About an hour after Max and the general had left, a figure erged from a narrow crack in the cave wall.
It was a young monk dressed in a simple cassock, his round face flushed and his belly protruding slightly with every hurried breath he took. His eyes darted nervously around the now-quiet valley, and a long sigh of relief escaped his lips as he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.
"That was far too close," he muttered under his breath, his voice carrying the lingering tremor of fear. "If I hadn’t suppressed my energy using that secret technique, I would have been discovered by that man."
He paused, his brows furrowing as he recalled the scene he had just witnessed. "But who was that person? To be able to subdue the spirit of the Yin Cave so effortlessly... that kind of power isn’t sothing an ordinary cultivator could ever wield."
A trace of regret flashed in his eyes as he glanced back at the Yin Cave that was now calm and lifeless. "What a pity... I had hoped to harvest so of the Yin energy here for my cultivation, but it seems I’ll have to find another place just as rich in Yin essence. Staying here any longer would be courting death."
Shaking his head, the big-bellied monk tightened his cassock and leaped away from the valley, moving with surprising agility for soone of his size. His figure soon disappeared into the gray, gloomy sky of the secret domain.
A few monts later, another figure stepped out from behind a large rock about a thousand feet away. It was Max, his face showing clear puzzlent as he watched the monk vanish into the distance.
The general had long since departed, leaving Max alone to investigate sothing he had sensed earlier. When the general refined the Yin Cave and its spirit, Max had caught a faint trace of an energy that didn’t belong there—a pure, righteous Buddhist aura hidden deep within the Yin energy.
This had intrigued him enough to stay behind and look deeper into it, and his suspicion had proven correct. The fat monk he had just seen was clearly a mber of the Bright Buddha Palace, one of the renowned Buddhist sects known for cultivating pure, masculine Buddha power—the exact opposite of Yin energy.
"Why would a mber of the Bright Buddha Palace need Yin energy?" Max murmured to himself, frowning deeply. The contradiction gnawed at him, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer.
All he could do was commit the image of the fat-headed, big-eared monk to mory. If fate allowed, he would investigate this matter later.
For now, he shook his head, letting out a small sigh. There was no point dwelling on what he couldn’t solve at the mont. With that thought, Max turned and moved on, leaving Hidden Sound Valley behind. Half an hour later, he arrived at a jagged group of peaks, their edges sharp like blades cutting into the heavens.
After a quick survey of the area, he located a secluded cave and stepped inside.
The cave was dry and lifeless, its walls rough and barren, echoing faintly as Max stepped inside. The silence was heavy, broken only by his own asured breathing. Settling down in the center of the cave, he took out the two Soul-Nourishing Herbs he had obtained earlier.
Each herb was about a foot long, its leaves sleek and sharp-edged, flashing with a faint black luster. A spiritual light shimred faintly along its veins, and from it ca a cold, soul-piercing aura, making the cave feel even chillier than before.
Max studied them closely and frowned slightly. ’Still a little short of maturity...’ he thought, a bit disappointed. A fully mature Soul-Nourishing Herb could work wonders for one’s soul, but these were slightly underdeveloped.
For better results, Max also took out several other soul-related herbs he had collected throughout the secret domain—minor spirit-nurturing flowers, faintly luminous ghost orchids, and a small stalk of dreamroot grass. He carefully placed them all into a refining vessel and began the process of purification.
The herbs slowly lted down under his control, their spiritual essence rging into one. The vessel trembled lightly as Yin energy surged within, creating thin ripples of black light around it.
An hour later, a thick, concentrated spiritual liquid ford inside, gleaming with a strange brilliance. Under the cool air of the cave, the liquid crystallized, turning into small black crystal blocks that emitted a soul-chilling Yin energy ten tis stronger than the raw herbs.
Max exhaled, calming his mind completely, before picking up one of the crystals and placing it into his mouth. He didn’t dare to devour them recklessly—these herbs were rare, and their effects limited. Instead, he slowly refined them, guiding the dicinal power through his body, carefully letting it seep into his soul.
The process was long and ticulous, taking an entire day before every bit of the crystal blocks’ essence was absorbed. Finally, a brilliant blue light radiated from Max’s body, swirling gently around him like a protective aura. His soul, which had previously been tinged in faint green, now shone with pure azure brilliance.
Slowly opening his eyes, Max clenched his fists, his expression bright with excitent. "Blue Soul Stage... finally achieved!" His voice trembled slightly, both relieved and exhilarated at the breakthrough.
With that done, Max stretched out his hand, summoning the little rat from the Dinsion of Spirit.
"Squeak!" The little guy popped out, now completely recovered from its injuries. It imdiately rubbed its small paws over its shriveled belly and squeaked at Max with an aggrieved expression. It had been inside the Dinsion of Spirit for a long ti without food, its small body clearly craving sustenance.
Max chuckled softly at the sight, then casually tossed two fifth-rank beast cores toward it. "Here, eat up."
The little rat squeaked happily and began crunching through the cores, chewing in big mouthfuls. Max smiled at its voracious appetite, then said, "Little guy, I want to practice my techniques now. Protect while I train."
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