Xiang Shaoyun had awakened. However, he still couldn’t see anything, not even his own hands. Even so, he had regained his willpower. He was no longer giving up on life, and instead, he vowed to think of a solution to free himself from his current predicament.
“Since this place can turn everything into darkness, it must contain the power of darkness. If I can comprehend the profundity of darkness, I might be able to figure out what’s going on here,” Xiang Shaoyun concluded upon regaining his clarity of mind.
He then started recovering, regaining his vitality and clarity of mind. Soon, he circulated his cultivation method and absorbed the dark energy in his surroundings. His dark star grew at a rapid speed. Upon absorbing the dark energy, he noticed its immense purity and density. He had only absorbed a bit, yet the energy in his dark star had become far more plentiful.
One ought to know that he was already a second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm practitioner, and his stars possessed a rather massive storage capacity. Thus, the density of the dark energy here amazed him. He increased his absorption speed, increasing his dark energy again and again. At the same time, he started chanting the Desolation mantra, trying his best to comprehend the truth behind darkness.
Darkness, something capable of bringing fear and hopelessness, a power generally regarded as evil. In truth, it was one’s heart that was evil, not the power of darkness. Darkness was capable of blocking the light, obstructing one’s sight, and corroding all life. How should he survive amid darkness? How should he gain the ability to control the power of darkness?
As Xiang Shaoyun had never cultivated dark elemental battle techniques, he was rather unfamiliar with controlling the power of darkness. Fortunately, it was at this time that he noted the activity within his blood, as if his bloodline possessed some sort of affinity with the power of darkness.
Thus, Xiang Shaoyun activated his bloodline power, channeling the dark energy around him into his bloodline as he attempted to form a resonance. Sure enough, the moment he activated his bloodline, the dark energy directly poured into his blood, causing his blood to boil. It was as if his bloodline power had become much thicker.
The devils grew by absorbing devilish energy, and similar to astral energy, devilish energy had numerous properties. As one of the Four Paramount Devil Clans, the Imperial Nether Clan absorbed dark elemental devilish energy, which was also the source of their trait of invisibility. With the power of darkness, they could stay invisible for a longer time.
At that realization, Xiang Shaoyun grew excited. He channeled a massive amount of dark energy into his blood, cleansing his bloodline and slowly reaching for the profundity of darkness.
Darkness was lonesome, darkness was profound, darkness was endless… Numerous thoughts surfaced in his mind.
During this time he was blinded, those were exactly the feelings he had been experiencing. Suddenly, he touched the edge of the profundity of darkness. Only a thin layer of blockage stopped him from comprehension.
Although thin, the blockage was stubborn and refused to move aside, causing him to be rather gloomy. Fortunately, his trait of invisibility seemed to have merged completely with darkness, while his eyes seemed to have also adapted to his environment, allowing him to regain his sight. He finally understood that he hadn’t been blinded. He had merely been fully shrouded in darkness to the point he couldn’t see anything, getting the impression that he was blind.
Now, through absorbing the dark energy around him and strengthening his bloodline, he was able to merge with the power of darkness around him. It granted his senses the ability to interact with his surroundings.
Xiang Shaoyun’s mood improved greatly after regaining his sight. Instead of thinking about leaving, he calmed his emotions and continued absorbing the dark energy around him. The dark energy here was incredibly pure. It would be hard to find a source of dark energy like this anywhere else. In a sense, this was the truest power of darkness.
Xiang Shaoyun, understanding that, was in no rush to leave. He had to make use of this opportunity and absorb even more dark energy before thinking of leaving. After an unknown amount of time, he improved massively. With the help of the Desolation mantra, he also finally comprehended the profundity of darkness.
At the same time, he reached mid second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm. After comprehending the profundity of darkness, he was able to sense a force tugging him toward a certain direction as if it was calling him over. That sensation came at the right timing, as he was just trying to look for an exit. He thus started heading toward the calling.
Xiang Shaoyun flew at top speed, and that continued for an untold amount of time before he sensed that something seemed to be wrong. He had actually sensed life, which caused him to be astonished. Just what kind of life form was capable of living in this kind of environment?
Suddenly, a sense of danger rose within him. Without any hesitation, he dodged to the side, and a wave of energy rushed through his original position, causing him to break out in cold sweat.
“Who is it?” Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed in alarm. His Goldplates appeared, protecting his entire body.
Hiss! Hiss!
Suddenly, three tiny dark figures appeared on the surface of his Goldplates. If it wasn’t for the Goldplates, the three dark figures would have injured him. Upon closer look, he found that the three figures were actually three black snakes.
They were about as thick as a thumb, and their entire bodies were pitch black, about a meter in length. Each of them had a crest on its head, making it look different from an ordinary snake.
“These are the legendary spatial crested snakes!” Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed as all his hair stood on end.
The spatial crested snakes were a type of snake living in the endless void. They looked like they were ordinary snakes, but they were capable of living in the void and blending into darkness. These snakes were generally undetectable.
They were incredibly blood-thirsty, and the moment a different life form appeared near them, they would attack. They were capable of moving through space and hiding in darkness, granting them the ability to move undetected. Not many people could avoid an attack from one of them.
The moment one was bitten, one’s chance of survival was low due to the snake’s terrifying poison. With his sharp senses and his comprehension of the profundity of darkness, Xiang Shaoyun was able to move here like a fish in water. That was how he was lucky enough to avoid their previous attack.
Otherwise, that one attack would have been enough to kill him. The three spatial crested snakes were currently biting his Goldplates, and even with the Goldplates’ incredible defenses, they still cracked. The terrifying poison seeped through the cracks and headed toward him.
Without any hesitation, Xiang Shaoyun erupted with his energy and sent the three snakes flying away before quickly attacking the snakes with finger beams. However, before his attacks could land, all three snakes vanished amid the darkness.
