Chapter 8
In the vast and endless forest, where various beasts and flora thrive, a small and inconspicuous cave was hidden near the boundary in the middle of the forest. Inside this dimly lit cave, two people were happily chatting and having their meal.
It had been more than a month since Shin Jiao came to this world. After learning a lot and gaining skills from the deceased traveler Gubu and his ring, he had acclimated himself to this place. He had also improved his crafting techniques and cultivation by leaps and bounds. Inside his dantian, the number of spheres was now at 30, but he seemed to have encountered another bottleneck, unable to raise it further.
It was thanks to Cherry Lao that he was able to feel spiritual energy at the time, which had inspired him and allowed him to break through the 10th sphere bottleneck. Even though he couldn't raise his cultivation level for now, he could still hunt higher-level beasts using his almost cheat-like artifacts.
Meanwhile, for Cherry Lao, though she could feel the spiritual energy, her cultivation and core were still ruined. Although she had already reached the peak of the Core-Forming Realm, because of the incident with her sect, she had to start over from the beginning, at the Body Refining Stage. Determination could be seen in her eyes as she truly tried her best to persevere and restart her cultivation. Shin Jiao respected her strong will, courage, and determination never to give up.
A thought flashed through his mind as they ate. "Cherry, I want to help you boost your cultivation, but… I don't know if you would agree. Last time, you said your meridian was blocked, right?"
"Hmm? Ah, yes. When I was escaping and encountered my sect mates, I accidentally inhaled a meridian-blocking powder. This made my cultivation level drop to the primary stage of the Core-Forming Realm. But the worst thing is… I was so desperate at the time that I overdrafted my dantian by using a forbidden escape technique, which in turn damaged my core," Cherry Lao explained with a saddened expression.
"Hmm… I'm guessing this has affected your core too much… I can help you with boosting your cultivation, but… your core… can you think of a way to recover from it?"
"Sigh… There is a possible way. But… it's impossible with just the two of us."
"A way? Tell me then… I may have a way to accomplish it," Shin Jiao said with a hint of confidence.
The two had grown close over the past few months. He didn't want to see the sadness on Cherry Lao's face that she tried so hard to hide.
"Haha… You're so smug. I don't know what your cultivation level is. What I can say is that even the old me wouldn't have been able to accomplish this task alone."
"Really? Tell me. I can only judge its difficulty upon hearing it. I want to know how you can regain your cultivation level," he pressed.
"Sigh… Okay, since you're so confident… I need a 5th-level beast king's core. This is the only way I can regain and fix my core and my cultivation in one go. There's even a possibility of me jumping immediately to form a Golden Core. I know this task is impossible; even in my sect, we have to gather at least five Infant Soul Realm elders to get our hands on a 5th-level beast king's core," she explained, glancing at Shin Jiao's expression.
"So… do you think it's possible with just the two of us?" she finished with a taunting question and raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm… Well, we might not know. Maybe tomorrow if I go out, I'll come across a dying 5th-level beast king and be able to get my hands on a core. Haha… Who knows, right?"
"Yeah, right…" She chuckled at his antics.
"Shin, just… just promise me one thing… please, don't put yourself in danger because of me, okay? I'll just start all over again; I know I can do it." Her words were filled with undisguised concern.
Even though Cherry Lao showed concern and was smiling at him, Shin Jiao could still feel the sadness in her eyes. So, with determination, he had already decided to hunt a 5th-level beast king the next day. As he was already familiar with the geography of the area and the power distribution among the beasts, he was confident he could find one.
...
The next day, after breakfast, Cherry Lao continued her cultivation, and Shin Jiao, as usual, provided her with a beast core to absorb. She was already aware of Shin Jiao's ability to hunt a 3rd-level beast. This made her think that he was a Core-Forming Realm cultivator just like herself, or even stronger. So, when he gave her beast cores, she just accepted them and slowly absorbed the spiritual energy within. He also told her not to discard the cores as they still had a use.
Shin Jiao discovered that a beast core contains two kinds of energy: spiritual energy and natural energy, or mana. He discovered this when he formed his 11th sphere. Although he still couldn't cultivate spiritual energy, absorbing, he needed to create more spheres, which was how he had reached the 30th sphere.
That day, Shin Jiao went out with his gear. He headed south, as he knew it was the territory of the bull-like beasts. In that area, there were two beast kings: the Demon Bull and the King Minotaur. After an hour of dashing through the woods, Shin Jiao entered their territory. Using his goggles, he could already see different types of auras, and to his surprise, he saw a lot of normal 5th-level beasts.
"This is the right place," Shin Jiao said, then waved his hand. From his ring, a long rifle, the length of his shoulder, emerged. If people from this world saw it, they would think it was a strange hollow staff, as they wouldn't be familiar with its function. But from Shin Jiao's old world, it was considered one of the most commonly used sniper rifles: the BARRETT. This weapon was created using a combination of materials, one of which was called black ore. This rare material was used by some cultivators to make their flying swords. Shin Jiao had used runes to make the weapon exceptionally overpowered. Its power depended on the level of the beast core being used and could be combined with the user's own energy. With this weapon, he was confident he could take down a 5th-level beast king.
So, Shin Jiao began to sneakily enter the territory, carefully searching for any traces of beasts. Since he knew there were two beast kings in this place, he was confident he could find one of them. After an hour of searching, he finally noticed a powerful fluctuation to the west of his position. There, he found a gigantic figure gorging on a dead carcass. The creature had the head of a bull and the body of a man. Even though it was sitting and munching with gusto, it still stood at around one and a half meters tall.
The creature was unaware that a small human was observing it from a distance, under the cover of trees. However, unlike the beast, which Shin Jiao named the Minotaur Beast King, Shin Jiao could see its aura and figure using his trusty goggles. He immediately looked around and found a tall tree that was a good spot for sniping at a distance of about two kilometers from his target. Because of the size of his target, Shin Jiao was sure he would be able to hit it without any problem. So, without a word, he silently dashed and climbed the large, tall tree. After reaching a favorable spot, he raised the BARRETT rifle and began to adjust the reticle for a clearer sight. He also observed the air around him. When he suddenly found a favorable moment, he smiled.
"Sorry, big guy," he mumbled to himself.
The Minotaur Beast King suddenly sensed impending doom with its sharp animal instinct. It carefully observed the area. When Shin Jiao saw this, he felt a bit nervous and scolded himself for making the biggest mistake in sniping: revealing his killing intent. In his years of experience as a spy, he had learned to hide his killing intent, but after he became a researcher and engineer, he seemed to have forgotten it. Even in this huge forest, he hadn't hidden his killing intent while hunting, so he had become a bit rusty.
"Damn… That was close… Okay, let's relax first…" Shin Jiao said, taking a deep breath.
After calming himself, he once again aimed. This time, he remembered to hide his killing intent, and then he pulled the trigger.
Psst!
A silenced, muffled sound came out of the rifle, and the bullet flew unhindered as the air element around it melded with the projectile. Meanwhile, the Minotaur king resumed its meal as it felt the sense of danger fade. But just as it was about to take another bite, a silver flash suddenly appeared. The Minotaur king stopped and then lifelessly dropped to the ground. A large, fist-sized hole could be seen on its head, which seemed to have exited at its back. Blood and brain matter were splattered everywhere, as the impact of the shot was horrific.
Shin Jiao's figure then appeared, a wide smile blooming on his face. He was truly astonished by the result. Now, lying on the ground was the carcass of a 5th-level Minotaur Beast King. He then noticed that beside it, with almost half of its body already gone, was another 5th-level beast king: a giant earthen bear. Shin Jiao was truly excited. He immediately sent both carcasses into his ring and ran back to the cave. He felt exhilarated. He was also happy that he could now help Cherry Lao with her cultivation. He knew that once she recovered, she could also be a great help to him, as she might be able to show him the way out of the vast and almost endless forest.
...
Meanwhile, inside the cave, Cherry Lao was still sitting on the bed cultivating. But she couldn't concentrate; she was a little worried that Shin Jiao hadn't returned for lunch. "I can't concentrate on cultivating in this state… Where could he have gone? This is the first time he's missed lunch," she muttered to herself as she stood up and looked at the cave entrance with worry in her eyes.
"This is not good. I have to go out and look for him," she said, walking toward the huge stone door, planning to go out and look for Shin Jiao, no longer caring about the danger outside.
As she touched the cold stone door to push it open, it suddenly jerked and moved back. To her surprise, the stone door opened, and she saw Shin Jiao walking in with a big smile on his face. When she saw him, all the worries in her heart flew away, and she suddenly hugged him without a second thought.
"Where have you been? I was really worried, you know!" she said worriedly, nestling her head on Shin Jiao's chest.
Though the situation felt awkward, as a grown man and someone who had experienced a relationship before, Shin Jiao didn't push her away. He had somehow already accepted his circumstances and had grown familiar with Cherry Lao.
Although feeling a little awkward, Shin Jiao carefully caressed Cherry Lao's head. But suddenly, he felt her body shudder. She then pushed him away and quickly turned her back, afraid to see his reaction. This situation made Shin Jiao smile sheepishly and scratch his head, not knowing what to say.
"Umm… Sorry… for getting home this late. I know I caused you to worry," he apologized.
"Who… who's worried about you?" she said in an annoyed tone.
Hearing her words, Shin Jiao just shook his head helplessly. She was the one who hugged him, so why was she acting shy now?
"Sigh, okay… I was late because I found something in the forest… Here, look at this…" Shin Jiao said as he took out a beast core that pulsed with strong energy.
As soon as Cherry Lao felt that strong energy, her body stiffened. With disbelieving eyes, she slowly turned around to see the beast core in Shin Jiao's hand.
"This… this… how can this be? How did you manage to get this?" she said in astonishment.
Seeing her surprised look, Shin Jiao felt elated.
"It's a secret… Hehe," he chuckled.
"This… this aura and… and this feeling. Ahh… I can still remember the first time I felt this strong spiritual presence… It's true, it's the core of a 5th-level beast king," Cherry Lao said with a blushing face.
"Well, yes… I was really happy to find it… Now we can use this so you can regain your cultivation back, right?"
Cherry Lao just nodded but didn't lift her head to look at Shin Jiao. This was because tears were slowly trickling down her cheeks.
"Sigh… women are really made of water. I guess no matter what planet it is, they surely like to cry," Shin Jiao thought.
"Well, enough crying… Tell me what else you need. I'll get it for you," Shin Jiao said to break the awkwardness.
Hearing his words, she just shook her head. "This is already enough… just… just protect me as I try to absorb the energy within this core," she said in a low voice.
Cherry then lifted her head and looked Shin Jiao in the eyes. "Shin, thank you so much for your kindness. I… I truly can't explain how much I owe you for this…"
"Hey, hey, what is this drama? You're my friend, right? So, I would surely do my best to help you," he said with a gentle smile.
However, his words made Cherry feel a bit dejected. "This guy is so dense… Grrr… Is he blind? Am I really not that attractive to him? Gosh… this is so frustrating," she said to herself, her face frowning in dissatisfaction.
To not ruin her mood, Cherry Lao just accepted the beast core and went directly to the middle of the cave, where she sat in a lotus position and began to absorb the energy inside the core.