There, nestled an island, its surroundings shrouded in mist, resembling a celestial palace, breathtakingly beautiful.
"Hmm?"
Zhou Yan's pupils contracted, his eyes narrowing. He noticed several wisps of white smoke rising from the depths of the lake.
"There's someone there."
Zhou Yan's expression grew slightly solemn. He remembered clearly that the humans from earlier had not boarded the island.
"Could this be a cave dwelling?"
Zhou Yan mused inwardly, his heart pounding.
"Let's go."
Zhou Yan strode forward, reaching the lakeside.
The lake surface was calm, and at a glance, besides water, there was nothing else.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Zhou Yan's gaze fixed on the lake's surface. He saw a skeleton submerged in the lake.
The skeleton's legs were broken, leaving only a segment of the lower leg dangling above the water. On the skeleton's wrist was a string of emerald bracelets.
"This is..."
Zhou Yan's eyelids twitched. He immediately crouched down, reaching out to touch the skeleton's body. Instantly, a faint green light emerged, flowing into his mind, and a piece of information flooded his consciousness.
"Soul Devouring Curse?"
Zhou Yan's expression flickered with changing emotions. After a moment, a fervent, burning glint appeared in his eyes. He then stood up abruptly, muttering, "The Soul Devouring Curse, rumored to be an ancient evil curse technique, capable of seizing the enemy's soul. After consuming it, it can increase the divine general's primal spirit power."
"It is said that this curse technique can only be wielded by those with a very dilute Soul Devouring bloodline. However, it can also allow a divine general to absorb the flesh and soul of their opponents in combat, thereby strengthening their own soul power, potentially doubling it."
Zhou Yan's mood was somewhat excited. If his speculation was correct, his strength would undoubtedly skyrocket. Moreover, his soul power was not to be underestimated, as he possessed the Dragon Soul inheritance. His soul power had long surpassed that of ordinary Grandmaster realm experts, making him a prodigy. If his soul power were to increase further, his combat power would likely multiply several times over.
With this thought, Zhou Yan's heart burned with anticipation. He eagerly extracted the demon core from the Silver Horned Wolf Spider.
This Silver Horned Wolf Spider's demon core was much larger than that of the peak Divine General realm Crimson Flame Centipede's demon core. Furthermore, its demon core was dark green, with markings resembling those of a snake, clearly indicating it belonged to a highly venomous spider.
"Buzz!"
Zhou Yan activated a secret technique. Instantly, the demon core emitted a dazzling light, and Zhou Yan felt a surge of soul energy flood into his soul.
"Haha, is this soul power?"
A trace of excitement flashed in Zhou Yan's eyes. "I never expected there to be such a good thing. Unfortunately, I can only absorb a little soul power at a time."
The soul power of this demonic beast was a mere drop in the ocean compared to a peak Divine General realm demonic beast. However, this sliver of soul power was extremely pure, free of impurities, and far more potent than the soul power of ordinary demonic beasts, which sent a tremor through Zhou Yan's heart.
"This is... the soul left behind after the death of a demonic beast?"
Zhou Yan was shocked. There was a powerful peak Divine General realm demonic beast in this lake.
"Roar!"
At the same time, accompanied by a furious roar, the depths of the distant lake suddenly churned with colossal waves, and a massive python emerged from the lakebed.
The python was enormous, exuding a cold, ghostly aura. Its scarlet eyes were filled with ferocity and bloodlust, fixated on Zhou Yan on the shore. Then, it whipped its tail, like a javelin, and charged forward with extreme speed, reaching the shore in the blink of an eye.
"Boom!"
However, before it could get close to Zhou Yan, its body suddenly froze. Then, its body vanished into thin air, slain by Zhou Yan's Soul Sword, turning into a sky full of stars and integrating into Zhou Yan's body.
"As expected, all these demon cores contain immense soul power."
Zhou Yan's heart surged with joy. After defeating the Silver Horned Wolf Spider, Zhou Yan had already sensed that his soul seemed to be undergoing a transformation.
Although these demon cores could only aid in his soul's metamorphosis, even a slight improvement would be enough for him to break through to the late Divine General stage. At that point, his soul would be equivalent to a Divine General in the Body Tempering realm.
"There are still quite a few demon cores here."
Zhou Yan's eyes lit up. He quickly swam to the Silver Horned Wolf Spider's abdominal cavity to search for demon cores.
Before long, he found five demon cores in the Silver Horned Wolf Spider's abdominal cavity.
These five demon cores were the most precious inner cores from the Silver Horned Wolf Spider, imbued with an extremely rich soul power. Holding them, one could easily refine a treasure.
It was a pity that Zhou Yan could not take them all. After all, the lake was vast, and the Silver Horned Wolf Spider's corpse was still about a hundred meters from the shore. If he rashly dived down to retrieve the demon cores, he might be discovered by nearby demonic beasts, leading to a battle, which would be troublesome.
"Never mind, I'll deal with it later. Since this place is the Silver Horned Wolf Spider's lair, there must be other demonic beasts present. This place is worth exploring. Since there are no other clues, there's no harm in checking it out."
Zhou Yan pondered, then leaped onto a rock, gazing ahead. He vaguely sensed a strange fluctuation at the end of the lake.
This fluctuation was similar to the mysterious fluctuation he had encountered in the forest earlier.
"Could there be some treasure there?"
Zhou Yan frowned in thought, then flicked his toes and darted out, quickly reaching the end of the lake.
Upon arriving here, chilling low groans echoed in all directions, making Zhou Yan's heart contract. He looked up and saw, in the center of this open area, a statue standing tall.
The statue was over three zhang tall, cast entirely in bronze, lifelike, as if it were alive. The surface of the sculpture shimmered with a brilliant metallic luster, and at the top of the statue was a bud, seemingly about to bloom.
"This... this is..."
Seeing this scene, Zhou Yan's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
"How can there be a spiritual herb here?"
This spiritual medicine was about the size of a fist, crystal clear throughout, like white jade. Under the sunlight, it emitted a multicolored radiance, and a refreshing fragrance wafted through the air.
"Seven-Leaf Ganoderma!"