It was night.

The bright, clear moonlight was like pristine, flowing water, spilling generously across the vast land.

It was as if everything in the world had been draped in a layer of silvery-white frost.

A crisp chill, unique to autumn and winter, seeped through the air, adding a deeper sense of silence and cold to the night.

Atop a rock in the mountains.

Hu Qi sat cross-legged, his head tilted slightly back, his gaze fixed on the full moon hanging high in the sky.

Relying on his astonishing eyesight,

he could clearly see every detail of the bright moon.

The moon in this world was exceptionally large and bright. It emanated a soft yet cold radiance, illuminating the night sky as if it were day.

However, due to the peculiar nature of this world,

the moon here was not a celestial body in the conventional sense, but rather a special kind of natural phenomenon.

It hung there leisurely, much like a white cloud drifting freely in the sky.

And because of this, its surface was perfectly smooth.

It had none of the craters or similar marks formed by celestial gravity.

From a distance, it looked just like a giant white disk.

Hu Qi slowly retracted his gaze and turned to the screen of light that had appeared before him.

[Host: Hu Qi (Fang Xi)]

[Status: Normal]

[Age: 19]

[Talent: Spirit Devouring, Twisted Light, Primordial Eye]

[Skill: Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill△ (Elephant Heart Chapter Seventh Layer) Traits: Crimson Sun Flame Fire Seventh Layer, Demon Elephant True Power Seventh Layer]

[Dream Eye: Mirror Person, Bone Shattering Hammer, Blood Red Rope, Deceitful Hair, Blood Gloves...]

...

[Modification Point: 13668 (64%)]

The panel on the light screen hadn’t changed much compared to before.

The most obvious change was in the Dream Eye section, which now included the eleven Dream Eyes he had obtained from the Security Bureau.

Including the three he had acquired in the Happiness Garden District and the four from the train, he now had a total of eighteen Dream Eyes.

The Modification Point value had also increased by nearly two thousand points.

After devouring many Dream Eyes in succession, Hu Qi realized that different ones provided varying amounts of Modification Points.

Some with weaker power provided only a little over one hundred points.

Others, however, could provide nearly four hundred.

He guessed this was probably related to the strength of the power contained within each Dream Eye.

However, regardless of the type of Dream Eye, it was all the same for the Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill.

Their effect was the same; each Dream Eye counted as a single unit toward upgrading the Cultivation Technique.

At this thought, Hu Qi’s gaze involuntarily fell upon the Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill in his Skill panel.

The four Dream Eyes he had acquired on the train had already smoothly advanced the Cultivation Technique from the Third Layer of the Elephant Heart Chapter to its current Seventh Layer.

Now, with eleven more Dream Eyes, it meant the Cultivation Technique could be upgraded even further.

Hu Qi didn’t hesitate.

A thought crossed his mind.

’Crimson, modify for me. Upgrade the Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill to the Ninth Layer of the Elephant Heart Chapter!’

The moment the thought formed, the number in the Modification Point section instantly decreased by six hundred.

At the same time, a cool stream of air transformed from the Modification Points surged into Hu Qi’s body like a tidal wave.

The Secret Technique he had used during his duel with Li Chengguang had caused a deficit in his Qi and Blood and Crimson Sun Flame Fire.

Although they had mostly recovered,

his originally pale-gold blood had inevitably been significantly depleted, leaving it rather thin.

But now, as the cool stream of air merged with him, his previously thin, pale-gold blood suddenly grew rich and dense.

Its brilliant color was like a flowing ocean of Gold.

Not only that, but even his skin, membranes, and bones,

were gradually suffused with this pale-gold luster as the blood washed over them.

THUMP! THUMP!...

Hu Qi could clearly hear it.

The Elephant Heart in his chest was beating powerfully, like a war drum. With each beat, the golden light upon it grew more intense.

And the remaining portion of crimson blood in his body

was gradually filled and assimilated by the encroaching pale-gold luster.

Half a minute later.

The changes within his body gradually subsided.

Hu Qi looked down at his body and found he had grown even taller, now reaching about 3.9 meters.

Moreover, the muscles on his body had become firmer and harder, as if they contained endless power.

A single slight movement could unleash the might to crush anything.

It was a good thing he had anticipated this and run off to these deserted mountains. Otherwise, if he were in a room, his massive frame would have punched through the ceiling.

Hu Qi looked at the panel again, his eyes on the Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill, Elephant Heart Chapter section.

It first blurred slightly, then became perfectly clear, the information on it having changed to:

[Skill: Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill△ (Elephant Heart Chapter Ninth Layer) Traits: Crimson Sun Flame Fire Ninth Layer, Demon Elephant True Power Ninth Layer]

...

[Modification Point: 13068 (64%)]

Seeing this,

Hu Qi took a moment to perceive his own condition.

With another thought,

he focused directly on the Triangular Rune after the Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill,

and continued the modification and upgrade.

In an instant, he felt the scene around him change abruptly. In the blink of an eye, he was in an empty void.

Hu Qi had experienced this kind of Inheritance Illusion Realm many times before, so he was naturally at ease.

There wasn’t the slightest bit of panic in his heart.

He scanned his surroundings.

Endless darkness spread out wantonly, like thick ink.

Everywhere it touched was deathly silent.

Wisps of a cold, damp aura seeped in from all directions.

It filled the entire space, feeling almost tangible as it drilled through his pores and into his very marrow, making a chill rise from the depths of his heart.

Besides that, flickering shadows danced in the darkness, revealing blurry figures—countless soul-forms wandering endlessly through the void.

They came in all shapes and sizes, each one stranger than the last.

Some of the soul-forms had incomplete limbs.

Their swaying, severed limbs

dangled erratically in the air, looking exceptionally bizarre.

Others had faces twisted beyond recognition, their empty eye sockets filled with endless grief and despair.

From time to time, they would open their mouths and let out hair-raising moans that echoed through the silent void.

The sound seemed to pierce straight into one’s soul, stirring up the deepest fears.

The number of these soul-forms was beyond imagination, densely packed throughout the void.

Some even passed straight through Hu Qi’s body without any obstruction.

But he felt nothing at all.

Just then, a brilliant golden light suddenly flared up ahead.

The light was exceptionally dazzling in the dark void, like a great golden sun rising in the night, radiating a sacred and scorching brilliance.

Those Resentful Spirits, who had been either dazed or filled with ferocity,

were instantly drawn by some powerful force, one after another, like moths to a flame.

They rushed recklessly toward the golden light.

Hu Qi stared intently at the source of the light. He saw the golden radiance grow brighter and more dazzling.

But within the light, there was a faint, pitch-black shadow.

When the light dimmed slightly, Hu Qi finally saw it clearly: it was a gigantic elephant of immense size.

It stood there silently, like a towering mountain peak. Its innate sense of pressure alone was enough to inspire fear.

Raging golden flames burned upon the giant elephant’s body.

The flames seemed to have a life of their own, dancing and rampaging wantonly. With every leap,

they burst forth with a brilliant and terrifying light, as if trying to completely dispel the endless darkness.

Wherever the flames touched, the frantically surging Resentful Spirits were instantly engulfed.

They let out blood-curdling screams,

shrieking strange, incomprehensible syllables.

The sounds echoed through the void, lingering for a long time.

Under the immolation of the flames, their forms disintegrated,

turning into wisps of black smoke that were all absorbed into the giant elephant’s body.

But even so, more Resentful Spirits continued to follow, as if they had completely lost their minds, drawn toward it.

Only at the moment they touched the golden flames did they seem to snap back to their senses, but by then, it was too late.

...

Just then, the giant elephant seemed to sense something amiss and slowly raised its massive head.

In that instant, it was as if their gazes crossed the boundaries of time and space to meet.

The next moment, the surrounding scene shattered like a fragile mirror.

...

A cool night breeze blew past,

stirring the hair on Hu Qi’s forehead

and pulling him completely out of the ephemeral Illusion Realm.

By now, the changes in his body had stopped. From the outside,

he looked no different than before he had entered the Illusion Realm, still possessing that 3.9-meter-tall, mountain-like physique.

With a thought, Hu Qi’s body returned to its normal state.

Immediately after, clothes materialized and draped over him.

’Is it because of the Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill that I’ve somehow resonated with the Demon Elephant from that world?’

Hu Qi’s eyes flickered.