Clumps of Heavenly Fire gathered into spheres, scorching orbs of flame that surged toward a colossal cavern deep within Yin Beast Mountain.

At the mouth of the cave, a viscous, profoundly cold, peculiar energy continually condensed and gathered. As soon as the Heavenly Fire rushed in, the strange energy reacted with sharp snaps, erupting into plumes of ashen, gray Yin Qi.

Near Yin Beast Mountain, lightning raged and cracked; bolts resembling spiritual serpents ripped from the sky, slamming into the mountainside.

Shi Yan stood not far from that cavern entrance, concentrating the power of the Heavenly Fire, attempting to shatter the barrier enclosing the stone cave.

The Yin Beasts, who had fled outwards, spotted Shi Yan’s arrival and scattered like birds startled from a nest, burrowing deep into Yin Beast Mountain. Not a single one dared to emerge.

Shi Yan could both absorb their Yin Qi and incinerate them with Heavenly Fire, rendering these Yin Beasts utterly terrified and helpless.

Even the high-ranking Yin Beasts sensed the presence of a natural predator radiating from Shi Yan. They dared not approach, fearing immolation by the Heavenly Fire, followed by the unique suction within Shi Yan’s body drawing out and assimilating their refined Yin Qi.

Shi Yan was the natural enemy of the Yin Charm Clan, and equally so, the natural enemy of the Yin Beasts.

Billows of Heavenly Fire poured into the cavern. Shi Yan could feel the barrier at the entrance—woven as if from trillions of resilient threads. The Heavenly Fire he unleashed could destroy a section of the barrier in a short time.

However, before the barrier could fully rupture, vast amounts of energy surged from nearby caves to mend the damaged sections. Before the flame could utterly consume the structure, the incoming energy would repair the breaches.

He had tried other caves, and the result was always the same.

It seemed the myriad of honeycombed tunnels within Yin Beast Mountain shared a peculiar interconnectedness: the moment a barrier in one cave came under assault, energy from elsewhere would rapidly converge to collectively resist the invading force.

Heavenly Fire could incinerate all things, including various barriers and restrictions. By rights, the power of the Heavenly Fire should have been enough to blast a hole through this barrier.

But after numerous attempts, Shi Yan found the resilience of this barrier far exceeded his expectations!

Whenever he exerted his full might with the Heavenly Fire, the lightning and thunder overhead would crash down, forcing him to divert his focus to cope, preventing him from truly concentrating all his strength.

“Hah!” With a gentle breath, he slowly retracted the blazing flames he had released. Stroking the Blood-Patterned Ring, Shi Yan sent a mental message to the Myriad Year Earth Core Fire: “Can you not release any more flame power?”

“I can, but you might… you might not be able to handle it. Also, I am at a crucial stage of evolution right now. It’s not suitable for sustained power release during this period. Perhaps in a while, I will be ready. Once I have truly refined and solidified my power, I should be able to offer you greater assistance…”

The message from the Myriad Year Earth Core Fire was fragmented and intermittent, conveying its current predicament to Shi Yan.

Crack!

A bolt of lightning descended. Shi Yan teleported instantly, severing his connection with the Earth Core Fire. After a moment’s hesitation, he attempted to reactivate the Profound Yin Art.

The Yin Vortices located at the three acupoints on his chest began to slowly spin, aided by the influence of the Yin Bead.

Innumerable streams of Yin Qi seeped out from the countless nearby caves, rapidly gathering above Shi Yan’s head into a swirling vortex, transforming into Yin Force within his body, which was then purified one by one by the three Yin Vortices.

Simultaneously, the energy of the barriers within those caves seemed to quietly weaken slightly whenever he activated the Profound Yin Art.

As the Yin Vortices whirled, turbulence surged within Shi Yan’s Sea of Consciousness. The Five Demons stirred restlessly within, and the five currents of negative emotion gradually intensified, driving the negative power throughout all his acupoints.

Shi Yan instantly plunged into the first stage of the Berserk State.

Negative power perpetually coiled around him. The vortex above his head, evolved from the Profound Yin Art, experienced a sudden, violent surge in suction upon his entry into the Berserk State.

Terrified cries echoed from the innumerable caves of Yin Beast Mountain. The Yin Beasts seemed to realize something was terribly wrong; they grew agitated even behind their barriers, screaming in panicked urgency.

“Wooo!” “Ying Ying!” “Aooo!”

Waves of sound burst forth from the individual caves, echoing wildly across the mountain, seemingly provoking a drastic change in Yin Beast Mountain itself.

Suddenly, the swirling lightning and thunder around the mountain grew to the size of true dragons, plunging down from the heavens with immense force.

At the same time, the howls of several peculiar Yin Beasts actually coalesced into a terrifying soul attack, forming a wave of soul force invisible to the naked eye, instantly striking Shi Yan’s Sea of Consciousness.

The Five Demons within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly became violently agitated. Under the assault of the Yin Beasts’ souls, the Five Demons mobilized all of Shi Yan’s latent negative emotions, preparing to strike back.

Crack! A relatively thin bolt of lightning struck Shi Yan’s back. Tendrils of lightning power seeped in, some penetrating directly into his Sea of Consciousness.

An overwhelming agony instantly flooded his entire body.

At the very moment the pain struck, his Yin Vortices halted their rotation, and the vortex above his head vanished instantly.

His Sea of Consciousness throbbed in agony. The Five Demons darted wildly within, baring claws and fangs, emitting all manner of negative emotions, intent on shattering Shi Yan’s sanity and driving him to madness. Shi Yan gritted his teeth, urgently halting the operation of the Berserk State. Watching the incoming lightning bolts, he had no choice but to retreat hastily, fleeing down the slopes of Yin Beast Mountain. His Sea of Consciousness was caught in a terrible tempest; the Five Demons were the primary culprits. Under the dual assault of the invading lightning and the Yin Beasts’ soul attack, the Five Demons became difficult to contain. The spiritual imprint he had placed on them was rapidly failing to control them, pushing the man toward the brink of insanity.

When cultivating this demonic art, Shi Yan knew he had to maintain absolute control over the Five Demons at all times. Should they slip his mental grasp, he would degenerate into a pure, homicidal maniac, potentially unable to awaken ever again.

If that happened, the Five Demons in his Sea of Consciousness would usurp control of his soul, and his own self-awareness would gradually wither away.

This state was similar to when his mysterious Martial Soul absorbed too much negative energy, releasing waves of negative emotion that drove him mad. However, in that case, once the acupoints purified the essence, the shattered sanity would gradually recover.

But if the Five Demons seized control of his mind, replacing his soul, he risked descending into irreversible catastrophe, never to awaken.

Forcing down the anomalies in his Sea of Consciousness, Shi Yan rushed down from Yin Beast Mountain to its foot, where he saw Kaba, Di Shan, Yu Rou, and the others waiting for him.

“Just a little more! I can sense it! If your power were just a sliver stronger, if your Heavenly Fire were more solidified, you could have broken that barrier!” Di Shan’s tightly shut eyes snapped open. “So close! Why did you suddenly retreat?”

“My power backfired. If I hadn't retreated now, I would never have another chance to assault the barrier.”

Shi Yan gritted his teeth secretly, his breathing heavy, his eyes blazing with fierce light, seemingly unafraid of the pressure emanating from the five super-experts. He roared, “You all need to figure something out, or if my power fully turns against me, I will die horribly and won't be able to help you further! I am certain that with more time, I absolutely can break that barrier!”

Yi Tianmo’s expression shifted subtly. “His soul is extremely abnormal; its frequency is wildly erratic. Within his Sea of Consciousness, it seems… it seems about to erupt violently…”

“His, his Sea of Consciousness?”

Di Shan and Yu Rou couldn't help but gasp, staring at Yi Tianmo in astonishment.

The Wing Clan’s comprehension and sensitivity regarding the soul were far inferior to the Yin Charm Clan. Even Di Shan and Yu Rou were unaware that Shi Yan possessed a Sea of Consciousness. Hearing Yi Tianmo’s words, they were immediately shocked.

“Ah! This brat… this brat actually has a Sea of Consciousness!” Kaba and Zhameng hadn't paid close attention to the changes in Shi Yan’s cerebral region before. Prompted by Yi Tianmo, they both released potent soul exploration power and immediately detected the presence of a Sea of Consciousness belonging only to a Nest-level expert within Shi Yan’s mind.

“This kid should only be at the Status Realm, right?” Yu Rou murmured, rubbing her forehead in dismay.

“Correct. I don't know how he formed a Sea of Consciousness, but it is one, undeniably. Currently, within his Sea of Consciousness, there are five peculiar types of soul force, each with a different attribute, and they are mutually repelling, starting to influence his Sea of Consciousness—and may even cause it to explode,” Yi Tianmo stated gravely. “He cannot die!” Di Shan’s face changed dramatically, and he shouted sternly, “Brat, what do we need to do to help you avoid this backlash?”

“Women,” Shi Yan gasped, his eyes gradually turning red. “I need women to vent this pressure! Hand over the three human women that Zha Ji imprisoned immediately. I can use those three to stave off the power backlash. Once I recover, I will certainly be able to break those barriers in a few days!”

“It’s just women?” Di Shan was stunned. “That simple?”

“Yes.” Shi Yan nodded.

Yu Rou’s cheeks flushed crimson, her beautiful eyes glistening. She chuckled lightly. “This brat must be cultivating some evil technique, hehe. It seems he’s quite the lecher. Well, if it’s just women, that’s an easy problem to solve. Zhameng, let’s go to your side together, and have your son Zha Ji hand over those three human maidens. You have no objection, right?”

“N-no objection.” Zhameng paused, casting a strange glance at Shi Yan, then forced himself to agree.

“Take him.” Di Shan nodded toward Yu Rou, his black wings fluttering as his figure began to blur.

“Brat, as long as you can break those barriers for me, let alone those three human women, even women from the Yin Charm Clan or the Wing Clan—if you fancy one, we can find her for you,” Yu Rou giggled softly. “We have no shortage of exceptionally beautiful women here. I can let you fully experience the allure of alien women…”

Lifting Shi Yan, Yu Rou blinked in and out of existence in the void like instantaneous teleportation, gradually closing in on the great stone ancient city.

Shi Yan’s eyes were now entirely crimson, his breathing growing heavier. As Yu Rou’s delicate hand held him, catching the faint, orchid-like fragrance, his mind was already beginning to stray unrestrainedly.

Suspended in the void, Shi Yan looked up at the exquisite, noble beauty whose skin was as pure and flawless as white jade. His gaze became increasingly lost in delirium.