Zhou Kai—or rather, “Su Tai”—piloted the Spirit Boat, drifting slowly along the subterranean waterway.

Three fist-sized Jade Arm Mantises were happily gnawing on golden Beast-Feeding Pills almost as big as their heads, producing a crisp, rhythmic crunch-crunch sound.

“Eat. Eat your fill! Your ancestors… it took Chen Xingze ten years of blood, sweat, and tears, selecting the best from each generation, to finally produce you three precious gems.”

Zhou Kai tapped the head of the mantis closest to him with a fingertip.

“Once you get a bit stronger and reach the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, I can help you unlock your potential with targeted training. Whether you lean toward speed or pure violence will depend on your own fortune.”

These words were spoken to the mantises, but also to himself.

He had studied the Chen Family’s True Explanation of Spirit Controlling from Crouching Tiger Mountain. It was a method requiring meticulous patience, emphasizing a spiritual bond where the master carefully nurtured the beast with their own Mana to gradually unlock its true potential.

It was unlike some domineering techniques where a single thought could force a Spirit Beast to erupt with immense combat power for a short burst, usually at the cost of its life. Perhaps precisely because this cultivation cycle was so long, the Chen Family Patriarch had gone to such great lengths to refine an amplifying treasure like the Hundred Beast Banner.

The three Jade Arm Mantises tilted their triangular heads, their pitch-black compound eyes staring at him blankly. They seemed entirely uninterested in his “career planning,” focused only on burying their mandibles back into the golden pills.

Zhou Kai didn’t mind. Traveling alone with no one to talk to was stifling. These three little things, while somewhat intelligent, were still far from being conversational partners.

The Spirit Boat parted the water, moving neither fast nor slow.

After flying for several more days, the view ahead suddenly opened up. A grand hall, appearing like a pavilion built directly upon the water, stood steadily in the center of the river, imposing and magnificent.

Zhou Kai stowed the Spirit Boat. His figure flickered as he stepped across the waves, landing lightly before the hall’s entrance. The door was slightly ajar.

He pushed it open and entered.

The interior space was vast but completely empty. Only densely packed small square drawers lined the four walls. Every single drawer was pulled open, clearly looted long ago.

“Tsk. They were quick.” Zhou Kai curled his lip. “Looks like the reward for passing the first trial was taken ages ago.”

He carefully searched the entire hall but couldn’t find even a single loose hair. Disgruntled, he walked back out.

Behind the hall, the great river continued, plunging once more into a deep, dark mountain cave.

Zhou Kai didn’t rush in. He released the three Jade Arm Mantises to scout ahead. Moments later, the insects flew back, conveying a clear mental message: The aura of vegetation and Vital Essence is extremely dense.

“Wood-element aura?”

Zhou Kai decided to wait. He might run into Li Youci and the others—any one of them would do.

However, three whole days passed without a single ghostly shadow appearing on the river.

“I’m done waiting. I’ve been stopping and starting, brewing pills and refining artifacts… they’re probably already ahead of me.”

Zhou Kai’s patience ran out. With a leap, he stepped into the cave.

On a half-collapsed stone tablet at the entrance were carved four large characters: Green Disaster Sunken Abyss.

The strokes were vigorous, exuding an ancient, sinister aura.

The river underfoot was the same, but the water had turned a sickly pale green. The cliffs on both banks were steep, covered in ancient trees with roots that twisted like serpents and branches that blotted out the sky. The foliage was so dense it choked the light, casting the entire cavern in eerie, dim shadows.

“Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth… it’s not going to be a cycle of each, is it?” Zhou Kai muttered.

“Creating such a grand setup, yet suppressing cultivation to the Qi Condensation stage and making five entrances? Which ancient sect’s trial ground is this? It doesn’t seem like the work of a Demonic Sect, so why require living souls and fresh blood to open it?”

Questions swirled in his mind with no answers.

Gurgle… gurgle…

Bubbles suddenly rose in strings from the calm, pale green river.

Splash!

A monster entirely emerald green, covered in water weeds and vines, burst from the water! Shaped like a crocodile but possessing three single eyes, it opened a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth, a foul wind hitting Zhou Kai’s face as it charged.

“Perfect timing!”

Zhou Kai wasn’t alarmed; he was pleased. Instead of retreating, he advanced, the warhammer forged from coffin planks meeting the charge with simple, brutal force.

THUD!

A dull, wet sound.

The Three-Eyed Crocodile Beast didn’t even have time to scream before its head exploded like a watermelon. Dead beyond dead.

Zhou Kai shook the filth off his hammer, casually scooped up the corpse, and tossed it into his Storage Bag. “Just right. Now I have ingredients for Wood-attribute Beast-Feeding Pills.”

Continuing deeper, the ancient trees on the cliff walls grew increasingly bizarre. Their bark showed an unnatural bluish-black hue, and their trunks twisted like ghostly claws reaching toward the center of the river channel.

A faint, sickly sweet fragrance began to permeate the air.

The three Jade Arm Mantises grew agitated, their wings fluttering erratically. Zhou Kai sniffed, his eyes sharpening.

“Miasma?”

He held his breath, took out a Miasma-Repelling Pill, and swallowed it. Sure enough, as the Spirit Boat advanced, the sweet fragrance grew stronger, and the surrounding air thickened with a green mist.

Zhou Kai activated his Mana. A faint spiritual light shield appeared around him, isolating the toxins. Miasma at the Qi Condensation level couldn’t trouble a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was also a Second-Grade Alchemist.

After traveling for about half an hour, faint fluctuations of spiritual power and the roars of Yin Corpses echoed from around a riverbend.

“Someone?”

Zhou Kai’s spirits lifted. He quickly stowed the Spirit Boat, suppressed his aura, and crept forward.

On the riverbank, two cultivators wearing Yin Ruins Sect robes were each controlling a Yin Corpse, attacking a disheveled, shadowy figure enveloped in thick Yin energy.

The figure had a humanoid outline but was wrapped in tattered, almost shredded clothing, making its features indiscernible. A mess of matted hair hung down, covering its face. Only through the gaps in the hair and its exposed bare feet could one glimpse skin as black as charcoal, as if repeatedly scorched by nether fire.

It emitted low, guttural “Heh… heh…” growls, its gender impossible to determine. Its movements weren’t exactly stiff, but they were chaotic, relying on ferocious brute force to swing its black-light claws against the two Yin Corpses.

CLANG! CLANG!

With each collision, the two Yin Corpses were knocked back. Their hardened corpse-skin was slashed open, revealing bone as black energy dissipated from the wounds. The Yin Corpses controlled by the sect disciples weren’t weak, but facing this charcoal creature, they were losing ground.

“Junior Brother Su?”

The tall, thin cultivator had sharp eyes. He caught sight of Zhou Kai approaching, startled at first, then delighted upon recognizing “Su Tai.”

“Come help quickly!”

The short, stout cultivator also shouted urgently, “Junior Brother Su, be careful! This thing’s strength is comparable to the peak of Qi Condensation, and those claws can pierce our Yin Corpses’ defenses! It’s too strange!”

Zhou Kai put on a grave expression, landing lightly with a frown. “Senior Brothers, what is this thing? It doesn’t look like an ordinary Yin Corpse.”

The tall cultivator, while directing his corpse to block, panted, “It must be some Senior Brother’s unfinished Yin Corpse that ran amok! Damned weird! Junior Brother Su, you know it’s not impossible for failed Yin Corpses in our sect to go berserk!”

Zhou Kai’s gaze swept over the charcoal creature.

This thing… its Yin energy is pure, but it has no intelligence at all, just killing instinct. Is it a Yin entity naturally born in this place?

A flash of inspiration struck him, but his expression remained unchanged. He sighed heavily.

“Ah, to be honest with you two Senior Brothers… during that earlier sword rain eruption, the scale was just too vast. All three of my Yin Corpses suffered significant damage. Their combat power is greatly reduced now. I’m afraid I can’t be of much help.”

Hearing this, the delight on the faces of the two disciples faded instantly.

“All three are damaged?” The tall cultivator sounded disappointed. “That’s truly… this damned thing is really troublesome!”

Zhou Kai changed tack, pulling out a few talismans.

“However, I still have some attack talismans. They might be of use. How about you two take the main offensive to wear down its ferocity, and I’ll support from the side, looking for an opportunity to strike?”

“Talismans work too!” The stout cultivator’s spirits lifted slightly. “Junior Brother Su, go ahead! As long as we subdue this monster, we’ll go find its owner and demand a reward!”

Zhou Kai held three Ice Spike Talismans between his fingers, cold mist instantly coiling around his hands.

“Junior Brother Su, now!” the tall cultivator hissed urgently.

“Go!”

Zhou Kai flicked his wrist. Three streaks of blue light shot out.

The black creature’s body erupted with Yin energy, forcing back the two Yin Corpses. With a roar, it actually turned and fled!