"Hehe, I told you he couldn’t beat you."

Xiao He peeked and poked all the way, her eyebrows dancing with excitement.

Song Yan, however, walked in contemplation, offering no comment.

Senior Brother Kong You was the first opponent Song Yan had genuinely fought against among the Inner Disciples.

Unfortunately, the other party hadn’t taken him seriously.

Therefore, this battle didn’t provide him with much gain.

However, it didn’t really matter.

On one hand, the two Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators at Nanshan Temple, plus the half-move he just exchanged with Senior Brother Kong You, were enough to demonstrate the ease of use of Sleeve Green Snake.

It was ever-changing, agile, and Weird. When sparring with ordinary Cultivators, it could easily and quickly secure victory.

At the same time, if fully activated, its Sword Qi surged powerfully, displaying a solid and fierce momentum, not falling behind even against strong opponents.

Most importantly, the two sword styles, Sleeve Green Snake and Cloud Piercing Sword, could be deployed and retracted at will, sufficient to handle most situations.

On the other hand... in another six months, it would be the Sect Grand Competition, and there would be plenty of people for him to test his sword moves against then.

If what the surrounding Disciples said was true, Senior Brother Kong You was among the top ten in the Qi Refining realm for this Grand Competition.

That would mean that among this group of Disciples, there were nine more strong opponents like him, or even stronger... Reflecting on his Dao path, such a large Sect, with tens of thousands of Disciples.

He was only acquainted with a few of them, which indeed seemed a bit reclusive.

He wasn’t some unsociable freak either.

This was a good opportunity to compete with his fellow Disciples on the same stage and get to know them better... The sun rose and set, and five months passed in a blink of an eye.

At this moment, Song Yan sat calmly, his body’s Spiritual Qi stable and peaceful, yet strands of Sword Qi slowly flowed.

Following a predetermined trajectory, it surged into his eyes.

At a certain moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, golden radiance overflowing from them.

"Hoo... it’s finally done."

Previously, Song Yan’s Cultivation in the Insightful Void Sword Eye was not truly entry-level; he had only practiced a rough outline, initially forming it and possessing the most basic functions.

Later, due to the excessive strain on his eyes from Cultivating this method, he paused for a period.

It wasn’t until a month ago that he resumed Cultivation.

The Cultivation of pupil techniques could truly be described as treading on thin ice, every step fraught with difficulty.

A single mistake could lead to swelling, pain, and soreness at best, or blindness at worst.

After careful Cultivation until now, he had finally completed the first stage of "Guan Xu" Cultivation.

Now, activating the Insightful Void Sword Eye, he could clearly feel the difference from before.

Through his eyes, the trajectories of the surrounding Spiritual Qi flow were clearer.

The speed of the flow was also slower, making it easier to capture.

Looking at Xiao He, who was also "devoted to Cultivation" in the Immortal Cave, the surrounding demonic Qi flow was clearly discernible.

He could even see some things he couldn’t see before... Hmm?

Song Yan was slightly startled.

What is this?

Song Yan focused, and Sword Qi slowly gathered in his eyes.

The wisps of black mist in the air became increasingly clear.

"This is..."

"Devilish Qi...?"

The overwhelming Devilish Flames that surrounded the "Heart Demon" back then were still vivid in his memory, but the scene before him now was much thinner.

He suddenly felt puzzled; this was his own Immortal Cave.

The Wipe Sword Peak of the Dongyuan Immortal Sect’s Inner Sect.

Where did the Devilish Qi come from?

Following the increasingly dense demonic mist, Song Yan’s gaze became even more incredulous.

Finally.

He looked down at his hands... Solid Devilish Qi surged around his body!

"This..."

What was going on?

He examined himself thoroughly but found nothing unusual.

However, the dense Devilish Qi around him could not be faked.

Suddenly, Song Yan had an idea and summoned the liangyi pearl.

"..."

The black and white pearl slowly floated in his palm.

To outsiders, it appeared unremarkable.

But with the enhancement of the Insightful Void Sword Eye, Song Yan saw a different scene.

The moment the liangyi pearl was summoned, the entire Immortal Cave was engulfed by the overwhelming Devilish Qi. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Song Yan was horrified, speechless, and his heart involuntarily began to beat rapidly.

How did the liangyi pearl become like this?

When did it start to change?

Why had he not noticed anything before... He had no way of knowing these questions.

The Devilish Qi flowed like ink, coiling and surging in the air.

He reached out to touch it, but his hand passed through the demonic mist.

Upon closer inspection, he found that the Devilish Qi near the liangyi pearl was circulating and exhaling within it, like breathing.

"..."

Frowning, Song Yan immediately entered the Liangyi Realm.

Fortunately, he could still use his pupil technique while in the Liangyi Realm.

Unexpectedly, the Liangyi Realm was clear and bright, just as it had been before.

Everything was as usual.

The Sword Seed phantom, the withered wood and wind-thunder, and... the Ink Pool.

A heavenly waterfall at the edge of the pool, flowing straight down, rushing endlessly.

The ancient flute, Taotie’s tail, still hovered at the edge of the Ink Pool.

Song Yan frowned slightly and slowly walked forward.

After much thought, his only contact with this Devilish Qi was the Flying Sword "Heart Demon."

Later, the nascent Dao Heart dispelled the Devilish Flames, stripped away the Devilish Qi, and restored the Flying Sword to its original appearance, thus creating the current sword body of Unmoored Boat.

It was also after the "Heart Demon" that such a huge Ink Pool appeared in the Liangyi Realm.

Presumably, the dispelled Devilish Qi did not dissipate.

Instead, it gathered here.

"Hmm?"

Under the Guan Xu state, Song Yan gazed at the Ink Pool, vaguely seeing a particular color.

Even within this ink-colored pool water, that shade of black was exceptionally deep.

If he didn’t have the Guan Xu method, he probably wouldn’t have found any trace of it.

What is this?

That black shadow sank beneath the Ink Pool, and ripples suddenly appeared on the surface, making it difficult for him to see clearly.

But it seemed... to be a human figure.

Song Yan was horrified.

His gaze sharpened again.

He saw the edges of the figure sometimes dissipate, sometimes gather, as if it could melt into the pool water at any moment.

Suddenly.

The "neck" of that shadow moved slightly, as if being pulled by some invisible force.

Its "head" slowly lifted.

Where its eyes should have been, there were only two bottomless hollows.

But what Song Yan hadn’t expected was that the moment their gazes met.

A ripple passed... and the eerie figure vanished from his sight.

Song Yan felt as if he had been transported to another world.

It was as if it had melted into the Ink Pool.

Or, was all of this just his hallucination?

He froze.

That terrifying feeling was like a spider crawling up his spine.

On the surface of the Ink Pool, the ripples slowly subsided.

But in his mind, the image of that strange figure from just now still faintly reappeared.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but in the instant before it disappeared, Song Yan seemed to see its mouth stretch into a silent smile.

A faint whisper came from his ears.

The whisper was initially blurry and indistinct, then gradually became clear... "You finally found me."