Su Mo immediately looked at her with satisfaction.

"As expected of my disciple."

"You always proactively solve my problems."

He smiled lightly.

"It seems I should prepare a reward for you. Something that can make you much stronger."

Leng Shuang’s eyes brightened instantly.

"Thank you, Master."

Meanwhile, Su Mo’s inner thoughts sounded again.

[As expected, Shuang really is the best candidate for the Sub-System.]

[This way she can serve me more efficiently—]

[No, I mean become stronger properly.]

Yang Qingxi heard everything clearly and looked slightly surprised.

With a cheat, Leng Shuang’s future might truly become terrifying.

At the side, Zhang Xulin looked at Leng Shuang with visible envy. Then she glanced toward Yang Qingxi before sighing inwardly.

’There’s no harm without comparison...’

Fortunately, Yang Qingxi couldn’t hear those thoughts.

Otherwise, she definitely would have taught this rebellious subordinate of hers a good lesson.

Didn’t she want to cultivate strong subordinates? Too bad, in her early stage, she could only focus on her own development.

---

Su Mo let the undead skeletons bury themselves inside the underground chamber while he quietly waited beside the Ghost Apple Plant.

The atmosphere underground gradually calmed down.

The ant army had already dispersed under Su Mo’s control, leaving behind only the eerie silence of the massive chamber. Occasionally, the sound of bones scraping against the ground echoed as the skeleton puppets dug pits for themselves one after another.

Hours slowly passed.

At some point, the Ghost Apple Plant finally reacted.

Dark Yin energy began gathering around the plant at an increasingly rapid pace. The small branches trembled slightly as black veins spread throughout the stem.

Then—

Two dark fruits slowly formed on the plant.

Yang Qingxi’s brows lifted slightly in surprise.

"Two?"

Even Su Mo looked somewhat unexpected.

He originally thought one Black Apple Fruit would already be enough.

It seemed he had underestimated just how much resentment those criminals generated before death.

However, surprise quickly turned into joy.

Without hesitation, Su Mo stepped forward and carefully plucked the two black fruits from the plant.

A cold Yin aura immediately spread from them.

Even Zhang Xulin subconsciously shivered slightly after sensing it.

Su Mo turned toward the three women and spoke casually.

"I’ll consume them now. It will take time."

"You girls can head back first if you want."

Yang Qingxi shook her head immediately.

"You go ahead. We’ll stay and watch."

Leng Shuang nodded seriously while Zhang Xulin also remained where she was, despite the worry visible on her face.

This was Leng Shuang’s first time witnessing something like this directly.

Naturally, curiosity outweighed everything.

"Alright," Su Mo didn’t say much further.

He walked toward a relatively clean corner of the underground chamber and sat down cross-legged before directly eating the two Black Apple Fruits.

The moment the fruits entered his mouth, a terrifying amount of Yin energy exploded inside his body instantly.

Su Mo’s expression changed slightly.

’Damn...’

He immediately circulated the Yang Energy generated by his Intermediate Immortal Body to suppress the violent Yin Energy rampaging inside him.

Fortunately, he had already upgraded the Immortal Body earlier.

Otherwise, attempting this recklessly would have genuinely endangered him.

Still—

Even then, Su Mo underestimated the power of two Black Apple Fruits consumed together.

His eye nerves felt as though they were being frozen and torn apart simultaneously. Sharp pain spread through his head while the vast Yin Energy continuously surged toward his eyes.

However, the regenerative ability of the Immortal Body also activated rapidly.

His damaged nerves recovered repeatedly while the Yin Energy continued refining and nourishing his Devil Eyes.

The process became strangely balanced.

Destruction and recovery. Followed by enhancement.

At the same time, the spiritual energy around Su Mo suddenly started fluctuating violently.

Yang Qingxi’s expression changed instantly.

"This..."

The density of spiritual energy surrounding Su Mo had clearly risen to another level.

"No way..."

She immediately activated her system instinctively to check his status.

[Ding! Destiny Protagonist detected!]

[Ding! Retrieving information...]

[Destiny Protagonist: Su Mo]

[Age: 22]

[Cultivation: Golden Core Stage (Level 1)]

[Personality: Lazy, Narcissistic, Shameless]

[Luck Value: 75,800 (Growing)]

[Hobbies: Reading, Singing, Piano, etc.]

[Information: Transmigrator from another parallel world]

Yang Qingxi froze briefly.

"Golden Core Stage..."

Even she couldn’t hide the shock in her eyes.

This guy actually broke through again.

And not just a small breakthrough.

He directly entered the Golden Core Stage!?

For a moment, Yang Qingxi silently felt somewhat defeated inside.

It seemed her dream of surpassing Su Mo and dominating him still remained very far away.

At the side, Zhang Xulin and Leng Shuang clearly noticed the change in Yang Qingxi’s expression.

The two immediately became nervous.

"What happened, Miss Yang?"

Yang Qingxi slowly took a breath before answering calmly.

"Su Mo reached the Golden Core Stage."

"!!!"

Both women became stunned.

Zhang Xulin gulped subconsciously.

"Golden Core... above Foundation Building..."

"So strong..."

Leng Shuang’s eyes, meanwhile, became filled with admiration.

"As expected of Master..."

At this moment, Su Mo’s spiritual fluctuations finally stabilised slowly.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes.

There was obvious excitement in them.

Seeing his expression, Yang Qingxi immediately understood.

The Devil’s Eyes had successfully upgraded again.

Sure enough—

The next moment, Su Mo’s inner voice sounded inside her mind.

[Hehe... Devil Eyes Third Stage. Finally.]

[The new abilities seem pretty good, too.]

[Illusion and Demon Imprint.]

Yang Qingxi silently listened.

[Illusion is simple enough. As long as my spiritual power is strong enough, I can drag people into illusions now.]

[Keke~ I’ve officially become an illusion master.]

[As for Demon Imprint...]

Su Mo’s expression became slightly strange.

[Leave a mark on someone and transform them into a demonic servant.]

[(Note: Success rate is low. Failure either kills the target or turns them into a mindless monster.)]

[Honestly... why do my abilities keep becoming weirder?]

[Though I guess with a name like Devil Eyes, maybe this development was inevitable.]

Then his inner thoughts suddenly shifted direction completely.

[Wait...]

[Maybe the system gave me Devil’s Eyes because it recognised my naturally devilish charm?]