I become stronger by sacrificing my lifespan, becoming invincible in the world.

[Absorption complete. Gained a small amount of demonic combat instincts.]

Lin Chen leaned on his sword, panting, feeling the surging new power within his body. The 50-year lifespan of a demon race was even more "nourishing" than that of a human, rapidly repairing his physical exhaustion and even subtly challenging his cultivation bottleneck.

The five layers of barriers loosened, and then... shattered!

His aura surged, stabilizing him at the sixth level of the Acquired Realm!

Strength, speed, and reaction time—all enhanced!

He slowly straightened up, wiping away a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth caused by the fierce struggle, his eyes as cold as ever.

"Good!" Zhang Heng strode over, patted Lin Chen's shoulder hard, his eyes full of admiration.

"Well done! One-Eyed Dragon and Wolf Kui, you've taken down these two tough nuts! You deserve the greatest credit for this battle!"

Lin Chen clasped his hands in a fist salute: "It's all thanks to the captain's strategic planning and the brothers' bravery."

Zhang Heng laughed heartily, then his face darkened: "What a pity, that bastard Chen Hong got away! That son of a bitch, he ran faster than a rabbit! And he even left this behind—"

He was carrying a blood-stained leather bag, which contained the gems and gold bars that the wolf demon had used to pay for the goods.

"However, this is also evidence!" Zhang Heng weighed the leather bag in his hand. "At the very least, the Fierce Tiger Gang colluded with the demon race to traffic people and strategic minerals, and they've been caught red-handed! Even if Chen Hong escapes back to the pass, he'll be in big trouble!"

He turned and shouted, "Clean up the battlefield! Treat the wounded! Tie up the prisoners! Take all the wagons and goods back! Cut off the left ears of the dead demons as a reward! The people... be well appeased and taken back to the pass for resettlement!"

The patrol soldiers responded with a resounding roar and began their work.

The members of "Night Shadow" also gathered around, all of them wounded, but their expressions were in high spirits. In this battle, none of the eleven of them were killed, and only a few were slightly injured, but their record was extremely impressive.

Lin Chen looked at them and nodded: "Well done. Treat the wounds first, then rest."

He walked over to Wolf Kui's corpse, squatted down, and his gaze fell on the necklace of animal teeth. He reached out and tore it off.

It felt heavy in my hand, the beast teeth were hard and seemed to have undergone special treatment. On the largest fang, there was an extremely fine, twisted symbol engraved, somewhat like... a rift in the abyss?

Lin Chen's heart stirred, and he put it away.

He then searched Lang Kui's waist, but found nothing special except some broken bone artifacts and gems.

He stood up and glanced across the battlefield.

This was a great victory.

The Tiger Gang's key hideout in the North was raided, their trading chain with the Gray Wolf Tribe was severed, and evidence of Chen Hong's involvement was obtained.

But Chen Hong has run away, and even if we confront him face to face, he can still deny everything, which is a problem.

This hidden danger still exists.

Moreover, after this battle, he and Chen Hong, the "Black Bird" behind Chen Hong, and even the remnants of the Fierce Tiger Gang are now locked in a life-or-death struggle.

It seems that things will not be peaceful inside or outside the pass from now on.

In the distance, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The morning light pierced the darkness, shining into the Wolf Valley where the stench of blood still lingered.

The morning light in Wolf Valley was pale and cold, shining on the mess on the ground.

Corpses lay strewn about, blood seeping into the frozen ground and congealing into dark red ice crystals. The air was thick with the stench of blood and a faint smell of burning—some vehicles and goods, set ablaze by torches in the chaos, were still smoldering.

The soldiers of the patrol battalion silently cleared the battlefield, carefully carrying their comrades' bodies aside and covering them with coarse cloth.

The enemy's corpses were simply piled up, ready to be burned or buried in unison.

The prisoners were tightly bound and squatted in a corner, their faces ashen. The rescued civilians were gathered on the other side, wrapped in blankets found from the wagons, shivering, their eyes still filled with lingering fear.

Lin Chen stood on a protruding rock, watching everything. His newly broken-through sixth level of acquired cultivation was stabilizing, and most of the 50 years of demonic lifespan he had gained by devouring Lang Kui had not yet been fully refined. It was slowly circulating through his limbs and bones, nourishing his injuries and bringing with it a primal and restless sense of power.

"Chief Lin!" Zhao Tiegu walked over, holding something in his hand. "Found it while cleaning up the wolf demon's corpse. It was hidden in the lining of the wolf leader's leather armor."

What he handed over was a token about half the size of a palm, entirely black and cold to the touch. It was neither gold nor wood, and felt heavy. The front was engraved with a twisted, seemingly flowing crack pattern, surrounded by strange, unrecognizable runes. The back was smooth and unadorned.

The moment Lin Chen received the token, the silent divine jade in his chest suddenly trembled!

A crystal-clear thought came through—an intense "desire," like a hungry beast smelling blood! But at the same time, it was mixed with a sharp "warning," as if reminding him that this thing was extremely dangerous!

[Contact with an unknown high-energy carrier (partially contaminated). Contains pure abyssal aura and fragments of chaotic laws. Extremely dangerous! An attempt to absorb/purify may be made, but this will consume a large amount of lifespan and deepen the causal connection with the 'Abyss,' significantly increasing the risk of contamination!]

Aura of the abyss? Laws of chaos?

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. This token was indeed extraordinary.

He tried to input a trace of internal energy, but the token did not react at all.

But when he brought the token close to his chest, almost touching the location of the divine jade, the runes on the crack pattern on the token faintly emitted a dark red, writhing, flowing luster, as if they were alive! Although it was only a fleeting moment, Lin Chen felt a cold, evil aura, full of destructive desires, rushing towards him!

The desire for and warning of the divine jade reached their peak simultaneously!

He suppressed the agitation of the divine jade and slightly removed the token. The dark red luster quickly dimmed and disappeared.

"This thing... is a bit strange." Zhao Tiegu also saw the bizarre scene just now and frowned. "It doesn't seem to be something commonly used by the demon race."

"Hmm." Lin Chen nodded, carefully putting the token away close to his body. "Keep it for now, we'll study it later. Any other discoveries?"

"Aside from some gold, silver and ordinary weapons, there was nothing special on the bodies of those dead members of the Fierce Tiger Gang."

Zhao Tiegu shook his head. "There were some bone artifacts and scattered gems on the demon corpses, which were all handed over as a reward according to the rules. But this token felt off, so I took it first."

At this moment, Zhang Heng strode over, his face showing the excitement of victory, but also a hint of regret.

"Everything's almost accounted for!" he said loudly.

"Thirty-seven members of the Fierce Tiger Gang and eleven demon warriors were killed, and nineteen were captured. Twenty-three civilians were rescued. Twenty carts were seized, ten of which were fully loaded with that black ore, and the other ten contained grain and some miscellaneous items. And this—"

He shook the bloodstained leather bag in his hand, the jewels and gold bars inside clinking together: "Loot! Ironclad evidence!"

He looked at Lin Chen with a broad smile: "Lin Chen, you and your men have done a great service this time! I'll go back and ask General Liu for commendation on your behalf! Especially you, you killed One-Eyed Dragon and Wolf Kui, you deserve the top credit!"

"Thank you, Captain." Lin Chen clasped his hands in greeting, then asked, "Chen Hong..."