After carefully scouting the area, Shibeng returned to Li Luo’s side and whispered, "This has to be it. This is the Anomalous Vein Cave. Only Abnormal Vein Patients would bother with such strange things."

’Strange things?’

It took Mo Ling a moment to realize what Shibeng meant.

The "strange things" Shibeng was talking about were the decorations and carvings found all over the passageway.

As emotionless creatures, the Mineral Race had no understanding of art.

They might have had knowledge of such things, but they would never waste time on artistic creation.

No matter how bored they got, they couldn’t comprehend art, nor did they have any desire to decorate or carve.

Art was simply alien to the Mineral Race.

Therefore, the only ones who would create art in the Thorn Stone Forest had to be Abnormal Vein Patients who had developed other emotions.

Shibeng’s expression grew increasingly complex.

Li Luo could see how terrified he was and asked, "So if we just go through here and head up, we’ll reach the exit?"

"Yes," Shibeng said with a nod.

"You can go on ahead, then. We can manage on our own," Li Luo said, waving Shibeng off.

Li Luo had expected Shibeng to jump at the offer, but his response was astonishing.

"No, I’m going with you."

At these words, Li Luo froze, hardly able to believe his ears.

Mo Ling also found himself wondering if this was the same Shibeng he knew.

Had he secretly put on that red headband at some point, his entire self-identity replaced?

Countless possibilities flashed through Mo Ling’s mind. He even quickly checked if the red cloth inside the Block had been switched. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"You don’t have to go if you’re afraid," Li Luo gently coaxed. "There’s no need to force yourself."

Shibeng shook his head. Ripples trembled across his body as his hoarse, rough voice emerged once more:

"I am afraid. Terrified. Ever since I met you all, I’ve lived in a constant state of terror. But I’ve also been constantly fighting the fear inside me."

"Take the Abnormal Vein sickness. Once I understood its cause, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as it was at first. It’s all just relics causing trouble, factional struggles..."

"Fear comes from the unknown, from weakness. And so, I’ve come to a conclusion."

"If you have enough knowledge and enough power, you won’t feel fear!"

As Shibeng spoke, the ripples across his body grew more violent, yet his expression became serene.

The ripples pulsed violently across his body, but their color faded, as if Shibeng was absorbing them.

’Did he really just suppress his own fear?’ Mo Ling was stunned.

However, Shibeng continued, "I’ve realized something. Suppressing fear doesn’t help you escape its shadow. So I’m trying to convert fear into knowledge and power, and then use them to conquer it."

Only then did Mo Ling realize he had been overlooking Shibeng’s transformation.

When they first met, he was just a coward who did nothing but run and hide.

But when faced with the phantoms, he had managed to overcome his fear, rushing forward to test them with fire.

Shibeng had been constantly changing his approach to fear.

Or perhaps, he was adapting to the power of fear itself.

As he was thinking this, the ripples on Shibeng’s body began to surge.

Spikes of black basalt slowly morphed into armor, encasing Shibeng’s form.

His body, already that of a muscular man, swelled even larger. It continued to grow as thin layers of stone armor formed across its surface.

"I’ve created several completely separate protective layers on my body’s surface, supported by minuscule connection points. If an Abnormal Vein Patient touches me, I can jettison the armor and escape."

"This stone armor will also enhance my mobility. I’ve added some internal structures so that when I face an Abnormal Vein Patient, I can escape in time and avoid harm."

"Moreover, I’ve observed that when Abnormal Vein Patients touch ’dead matter’ like the cave walls, it doesn’t change them. This protective layer of stone armor is also made from ’dead matter’ separate from my body, so it should be able to prevent the anomaly’s spread."

Shibeng gradually calmed, speaking with confidence, all his initial fear gone.

But Mo Ling could still sense that vibrant energy about him.

It was as if his two previous personalities had merged into one.

Mo Ling couldn’t tell the difference between what Shibeng called "dead matter" and anything else; to him, all the rocks looked the same.

He only knew that Shibeng was like a completely different person now. It seemed he’d suddenly become much smarter.

The idea of sheathing himself in stone armor was nothing short of genius, perfectly exploiting the nature of the Mineral Race and the principles behind how the Abnormal Vein sickness spreads.

’Did he just have an epiphany?’

Watching Shibeng’s transformation, Mo Ling started to suspect that "turning fear into knowledge and power" wasn’t just some empty platitude.

It seemed he could actually do it.

’This is a real, tangible ability!’

Shibeng was clearly, slowly mastering this ability, wielding it with growing proficiency.

The heavy stone armor covered Shibeng, constantly shifting and adjusting to the curves and movements of his body.

He raised a hand and clenched it into a fist. A sharp crack of colliding stone echoed through the passageway.

His body continued to grow, stretching to over two meters tall. More stone armor emerged, expanding outward before contracting inward again.

’He’s making the stone armor denser this way!’

Mo Ling was shocked to see that a thin layer of air was indeed left inside the armor. Shibeng was using evenly distributed, sand-like contact points to stack each layer of stone armor together.

The stone armor continued to change. Some of it formed into interlocking rings, like chainmail.

Other parts became scales of various sizes, thick in the center and thin at the edges, overlapping in a tight, interlocking pattern.

The outermost layer was mostly solid plate armor, layered like a shrimp’s shell in a regular pattern.

A cavalry helmet even formed on Shibeng’s head. On the outside, it looked like a rough, pitch-black frog-mouth helm, but the inside was a complex mishmash of structures, encasing his original head completely.

Not only was the idea divinely inspired, but Shibeng’s execution was also incredibly precise.

In just a short time, Mo Ling could see that Shibeng’s body was now a network of ingenious, interconnected, interlocking structures.

As he continued to transform, Shibeng spoke calmly, "Let more fear come."

At this point, no one doubted Shibeng’s resolve. It was clear he was determined to pass through the Anomalous Vein Cave.

Mo Ling knew well how terrified Shibeng had been of the Abnormal Vein sickness all this time.

When Shibeng first suspected Mo Ling of being an Abnormal Vein Patient, he had been scared enough to bolt in terror.

To say nothing of the Anomalous Vein Cave, a gathering place for the patients.

Even now, Mo Ling could still sense Shibeng’s reverence for the Anomalous Vein Cave.

It was just that his method for dealing with fear had undergone a monumental change.

"Let’s go, friend."

Shibeng strode forward, the trembling figure gone. His steps were incredibly steady, his dense body making firm, powerful footfalls on the stone floor.

"To find fear."