secured reinforcements from the Purple Moon Sect!

Elder Yang Zhaoyan turned to the still-confused Wang Lin. "Wang Lin, you have provided us with great aid in our time of need. You will be rewarded handsomely later."

Wang Lin clasped his hands and smiled broadly. "Thank you, Elder Yang Zhaoyan!"

The elder nodded, then looked at Liu Xing. "Now, let's inform the prince of this good news. We also need to discuss our next steps."

Liu Xing nodded. While he felt relieved that reinforcements were coming from the Purple Moon Sect, he knew that four days was a long time in their current situation. Anything could happen in such a critical period. He decided that he wouldn't wait idly during these four days. He needed to take action.

The elder and Liu Xing stood up and headed toward the prince's location.

***

The City of Suns sprawled across the horizon, its expanse so vast that from the eastern cliffs, one could see an endless sea of buildings crowned by a massive golden castle. Numerous towers dotted the cityscape, giving it an almost modern feel despite the traditional Chinese architecture. It was said that a mortal could run for two days and nights and still not reach the edge of the city.

On one of these eastern cliffs stood two figures. The first was Elder Yang Zhaoyan, still clad in his red robe but now adorned with three rings on his right hand—two gold and one silver. When Liu Xing had inquired about them, the elder explained that they were spatial rings filled with supplies.

The second figure was Liu Xing himself. He stood with one foot propped on a rock, surveying the City of Suns. He was wearing black pants and a sleeveless black robe, with his spatial bag hanging from his waist. This bag now contained not only his treasures and spirit stones, but also numerous pills and talismans given to him by the Yang Clan.

As the sun began to peek over the horizon behind them, Liu Xing could make out several abominations from his position.

One such creature ambled mindlessly through the streets like a zombie. It appeared almost human, with a pale, naked body, but its hands ended in long, black nails that scraped against the ground with each shuffling step. The right side of its face was human with a vacant eye and slack jaw, while the left side writhed with black worms attempting to form a dog's snout. As it moved, the worms pulsated and shifted, never quite settling into a fixed shape.

In the shadows of a nearby building, Liu Xing spotted a particularly unsettling abomination. It appeared to be a young woman at first glance, but as she stepped into the light, he saw that her torso was split open like a blooming flower, revealing a mass of writhing tentacles where her organs should have been.

Scanning the area, Liu Xing noticed the wildly different appearances of these creatures. Some with crab-like claws, some with dog claws, and some with animal heads on human bodies. They were all grotesque combinations of humans and spirit beasts.

Witnessing this, Elder Yang Zhaoyan shook his head and sighed. "They were mere mortals. I doubt they would be useful to Wei Yi, yet he still transformed them into these abominations."

Liu Xing nodded grimly, knowing they would soon end these creatures' misery.

There were several reasons why Liu Xing and the Elder had chosen this easternmost location to begin their culling. The main reason was that this area was mostly occupied by mortals, making the transformed beings easier to eliminate. Most were only at the first to third stages of the Lock Opening realm.

"Alright, Liu Xing, I'll leave this area to you," the elder said, glancing toward the golden castle.

The second part of their plan involved several secret doors connected to the Emperor's Tomb. These were close to the castle, and the elder would check whether those doors were locked before helping Liu Xing cull the stronger abominations.

The elder then transformed into a white mist carried away by the wind. "Good luck, and remember our plan."

Liu Xing nodded, then inhaled deeply and summoned his gun in his left hand.

"All right," he muttered, "let's do this."

He and the prince had devised a simple plan, and Liu Xing's role was straightforward: kill as many abominations as possible. His target for the day was to eliminate at least five hundred abominations. He would start with the weaker ones and work his way up to the stronger abominations. Then, after reaching his goal, he would bring the Yang Clan into the attack.

Liu Xing willed invisibility to spread through his body. The wind caressed his cheeks and ruffled his invisible hair as he took several steps and plunged off the cliff.

As he fell, Liu Xing adjusted his state of mind, attempting to meditate with open eyes and a body ready for action. He landed on his feet, stirring up a cloud of dust around him. Nearby, an abomination turned its head and rushed toward him.

Liu Xing activated his lightning blade and adjusted his stance, waiting for the enemy to come within reach. When it did, he slashed horizontally, separating the creature's pig-like head from its human body. Then, he sidestepped to avoid the barrelling corpse.

As he did so, Liu Xing felt a hole in his consciousness open up and then settle down. Then, a fierce smile spread across his face.

He jogged toward another shambling abomination that hadn't yet noticed its fallen comrade. He reloaded his gun with qi and shot the creature square in the forehead. A hole appeared, and it collapsed like a sack of potatoes. The gun now had six bullets again, one of them formed from the abomination's qi. Sensing this, he absorbed the bullet with potent qi and directed it toward his consciousness, where it flowed toward his nearly open seventh lock.

As the energy settled, Liu Xing couldn't help but grin. It seemed he might advance to the seventh stage today after all.

Chapter 110 ~ Culling (1)

From here, Liu Xing began his hunt. He ran through the streets, slashing and shooting every abomination he encountered.

An abomination with half a human face and half covered in white fur stood at the side of the street. It died instantly, a red line forming across its neck as its head fell to the ground. Another creature, its lower face that of a dog, was gorging on the stomach of a spirit beast. It split in two, its right and left sides falling in opposite directions. A zombie-like abomination with two snake heads sprouting from its neck suddenly sprouted holes in each forehead, collapsing to the ground.

Liu Xing activated his Lightning Cloak and moved faster. The world became slightly blurry but not unrecognizable. Each abomination he found soon met its end. It seemed that while they had transformed into spirit beasts, their vital points remained prime targets for attack.

He slashed more necks, shot more brains, and pierced more hearts. Liu Xing was like a blade cutting through grass. Red blood with hints of blackness began to paint the streets and walls. The stench of blood under the morning sun made the City of Suns an ill-fitting name. It would be more aptly called the City of the Dead.

With his Lightning Cloak active, Liu Xing moved even faster. His lightning blade now extended several meters, and he swung it wildly left and right, cutting abominations in half. Blood rained down as walls around him either bore deep gashes or crumbled entirely.

As he moved deeper into the city, Liu Xing noticed the number of abominations increasing. At first, there was one every ten meters, then one per meter. When he reached the heart of the former city, he found himself in a narrow street so full of abominations that he couldn't see its end.

This street teemed with hundreds of of abominations, each with a unique and generally repulsive appearance, as if humans had been fused with animals.

Liu Xing considered using exploding bullets for the sake of efficiency, but restrained himself. After all, he had already given up stealth, but he didn't want to lure all the abominations in the city just yet. Instead, he leaped to a nearby three-story building with a balcony and dark, curving roofs. Landing on the roof's edge, he began to shoot. His first bullet flew toward a spirit beast in the center of the crowd. It had a head resembling a grotesque fly, complete with two antennae and large red eyes. The bullet struck its right eye. The creature exploded into a blood mist, its body remaining standing, held up by the crowd around it.

Liu Xing suddenly realized something. These spirit beasts seemed to have low intelligence. The abominations looked left and right, as if searching for what had killed one of their own. Some with large ears or animal features like rabbits and elephants had their ears twitching. Those with antennae waved them wildly, but not a single abomination looked up.

Realizing this, he changed his strategy. Instead of moving through the crowd, he decided to become a sniper, picking them off from his perch.

Lying on his belly atop the roof, Liu Xing began shooting. With his Lightning Cloak still active, his fingers moved like a blur. In a second, he kills dozens of spirit beasts. Each head he shot bloomed into a red flower, blood pooling on the ground below.

The group of abominations began to move erratically, pushing others as if they were people trapped in a burning train with the doors slightly open and everyone desperate to escape. Some crashed into houses and walls, creating a dust cloud that slightly hindered visibility.

Liu Xing focused and methodically killed every abomination in the street. Hundreds died in less than a minute, and a wide pool of blood began to flood the area.

When it was over, the narrow street was filled with abomination corpses. They lay on the ground, heads riddled with holes and limbs tangled together.

Each abomination had a low cultivation level, so the bullets he absorbed into his consciousness, while numerous, weren't enough for him to breakthrough to the next stage. Still, Liu Xing's heart hammered with excitement. After all, there were still thousands, if not millions, of abominations in this city, and they could fuel his cultivation.

"Time to make some noise." He decides to lure more abominations to his place.

Liu Xing aimed at a spirit beast converging around the narrow street and shot it with an exploding bullet. The abomination, which looked almost like a werewolf, suddenly exploded. The blast was quite loud, and every abomination in sight snapped their heads toward the source of the noise and began to run as if they were guard dogs who had heard an intruder.

Some began howling, shouting, and cackling. An abomination with arms made of two dogs, but with a human head with the scalp peeled off, exposing the brain, happened to jump onto the roof where he was perched. Liu Xing aimed at its head and pulled the trigger. The abomination exploded into a rain of blood, showering the abominations below with red liquid. When it died, Liu Xing felt two of his bullets were made from its beast core. He absorbed one into his consciousness and used the other to kill his next target.

Liu Xing continued to dispatch the transformed citizens of the City of Suns. At one point, he decided his current position wasn't optimal, so he launched himself toward a tall statue in the center of a plaza. The statue depicted a man looking upward, his hands behind his back, wearing a flowing robe with star and sun patterns. It was the tallest structure around and the perfect place to snipe enemies.

Liu Xing stood atop the statue's head and surveyed his surroundings. From this vantage point, he could see far and wide. Numerous spirit beasts crowded below, as if waiting for a world-shattering announcement from a great emperor. Seeing the crowd, Liu Xing decided to use the statue as his base.

Liu Xing took his stance, inhaled deeply, and began to aim. His first target from this position was an abomination that resembled a child. It didn't have animal parts on its body, but instead had an enormous head that it had to drag along the ground as it moved. The sight was weird, disgusting, and pitiful, making Liu Xing realize that while he could be glad to use them to advance his cultivation, he needed to do so respectfully.

"May you have a happy life in your next life."

He pulled the trigger. A blue bolt shot through the sky and hit the abomination's head. It exploded into a shower of red, and as if Liu Xing had struck a wasp's nest, all of the abominations snapped their heads toward the explosion and converged on that spot as if Liu Xing were there.

Liu Xing began to shoot rapidly. He maintained his state of Flowing Meditation, occasionally absorbing the bullets made from these abominations' beast core.

The plaza below began to flood with red blood. Abominations moved around like headless chickens, screaming, growling, and cackling. They seemed to sense an enemy but didn't know where, so they moved randomly.

More and more abominations poured into the plaza. They emerged from streets and buildings, even jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Liu Xing, with his gun and without moving a step from his position, killed them all.

After more than half an hour, during which he had already killed thousands of abominations, a different enemy finally appeared.

This abomination looked more intimidating than the others. While most maintained their overall humanoid appearance with one or two weird traits, this one was different. It stood about three meters tall, with two giant gray elephant feet. Its bare chest bore the face of a boar, complete with two giant tusks. Its hands were made of two giant, wicked blades, their edges gleaming in the morning sun, and its head was a single giant white eyeball.

It sauntered slowly, crushing and slashing the abominations around it as if they were mere annoying insects before a mighty cultivator. Sensing its qi, Liu Xing realized this spirit beast was at the same realm as him: Lock Opening realm sixth stage.

After it arrived in the plaza, the giant abomination swiveled its massive eyeball around, its pupil swimming to take in the situation. Liu Xing was still busy pulling the trigger and killing the abominations below ase he observed this newcomer. He noticed that this giant creature fixed its gaze on each of his abominations that he killed. And after a few moments, it looked up directly at his location.

Seeing this, Liu Xing stopped pulling the trigger and turned to face the creature. Although he was still invisible, he had no doubt that this abomination knew he was there. After all, it wasn't hard to deduce where the deadly bolts had been coming from.

For a moment, the explosions and sounds of falling abominations stopped. Only the footsteps, screams, and growls of mindlessly running abominations could be heard.

Then, the spirit beast with the giant eye for a head pointed its right wicked blade toward him. Several pulses of wind rippled from the abomination. It sent the waves rhythmically: long pulse, long pulse, short pulse. Long pulse, long pulse, short pulse. Seeing this, Liu Xing's eyebrows rose. What was it doing? Was it sending a signal?

Chapter 111 ~ Culling (2)

As if the world intended to answer his question, all the abominations that were running around suddenly stopped. Then, uniformly, they looked up. Instantly, thousands of eyes—human, animal, reptile, snake, and many more—locked onto his position.

Surrounded by this sea of gazes, Liu Xing involuntarily gulped.

They were still weak; he could still kill them easily. Yet something had changed in those eyes, as if they'd suddenly regained human intelligence and held grudges against him.

Liu Xing took a deep breath and aimed his gun at the abomination that was sending signals. This creature seemed to have the ability to lead the others, an inconvenient quality he'd like to deal with here and now.

He infused his bullets with the Exploding Fist technique and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through the air like a lightning bolt. Seeing this attack, his target crossed its wicked blade-arms into an X position on its chest. As it did so, several layers of blue barriers—as if the air had solidified and been painted blue—suddenly formed in front of it.

Seeing this barrier, Liu Xing's heart hammered in his chest. It was similar to the blue barrier the snake-limbed abomination had used.

When his bullet hit the barrier, an explosion occurred. The blue walls shattered into a million pieces, but the spirit beast itself remained unharmed.

It sent out another pulse, and as if that were a signal to attack, all the surrounding abominations began to scream at once, like an army charging its enemies. They moved in one direction and surged forward like a tsunami, soon climbing the base of the statue like ants crawling up table legs.

Looking around, Liu Xing tried to calm down. The hole to his consciousness rippled and almost ceased to exist, but he managed to center and stabilize his mind.

He aimed at the abomination with the giant eye for a head again and pulled the trigger twice.

The first bullet from his gun was a normal transparent variant, with the exploding variant chasing close behind.

As expected, sensing the bullets coming, the abomination crossed its wicked blades again. Three layers of blue barriers appeared before it. Its giant eye pulsed the air around it, and Liu Xing couldn't help but think that this pulse felt like a snort, as if it believed his attack couldn't harm it.

The transparent bullet pierced through the first barrier, creating a hole for the exploding bullet. It then pierced the second and third layers, landing right in the center of the giant eye and creating a hole that gushed red blood. The creature sent ripples of air around it, as if it were screaming, but before it could do anything, the second bullet followed the first one's path, passing the holes in the barriers, and hit it dead in the center of its eye.

The eye exploded like a popped balloon, and red blood sprayed in all directions, coating nearby abominations in a crimson mist. The boar face on its torso began screaming with a high-pitched sound, its eyes wide and terrified. The creature's massive body convulsed violently, its limbs thrashing wildly as if trying to fight an invisible enemy. Then, as suddenly as it began, the shriek cut off, and the monstrous being collapsed in a heap of twitching flesh and mangled limbs.

Liu Xing felt the six bullets infused with the abomination's beast core, and he nodded. While that spirit beast had looked tough and terrifying, in the end, it was weaker than him.

Looking down, Liu Xing saw more and more abominations climbing the statue. He'd thought that since the leader was dead, they would scatter again, but it seemed that wasn't the case. They were intent on climbing. From afar, the statue looked like it was being steadily encased by thousands of climbing ants.

Still, even while surrounded, a smile bloomed on his face. He finally had enough qi to break through to the seventh stage.

"I think it's time for the next phase," Liu Xing mused.

Even though Liu Xing and Elder Yang Zhaoyan were the first to attack, they weren't the only ones who would attack the City of Suns. And even though he didn't know exactly how many abominations he had killed, it was certainly more than five hundred.

Now, he thought, the Yang clan would want some action too.

Deciding to give them a signal, Liu Xing jumped as high as possible. When gravity pulled him down, he summoned his shield and jumped even higher until he touched the clouds. He looked down at the sprawling city, seeing all the abominations flocking to the statue.

He absorbed the six bullets into his body, then into his consciousness. It would take time, and in the meantime, Liu Xing sent stable qi to his right gauntlet, created more and more qi bullets, and sending them to his gauntlet.

This signal would be flashy, and even Liu Xing couldn't help but smile, wondering how the Yang clan would react to this cool display. After all, while he always used his gauntlets, he'd never used them in front of the clan, even when he fought that abomination at the Yang clan's gate.

The statue was now fully encased with abominations. From toe to head, they clung to it, with more climbing on the backs of others, making the giant statue look like a swelling black pillar.

He inhaled deeply and sent more qi to his gauntlet, creating a giant ball of lightning as big as a barrel. He made it bigger and bigger until it obstructed his view. Then, with a spin, Liu Xing delivered a palm strike, and a giant white pillar descended from the sky. It was big and wide, emitting a bluish light that made the world, already bathed in morning sun, even brighter.

"Eat this!" Liu Xing shouted.

When the pillar hit the statue encased with abominations, it swallowed it whole. The parts not swallowed by light were cut and crumbled to dust. A thousand shrieks could be heard as the pillar of light descended, as if the heavens themselves were smiting the abominations. A huge rumbling reverberated through the City of Suns, humming for at least ten seconds before it settled.

When the pillar of light vanished, the statue was destroyed, reduced to mere dust. The abominations climbing it had also turned to dust. Even the ground where the statue had stood now bore a wide hole from the attack.

Liu Xing smiled fiercely. Qi filled his seventh lock more and more.

***

Yang Jinyan stood atop a flowery hill near the City of Suns. Several hills over, there was a mound of dirt, indicating where his sister had buried their nanny. While he wasn't as fond of her as his sister was—who even claimed the nanny as her grandmother—he nonetheless still thought of her as part of his family. Seeing that mound of dirt made him clench his fist. That foolish brother would pay!

Behind Yang Jinyan, fifty members of his clan stood calmly, ranging from Lock Opening to Core Splitting realm. It was a pitiful force compared to the former Twelve Sun Army, but still the best he had.

As he stood, his face was a mask of confidence, but inwardly he wondered why he'd agreed to Liu Xing's plan. Sure, it made sense. Culling the abominations would weaken his opponents, regardless of their intentions. But to do that meant fighting tens of thousands cultivators with only fifty people, which seemed impossible.

Yang Jinyan took a deep breath, forcing himself to center his mind. They'd chosen this plan because, despite appearances, it was possible to execute. He'd already sent scouts to the City of Suns, and their reports offered a glimmer of hope. While all the abominations were cultivators, not all of them were strong. Initial probing also suggested they weren't too intelligent. This meant his small force could, in reality, cull a significant number of them. Guerrilla warfare was preferred, but even a frontal attack wasn't entirely hopeless.

It was just that there would be complications along the way, and these uncertainties ate away at his heart and made him anxious.

This operation was actually a way to spend their time as they waited for reinforcements, which would arrive four days from now. Quite a long time, but it would have to be enough.

His private chat with Elder Yang Zhaoyan had concluded that if a master of formations tried to modify the Royal Barrier, it would be finished in twelve hours at most. But since twelve hours had already passed and the modified Royal Barrier hadn't been deployed yet, it meant the person working on it wasn't a master and needed more time.

Moreover, the snake-limbed spirit beasts, who even now were still stealing bloodlines from his empire, would converge on the capital. Liu Xing suspected they would start the sacrifice once they arrived, and Yang Jinyan was inclined to agree with him.

In conclusion, they had several days to cull the enemy, and Yang Jinyan intended to cull as many as he could without losing a single man.

"Hong'er," he called.

Hong'er walked to his right. She was the strongest among them and would be the spearhead of their formation until they met up with Liu Xing.

Chapter 112 ~ Culling (3)

The plan to split up wasn't his idea, but Liu Xing's. Liu Xing had said he wanted to move alone at first without explaining why. Yang Jinyan suspected it had something to do with Liu Xing's earlier request for a method to cultivate while moving. Yang Jinyan agreed to Liu Xing's plan without a second thought. After all, Liu Xing proposed to let him run rampant, killing the abominations alone. This meant his clan members wouldn't face immediate danger.

He considered this a win for both himself and his clan, and even for Liu Xing, who seemed eager to carry out this plan. Still, Liu Xing thought it was only a matter of time before he'd need help, and when that time came, he would send them a signal.

"How long have we been standing here?" Yang Jinyan asked Hong'er.

"About twenty minutes," she answered promptly.

Yang Jinyan nodded, then whispered. "I hope we wait as long as possible. Even a day or two would be fine."

Hong'er wore a red robe with a maroon sash. It matched her sharp, red eyes, making her overall appearance striking. Hong'er was one of his retainers, one of the people he trusted, and also one of his lovers. Though she was stronger than him, he didn't want her to be in danger.

"That's too optimistic," Hong'er said, pressing her lips together. "You need to prepare for the worst."

"I know." He clenched his fist. He couldn't always hope for the best; he needed to start preparing for the worst in every situation. After all, he knew his brother's resentment toward him and their father. If he hadn't just shrugged it off, perhaps none of this would have happened.

They waited a while longer. His men were anxious and afraid, yet their eyes were resolute, intent on supporting him and carrying out his orders.

He glanced at the eastern part of the city, where Liu Xing had intended to begin his attacks. A faint rumbling sound came from that direction, along with a cacophony of screams and explosions. It had been going on for quite some time, and he wondered whether it was actually a signal from Liu Xing.

Then, he saw the statue of the first emperor in the distance turn black, as if something was painting it. A pillar of light descended and swallowed it, making the world tremble as if thousands of horses were galloping nearby.

Seeing this, Yang Jinyan's eyes widened. Was this Liu Xing's signal? Could a lower realm cultivator really create such a powerful attack, or even defend against it?

When he saw the pillar of light swallowing the first emperor statue, Yang Jinyan clenched his fist, his heart drumming in his chest, and a strange excitement filled him. This signal gave him a bit more confidence. After all, the attack was sent by his ally, and in these terrible times, a strong ally was exactly what he needed.

He turned his head to see his men with burning eyes. Some smiled confidently, as if proud to see this powerful attack. Others frowned, seemingly wanting to prove they weren't worse than Liu Xing. Some had neutral expressions, while others nodded, as if approving of what they saw.

"That's our signal. Let's go!" Yang Jinyan shouted. His men replied with a roar, and they departed, intending to head toward Liu Xing.

***

"Hopefully they'll come," Liu Xing muttered.

He dusted himself off in the middle of the crater he'd made. Looking around, he saw only rolling dust. No enemies as far as he could see.

It had happened faster than he'd intended. He'd thought he could move alone for several more hours, but it seemed he'd underestimated the sheer number of enemies. Still, it was all right. He was absorbing the qi of that abomination in the sixth stage of Lock Opening realm. He needed only a bit more time before he could open the seventh lock.

Liu Xing jumped from the crater and landed on one of the roofs. Then he leaped into the air and began to maneuver using his shield. His destination was the flower hills—to meet with the Yang clan—but he suspected he would meet the Yang clan before he got there.

As he moved through the air, Liu Xing sensed a huge amount of qi moving together. He landed on his shield and turned toward the castle. There, he saw thousands of abominations rushing toward him. They moved on the streets, walls, and roofs. Some fell and were trampled by the others, while they all screamed, howled, and growled at the same time. Each had murderous red eyes, and they looked up at him as if they knew exactly where he was.

These weren't like the abominations that had been ambling around. These were controlled.

Behind this tsunami of abominations, he saw thousands more walking almost in rows. All of their right arms were human, holding white spears that gleamed in the sunlight. Their heads were those of animals—some monkeys, some dolphins, some boars, some snakes, some snails, and many more. Their left hands varied from pincers to claws to mushrooms, while their torsos were human, wearing shiny armor, while their lower bodies ranged from crabs to horses to cows and many other creatures.

This was obviously the more controlled army, but even in their rows, Liu Xing could see their bodies jittering and their eyes swimming, as if they wanted to rush like the civilian abominations. The abomination army was quite strong. All of them were at the seventh stage of Lock Opening realm.

Liu Xing looked to flower hills, then to the front where his opponents were rushing at him.

He cracked his neck and decided that the prince and his forces would have to come to this place themselves. He would be busy destroying that army.

Liu Xing's heart begins to beat faster, adrenaline coursing through his body, making him more alert to his surroundings.

Unconsciously, a huge grin spread across his lips. How could he not be happy? There were many adversaries in front of him. All of them were at a higher stage than him, which meant they would all give him six bullets of potent qi!

It reminded him of the situation in the Dragon Skull Forest. But now, it is slightly different. He is stronger, and he had a method to cultivate while moving.

Centering his mind, Liu Xing flared his qi, making the Lightning Cloak enhance him further, then he focused his eyes on the first wave. The civilian abominations had lower cultivation. While their numbers were great, they weren't too strong. Still, he couldn't jump toward the main dish before he reduced their numbers at least a little.

On his shield, Liu Xing took a stance. Gun in his left hand, his right hand ready to deliver a palm strike. He concentrated stable qi on his right gauntlet, creating a yellow spiraling line there. Then, he sent a lot of potent qi to his gauntlet, which worked diligently to create a lightning ball.

He sent more and more potent qi, making the lightning ball grow bigger and bigger. When it reached the size of a barrel, he unleashed a palm strike.

A white lightning bolt shot from the ball, then branched into two, then four, then eight, branching more and more until there were thousands of white lightning bolts spreading like a growing fan.

Each lightning bolt struck an abomination, instantly roasting and killing them. Some of his lightning missed, creating holes in the ground or destroying walls or making roofs explode. Still, the majority of his lightning struck their targets accurately.

He could imagine their point of view: the sky suddenly filled with branching white lightning, then struck them with power strong enough to kill them instantly.

A huge, continuous rumbling of explosions could be heard, and after about half a minute, the attack ceased, revealing many black corpses with white smoke floating above them. Some civilian abominations were still running, lucky enough to have evaded all of his lightning, but they numbered less than a hundred and were scattered in the streets.

Seeing this, Liu Xing nodded, smelling roasted meat in the air. He felt a bit guilty about how he'd killed them all. It was brutal, considering they were all victims. But he suppressed this emotion. After all, while he wanted to give them a kinder death, he didn't have that luxury.

He could see the army had stopped moving now. Their eyes were focused on the piles of roasted dead bodies in front of them, scattered in the streets and on the roofs. One of the buildings suddenly groaned and tumbled to the side, burying some of the piles of blackened corpses.

Liu Xing saw some of them widen their eyes, and he narrowed his own. That was a mark of intelligence, which could mean many things.

Chapter 113 ~ Culling (4)

Liu Xing spat the Ethereal Pearl from his mouth into his hand. "Former soldiers of the Twelve Sun Empire, listen to me. My name is Liu Xing. If you understand what I'm saying, put your weapons down. I stand with Prince Yang Jinyan, the rightful heir of the Twelve Sun Empire and enemy of Yang Lihuo and Wei Yi—the duo who transformed you into spirit beasts!"

The chance of them following his command was slim, and he wondered what he'd do if they actually lowered their weapons. After all, they were no longer human, and he doubted they could live normal lives in their current state. Still, if they put their weapons down, they wouldn't be his enemies, and he wouldn't have to kill them.

Their eyes darted left and right, and Liu Xing noticed most of their human hands trembling, muscles flexing, as if they wanted to drop their spears but couldn't. Their eyes were wide with terror, some bloodshot, others glistening with unshed tears. But they didn't lower their spears. One of them, a snail with long eyestalks, began to roar. Its cry was guttural, like a man waking from a nightmare. Green liquid spewed from its mouth. It actually managed to unclench its hand, making the spear clatter to the ground. Then, abruptly, its snail head exploded into a green and yellow mist, as if a bomb had detonated inside.

The rest of the army snapped their heads toward their fallen comrade. Its body slumped to the side. Their hands trembled more violently now, some looking like they wanted to flex their fingers and let go of their spears, willing to make their heads explode, but none succeeded.

Seeing this, Liu Xing inhaled deeply. A calm, deep anger bubbled in his stomach, threatening to explode.

So, Wei Yi actually had control over the people he'd transformed into spirit beasts and had even planted some kind of bomb inside their bodies, ensuring their loyalty.

That Wei Yi was more twisted than Liu Xing had imagined. Transforming people into spirit beasts was bad enough, but to control them and create a mechanism to explode their heads if they rebelled? It was worse than he'd thought.

Wei Yi needed to pay for what he'd done. Liu Xing vowed, right then and there, that he couldn't live under the same sky as such a monster.

"Former soldiers of the Twelve Sun Empire," he shouted again. "I know almost all of you want to put down your weapons, but you can't because of Wei Yi. I understand what you're feeling right now, and I sincerely want to help you all. But know that I can't do that. You're under my enemy's control, and your sheer numbers pose a danger to me and the rest of the Twelve Sun Empire. So, I must tell you this." He inhaled deeply. "I have to kill all of you."

Liu Xing clenched his right hand and gritted his teeth. Unless he knew how to revert them to their human form, killing them was the most logical thing to do. He doubted Elder Yang Zhaoyang knew how to change them back, or even Prince Yang Jinyan and his sect. Hell, he even thought Wei Yi probably couldn't reverse the transformation. The change was too fundamental, and they were under the enemy's thumb.

Some of them growled and shouted as if they were angry, but most looked calm, as if they accepted his decision, their right hands gripping the silver spears tightly. One of the spirit beasts, right in the middle, with a head like a gorilla and milky white eyes, nodded before his face went slack, his eyes lifeless, and the hand holding the spear relaxed.

This change began to spread from him as if a wave of wind had swept through, robbing them of their minds. Their shouts and growls began to cease, their movements stopped entirely, and soon, the thousands of abominations fell silent.

Now, Liu Xing faced an army of spirit beasts with empty eyes, their humanity wiped away, as if they were dolls.

Then, they began to move. While their footsteps didn't land at the same time, and they soon lost their formation to become a shapeless blob of an army, they still moved as one, showing some cohesion remained.

Liu Xing took a deep breath and put the Ethereal Pearl back into his mouth. His eyes searched for something. He doubted that Wei Yi directly controlled this army, and there was only a small chance that it was Yang Lihuo. He suspected that some other abomination was in charge. Like an abomination with a giant eye for a head.

After searching for about half a minute, eyes darting here and there without finding anything, Liu Xing sighed. It seemed he needed to go with his original plan, which meant decimating this army.

Liu Xing gripped his gun tighter, created a lightning blade in his right hand, surrounded himself with stable qi, and began to send more potent qi into the Ethereal Pearl.

The qi pouring into his consciousness had already run out, and to his surprise, he still needed a little more to advance. So, Liu Xing aimed his gun, infused it with Exploding Fist, and fired repeatedly.

The six bullets flew through the sky, appearing instantly in front of the six spirit beasts at the front. He expected his bullets to hit them in the torso, but a moment before impact, all the front-row abominations struck the ground with their spears, and a wall of earth rose before them. This earthen wall was quite high and thick. But when his bullets hit it, they exploded, leaving six holes in it. Spirit beasts just behind the holes were blown into the sky. One particular abomination had its upper body destroyed, and the qi from it was absorbed by his gun.

Not stopping even for a moment, Liu Xing sent all the potent qi inside the Ethereal Pearl into his right gauntlet and shot a thick pillar of lightning toward the enemies. It hit the earth wall and destroyed it easily. Then, Liu Xing whipped his hand to the side as if he were wielding a giant lightning blade.

When the attack receded, the earth wall they'd erected to shield themselves had crumbled, and a sizable chunk of the army lay dead, but thousands still remained.

Seeing this, Liu Xing thought he couldn't spam the attack from Thunderstrike Gauntlets, afraid his qi would deplete before he dealt with the army. He needed to kill them with his gun so that he could get their qi for cultivation and also use it to attack them.

Nodding to himself, Liu Xing sent stable qi to his feet and shot toward the midst of the army like a blue and black lightning bolt. He moved through the air and instantly appeared right in their midst, surrounded by countless abominations.

Liu Xing slashed with his lightning blade and rotated his body, creating a circle with it. Instantly, the upper bodies of the abominations around him split in two.

Liu Xing then jumped into the sky, aimed his gun, and fired repeatedly. Six explosions bloomed in the middle of the army, and his gun refilled with six bullets. He summoned his shield and used it to jump down. His lightning blade moved like a whip, beheading and slashing opponents like a farmer cutting weeds.

He moved between the abominations, finding the fight surprisingly easy. The enemies, with their lifeless eyes, were like sitting ducks. Their reflexes were so slow that they only began to move their right hands after their heads were already flying or their bodies split in two.

He tore through the army from the inside, using his gun and lightning blade to decimate this broken force. Explosions occurred repeatedly. From the sky, it looked as if black or brown mushrooms bloomed and died over and over. His lightning blade grew longer and longer, splitting several enemies at a time. At one point, his lightning blade was so long that a single slash killed more than two dozen enemies.

As he destroyed this army, his mind focused on killing them as quickly as possible, while one part of his consciousness concentrated on sending qi to advance his cultivation. The seventh red lock slowly filled to the brim. And finally, it was full.

As he stood in the middle of a pool of blood and shot his gun, making six abominations' heads explode simultaneously, he stopped moving and gave his consciousness more attention. He allowed several dozen spirit beasts to circle him and thrust their spears toward him.

The world seemed to slow down. But this time, the sensation was different. Instead of knowing he moved faster than anyone else, it felt like the world was giving him time and holding its breath, as if granting him leeway to advance to the next stage.

For a moment, he felt the qi around him ripple, as if he had control over it. It was a small taste of what he could achieve when he crossed into the Core Splitting realm later.

He inhaled deeply and focused his thoughts on the last lock that bound his cultivation.

"Open," he commanded.

Chapter 114 ~ Culling (5)

The red lock began to vibrate, loosening until it snapped open, as if eager to grant Liu Xing the next stage to immortality. As the seventh lock fell from the silver chain and clattered on the white floor, qi erupted inside his body. It felt like a dam breaking and flooding a small river. The abundant qi forged his body, strengthening his meridians, muscles, bones, tendons, and even his nails. His senses sharpened; his eyes and ears became more acute, and his skin could detect the slightest change in the air currents.

This transformation differed from the usual advancement to the next stage, perhaps because it was the final lock.

Liu Xing grinned as his Lightning Cloak evolved. If he dismissed his invisibility, he would appear surrounded by thousands of blinding lightning bolts. He flexed his lightning blade, feeling it become lighter yet more durable. The qi churned inside him, further strengthening his body.

As he marveled at the taste of the Lock Opening realm's seventh stage, more than a dozen spears closed in to stab him. Several aimed for his back, while others targeted his stomach, chest, and heart. One came within mere centimeters of his forehead.

Liu Xing decided to rotate his body. The lightning blade spun like a clock hand, slashing all the spears and sending their tips flying.

After cutting through all the spears, Liu Xing rotated once more, this time extending his lightning blade further. In one second, it grew from a meter in length to over fifty meters, cutting through hundreds of enemies around him.

When he stopped rotating, all the abominations within a fifty-meter radius split in two. Blood spurted from the cut line, and the top halves of their bodies fell to the ground. Though their eyes were lifeless, Liu Xing imagined they died with surprise.

Once again, Liu Xing stood at the center of carnage. The ground was soaked with blood.

He felt powerful. Strong. As if he could fight forever and still come out on top. Looking around, he saw he had succeeded in destroying half the army. Now, the abomination army was split into two groups: east and west. Each still had hundreds of enemies, but considering the number of corpses around them, Liu Xing assumed he had already won.

He decided to attack the eastern group and jumped toward them at full speed. The enemies, with their animal heads and human hands holding spears, shouted and rushed to meet him.

Liu Xing slashed at them with his lightning blade, when suddenly he sensed strong qi presences approaching.

As his lightning blade cut through hundreds of spirit beasts in one attack, he looked to the side and saw hundreds of abominations walking from the base of a giant castle. Some wore armor and carried spears, others wore black robes with wriggling black hair, and the rest wore green robes with long, yellow nails that resembled blades.

While their shapes were humanoid, they were still abominations. Their faces, devoid of skin and muscles, consisted of hundreds of tiny eyes, mouse noses, or elephant noses sprouting from a bloody base, as if something had ripped off their faces and attached these features.

As the abominations he had slashed split in two, Liu Xing stopped and aimed his gun at this new enemy. The three types of abominations formed three groups, with thousands of abominations marching behind them. Most resembled the army he had just decimated, with animal bodies, human torsos, human right arms, and animal heads and more civilian abominations joined the group and bolstering their numbers.

As they marched, they destroyed everything in their path. Buildings crumbled, and the remains of the previous abominations, along with debris, were trampled by this more organized, numerous, and stronger army. Even the remnants of the first army fell in line with them.

This was the second army of the Twelve Sun Empire, with the Hei clan and Wu clan as well.

Liu Xing's heart began to race. Truth be told, he hadn't felt threatened when decimating the first army, but this second one was something else entirely.

When he sensed another presence approaching, he turned his head to see Prince Yang Jinyan and his forces rushing toward him. A dozen abominations at the Lock Opening realm's seventh stage blocked their path, but Prince Yang Jinyan inhaled deeply, spat out a giant fireball that exploded on impact, and leapt through the swirling black smoke, followed by the rest of the Yang clan.

Liu Xing spat out the Ethereal Pearl and put it into his spatial bag, then undid his invisibility.

"You've created quite a mess," the prince said, dusting his robes as he walked toward him. "But nonetheless, it's a good mess." He smiled. "Also, congratulations on your advancement. Advancing in the midst of battle is quite a story."

"Thank you," Liu Xing smiled.

His heart was still racing, but calmer now. He had allies to support him.

He turned his head back toward the second army marching toward them in neat rows. Behind the spirit beasts, he saw twelve creatures with a giant eye for a head. They walked unhurriedly, looking like shepherds controlling the army.

"Where's Elder Yang Zhaoyan?" the prince asked. Neat rows began to form behind him and Liu Xing.

"I don't know. Still checking the doors, I think." He had lost track of time, but seeing the sun barely up, it had been perhaps an hour or two since he'd split up with the elder.

The prince nodded and observed the marching army. "Quite a formidable force. Do you think we can win?"

Liu Xing pinched his chin, assessing the army before them. Their numbers were great, with hundreds of Core Splitting abominations in the front rows, and they were organized. While the Core Splitting abominations didn't have lifeless, glassy eyes—since most of them actually didn't have eyes—the rest of the army moved like puppets controlled by unseen masters. This meant their reflexes and movements would not be fluid.

There were no Sun Refining abominations among them, which was probably just a matter of time before they appear, but for now, the strongest were the Core Splitting abominations.

"I think we can win as long as you're supporting me," Liu Xing said resolutely. And he wasn't lying. He had a chance to win against this army. After all, Liu Xing's greatest strength was his gun, a weapon that thrived when fighting against numerous enemies.

"Quite a claim," the prince said. He inhaled deeply, clenched his hand, and his eyes began blazing, as if a fire roared inside his soul. Then he nodded resolutely. "We will help, but when it becomes too dangerous, we need to retreat. Don't forget that our goal is just to cull their numbers." He turned to face his clan members. "You've heard what I said. We will fight, right here and right now!"

"Yes, sir!" A chorus of affirmations echoed through the clan members. Some were pale, but even they had blazing eyes, as if they would carry out the prince's order even in death.

Seeing this, a ferocious grin bloomed on Liu Xing's face. He would be the spearhead to pierce the enemy, while the prince and the rest of the Yang clan would support him.

Prince Yang Jinyan flicked his hand, and a paper talisman appeared.

"Prepare!" the prince shouted, slapping the talisman to the ground.

When the yellow paper hit the ground, a ripple coursed through it. The ground began to tremble, at first weakly, but soon grew stronger until the earth itself groaned, as if a giant writhed in pain beneath the surface. Then, the ground began to crack, and soon, the area around Liu Xing and the Yang clan—at least five hundred meters around them—began to grow taller, lifting them into the sky.

From afar, it looked as if part of the City of Suns had sprouted into a wide, tall, mighty tower. As it grew, the earth groaned and trembled, clouds of dust swirling around it. Then, multiple towers of earth began to grow around it at different heights.

The transformation continued for a full minute. When it stopped, a giant structure stood tall near the center of the City of Suns. One massive tower dominated the middle, surrounded by dozens of smaller towers of varying heights. Their differences in elevation resembled a staircase, allowing people on the ground to climb toward the main tower and those at the top to descend.

Liu Xing's mouth fell open as he gazed at the enormous structure where he stood, at least three hundreds meters tall.

"This isn't a technique that can be used by a Lock Opening cultivator," he muttered.

Prince Yang Jinyan smiled. "Of course not. It's a talisman created by one of our deceased elders. Only a Core Splitting cultivator can activate it."

Liu Xing looked down at the army below. This tower gave them the advantage of high ground. While cultivators had methods to move through the air, not everyone possessed that ability. Some required specific techniques, others needed treasures. Liu Xing doubted the entire army below could fly.

The smaller towers around them could serve as stairs for the army to climb up. For a moment, Liu Xing thought this might be a huge mistake. But he held his opinion, certain there must be some function to the smaller towers. For now, that wasn't his primary concern.

The most important thing for him was to plan his attack, and as he considered his options, his smile grew wider.

Chapter 115 ~ Culling (6)

"Why are you smiling? Are you a fighting maniac?" the prince asked, his comment drawing chuckles from the nearby members of the Yang clan. It wasn't that funny, but it helped relax the group, easing the tension before the fight.

Liu Xing decided to lighten the mood further. "No, I'm just happy because I think I might break through to the next realm during this fight."

The prince raised an eyebrow, understandably surprised. After all, Liu Xing had only recently advanced to the seventh stage of Lock Opening. Claiming he could break through again so soon was like someone who'd just built a raft saying they could now construct a sailing ship. It was far too fast.

While all seven of his locks had been opened, advancing to the next realm wasn't easy. Liu Xing visualized his cultivation as a ball of lightning bound by a silver chain. Every cultivator had their own imagery to describe their cultivation—he'd heard disciples describe their cultivation as a sun bound to a mountain with seven burning ropes, a writhing liquid trapped in a well, or even a beast caged by seven locks. But no matter the image, the essence was the same: to break through, you had to destroy whatever bound your cultivation.

For Liu Xing, that meant destroying the silver chain around his ball of lightning. There were many ways to achieve this, but the best method was to have the cultivation absorb the thing that bounds the cultivation. This would improve the quality of qi and make future progress easier.

To do this, he simply needed to continue cultivating—absorbing qi and sending it to his consciousness. But this time, instead of focusing on opening his locks, he'd channel it directly into his ball of lightning.

And with so many enemies below, all waiting to be fought, he was sure this battle would push him to that breakthrough.

"Disciples from the great sects really are crazy," someone muttered nearby. Liu Xing saw a few others nod in agreement, but he didn't care. He just grinned at the prince, then stepped to the edge of the tower.

Below, the abominations turned their heads up toward him, growling and shouting, pointing in his direction. Twelve of the abominations, each with a giant eye for a head, began sending pulses of air, as if issuing orders to the army.

Liu Xing aimed his gun at the enemy, reloaded it with six bullets, infused it with Exploding Fist, and pulled the trigger in rapid succession. He then flicked the Ethereal Pearl into his mouth, channeling its qi into his right gauntlet to form a massive ball of lightning, which he unleashed in the form of thousands of lightning bolts.

His movements were swift, and from the perspective of the army below, it was as if the sky had turned blue and lightning rained down like a storm of arrows.

Several of the abominations, their faces covered with tiny eyes, rushed forward, slapping the ground with their hands. Their writhing hairs began to dig into the earth, and soon black vines sprouted upward, growing taller and thicker before curving to form a shield over the army.

The six bullets struck the black wall, causing six massive explosions that tore through the defenses. However, the vines quickly regenerated and closed the holes. Meanwhile, Liu Xing's barrage of lightning struck the black wall like rain on a sandcastle, gradually thinning it. Several of his lightnings pierced through, crashing into the ground and scattering dozens of abominations.

More and more lightning crashed against the black wall made from vines, creating a series of loud explosions as if a thousand cannons were firing in unison. Dust swirled around the battlefield, and though the wall was riddled with holes, it stood firm.

As his attacks began to recede, Liu Xing realized the wall was stronger than expected. Instead of spreading his attack into thousands of strikes, he'd need to focus his power into one giant blast. But before he could act, the abominations with yellow claws, so long they dragged along the ground, began to rush around the wall in unison, their footsteps creating a rhythmic pounding. Their faces, each sporting hundreds of twitching mouse noses, seemed to be searching for him.

They stopped in formation and slashed their right hands through the air, launching hundreds of crescent-shaped wind blades in his direction.

"They are from Wu clan!" The prince and the Yang clan rushed to his side, standing on the edge of the earthen tower. "On my mark!"

The prince and the Yang clan inhaled deeply, their cheeks bulging as they gathered their qi. Liu Xing quickly created bullets, gathering qi in his gauntlet until a basketball-sized orb of lightning formed in front his palm.

"Attack!" the prince shouted, spitting out a fireball the size of a barrel. The Yang clan followed suit, releasing fireballs of various sizes, some larger, some smaller but more numerous. Liu Xing unleashed his lightning attack, sending out thousands of lightning bolts that were smaller and weaker compared to his last attack.

When the crescent wind blades collided with the fireballs and lightning, the sky erupted in a chain of explosions, sending plumes of white smoke into the air and obstructing their view.

Liu Xing's mind raced, searching for a way to win this battle. The answer was clear: there were hundreds of abominations in the Core Splitting realm, and if they were defeated, his side could win. Killing them was his responsibility, and to do that, he first needed to take down one of the Core Splitting abominations. Once he did, he could use its core as his bullets and defeat the others.

He aimed his gun at a nearby Core Splitting abomination—a creature from the Wu clan, its long yellow nails scraping the ground. Judging by its aura, it likely had two or three cores, the average for Core Splitting abominations. Its body was blackened, probably from one of Liu Xing's earlier attacks.

Six bullets tore through the air toward the creature. Its twitching noses flared as it swiped its right hand, launching a crescent-shaped wind blade toward the bullets. The other Wu clan abominations looked up and sent their own wind blades to intercept the shots. In total, six wind blades met his six bullets, triggering six massive explosions that rocked the air and sent shockwaves across the battlefield, toppling what remained of the nearby buildings.

Liu Xing pressed his lips together. Long-range attacks wouldn't work. He'd have to get up close.

"Prince, cover me!" he shouted, then leaped from the tower before the prince could respond.

As he plummeted toward the ground, the wind whipping through his hair, Liu Xing activated his Lightning Cloak. For a moment, he considered using his invisibility but decided against it. Being invisible would make him harder to see not just for his enemies but also for his allies.

The Wu clan abominations sent more wind blades his way. Liu Xing aimed his gun, infused it with Exploding Fist, and pulled the trigger. Most of the wind blades exploded mid-air, and those he couldn't destroy, he dodged with the help of his shield.

He landed between the rubble of shattered buildings and quickly scanned his surroundings. Hundreds of abominations surrounded him, all from the Wu clan. As they spotted him, they charged like hounds scenting their prey.

Liu Xing's eyes darted over the battlefield, looking for a target. He saw a weaker-looking abomination—it only had right arm with no signs of injury, which meant that it was a man who had already lost one of his hands before being transformed into an abomination.

Liu Xing kicked off the ground, leaving a web of cracks in his wake as he charged at his target. He activated his lightning blade and swung it from his right, aiming at the left side of the abomination. Just then, two more abominations lunged at him from the front, their nails slicing through the air toward his lightning blade.

When Liu Xing's lightning blade met their claws, his blade cut through several nails but ultimately stopped short. Five more abominations jumped at him. Liu Xing quickly pulled back his blade and slashed at the abomination attacking from the right and narrowly dodging another abomination that lunged at him from the behind.

His mind, along with his senses, went into overdrive. He was merely at the peak Lock Opening realm, yet here he was, holding his own against dozens of abominations in the Core Splitting realm. Part of his success came from his incredible speed—so fast that the abominations couldn't keep up. Another advantage was their lack of coordination. Their sheer numbers, instead of overwhelming him, caused them to get in each other's way. Occasionally, they'd stumble over one another, and sometimes their long claws even tangled together.

Liu Xing whipped his lightning blade in every direction—left, right, up, and down—deflecting and slicing through the nails of the Wu clan abominations. The sound of clashing metal echoed through the battlefield, and clouds of dust rose thicker and thicker with every movement he made.

His strikes were so fast that it seemed as if there were not just one lightning blade but dozens, each one parrying the claws aimed at him.

For a moment, the battle was evenly matched—Liu Xing alone against hundreds of abominations. But then, he added his gun into the mix.

Chapter 116 ~ Culling (7)

Lightning blades clashed against hundreds of nails as Liu Xing pulled the trigger of his gun. Each bullet either paralyzes his enemies or explodes on impact. Though he used the gun sparingly, each shot created just enough of an opening for him to land more hits and steadily wear down the abominations one by one.

Hundreds of Wu clan abominations surrounded him, many now bearing deep gashes across their chests, arms, and legs. Though he hadn't managed to kill any yet, it was enough. After all, he wasn't fighting this battle alone.

From above, dozens of fireballs rained down upon the abominations around him. Each explosion carved holes in the ground and disrupted the creatures' balance, creating precious opportunities for Liu Xing to strike with his lightning blades.

Liu Xing shouted as he fought, his eyes seeing only blurs while his mind remained razor-sharp, perceiving everything around him. He channeled more qi into his lightning blades, extending them several meters in length.

Working in concert with the Yang clan's fireballs, he carved deeper and deeper wounds into the surrounding abominations.

The damage was mounting: one creature's right arm hung useless, another's head dangled precariously from its neck, and several more bled profusely from long gashes. It was only a matter of time before one of them died.

Liu Xing moved through the enemy ranks with blinding speed, deflecting nails and wind blades in a blur of motion. He needed to kill just one Core Splitting realm spirit beast with his gun to turn the tide of battle.

As he deflected several nails and landed an exploding bullet in an abomination's face, he felt several pulses ripple through the wind. Glancing at the army beyond his immediate fight, he saw the Hei clan abominations retract their wall of black vines as the forces behind them began their charge toward the towers.

Their advance wasn't mindless. The army split into three groups, forming what looked like a trident from above. The central force, led by abominations with elephant noses on their faces and holding spears in their right hands charged directly at Liu Xing's position. The Hei clan led the left flank, while the civilian abominations, led by the Wu clan forces that were not busy fighting him moved to the right flank.

As the formation advanced, the flanking groups spread wider and wider until they resembled three separate arrows rather than a trident. One aimed straight ahead while two angled toward the sides of the towers.

Liu Xing realized their strategy: they would use the shorter towers as stepping stones to reach the Yang Clan's position, forcing them to split their defenses into three groups. The sheer numbers of the enemy would eventually overwhelm them.

As he watched the elephant-nosed abominations approach, Liu Xing understood how important his own position had become.

Anxiety spread from his belly throughout his body. Part of him screamed to retreat, but his tactical mind—the part that believed victory was still possible—insisted he needed to kill just one abomination. If he could manage that before the approaching groups arrived and split the Yang clan into three groups, their chances would improve dramatically. He just had to hurry!

As he thought about why the hell these abominations were so durable, Liu Xing kicked off the ground and rushed towards the abomination with the dangling head.

He aimed his gun and fired. A blue bolt tore through the air, too fast for the creature to dodge. The bullets struck its face and the explosion threw it backward. He glanced at his gun, hoping to see six green strips glowing, but found none.

Pursing his lips, he kicked off again, determined to finish his target. A dozen abominations converged on him from both sides and swung their nail-blades.

"You're in my way!"

Liu Xing created six bullets, sending three to each gauntlet, and threw his gun skyward to free his hands. He needs two lightning blades to deal with them. But he cannot do it fast enough by using Lightning Palm techniques twice. That's why he used his Thunderstrike Gauntlets to form two lightning balls in his palms, each the size of a chicken egg, and unleashed two palm strikes that erupted into two pillars of lightning. He shouted as he swung both of his arms outward, swinging the pillars like his lightning blades.

The lightning pillars forced back the intercepting abominations, creating a narrow tunnel straight to the abomination he was targeting, which had landed on its back. Liu Xing channeled stable qi to his feet and kicked off with maximum force, launching himself forward.

As the twin pillars receded, he dismissed his gun, resummoned it, and aimed forward.

The mouse-nosed creature with the dangling neck began to rise. Liu Xing extended his lightning blade, transforming it from a meter-long weapon into a piercing shaft that impaled the abomination's chest and pinned it to the ground. Though not fatal, the strike immobilized it.

Struck by inspiration, Liu Xing transformed the tips of his lightning blade that protruded from the creature's back into a square shape. As Liu Xing pulled in his transformed blade like a grappling hook, the captured abomination rushed towards him, its limbs flailing helplessly against the pull.

A wild smile spread across his face. This was it. It is his moment to secure victory!

As the distance closed, Liu Xing aimed his gun, infused his bullets with Exploding Fist, and fired rapidly. All six shots hit the abomination's head in quick succession. The blasts tore off chunks of flesh and scattered its mouse-like noses. When the smoke cleared, the creature's face was a charred ruin, but it clung stubbornly to life.

Finally, as the lightning blade's pull brought them face-to-face, barely a meter apart, Liu Xing let instinct take over. The trapped abomination desperately swung its nail-blade, but it's too late—Liu Xing's left hand, still gripping his gun, struck like a cobra. He drove the gun's solid barrel up through the creature's already mangled neck like a hammer striking an anvil. A wet crunch echoed as bone shattered, and the creature's head, already half-severed from his earlier attacks, ripped free and flew off like a ball.

It felt surreal to decapitate an enemy with the blunt side of his gun, but seeing six green strips now glowing on his gun, Liu Xing's fierce smile returned.

"With this, I can win!"

He transformed his lightning blade and swung vertically, splitting the abomination's body stuck in his lightning blade in two. Spinning, he summoned his shield and leaped high into the air.

As he ascended, black hair fluttering, his eyes rapidly assessed the battlefield. Many of the Wu clan abominations now scaled the wall like spiders, their long nails digging into the earthen tower. The two flanking groups climbed the tower-steps from both sides while the Yang clan descended, launching fireball after fireball at the enemy. Prince Yang Jinyan spat several massive fireballs that resembled miniature suns, while the blood-drenched woman conjured and controlled fire birds that sliced through the climbing abominations.

Below, the army, led by spear-wielding abominations, reached the base of the tower. With no stairs to climb, they began to pile on top of each other like zombies.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Xing planned his route. With the six bullets in his gun, he could kill them all!

A Yang clan member lay pinned atop one of the smaller towers, black vines from a Wu clan abomination binding him to the ground. A second abomination with long nail-blades charged toward the helpless cultivator. Though another Yang clan member rushed down to help, he wouldn't make it in time.

Liu Xing summoned his shield and kicked it with devastating force. The impact created a shockwave so powerful that even his shield was thrown back before he dismissed it. He shot through the air like a black and blue blur, and as he closed in, he aimed his gun at the back of the Wu clan abomination's head.

Infusing his bullets with Exploding Fist, he pulled the trigger. A blue bolt erupted from his gun, moving so fast it created its own shockwave. The abomination turned its head, then bent its knees to dodge, but it was too late. The bullet struck dead center in its head, causing its head to explode in a spray of red that painted the Yang clan member's face crimson.

His gun instantly recharged with six bullets, and Liu Xing pulled the trigger in rapid succession. The bullets screamed through the sky toward multiple targets: one for an abomination whose face writhed with countless tiny eyes and wriggling black hair, another for a Wu clan abomination, one more for a spear-wielding abomination, and the remaining three for civilian abominations.

All six bullets struck simultaneously—some finding heads, others bodies. Each impact triggered an explosion that killed its target instantly.

Liu Xing landed atop the tower beside the Yang clan member still bound by black vines and slashed through the restraints with his lightning blade.

Without pausing, he kicked off his position and launched himself at another group of abominations.

The real massacre was about to begin.

Chapter 117 ~ Culling (8)

From afar, the earthen towers erected by Prince Yang Jinyan resembled miniature mountains. Unlike traditional triangular peaks, these structures rose in rectangular columns. Smaller towers encircled the main fortification, and abominations began scaling them like ants climbing table legs.

The Wu clan, Hei clan, and army abominations led the assault. The Wu clan members climbed like spiders, deftly dodging Prince Yang Jinyan's attacks by shifting sideways or retaliating with wind blades.

Liu Xing decided to begin his massacre with them. He maneuvered around the tower, then launched himself from the top toward the Wu clan abominations.

Wind whistled through his hair as he aimed his gun and fired rapidly. Every time the trigger was pulled, the climbing abominations exploded, their remains raining down on those below, painting the tower red with blood.

Using qi from the beast cores, Liu Xing swept through the climbing abominations. His gun thundered continuously, its sound like a thousand lightning strikes hammering the earth, as if the sky itself raged against those below. Abominations fell from the towers, some split apart, others reduced to bloody mist. The prince's earthen towers, both main and surrounding structures, were covered in crimson.

Liu Xing circled the tower in a flash of blue lightning, shooting and slashing with his Lightning Blade, absorbing the potent qi from his gun and steadily advancing his cultivation.

As he descended and his kill count mounted, his mind entered a state of hyper focus. The experience felt surreal—shouts, growls, and explosions rattled the air and punched holes in the earthen tower, he moved as if the world were muted.

He sensed the ripples in the air and turned toward the rear of the army where twelve abominations with a giant eye for a head stood. These ripples emanated from them, and Liu Xing watched as the charging abominations suddenly turned and fled, while those climbing hastily descended. Seeing this, Liu Xing gave chase. He cycled his qi to strengthen his Lightning Cloak Technique and cut down fleeing abominations as he pursued.

Minutes later, he landed on blood-flooded ground, his ankles submerged in the crimson water. The battlefield was littered with thousands of body parts—heads, torsos, limbs, and various animal parts. There were no abominations left on the tower, and the Yang clan gathered at the top, their eyes wide with disbelief, which was understandable since he defeated all the climbing abominations in less than five minutes.

Blood mist rolled through the air as the remaining abominations formed a crescent moon before him, attempting to surround his position.

Liu Xing surveyed the army in front of him. Although there were still many Hei clan, Wu clan, army, and civilian abominations left, he knew he could kill them all.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Xing examined his cultivation within his consciousness. Most of this chain had already sunk into the lightning ball, with only a small part still visible on the surface. Once the entire chain fully submerged into the lightning ball, he would advance to the next realm, and looking at how little of the chain remained outside, Liu Xing knew that he was close to the breakthrough.

He smiled briefly before reining in his emotions. Overconfidence would be dangerous—the battle wasn't over, and the army's organized retreat suggested they planned something.

As if responding to his thoughts, the twelve abominations with giant eyes for heads began to move. They started with a walk, their elephant feet stomping the ground, then broke into a run, barreling toward him.

They emitted multiple air ripples, and in response, the civilian abominations hurled themselves at the twelve larger abominations. Upon contact, the civilians melted into a transparent liquid, which was quickly absorbed by the larger abominations' bodies. As a result, these beasts—already over three meters tall—began to grow even larger and expand rapidly.

Liu Xing's eyebrows shot up in alarm. Not only were the abominations growing in size, but their cultivation was also increasing!

He couldn't allow them to absorb any more of the civilian abominations. At the moment, they were at the Core Splitting realm five cores. But if they absorbed more and broke through to the Sun Refining realm, Liu Xing doubted he would stand a chance against them.

"Prince Yang Jinyan! Bombard them! Kill them all before they merge!"

Liu Xing activated his lightning blade and kicked the ground as hard as he could, trying to reach the giant abominations, but before he could reach his targets, more ripples spread through the air. 

The clan and army abominations suddenly moved in unison. Hei clan abominations extended their hair, sharpening the ends into projectiles and shooting them at Liu Xing. Wu clan abominations slashed the air with their nails, sending crescent-shaped wind blades toward him. At the same time, spear-wielding abominations charged, their weapons glowing as they rushed forward.

Facing the coordinated assault, Liu Xing swung his lightning blade through the air, slicing apart the hair projectiles and wind blades while firing six shots at the spear-wielding abominations charging toward him. His blade cut through the attacks, and his bullets struck six abominations in the head, dropping them instantly. But despite their fall, more continued to rush forward with glowing spears.

Liu Xing kicked off the ground, launching himself into the sky. Some Hei clan members followed, their black hair writhing like tentacles, trying to ensnare him. He summoned his shield and prepared to kick it, but noticed that several Wu Clan members below were already ready to slash with their nails, anticipating his next move.

In a split-second decision, Liu Xing feinted. His feet touched the shield, but instead of kicking off, he held position. The Wu clan attacked, their crescent wind blades slicing through empty air where they'd predicted he'd be.

As he began to fall, he glanced at the abominations with an eye as their head, now as tall as two-story buildings. Their giant eyes focused on him, and he could almost imagine them smirking.

Below, two Hei clan abominations used their hair to form a ramp, allowing the army abominations to launch themselves at him.

The sight of a dozen four-legged abominations with human torsos and animal heads flying at him with spears was surreal, but Liu Xing centered himself. He pulled his trigger repeatedly, destroying them all. Most fell with exploded heads, while three split into pieces that splattered on impact.

Liu Xing knew he needed more speed. He had to deal with the eye-headed abominations—the generals, as he'd dubbed them in his mind—before they grew too powerful.

Liu Xing gritted his teeth as he looked at the abominations surrounding him. Twisting in the air, he flicked the Ethereal Pearl into his mouth and fired his gun repeatedly. Six bullets hit their targets, and the gun was immediately reloaded. He kept firing until hundreds of abominations lay dead around him. When he landed, he channeled potent qi into his right gauntlet and strengthened it with stable qi.

A giant ball of lightning, larger than himself, materialized before him. With a shout, he unleashed a palm strike, transforming the ball of lightning into a massive lightning pillar that surged toward one of the generals.

Seeing the lightning pillar, the target crossed its giant, wicked blade-arms, forming a blue barrier as the civilian abominations kept rushing toward it. The lightning pillar hit the barrier, spreading at first like water against a wall, but then broke through. The general was completely engulfed and sending out wild ripples that sounded like screams of agony before it turned to dust and fell silent.

Liu Xing channeled more potent qi into his gauntlets and swept his lightning pillar toward the other generals. When his assault ended, eight of the twelve general abominations had been reduced to dust along with thousands of civilian abominations.

Now he faced tens of Hei, Wu, and army abominations, plus four surviving generals that towered over the battlefield like towers. These generals had reached the peak of the Core Splitting realm—the same level as elder Xia Juetian and the snake-limbed abomination that had once overwhelmed him.

Without hesitation, Liu Xing kicked off the ground and charged toward the enemy. The clan and army abominations rushed to meet him, and the battle erupted once again.

"Come at me, all of you!" he shouted. The abominations responded with growls and roars and sending ripples through the air.

Chapter 118 ~ Culling (9)

Liu Xing aimed his gun and fired six rapid shots through the air. His targets were three Hei clan abominations, two Wu clan abominations, and one army abomination. The Hei clan members formed shields from their hair to block the bullets, but the resulting explosions killed two instantly, leaving the third a bloody mess. The Wu clan abominations slashed at the bullets with their nails, triggering explosions. One died in the blast and transformed into a red mist while the other was blown away. The army abomination tried to deflect the bullet with its spear, but when the bullet exploded, it destroyed the spear and killed it instantly.

He stored some of the potent qi from their beast cores in his Ethereal Pearl—that energy would be crucial for killing the generals. Still, Liu Xing also attempted to absorb some of the qi directly into his consciousness and tried the breakthrough into the Core Splitting realm.

The giant generals swept their blades through the air, unleashing massive wind blades. These attacks were enormous—as tall and wide as city walls, moving like trains and carving deep wounds into the ground.

Facing this mighty assault, Liu Xing squeezed off several more shots at the remaining abominations before leaping skyward. He maneuvered through the air using his summoned shield as a platform, but to his surprise, the wind blades curved to follow him. He zigzagged left and right through the sky, trying to shake off the pursuing blades while sneaking in shots at the clan abominations below.

The generals created ripples in the air as they slashed again and again, launching more giant wind blades toward him. The wind blades rushed through the City of Suns like transparent freight trains, each one carrying enough force to level city blocks.

Liu Xing gritted his teeth, realizing he needed to deal with these wind blades before they overwhelmed him. He kicked off his floating shield, moving like a bolt of lightning to reposition himself so the wind blades were between him and one of the generals.

Using his shield as a stable platform in the sky, Liu Xing channeled the potent qi he'd stored in the Ethereal Pearl into his gauntlet. A sphere of lightning, larger than himself, materialized before him. He poured more and more qi into his gauntlet until it began to creak, the lightning ball growing until it filled his entire field of vision, and with a palm strike, he unleashed a massive pillar of lightning.

The lightning pillar made the air tremble. When it collided with the wind blades, a huge shockwave expanded outward as brilliant light erupted from where the two forces clashed, each trying to overwhelm the other. Liu Xing shouted as he forced more power into the lightning pillar, pushing against the wind blades until they finally shattered into millions of pieces.

The lightning pillar, victorious in its brief duel, extended toward one of the generals. The giant abomination's pupil dilated as it crossed its wicked blades, creating a massive blue barrier. But the barrier might as well have been made of tofu—the lightning pillar shredded through it and engulfed the upper body of the giant abomination.

The attack drove the general backward, its feet carving deep trails in the ground. When the lightning pillar finally receded, the general hadn't died, but it was grievously wounded. Its entire body was charred black as if it had been thrown into a furnace. Its huge eye was blackened and oozed red and sticky blood like magma. The creature's frantic pulses rippled through the air like silent screams of agony, as if its pain was too vast to be contained by mere sound.

Seeing his opportunity, Liu Xing kicked off his shield and charged straight at the wounded abomination. The other three generals raced to intercept him, their giant feet making the entire City of Suns tremble. Hundreds of army and clan abominations surged forward as well, instinctively knowing they couldn't let him finish off the wounded general.

Shield after shield materialized and vanished beneath Liu Xing's feet as he accelerated through the sky like a comet. Lightning crackled between his hands, stretching into a hundred-meter blade that he hardened with stable qi. In the same fluid motion, he aimed his gun, feeding it potent qi from the Ethereal Pearl.

As the wind howled in his ears, Liu Xing knew this was the critical moment. If he could kill this general abomination with his gun, he could decimate the entire army!

"Eat this!" Liu Xing slashed through a hundred abominations in the air. His lightning blade whipped toward the wounded general's giant head.

Another general tried to parry the lightning blade with its wicked arm blade but was a fraction too slow. The lightning blade cut through the charred eye diagonally, meeting almost no resistance—just like when his bullet had pierced the first general's eye. The neat cut split the eye in two, red blood bursting from the wound as half the eye slid away. The general thrashed madly, sending frantic pulses that Liu Xing could feel on his skin.

Knowing the cut alone wouldn't kill it, Liu Xing accelerated even faster. Another general slashed at him with its giant wicked blade.

Liu Xing intensified his Lightning Cloak technique, using his shield to zigzag around several arm blades. He moved as fast as real lightning, quickly reaching the side of the wounded general. Its split head revealed writhing, complex organs that gushed blood like a waterfall.

Liu Xing aimed his gun and fired bullets infused with the Exploding Fist technique. Six explosions bloomed, spraying red blood everywhere. As the creature began to groan—physically this time—Liu Xing reloaded and fired another six shots in rapid succession. The abomination started to topple sideways just as three other generals swung their right arms to strike him down.

Liu Xing maneuvered through the sky, zigzagging left and right, up and down, to dodge these powerful but slow attacks. He used his shield to propel himself upward, beyond the reach of the generals' wicked blades.

Soon Liu Xing hung high in the sky, the clouds just centimeters away, with the entire City of Suns spread out below him. As gravity took hold, he let himself fall, eyes fixed on the gun in his left hand.

A sound like a collapsing building echoed from below, and Liu Xing saw the six green strips on his gun glowing brightly. His heart raced as a smile spread across his face—he would win this fight. More than that, he could also break through to the Core Splitting realm!

Centering his mind, Liu Xing took a deep breath. He absorbed a bullet into his body and directed it to his consciousness. The energy was plentiful, and his ball of lightning absorbed it greedily, vibrating as it tried to break free of its chains.

While absorbing the qi, he aimed his gun at the three army generals below. They looked up and began slashing the air, sending multiple giant wind blades toward him.

Liu Xing summoned his shield and accelerated faster. He coated his right gauntlet with stable qi and channeled one qi bullet into it. Instantly, another giant ball of lightning materialized before him. Without hesitation, he unleashed a giant pillar of lightning from his hand. He swung it like his lightning blade, easily cutting through the wind blades as if they were paper before plasma.

He swept the lightning pillar toward the ground with a thunderous rumble, destroying hundreds of remaining army and clan abominations. As the attack began to fade, he redirected it toward one of the army generals. The creature tried to stop the receding lightning pillar with a huge barrier, but the defense shattered into a million pieces just as his lightning pillar finally dissipated.

Liu Xing accelerated through the air, shield after shield materializing beneath his feet as he took aim at an army general. He pulled the trigger, and a lightning bolt whistled through the sky like a divine spear, striking the center of the general's massive eye. The impact triggered an explosion that transformed the entire eye into a red mist, coating everything within several hundred meters like a gruesome rain. The six green strips on the gun's side glowed again, and Liu Xing turned his attention to the two remaining army generals.

He squeezed the trigger four times, dedicating two shots to each creature. The generals raised blue barriers before their enormous forms, exactly as Liu Xing had anticipated. The first bullet that struck each barrier detonated, shredding the defense into azure confetti that danced in the wind. The follow-up bullets found their marks, striking each giant eye-head with devastating precision.

The explosions left nothing but stumps where their heads had been, blood mist and fragments of their eyes scattering in the wind. Like ancient trees finally felled, the three titanic abominations toppled sideways in unison.

Liu Xing smiled. He had won! All the generals are dead, and the army below is decimated.