The sky began to brighten faintly, followed by the first beam of sunlight scattering across the earth.

Lin Zheyu stood up and stretched lazily.

As he walked out of the cave, several corpses of fierce beasts and magic puppets lay in disarray at the entrance.

"I'll take another walk today. Whether or not I encounter an opponent worthy of a full battle, I'll end the journey here."

Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He felt that his own strength was indeed too overwhelming; below the level of Grandmaster, likely no one could be his match.

Seeking Grandmaster-level fierce beasts or even magic puppets in the mountain forest is no easy task.

Bang—

With a step forward, Lin Zheyu vanished into the mountain forest with a bang beneath his feet.

In the deep mountain wilderness, sparsely populated, sometimes not even a fierce beast could be encountered within an hour's journey.

Swish—

Suddenly, a flash of blade light swept by, and with a swish, the head of a hairy fierce beast fell to the ground with a belated roar.

A headless magic puppet's body shot out from the dense forest, ran for over ten meters, and plunged forward to the ground.

Yet it struggled to stand up again.

"Indeed, in places dense with dark energy, magic puppets are almost always hiding."

Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

With his powerful perception, he could sense the intensity of the dark energy in the air.

Whenever he detected some intensity around him, he'd search nearby to find the densest spot and uncover the hidden magic puppet there.

Rustle rustle rustle…

Lin Zheyu tread on the fallen leaves, heading towards the spot where the magic puppet had just been hiding.

Using the Azure Sky Blade, he stirred the dense bushes. In his perception, these trees, long affected by dark energy, had undergone some changes, though not very noticeable.

"Strange, how are these dense dark energy spots formed, geomancy?"

Lin Zheyu wondered.

With a bang, a full-force punch blasted a massive hole in the ground.

Boom boom boom—

A few punches later, the hole grew increasingly larger.

His immense power made Lin Zheyu like a human excavator.

The spot where the magic puppet had just hidden was forcibly gouged out into a massive ten-plus-meter deep hole by his fists and palms.

Yet inside, it was empty.

"No Spirit Stone..."

"Spirit Stones aren't that easy to form, it should be the geomancy or other factors..." Lin Zheyu muttered softly, somewhat disappointed.

He brushed off the dust on his clothes, leaped lightly from the pit, and disappeared from sight.

Lin Zheyu maximized his perception, observing the dark energy changes in the mountain forest as he moved.

Anytime dark energy appeared to fluctuate, he'd take a stroll around, identifying the densest point of dark energy.

After eliminating the magic puppet hiding there, Lin Zheyu repeated as he just did, digging a massive pit on the spot.

Several consecutive attempts yielded nothing.

"Seems like it's indeed unrelated to the Spirit Stones."

Lin Zheyu completely abandoned the idea.

However, the existence of so many dense dark energy spots and an increasing number of magic puppets made him feel uneasy in the mountain forest.

"Could the source of these dense dark energy spots have something to do with the demonic encroachment?"

Lin Zheyu speculated.

The people of Great Wei lived almost unaffected by demons, magic puppets, or even dark energy, owing to some measures Great Wei undertook.

Now, these measures seemed to be gradually failing, leading to the emergence of more dark energy sources.

"I'll ask Mr. Yang when I return. He was once a Grandmaster-level expert and should know many secrets," Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

Unable to meet an evenly matched opponent.

After slaying the magic puppets, he also reaped no rewards, causing Lin Zheyu to gradually lose interest in killing magic puppets and fierce beasts.

Lin Zheyu took out the Hidden Dragon Order, held it in his hand, and a map projection appeared in his consciousness.

The existence of the Hidden Dragon Order meant that even in the midst of barren mountains and forests, he didn't need to worry about losing his way.

Using the map projection from the Hidden Dragon Order to confirm his direction, Lin Zheyu moved and headed towards Wuling City.

After moving for over an hour.

Lin Zheyu suddenly furrowed his brow, feeling an inexplicable irritability in his heart.

"It's been a long time since I felt like this..."

"This is a sense of crisis!"

Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed slightly, fully heightening his perception.

Yet within a 200-meter range, he discovered nothing.

The person was hiding outside his perceptive range, waiting for an opportunity.

"Who is it?"

"A thieving bandit with a sudden impulse?"

"Or does it have something to do with the group of Demon Martial Artists encountered before at Tengshe Mountain?" Lin Zheyu cautiously pondered.

After leaving Wuling City, he had changed his appearance. Logically, no one should have been able to track him.

Lin Zheyu continued to act nonchalant, leisurely advancing slowly.

Yet the opponent seemed uninterested in hiding, charging at him without concealment.

Whoosh—

A fierce wind howled, Pei Xuan's fist enveloped with dense black and red energy, struck towards Lin Zheyu's back.

Previously at Wuji Manor, due to carelessness, Lin Zheyu barely survived.

This time, Pei Xuan didn't intend to give him that chance. He made a powerful attack containing sixty percent of his strength.

Zing!

Just as the fist was about to hit Lin Zheyu's back, a flash of blade light appeared, cutting through the void with a zing.

In Pei Xuan's cold eyes, a trace of shock suddenly flashed.

Vast black and red energy instantly surged from Pei Xuan's body, wrapping around him entirely.

Simultaneously, Pei Xuan's body began to swell, muscles bulging, veins, and blue muscles entwined like steel bars across his body.