After the fierce battle with the black-robed person, Lin Tian stood still in the valley, feeling the gradually dissipating mist around. The mountains around seemed exceptionally quiet at the moment, as if the intense confrontation just now had never occurred. However, Lin Tian clearly understood in his heart that the road ahead was even more perilous. As the mist dispersed, a winding mountain path gradually emerged before his eyes. The mountain path was deep and meandering, like a coiled dragon quietly awaiting his arrival. Lin Tian didn't rush to step onto the path but stood in place, carefully observing the surrounding environment. He noticed that the stone walls on both sides of the path were smooth as mirrors, with some strange runes faintly emerging on the surface. These runes were ancient and mysterious, seemingly containing some unknown power. "These runes..." Lin Tian's gaze wandered on the stone walls, and a hint of confusion couldn't help but arise in his heart. He reached out and gently touched the runes on the stone wall, feeling a cold touch. The surface of the runes seemed to have a weak fluctuation of spiritual energy flowing, which was so subtle that it would have been almost undetectable if Lin Tian's spiritual sense weren't sharp enough. "It seems that this mountain path is no ordinary road." Lin Tian thought to himself. He didn't step in easily but chose to sit cross-legged, close his eyes and concentrate, and began to explore the entire picture of this mountain path. Although he was confident in his own strength, on the path of cultivation, being cautious often helped avoid many unnecessary dangers. As Lin Tian's mind gradually merged with the heaven and earth, his perception ability also enhanced. The fluctuation of spiritual energy in the mountain path gradually became clearer. He could sense that this mountain path seemed to contain some special power, as if it were a passage leading to an unknown realm. The fluctuation of spiritual energy was weak but extremely stable, like an undercurrent, flowing slowly in the depth of the mountain path. After a moment, Lin Tian opened his eyes, and a glint of determination flashed in his gaze. He knew that the road ahead must lead to an extremely important place, and he was ready to face the unknown dangers. He took out a detection talisman from the storage bag. This was a talisman specifically used to detect dangers. Although it could only be used once, it often could save his life at critical moments. Lin Tian held the talisman in his hand, gently patted it, and the talisman instantly turned into a cyan light, speeding forward along the mountain path. The cyan light shuttled through the mountain path, sensing the spiritual energy fluctuations along the way one by one. Lin Tian's gaze closely followed the direction of the cyan light. After a moment, the cyan light suddenly stopped at a certain point, flickered a few times, and then quickly disappeared. Lin Tian frowned slightly. He knew that the talisman had sensed some powerful danger. "Surely not simple." Lin Tian secretly became vigilant in his heart. He stood up and walked towards the direction where the cyan light disappeared, his footsteps still steady, and each step was taken extremely cautiously. The deeper he walked along the mountain path, the colder the air around became. Lin Tian felt that the temperature around seemed to be gradually dropping, and the runes on the stone walls also began to emit a weak light. The light flickered on and off, as if warning of something. After walking for a while, Lin Tian suddenly stopped. He detected that on the stone wall not far ahead, there was actually a crack. This crack wasn't prominent, but under Lin Tian's sharp perception, it was still captured by him at a glance. Lin Tian approached the crack and carefully observed it. This crack ran through the entire stone wall from top to bottom, and something seemed to be hidden inside. Lin Tian didn't act rashly but first extended a wisp of his spiritual sense, carefully entering the interior of the crack for exploration. However, the moment he explored, a strong repulsive force suddenly came from the crack, instantly bouncing his spiritual sense back. Lin Tian was startled. This repulsive force was extremely powerful. Apparently, there was some powerful existence hidden inside the crack. "It seems that this crack wasn't formed naturally but was caused by some powerful force." Lin Tian thought to himself. He tried to explore again, but each time, he was blocked by the same force and couldn't go deeper. Lin Tian knew that continuing to forcefully explore might trigger unnecessary dangers. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to temporarily give up exploring the crack and continue along the mountain path. Although the existence of the crack made him more vigilant in his heart, he knew that the top priority now was to find the end of this mountain path and see where it led exactly. The mountain path gradually became narrower, and the stone walls on both sides started to converge inward, as if to squeeze the entire passage even more compactly. Lin Tian walked in it and felt an invisible pressure surging from all directions, causing a hint of unease to faintly arise in his heart. Suddenly, a slight sound came to Lin Tian's ears. The sound was extremely tiny. If he weren't fully concentrated, it would have been almost undetectable. Lin Tian immediately stopped, carefully distinguishing the source of the sound. The sound came from not far ahead, seemingly a slight rubbing sound. Lin Tian held his breath, slowed his footsteps, and quietly approached the source of the sound. As he got closer, the sound gradually became clearer. It seemed that some object was slowly moving. Lin Tian was secretly vigilant in his heart. He had already vaguely guessed that there was most likely some dangerous existence ahead. However, it was precisely this unknown danger that further stimulated his thirst for knowledge and desire to explore. As Lin Tian moved forward, the front of the mountain path was gradually shrouded in a thick mist. This mist wasn't formed naturally but was condensed by some special power, emitting a faint fluorescence, making the road ahead even more hazy. Lin Tian stood in front of the mist, frowning slightly. He could sense that this mist contained extremely strong fluctuations of spiritual energy and even a hint of strange aura, as if there was some terrifying existence hidden within. Although Lin Tian was somewhat uneasy in his heart, he knew that there was no way back at this moment and could only forge ahead bravely. He took out a purification talisman from the storage bag. This talisman could dispel some low-level illusions. Although it couldn't completely break through the mist in front of him, it could at least win him some clear vision. Lin Tian crushed the talisman, and cyan light instantly spread, enveloping him. With the protection of the cyan light, Lin Tian carefully stepped into the mist. As soon as he entered, he felt a strong oppressive force attacking from all directions. That feeling was as if the air was filled with countless invisible hands, trying to pull him into an endless abyss. Lin Tian gritted his teeth, steadied his mind, and continued to advance. The temperature in the mist suddenly dropped, and the air became extremely cold and damp, as if he were in an ice cellar in the depth of winter. Lin Tian felt that the speed of the operation of the true essence within his body seemed to be interfered with, becoming sluggish. "This kind of mist is by no means an ordinary optical illusion." Lin Tian was vigilant in his heart. He felt that there seemed to be some power hidden in the mist, quietly eroding the spiritual energy within his body, trying to weaken his combat power. Lin Tian didn't stop but continued to probe forward. He knew that only by passing through this mist as soon as possible could he get rid of this strange state. The scene in the mist was extremely blurry. Lin Tian could only rely on his weak perception to barely recognize the road ahead. Suddenly, his footsteps suddenly stopped. In the mist ahead, a模糊的 figure faintly emerged. That figure was tall and strange, seemingly standing still in place, waiting for Lin Tian's arrival. Lin Tian's heart shuddered, and he immediately收敛 his breath, trying to hide his presence. However, the figure seemed to have already detected his arrival, slightly moved, and slowly turned around, revealing a ferocious and blurry face. Lin Tian's pupils contracted slightly, and he felt a strong killing intent coming from that figure. He knew that this existence in front of him was by no means kind and was most likely the manipulator of this mist. Lin Tian didn't act rashly but chose to observe quietly, trying to find the other party's flaw. The blurry figure gradually became clear, and Lin Tian finally saw its true appearance. It was a monster resembling a giant ape, covered with thick black scales all over its body, and its eyes like copper bells emitted a cold and stern light. Its body was extremely huge, almost occupying the entire mountain path. Its sharp claws left deep marks on the ground, appearing extremely cruel. Lin Tian was secretly vigilant in his heart. He could sense that the strength of this monster was extraordinary and was by no means something that an ordinary cultivator could contend with. He slowly drew out the long sword at his waist, circulated the true essence to the extreme, and prepared to迎接 the monster's attack at any time. The monster seemed to have sensed Lin Tian's movement. It let out a low roar and then pounced on Lin Tian fiercely. That roar seemed to have some soul-stunning power, causing Lin Tian to feel dizzy for a moment, but he quickly steadied his mind and faced the monster's attack. Lin Tian's sword light flashed like lightning, bringing a sharp gust of wind, directly aiming at the monster's throat. However, the monster's reaction was extremely swift. At a critical moment, it turned its head aside. The sharp sword edge only left a shallow mark on its scales, failing to hit the vital point. The monster angrily roared, and its double claws fiercely swung out, bringing a force like a gust of wind. Lin Tian immediately retreated and simultaneously activated the protective talisman within his body. A golden light shield instantly wrapped him. The monster's sharp claws heavily slapped on the light shield, making a loud noise. The light shield violently vibrated and almost cracked. Lin Tian gritted his teeth and fully circulated the true essence, barely stabilizing the light shield. But he also felt that the spiritual energy within his body was consumed greatly and obviously couldn't maintain this state for a long time. "This monster's power is so strong." Lin Tian was shocked in his heart, but he knew that there was no retreat at this moment and could only do his best to周旋 with it. The monster seemed to realize that Lin Tian's defense wasn't easy to break through. It suddenly leaped and jumped to the other side of the mountain path, attempting to发起 an attack from above. Lin Tian's eyes flashed with a cold light. Seizing this opportunity, he suddenly drew his sword. The sword light turned into a sharp beam, directly aiming at the monster's abdomen. This time, the monster failed to completely avoid it. The sword light pierced between its scales, bringing a splash of blood. The monster let out a painful roar. Its huge body landed heavily on the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Lin Tian panted heavily and stood in place, his gaze tightly盯着 the monster lying on the ground. He knew that this strike had hit the monster's vital point and the other party had no more strength to fight. The monster's body gradually stiffened and finally stopped breathing under Lin Tian's gaze. Lin Tian let out a sigh of relief, withdrew the long sword, slowly walked to the monster's corpse, and carefully observed it for a while. "The power of this monster is so strong. Could it be that there is really some significant secret hidden here?" Lin Tian guessed secretly in his heart. He knew that the existence of the monster was by no means accidental and was most likely the guardian of some powerful force. Lin Tian didn't stay in place for too long. He knew that the road ahead was still full of unknowns and dangers. After dealing with the monster, Lin Tian continued along the mountain path. Although the mist was still thick, as he moved forward, the fluctuations of spiritual energy in the mist gradually weakened, as if hinting that he was approaching the end. Finally, after passing through a thick mist, Lin Tian's eyes suddenly opened up. A huge stone cave appeared in his vision. At the entrance of the cave, several long vines hung, as if telling him of the ancient and mysterious nature here. Lin Tian stood in front of the cave entrance, a hint of anticipation rising in his heart. He knew that there was most likely some important secret hidden deep in the cave, and this secret might become an important turning point on his cultivation path. He didn't rush into the stone cave but chose to rest for a moment at the entrance of the cave to recover the true essence and physical strength within his body. Although he was full of curiosity and longing for the depth of the cave, he knew that being rash would only bring unnecessary risks. During the sitting and regulating his breath, Lin Tian felt a peaceful power slowly flowing out from the cave. It was an ancient and peaceful aura, as if summoning him to explore. Lin Tian was even more certain that deep in the cave, there must be some extremely important existence. Lin Tian stood up, tidied his robe, and looked firmly towards the depth of the stone cave.