Within the gray space, swirling sand enveloped everything, and within this swirling sand there was a strange kind of energy, striking the body with the sharp pain of blades... Amidst this gray world, a rocky mountain stood barren and desolate, towering in the endless yellow sand. At the mountain's waist, a sword hovered in the air, the blade extending strands of wind and thunder power, like spider

webs covering the cave entrance, forming a wind and thunder array. Should any foreign object approach the cave, the Xuanyuan Sword would attack without hesitation.

Inside the cave, Lin Mo sat cross-legged in a wide cavern, slowly cultivating, continuously absorbing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Power from outside. Under his tightly furrowed sword eyebrows was a hint of pain. Attacks from Li Ling and the Great Elder struck him several times; if not for the Beast Transformation Map, his body might have collapsed. Yet, even withstanding such fierce assaults left his body severely wounded, the skin

below having a vaguely burning sensation, as their attacks with Netherworld Power had penetrated into his tissues. He took a deep breath and quietly mobilized the True Yuan within him, guiding it through the damaged meridians. However, as the True Yuan moved, a needle-like pain pierced through his meridians. If he didn't quickly dispel the remaining Netherworld Power inside, the

recovery would be even more difficult.

"Damn it, Li Ling and the Great Elder from the Netherworld Sect are much stronger than me at wielding Netherworld Power. Now, I can't ascend to a star system level; if I could reach the realm of a Second Seal Nether Pattern Master, I'd have the confidence to defeat them."

Lin Mo pondered silently. As time passed, Lin Mo's sword eyebrows furrowed even tighter. The Netherworld Power left by Li Ling and the Great Elder in his body was fiercely destructive. Dispersing it slowly with True Yuan inflicted extreme pain on his body, with little satisfactory

result.

"What to do? At this rate, it'll take at least a month for my injuries to heal. A month's time, a month's time, I'm afraid the treasure of the Ancient Secret Realm will have been taken by then..." Lin Mo bit his steel teeth, upset at heart. To ascend to a star system level, he must find the biggest treasure in the secret realm—the Heaven Tree, which might enable him to comprehend Heavenly Dao Laws and join the ranks of star system level experts. If he can't find the Heaven Tree, then

he'll never ascend to star system level, and his cultivation path will end here. Of course, even without finding the Heaven Tree, his current strength allows him to dominate in clans like the 'Silver Clan' and 'Green Armor Clan', becoming a local overlord, but that's absolutely not Lin Mo's goal and dream. He knows very well that the only rule of survival in this world

is strength.

Although Qiu Huo of the Golden Scale Clan could dominate one side, his eventual fate is simply one word—'death'. If Lin Mo halts progress, he might also end up like Qiu Huo.

"Huh? Something's moving!" As Lin Mo thought anxiously, he suddenly felt a strange sensation from his back, promptly activating his 'spiritual power.' Like a tide, it spread throughout the cave. With spiritual power covering everything, both dust and

the slightest movements were exceedingly clear in his mind. At this moment, Lin Mo 'saw' the mysterious snake tattoo on his back start wriggling, as if coming alive, but only twisting in a circle around his back. Then this little snake seemed to wield some magic, and the remaining

Netherworld Power in his body trickled like streams toward the small snake.

After a short while, the black snake had devoured all the remaining Netherworld Power within his body. Not only that, the dark purple flame nearby grew more intense.

Lin Mo could clearly feel the dark purple flame mark had strengthened somewhat, though the change was extremely subtle, discernable only to him.

"What is this black snake, really?" The 'black snake' on his back made him even more curious and perplexed. He was sure that the black snake no longer had life or spiritual wisdom, only possessing a special ability to control Netherworld Power, which enabled him to quickly learn Netherworld Techniques.

Thinking of this, Lin Mo took out fifty Netherworld Stones obtained from Wu Chong and others, each the size of a walnut, exuding intensely terrifying dark purple light, instantly shrouding the cave in a mysterious purple atmosphere.

"Devour!" Lin Mo quietly performed his Netherworld Pattern cultivation method, his body emerging with immense devouring power, and began endlessly absorbing the Netherworld Pattern Power. The Netherworld Pattern Power trickled into his pores, then flowed into his meridians, circulating

slowly along the meridians...

"Huh!"

However, when this Netherworld Power entered his meridians, it directly slipped away towards the black snake totem on his back. The snake totem devoured this Netherworld Power and then 'spit' it back out, entering the dark purple flame mark.

The Netherworld Power absorbed and then 'spit' out was evidently purer than the Netherworld Power absorbed directly, enhanced by an entire level, becoming more condensed and pure. This change was unexpected even for Lin Mo. After three days and nights of cultivation, the purple light in the cave gradually dimmed and eventually vanished, and the hovering Netherworld Stones became completely transparent, crackling...

The sound of crisp fractures echoed, exploding into powdery

dust, scattered on the ground.

"Fifty Netherworld Stones only increased the stored Netherworld Power in the purple flame mark a bit. To reach the realm of a Second Seal Nether Pattern Master... at this rate, I'd probably need a thousand Netherworld Stones."

Lin Mo calculated in his heart, a bitter arc appearing at the corner of his mouth.

These fifty Netherworld Stones were extremely difficult to acquire, needing a thousand to become a Second Seal Nether Pattern Master—no wonder even the Netherworld Sect had few Second Seal Nether Pattern Masters!

He rose, True Yuan vibrating, his bones crackling, emanating majestic thunderous sounds, his body surging with abundant energy.

"Just set out to hunt for treasures." Lin Mo took a deep breath, his eyes shone with brilliance.

He knew very well that if encountered alone, he had the capacity to fight Li Ling or the Great Elder, but if the two intermediate strong experts at star system level worked together, he certainly stood no chance. Darting out of the cave, Lin Mo returned the Xuanyuan Sword to the Zhuo Lingxuan, then stood atop the mountain, eyes squinting as he gazed far into the distance where there was a violent energy fluctuation, seemingly a fierce battle was taking place. It was the first time Lin Mo sensed the presence of other creatures

since entering the gray space four days ago.

Thinking of this, Lin Mo quietly transformed into a beam of light, silently gliding toward the source of the fluctuation. About thirty kilometers away in the wilderness, two giant beasts were grappling with three humans, the majestic True Yuan fluctuations spreading out, hurricanes and strong winds engulfing the heavens and earth.