Wealth and status are always hidden behind a knife's edge.
Xiao Han stumbled, his left shoulder grazed by an invisible energy blade, which stung painfully.
He grunted and exerted force with his feet to forcibly stabilize his body, which was almost falling apart from being torn apart by the distorted space.
The further you go in, the denser and more difficult it becomes to defend against these invisible and intangible cuts.
"Old Man Lin... your 'good intentions' are really going to kill me..." Xiao Han cursed through gritted teeth, but his voice was torn to shreds by the violent energy turbulence around him as soon as it left his mouth.
If it weren't for the two SSS+ Martial Souls as a foundation, and the two top-tier cultivation techniques, "Creation-Heaven-Penetrating Art" and "Shadow Void Scripture," which tempered his body day and night, anyone else would probably not even have a single intact bone left by now.
After traveling for an unknown amount of time through this bizarre and distorted zone, the dense, dark purple mist ahead finally began to thin out slightly.
As the fog dissipated slightly, a unique area was revealed, fragmented and torn apart by a violent energy storm and visible spatial rifts.
In the heart of the chaos, an ancient, dilapidated altar stood alone.
The altar was made of a black rock that Xiao Han had never seen before. The desolation and deathly silence emanating from it were somewhat similar to some of the things he had encountered in the Black Mist Forest ruins.
The stone pillars of the altar were covered with indistinct and strange runes, most of which had been worn away by time. However, Xiao Han was still able to discern a hidden connection between some of the remaining patterns and certain symbols on the murals depicting the origin of the dual Martial Souls.
At the very top of the altar, at the core where all the energy storms in the entire chaotic area converge, a fist-sized rhomboid crystal floats silently.
The crystal was dark and deep, with an aura that seemed to devour all light.
The Eternal Night King Martial Soul in his sea of consciousness trembled violently at this moment. A desire originating from the deepest part of his bloodline urged him on, almost making him rush forward regardless of everything.
"No mistake, this is it!" Xiao Han's heart skipped a beat.
But obtaining that crystal is clearly not that easy.
Three incredibly powerful auras lingered around the altar.
One of them was several times larger than any of the beasts they had encountered before. Its scales gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster, and its massive mouth occasionally spewed out eerie, dark blue flames. It was a "Netherworld Earthfire Lizard," and its strength had already reached the Seventh Level of the Martial Master Realm.
At the other end, it has three pairs of transparent wings as thin as cicada wings. Its figure is elusive. Every time it flaps its wings, it creates tiny spatial ripples in the air. It is called "Void Midge Shadow". It is also at the Seventh Level of the Martial Master Realm, but it is even more strange and troublesome because of its speed.
The last one, and the one that Xiao Han found most troublesome, was a completely black mass that appeared to be a condensation of pure shadow energy. It had no fixed shape, and only a pair of scarlet eyes that opened and closed in the shadows, releasing a terrifying light—the "Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare."
The aura emanating from this guy was significantly stronger than the other two, firmly establishing him Eighth Level of the Martial Master Realm!
"Tsk, this is much more extravagant than those few bugs from before." Xiao Han grinned.
But incongruously, the Mentor Lin's smiling face, as bright as an old chrysanthemum, and his earnest words flashed through his mind. "Boy, there are great opportunities and great terrors deep within the secret realm. Whether you can obtain them depends on your ability and your fate... Of course, it mainly depends on whether the few preparations I've given you are enough for you to be reckless."
"What a load of rubbish, they're practically ripping people off." He muttered to himself, but his attention remained highly focused.
The life-or-death struggle he had just experienced had given him a greater grasp on how to use his own strength.
He didn't rush forward. Instead, he used a huge spatial fragment as cover to carefully conceal his aura and observe the movements of the three strange beasts.
The Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare was undoubtedly the leader, and the activity range of the other two strange beasts was vaguely centered around it.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xiao Han made his move.
He quietly activated the Eternal Night King Martial Soul, and a wisp of extremely thin shadow power spread out like a hair, lightly touching a floating, unstable energy crystal in the distance.
"Buzz--!"
When the energy crystal was activated by an external force, it instantly burst forth with dazzling light and chaotic energy fluctuations.
"Roar!"
The Netherworld Earthfire Lizard, with its extremely volatile temperament, was the first to be startled by this sudden turn of events. It abruptly turned its massive head and let out a deafening roar, followed by a large burst of eerie blue flames that sprayed towards the direction where the energy crystal exploded, instantly engulfing that area completely.
Now!
Xiao Han's figure faded away from the spot, and when he reappeared, he was already close to the side of the Void Midge Shadow.
The beast reacted extremely quickly; its three pairs of wings flapped rapidly, and its body was about to vanish into nothingness, merging into the space.
"Trying to leave? Too late!"
Annihilation Divine Fist, its power penetrates nine layers!
After his battle with the scarred, burly man, Xiao Han's control over his fist power had reached a state of perfection. This punch was highly condensed and restrained, without a trace of arrogance, yet it contained a terrifying penetrating force that could break through anything and destroy everything.
"Pfft!"
The seemingly illusory and unpredictable body of the Void Midge Shadow suddenly stiffened, letting out a short and shrill shriek. Its extremely fast form suddenly froze, and then, like a piece of shattered glass art, it broke into pieces and dissipated into countless points of light.
Its core crystal was actually shattered into dust from a distance by Xiao Han's seemingly casual punch!
With a single strike, Xiao Han killed his enemy. Without pausing, spatial ripples spread once more as he pounced towards the strongest Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare.
The Netherworld Earthfire Lizard and the Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare finally realized that their target was not the broken crystal!
The two strange beasts roared in unison, their furious attacks sweeping towards Xiao Han like a tidal wave.
However, Xiao Han's figure disappeared again just before their attack landed.
The next instant, he appeared above the Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare!
[Shadow Avatar]!
A shadow clone identical to him instantly materialized, fearlessly facing the Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare's head-on attack.
Xiao Han's true form, however, held his hands together like swords, with the power of the Chaos Green Lotus Martial Soul and the power of the Eternal Night King Martial Soul converging at his fingertips.
"Chaos Annihilation - Azure Lotus Sword Finger!"
This move was a preliminary attempt to combine the artistic conception of "Chaos Annihilation Green Lotus Eternal Night Strike" with the "Green Lotus Sword Song" and "Annihilation Divine Fist" at his fingertips, borrowing the conception of "Chaos Annihilation Azure Lotus Eternal Night Strike" on the spot.
A thin but extremely refined gray sword aura, carrying the dual characteristics of purification and Annihilation, silently pierced towards the shimmering scarlet eyes of the Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare!
The Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare instinctively sensed an extreme danger, its massive shadow body twisting wildly in an attempt to evade. But the Shadow Avatar's fierce attack ultimately delayed it for a mere moment.
"Laugh!"
The gray sword energy pierced one of the Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare's eyes with perfect precision, and violent energy instantly erupted at its core.
"Hiss--!" The Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare let out an extremely shrill scream, its massive body trembling violently as if it were about to disintegrate.
Take advantage of your weakness and kill you!
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Han's eyes, and his figure moved like lightning, closing in once more.
The Annihilation Divine Fist - Split Star!
The punch struck like a falling star, slamming into the wounded eye of the Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare.
"Bang!"
This time, the Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare could no longer hold on. Its massive shadow body exploded like a punctured balloon, turning into the purest shadow energy that scattered in all directions, leaving behind only a jet-black crystal core that shimmered with an eerie light.
Having dealt with the strongest Soul-Devouring Shadow Nightmare, the remaining Netherworld Earthfire Lizard was no longer a threat. Xiao Han activated his dual Martial Soul Domains, combining the Green Lotus Sword Song and the Annihilation Divine Fist, and after a fierce battle, he successfully killed it.
Call--
Xiao Han let out a long breath and quickly put away the three extremely high-quality exotic beast crystal cores. He glanced at the dark crystal floating above the altar, his eyes burning with desire.
Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped onto the altar, slowly reaching out to touch the rhombus-shaped crystal that exuded endless allure.
The instant your fingertips touch the crystal!
"Boom!"
An unimaginable torrent of information, like a bursting dam, suddenly rushed into Xiao Han's mind!
Among them were even more profound and mysterious subsequent chapters of the "Shadow Void Scripture"! Not only that, but there were also more ancient memory fragments about the origin of the Eternal Night King Martial Soul, which were clearer and more shocking than those obtained in the Black Mist Forest Ruins!