Duncan circulated the <Slaughter Demon Sutra> calmly, repressing his enthusiasm a bit. It took him some time to get into the proper mental state required for the cultivation, but he did it eventually.
The qi in the surrounding soon started to move toward Duncan slowly. Pretty soon, a tiny vortex formed above Duncan's head. The suction from the vortex sucked in the surrounding qi at a faster rate and sent it to Duncan's body.
Duncan felt as if he was enclosed by a warm and comfortable blanket. The feeling was both cozy and peaceful. It helped him to concentrate more and try to absorb more qi to break through to the next level of the Qi Condensation realm.
Soon, Duncan started to feel his body greedily sucking in the qi from heaven and earth at an alarming rate. His dantain started to feel bloated as a tenth strand of qi entered it.
Even though the membrane that had been preventing him from absorbing more qi has gone, Duncan felt as if his dantain would not expand anytime soon. The tenth strand of qi forced its way inside his dantain making him fear for a moment that his dantain was going to explode.
Luckily, nothing like that happened.
The moment the tenth strand of qi entered his dantain completely. The bloated feeling in his stomach increased severalfold. His dantain started to automatically compress the qi strands present inside to fit them.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Duncan felt something within his body break. The next moment, he felt even more qi rushing into his body madly. The tiny vortex above his head revolved crazily as it worked overtime to provide Duncan's body with more qi.
Before Duncan could make sense of this or react to the bloated feeling, the ten qi strands in his dantain rushed out and spread throughout his body. This time they were not guided by the circulation technique. They were rabidly moving across his body as if they were searching for something.
Duncan felt lightheaded for a moment. However, he regained his bearings and tried to concentrate more on his body to see what the qi strands were up to. What Duncan saw made him mesmerized and fall in love with cultivation.
Wherever those qi strands passed, they nourished the body part they came into contact with. It was unlike anything he had seen before. The qi strands gave a new vitality to his body parts as they rampaged across his body.
Duncan felt as if his entire body was being remade from the inside out.
Fearing that the qi strands would run out, Duncan turned his attention to circulate the <Slaughter Demon Sutra> more urgently. This process lasted for about a minute or so before Duncan's entire body glowed slightly.
Following that, black filth started oozing out of his body. The stench would have disturbed Duncan's concentration if he wasn't fully devoted to circulating his cultivation technique non-stop.
Soon, Duncan's entire body was covered in black filth. His clothes were drenched in black filth and a sticky sort of feeling started to appear all over his body. Duncan didn't care about any of these things currently.
His only focus was to circulate the cultivation technique without any mistakes. As time passed, Duncan felt the rampage in his body come to a standstill and he was once more able to control the qi strands.
Duncan circulated the technique while keeping an eye on the qi strands. He gently guided them through the cultivation pathway that was described in the technique. The vortex above his head had stopped its crazy spinning and was once more back to normal.
However, Duncan was pleasantly surprised to note that the amount of qi he absorbed with each breath had increased double-fold. Earlier, he was only able to absorb so much of the qi from the surrounding in a single breath, despite the rich density of qi in his surroundings. Now, that wasn't the case.
Likewise, the tiny vortex above his head had also increased in size.
As Duncan cultivated non-stop, he was able to refill the qi he had spent quickly. He was also surprised to note that the tenth strand of qi that he had obtained was now able to sit comfortably inside his body without clashing with the other nine strands.
Duncan also realized that the quality of qi in his body had also increased slightly compared to earlier. Despite the sticky feeling he had all over his body, Duncan was feeling pretty refreshed and calm.
Duncan opened his eyes slowly and looked around. He was pleasantly surprised to note that his eyesight had improved as well. The areas which had been dark to him earlier were clear now. Not just his sight, Duncan felt as if all his senses have increased as well.
However, there was a flip side to the increased senses as well. The stench that was emanating from his body was unbearable to Duncan. He scowled at that and got up.
Looking at his arms that were caked with black filth, Duncan couldn't help but show a disgusted expression. Just realizing that all this filth was present in his body made him a little uncomfortable.
He also realized that his body was not done clearing itself of its impurities yet. The introductory booklet has stated that a cultivator will undergo nine times such cleansing, once for every level they move up in the Qi Condensation realm. That meant, he had to undergo such purification nine times to completely rid himself of any impurities in his body.
To be honest, Duncan couldn't wait to get rid of these impurities in his body. He was already feeling more energetic and comfortable in his body now that one such cleansing was complete.
He couldn't wait to feel how it would be to completely rid himself of these impurities. Just extrapolating from the current feeling alone was enough for him to yearn for that.
And this was just the beginning.
He had merely moved up a level in the Qi Condensation realm. Duncan couldn't wait to see the changes in his body once he moved up a major realm. He was sure that the difference would be earth-shattering for sure.
Letting out a breath of stale air, Duncan rose from his position and swung his sword experimentally. He could feel that his strength had increased twofold now that he had moved up to the Second Level of the Qi Condensation realm.
Duncan began to test his reflexes and speed for a bit and found himself smiling from ear to ear in giddiness. His body was moving far more smoothly compared to how he was moving earlier.
He also noted that he need to practice a bit more with his martial arts techniques as the increase in his body attributes meant he had to recalibrate his style to accommodate them. Nevertheless, Duncan was glad for the extra work. This meant he was becoming more powerful. And it was fine with him.
What wasn't fine with him though was a dilemma he was facing currently. Duncan frowned as he realized that he didn't have any spare clothes to get into while cleaning the current ones he was wearing.
That meant, he had to remain naked for some time, until he cleared his clothing of the stench and filth that his body had expelled. Luckily, he had decided to camp near a water source. This would enable him to get things done quickly.
Imagine traversing these tunnels with such horrible stench and filth adorning his body. That would have been a nightmare in itself. Not to mention the cannibals that would be drawn in by the stench he was putting out.
Letting out a huge sigh, Duncan hastily got out of his clothes and started to clean himself in an urgent manner.
*****
Duncan spent the next two days, after cleaning himself, cooped up in that space he had made his camp in. Not that he could identify the time in this place anymore. The only indication of the day-night cycle was the beam of light that was coming through the hole in the roof nearby.
However, he wasn't idle.
Duncan was diligently practicing his martial techniques during that time so that he would be combat-ready whenever it was needed. He noticed that the time he was able to practice had increased drastically because of the breakthrough.
His practice with the <Wind Chasing Steps> had reached the partial success stage. Just increasing his cultivation level allowed Duncan to practice his techniques for a long time. This, in turn, translated into acquiring increasing mastery over the technique he practiced.
Any martial arts technique was divided into four stages. Initial success was the stage where one had a basic grasp of the technique. Partial success is when they became proficient in the technique. Attaining a full success stage meant they had mastery over the technique. Above that was the perfection stage.
Duncan had learned that most cultivators never attain the perfection stage in their techniques. They would stop at the full success stage after attaining mastery over the technique. The perfection stage can only be obtained when the cultivator could easily execute the technique flawlessly, not wasting any qi, and completely comprehending the essence of a technique.
Every single martial arts technique was derived from a concept. Each concept is inspired by the things in nature or by observing powerful beings and their habits. That's why the progression of technique at the initial stages was far easier than it was in the later stages. Because to attain perfection, one must completely comprehend the essence of nature or the powerful being.
It was a tall order to attain.
Duncan's practice of the sword technique was progressing rapidly on the other hand. While practicing <Absolute Cut Sword Art>, Duncan felt as if he was nearing a certain stage. He wasn't able to actually pinpoint it, but deep down he knew he was closing in on a threshold. And his gut told him, reaching it would be immensely beneficial for him.
As for his cultivation, Duncan used the remaining Qi Gathering pills in his hands generously making great strides in that area as well. He felt as if he was nearing the peak of the second level of the Qi Condensation realm. But, he felt as if something was missing from it.
From prior experience, Duncan knew what exactly was missing. He knew that he couldn't fall back on those lazy behaviors of hiding away and cultivating. It was what led him here. And to break through to the next level, he needed to slaughter more people. It was as if each level of progression needed Duncan to slaughter more.
Letting out a deep sigh, Duncan stood up from his position and started walking out of the tunnel he had holed himself in. He knew what was needed for him to break through and this place was the ideal area for him to indulge in it.
*****
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