He used Shadow Step. But when he reached the entrance of the cave a blast wave slammed into his back. His ears started ringing, a high-pitched whine that drowned out the world. In the next second he felt searing heat on his back, skin blistering instantly. He tried to use Shadow Step again but was a second late. His form bolted like a rocket. Crashed through trees. Branches snapped against his body. He tumbled. Rolled. Skidded across dirt and stone, tasting blood and earth.
The dark voice rang inside his head.
"You fat head. Who told you to do it inside a cave? Directing all the blast wave toward you."
Marcus was in pain. His back burned like fire had been poured across it. Hair singed, the acrid smell of burnt strands filling his nose. Fuck. I nearly killed myself.
With gritted teeth he tilted his neck to look behind him. Crushed trees lined the path he had been thrown. Splintered wood smoking. Then he saw the dust cloud rising where the cave used to be, a gray mushroom hanging in the still air.
Marcus thought what would have happened if he had done it in his room. A cold sweat fell on his back, chilling the burns.
He stood up. Changed into a new robe, the fabric sticking to raw skin. Circulated his qi. Wounds were superficial. Not life-threatening. Pain dulled to a hot throb. Then he used Shadow Step to vanish from the site. He knew such a loud explosion would attract cultivators.
As Marcus vanished, a few minutes later a squad of cultivators arrived to investigate the blast. They wore bright green robes with the emblem of the city lord, voices sharp with alarm.
Meanwhile Marcus found another location, a secluded valley. He started pondering his mistake. Where had he gone wrong with the assembly?
Soon he realized there was no array acting as a kill switch to prevent the explosion array from igniting accidentally.
But there was no such array in the system's Tier 1 Spirit Tech book. He might need to buy a higher tier one. But he did not have the luxury to afford it right now.
After thinking for a moment he started experimenting with his array knowledge. Engraving test runes on stone. He also drew on his past knowledge as a coder. Soon he found a new array after trial and error.
He discovered various interactions of arrays. Soon he had a deeper understanding. He came to the conclusion that arrays had a logical pattern, like code. Each engraving interacted with energy in the environment in predictable ways.
Soon he found a solution: a protective array acting as a fail-safe.
He took out the parts. Started engraving the new fail-safe array on them. After this he started assembling in an open place. But this time he activated Shadow Step in advance, if he felt anything wrong he would immediately escape.
After a few minutes he placed the last step of the cluster bomb.
A phenomenon occurred. It started vibrating. Then hovered in the air.
Marcus was terrified. Used Shadow Step the moment he noticed the vibration.
He watched from a far point. After observing for a while nothing happened. He gradually moved forward.
A ball the size of a human head hovered. Multiple carved arrays covered its surface. Looking closer he saw small fist-sized balls attached to it.
Marcus's form flashed. He appeared in front of the cluster bomb with silent excitement. Used his hand to feel the coldness from the metallic surface. Then stored it into the storage bag. Took out other parts to assemble a new one.
Soon he finished it the same way. He was happy with what he made today. Now he had two cluster bombs for self-defense.
Then he moved on to assemble his pulse beam rifle.
He started the assembly. Crossed his fingers nothing would explode. Nothing happened.
After fifteen minutes he finished. In front of him stood a metallic-sheen rifle he had designed. Even though it was the first of its kind it was a great leap forward for him.
He took it in his hand. Around 140 cm long. Intimidating to look at. Whole surface covered with arrays. When qi circulated through it the arrays glowed with a cool blue-white light.
Marcus pointed it toward a nearby tree. He had designed the gun in two modes.
First mode: electromagnetic induction by the arrays to propel an alloy bullet forward.
He pressed the trigger. All arrays shimmered. A current surged across the barrel. A bullet flew forward with a loud bang. Marcus felt the recoil and staggered off balance.
Smoke rose from the tree. A fist-sized hole punched clean through the trunk.
Marcus's smile grew wider. He pressed the trigger again. Another bang. Another fist-sized hole.
When he pressed the fourth time no response came. He knew this was the maximum amount of rounds it could fire after a complete charge with qi.
Soon he started pouring his qi into the gun. He felt the draining in his qi reserves. It was time-consuming. Took about ten minutes to fully charge again. Marcus thought if it took this much time charging actively he did not know how long it would take with spirit gathering arrays.
For now his biggest drawback: after three shots he would be sitting duck.
After this Marcus switched to second mode: pulse beam.
He pointed toward the tree. Pressed the trigger. A thick red light shot from the barrel. Next moment a red beam swept toward the tree. Erased it from existence. Not just the tree, all trees behind it for dozens of meters vaporized to nothingness.
Shit. Marcus exclaimed. Nothing remained at the pointed tree. Surrounding trees caught fire from the intense heat produced in seconds.
He pointed in another direction. Pressed the trigger. Nothing came. Marcus was somewhat dissatisfied. Only single shot. But deep inside he knew even a single shot would do the job.
He started recharging the gun with his qi. By this time half his qi reserve was gone when the gun fully charged.
Then an idea hit him. He wanted to know how far the beam could hit.
He pointed the gun toward the mountain nearby the city, the one covered by ice caps at the top.
The dark voice rang inside his head.
"Don't do this motherfucker."
After hearing it Marcus was pissed off with him for a while. Wanted to get back at him.
In the next moment he pressed the trigger.
A thick red beam traveled in an instant. Hit the ice caps with an explosion from the impact. Steam rose from the site.
But it was enough for an avalanche. Which would soon hit the nearby forest beside the city.
Marcus stored the gun in the storage bag. Used Shadow Step to disappear from the site.
When he reached the city gate he saw various cultivators rushing inside for safety. Then he heard first there was an explosion in the south side of the forest. Then after a few minutes they saw a red beam of light striking the mountain top.
Everyone was panicking. Rumors spread fast. Heretic cultivators nearby. Attacking. Looting. Making pills out of fellow cultivators.
Soon Marcus got his turn. Showed his identity token. Let him pass through.
Marcus saw a group of cultivators from the city lord mansion flying toward the forest.
After entering the city he sighed in relief. Went toward Sarah's room.
Soon he reached outside her room. With Shadow Step entered inside.
He saw Sarah waiting for him in her night gown. Legs spread apart. Inviting him.
As soon as she saw him she lifted her gown provocatively. Marcus swallowed hard.
Then Marcus leapt forward. Kissed her.
Their mouths crashed together. Teeth clacked. Tongues shoved. They tasted smoke and iron from the forest fire he'd started miles away. She bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. He growled into her mouth and shoved her back onto the pillows.
She laughed, low and throaty and victorious. Then she sank to her knees before he could pin her.
Her hands were already on his robes. She yanked them open. His cock sprang free, thick and veined, still half-hard from the adrenaline of the beam shot. She didn't tease. She wrapped both hands around the base and squeezed until the head flushed darker. Then she dragged her flat tongue from balls to slit in one long obscene stripe. The salt of his skin, the faint metallic tang of residual qi from the rifle, the musky leftover scent of their last session, she inhaled it all like incense.
Then she took him.
No warm-up. No gentle licks. She swallowed half his length in the first plunge. Her throat muscles fluttered around him like a second cunt. Marcus's knees buckled. He caught himself on the bedpost. She hummed. Vibration rolled straight into his balls. She pushed forward until her nose pressed into his pubic bone. Tears instantly welled at the corners of her eyes from the stretch, but she didn't pull back. Instead she hollowed her cheeks and sucked hard, like she was trying to pull his soul out through his dick.
He lasted maybe ten seconds.
The orgasm hit like a formation detonation. His hips jerked involuntarily. He fisted her hair and held her down as pulse after pulse flooded her mouth. She moaned around the girth. Her throat worked visibly. She swallowed greedily. Cum overflowed at the corners of her lips anyway. Thick white rivulets slid down her chin and dripped onto her exposed breasts. She didn't waste it. One hand came up. She scooped the excess and smeared it across her nipples until they glistened.
When she finally pulled off with a wet gasp, a rope of saliva and semen connected her swollen lower lip to his still-twitching cockhead.
She licked it clean.
Then she rose.
Marcus barely had time to draw breath before she shoved him backward onto the bed. He landed hard. The frame creaked. She climbed over him like a predator claiming a kill. She straddled his hips. One hand guided his slick oversensitive cock to her entrance. The other braced on his chest. Her nails dug crescent moons into his pecs.
She sank down in one brutal drop.
Her cunt was molten and impossibly tight despite how wet she was. The stretch forced a guttural sound from both of them. She bottomed out with a wet slap. Her pubic bone ground against his. Her clit mashed against his pelvis. For a heartbeat they both froze. Her walls fluttered wildly around him. His cock throbbed so hard it felt like it might burst again.
Then she started to ride.
No slow build. Full punishing strokes. She lifted until only the head remained inside, then slammed back down so hard the headboard cracked against the wall. The wet clap of flesh on flesh filled the room. His helpless grunts and her sharp animalistic cries punctuated the sound. Her breasts bounced with every descent. Her nipples dragged across his chest and left sticky trails of his own cum.
He tried to fight back.
He circulated Yang Resonance through his shaft. Golden qi surged like molten metal. He tried to overwhelm her. She laughed again, wild and cruel. She clenched deliberately around him. Her inner walls rippled in a pattern he hadn't felt before. Stronger. Hungrier. Almost like they were drinking the qi he fed her.
She was adapting.
Faster than he could counter.
Her bloodline purred under her skin. Faint crimson veins pulsed in time with her heartbeat and became visible now. Each downward thrust pushed more of that power into him. Hot. Addictive. It eroded his resistance like acid on stone. His hands gripped her hips. He tried to slow her. She simply pinned his wrists above his head with one hand. Demonic strength made it effortless.
"Give it," she hissed. Her voice was husky. Her pupils were blown wide. "Give me everything."
Another brutal grind. Her clit dragged along his pubic bone. She shuddered once, violently, and came around him. Her walls spasmed so hard it nearly forced him out. He felt the gush of her release soak his balls. It dripped down his ass crack onto the sheets.
He couldn't hold back.
He erupted again, deeper this time. He painted her insides while she kept riding through both their orgasms. She milked him ruthlessly. Each pulse felt like it was being pulled from his dantian itself. His vision whited out for a second.
When he came back she was still moving, slower now and savoring. Her inner muscles rippled in lazy deliberate waves.
Her eyes glowed faintly red.