Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

Although Murong Fan did not find a complete method to break the seal during his trip to the Thousand Machine Pavilion, he did broaden his horizons. Because the second half of the jade slip containing the secret technique was hard to find, he decided to hunt demonic beasts to extract their demon cores in order to improve his cultivation, break the secret technique of the stone chamber, and obtain the relics of his ancestors.

Murong Fan entered the Taiyue Mountains, a place of continuous peaks, ancient trees reaching for the sky, and a wild, untamed atmosphere permeated by the clouds and mist. The spiritual energy within the mountains was several times denser, but the further inland he went, the higher the level of the demonic beasts, the better the quality of their demonic cores, and the greater the risks. He concealed his aura and used his divine sense to traverse and explore the forest.

His goal was clear: to hunt down demonic beasts with strength ranging from the early to mid-Foundation Establishment stages, both to obtain demonic cores to enhance his divine sense and to avoid excessive danger. According to information from the market, there were many first- and second-tier demonic beasts on the outskirts of the mountains, with occasional traces of third-tier beasts, and while fourth-tier beasts were rare, they did exist.

Upon reaching the entrance of the valley, their divine sense detected a considerable demonic aura. Inside the valley, a beast with the body of an ox and a full black mane was munching on glowing spirit herbs. Its head was ferocious, its fangs were bared, and its four hooves were thick and strong—it was the "Black-Maned Demon Ox," a peak second-tier beast.

A fierce glint flashed in Murong Fan's eyes. As he channeled his spiritual energy, a long sword of azure light condensed and shot towards the side of the demon bull like lightning.

"Moo!" The black-maned demon bull roared, abandoning the spirit herb. Its copper bell-like eyes were full of ferocity, and it pawed the ground with its front hooves, kicking up dust as it charged straight at the bull.

Murong Fanbu dodged in time, avoiding the collision while swinging his sword, the sword shadows striking the demon bull's maneless neck.

With a few "splatter" sounds, several wounds appeared on his neck, and black blood gushed out.

"Moo—!" The demon bull, wounded, became even more ferocious, charging at him with its sharp horns. Murong Fan, knowing its hide was thick and tough, channeled spiritual energy into his longsword and unleashed a strike that produced the faint sounds of wind and thunder.

"Wind Blade Technique!" he shouted, accelerating to avoid the sharp corner, his longsword carrying a fierce gust of wind as it thrust towards his old wound.

The sword strike, imbued with half of its spiritual power, was powerful and heavy, piercing the neck with a "thud." The demon bull's body stiffened, trembled a few times, and then collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, creating a crater in the ground.

After catching his breath and confirming that the demon bull was dead, Murong Fan took out a dagger and precisely stabbed it into the head. While stirring, a black demon core the size of a pigeon egg was extracted. Its energy fluctuations were weak but pure.

After putting the demon core into the jade box, he rested briefly before continuing his journey deeper into the realm of demon cores—this peak second-tier demon core, though of decent quality, was far from sufficient to break through the bottleneck.

Over the next few days, Murong Fan engaged in a series of fierce battles in the mountains: the swiftness of the Shadow Wind Wolf, the venom of the Azure-Eyed Viper, and the tough armor of the Ironclad Boar all became touchstones for him to hone his combat skills. He gave his all in every battle, not only for the demon core, but also to accumulate practical combat experience.

During this time, he encountered third-tier demonic beasts several times, but wisely avoided them each time. Once, he accidentally entered the territory of a late-stage third-tier "Flame Lion". The terrifying pressure almost suffocated him. Fortunately, he escaped with a movement technique. His back was soaked with cold sweat.

The continuous battles and absorption of demon cores allowed his divine sense to steadily grow, and his spiritual power to become increasingly solid. He categorized the demon cores: the high-quality ones were kept for his own use, while the ordinary ones were planned to be exchanged for cultivation resources in the future.

That day, he entered a deep, dense forest, where the smell of humus permeated the dim light. As he scanned the area with his divine sense, an unusual movement under an ancient tree ahead alerted him—the faint demonic aura there had actually reached the mid-stage of the third rank.

Murong Fan approached quietly and saw a monster the size of a water buffalo under the ancient tree: its dark green scales gleamed with an eerie light, and its lizard head had coral-like horns. It was licking the sap from the tree trunk with its forked long tongue—it was the "Green Scale Lizard Beast" at the mid-stage of the third tier.

Although this beast is not ferocious, it is known for its hard scales and its venomous saliva that can paralyze. Seeing that it was focused on eating and its guard was down, Murong Fan thought to himself, "Opportunity!" He suddenly channeled his spiritual power, and his green sword pierced through the air, aiming straight for the beast's weak left eye.

Even while feeding, the Green-Scaled Lizard remained alert. Upon hearing the sound, it abruptly turned its head, its yellow vertical pupils flashing with shock and anger. With astonishing agility, its massive body twisted to the side, simultaneously spitting out dark green venomous saliva towards the face.

Murong Fan was prepared. His sword stance remained unchanged, and he unleashed the "Wind Control Technique" to its fullest extent, his body swaying like a falling leaf as he narrowly avoided the poisonous venom. The venom landed, corroding small pits, and its pungent odor sent chills down one's spine.

"That was close!" As he landed, he swept his longsword horizontally, creating an arc of azure light as it slashed towards the lizard beast's belly. Enraged, the green-scaled lizard beast let out a sharp screech, its front paws lashing out at Murong Fan's longsword with a gust of wind.

"Clang!" Murong Fan's hand was numb from the impact, and his long sword almost slipped from his grasp. "I never imagined that the Green Scale Lizard Beast would have such immense strength."

The lizard beast pressed its advantage, its steel-whistling tail sweeping across the battlefield. Murong Fan easily dodged it, his longsword surging with spiritual energy as he unleashed a variation of the "Crimson Sun Divine Light" technique, the sword shadows lashing down on his entire body like a storm.

The clanging sounds of impacts were incessant, and most of the sword light was deflected by the scales, leaving only shallow marks—its defensive power was even superior to that of the Black-maned Demon Bull.

After struggling for a long time without success, Murong Fan's gaze swept across the creature, finally settling on its constantly opening and closing mouth: "Perhaps that's its Achilles' heel."

He deliberately feigned weakness, pretending to be short of spiritual power, and the lizard beast opened its blood-red maw to bite, spraying out venomous saliva.

At the critical moment, Murong Fan advanced instead of retreating. He used his left hand to block the poisonous saliva with his tortoise-shell shield, while his right hand wielded a long sword like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, bypassing the sharp teeth at an odd angle and piercing deep into the mouth!

"Hiss—!" The lizard beast howled miserably, its body twisting violently. Murong Fan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, channeling his spiritual power into it. A burst of azure light rippled and churned, destroying the beast's mouth.

Dark green blood mixed with bits of flesh gushed out, the struggle gradually weakened, and finally he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Murong Fan drew his sword and shook off the filth, sweat beading on his forehead—if he hadn't attacked the man's mouth, the outcome would have been uncertain.

He broke open his skull and extracted a jade-green demon core the size of an egg. The energy fluctuations of the mid-stage third rank were rich and pure. He smiled with satisfaction: this core would greatly benefit his spiritual cultivation.

After restoring his spiritual power, he gripped his longsword and continued deeper into the forest—mid-stage third-tier demonic beasts were still not enough; he needed to find even stronger prey.

Driven by a determination to explore the cave again, Murong Fan continued his hunt, stimulating his combat experience and potential. However, looking at the dozens of low-grade demon cores in the jade box, he knew he was still far from cracking the secret technique.

He exchanged the low-level demon cores for spirit stones and then purchased three level-four demon cores.

These three demon cores came from the Thunder-Patterned Leopard, the Frost Python, and the Crimson Flame Eagle, all fearsome beasts from the mountains, and their energy was several times purer than that of a third-tier berserk beast. Murong Fan found a secluded cave, set up a defensive array, and began his secluded cultivation to absorb the energy.

The Thunder-Patterned Leopard Demon Core was pale purple and crackling with electricity; its thunderous power was as domineering as ten thousand needles piercing his meridians. He gritted his teeth and refined it with his willpower. Each flush tempered his meridians and physical body, and his divine sense grew stronger.

The moment the pale purple demon core entered its mouth, it transformed into a violent torrent of lightning, rushing straight down its throat!

"Well--!"

Murong Fan let out a muffled groan, feeling as if countless red-hot steel needles were frantically stabbing at his meridians! Every blood vessel was spasming, every nerve was screaming. The power of the thunder was incomparably brutal, rampaging through his body as if it wanted to tear him to pieces from the inside out.

On Murong Fan's skin, fine purple electric sparks faintly appeared, moving like living things. Each flash brought a piercing, excruciating pain. His meridians were forcibly stretched open, emitting a faint, teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound, as if they were about to burst at any moment.

Sweat instantly soaked through his clothes, then evaporated into white mist by the heat emanating from his body. He clenched his teeth, his gums bleeding, and his hands gripped the rock beneath him so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.

He dared not relax for a moment, focusing all his attention on guiding this violent power, gradually bringing it back on track. Each successful guidance was like dancing on a knife's edge; the slightest mistake could result in severed meridians and demonic possession.

Several days later, the demon core was exhausted, his aura became steady, and his eyes sharpened. The Ice Python demon core was icy blue and bone-chilling. He used his spiritual power as a furnace to slowly melt it, transforming the cold energy into his own, making his spiritual power even sharper.

Having just refined the ferocity of the Thunder-Patterned Leopard, the demon core of the Frost Python brought another kind of torment.

If lightning is like being engulfed in flames, then the power of ice is like a soul sealed by eternal ice!

An extreme chill erupted from his dantian, instantly spreading to his limbs and bones. Murong Fan felt as if his blood was about to freeze, and his bones were being tempered in an ice cellar, making a crisp "crackling" sound.

His skin was quickly covered with a layer of white frost, and his eyebrows and eyelashes were covered with ice crystals. With each breath, the exhaled breath turned into white mist, while the inhaled air cut through his trachea like a razor blade.

The chill not only eroded his physical body but also attempted to freeze his consciousness. His thoughts began to slow down, and his awareness seemed to be encased in a thick layer of ice, making it extremely difficult to concentrate and guide his spiritual energy.

"I can't...sleep..." he roared in his heart, forcibly gathering his dissipating consciousness, using his own spiritual power as a furnace to struggle against the freezing force from his soul.

The Crimson Flame Demon Core was as red as flames, and its scorching energy was extremely destructive. He circulated his cultivation technique to form a barrier, guiding the flame energy to burn his meridians, making them increasingly resilient and expansive.

After absorbing the last bit of crimson flame energy, a glint flashed in his eyes—his cultivation had reached the bottleneck of the late Foundation Establishment stage, his divine sense was several times stronger, with a wider coverage and more acute perception.

"Finally..." Murong Fan clenched his fists, the surging power filling him with excitement. With this level of cultivation combined with his knowledge of the Thousand Machine Pavilion's restrictions, his chances of breaking the secret technique of the stone chamber had greatly increased!

After packing his belongings and dispelling the formation, he did not venture further into the mountains—ordinary demonic beasts offered little opportunity for improvement, while high-level demonic beasts remained dangerous. His immediate priority was to return to his cave and decipher the stone chamber.

Having discerned his direction, he transformed into a blue rainbow and sped towards the ancestral cave. His trials in Taiyue had transformed him, and now, brimming with confidence, he was finally qualified to challenge the mysterious stone chamber.