To break through to the second stage of the Core Splitting realm, a cultivator needed to split their core in two. This required the core to move extremely fast. However, this was not the only factor. Many theories likely existed regarding how to advance from the first to the second stage of the Core Splitting realm, including optimal strategies, techniques for a smoother advancement, and more. Liu Xing knew none of these. But now, he at least understood why his core felt like it was moving in an unusual way.

The answer was synchronization between his body and his consciousness. He didn't know whether every cultivator attempting to split their core experienced the same thing. After all, he was currently still actively using the Flowing Meditation Method. But as he attempted to destroy the main core of the giant, there were moments when he felt his core move in a way that felt correct. It resonated with his body, making his gut feeling scream that this was the state he needed to achieve to advance. This occurred when his breathing, linked to the movement of his core, synchronized with his heartbeats, as if they were dancing to the rhythm of the same music.

Liu Xing theorized that if he synchronized his heartbeats, qi circulation, blood circulation, breathing, and the movement of his core, he could advance. Such a thing would likely be easy if he were meditating, but currently, the most he could do was minimize his movements. After all, while he was winning, the fight was not over. Wei Yi and the giant were still alive, and Liu Xing needed to kill them both.

Standing atop his invisible turtle, he controlled the potent qi spreading around him to encase the turtle once more and willed it to hover again. As he began to float, he inhaled deeply and cycled potent qi through his body, attempting to synchronize his blood and heart with the rhythm of his breathing.

Peering into his consciousness, he saw the qi swing like a pendulum left and right, but unlike before, it moved with a newfound steadiness, like a drunkard who had magically expelled all the alcohol from their system. Liu Xing felt the eagerness of his cultivation and the return of the feeling of rightness. This was the way to advance!

As the turtle began to hover high into the sky again, his senses picked up qi nearby. The giant was moving, turning directly toward him. Its empty eye sockets gazed straight ahead, and the worms within the pink sockets wriggled like maggots around a rotten carcass. On the giant's forehead, a yellow eye settled between the two empty sockets. It was small compared to the eye sockets, but Liu Xing knew this was the eye that had hindered him inside the giant's stomach. It looked toward his position as if trying to find and incinerate him. The giant eye in the belly did the same, and when its full gaze fell upon him, Liu Xing saw several red burn marks dotting it, as if a fiery needle had been plunged into the yellow eye repeatedly.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xing's eyes widened. Those marks were not his doing, which meant they were made by the Yang clan! Instantly, Liu Xing looked around. The last time he had seen them, they were fighting the former emperor. When Liu Xing became invisible, they were likely also attacked by Wei Yi, and in return, they retaliated.

"Where are they?" Liu Xing muttered, his stomach twisting. His eyes scanned the area, and his qi sense tried to locate them. "There's no way they all died, right?" While Liu Xing had considered that possibility when entering the giant, fate would be cruel if they were truly dead now. After all, Liu Xing could see a path to victory, and he wanted to bring them all there.

Soon, he picked up a qi signature and instantly looked down. A yellow streak traveled rapidly above the ground, zigzagging as if dodging invisible traps. Seeing this streak of yellow light, some of the knots in his stomach loosened. Yang Suyin had survived! At first, he had considered the worst, that Yang Suyin was the only survivor from the Yang clan. But then he remembered Yang Suyin saying he would try to find the third ingredient to perfect the giant, which made sense if Yang Suyin was moving alone.

Looking in the opposite direction from Yang Suyin, he realized Yang Suyin was moving away from the giant. There was no one there, so Liu Xing looked around further and finally found what he sought. Prince Yang Jinyan had also survived! He carried all of his clan members on his shoulders, piled on top of each other like sacks of rice, while holding Yang Hongyin in both hands. Their bodies twitched, and some groaned, indicating they had all survived. However, judging by their weak qi, he suspected they had sacrificed their cultivation to fight the former emperor. Moreover, not far from Prince Yang Jinyan, who was also moving away from the giant, he saw a headless charred body lying on charred ground. Seeing this, all the knots in his stomach loosened. They had won their battle!

Liu Xing's heartbeat quickened on its own, and a smile bloomed on his lips. With the former emperor dead, the only remaining enemies were truly Wei Yi and the giant. As his heartbeat grew more excited, Liu Xing tried to rein in his emotions. He couldn't become overconfident. He was winning, true, but that didn't mean victory was already in hand. He needed to maintain full focus to ensure victory. There could be no mistakes. He couldn't allow Wei Yi to reverse the situation through carelessness.

Liu Xing began to plan his next move. He needed to enter the giant's body once again.

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He maneuvered the turtle to circle the giant. The speed was slow, but with his invisibility, it was only a matter of time before he arrived, but when he felt qi begin to gather around the giant, Liu Xing knew without a doubt that Wei Yi wouldn't simply allow it.

The giant opened its mouth wide, as if trying to swallow a giant invisible ball, revealing a massive tongue that pointed to the sky. A red ball of condensed qi formed on the tip of the tongue. Compared to the tongue itself, it looked tiny, like an ant before a human tongue. Yet, it glowed so brightly that even Liu Xing needed to shield his eyes from the light. It was as if a red star had descended to earth, painting everything with red light.

Feeling the qi emanating from that point, Liu Xing's heart beat so rapidly he felt his ribs might break again. The sheer amount of qi the giant used to condense this shining ball was so immense that he gaped. This was the single biggest attack the giant would unleash!

His eyes finally adjusted to the bright light, and he saw that the giant's eye on its stomach was also widened, as if Wei Yi himself didn't know about this attack. Looking at the giant's face, he saw that as it held the qi, its empty eye sockets narrowed, wrinkles appeared all over its face, and it looked enraged.

Liu Xing realized this attack was not formed by Wei Yi, but by the giant itself. This meant the giant possessed some form of consciousness.

"Shit!" Liu Xing cursed.

There was a significant difference between a mere puppet and a being with consciousness. While Wei Yi could control the giant and use its qi, unless he fully controlled it, there was a limit to how much of the giant's power Wei Yi could unleash. It was like controlling a doll with strings. Though Wei Yi's method involved actually inserting himself into parts of the giant. But now, the giant was moving on its own accord, meaning it could unleash its full power upon him.

As he thought this, the light that had been shining and painting the world red suddenly receded. One moment, the ball of qi shone with full power; the next, all light vanished, as if it had been an illusion. But this silence lasted less than a second.

A red laser shot from the condensed qi, tearing through the air and launching straight into the sky, forming a thin red line. In less than a second, the tip of this laser struck the dome of the Royal Barrier. When the laser hit, the Royal Barrier trembled, as if struck not by a thin laser, but by a full-power kick from the giant. Liu Xing thought it would break, but it held for a moment before the laser changed the upper part of the Royal Barrier, turning its color from orange to red. It was as if the Royal Barrier were a canvas, and the red laser a pouring ink forcibly painting it red.

Moments later, looking up, mouth agape at the sight, Liu Xing realized thousands of condensed qi droplets hung from the Royal Barrier's dome like dewdrops made of blood.

As soon as they formed, they fell, becoming thousands of raindrops, a crimson rain of condensed qi. Seeing this, Liu Xing realized that while the raindrops looked small from afar, each was as big as a baby elephant. These raindrops were dangerous, and Liu Xing understood the attack's intent. It seemed the giant knew Liu Xing was invisible, so instead of trying to locate and target him, it chose to attack indiscriminately.

When the first raindrop landed nearby, hitting the ground and exploding, it created an explosion so loud it sounded like a giant bomb detonating. A small mushroom cloud formed, and a wide crater remained. This attack could easily kill a cultivator at the peak of the Lock Opening realm. While individually the raindrops wouldn't harm him, there were hundreds, even thousands, of them in the air. It looked as if the sky had turned red and was crying blood.

Liu Xing's heartbeat beat faster and faster, and the synchronicity between his body and consciousness shattered. But at that moment, Liu Xing didn't care even slightly. The only thing on his mind was how to maneuver around these attacks without compromising his invisibility. He realized there were gaps between the raindrops, but it was impossible for his turtle to navigate through them.

For a moment, Liu Xing considered dismissing his turtle and moving with his shield, but quickly decided against it. There was no way Wei Yi would give him another chance to make his turtle this large, and his turtle was a weapon effective against the giant. Letting it go would mean losing his advantage. Moreover, his stone blade was nowhere near him.

Gritting his teeth, Liu Xing sent more potent qi to encase the turtle and controlled it to move faster. All around him, more and more raindrops landed, creating loud explosions and leaving huge craters. He commanded his potent qi to lift one side of the turtle higher, and as it began to tilt, he ran atop his invisible turtle to reposition himself. If the turtle were visible, it would look as if it were sleeping on its side. This was the only solution he could think of to minimize the surface area exposed to the raindrops.

When a raindrop struck the turtle's head, it exploded with deafening force, and the tremors spread, making Liu Xing, standing atop it, feel as if he were on a boat crashing into a massive wave. More and more raindrops hit his turtle, creating red explosions around it. The continuous roar of explosions and the white smoke forming around his turtle made it seem like a ship bombarded by hundreds of enemy vessels.

Liu Xing tried as hard as possible to maneuver the turtle, but it was too much! He realized the giant had won the opening move. These raindrops weren't intended to kill him; they were merely an opening move to locate him and his turtle. And with explosions occurring on the surface of the invisible turtle and creating white smoke, his location was already compromised.

As Liu Xing also shot Exploding Fist bullets at the raindrops directly above him, the giant snapped its head toward him. The empty eye sockets wriggled, and it let out a deafening roar that made the air tremble once more. The giant opened its mouth wide, and when Liu Xing saw a miniature sun forming within, he realized this battle was not as easy as he had thought.

He had been too overconfident!

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