In a scattered mess of a mountain valley.

Zhou Yuan was seated on a boulder. The surrounding Genesis Qi continuously flowed towards him, turning into Heavenly Serpent Qi after being refined by the Ancestral Dragon Scripture. It poured into his Divine Dwelling to replenish his reserves.

After recovering his Genesis Qi, Zhou Yuan did not stop immediately but instead pondered for a moment before submerging his mind into his Divine Dwelling.

Zhou Yuan had currently unlocked and connected eight Divine Dwellings, making it extremely vast. Over 30 million Genesis Qi stars twinkled within, giving off a dazzling radiance.

However, Zhou Yuan’s gaze looked towards the barrier of the ninth Divine Dwelling.

It looked like a mottled shell that was covering the entire ninth Divine Dwelling.

With a thought, light exploded from all 38 million Genesis Qi stars. The light sprinkled down onto the mottled barrier, slowly grinding away at it.

This continued for two hours.

Zhou Yuan’s brows could not help but furrow. There was negligible progress. From this, one could see just how difficult it was to open up the ninth Divine Dwelling.

It truly felt as if he was trying to grind an iron rod into a needle.

Moreover, he had a strange feeling that there was something inside the ninth Divine Dwelling that made it much harder to unlock...

I should have saved that Divine Dwelling Immeasurable Fruit… The thought flashed across Zhou Yuan’s mind, but he soon shook his head. He had a feeling that even the fruit would fail to help him immediately unblock the ninth Divine Dwelling.

There was something strange about his ninth Divine Dwelling that he could not explain.

Zhou Yuan felt a little distressed. It seemed that having a Divine Dwelling of too high a grade brought its own problems.

Plagued by these troubles, he could only withdraw from his Divine Dwelling and open his eyes.

Nearby, Yi Qiushui immediately flew over when she saw him open his eyes.

She asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

Zhou Yuan grinned and nodded. “How’s the scouting going? Are there any problems?”

Yi Qiushui answered, “After carefully searching for half a day, it’s likely that we’re the only team in this mini domain…”

Zhou Yuan was not surprised. In the first place, it was quite unlikely to meet another team in every mini domain. There were uncountable mini domains in the Fallen Abyss, and even several tens of thousands of individuals could not fill them all.

Yi Qiushui smiled and said, “While you were recovering, I sent them to search for Spiritium.”

Zhou Yuan nodded. Although the Fallen Abyss was filled with danger, there were also numerous opportunities. If he intended to unblock his ninth Divine Dwelling as soon as possible, he would likely need to find some kind of special opportunity.

He stood up. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly sensed something and lifted his head to find several figures flying towards them.

The figures soon landed in the valley. It was Shang Xiaoling and a few others.

“Chief pavilion master, we’ve discovered a place rich in Spiritium. However, we’ve also found some very strange things there. We’re guessing that they’re Fallen Shadows,” reported Shang Xiaoling.

“Fallen Shadows?” Zhou Yuan was slightly taken aback. He knew of these Fallen Shadows. Due to the Fallen Abyss’s unique environment, the practitioners that died within it would turn into mindless shadows of their past selves. These existances were known as Fallen Shadows. The shadows retained some of their power from when they were alive, and they also possessed certain special abilities due to the special characteristics of the Fallen Abyss.

These Fallen Shadows were considered one of the most dangerous existences in the Fallen Abyss.

However, Fallen Shadows also came in varying degrees of power. It was said that the Fallen Shadows would grow stronger the deeper they ventured into the Fallen Abyss. In fact, it was even rumored that Law Domain shadows existed.

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment before he said, “Let’s go and take a look.”

Shang Xiaoling nodded before flying off to lead the way while Zhou Yuan and Yi Qiushui followed.

The group travelled at full speed and finally reached their destination an hour later.

Zhou Yuan stood on a hill, his eyes directed to the front where a giant lake could be seen. The lake was covered in mists that completely blocked off one’s senses. Despite this, one could faintly make out flickering light flowing at the bottom of the lake. It was Spiritium.

Currently, several hundred Tianyuan Region members were gathered around the lake. They stared in desire at the lake bottom, but no one dared to rashly step in.

“Chief pavilion master, twenty members entered at the very beginning, but no one has yet to come out. After some probing, we discovered that the mist on the lake is likely a Genesis Rune boundary.

“We gathered a team proficient in Genesis Runes, but the progress has been rather slow and will likely take some time. We’re worried that if it takes too long, the members trapped inside the mist will be at risk,” explained Shang Xiaoling.

Zhou Yuan focused on the thick mist. It seemed to churn without any pattern, but he could keenly sense a peculiar undulation.

“It is indeed a Genesis Rune boundary,” said Zhou Yuan.

Moreover, he could faintly feel a powerful undulation hidden deep within the mist. If his guess was correct, it should be a Fallen Shadow.

“Can it be broken?” asked Yi Qiushui. She knew that Zhou Yuan was one of the most proficient in Genesis Runes among the Divine Dwelling practitioners of the Tianyuan Region.

“I’ll try.” Zhou Yuan fell into thought. Since there were people trapped inside, they could not afford to delay, or things would become dangerous.

His figure moved, flying through the air like a great peng as he cast himself into the thick mists.

When he entered, Zhou Yuan immediately felt his body sink as if he had fallen into a swamp.

Furthermore, the surrounding mist seemed to endlessly rush towards him from every direction. As more and more mist converged around him, Zhou Yuan felt the Genesis Qi circulation in his body turn somewhat sluggish.

Zhou Yuan raised his brow slightly. This boundary is quite problematic. No wonder so many people fell into its clutches earlier.

However, he did not panic. Spirit light began to flicker between his brows, and his Spirit began reaching out to explore the boundary. To destroy it, he needed to find the boundary’s nodes.

It was times like this that Zhou Yuan somewhat missed the Decoder Saint Rune. If it were still around, he would easily find the boundary nodes with a single glance.

Without it, he could only rely on his Spirit and his Genesis Rune proficiency.

Zhou Yuan slowly walked forward, allowing the layers of mist to stick onto his body.

He could see numerous mysterious Genesis marks in the depths of the mist. Together, these Genesis marks made up the mist boundary.

As long as he could decipher the pattern, he would naturally be able to seek out the nodes.

Zhou Yuan carefully observed the marks. Moments later, his eyes flickered faintly as if he discovered something.

As time passed, however, he seemed oblivious to the increasing amount of mist sticking to his body...

Swish!

The mist faintly rippled some distance behind him as an almost invisible silhouette stealthily shot forward. A blow containing terrifying power viciously headed for Zhou Yuan’s back.

Just as the palm was about to hit him, the corners of Zhou Yuan’s lips curved slightly as he muttered to himself, “Finally come out?”

Spirit light flickered between his brows as Spirit fire erupted and swiftly enveloped his body.

Chch!

The thick mist that stuck to his body was instantly burned away by the Spirit fire.

The Genesis Qi circulation in his body immediately returned to normal.

The Heavenly Yuan Brush appeared in his hand, pulsing with majestic Genesis Qi as it thrust towards a certain spot behind him like lightning.

Thud!

Two forces collided, causing a berserk shock wave to sweep outwards.

Zhou Yuan’s figure jerked slightly as he took a step back, and the silhouette was also forced back. Realizing that Zhou Yuan had not been bound by the mist, it immediately turned around to hide itself in the mist.

Zhou Yuan chuckled as he flicked a finger at it, sending out a dozen balls of Spirit fire.

However, the Spirit fireballs did not chase the silhouette but instead charged into the mist in different directions.

Zhou Yuan displayed a faint smile. “Since you’ve shown yourself, I’ll begin by burning your nest.”

Zhou Yuan already knew the silhouette was a Fallen Shadow the moment it appeared. The entire boundary had been drawn in when it attacked, allowing Zhou Yuan to see the boundary’s nodes.

Thud!

The mist boundary violently rippled as his voice rang out. A muffled groan followed as a wave of fire unfurled, and the thick mist thinned.

The boundary had been broken!

Swish!

The mist rapidly dissipated as an angry roar thundered. A blurry figure shot out from the fading mist, unleashing a frantic barrage of attacks on Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan was finally able to take a good look at the silhouette. It retained a human appearance, but its body gave off a faded sensation. Its face was blurry, and the strong Genesis Qi undulations that spread from its body would make anyone wary.

Clang! Clang!

Zhou Yuan waved the Heavenly Yuan Brush, blocking every attack that was sent toward him.

As the mist dissipated, his eyes suddenly widened. He had discovered twenty vortexes in the lake, a human figure trapped within each one. Tubes made from water reached out from the vortexes, connecting to the Fallen Shadow.

Red qi was continuously being extracted through the tubes.

It was blood qi.

The Fallen Shadow was extracting their blood.

Zhou Yuan frowned slightly. He waved his sleeve, sweeping up the remaining mist as he shouted, “Bombard it!”

The several hundred Tianyuan Region members around the lake likewise discovered the Fallen Shadow. Genesis Qi immediately erupted from them when they heard Zhou Yuan’s shout.

Boom!

In the next instant, several hundred torrents of Genesis Qi ruthlessly blasted the Fallen Shadow.

Boom boom!

Genesis Qi exploded, and the Fallen Shadow released a miserable shriek. Its body rippled violently and began to fade as it staggered backwards.

Sensing the direness of the situation, the Fallen Shadow suddenly transformed into a blur and fled towards the depths of the lake.

Swoosh!

However, a shadow instantly appeared in front of it the moment it moved.

Zhou Yuan’s five fingers clenched into a fist as snow-white brush hairs wrapped around his hand.

Genesis Breaker!

The hairs turned pitch-black.

Thirty-eight million Genesis Qi stars twinkled behind him.

Boom!

The punch struck the Fallen Shadow’s rippling body. A piercing shriek erupted before its entire body blasted apart.

Zhou Yuan clearly saw a dazzling core emerge from the epicenter of the explosion, and he immediately grabbed it.

It was a fist-sized orb.

The orb was crystal-clear and seemed to contain a unique power.

Before Zhou Yuan could identify it, the orb rapidly melted and flowed into his body through his palm.

Zhou Yuan cried out in surprise. Before he could inspect the interior of his body, his heart shook as a dazzling radiance suddenly exploded from his eyes.

A thin layer of the solid ninth barrier in his Divine Dwelling had stealthily melted off...