Fang Lin did not go far.
He could not.
Every step sent pain tearing through his body. Lu Han's sword had pierced his left side, Guo Zhen's fist had broken his shoulder, and Yan Chi's flames had left burns clinging to his skin like stubborn poison. Smaller wounds covered his arms, chest, and back, some shallow, some deep enough that even breathing pulled at them.
The faint life force born from the Nine Nether Phantom Body continued to move beneath his skin, but his injuries were too heavy for it to erase quickly. If another Spirit Foundation cultivator appeared now, Fang Lin would be in real danger.
He moved through the darkness in silence, using Shadow Breath to hide his aura while Phantom Transformation altered his appearance again. His face became thinner, his skin dulled slightly, and his presence faded until it almost blended with the black mist of the ruins.
Only after nearly half an hour did he find a narrow side chamber behind a collapsed wall.
The chamber was small, and half of it had already caved in. Ancient roots and black vines crawled across the ceiling, but they did not stir when Fang Lin entered. The faint authority he carried from the darkness legacy made the ruins hesitate around him.
Not obey.
Not yet.
But hesitation was enough.
Fang Lin stepped inside and touched the wall lightly. The stone shifted with a low grinding sound, and the entrance slowly closed behind him, sealing the chamber into darkness.
Only then did his body sway.
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood struck the ground softly, and his face turned even paler. Fang Lin sat cross-legged at once, took out several healing pills, and swallowed them without hesitation.
Medicinal energy spread through his body, but its effect was limited. His injuries were too deep, and the violent breakthrough into Peak Qi Conjunction had placed even greater strain on his meridians.
Fang Lin closed his eyes.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body began to circulate.
A faint white life force moved beneath his skin. It flowed slowly and carefully toward the pierced wound at his side first. Warmth spread through the torn flesh, and the bleeding gradually slowed. After that, the life force moved toward his broken shoulder.
A soft cracking sound came from within his body.
His bones shifted slightly.
Pain shot through him so sharply that his brows tightened, but Fang Lin did not stop. He guided the life force again and again.
Repair.
Stabilize.
Temper.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body had changed after coming into contact with the Nine Abyss Shadow Scripture. It no longer strengthened his flesh only through brutal tempering. Hidden within its body path, a faint power of life had awakened.
It was still weak, but pure.
And unlike ordinary healing, it did not simply close wounds. It rebuilt them. It restored the body while making it stronger.
Fang Lin breathed slowly.
One cycle.
Two cycles.
Three cycles.
His condition improved little by little. Only after the worst of the bleeding stopped did he open his eyes.
Three storage rings and several storage pouches lay before him.
Lu Han.
Yan Chi.
Guo Zhen.
These were the spoils of three Middle Spirit Foundation Realm sect geniuses.
Fang Lin looked at them calmly. These three had nearly killed him. Now their resources belonged to him.
He picked up Lu Han's storage ring first. The spiritual imprint inside was stronger than those of the ordinary disciples he had killed earlier, but Lu Han was already dead. Fang Lin pressed down with his soul power, and after several breaths, the imprint shattered.
The contents appeared within his perception.
Nearly five hundred low-grade spirit stones. Thirty middle-grade spirit stones. A silver jade sword manual. Several sword talismans. One bottle of high-grade healing pills. Two bottles of Qi recovery pills. A spare white robe embroidered with silver wave patterns. A River Sword Sect inner disciple token. And a broken jade armor.
Fang Lin looked at the jade armor silently.
This was the defensive treasure that had saved Lu Han from being crippled earlier. Unfortunately, it had already shattered during the battle.
He stored the useful items separately, then opened Yan Chi's storage ring.
Heat spread out the moment the imprint broke.
Inside were fire pills, flame stones, three red jade bottles, a small pill furnace, several Crimson Flame Hall talismans, a scroll containing a flame technique, more than four hundred low-grade spirit stones, twenty-two middle-grade spirit stones, a black-red robe marked with ember patterns, and a sealed jade box covered in flame restrictions.
Fang Lin's eyes moved slightly.
He examined the jade box carefully. The restriction on it was not weak. If he opened it carelessly, it might burn the contents inside, or worse, injure him while he was already recovering.
After a moment of thought, he did not force it.
He placed it aside.
Then he opened Guo Zhen's storage ring.
The aura inside was heavier. There were dark-earth spirit stones, body-tempering pills, metallic bone-strengthening paste, several pairs of heavy bracers, a Black Mountain Gate inner disciple token, a map fragment of the Demon Sealing Ruins, more than three hundred low-grade spirit stones, twenty-eight middle-grade spirit stones, and a dark wooden box wrapped in stone-colored talisman paper.
Fang Lin paused.
Inside his spiritual sea, the grey stone pulsed once.
Softly.
His gaze immediately landed on the wooden box.
The pulse came again, stronger than before.
Fang Lin's expression changed slightly.
Something inside that box had attracted the grey stone.
No.
Not the grey stone.
The grey seed.
Ever since smoky mist had begun gathering around it and life force had awakened within his body, Fang Lin had started to feel that the thing inside his spiritual sea was not a simple stone at all.
It felt dormant.
Like a seed.
Like something waiting for nourishment.
Fang Lin stared at the dark wooden box. The talisman paper wrapped around it was old but intact, carrying the heavy earth aura of Black Mountain Gate. It was likely used to suppress and preserve whatever was inside.
He did not tear it open immediately. Instead, he used his soul perception to inspect the talisman lines carefully.
There was no killing restriction.
No poison.
Only sealing.
Fang Lin slowly removed the talisman paper.
The moment the final strip came loose, the grey seed in his spiritual sea pulsed violently.
The wooden box trembled.
Fang Lin opened it.
Inside lay a single leaf.
It was not large, only the size of two fingers. Its color was strange, a muted grey-green, with pale gold along the edges and thin silver veins running through it like tiny rivers of light.
It did not release a powerful spiritual aura. In fact, if someone looked at it normally, they might think it was only an unusual preserved herb.
But the moment Fang Lin saw it, the grey seed reacted.
The smoky mist around the seed surged, and the faint white life force inside Fang Lin's body suddenly became active. The leaf trembled inside the box.
Then, without warning, it dissolved into a stream of grey-green light and flew toward Fang Lin's forehead.
Fang Lin's pupils contracted.
He tried to stop it.
Too late.
The grey-green light entered his spiritual sea.
The grey seed shook violently.
Fang Lin's entire spiritual sea trembled. The smoky mist around the seed expanded rapidly, and the faint white life force within his body surged like a river after rain.
Fang Lin clenched his teeth.
Pain erupted through his body, but this pain was different from the brutal tempering of the Nine Nether Phantom Body.
It was full.
Alive.
Overwhelming.
Like roots forcing their way through dry earth.
His wounds began healing at a terrifying speed. The sword wound at his side closed. Burned skin peeled away and regenerated. His broken shoulder cracked loudly as bone fragments shifted back into place, and his torn meridians were wrapped by warm life force.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body activated by itself.
Fang Lin immediately guided it.
Nether Skin.
Flesh tempering.
Meridian strengthening.
Bone reinforcement.
Every part of the body path began circulating faster than before. The grey-green energy from the leaf entered the life force and made it expand. The faint white thread beneath his skin became thicker, brighter, and more stable.
Fang Lin's body shook.
The chamber around him trembled.
The black vines on the ceiling curled back instinctively.
A pressure spread from Fang Lin's body, but it was not killing intent, nor was it demonic Qi.
It was life.
Dense, pure, ancient life.
Yet beneath that life, the Nine Nether Phantom Body still carried its heavy grey pressure. Life force and Nether body force intertwined, causing Fang Lin's skin to glow faintly. His muscles compressed, and his bones released deep sounds.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The sounds continued for a long time.
Fang Lin's breathing became deep. Every breath pulled life force through his body. Every circulation repaired damage and strengthened his foundation.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body had already reached a high level within its current stage after repeated refinement by cosmic energy. But now, under the nourishment of the mysterious leaf, it crossed another boundary.
Small Mastery.
The peak of Small Mastery.
Then, with a heavy tremor, it broke through.
Greater Mastery.
A powerful pressure erupted from Fang Lin's body. The chamber cracked, and dust fell from the ceiling.
Fang Lin's eyes opened.
For an instant, pale white light shone beneath his pupils, wrapped in faint grey mist.
Then the light faded.
His body became silent again.
But the change was enormous.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body had reached Greater Mastery.
His injuries were mostly healed. Not completely, as there were still hidden strains inside his meridians and soul, but his body felt different now.
Denser.
More alive.
More difficult to destroy.
Fang Lin slowly raised his hand. A faint white life light appeared beneath his skin. It no longer flickered weakly as it had before. It flowed quietly, thin but stable.
He clenched his fist.
The air trembled slightly.
His physical strength had risen again, but his recovery had increased even more.
If he fought Guo Zhen now, Fang Lin was certain his body would not be forced back so easily.
Inside his spiritual sea, the grey seed floated quietly. The smoky mist surrounding it had thickened, and where the leaf's energy had entered, a faint mark remained on the surface.
It looked like a tiny sprout pattern.
Fang Lin stared at it silently.
"A leaf…"
His voice was quiet.
"From which tree?"
No answer came.
Only the life force deep inside him pulsed once.
Gentle.
Ancient.
Fang Lin's eyes deepened.
This leaf was clearly connected to the grey seed. Guo Zhen had been carrying it, but Fang Lin doubted he had known its true value. If Guo Zhen had understood what it was, he would never have left it sealed inside such a simple wooden box.
Perhaps Black Mountain Gate had discovered it among some ancient materials and mistaken it for a rare body-tempering herb.
But to Fang Lin, it was far more than that.
It had awakened a deeper reaction from the grey seed. It had pushed the Nine Nether Phantom Body into Greater Mastery. It had stabilized his life force. More importantly, it hinted once again that the grey seed inside his spiritual sea was something unimaginable.
Fang Lin closed his eyes and breathed slowly.
The life force circulated through his body again. This time, he guided it deliberately, allowing it to flow from his spiritual sea into his meridians, then through his flesh and bones. Wherever it passed, small hidden injuries softened and faded.
Life force did not replace caution.
But it gave him endurance.
And inside the Demon Sealing Ruins, endurance meant survival.
After an hour, Fang Lin opened his eyes again.
His condition had recovered greatly. His cultivation remained at Peak Qi Conjunction Realm. The Nine Nether Phantom Body had reached Greater Mastery, his life force was stable, and his death force, though still weaker, had become sharper after the previous battle. The Nine Abyss Shadow Scripture had not broken through, but his understanding of Shadow Breath had deepened.
He looked at the spoils again.
There was still Yan Chi's sealed jade box, as well as maps, talismans, pills, spirit stones, and technique jade slips. But Fang Lin did not study everything now.
Time was limited.
The three-day deadline still approached.
The Core Formation elders outside did not yet know the full truth, but they would soon realize something had gone wrong.
Fang Lin needed to prepare before the ruins ejected everyone.
He stored the remaining spoils carefully and stood.
His torn robe shifted under Phantom Transformation. His body shape changed slightly, hiding the new strength beneath an ordinary appearance. Shadow Breath wrapped around him again, and the pale life force disappeared beneath his skin.
No one looking at him now would know he had just survived a battle against three Spirit Foundation geniuses.
No one would know he had reached Peak Qi Conjunction.
No one would know his Nine Nether Phantom Body had entered Greater Mastery.
Fang Lin touched the chamber wall.
The ruins responded faintly, and a narrow exit opened.
He stepped into the darkness.
His eyes were calm.
The three hunters were dead.
His body had transformed.
The grey seed had awakened a little more.
But the Demon Sealing Ruins had not ended, and outside, the three sects still waited with smiling faces and hidden knives.
Fang Lin moved forward silently.
This time, every step carried a deeper life force beneath the shadow.