Nearby him were a number of disoriented foreigners, some slowly stirring and sitting up, while others remained unconscious on the ground, their eyelids twitching laboriously, clearly on the verge of waking. Xiaohan and Huofeng were nowhere in sight, and he couldn't spot any sign of Zou Tao or his group either.

Once settled, Ji Changkong remained still, subtly observing his surroundings. He methodically scanned the foreigners near him: one Blood race, two Ice race, two Three-Eyed race, and one Feather race. In total, including himself, there were eight individuals within this valley.

The valley seemed vast; focusing his attention, he estimated it spanned at least a thousand acres. The eight of them were scattered across the various corners of this expanse.

In the areas too far for the naked eye to discern, he occasionally caught the sound of movement, suggesting the presence of other foreigners in different parts of the valley.

Beside him, the first to regain consciousness were the Blood race member and the two Ice race individuals. The Three-Eyed race and the Feather race members were still in the process of awakening.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a shriek of pure panic echoed from the distance, only to be abruptly silenced, as if the source had been instantly annihilated.

Above, there were clusters of clouds, illuminated by a faint aura that ensured visibility was unimpaired.

Standing up, Ji Changkong closed his eyes, attempting to probe with his divine sense, only to find that his spiritual perception, too, was affected by the magnetic field, rendering it useless for detecting anything abnormal. When he tried to channel some of the vital essence within his body, his expression underwent a horrifying change.

The vital essence stored deep within him was also being hampered by the magnetic field, making it difficult for it to flow rapidly through his meridians and unleash any effective attack.

Gritting his teeth, he stubbornly persisted in forcing the vital essence to move, yet discovered that under the influence of this magnetic field, his internal channels felt congested, preventing the essence from moving at all. This meant he was effectively unable to deploy the power of his vital essence—!

Without access to his vital essence, and with his soul also being affected by the magnetic field, did this place render him no better than an ordinary person?

Ji Changkong’s face grew even more perplexed. He swiftly retrieved his Mustard Seed Bag and took out the bell, shaking it in an attempt to release the White Bone Skeleton. He sent a mental call, but the bell remained inert; the White Bone Skeleton did not emerge.

Losing even this last reliance, Ji Changkong’s alarm deepened. He took a deep breath, constantly urging himself to remain calm, and looked for another backup: the Celestial Origin Pearl!

This thought flashed through his mind. He immediately sensed the location of the Celestial Origin Pearl within his body. He attempted to communicate with the Second Demonic Body contained within the Pearl and slowly received a response from it. Perhaps due to the direct connection of their souls, the demonic body remained unaffected, seemingly unrestrained by this location.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, he tested the ability to alter his physical form. With a mere thought, his two arms began to transform first. Long claws erupted from his fingertips, and the whale-like scales slowly surfaced on his arms. From the crevices between these scales, vicious, jagged spikes started to emerge.

Seeing that his physical transformation was still possible, he finally settled his nerves. Before anyone else could notice, he quickly reverted his arms to their normal state.

At this juncture, he began to feel a measure of gratitude for the resolve he once had to use his inexhaustible vital essence to temper and completely reshape his body. This process had allowed the power stimulated by the strange blood to permeate his bone marrow, meridians, and cells, enabling him to transform his body in this bizarre place and avoid being completely defenseless.

With his mind settled, he couldn't help but observe the others around him and was stunned to realize that, like him, they all seemed unable to utilize their vital essence.

However, the inherent supernatural abilities of the foreigners did not appear to be restricted here. The Third-Eyed race member’s third eye was wide open, shining with a brilliant light, and the Feather race member could slowly glide using their wings, though constrained by the inability to effectively use vital essence, they couldn't fly high or fast.

The two Ice race members, upon waking, immediately began gathering stones and strange flowers and exotic herbs from the area. One Ice race member spotted a stone that emitted a faint chill, becoming instantly ecstatic. He snatched the stone and began chewing it loudly—crunch, crunch—as wisps of cold air emanated from his body, intensifying the icy glare in his eyes. The Blood race member, along with the awakened Three-Eyed and Feather race members, also started busying themselves.

Ji Changkong observed that these individuals were competing for the exotic flora and stones on the ground. They seemed to recognize the types of plants and knew which ones would benefit their bodies. Once they identified something useful, they would swallow it without hesitation.

Before they could finish consuming even one type of herb, Ji Changkong noticed their bodies gaining a slight increase in robustness, as if those exotic plants were bestowing new strength, hardening their physical forms.

Ji Changkong did not rush to follow suit. Watching the two Ice race members devour the ice-like stones, causing cold mist to rise from their bodies, he suddenly recalled the "Blazing Thunder Holy Fire." He forced himself to calm down and used his soul to communicate with the "Blazing Thunder Holy Fire" contained within him. Surprisingly, the "Blazing Thunder Holy Fire" seemed unconstrained by this environment. Under his gentle guidance, a wisp of "Blazing Thunder Holy Fire" abruptly snaked out from his fingertip.

Quickly retracting the holy fire, Ji Changkong’s confidence began to return. Gripping the Dragon-Shining Long Saber, he ignored the other foreigners and began to wander around casually.

"Kid, you were the one who attacked me when we first descended, weren't you?" Suddenly, one of the Three-Eyed race members fixed him with an intense stare. This individual was a master of the Three-Eyed race, possessing cultivation at the Nirvana Realm. Even before entering this Life Magnetic Pool, he had harbored hostility toward Zou Tao and the other foreigners.

A Nirvana Realm cultivation—if this were the outside world, and without relying on the power of the White Bone Skeleton, Ji Changkong might have been hesitant. However, in this place where everyone's soul and vital essence were affected, and knowing his own physical body was formidable, he felt little fear.

He glanced back coolly and nodded. "That's right, it was me. Do you wish to 'instruct' me?" "Instruct?" the man sneered coldly. "Kid, it seems you still haven't grasped the situation here. Never mind, you’ll be dead soon enough anyway."

Saying this, the Three-Eyed race member’s third eye suddenly shot out a brilliant beam of white light. This light seemed to possess terrifying penetrating power and traveled with incredible speed, rocketing straight toward Ji Changkong. Indeed, the inherent divine abilities of the Three-Eyed race were unimpeded here.

Just as the brilliant white light was about to strike his throat, Ji Changkong smiled coldly, abruptly raising his hand to sweep it away. The hilt of the Dragon-Shining Long Saber deflected the beam.

"Clang!"

The Dragon-Shining Long Saber emitted a sharp cry, and a wave of intense impact rushed through his arm from the saber. If his arm hadn't already been tempered by the peculiar blood within him, this shockwave would have shattered it into pieces. "Eh!" The Three-Eyed fellow’s face flickered slightly; he hadn't expected Ji Changkong's arm to remain unscathed. After a startled cry, he prepared to strike again.

"Enough! He’s not easy to deal with!" Suddenly, another master of the Three-Eyed race interrupted, scolding softly, "Blocking that strike proves this person isn't just a simple Mortal Realm Celestial Master. Don't invite unnecessary trouble."

The one who had attacked Ji Changkong hesitated, then nodded slightly, stating from a distance, "Kid, you're lucky this time. I'll let you off."

Ji Changkong’s expression was grim. He glanced at the man from afar and snorted, but remained silent. Until he fully understood the situation here, he had no desire to engage in a life-or-death battle immediately.

Besides, the other party had two individuals.

A familiar thread of flame power drifted from the distance. Still uncertain about his circumstances, his heart stirred, and he hurried toward the source of the flame. Soon, he arrived beside a crimson river, a waterway that looked like vivid, startlingly red blood.

An incomparably beautiful woman lay submerged in the center of the river. Her fire-red garments were soaked by the scarlet water, revealing the stunning curves of her body.

She floated suspended directly over the river, her high, full peaks incredibly prominent, seeming ready to burst the silk of her tight clothing. Her lower abdomen was deeply indented, showing glimpses of pearly white skin, utterly devoid of flesh, while her long, slender legs were slightly bent. The trousers clinging to her legs seemed to be torn by something, ragged and insufficient to conceal the expanse of tender, smooth skin.

The beautiful woman's long eyelashes fluttered; sensing someone approaching, she abruptly sat up from the river. Her towering breasts trembled involuntarily due to the violence of her movement, creating mesmerizing waves.

"What are you looking at?!" This beautiful woman was instantly irritable. She quickly produced a fire-colored garment and wrapped herself tightly, letting out a cold snort before asking, "Where is Xiaohan?"

"Xiaohan? You... you are Huofeng?" Ji Changkong was stunned, pointing at her stammeringly, his face full of disbelief. "Your... where is the scar on your face?"

The beautiful woman froze, giving him a strange look before taking out a mirror. After a moment of hesitation, she peered into the glass.

Instant elation spread across her entire beautiful face. Her delicate body trembled slightly, her expression a mixture of disbelief as she murmured, "It's gone. It’s completely healed, not even a single scar remains..."

Huofeng murmured under her breath, staring fixedly at the mirror, examining it from every angle as if she could never tire of looking. "I haven't dared to look in a mirror for hundreds of years; I almost forgot what I used to look like..."

Watching her dazed and lost demeanor, Ji Changkong did not disturb her. He merely looked curiously at the scarlet river. After a moment of thought, he took out a bottle and collected some of the blood-red river water, intending to study it later to see if it held any other potential uses...