The Desolate Flame Forest was far quieter than Tianyuan had imagined.
The trees here towered high.
Their trunks were dark.
Their leaves were so dense that they almost blocked out the sunlight.
Tianyuan's steps gradually became more cautious.
He was no longer near the village.
In a place like this…
Origin Beasts could appear at any moment.
Tianyuan walked for nearly two hours.
Throughout the journey, he kept activating the Void Origin Breathing Art.
The qi in the forest was far richer than in Qinghe Village.
But as he had expected…
the black core in his body continued to devour energy without pause.
The energy he had gathered for half an hour…
only made the core slightly more stable.
"Truly gluttonous…"
Tianyuan murmured.
Yet he did not feel disappointed.
On the contrary…
he felt his foundation becoming firmer.
Every stream of qi strengthened his bones and muscles.
His steps felt lighter.
His hearing also grew sharper.
Suddenly—
leaves in the bushes rustled.
Tianyuan immediately stopped.
His hand automatically gripped the hunting knife at his waist.
His eyes stared sharply toward the source of the sound.
Several seconds passed.
Then a small creature emerged from the bushes.
A Grey Fang Rabbit.
An extremely low-level Origin Beast.
Tianyuan let out a soft sigh.
He almost laughed.
"Just a rabbit…"
But the moment he was about to continue his journey—
the black core in his body suddenly vibrated.
The vibration was very faint.
Yet Tianyuan felt it instantly.
He froze.
A strange feeling rose in his chest.
As if something was calling him.
Not from the rabbit.
But from deeper within the forest.
Tianyuan furrowed his brows.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Sensing the core's vibration.
The direction of the call was very clear.
North.
Deep inside the Desolate Flame Forest.
"What is this…?"
He had never felt anything like this before.
But for some reason…
curiosity welled up in his heart.
Tianyuan looked toward the deeper part of the forest.
There, the trees grew even darker.
Thin mist began to appear between the trunks.
That area looked far more dangerous.
Stronger Origin Beasts likely lived there.
If village hunters came to a place like that…
they would almost certainly not return.
Tianyuan hesitated for a moment.
But the vibration of the black core grew stronger.
As if urging him to go.
Finally, he let out a sigh.
"Fine."
"I'll just take a quick look."
He changed his direction.
Heading deeper into the forest.
The farther he walked…
the quieter the atmosphere became.
No birds chirped.
No sounds of small animals.
Only the sound of his own footsteps.
Tianyuan began to feel that something was wrong.
Usually, a forest was full of the sounds of life.
But this place felt…
empty.
He stopped in front of a small open area.
In the center of the area stood a large, cracked boulder.
And around the boulder…
the ground looked as if it had been burned.
Traces of a battle.
But what was strange was—
there were no beast carcasses.
No blood.
Only signs of destruction.
Tianyuan walked closer slowly.
When he was a few steps from the boulder—
the black core in his body suddenly pulsed violently.
BOOM.
Tianyuan froze.
His eyes widened.
He felt something.
An energy that was extremely faint.
Yet incredibly ancient.
That energy came from the crack in the large boulder.
Tianyuan crouched down.
He touched the crack.
The next second—
WHOOSH.
A thin wave of black energy surged out from the stone's crack.
It shot straight into Tianyuan's body.
His eyes widened.
This energy was not like ordinary qi.
Colder.
Deeper.
And the black core in his dantian…
reacted with extreme intensity.
The vortex spun faster and faster.
As if it had finally found truly suitable food.
Tianyuan pulled his hand back quickly.
"What kind of energy is that…?"
He looked at the cracked boulder cautiously.
But before he could think further—
the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly came from behind the trees.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
The steps were incredibly heavy.
As if a huge creature was walking.
Tianyuan immediately stood up.
His hand gripped the knife again.
From behind the forest mist…
a large shadow slowly emerged.
Two glowing red eyes appeared between the trees.
The creature stepped out fully a few seconds later.
Its body was nearly twice as large as the Stone Fang Beast Tianyuan had once fought.
Its skin was like black stone.
Its fangs were long.
And a wild aura far stronger than any he had felt before emanated from its body.
Tianyuan immediately recognized it from the stories of the village hunters.
An Iron Hide Fang Beast.
A mid-level Origin Beast.
A monster that even adult hunters feared facing alone.
The creature stared at Tianyuan.
Then its eyes shifted to the cracked boulder on the ground.
It let out a low growl.
As if something precious had just been taken.
The beast slowly lowered its body.
Its muscles tensed up.
Tianyuan sensed great danger.
This beast…
was clearly not something he could fight easily.
But at that very moment—
the black core in his body pulsed again.
Stronger than ever before.
As if responding to the beast's aura.
The Iron Hide Fang Beast suddenly let out a deafening roar.
Then—
it charged straight toward Tianyuan.
And at the same time…
the black vortex in Tianyuan's dantian began to spin far faster than it ever had before.