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It was as though he was defying the heaven and earth, with every movement of his body confronting the immense pressure of the natural world!
Even though Triangular Eyes was at the pinnacle of the Fifth Layer of Body Refinement, and his strength was still a notch above Zhou Heng's, he was utterly incapable of dodging this sword strike!
——Actually, it wasn't the world suppressing him; it was his spirit entirely dominated by the sword's momentum! It wasn't until Zhou Heng's sword reached his chest that he managed a feeble response, but by then, it was already too late!
To others, it seemed like a bizarre scene; Zhou Heng thrust his sword, and Triangular Eyes stood there like a fool, not knowing how to dodge or block, allowing the sword to pierce through.
Pff!
The sword directly penetrated Triangular Eyes' heart, and as Zhou Heng withdrew his blade, a copious amount of blood immediately gushed out like a geyser, spraying as far as two meters away.
Zhou Heng suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of weakness. Although he had recovered some of his True Yuan Force, nearly half of it was drained with that sword thrust, leaving him almost completely exhausted!
He hastily rolled back, leaping behind a rock. His gaze swept the area, and there under the stone, he saw a two-inch tall Exotic Herb. It was entirely pitch-black without a hint of impurity, with only five leaves spread open like an umbrella, and on its top was a similarly black fruit, scarcely larger than a grain of rice.
Was this the treasure that caused the Black Sword to tremble?
Zhou Heng didn't have time to think; as he swept past, he reached out and plucked the black fruit from the top, continuing his flight without hesitation.
"Bastard!"
"Damn beast!"
"Junior Brother Niu!"
Only then did the seven people behind him react, each crying out in anger. Two rushed to check on Triangular Eyes, while the remaining five chased after Zhou Heng.
Zhou Heng snorted coldly in his heart; when these people had been oppressively forceful earlier, why hadn't they considered the consequences? Now that someone was dead, they knew to be angry!
Who doesn't have a temper?
Originally, he could have just picked the Ink Fruit and left, but since his opponents had been so aggressive, how could he not teach them a lesson?
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, figures darted through the dense forest as a great chase ensued between the pursuers and the pursued.
Zhou Heng continuously changed his route, gradually widening the gap with the followers behind him. Yet fully shaking them off was still not feasible. He wasn't in a rush; the terrain of the forest was complicated. As long as he could last until nightfall, and the light faded, it wouldn't matter if there were five or fifty people—they would have no hope of catching him!
Unfortunately, the Sky-soaring Nine Forms consumed a significant amount of True Yuan Force. A single swing of his sword depleted nearly half of his power. Otherwise, it would be their turns to run and his to hunt.
The five people pursuing him also knew that darkness would not aid their pursuit. They bellowed furiously and even taunted Zhou Heng, daring him to stop and fight.
Zhou Heng paid them no mind, instead pushing his speed to the limit and running freely.
Fortune favored him; before night could fully descend, clouds crowded the sky, and a steady drizzle began to fall.
The forest was already dimly lit, but now it grew even darker. The five individuals kept shouting to each other to maintain contact and prevent separation. Judging from their voices, they were getting farther and farther from Zhou Heng.
The rain grew heavier and heavier. When the last rays of sunlight vanished, the forest was so dark one couldn't see their own hand in front of them. The calls from behind grew softer and more distant—Zhou Heng knew he had almost lost his pursuers.
He didn't stop; he was far from a safe enough distance.
With almost no light in the forest, Zhou Heng dared not run too fast; the ground was now wet and slippery, and one careless move could lead to a crash into a tree, spoiling his swift escape. He slowed his pace, his movements growing more agile.
There appeared a small hill ahead. Zhou Heng felt his way over and discovered that between two large rocks was a narrow tunnel just wide enough for one person to pass through, extremely well-hidden.
After contemplating, he crawled in, finding it a good spot to shelter from the rain.
Once inside, Zhou Heng realized the tunnel was quite deep, pitch-black, with no end in sight.
He sat down with his legs crossed, concentrating on replenishing his depleted True Yuan Force. With the consumption of a large amount of food in his stomach, and after not eating for several hours, he felt ravenous.
He took out some dried meat from his backpack, which was cold and hard, but he couldn't exactly start a fire with twigs now and had to gnaw on it slowly. Luckily, his hunger made the tough meat seem tolerable, and he quickly devoured a large piece.
After satisfying his hunger and restoring much of his True Yuan Force, Zhou Heng felt confident. In this special place, even if those seven caught up to him, he had no fear—one man to guard the pass, he would slay each one that came!
Thinking of his pursuers, Zhou Heng hurriedly took out the black fruit. This treasure guarded so vigilantly by the Three-tailed Wolf Eagle and which had moved the Black Sword—what sort of treasure could it be?
As soon as he took out the fruit, the tunnel glowed faintly—this fruit actually emitted light!
Though not very bright, and the tunnel was sufficiently concealed, Zhou Heng dared not take risks. He moved further into the tunnel. Now, even if he were to light a fire, no one outside would be able to see it, given that the light from the Ink Fruit was so limited.
Zhou Heng examined the fruit closely.
In the darkness, the fruit emitted a soft light. It was faint but enough to reveal its full form.
Zhou Heng brought the fruit closer, and beneath its thin skin, he saw a brilliant galaxy-like radiance from tiny, glowing particles. It was these star-like points of light that caused the fruit to glow.
If the outer layer were removed, the light would undoubtedly be much stronger!
Zhou Heng thought to himself, but had no intention whatsoever of piercing the skin of the fruit, for fear that if the juice inside sprayed out, this Exotic Fruit would be done for!
This must be a magical treasure! But how to use it was a problem.
Zhou Heng couldn't help but hesitate. He was certain that this fruit was one of the Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, but Spiritual Fruits and Exotic Herbs shouldn't be consumed carelessly. Some needed to be paired with others like drugs, considering the principal and supplementary ingredients, while others were so potent that they had to be consumed in several doses.
If he ate it rashly, would it cause any problems?
Huh?
As he was indecisive, he suddenly saw the starlight within the Ink Fruit dim a little!
Could it be that if not consumed immediately after picking, its potency would begin to fade away?
Just in that split second, the Ink Fruit dimmed even more.
Without any further hesitation, Zhou Heng tossed the Ink Fruit into his mouth, closed his eyes, and swallowed it whole!
As the Ink Fruit descended his throat, the encapsulating skin immediately shattered, revealing a mass of juice that instantly transformed into a stream of icy liquid, rolling into his stomach.
Boom!
Zhou Heng observed inside his own body and saw the liquid, as if composed of countless stars, explode upon hitting his stomach. It scattered into innumerable sparkling starlight particles that entered his bloodstream and surged throughout his whole body.
Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, when these starlight particles reached his lower abdomen, they immediately charged towards the position of his Dantian.
Zhou Heng was startled, thinking it was the Black Sword Master "Snatching Love" again, but when the starlight particles entered the Dantian, the black Broken Sword didn't move at all. Instead, the particles dotted the space within the Dantian.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, in just a short while, all of the starlight particles had flowed into the Dantian through his bloodstream, resembling a sky full of twinkling stars. Zhou Heng's consciousness roamed among them, as if flying through a vast, majestic galaxy.
Boom!
Suddenly, a piece of starlight exploded, instantly creating a shockwave that vibrated throughout the entire Dantian.
What!
Before Zhou Heng could gather his thoughts, another starlight exploded, followed by a third and fourth!
Like a chain reaction, almost all the starlight virtually exploded simultaneously, creating shockwaves that rampaged wildly within Zhou Heng's Dantian!
Zhou Heng's whole body shook violently as if being repeatedly bombarded, feeling as if his Dantian was about to split apart!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wave after wave of shockwaves surged, and his Dantian was forcibly expanded bit by bit. The force of the shockwaves didn't dissipate completely; they were like waves crashing against the shore, rolling back to charge toward the other end.
The Dantian is an absolutely magical place, no matter how large the human body is. Zhou Heng, upon internal observation, saw that his Dantian Space had expanded to a circular space with a diameter of three feet—this conclusion was drawn in comparison to the size of the black Broken Sword.
Now, under the explosive shockwaves of these starlight particles, his Dantian Space had expanded by a rough two feet, and there was still a trend of further expansion!
But this was going to burst him open!
Pain! Excruciating pain! An extremely intense agony!
Zhou Heng was drenched in cold sweat, but compared to the torment he had experienced a month ago with the black Broken Sword, this was nothing! The key point was not whether he could bear the pain, but that his body was truly about to fracture open!
Hum!
At that moment, the still Black Sword suddenly trembled, like an adult vexed by the nagging of a child. A supreme and majestic aura, as if it could suppress all heavens, rolled out, filling the entire Dantian.
Zhou Heng felt as if a miraculous power had been injected into his body. His nearly collapsing Dantian instantly stabilized.
Boom, the onslaught of shockwaves continued rampantly, and Zhou Heng's Dantian kept expanding, but the tearing pain that seemed to rip him apart was no longer there.
He had been saved by the black Broken Sword!
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour!
Almost forty minutes later, the shockwaves in Zhou Heng's Dantian finally exhausted their energy, and his Dantian Space had expanded to a size of four feet, more than doubling from before.
All returned to calm, like the sea after a violent storm, undisturbed and tranquil.
Zhou Heng was stunned. Was it over, just like that?
Why wasn't there the slightest increase in True Yuan Force? What was this, expanding his Dantian by more than double; what use could it serve?
What kind of treasure was this!
He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, yet given that the Demon Beast guarded it and the Black Sword had reacted, this Ink Fruit was definitely no ordinary item! As for the benefits of the expansion of the Dantian Space, perhaps they would only become apparent in the future.
Zhou Heng stood up, as there was still some time until midnight. The cave was narrow and not suitable for sword training, and it was pouring rain outside, so why not explore how deep this cavern actually was?