"Thump... thump... thump..."

The low heartbeat echoing from the depths of the cave resonated like a giant hammer striking everyone's chest, strangely syncing with and challenging their own heartbeats. The primordial pressure that followed was as heavy as a mountain, carrying a savage vitality, as if an indescribable ancient existence was slowly opening its eyes in the deepest darkness.

"Plop!" Several Disciples with weaker cultivation and heavy injuries turned pale, collapsing to the ground in cold sweat, finding it difficult to even breathe.

Even Foundation Establishment Cultivators like Han Feiyu and Sun Miao wore grave expressions, their internal Spiritual Qi accelerating involuntarily to resist this pressure that seemed to crush them at a biological level. The light from the Evil-Warding Bead in Han Feiyu's hand flickered slightly, as if disturbed.

"What... what kind of pressure is this?" Chen Feng's voice was dry, his hand gripping his sword trembling slightly. "It doesn't feel like a Formation, nor a remnant Soul... it's more like... a living thing?"

A living thing? In the deepest part of this ancient Forbidden Ground, sealed for countless millennia?

The thought sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"We shouldn't stay here!" Sun Miao urged, his gaze shifting back to the Blood Evil Body Refining Formation and the three floating treasures, but now with deep wariness. "Junior Brother Han, make a decision quickly! Should we risk breaking the Formation to take the treasures, continue deeper, or... find a way out?" He said the words "way out" with extreme difficulty. The giant bronze door was sealed, the Evil Qi outside was still raging—where was the way out?

Han Feiyu's eyes flickered violently, greed, rationality, and fear intertwined. The temptation of the jade box and the ancient scroll was too great, but the heartbeat and pressure from the depths terrified him. Finally, he gritted his teeth, his burning gaze fixed on Lin Xuan, and he said in a tone that was almost coercive:

"Lin Xuan! No time to hesitate! The disturbance in the depths could mean a major change is coming! You must try to break the Formation immediately! If we can quickly secure the treasures, we will take them and immediately head deeper to investigate! If it's impossible, we must decide quickly! Hurry!"

He pushed Lin Xuan to the forefront again, providing a seemingly urgent and reasonable excuse.

Lin Xuan ignored Han Feiyu's harsh words. His mind was currently divided into three parts: one part resisting the increasingly clear heartbeat pressure, one part carefully perceiving the Blood Evil Formation on the ground ahead, and the last part, acting like a precision radar, using his "Spiritual Qi Perception" ability to quietly scan every shadowed corner of the cave—he was looking for the assassin, "Shadow Seven." This person was like a venomous snake; if not rooted out, they could be fatal at any moment.

The Formation lines were drawn with a dark red substance, exuding a dense scent of blood and Evil Qi. Lin Xuan could feel that this Formation was faintly connected to the underground Evil Qi veins, but it was not a killing Formation; it was more like a... conversion and trial Formation. Just as the stele said, "Blood Evil Body Refining." It seemed someone needed to step into the Formation, trigger it, and have the underground Evil Qi converted into a special "Blood Evil" energy to be poured into their body. Only by enduring this refining pain could one pass safely and obtain the treasures. Forcing a retrieval would trigger the Formation's destructive counterattack—"Evil Qi Burning the Body."

The dark red metal disc was indeed very attractive to him. More importantly, he had a vague intuition that passing through this "Blood Evil Body Refining" might have unexpected benefits for his practice of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique, and might even be... some kind of qualification certification?

"Fine." Lin Xuan finally spoke, his voice calm, revealing neither joy nor anger. He stepped forward, slowly walking toward the edge of the Formation.

"Brother Lin, be careful!" Wang Mang couldn't help but shout. Li Dali also tightened his grip on his bag of medicinal powder.

Su Qingyue's lips moved, but she ultimately said nothing, though the knuckles of her hand gripping the sword hilt turned white from the force.

A flash of complacency crossed Han Feiyu's eyes, and he then focused all his attention on Lin Xuan's movements, calculating how to distribute the treasures if successful, and how to deal with potential changes.

Lin Xuan stood still at the edge of the Formation, took a deep breath, and quietly circulated the Ancient God Body Refining Technique within his body. His blood and Qi began to surge along specific paths, and a faint, pale golden luster appeared on his skin. He did not use Source Martial Spiritual Energy, intending to try triggering the Formation with the pure blood and Qi of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique first.

His right foot gently stepped into the edge of the Formation lines.

Hum—!

It was as if a drop of water had fallen into boiling oil!

The entire dark red Formation pattern suddenly lit up! It was not a gentle light, but a viscous, scarlet glow that flowed like blood! The stone tray in the center of the Formation and the three treasures trembled slightly at the same time.

"Roar—!"

At the same time, the two winged Vicious Beast stone statues at the entrance suddenly erupted with piercing blood-colored light from the dusty jewels in their mouths! Two points of scarlet light also ignited in the statues' previously hollow eye sockets, as if they had come to life, and a fierce, malevolent Evil Qi locked onto Lin Xuan, who had stepped into the Formation!

The underground Evil Qi was frantically drawn by the Formation and converted through the jewels of the two stone statues, turning into strands of visible "Blood Evil" energy that looked like little blood-colored snakes. They hissed and pounced on Lin Xuan in the center of the Formation from all directions!

This was not a simple energy impact, but a complex attack carrying strong erosion, burning, and heavy pressure! The moment the Blood Evil touched his body, Lin Xuan felt as if he were at the boundary between a furnace and an ice cave. His skin felt the stinging pain of being scorched, while simultaneously, it felt as if countless cold steel needles were piercing into his bone marrow! Even worse, a violent and chaotic will attempted to follow the Blood Evil energy to impact his mind, inciting his blood and Qi to flow in reverse and cause Qi Deviation!

"Hmph!" Lin Xuan let out a muffled groan. His body swayed slightly, but his feet remained rooted to the ground, motionless. He pushed the Ancient God Body Refining Technique to its limit. His blood and Qi roared within his body like a great river, clashing, colliding, and even... devouring and refining the invading Blood Evil energy!

He discovered that although this "Blood Evil" energy was violent, its core was still a mixture of highly concentrated underground Evil Qi and a type of ancient blood energy (perhaps left behind by an ancient Body Cultivator). And the essence of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique was precisely to draw in Evil Qi for Body Tempering! This Formation was not so much a test as it was an intensified tempering ritual for a qualified successor!

As thoughts raced through his mind, Lin Xuan stopped merely resisting. Instead, he attempted to guide a strand of Blood Evil energy, following the more dangerous "Evil Qi Body Penetration" method recorded in the Ancient God Body Refining Technique, carefully incorporating it into his Meridians and directing it to specific bones and organs.

"Sss..." Even more intense pain arrived, as if a red-hot branding iron was wandering inside his body. But immediately after, a strange sense of numbness and strengthening also emerged. He could feel that the parts tempered by the Blood Evil seemed to become tougher, faintly developing a hint of affinity with the ancient Evil Qi in the surrounding environment.

It worked!

A flash of brilliance appeared in Lin Xuan's eyes, and he became bolder. He was no longer satisfied with passive endurance; instead, he actively circulated his Cultivation Technique, increasing the speed of absorption and refining of the surging Blood Evil energy! The layer of pale golden luster on his skin, reflected by the Blood Evil, began to transform into a deeper, more restrained dark red, as if his body was being "dyed" with the mark of this martial arena!

This scene, in the eyes of the people behind him, was a different sight entirely.

They saw Lin Xuan wrapped in countless blood-colored, snake-like energies, his figure flickering in the scarlet light, his body trembling violently from time to time—clearly enduring immense pain. Yet he never fell. Instead, his figure in the blood-colored light seemed to grow taller and more upright, exuding a heavy aura that made people's hearts tremble, like that of a primordial Vicious Beast.

"He... is he absorbing that Blood Evil?" an Inner Sect Disciple said in horror.

"What kind of Body Refining method is this? To be able to withstand such Evil Qi to refine the body?" another Foundation Establishment deacon also looked shocked.

Han Feiyu's brows furrowed tightly. Lin Xuan's adaptability and ability to utilize the Evil Qi once again exceeded his expectations. The assessment of this boy's value (or rather, threat) needed to be raised again. He was even more determined to obtain the potential "complete ancient Body Cultivator Legacy."

Su Qingyue watched the figure within the blood-red light; the complex emotions in her heart were now joined by a heavy touch of shock and... a trace of inexplicable tension.

Just what had he experienced to possess such tenacious will and physique?

Just as Lin Xuan was gradually adapting to the Evil Qi Body Refining, even beginning to use it to strengthen himself, and slowly moving toward the tray in the center of the Formation—

A change occurred, once again from the shadows!

A blurry phantom, darker than the shadows and causing almost no Spiritual Qi fluctuations, separated from the shadow of a stalactite hanging from the cave ceiling. It was as fast as a hallucination, lunging straight for the edge of the Formation!

Its target was not Lin Xuan, nor was it the treasure on the tray, but—the precious orb in the mouth of the Vicious Beast stone statue on the left side of the passage entrance, which was emitting blood-red light and converting Evil Qi!

It was Ying Qi! He had indeed snuck in! Moreover, his eyes were sharp; he saw that these two precious orbs were likely the key to maintaining the Formation, or perhaps even some control hub or precious item!

"You rat, how dare you!" Han Feiyu had been keeping a Divided Soul on guard, and now he reacted the fastest. With a furious shout, a brilliant blue sword light arrived first despite starting later, slashing toward the phantom!

At the same time, his figure darted forward, also lunging toward the stone statue, clearly having realized the value of the precious orb.

Ying Qi seemed to have anticipated being intercepted. The phantom twisted strangely in mid-air, as if boneless, sliding past the edge of the sword light without losing any speed. A palm covered in a black leather glove was already reaching for the blood-red, glowing precious orb!

His movements were fast, strange, and dangerous to the extreme!

However, just as his fingertips were about to touch the precious orb—

"Thump!!!" The heartbeat sound coming from the depths of the cave suddenly grew a beat stronger! It exploded like muffled thunder in the depths of everyone's Soul!

At the same time, the Vicious Beast stone statue that had been targeted saw the scarlet light in its eye sockets flare up, as if it had been thoroughly enraged!

The blood-red light of the precious orb held in its mouth surged violently, actually breaking free from the statue's restraint and actively colliding toward Ying Qi's palm! No, it wasn't a collision, it was an eruption!

"Boom—!" A beam of blood-red Evil Qi as thick as a bucket and condensed to the extreme shot out from the precious orb, instantly swallowing Ying Qi's strange figure!

"Ah—!" A short, shrill scream, unlike that of a human, rang out from within the beam of light!

The beam of Evil Qi did not lose momentum, striking the ceiling of the cave and blasting open a large crater, sending stone fragments flying.

The beam dissipated, leaving behind only a small pool of black ash that was quickly absorbed by the ground, along with a few charred rags and metal fragments.

The precious orb's light had dimmed significantly; it slowly flew back into the stone statue's mouth, becoming dusty once again, as if it had exhausted its power.

Ying Qi, this sinister, cunning assassin with extremely high concealment skills, had actually been devoured by the Formation's backlash just like that, instantly turning to ashes!

This scene made everyone feel a chill from head to toe.

The counterattack from that precious orb definitely reached the level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, and it was so fast that there was no time to react at all!

Han Feiyu abruptly halted his forward momentum, breaking out in a cold sweat. He stared fixedly at the stone statue that had returned to calm, not daring to act rashly again.

In the center of the Formation, Lin Xuan was also affected by this sudden turn of events and the intensified heartbeat. His body paused slightly, and the infusion of Evil Qi energy became slightly chaotic.

But he quickly stabilized, his gaze sweeping over the pile of ash, his vigilance in his heart growing even stronger.

This Forbidden Ground was indeed filled with murderous intent at every step. That Ying Qi thought he was clever, but he had become nothing more than cannon fodder to pave the way.

He no longer delayed. Taking advantage of the brief fluctuation in the Formation caused by the precious orb's eruption, and braving the still-powerful scouring of the Evil Qi, he stepped forward a few paces and finally arrived in front of the stone tray.

Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and grabbed the dark red, broken metal disc on the left.

It felt cold and heavy to the touch, and it instantly produced a strong resonance and suction with the fragment in his bosom, as if separated parts were longing to be reunited.

He did not examine it closely, quickly putting it into his Storage Ring.

Following this, his gaze swept over the jade box in the middle and the ancient scroll on the right.

The heartbeat sounds were becoming faster and faster, and the pressure from the depths was growing stronger, as if that unknown existence was accelerating its awakening and was becoming impatient.

Take it, or not take it?

Take it, and it might trigger unknown risks and waste time.

Don't take it, and return empty-handed after entering the treasure mountain, and perhaps be criticized by Han Feiyu and the others, or even have them use this as an excuse to make trouble.

In an instant of weighing the options, Lin Xuan made his decision.

He stretched out his other hand, not grabbing for the jade box or the scroll, but pressing his palm onto the stone tray itself! At the same time, he injected a trace of blood-Qi energy, which had been refined by the Ancient God Body Refining Technique and carried the aura of the Evil Qi from this place, into it!

He wanted to test whether this tray was also part of the Formation, or if it had some other mystery.

As expected, the tray vibrated slightly, and the cloud patterns on its surface (similar to those on the jade box) lit up.

Immediately, the jade box and the ancient scroll turned into two streaks of light, one flying toward Han Feiyu and one toward Sun Miao!

As for the tray itself, with a soft "click," it sank into the ground and disappeared, and the Evil Qi Formation patterns on the ground also quickly dimmed and vanished.

The Formation was deactivated! The passage was now clear and unobstructed!

Han Feiyu instinctively caught the flying jade box, stunned at first, then overjoyed! Sun Miao also caught the ancient scroll, looking somewhat astonished.

Lin Xuan took this opportunity to retreat rapidly, instantly escaping the range of the Formation and returning to the side of Wang Mang and Li Dali. His face was somewhat pale and his breath was slightly ragged; clearly, the earlier Body Refining had consumed a great deal of energy, but his eyes remained calm.

"Lin Xuan! You!" Han Feiyu looked at Lin Xuan, his eyes complex—there was the joy of obtaining the jade box, and a trace of annoyance at being "arranged," but more of it was a sense of scrutiny.

Lin Xuan's actions just now were clearly a deliberate attempt to distribute the two treasures to them, while he only took the broken disc that appeared to be the worst. Was it knowing his place? Or was it a strategic retreat to advance?

Lin Xuan calmed his blood-Qi and said indifferently, "The Formation is broken, and the passage is open. The commotion in the depths is growing louder. Senior Brother Han, Elder Sun, should we continue moving forward?"

Just as he finished speaking, "Thump! Thump! Thump!" The heartbeat sounds merged into one, like the beating of war drums!

Following that, from the depths of the cave, in the endless darkness, two huge "lanterns" resembling blood-red lakes suddenly lit up! The "lanterns" moved slowly, casting a cold, indifferent gaze that seemed to be looking down upon ants!

A low, hoarse voice, as if grinding against ancient rocks, filled with endless desolation and a trace of anger at being disturbed, boomed and echoed in the depths of everyone's mind:

"Trespassing... Forbidden Ground... Disturbing... Slumber..."

"Martial Refining Ground... final trial... begins..."

"Live... walk before me... or... become a part of the Evil..."

Under the shroud of the blood-red gaze, the cave floor trembled. From the depths of the passage ahead, the sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps could be heard, as if countless stone statue guards were awakening and marching in Formation!

The true test was only just beginning!

(Volume 1, Chapter 18 End)