As if a violently churning sea suddenly erupted into towering waves, the pillar of light connecting the "Necromancer's Cave" and the void above surged with black energy, rapidly spilling outward. In the blink of an eye, it completely enveloped the nearest neighboring pillar of light.

At almost the same instant, the death energy, which had been flowing independently within the two inky-black pillars, converged, all of it swirling around Nie Kong.

Seeing this, Mi Ping, Feng Hu, and Yan Luo’s expressions changed drastically.

Cultivating in the pillar of light condensed from death energy above the "Necromancer's Cave," even a Fifth-Rank Black Spirit Master would struggle to completely absorb the death energy emanating from the depths of the cave floor. Yet, judging by Nie Kong’s current state, he had clearly absorbed all the death energy in his own pillar; otherwise, a situation where he aggressively claimed neighboring energy would be utterly impossible.

The cultivation speed in this "Necromancer's Cave" was already faster than other areas of Fubo Mountain, and Nie Kong’s absorption rate of death energy surpassed even theirs, Fifth-Rank Black Spirit Masters. One could only imagine the terrifying pace at which his cultivation realm must be advancing.

For a moment, Mi Luo and the others exchanged glances. In the next breath, the worry on their faces vanished, replaced by undisguised, surging delight.

“’Nether Path Shadow Art’ is indeed potent. While its death energy absorption speed doesn't quite match the peak efficiency of the ‘Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art,’ it’s at least twice as fast as the ‘Nether Fiend Art,’” Nie Kong mused within the inky-black pillar of light, his mind clear, observing the changes around him as if he were an outsider.

For the past few days, Nie Kong had been practicing the coordination between the ‘Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art’ and the ‘Nether Fiend Art.’ If he practiced purely with the ‘Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art,’ his speed would certainly be explosive, but that would instantly expose his true identity.

Thus, after absorbing the death energy, Nie Kong first had to separate the death energy from the vital life force, then use the two spirit arts to refine them separately. During this process, the speed of the ‘Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art’ had to be comparable to the ‘Nether Fiend Art,’ making the coordination between the two especially crucial.

After several continuous days of practice, this coordination finally reached a point of profound synergy. When Nie Kong substituted the ‘Nether Fiend Art’ with the ‘Nether Path Shadow Art,’ the speed of death energy absorption instantly soared.

In the Nether Lands, many cultivation arts, spirit techniques, and spirit skills are interwoven. The ‘Nether Path Shadow Art’ is one such example. According to Zhuo Yue and Mi Luo’s introductions, once this spirit art is mastered perfectly, the practitioner can completely integrate their entire body into the void—a supreme tool for surprise attacks!

Although both involve merging into the void, this technique is completely different from the ‘Void Infusion’ that only Void Spirit Masters on the Tianling Continent can comprehend. The latter creates an effect of space compression, achieving instantaneous movement over tens or even hundreds of meters; the former, once activated, renders one without form or shadow, thoroughly merging with the void itself.

“If I coordinate the ‘Nether Path Shadow Art’ with ‘Instant Movement’...” Contemplating the potential, a faint smile touched Nie Kong’s lips. A moment later, he purged the distracting thoughts and redirected his attention to the nine Great Nether Stars and the Spirit Acupoints within his physical body.

The inky-black pillar enveloping Nie Kong vibrated with increasing intensity. After several days, the death energy once again began to slowly spread outward... ...

At the summit of Fubo Mountain, the evening glow filtered through the layer of black mist overhead... “The last cultivation spot is completely obscured...”

Gazing at the thick pillar of light that now almost entirely covered the entire slab of jade, the five Fourth-Rank Black Spirit Masters standing at the edge of the "Necromancer's Cave" were utterly resigned.

By calculation, Nie Kong had been cultivating here for a full month.

For the first ten days, they could still cultivate alongside Nie Kong in this "Necromancer's Cave." When Nie Kong claimed a second pillar of light on the eleventh day, this place became Nie Kong’s exclusive stage. Over the following twenty days, although Nie Kong did not occupy any more cultivation positions, the inky-black aura within his pillar continuously spread, gradually engulfing the remaining seven surrounding pillars.

If it were only this, it wouldn't be an issue, but when Nie Kong cultivated, he caused the death energy in the other pillars to fluctuate violently as well, making it impossible for them to cultivate concurrently.

When this situation first arose, they assumed Nie Kong would take a day or two to rest after cultivating for a while. To their dismay, however, Nie Kong only paused for half an hour every three days and never stopped cultivating otherwise.

Now, they had essentially become mere spectators here.

“It seems... as long as our junior brother is here, we won’t have a chance to cultivate in this ‘Necromancer’s Cave’ for a day,” a middle-aged man with a gaunt face lamented with a wry smile.

“That’s too much!”

The speaker was a heavily built man with dark skin, growling fiercely, “If it weren’t for Master and Martial Uncle repeatedly instructing us, this old man would have stormed in long ago to drag this bastard out!”

“In the end, it’s just because our aptitude is inferior! If any one of us could have condensed the Nine Great Nether Stars in such a short time, we’d surely be occupying the ‘Necromancer’s Cave’ just like Junior Brother Nie, and we’d have secured the ‘Nether Path Shadow Art’ as well.” ... “Being outstanding now doesn't mean you’ll always be outstanding. I refuse to believe his aptitude can truly defy the limits of age!” This voice was laced with sharp jealousy.

“……”

Just as the five were grumbling amongst themselves, the scene before them suddenly shifted. The pervasive inky-black aura rapidly retracted, and the intense fluctuations also subsided. A moment later, the seven previously covered pillars of light gradually reappeared within their sight. Moreover, the colossal pillar Nie Kong occupied also began to gently fluctuate, splitting back into the initial three separate pillars.

The five immediately understood what this meant: Nie Kong had ceased his cultivation. Yet, instead of joy, their faces grew even more somber. Following the established pattern, the fellow would return here after a mere half-hour break at most.

Sure enough, Nie Kong soon emerged from one of the pillars, his face radiating cheerfulness.

Meeting the five men’s gazes filled with resentment, Nie Kong grinned amiably, “My five senior brothers, I truly apologize for making you watch me cultivate here for so long. I plan to rest for a day now and will return tomorrow evening. This time, please, don't stand on ceremony with me.”

“Rest for a day?” The five blinked in surprise, noticing the pure joy overflowing from Nie Kong as he spoke this seemingly casual remark, which only added to their deep sense of frustration. As the Fubo Mountain disciples with the highest cultivation next to the Sect Master and the other three elders, they were now reduced to begging for cultivation time from another?

However, despite their thoughts, the five saw no reason to delay. Without hesitation, with several swift whooshes, they entered the slowly rotating jade slab and settled down cross-legged within the light pillars.

Nie Kong chuckled softly and swiftly descended the mountain path.

Just as the five Fourth-Rank Black Spirit Masters witnessed, Nie Kong was indeed filled with elation. Just moments ago, his “Second Incarnation’s” cultivation had broken through to the Fourth Grade of Spirit Control. To achieve such rapid advancement even after separating the death energy to his main body was something that naturally brought uncontrollable delight.

Nie Kong was certain that once the death energy from his current body fused with the spiritual power of his Incarnation, his current cultivation level might approach the Fifth Grade of Spirit Control almost perfectly. Achieving such results after just one month of cultivation at Fubo Mountain only strengthened his confidence in his ultimate goals.

At this juncture, Nie Kong wasn't truly intending to rest; rather, he planned to find a secluded spot to concoct some "Spirit Treasure Essence" to feast his "little fellow," Qing Yue, and the "Underworld Fire Abyss Spring"—all of whom had relocated to the Spirit Acupoints of his main body.

After cultivating in seclusion for nearly a month, Nie Kong had left these three beings quite "hungry."

Simultaneously, Nie Kong intended to search Fubo Mountain for medicinal herbs.

Now that his cultivation at Fubo Mountain was on solid footing, alchemy could not be neglected. He needed to strive to achieve a ten-tenths fusion rate in every alchemy attempt within the next two years, as this played a crucial role in successfully executing the ‘Pill Soul Transformation’...

Walking down, there was no sign of life until he neared the mountainside, where he finally saw a few Fubo Mountain disciples. Nie Kong was accustomed to this.

Fubo Mountain was merely a low-tier sect, housing fewer than eighty people in total. The highest-ranked were Zhuo Yue, Mi Luo, Feng Hu, and Yan Luo. Following them were the five Fourth-Rank Black Spirit Masters Nie Kong often encountered on the summit; the remainder were disciples below the Third Rank. The vast majority of these individuals cultivated in areas below the mountainside, making them rarely seen unless one ventured down.

However, Nie Kong found it somewhat perplexing that the disciples he encountered on his way down all looked deeply worried. As he approached his residence near the middle of the mountain, Nie Kong spotted the young children who joined the sect at the same time as him gathered together, looking as if they were attending a funeral...

Inside the Spiritual Sovereign Hall.

Yan Luo’s forehead was tightly furrowed, his face blazing with indignation: “The Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Hunting Valley, and Shadow Soul Sect are pushing us too far! Martial Brother Mi Luo, Martial Brother Feng Hu, we absolutely cannot agree to this. Today, they use a ‘sparring match’ to force us to surrender the ‘Black Armored Ore Vein’ below the mountain; next time, they'll use a ‘sparring match’ to seize the ‘Necromancer’s Cave’ on our summit!”

“We have no choice but to agree!” Mi Luo’s expression was grim. “They are well aware that Fubo Mountain has had no outstanding young disciples in recent years, which is why they proposed the ‘Black Armored Ore Vein’ as the stake for the match. If we refuse, they probably won’t even bother with such a flimsy pretext and will just attack the mountain directly. Martial Brother Zhuo Yue still hasn’t returned; we don't know how things turned out, so we must act with extreme caution.” Feng Hu nodded in agreement: “Martial Brother Mi Luo speaks the truth.” Mi Luo sneered coldly: “As long as we can establish ties with the ‘War Clan,’ whatever Fubo Mountain loses today, we will be able to reclaim tenfold in the future.”

Yan Luo was perfectly aware of this; his outburst was merely momentary anger. After a long pause, Yan Luo sighed resentfully, “It’s just a shame that among our Fubo Mountain disciples under the age of twenty-five, the highest cultivation level is only Second Rank. Otherwise, how could we suffer such humiliation from them?”