Inside the Black Wind Abyss, the mist was as thick as ink, and the yin wind howled, whipping up gravel and making sounds like ghosts wailing and wolves howling. Divine Sense was suppressed to its limit here; extending it more than a few yards from the body resulted in a blur, and vision was even more obstructed, only allowing one to see clearly within a range of about a yard.

Fang Hao moved like a civet cat, silently weaving between jagged black rocks. He retracted his aura to the extreme, alternating between Divine Spirit Steps and Shrinking the Ground to an Inch. Each step landed in shadows or depressions, trying his best to avoid leaving any traces.

Far behind him, Gong Mingliang’s furious roars and powerful Golden Core pressure were like maggots on a bone, sometimes distant and sometimes near, clearly searching for his tracks frantically. The auras of two other Foundation Establishment Cultivators (one heavily injured, one lightly) also flickered in and out, cooperating with Gong Mingliang in a dragnet-style search.

"I must go deeper as soon as possible to find a relatively safe place, or... find repair Materials!" Fang Hao felt a sense of urgency. Dealing with Gong Mingliang near the entrance was by no means a long-term solution; the opponent’s cultivation was profound, and over time, he would eventually be found.

While evading his pursuers, he circulated his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes, struggling to penetrate parts of the mist to observe the surrounding environment. Simultaneously, his Divine Sense carefully sensed energy fluctuations and geological structures in the air, attempting to find clues where void crystal dust and earth core jade marrow might exist. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

According to the records in the fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual, void crystal dust often originates in areas where space is unstable or where spatial rifts have occurred, its aura being ethereal and difficult to capture. earth core jade marrow, on the other hand, needs to be nurtured deep within special jade veins where the power of earth fire is abundant and the geology is stable, possessing a warm and heavy aura.

The Black Wind Abyss was filled with Yin Qi, and the power of earth fire did not seem active, making the hope of finding earth core jade marrow slim. However, the space here was extremely unstable, with subtle spatial rifts frequently flashing and vanishing, which actually presented a glimmer of possibility for void crystal dust.

However, the difficulty of exploration far exceeded his imagination.

Besides constantly guarding against the pursuers behind him, the Black Wind Abyss itself was fraught with danger.

Crack!

Just as Fang Hao sped across a seemingly flat patch of black ground, his foot suddenly hit empty air! The ground had silently collapsed, revealing a bottomless pit from which a bone-chilling aura surged! His reactions were lightning-fast; he instantly activated Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, narrowly treading on the edge of the pit and leaping away. Looking back, the edge of the pit shimmered with an eerie light—it was a Spirit-Devouring Quagmire capable of swallowing Divine Sense and spiritual power!

Woo—!

A shrill sound of wind attacked from the side! Fang Hao’s scalp tingled, and without thinking, he slashed back with the yitian sword! The sword light collided with an invisible yin wind, producing the sound of clashing metal! That yin wind was actually as solid as substance, carrying a chill that could corrode the Divine Soul! It was the soul-eroding yin wind unique to the Black Wind Abyss!

Fang Hao’s arm felt slightly numb, and his blood surged. He quickly circulated his spiritual power to dispel the frigid air that had invaded his body. This soul-eroding yin wind was hard to guard against, its power comparable to a full-strength strike from a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator!

This was only the beginning.

After traveling only a few miles, Fang Hao encountered several dangerous situations. There were Petrifying Poison Spiders disguised as rocks that suddenly launched attacks, spraying venom that could corrode spiritual power shields; there were Ghost Shadow Vines silently spreading from the mist, with extremely strong constriction and the ability to absorb spiritual power; and once, he almost stepped into an area that looked ordinary but was actually filled with fine spatial rifts. Had it not been for the Ethereal Art being exceptionally sensitive to spatial fluctuations and detecting it in time, he might have been torn to pieces by spatial force!

"This Black Wind Abyss truly lives up to its reputation!" Fang Hao felt a sense of awe. Every step required caution, and the consumption of Divine Sense and spiritual power was immense.

Even more troublesome was that he also sensed several extremely powerful Demon Beast auras hidden deep in the mist. One of them, cold and violent, was an Shadow Demon Leopard at the Third-tier Peak (equivalent to the Peak of the Early Golden Core Stage)! Another was as heavy as a mountain, carrying the aura of earth and stone, likely a Late Stage third-tier Crypt Stone Demon! These Demon Beasts occupied their own territories; once entered by mistake, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He had to move forward with difficulty, like walking a tightrope, in the gaps between his pursuers, natural hazards, and the territories of powerful Demon Beasts.

During this period, he had two brief encounters with Gong Mingliang and the others. Once, by using a small illusion array he had set up in advance, he misled the lightly injured Foundation Establishment Cultivator into accidentally disturbing a nest of Poison Fire Bees, leaving him in a wretched state and buying Fang Hao some time. Another time, Gong Mingliang used his powerful Divine Sense to vaguely capture his trail and struck with a giant flaming palm from a distance. Fang Hao relied on the spatial distortion of the empty clarity mirror to barely deflect part of the power, but he was still injured by the aftershock, using the momentum to flee deep into a more complex and jagged stone forest to escape.

The continuous high-intensity flight and survival in dangerous places left Fang Hao exhausted both physically and mentally, with over half of his spiritual power consumed and several new wounds on his body. But his gaze remained sharp, and his brain worked rapidly, constantly analyzing the environment and adjusting his strategy.

"I can’t just keep fleeing; I must find an opportunity to counterattack, or... find the Materials!" Fang Hao gritted his teeth. He noticed that as he went deeper, spatial instability became more obvious, with occasional glimpses of fine, fleeting silver rifts. This gave him a glimmer of hope for finding void crystal dust.

He took the risk of approaching a spatial rift that had just vanished to sense it carefully. Sure enough, at the moment the rift disappeared, he captured an extremely faint, ethereal, and elusive aura!

"It’s the aura of void crystal dust!" Fang Hao’s spirits lifted! Although it was only a trace and vanished instantly, it proved his direction was correct! Deep within the Black Wind Abyss, void crystal dust truly might exist!

However, just as hope rose in his heart, an extremely dangerous sensation suddenly attacked from his rear flank! A danger colder and purer than Gong Mingliang’s pursuit!

Without a second thought, he erupted with the full power of the Divine Spirit Steps, shifting several yards to the side!

Chii!

A black shadow as fast as lightning brushed past him, the sharp wind pressure it carried slicing a boulder where he had been standing in half! The cross-section was as smooth as a mirror!

Fang Hao looked closely and sucked in a breath of cold air! It was a leopard-shaped Demon Beast, entirely pitch-black, with only its eyes flashing with an eerie green light! Its body was sleek, its claws and teeth sharp, and its entire being exuded a terrifying Third-tier Peak Demonic Qi.

An Shadow Demon Leopard! And it had been attracted by the spatial fluctuations just now or his aura!

Powerful enemies surrounding him in front, and a Yao Leopard blocking him from behind. A true dead end had arrived.