Chapter 350 - "Care"
Hao Xuan opened his eyes and appeared back in the outer world.
And as he did, a ripple of spiritual energy which looked like white glowing fog spread out with him as the center. It passed through the energy barriers, the solid metal material of the ship, and went on for a hundred meters or so.
Hao Xuan closed his eyes as he felt the changes inside his body. Rampant spiritual energy spread out from his meridians and rushed through his body like maddened bulls. But it wasn't a painful feeling, instead, it was something between pain and pleasure.
Nothing had changed physically other than his skin and hair. The skin somehow became smoother than a baby's bottom and his hair turned into an even darker shade of black. He reached out and quickly grabbed the barrier in front as his knees went weak for a second.
*Huff*Huff*
Jin Wang felt the changes and energy that Hao Xuan was giving off and ran over with hurried steps.
"Woah what the hell happened? You okay?" he asked while grabbing his right arm and pulling him back up.
Hao Xuan shook his head and slowly opened his eyes. They glowed with a bright light for an instant before returning to normal. Many cultivators believed that eyes were the windows to the soul, and the changes taking place inside the soul could be interpreted by one's eyes.
Maybe that's why Hao Xuan's eyes were a different color.
"Yeah I'm fine," he replied while standing back up with wobbly feet. He took in a deep breath and felt the cold air passing through his body. His skin tingled as the air brushed past his skin.
He looked up and saw the dark clouds all around him. It looked the same but somehow felt....different. he could see shapes in the clouds of moving figures, both beast and men.
"Hahaha," he couldn't but burst out laughing. There was no reason for it, but he just felt happy, like laughing.
"I feel great, man. Really!" he said while staring at the sky.
Jin Wang's brow scrunched, "Alright....I guess. You got the money?"
"Oh, yeah yeah. Here," Hao Xuan waved his hand and a storage ring appeared in his hand which he threw to Jin Wang.
"Go crazy!" he said with a wink, making Jin Wang falter even more.
"You weird, man," Jin Wang commented before leaving.
Hao Xuan stood alone near the ship's bow while enjoying the cold air. He was unnaturally happy for some reason. He had already given Gavril and the 200 Orc teenagers a few things to accomplish so there was nothing to do for him right now.
*Beep*
*Beep*
*Beep*
A beeping sound came from the watch, waking him up.
"Baracus! I missed you dude, what's happening!" Hao Xuan taped the watch and Baracus's slightly robotic voice came with a warning.
"Your dopamine and serotonin levels are through the roof."
Hao Xuan smiled, "So? Let them do what they want man, why you gotta be like this?"
"....It's much worse than I expected. Running a fully body scan."
"Sure buddy, you do you! Robot power!" Hao Xuan said while pumping his fists in the air.
*Beep*
"Scan complete," just a few seconds later he spoke up again, interrupting Hao Xuan's 'enjoyment'.
"Something is really wrong with your body. You need to calm down, perhaps meditate."
"Hahaha, nothing's wrong dude. Chill. I'm happy, what's wrong with that?"
"It's not JUST your endorphins that are out of control. Your spiritual energy is too concentrated and is affecting your mental faculties."
Hao Xuan understood every word Baracus spoke, but somehow he just didn't care. With a wave of his hand, a big chair appeared behind him where he sat down casually.
"Alright alright, just relax. Let me enjoy the cold air. Did I ever tell you I love the cold?"
*Beep*
*Beep*
*Beep*
"Core temperature rising, 140c, and increasing."
Hao Xuan was sitting on the chair with a wide, carefree smile but his body was burning. As the cold air came into contact with his skin, it started sizzling. Yet Hao Xuan didn't feel bad at all.
"Taking emergency measure, injecting 100cc of Ice wolf sperm."
Hao Xuan shot up from his seat, "Yo what the f*ck! Stop! Don't inject anything, especially sperm! What the f*ck is wrong with you?!"
All that cheeriness vanished instantly.
*Beep*
"It seems it's not that bad since you can still make rational decisions," Baracus replied.
Hao Xuan let out a breath of relief, "I'm fine, I told you. I understand what's happening but as long as it's not affecting me negatively, it's okay. Once I breakthrough a few more stages, it should be much better."
"Negative. It's not just the spiritual energy, although that is also a major part of it. Your physique progressed significantly in the time you were asleep. It seems you are close to breaking through to the next stage and until you do, there are a few things that could go wrong."
"Like what?"
"Like your hormone levels. They could just randomly go out of control. This along with the spiritual changes currently taking place inside your body could spell disaster. One second you will be happy, the next you will want to murder someone. And you might not even be able to stop yourself. You should either quickly breakthrough to the next physique realm or the next cultivation realm as soon as possible. Don't drag it out any longer."
Hao Xuan looked at the watch in silence, digesting all the information. Breaking through the physique realm was easier said than done. He would have to fight the Physique demon which had been weighing on his mind a lot.
While breaking through to the profound realm was not even an option at the moment. He had a plan in mind for that and it wasn't anywhere near completion just yet.
*Sigh*
"Step by step. But for now, just keep an eye on my vitals. Warn me when something is going bad."
He got up and walked towards the Alte and his group who had been standing a few hundred meters away.
"Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you for everything you did, but that's enough. I'm up and about now and Jin Wang will be finding some new accommodations for us, so you don't have to worry about anything. Give my thanks to the princess. I really appreciate it," he said as soon as he got near, making Alte and the others exchange glances with one another.
"Um, I think it would be better if you told that to the princess yourself. She was the one that was..."taking care" of you to begin with," Vasu, the slightly chubby looking Monk came forward and said with an awkward smile.
Hao Xuan looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, "What do you mean "taking care" of me?"