Chapter 7

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It seemed as if he was defying heaven and earth, with every movement of his body requiring him to resist the immense pressure formed by the entire universe!

Even if the Triangular-Eyed man had reached the peak of the fifth level of Body Tempering, his strength still surpassed Zhou Heng's by a margin. However, in the face of this sword, he had no ability to dodge!

—In fact, it wasn't heaven and earth suppressing him, but his mind was completely controlled by the sword's momentum! It wasn't until Zhou Heng's sword reached his chest that he barely reacted, but it was already too late!

To the others, an incredibly bizarre scene unfolded: Zhou Heng thrust his sword, but the Triangular-Eyed man seemed to be dazed, not knowing how to dodge or block, allowing the sword to pierce through.

Pfft!

The sword directly pierced through the Triangular-Eyed man's heart. As Zhou Heng pulled the sword out, a large amount of blood immediately gushed out like a pump, spraying over two meters away.

Zhou Heng suddenly felt a strong sense of powerlessness. Although he had recovered some of his true essence, the thrust of this sword had consumed nearly half of his strength, almost leaving him completely drained!

He quickly retreated, leaping behind a rock. His gaze swept over, and he saw a strange plant growing below the rock, no more than two inches long, entirely black with no impurities, with only five leaves spread out like an umbrella, and a black fruit at the top, not much larger than a grain of rice.

Is this the treasure that made the black broken sword tremble?

Without time to think, Zhou Heng reached out and plucked the black fruit at the top, then quickly fled without a moment's hesitation.

"Damn it!"

"Damn beast!"

"Junior Brother Niu!"

Only then did the seven people behind react, all of them shouting in anger. Two of them rushed over to check on the Triangular-Eyed man, while the remaining five pursued Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng sneered inwardly. Why didn't these people consider the consequences when they were forcing him earlier? Now that someone has died, they know to be angry!

Who doesn't have a bit of anger?

Originally, he could have just taken the black fruit and left, but since the other party was so aggressive, how could he not give them a taste of their own medicine?

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, figures darted through the dense forest, with two groups engaged in a chase.

Zhou Heng constantly changed his route, gradually increasing the distance between him and the pursuers, but to completely shake them off was still a bit difficult. He wasn't in a hurry; the terrain in the mountains was complex, and as long as he could drag it until nightfall, the light would weaken, and even fifty people wouldn't be able to catch him!

Unfortunately, the Nine Heavens Technique was too draining of true essence. One sword thrust had directly depleted nearly half of his true essence. Otherwise, he could have taken them out one by one, and the roles of pursuer and pursued would have been reversed.

The five pursuers knew that after dark, it would be unfavorable for the chase. They all shouted in anger and taunted Zhou Heng to stop and fight.

Zhou Heng paid no attention, only pushing his speed to the limit, running as fast as he could.

As if the heavens were on his side, before it was completely dark, dark clouds gathered, and a drizzle began to fall.

The forest was already dimly lit, and now it was even darker. The five people called out to each other to avoid getting separated, but from the sound of their voices, they were getting farther and farther away from Zhou Heng.

The rain grew heavier, and when the last bit of sunlight disappeared, the forest became pitch black. The shouts behind grew fainter and more distant, and Zhou Heng knew he had shaken off the pursuers.

He didn't stop, as he still hadn't put enough distance between himself and the pursuers.

The forest was almost pitch black, and Zhou Heng didn't dare run too fast. The ground was wet and slippery, and a moment's carelessness could result in a collision with a tree, which would be counterproductive. He slowed his pace, moving more lightly.

A small hill appeared ahead. When Zhou Heng approached, he discovered a narrow cave between two large rocks, hidden and barely visible.

After some thought, he crawled into the cave to take shelter from the rain.

Once inside, Zhou Heng found that the cave was quite deep, pitch black, and he couldn't see the end.

He sat cross-legged, replenishing his depleted true essence. With the large amount of food he had consumed and not having eaten for several hours, he felt his stomach rumbling.

He took out a few pieces of pre-cooked meat from his backpack. Although it was cold and hard, he couldn't start a fire by gathering branches, so he slowly chewed it. Despite being hungry, he didn't find it unpalatable, and soon a large piece of meat was in his stomach.

After filling his stomach and recovering about 70-80% of his true essence, Zhou Heng felt much more confident. In this special place, even if the seven people caught up, he wouldn't be afraid. He would stand his ground and kill anyone who came!

Thinking of the pursuers, Zhou Heng quickly took out the black fruit. This was the treasure that the three-tailed wolf eagle had guarded and that had made the black broken sword react. What kind of treasure could it be?

As soon as he took out the fruit, a faint light appeared in the cave—this fruit actually glowed!

Although it wasn't very bright and the cave was sufficiently hidden, Zhou Heng didn't dare take any risks. He moved further into the cave. Even if the light from the black fruit was limited, a fire outside would be impossible to detect!

Zhou Heng carefully examined the fruit.

In the darkness, the fruit emitted a soft light, though very faint, it was enough to see its entire appearance.

Zhou Heng brought the fruit closer and saw that beneath the thin skin, there was a star-like brilliance, filled with tiny glowing particles. It was these star-like particles that made the fruit glow.

If the outer layer were removed, the light would definitely be much stronger!

Zhou Heng thought, but he had no intention of breaking the skin. If the juice inside sprayed out, the strange fruit would be ruined!

This must be a rare treasure! But how to use it is a problem.

Zhou Heng hesitated. He was sure that this fruit was a heavenly material, but spiritual fruits and strange herbs couldn't be eaten casually. Some required the proper combination of ingredients, and some had such strong effects that they needed to be taken in several doses.

If he ate it rashly, would it cause problems?

Hmm?

As he hesitated, the star-like light in the fruit dimmed slightly!

Could it be that if it's not consumed immediately after picking, the medicinal power will dissipate?

In that instant, the black fruit dimmed even more.

Zhou Heng no longer hesitated, put the black fruit in his mouth, closed his eyes, and swallowed it directly!

As the black fruit entered his throat, the outer skin immediately broke, and inside was a ball of juice that instantly turned into a clear, icy liquid, rolling into his stomach.

Boom!

Zhou Heng looked inward and saw that the liquid seemed to be composed of countless stars. The moment it reached his stomach, it suddenly scattered, turning into countless glowing star particles that entered his blood and flowed throughout his body.

Like a hundred rivers converging into the sea, when these star particles reached his abdomen, they immediately rushed towards his dantian.

Zhou Heng was startled, thinking that the black sword might "interfere" again, but when the star particles entered the dantian, the black broken sword remained still, and the star particles dotted the dantian.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, after a while, all the star particles entered the dantian through the bloodstream, like a sky full of stars. Zhou Heng's consciousness roamed among them, as if flying through a vast starry sky, magnificent and grand.

Boom!

A star suddenly exploded, forming a shockwave that reverberated throughout the dantian.

What!

Before Zhou Heng could react, another star exploded, followed by a third and a fourth!

It was like a chain reaction; all the stars exploded almost instantly, forming shockwaves that rampaged wildly in Zhou Heng's dantian!

Zhou Heng's body trembled violently, as if being repeatedly hit, feeling as if his dantian would be shattered!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wave after wave of shockwaves surged, gradually expanding his dantian. The power of these shockwaves didn't completely dissipate, like waves crashing against a dam, then surging back in the other direction.

The dantian was an absolutely wondrous place. Despite the human body's size, Zhou Heng's dantian, as seen through his inner vision, was a circular space with a diameter of about three feet, determined by comparing it to the size of the black broken sword.

Under the impact of the exploding star particles, his dantian space was forcibly expanded to about three feet and two inches, and it continued to expand!

But this was about to burst him!

Pain! Intense pain! Unbearable pain!

Zhou Heng was drenched in cold sweat, but compared to the torment from the black broken sword a month ago, this was nothing! The key was that his body was really about to split open!

Buzz!

At this moment, the black broken sword, which had been still, suddenly trembled, like an adult annoyed by a child's纠缠. A supreme, all-encompassing aura rolled out, filling the entire dantian.

Zhou Heng felt as if some kind of magical power had been injected into his body, and his nearly collapsing dantian immediately stabilized.

Boom, the shockwaves continued to rage, and Zhou Heng's dantian continued to expand, but the excruciating pain that seemed to tear him apart was gone.

Saved by the black broken sword!

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour!

Nearly forty minutes later, the shockwaves in Zhou Heng's dantian finally dissipated, and his dantian space had expanded to four feet, more than double its original size!

Everything returned to calm, like the sea after a storm, with no ripples.

Zhou Heng was stunned. Is that it?

Why didn't his true essence increase at all? What's the point of doubling the size of his dantian?

What kind of treasure is this!

He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, but a fruit that could make a demonic beast guard and the black sword react must be extraordinary! The benefits of the expanded dantian space might only become apparent later.

Zhou Heng stood up. It was still some time before midnight. The cave was narrow and unsuitable for practicing sword techniques, and it was raining heavily outside. He might as well explore how deep the cave was.