Valley of Death

Once he returned to the Eastern Region, Wu Tianyi ran straight towards the Valley of Death, which was only a few hundred miles away from the southern border.

After spending an entire day running, Wu Tianyi finally arrived at the Valley of Death.

The Valley of Death is a vast area that is surrounded by cloud-piercing mountains on all sides and always engulfed by a thick fog, and the only entrance into the valley was a single path from the north.

Near the entrance, there were a couple of Cultivators and treasure hunters who have set up campsites.

The Valley of Death is a dangerous zone with countless powerful beasts dwelling within, but it's also filled with valuable resources and spiritual treasures, hence why many Cultivators come here despite the danger.

Furthermore, the Valley of Death is separated into three sections — the Outer Circle, Inner Circle, and Center Core. According to the book of Divine Medicine, thousand-year-old Spirit Fruits could be found within the Center Core.

However, within the Center Core is filled with demonic beasts at the Core Consolidation realm, and it's no different than suicide for someone at the Qi Condensation stage to enter this area.

With that being said, as long as he has the movement technique Disappearing Steps, Wu Tianyi will be able to avoid almost all danger he encounters.

"Look at him. Does he really plan on entering the Valley of Death by himself?"

The campers there pointed at Wu Tianyi when they noticed him.

"He's either super arrogant or super foolish."

"There are always people like him around here, and I have never seen a single one of them return."

Wu Tianyi ignored the mocking gazes that were staring at him and walked directly into the Valley of Death.

The moment he entered the path, his vision became shrouded by a thick fog that can only be penetrated by spiritual energy, so he concentrated some of his spiritual energy at his eyes, allowing him to see a little bit clearer.

[In my previous life, I had come to this place a few times, and all those times I came here, I never once traveled deeper than the Outer Circle.] Wu Tianyi thought to himself as he slowly made his way to the Inner Circle.

[Hm? That's a Silver Needle Ape.]

Wu Tianyi suddenly noticed a 7-meter tall ape with silver hair that resembled needles standing fifty meters away from him. This Silver Needle Ape not only appeared to be bloodthirsty but it also emitted an aura similar to a human Cultivator at the second level Foundation Establishment.

After seeing this Silver Needle Ape, Wu Tianyi did not immediately run away and remained there to examine the demonic beast.

A moment later, Wu Tianyi grasped the sword handle by his side and activated the Disappearing Step.

In the blink of an eye, Wu Tianyi closed their distance and appeared behind the unaware Silver Needle Ape like a ghost and swung his sword, decapitating the Silver Needle Ape with a single strike.

After killing the Silver Needle Ape, Wu Tianyi used his sword to poke open a hole in the chest of the Silver Needle Ape and dug out a pearl-like object the size of a small rock.

That rock-sized pearl was a Beast Core, the source of a demonic beast's power, something akin to a Cultivator's Dantian, where they store all of their spiritual energy from cultivation.

When a demonic beast dies, some of their spiritual energy remains in its Beast Core, and if a Cultivator uses the Beast Core as though it was a spirit stone by absorbing the energy within it, they can obtain a vast amount of spiritual energy in a short time.

However, absorbing Beast Cores is not perfect and without any flaws, as Beast Cores contain a large amount of impurities that could poison and kill a Cultivator if they are not careful.

[This Beast Core will give me a slight boost once I enter the Foundation Establishment.] Wu Tianyi thought to himself.

[I should take this chance and kill whatever I can and collect their Beast Cores. Even if they become useless to me, I can always sell or trade them for other resources.]

With that in mind, Wu Tianyi began killing every demonic beast he could see and was confident that he could kill.

A few hours later, the pouch Yan Jinxuan gave him was filled with spirit stones and over a dozen Beast Cores from demonic beasts that were between the first level and third level of Foundation Establishment.

During these few hours, Wu Tianyi also arrived at the edge of the Outer Circle and was only a few meters away from entering the Inner Circle.

[If I recall correctly, the fog within the Valley of Death will have numerous effects on your body the deeper you go.]

Wu Tianyi tried to recall these effects as he stepped into the Inner Circle.

The second he stepped into the Inner Circle, Wu Tianyi could feel an invisible pressure surround his body, increasing his weight significantly.

[This is pretty good for body tempering for people below Foundation Establishment.]

While Wu Tianyi treated this extra weight on his body as mere training, if it were anybody else at the Qi Condensation stage, they would definitely not be able to even take a single step without using all of their strength.

After taking a moment to familiarize himself with the new weight on his body, Wu Tianyi began entering deeper into the Valley of Death.

However, after a few minutes of walking, Wu Tianyi noticed that something was off about this place.

It was simply too quiet, and he could not sense any demonic beast in the area.

After walking for a few more minutes, Wu Tianyi suddenly stopped to look at a beast's corpse that had its body sliced cleanly into two halves.

[A Demonic Bear around the seventh level Foundation Establishment realm that was killed with a single sword strike…]

Not many people in this world have the power to kill a Demonic Bear in such a brutal and clean manner, and if anyone wields such power, they are most likely experts at the Core Consolidation realm.

[Hm?]

Wu Tianyi suddenly raised an eyebrow.

A second later, he used his sword to dig a hole in the chest of this Demonic Bear and retrieved its Beast Core.

It seems like whoever had killed this Demonic Bear had forgotten about its Beast Core or simply did not care enough to get it. However, a Beast Core at this level would be worth a fortune even if it was no use to that individual, so there's really no reason why it would be left here.

"Since someone left it behind, don't mind me taking it…" Wu Tianyi mumbled before throwing the Beast Core into his little pouch.

After taking the Beast Core, he continued to delve deeper into the valley.

As Wu Tianyi entered deeper into the Valley of Death, the pressure on his body also became heavier.

When he first entered the Inner Circle, the weight felt like a large boulder. Now, however, it felt no different than carrying an entire mountain, and it was eating up his spiritual energy like a hungry pig during lunch, requiring him to sit down and cultivate for an hour every hour.

Furthermore, he encountered a few demonic beasts that were as strong as the Demonic Bear and had to run away, as he was in no condition to fight them.

By the time he reached the end of the Inner Circle and right outside the Center Core, it had taken him three whole days, and Wu Tianyi had more than enough spiritual energy to break through to Foundation Establishment. But because he still has to eat the thousand-year-old Spirit Fruit before the breakthrough, he resisted the urge and used the excess spiritual energy to strengthen his muscles and bones instead.

[Finally, the Center Core…]

Wu Tianyi stepped into the Center Core with his body covered in sweat.

[Hmm?]

The moment Wu Tianyi stepped into the Center Core, all of the extra weight on his body disappeared like smoke.

However, the instant the weight disappeared, a profound power suddenly assaulted his mind, changing his vision from the foggy valley to the inside of a cave with many paths before him.

[An illusion, huh.]

Wu Tianyi immediately realized the situation he was in and remained calm.

He then sat on the floor and closed his eyes and began to cultivate for an unknown amount of time.

"Why are you here? What do you seek from the Valley of Death?"

A random voice belonging to an old man suddenly resounded in Wu Tianyi's head.

However, Wu Tianyi ignored the voice and remained unmoving.

"Are you seeking an endless source of wealth? Head to the left path..."

"..."

"Do you desire the strength to slay Gods and control Heaven and Earth? Follow the middle path..."

"..."

"What about beautiful women that will heed your every command and satisfy all your lust? Go to the second path to the right..."

Despite Wu Tianyi's silence, the voice continued to resound in his head, clearly trying to tempt him into walking one of the paths before him.

This would continue for a few more hours until Wu Tianyi suddenly opened his eyes that shone a profound light.

"Get out of my mind!" He roared and slapped the floor with his hand at the same time, causing the entire cave to shake violently.

A few moments later, the cave began falling apart with thick fog seeping through the cracks that filled the cave.

Once the fog engulfed the entire cave, Wu Tianyi knew that he'd broken the illusion and returned to the Valley of Death. And although it felt like he had spent many days within the illusion, barely any time had actually passed in reality.

After he broke through the illusion, Wu Tianyi began wandering the Center Core, hoping to encounter the thousand-years-old Spirit Fruit.

However, after walking for half an hour, another illusion attacked him, forcing him to sit back down and attempt to break it once again.