Chapter 7

The sound of splashing water, "hua la!", stirred Gu Fei's nerves. He hurriedly hid behind a large rock and then cautiously peeked out from behind it, looking in the direction of the sound.

Black on top, white on the bottom, with green eyes, the black snake that emerged from the water pool beside the pile of bones matched the characteristics of the Black Water Mystic Snake described in the *Beast Record*.

"Si!" The young Black Water Mystic Snake, with a body as thick as a bucket, suddenly hissed and shot out of the water with a "peng!"

In the dim light, Gu Fei could clearly see that the snake was about twelve to thirteen meters long, with scales the size of palms that gleamed like black divine iron, emitting a faint dark luster.

A pair of eyes, glowing with terrifying green light, scanned the surroundings, and the snake's tongue flicked in and out of its blood-red mouth, lined with backward-facing sharp teeth.

Clearly, the Black Water Mystic Snake had noticed that its prey had disappeared, which enraged it. Its massive body thrashed on the cold, hard ground, causing the black rocks, as hard as fine steel, to shatter and fly in all directions.

The sound of massive impacts and rolling stones echoed continuously. The small mountain of bones was instantly flattened by the young Black Water Mystic Snake, and a strong, pungent smell quickly filled the cave.

Even the black rocks, as hard as steel, were shattered by the young Black Water Mystic Snake. This demonstrated the immense strength and robustness of the snake.

Beasts with undeveloped intelligence have instinctive animal nature. When they are not hungry, they often have the habit of storing prey. The young Black Water Mystic Snake had already devoured a large Green Phosphorus Carp, which is why Gu Fei had escaped a disaster.

"Bad!" Gu Fei quickly hid behind the large rock, not daring to move.

The Black Water Mystic Snake seemed to sense something unusual and suddenly turned its terrifying green eyes toward Gu Fei.

"Whoosh!" A black shadow, like a giant arrow, shot through the air, stopping three meters in front of the rock where Gu Fei was hiding. The snake raised its fierce head and coiled itself among the rocks.

The Black Water Mystic Snake seemed to be wary of something and did not dare to approach.

Behind the rock, Gu Fei felt a gust of foul wind pass by, followed by a terrifying aura that made him shudder.

The intense killing intent was very close, and Gu Fei felt an extreme sense of danger. His muscles tensed, sweat dripped from his forehead, and he tightly gripped the two pieces of ancient swords in his hands.

"Si!" The Black Water Mystic Snake hissed repeatedly, seemingly reluctant. After coiling itself in front of the rock for a while, it retreated.

Gu Fei, who was extremely tense, felt the terrifying aura gradually fade away. The sound of water echoed again, and the Black Water Mystic Snake left the cave.

"What is it afraid of?" Gu Fei was astonished. He relaxed and sat down on the ground, only then realizing that he was drenched in cold sweat.

The pressure from the Black Water Mystic Snake was overwhelming. Its departure made Gu Fei sigh with relief, but he was also surprised.

"Could it be..." Gu Fei glanced at the Immortal Body standing like a mountain in front of him. Was the Black Water Mystic Snake afraid of this supreme being?

This seemed to be the only reason that could explain why the Black Water Mystic Snake retreated.

Even though the person was dead, the body remained, and the overwhelming aura of the supreme being still intimidated the Black Water Mystic Snake. This was hard for Gu Fei to believe.

Of course, it might also be because the Black Water Mystic Snake was still a young one.

Regardless, Gu Fei was in a dangerous situation, with his life constantly at risk. In this cold, dark cave, a beast that could threaten his life was always watching, making him feel extremely oppressed.

At any time, having powerful strength is the most important. Being brought here by the Black Water Mystic Snake from the Cold Green Water Pool, the immense water pressure almost tore his body apart, and the snake's coiling around him also shook his bones.

Adding to that, he had been injured internally by Wang Yuanzhi's Five Dings Mountain Splitting Daoist technique in the courtyard of his residence.

At this moment, Gu Fei was suffering from both injuries and cold, and he felt a bit faint when he relaxed.

He placed the two pieces of ancient swords on the ground beside him and then sat cross-legged under the large rock, in front of the Immortal Body, to practice the ancient body cultivation technique to restore his strength.

The Black Water Mystic Snake's reluctance to approach the middle of the cave, where the deceased middle-aged strong man lay, gave Gu Fei some peace of mind. As he practiced, a suction force gradually formed in his dantian, drawing in the surrounding earth and heaven's qi, which then spread to his muscles and bones.

Because his meridians were not fully unblocked, the process of refining his body with earth and heaven's qi was extremely slow. As Gu Fei immersed himself in cultivation, the Yin-Yang Fish pendant on his chest began to emit a faint glow. The Yin and Yang energies on the pendant started to rotate, forming a Taiji diagram.

The moment the Taiji diagram appeared, the earth and heaven's qi in the cave began to vibrate and rapidly converged toward the Taiji diagram.

Gu Fei's absorption of qi increased exponentially. The earth and heaven's qi, condensed by the Yin and Yang energies, was absorbed into his dantian.

After a while, Gu Fei felt a painful swelling in his dantian. The Taiji diagram became increasingly clear and began to take on a substantial form. The earth and heaven's essence from all directions surged like a raging sea.

The cave beneath the Cold Green Water Pool contained an astonishing amount of earth and heaven's qi.

A dazzling light ball emerged from Gu Fei's dantian, the result of the high concentration of various earth and heaven's essences.

Almost instantly, the earth and heaven's qi in the cave was drawn to the Taiji diagram. The numerous tunnels in the cave, leading to unknown places, began to emit waves of qi.

The qi passed through the water curtains of the tunnels and was continuously absorbed from outside the cave. The vast amount of qi surged into Gu Fei's body, making the light ball in his dantian even more brilliant, illuminating the entire cave.

"Whoosh!" A splash of water, and a black shadow shot out from one of the water pools. It had green, fierce eyes and a fierce head—it was the young Black Water Mystic Snake.

The Black Water Mystic Snake's eyes, glowing with fierce light, showed a hint of fear. It flashed over a distance of thirty to forty meters and came close.

It wanted to pounce and devour the prey in front of it but dared not. It only raised its head and hissed, not daring to approach.

The Black Water Mystic Snake did not retreat. Instead, it coiled itself four to five meters away, staring intently at Gu Fei, emitting a fierce and violent aura.

Even in his meditative state, Gu Fei seemed to sense something unusual. His eyelids twitched, but he did not open his tightly closed eyes.

The endless earth and heaven's qi flowed through the Taiji diagram into Gu Fei's body, not only repairing his injured body but also causing the cultivation barrier he had long been unable to break through to vibrate.

The twelve main meridians of Gu Fei's body were continuously broken through by the endless flow of earth and heaven's qi from his dantian, almost effortlessly.

The numerous tunnels in the cave, covered by water curtains, seemed to be connected to unknown places. The earth and heaven's essence drawn by the Taiji diagram seemed endless, as if it would never run out.

After two hours, Gu Fei's internal injuries were completely healed, and the blood stasis in his body was expelled through his pores. All twelve main meridians were unblocked, and his cultivation level soared. He broke through from the third level of Awakening to the fourth level, and then from the fourth level to the fifth level, with no signs of stopping.