Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

At that moment, the mantis shrimp's hammers struck the Yunluo Umbrella with all its might. The umbrella's light dimmed and it tore apart, damaging this newly minted, top-grade magical weapon. Meanwhile, the hammers, still powerful enough to strike back, continued to strike Liu Xing. Liu Xing was sent flying backward, spurting out a mouthful of blood.

This was the first time Liu Xing had been injured since his fight. Luckily, his soft armor withstood the remaining force, though some cracks and damage had developed. He had merely coughed up blood from the immense force. This injury also taught Liu Xing that he should never underestimate his opponent. Even a lion fighting a rabbit would use all its might. Though the giant shrimp was at its weakest, suppressed by his firepower, it still had the ability to deliver a fatal blow. He had been careless and failed to defend himself, and the injury was well deserved.

The giant shrimp's attack was effective, but the massive wounds on its body and its dwindling mana prevented it from continuing. At this point, the four puppets attacked once again, and the mantis shrimp only managed to hold out for a moment before its head was smashed to pieces, killing it.

Liu Xing looked in the other direction at the loggerhead sea turtle, also nearing death from the attacks of Jiao Jiao and Mu Yuan. Jiao Jiao, now in a ferocious frenzy, charged forward, seizing one of the sea turtle's front flippers. With a death roll, he tore the flipper off and devoured it whole. Not satisfied, he repeated the same trick, tearing off the other three legs. The sea turtle finally lost its resistance, and Mu Yuan smashed its head with a club. Jiao Jiao, overjoyed, charged forward, devouring the sea turtle's flesh and blood.

Seeing the turtle dead, Liu Xing gathered his five puppets and magical instruments, leaving Jiao Jiao to devour the turtle. He first used the Yin Gathering Bowl to gather the spirits of the turtle and the mantis shrimp, then began dissecting the mantis shrimp's remains. He began by, of course, digging out and storing the Level 4 demon core. He then collected the giant shrimp's carapace, appendages, legs, and essence—the materials needed for refining the weapon. He gazed at the remaining pile of tender shrimp meat, then saw Jiao Jiao devouring the turtle meat with gusto. His stomach growled, so he summoned the Samadhi True Fire, roasted the shrimp, sprinkled it with salt, and devoured the roasted shrimp with relish. It was his first time consuming seafood from a Level 4 demon beast; it was both delicious and tender, and invigorating.

A quarter of an hour later, Jiao Jiao had finally devoured the turtle meat, even swallowing the demon pill. Only the turtle shell remained. Jiao Jiao, staggering like a drunk, felt drowsy. She took the initiative and crawled into Liu Xing's pet bag, quickly falling into a deep sleep. Liu Xing, also stuffed, was burping. Seeing that there was still a lot of shrimp meat left, he packed it into a large jade box, affixed a preservation charm, and stored it away for later. He then collected the turtle shell, which was an excellent material for refining a defensive magic weapon.

This time he got a great bargain. He encountered two sea monsters fighting each other, and he reaped the benefits. The huge harvest made him satisfied, so he decided to find a place to digest what he had gained during this period.

Ten days later, on an inconspicuous island in the vast ocean, a small spiritual vein was discovered. Liu Xing set up three defensive formations to surround the island, then opened a cave and prepared to retreat for a period of time.

He first took a healing pill to heal his injuries. Once his condition reached peak strength, he began refining two fourth-level demon pills into the Soul-Sustaining Pill. Having refined the Soul-Sustaining Pill so many times, his movements became highly skilled. Soon, two batches of pills were successfully refined, without any loss of spiritual power. The quality of the pills was even higher than before. Without a second thought, Liu Xing immediately retreated to practice.

After a year of arduous training, fueled by the potent effects of the Soul-Enriching Pills, Liu Xing's cultivation gradually improved. He could already sense the bottleneck of the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. He was overjoyed. Was he finally about to break through? With renewed focus, he pushed harder and harder, pushing towards the bottleneck diaphragm. He consumed Soul-Enriching Pill after Soul-Enriching Pill, constantly accumulating mana. His dantian was already overflowing with mana, but the bottleneck diaphragm remained as strong as ever. Liu Xing had experienced numerous breakthroughs and knew his unique situation meant each one was far more challenging than others. He took his time, shoving the remaining three Soul-Enriching Pills into his mouth. Immediately, the tripled medicinal power erupted within him, threatening to rupture and tear through his meridians, causing unbearable pain. However, Liu Xing's experience in the Gangfeng Spirit Refining Technique made the pain palpable. His powerful spiritual awareness now exerted immense power, channeling the medicinal energy through his meridians in a coordinated attack on the diaphragm.

With a loud boom, the solid membrane finally broke free, and Liu Xing successfully entered the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. He hurriedly channeled his spiritual energy according to the second level of the "Wind and Cloud Art," practicing it day by day. This spiritual energy continuously opened up new meridians, while gradually expanding and strengthening existing meridians and Dantian to withstand the more powerful fluctuations of mana within his body. At the same time, he felt that his soul state had reached a new height, and the power of his consciousness had also increased significantly. Liu Xing had the experience of breaking through many barriers and knew that it was not time to celebrate yet. He needed to continue to consolidate his cultivation, otherwise his unstable state of mind would lead to a drop in realm.

Three months later, through tireless effort and meticulous practice, he finally solidified his mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm. Furthermore, the mana refined through the bamboo flute had reached a depth far exceeding that of a peak late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, approaching that of a veteran in the early Jindan stage. Simultaneously, the pale yellow spiritual energy within his mana had increased significantly, becoming slightly darker. Without rest, Liu Xing immediately used his spiritual energy to generate a special罡风 (a powerful wind) and began to refine his spirit. The pain emanating from his soul made Liu Xing grimace in agony, a sensation reminiscent of being torn apart by a thousand cuts. However, his willpower was now strong enough to prevent him from fainting from the pain. He persevered through this for over three months, elevating his spiritual awareness to new heights. He tested it and found that his spiritual awareness could now detect a range of twenty kilometers and simultaneously operate five top-grade magical instruments, a strength comparable to that of a cultivator in the early Jindan stage. Liu Xing was extremely happy. He knew very well that a strong spiritual awareness could bring huge benefits. Not only could he predict the enemy's movements, but he could also control more puppets and magical weapons, which would directly double his combat power.

His realm has been elevated, and his spiritual power and magic power have made great strides. Liu Xing is now very proud of himself. His nearly five-year monster hunting journey has finally paid off and he has achieved phased success.