Chapter 379: Bountiful Harvest!!!

'Yes!'

【Corpse detected. Retrieve?】

'Yes!'

……

Moving forward, picking up cards all the way.

Picking up cards while rapidly inspecting them.

Internal Strength Card, True Qi Card, Power Card, Skill Card, Equipment Card, Cultivation Card…

Soul-Enhancing Card!

Practice Card!

Soul-Enhancing Card! Practice Card!

Insight Card!

Soul-Enhancing Card…

……

With so many dead, the types of cards retrieved have essentially been fully covered.

The few types of cards with originally low retrieval rates are now all being picked up.

For instance, the Soul-Enhancing Card—this is exactly what Chen Mu most hopes to find now; it directly increases spiritual power, and the more, the better.

His luck has indeed been good—he retrieved ten of them, and two Practice Cards as well.

At this moment.

The once steep contours of the valley are now utterly unrecognizable.

Centered on the former 'Flame Dragon Cave' area, a radius of several li has been scoured and trampled countless times, as if by an invisible giant hand.

Mountains have collapsed, rock layers have flipped, forming a massive circular depression over several li in diameter; at its bottom, faintly visible, is a slow-cooling lake of dark red magma, steaming with twisting waves of heat.

The air is thick with a pungent stench—sulfur, char, and an indescribable, overwhelming stench of blood.

The blood's intensity is so great that even several li away, Chen Mu feels waves of nausea; the residual malevolent spirits within it even cause him a faint sting.

Chen Mu's gaze was quickly drawn to the 'objects' scattered along the edge of the depression, around the magma lake.

They were not complete corpses, but chunks and segments of broken bodies, varying in size.

Dark red, nearly black scales, even detached from their hosts, still reflected a cold, hard gleam under the fading sunlight.

Broken bones, thick as pillars, had jagged, uneven cross-sections.

Dispersed muscle tissue resembled cut blocks of red rock; there were also pools of thick, still-liquid blood, gathered like small lakes…

All of these emitted the terrifying, still-heart-stopping malevolent aura of the Three-Headed Elder Chi Yan.

It is truly dead.

Dead so thoroughly, so fragmented.

Its terrifying regenerative life force, under absolute power and relentless erosion, ultimately failed to create a miracle.

The Ancient Master of Wan Jian' 'Wan Jian Return to Origin' not only extinguished its vitality, but completely shattered and dismembered its immensely powerful body.

Stabilizing his spirit, Chen Mu swiftly approached…

【Corpse detected. Retrieve?】

'Yes!'

Card retrieved. Inspecting now.

Break Through Realm Card!

Chen Mu's spirit surged—he had another Break Through Realm Card.

When specific conditions are met, it allows one to bypass bottlenecks and directly Break Through to the next realm.

A surge of ecstatic joy surged within Chen Mu.

This effectively paved the way for his future breakthroughs.

Once he perfected the Earth Altar Realm's Five Qi Ascending to the Origin, he could use this card to smash through the barrier and ascend to 'Perceive the Divine, Unbreakable'.

This was unquestionably the greatest gain of this journey, aside from rescuing Long Tuti.

Amid his joy, Chen Mu felt a faint confusion.

He had expected that retrieving the corpse of the Three-Headed Elder Chi Yan—a primordial beast famed for its life force—would yield special cards related to 'regeneration' or 'recovery', such as the 'Regeneration Card' he had already obtained.

After all, the demon dragon's ability to regrow severed heads was truly coveted.

Yet what he received was still a Break Through Realm Card.

It seems the abilities of retrieved cards are not entirely tied to the corpse's inherent powers.

Perhaps the Three-Headed Elder Chi Yan's most essential essence lay in its life nature and malevolent might capable of breaking into higher realms?

Suppressing his scattered thoughts, Chen Mu swiftly stored the card and sharply scanned his surroundings.

Around the massive depression, besides the demon dragon's shattered remains, he could see numerous other incomplete corpses—some human, others seemingly fire-elemental creatures born from or summoned by the dragon.

Most were charred and shattered beyond recognition of their former identities.

As for the experts from both orthodox and demonic sides, and even the earth-shaking Ancient Master of Wan Jian, none remained.

Presumably, after the battle ended, all surviving participants had swiftly withdrawn or hidden, and such an entity as the Ancient Master of Wan Jian would never linger here.

Though the people were gone, the 'traces' left behind here were crystal clear.

Especially the piercing 'sword intent' that permeated the air above the depression, filling every inch of scorched earth and atmosphere!

This was no mere residual sword qi—it was a profound understanding and will imprint of the Ancient Master of Wan Jian toward the 'Wan Jian Return to Origin' and the supreme Dao of the sword.

This sword intent was vast and mighty, yet condensed and pure, reaching at least the Seventh Heaven realm!

It lingered like an invisible force field, especially concentrated at several key 'nodes' within the depression.

That was where the Sword River had split, strangled, and ultimately annihilated the demonic dragon's vital parts—where the sharpness radiated, piercing the soul with agonizing acuity.

Ordinary martial artists could not even approach to contemplate it; merely standing several li away, their skin would ache faintly and their spirits grow restless.

But Chen Mu did not retreat—instead, his eyes lit up.

Such a high-level residue of sword intent was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for any sword cultivator to attain enlightenment.

Though it contained destructive and murderous will, extremely dangerous, if one could endure the pressure and glean even a thread or two of insight, the benefit to one's own sword Dao would be incalculable.

Gazing at the core of the massive pit, where the sword intent was most intense, as if countless invisible tiny swords danced and spiraled, Chen Mu's heart stirred.

He did not rashly step into the most dangerous center, but halted at the edge, in a relatively "calmer" zone.

Slowly, he released his own sword intent, already at the peak of the Second Heaven.

"Hum—"

The moment his sword intent appeared, it immediately stirred the residual Seventh Heaven sword intent around him.

Like a brook attempting to merge into an endless ocean, or iron filings drawn to a powerful magnet.

A vast, pure, yet fiercely rejecting and abrasive sword will instantly enveloped, struck, and crushed Chen Mu's sword intent.

Chen Mu's body trembled slightly, his face paled for an instant, then he steadied his spirit, fully activating the Great Luo Martial Scripture, striving to merge his sword intent into it, to perceive, to comprehend, to "assimilate" that higher-level power.

Yet the gap was too great.

Between Second Heaven and Seventh Heaven lay five insurmountable abysses.

Chen Mu's sword intent was like a tiny boat in a storm, barely holding together, utterly unable to penetrate the core of the sword intent ocean, let alone absorb nourishment or gain advancement.

After several attempts, he made no progress whatsoever; instead, his spirit was severely drained, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

"No good—the level difference is too vast. Forcing insight is too inefficient, and risks being wounded by the residual murderous sword intent."

Chen Mu decisively halted his attempt, a flash of resolve passing through his eyes.

This opportunity, once missed, would never return.

The next instant, he pulled out the Insight Card he had just picked up and activated it.

In an instant, a cool ripple swept through his entire mind sea.

The world instantly became utterly different in Chen Mu's eyes.