If Xiang Shaoyun wanted to gather 10 million contribution points, he had to kill stronger devils. If he only focused on killing Devil Kings at the second layer, he would probably take a very long time to get that many contribution points.

Therefore, he planned to go temper himself at the third layer and consolidate his newly gained strength while he was at it. That would prepare him to face the entrance test of the Dragon Phoenix Academy.

The freaks and geniuses of the strongest organizations and hidden clans of the dominion were no pushovers. If he wanted to stand out among them, he had to further increase his strength. He was planning to go alone, but since Huo Xudong and Shou Xie were here, he wanted to take this opportunity to test them. The two were shocked to hear what he said. They were only ninth-stage Kings. Entering the third layer rashly would most likely result in death.

Shou Xie waved his hand and rejected without hesitation, "Young Master Xiang, stop messing with me. That place is filled with Devil Emperors. I will only die if I go." He continued solemnly, "Young Master Xiang, if you really have a devil taming technique, please do trade it to our Myriad Beast Sect. We are still quite wealthy. Just name your price."

Shou Xie made it very clear what he wanted, hoping to get a satisfactory answer from Xiang Shaoyun. To his disappointment, Xiang Shaoyun gave a straightforward reply, "I don't have any devil taming techniques."

Shou Xie did not believe that and concluded that Xiang Shaoyun was unwilling to make the trade. He sighed in disappointment and said, "Fine. See you at the Dragon Phoenix Academy entrance test. Bye."

After saying that, he bowed slightly and saluted Xiang Shaoyun before hopping on his four-winged mantis to leave.

Looking at Shou Xie, who had left in a straightforward fashion, he muttered with a pensive look, "A big-hearted gentleman."

He then looked at Huo Xudong. "Brother Huo, are you coming with me or are you going to return to the city?"

Huo Xudong hesitated for a bit before saying, "I will go with you. If things look bad, I will leave. You know my strength. I doubt it's enough in the third layer."

"Haha, you are gutsy. Let's go," said Xiang Shaoyun with a hearty laugh. He then wrapped his arm around Huo Xudong's shoulder and started heading toward the third layer's entrance.

They were still located within the devil wind beast territory, but no new devil wind beasts were coming after them. The beasts were most likely still in a state of confusion after losing the yin devil wind.

A day later, Xiang Shaoyun and Huo Xudong encountered a new type of devil known as the bewildering shell devil. They had the shape of a beetle yet were extremely large. On their tough shells were numerous wondrous patterns.

Like a group of moving hills, they charged toward Xiang Shaoyun and Huo Xudong, presenting a dreadful sight. All of them were Devil Kings, and there were more than 10 of them in total. The devil earth energy they emitted emanated a sense of thickness and heaviness, the gravity field around them suffocating.

Xiang Shaoyun sent one Gold Helix Fist after another forward and was only able to penetrate the shell of one bewildering shell devil and kill it with great difficulty. Huo Xudong was also working with his mount to fight the bewildering shell devils.

Although Huo Xudong's attacks were powerful, he couldn't easily break through their defensive shells. He needed three to five attacks before he could even deal any sort of damage to them. The gravity field the bewildering shell devils were releasing was also greatly affecting the movement speed of him and his mount.

Xiang Shaoyun and Huo Xudong worked together and were finally able to kill all the bewildering shell devils after a difficult battle. However, just as they thought they could get some respite, an even larger bewildering shell devil popped out from under the ground and charged them.

This newly appeared bewildering shell devil was a first-stage Devil Emperor, and the gravity field around it was at least 100 times stronger than normal gravity. Both of them were momentarily stunned.

"Brother Huo, watch out!" Xiang Shaoyun was the first to recover from his shock and quickly pushed Huo Xudong away. He was unable to do anything else in time and was sent flying by the bewildering shell devil.

Sphhlt!

Like a kite with a broken string, he flew away and crashed heavily on the ground over 100 meters away.

"Brother Xiang!" Huo Xudong cried out in alarm. He quickly blasted the bewildering shell devil with his weapon, attacking at his full power. He was able to eventually force the bewildering shell devil to flee underground. He then quickly arrived beside Xiang Shaoyun. A depression was visible on Xiang Shaoyun's chest, and Xiang Shaoyun was coughing blood without stop.

"How are you, Brother Xiang?" Huo Xudong asked anxiously.

"B-brother Huo, th-that damnable bewildering shell devil has broken through my defense. M-my heart...I-I don't think I can last any longer...," Xiang Shaoyun said weakly while coughing blood.

"What? Brother Xiang! You must survive!" Huo Xudong cried out anxiously.

"I-if it wasn't for Ugly Gambler's poison flaring up suddenly, I-I w-wouldn't have b-been hit by that attack...Brother Huo, i-ignore me. Leave!" Xiang Shaoyun said weakly as a dark shade started covering his face. This was the sign that the poison had invaded his heart.

"How can I leave like this? I considered you a good friend from the moment I first saw you. I won't watch on as you die. Take out and use some of your spirit medicines and antidotes. That might help," Huo Xudong persuaded.

Although he looked anxious, inwardly, he was thinking, This kid can't be feigning his injuries, right?

"Th-the p-poison has invaded m-my heart. Brother Huo, just leave without me. I don't want to be a burden to you. If I am lucky enough to s-survive this, we will meet again in the future..." Xiang Shaoyun forced himself to stand up, but his body was swaying weakly. Evidently, he would not be able to live on much longer.

"Brother Xiang...," Huo Xudong cried out again. Xiang Shaoyun ignored him and continued walking toward a certain direction. But he had barely taken several steps before he collapsed onto the ground.

Huo Xudong rushed over, a dagger in hand. Inwardly, he thought, This kid has definitely been harmed by poison. But I don't know for sure if that is enough to kill him. I’ll give him a stab to be sure. His secret will be mine, and I can also complete the assassination mission while I’m at it.

"Die!" Huo Xudong stabbed the dagger at Xiang Shaoyun's head.

Just as the dagger was about to hit, a breeze blew past, and Xiang Shaoyun's body drifted to the side. Xiang Shaoyun turned around, looked at Huo Xudong, and said coldly, "You are indeed up to no good."

Huo Xudong blanked out slightly. He then smiled and said, "Hehe, Brother Xiang, you are quite a good actor, aren’t you? You fooled even me!"

He had always been a cautious person and had only decided to make a move after seeing the dark shade on Xiang Shaoyun's face and confirming that he had been poisoned. Alas, he had still been fooled.