As Yun Ting descended the mountain, a sudden emptiness washed over him. The presence of the main body spirit, which had resided in his soul space, vanished without a trace. The connection was severed, leaving behind a strange void.
Yet, the experience was not without its benefits. While the main body had been observing his memories, Yun Ting had also glimpsed into the main body's past. Among the flood of memories, one stood out—a profound understanding of sword techniques.
The knowledge flowed into him, sharpening his skills and elevating his mastery to a new level. The other memories, however, he dismissed, burying them deep within his mind.
By the time he reached the base of the mountain, the group had come to a halt. Yun Ting glanced upward, his eyes tracing the horizon. The sun was beginning its descent, casting long shadows across the land.
Dark clouds, ominous and foreboding, crept outward from the inner region, swallowing the fading light. Time was running out. Before nightfall, they needed to find shelter—somewhere safe from the encroaching darkness and whatever lurked within it.
His gaze swept across the terrain, and he quickly assessed their surroundings. Nestled between the towering peaks was a small pocket of land, almost hidden from view.
It was an ideal refuge for a night: a cave carved into the side of one mountain and a tranquil pond resting in the center of the sheltered valley. But as Yun Ting approached, a low, guttural growl echoed from the depths of the cave. The sound sent a chill down his spine. The demon inside had been alerted—perhaps by their voices, their footsteps, or the faint rustle of their movements.
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The group froze, their eyes snapping toward the cave entrance. A deep, guttural growl echoed from within, growing louder and more menacing, as if the creature inside was preparing to strike.
Without hesitation, Yun Ting raised his palm, instinctively channeling true energy. Power surged through his body, gathering into a glowing orb of destruction.
As the others braced themselves for battle, a monstrous demon bear lumbered out of the cave, its body covered in jagged metal spikes.
Before anyone could react, Yun Ting unleashed his energy bomb. The attack streaked through the air, striking the beast's head with a thunderous explosion. When the dust settled, the demon bear lay lifeless on the ground—its head obliterated.
From its aura, it was merely an intermediate 1st-rank demon. Any of them could have taken it down, only a few among them as effortlessly as Yun Ting. While the others would have needed time and effort, he had ended it in a single move.
Yet, there were no cheers or words of praise—only a few nods of acknowledgment. Their focus quickly returned to the cave, where high-pitched cries rang out. Moments later, four small demon bear cubs stumbled into view, their innocent eyes filled with confusion.
Without hesitation, one of Yun Ting's teammates conjured a small firebird. It streaked toward the cubs, flames trailing behind it like a comet. The moment it struck, fire erupted, consuming the young demons in an instant. Their cries were silenced, leaving behind only smoldering remains.
A heavy silence settled over the group. Without a word, they turned their attention to preparing for the night. The cave was vast, spacious enough to accommodate all thirty of them comfortably. There was no need to hunt—food had already been provided in the form of the slain demon bear and its cubs. However, they had to act quickly; the dreaded gray death rain would soon begin to fall, making it impossible to cook.
Time passed. Inside the cave, the group sat cross-legged, meditating in silence, cultivating their energy. Finally, one of them broke the stillness.
"The death rain clouds always loom over the inner region," he muttered. "Once the rain starts falling, we won't be able to search for the inheritance."
Hearing this, Yun Ting opened his eyes. He knew the words to be true, and concern flickered in his gaze.
Liang Ji spoke next. "According to the supreme elder of my sect, this is the last time the secret realm will open. Once we leave, it will collapse and be lost forever. That's why it sent out a signal—a final call—one that was sensed by Divine Throne Cultivators across the surrounding regions. One among us is destined to inherit its legacy."
Shi Tian smirked. "Our sect's supreme elder said the same thing. But make no mistake—I will be the one to claim the inheritance."
Yun Ting nodded, his thoughts settling. He acknowledged the truth of their words but paid no attention to Shi Tian's declaration.
Turning away so no one could see his face, he took out a demon pill and swallowed it. As the vitality fire ignited within him, it began breaking down the pill into pure energy.
He directed the energy toward refining his stomach. While doing so, a stray thought surfaced, and suddenly, new memories from his main body flooded his mind.
The memories detailed further advancements in the practice of the Energy Bomb and the Thunder Sword. As he absorbed this knowledge, his control over true energy leaped forward in bounds.
A realization struck him—he could refine his true energy to make it even stronger. Without hesitation, he abandoned refining his stomach and focused entirely on tempering his true energy.
The moment he began, all sense of time vanished. In what felt like an instant, he was pulled back to reality by the voices of his teammates.
Opening his eyes, he saw that the rain had stopped. A faint light filtered into the cave, signaling the arrival of a new day.
He heard Yu Lie speaking. "I was going to call you in a couple of minutes."
Yun Ting only nodded but did not get up. He halted the refinement of his true energy, though he had to suppress a comfortable groan from escaping his lips.
His body felt more refined—stronger, more precise. Though his raw strength hadn't increased, his control over it had advanced by leaps and bounds. Like an ant that could lift fifty times its weight, he hadn't reached such an extreme, but he could now unleash twice the power with a single punch.
His true energy had also transformed. What once felt like fragile cotton threads now carried the density and resilience of steel wires. Yet, he had not fully completed its refinement.
After a quick internal check, he freshened up and ate his breakfast. Once ready, the team resumed their journey toward the inner region.
As they moved, Yun Ting's gaze lingered on the lingering dead rain clouds. Hours passed before the group came to an abrupt stop.
Before them lay a plateau, densely covered with trees that gleamed like polished jade.
They all knew such trees couldn't have grown in mere hours after the dead rain had stopped. That could only mean one thing—the Jade Trees were immune to the deadly rain.
As they descended the mountain and began their climb up the plateau, the air was suddenly filled with sharp, echoing squeaks. Yun Ting's mind immediately formed an image—apes.
His instinct was right. Moments later, hulking apes with jade-like bodies emerged from the forest, their roars shaking the ground as they charged forward.
Without hesitation, Yun Ting unleashed a hail of energy bombs. The explosions struck the apes, sending shards of jade flying, but the damage was minimal—only small chips broke from their hardened bodies. However, the attacks slowed them down just enough for his teammates to launch the first offensive.
Yun Ting quickly noticed that conventional sharp weapons barely left a mark on the Jade Apes. Only Shi Tian and Lu Yan managed to kill their targets in a single strike—one using his palm, the other his axe. Liang Ji, who was just as strong as Lu Yan, needed two swords to bring down an ape.
Seeing this, Yun Ting held back from drawing his sword or engaging in close combat. Instead, he remained at a distance, continuously shaping his energy attacks into various forms, supporting his team from the rear.
But the battle didn't remain in their favor for long. Within minutes, more apes came thundering out of the Jade Valley, their roars shaking the air. Among them were three massive red jade apes, towering over their green-skinned counterparts.
Yun Ting's eyes narrowed as he spotted the red jade apes. At the same time, Lu Yan, Liang Ji, and Shi Tian noticed them as well. Without hesitation, they abandoned their current opponents and charged at the stronger beasts.
While Yun Ting continued to fire energy blasts at the green jade apes, he kept a close watch on the battle unfolding ahead. Lu Yan, Liang Ji, and Shi Tian had no trouble handling multiple opponents at once, but the red jade apes proved to be a different challenge. Their strength was overwhelming, matching the three of them blow for blow.
Among them, Shi Tian was struggling. Unlike Lu Yan and Liang Ji, he couldn't match the sheer force behind the red apes' punches and was slowly being pushed back.
The red jade apes stood at the center of the battlefield, surrounded by Yun Ting's teammates. A full-powered energy attack risked harming his allies, yet anything weaker would be useless against creatures at the peak of 1st rank.
Just then, Yun Ting caught sight of Shi Tian failing to dodge a powerful punch from one of the red jade apes. The impact sent him crashing to the ground.
Shi Tian rolled away just in time as the ape's massive foot came crashing down where he had fallen. Gritting his teeth, he quickly regained his footing and spotted Yun Ting watching from a distance.
"Yun Ting! What are you standing there for? Get down here and help me!" Shi Tian shouted.
Yun Ting chuckled, a confident smile playing on his lips. He couldn't refuse—after all, he was stronger than Shi Tian and had even defeated him before. Without hesitation, he charged down the mountain.
As he advanced, his palm struck out repeatedly, energy blasts tearing through the green jade apes in his path. Some were killed instantly, while others lost limbs as their jade-like bodies shattered under his attacks.
When he reached Shi Tian, the latter was still dodging the relentless strikes of the red jade ape, barely keeping up.
Without a word, Yun Ting raised his hand and fired an energy beam directly at the ape's face. The attack barely left a mark, but that wasn't his goal.
The red jade ape turned its full attention toward him.
Yun Ting smirked. "Shi Tian, you can leave. I'll handle this one alone."
Without waiting for a response, he stepped forward, his aura surging as he prepared to battle the beast.