Gurgle... Gurgle...
That strange, rhythmic sound echoed through the green, churning tide. Flying cautiously through the ever-widening gap, Feng Yunwuji beheld a vast, cavernous space—and hanging high above were several enormous orbs, each the size of a millstone, radiating halos of light.
Bathed in the glow from the overhead orbs, Feng Yunwuji finally saw clearly where he had arrived.
It was the interior of a colossal sea creature, grotesque beyond words: the head of an ox, the body of a crocodile, the tail of a serpent, and four legs as thick as ancient tree trunks. Its hide was rough and seemingly impenetrable—but however it had happened, this creature was undeniably dead. More astonishingly, it seemed to have been devoured by an even greater beast and now rested within that predator's stomach.
Amazement gripped him. If the stomach alone was as vast as the underground water prison—or perhaps even larger—then how unimaginably massive was the creature that owned it?
The fleshy walls of the stomach glowed crimson, wrinkled and pulsing with veins as thick as tree roots, thunderous gurgling sounds rolling through the space. Below, a sea of green fluid churned, slowly dissolving the corpse of another deep-sea monstrosity, one shaped vaguely like a horned rhinoceros.
From one nightmare to another, Feng Yunwuji felt an impossible mix of emotions. Worse still, this new creature seemed far more powerful than the beast he had just escaped. The green liquid below bubbled and boiled, releasing waves of choking stench.
From a distance, Feng Yunwuji unleashed a slash of sword energy at the edge of the fleshy wall—only to see the strike absorbed like a breeze over water, not even leaving a mark. Expected… yet still unsettling.
Hovering in the air, gazing down at the surging green tide, Feng Yunwuji frowned. How in the world was he supposed to get out of this?
Time passed in stillness. He didn't know how long he remained frozen in thought before finally letting out a helpless sigh. No solution presented itself.
His eyes wandered upward, toward the massive glowing orbs, neatly arranged in rows and radiating dim yellow halos. His curiosity stirred. With a swift movement, he flew toward one of the enormous, translucent orbs.
Up close, it shimmered like crystal, wisps of smoke swirling within. Even from a short distance, he could feel the flow of true qi within him accelerate.
"This… this is an incredible treasure!" he muttered, eyes gleaming. These orbs, he surmised, must be the inner cores—neidans—of this colossal creature. Such spiritual gems were the very essence of long-forged power, born from chance and the accumulation of time. To have so many… he couldn't even begin to guess how long this monster had lived to form them.
What tempts a warrior more than anything? First: martial techniques. Second: raw power. And here, a whole row of top-grade neidans lay before him. How could Feng Yunwuji resist?
A dark gleam flashed in his eyes. With a surge of demonic energy, he reached out with both hands and grasped a core the size of a millstone. Then, with practiced ease, he unleashed his modified "Star-Devouring Art."
Dense black mist enveloped the massive orb, shifting and writhing as it began to absorb the essence within.
Feng Yunwuji closed his eyes, a look of bliss spreading across his face as he drank deeply of the beast's boundless power.
Gurgle... The fleshy walls trembled violently, and the green sea below surged in protest. But Feng Yunwuji neither looked nor listened—his focus was singular.
"This creature must be at least several hundred million years old," he thought with certainty. The core was unbelievably dense, resisting absorption and pushing back with powerful recoil. But the "Star-Devouring Art," shameless and domineering as it was, could overcome such resistance—it would just take a little more time.
The orb slowly began to shrivel, and Feng Yunwuji's greed only intensified. Without hesitation, he expanded his technique, sending streams of black mist to envelop the entire row of orbs. Then he sat cross-legged mid-air, ignoring all thoughts of escape. His sole focus was refining these spiritual treasures.
His true qi surged rapidly. Just one orb had granted him the equivalent of millions of years of cultivation. The exhilaration was overwhelming—he could now sense the thin membrane separating him from the Sword Emperor realm. From this point on, progress would depend not on power, but on the clarity of his heart and mind.
It wasn't his first time multitasking. So while absorbing the cores, he also refined his "Star-Devouring Art," and simultaneously immersed part of his mind into the third realm of the "Sword Soul Embodiment Technique," hoping to glimpse the threshold of the fourth realm—the Sword Emperor's will.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar exploded through the void.
"Where did this little whelp come from, daring to siphon my neidan!?"
Shock jolted Feng Yunwuji awake. He opened his eyes and looked around but saw no one. The Star-Devouring Art continued operating beneath his hands as he asked aloud, "Who are you? Where are you?"
"A human?" The voice sneered. "Is this what humanity calls honor? I've cultivated these cores for hundreds of millions of years—and you, shameless little thing, just helped yourself to one? And now you want to steal the rest?! Is this the way of your kind?"
"I only took one," Feng Yunwuji replied casually. "You have so many… losing one isn't such a big deal, right? At most, it's a loss of, what, eight or nine million years of cultivation?"
"Scoundrel! Cease immediately!" the voice roared. "Do you want to force me to intervene? Or do you not wish to leave this place?"
Feng Yunwuji smirked. If this being could physically enter, it would've dealt with him already. Given its vast age, crushing a junior like him should be effortless. The voice must belong to a strand of divine sense projected inward from outside.
And as for divine sense—Feng Yunwuji wasn't afraid. He might not be able to defeat this creature head-on, but he wouldn't crumble under a mere trace of consciousness either. But what piqued his interest most was that final sentence.
"You... you can send me out?"
"Of course I can," the voice growled. "You think I enjoy having some human squatting in my stomach, siphoning my precious inner pearls? I may be tolerant, but even I have my limits."
The voice belonged to a Kunpeng—an ancient divine beast that had cultivated for untold aeons. In the dark oceans of the Underworld, it had ruled supreme in its whale form, and when it soared into the skies, it became the great roc, wings stretching across thousands of miles.
Feng Yunwuji wasn't stupid. "Where exactly are we now?"
"Thousands of meters above the Demon Realm," the Kunpeng answered without hesitation. "Not far from one of the realm's random teleportation portals."
Joy exploded in Feng Yunwuji's chest, though he kept his face calm. "Then by all means, send me out."
"As long as you don't resist, I'll expel you at once," the Kunpeng replied.
Feng Yunwuji nodded in agreement. Though reluctant to part with so many tantalizing neidans, freedom was within reach—he had no choice but to bury his greed for now.
Transforming into its bird form, the Kunpeng summoned a whirlwind of elemental force within its belly and launched Feng Yunwuji like a missile toward its mouth and out into the world...