He alerted himself in his heart to walk more carefully from now on. And also to become stronger. No one knew when he would encounter another strange creature.

  For that, he looked at the gray essence with an excited gaze. Ling Wuxie was afraid of what he might become.

  A ghost?

  A ghostly human?

  He didn’t know. But thinking about his goal of returning home, and the place he was currently in, he no longer hesitated, and drank it all at once.

  A chill spread through his body, like it was winter. It was uncomfortable, yet familiar; he felt close to it. "What is this strange aura?"

  He wondered, then looked at the gray rocks. In his current vision, they were cold and full of death, a heavy yin aura.

  'Death! This entire place is a dead territory! Now I understand why I feel so close to it... That owl was bathed in this aura since it was born, so it's not strange that it became a Phantom... If I keep devouring them, what will happen? Will my blood gain the aura of the underworld?'

  It was frightening to think about, but Ling Wuxie felt it wasn’t something bad—rather, it was an opportunity. To temper his body. Now that he understood the purpose of this place, he could make plans.

  'When I break into the Martial Realm, my True Qi will be very strong! And it will have special properties... many cultivators desire that!'

  According to his studies, there were rich families who bought countless resources to alter their normal human essence. Thus, it could be said that the Qi and Blood Realm was one of the most important stages for cultivation, even if it wasn’t considered the realm of a true practitioner. It was the preparation to step onto the threshold of transcendence.

  'Hunt! In this dark place, I will no longer be the prey waiting for death! I will hunt!'

  Ling Wuxie, who had greatly changed his way of thinking, entered a cold state. His eyes turned black like the sky above.

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  Sheathing his sword, he began to heal the wounds on his thigh, which quickly closed. The only evidence left were his blood-stained pants.

  Which Ling Wuxie couldn’t do anything about. After healing, he moved forward on the gray land, which was no different from before—except for the mountains, much taller, reaching twenty meters deep. And for the monsters.

  At that moment, there was a true war for the top of the shrouds. The upper area was filled with death aura.

  Ling Wuxie, seeing that, hid behind a rock, watching curiously the tallest peak, which extended for five hundred meters.

  At the top, two bizarre-looking beings faced each other. The first was a two-headed lion, with gray skin and four pairs of scarlet eyes. And a black mane.

  Its opponent was a snake of the same color, but with blue eyes and light bluish markings on its scales.

  Ling Wuxie, even from afar, felt their pressure, far stronger than his. At the same time, he watched closely, wanting to study those beings and see how a true existence of this place fought.

  'Don't miss a single move.'

  He widened his eyes, observing like an eagle.

  Up high…

  The two wandering phantoms stared at each other, each sizing the other up. After minutes, the serpent launched the first attack. Its tail lashed forward like a whip and, at the same time, the bluish scales glowed, making small shards of ice form on its body.

  The lion, watching that attack, raised its claws, which turned red. When the snake's tail arrived, it scratched the surface with sharp nails.

  But it caused no damage. The ice was tough. Losing the first clash, the lion leapt backward but quickly stabilized, digging its claws into the ground and dragging the earth with it.

  A claw mark appeared for twenty meters. Ahead, the serpent smiled arrogantly. The lion's four eyes, seeing that smile, released killing intent.

  In that instant, its body turned completely red, like Ling Wuxie’s sword when he used Blood Qi. But unlike his, the lion's form was materialized and lasted far longer. Activating that strange power, the lion charged like a bull, crossing the area in seconds like a red streak.

  Reaching the serpent, it sank its claws into its flesh and started tearing, opening a red gash across the scales. The creature screamed in agony. Then, to save itself, a moon appeared on its forehead, and its skin changed color, turning blue.

  After activating that symbol, it spun like a rope and hurled its rear part at the lion, descending like a furious bolt, causing a loud buzz. When it struck, the feline shot off like a kite from the peak, rolling like a Beyblade for more than five hundred meters.

  "Holy shit!" Ling Wuxie saw a flying cockroach and couldn’t help but stare in shock. He had seen the entire battle from afar. In his view, it was a red blur fighting a blue one—then red struck, and blue counterattacked with style.

  'I need to see where red landed!'

  He wasted no time and ran, chasing the “flying cockroach” at full speed. After a long run, he saw a broken shroud approaching. He saw a creature with one smashed head and the other crushed like a soda can.

  The lion was in terrible shape, its breath almost gone. Seeing someone approach, it opened a single working eye. It was a human who, at that moment, crouched down and whispered words it didn’t understand:

  "You're pitiful. Living like this... Let me help ease your suffering. You fought well, comrade."

  The little devil said this with a smile on his face. Then, with his sword, he severed the lion's head, killing the beast painlessly.

  Then, he threw it into a cauldron. A red-gray essence was refined, but instead of liquid, it came out as drops.

  'Was this guy in the Martial Realm?' Ling Wuxie wondered. 'But what a shame… Died to nature. The strong hunt the weak. Once you're weak, you're doomed, and even if you escape, you might fall into the hands of another predator... In this case, me!'

  He felt no remorse for this cowardly act. If it had been before, maybe he would have felt guilt. But here, it was different.

  One wrong step could mean the fall.

  'Pity is useless... Until I reach the end of this, I can't afford to be kind.'

  Reaching that conclusion, he simply sighed. Then, picking up the cauldron, he left, heading for a remote peak.