Chapter 866: Soul Nourishing Herb
For a short while, silence returned to the valley mouth, but soon after, the soft crunch of heavy footsteps broke the stillness. A monk appeared from the thick fog, his figure bloated and round, with a belly that strained against his robes.
Despite his unremarkable appearance, his eyes gleamed sharply, their brilliance contrasting his seemingly clumsy demeanor. He paused, scanned the valley entrance with a calculating look, then stepped into the Hidden Sound Valley, vanishing just as the trio had before him.
A cup of tea’s time later, another figure approached the valley, moving with a deliberate and unhurried pace. This figure was tall, with long hair tied casually behind him, and a distinct sharpness to his presence that made him look different from any ordinary traveler. His temperament was calm yet unrestrained, exuding a subtle dominance. This was none other than Max.
Max stood at the edge of the rocky area blanketed in yin energy. His eyes narrowed slightly as he scanned the valley entrance, his expression solemn. The yin aura here was unusually dense—thicker than most places he had encountered in the secret domain.
If the aura was already this oppressive outside, then the yin energy within the valley would undoubtedly be even heavier, likely capable of nurturing some highly dangerous and evil creatures.
However, rather than fear, a spark of determination lit up Max’s eyes. This environment, hostile as it was, was also exactly what he needed. The Soul-Nourishing Grass he sought thrived only in places steeped with extreme yin energy.
Its unique properties could strengthen and stabilize the soul, and paired with the other soul treasures he had acquired in this secret domain, it could very well push his soul to the Blue Soul stage. That kind of breakthrough was crucial for his future cultivation, both in combat and comprehension.
Max tightened his grip on his Blue Dragon Sword and exhaled softly, muttering to himself, "With soul-nourishing grass, my soul strength can truly advance. I can’t afford to waste this opportunity." His steps grew firm, his silhouette soon vanishing into the eerie black mists of the Hidden Sound Valley.
As Max ventured deeper into the Hidden Sound Valley, just as he had expected, the yin energy became overwhelmingly dense, far stronger than the oppressive chill outside. It was suffocating, clinging to the skin like cold mist and seeping into the bones.
Max estimated that the yin concentration here was at least twice as heavy as what blanketed the valley mouth, proof that this was indeed a perfect place for sinister and rare treasures to thrive. The space within the valley also surprised him—its underground caverns stretched far and wide, rivaling the scale of the infamous Mourning Depths.
The ground beneath his feet was jagged and uneven, covered with loose black rocks that seemed to absorb sound. Everywhere he looked, life crawled and slithered—venomous snakes with slick, glossy scales, scorpions with glinting pincers and stingers raised high, and thick-bodied centipedes coiling over the stones like streams of living shadows.
Their presence, combined with the stale, icy air, made the entire place feel like a graveyard for the living. Even with his Three Dimensional Body, Max’s spiritual perception was stifled and distorted by the oppressive yin aura, preventing him from detecting anything beyond a short distance.