Chapter 7

The sound of rushing water, "swish!" caught Gu Fei's attention, and he hurriedly hid behind a large rock. Then, he cautiously peered out from behind the rock, looking in the direction of the sound.

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

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

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

A pair of eyes, glowing with a 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 was gone, which made it furious. Its massive body thrashed on the cold, hard ground, and the black rocks, as hard as fine steel, shattered under the snake's whip-like strikes, sending fragments flying.

The sounds of violent collisions and rolling stones echoed continuously. The small mountain of white 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 formidable body 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.

"Oh no!" Gu Fei quickly hid behind the large rock, not daring to look again.

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

With a "whoosh," a black shadow shot through the air like a giant arrow, stopping three meters in front of the rock where Gu Fei was hiding. It raised its fearsome head and coiled itself among the rocks.

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

Behind the rock, Gu Fei felt a gust of foul wind blow past, followed by a terrifying aura that made him tremble with fear.

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

"Hisss!" 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 too overwhelming. Its retreat made Gu Fei both relieved and surprised.

"Could it be..." Gu Fei glanced at the towering, undying body in front of him. Was the Black Water Mystic Snake afraid of this supreme expert?

It seemed that this was 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 expert still intimidated the Black Water Mystic Snake. This was hard for Gu Fei to believe.

Of course, it might also have something to do with the fact that it was a young Black Water Mystic Snake.

Regardless, Gu Fei was in a dangerous situation, with his life constantly at risk. In this cold, dark cave, there was a beast that could threaten his life at any moment, which made him feel extremely oppressed.

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

In addition, he had been injured internally by Wang Yuanzhi's Five Dings Opening the Mountain Daoist technique in the courtyard of his residence.

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

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

The Black Water Mystic Snake's reluctance to approach the middle of the cave, where the deceased middle-aged expert 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 sky energy, which then spread throughout his muscles and bones.

Since his meridians were not yet fully unblocked, the process of refining his body with earth and sky energy was extremely slow. As Gu Fei immersed himself in cultivation, the Yin-Yang Fish ancient jade pendant on his chest began to emit a faint spiritual light. The Yin and Yang energies on the pendant started to rotate, forming a Taiji Yin-Yang diagram.

The moment the Taiji Yin-Yang diagram emerged from the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant, the earth and sky energy in the cave began to vibrate and rapidly converged toward the diagram.

Gu Fei's rate of absorbing earth and sky energy increased exponentially. The earth and sky energy, condensed through the Taiji Yin-Yang diagram formed by the Yin and Yang energies, was absorbed into Gu Fei's dantian.

After a short 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 sky essence from all directions surged like a raging sea.

The cave at the bottom of the Green Water Cold Pond contained an astonishing amount of earth and sky energy.

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

Almost instantly, the earth and sky energy in the cave was drawn to the Taiji Yin-Yang diagram. Then, the countless tunnels in the cave, whose destinations were unknown, began to emit waves of earth and sky energy.

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

With a "swish," a black shadow shot out of one of the ponds, with green, fierce eyes and a fearsome head—it was the young Black Water Mystic Snake.

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

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

However, the Black Water Mystic Snake did not retreat. It coiled itself four to five meters away, staring intently at Gu Fei, and a fierce and murderous aura spread out.

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

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

The twelve main meridians in Gu Fei's body were continuously broken through by the endless flow of earth and sky energy from his dantian, almost like a bamboo shoot breaking through the earth.

The countless tunnels in the cave, covered with water curtains, seemed to be connected to unknown places. The earth and sky essence drawn in by the Taiji Yin-Yang diagram seemed inexhaustible, as if it would never run out.

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