The cave's dome was vast and the path ahead was nowhere to be seen. Looking up felt like gazing into the deep sky, creating a strong sense of distance. The sound of an underground river flowing through it was constant. Shi Jinzhe had no idea how long he had been walking.

The terrain here resembles a canyon or cave, lacking exquisite detail but possessing a grand and imposing presence. The scratches on the rock walls look familiar, identical to the chisel marks left by Shekh when he carved out the mountain and opened up a path.

The thorns still remain, and they are still determined to reclaim the snake's molted skin, only to inflict new wounds when the time is up.

However, the snakes he encounters along the way will follow him for a while, and this is when he is safest.

In the underground world where there is no day or night, Shi Jinzhe worked tirelessly without rest, using unimaginable willpower to forge a path that ordinary people could not comprehend.

Following the golden thread's guidance, he entered another fork in the road and found an underground waterfall at the end of the path.

Sunlight streamed in from the top of the waterfall. He squinted his sore eyes, tears welling up as he struggled to open them again.

It is an export.

Water splashes around the circular sky cave, and the silvery waterfall plunges straight down into the dark green pool. The surface of the water is calm and unfathomable; the force of the hundred-meter-high waterfall has not stirred up any waves.

When time runs out, a stone is thrown in, and the still waters run deep, the deep pool connecting to an underground river.

The icy water vapor formed a thin white mist on the surface of the deep pool. He checked the separation status of his skills and found that it was not enough to give him the ability to fly and regenerate severed limbs.

Shi Jinzhe grabbed a thorny branch that had attacked him, tied it around his waist as usual, secured the snake molt folded in his clothes, and plunged into the water.

The turbulent current beneath his feet kept pulling him downwards. Losing his left arm had caused him many inconveniences, and he wasn't used to swimming with one hand. Every time he turned his head to breathe, he would swallow a mouthful of icy cold water. His body was icy inside and out, and the frigid water caused his body temperature to drop rapidly, barely washing away the blood that had congealed on his body.

When he reached the waterfall, the pressure of the water was so strong that it pushed him towards the bottom. The surging water wrapped around his neck, giving him a near-drowning feeling several times.

The undercurrents never ceased, and he felt as if he were trapped in a cage. The pool seemed to want him to stay there forever, its ripples locking him in place, causing him to rise and fall several times.

Underwater, brambles had appeared out of nowhere, curling up his body from the depths and choking him in the icy water. The oxygen he inhaled was stolen, and water was everywhere—his ear canals, eye sockets, nasal cavity, and throat were all affected.

His old wound reopened, and he was pulled back into the water, leaving only a layer of blood on the surface.

Looking at the nimble thorn vines in the darkness, Shi Jin replaced the [Inner Demon] with [Blood Drinker].

Without the added influence of inner demons, his hands seemed to be nothing but bones and flesh, his grip on the knife loose, the other end of the hand visible through the emptiness.

His body was covered in wounds, and the not-so-large blade was stuck in one open wound, soaking up blood.

Bloodshed would ignite his murderous intent. He swung his knife in the water, cutting the brambles into pieces until the blade curled up and finally broke off and fell to the bottom of the water, leaving him with no knife to use.

Before the new thorny vines arrived, he grabbed a protruding rock and finally managed to steady himself.

Shi Jinzhe, his expression grim, gasped for breath a few times as he looked at his skeletal right hand. At the junction of bone and flesh, his forearm was a bluish-purple color. Only then did he remember that he had been poisoned.

It's just a minor injury, only the loss of an arm; he has to try to climb up.

The dense, twisting blood vessels could also be shaped into a physical form. He switched back to the [Inner Demon] and took the initiative to retreat from its invasion, allowing the distortion of his body to deepen.

The cross-section of the wound on the left shoulder was covered with tangled blood threads, two intertwined, four strands knotted together, and clusters of red threads spiraled out of a strange arm.

Shi Jin swayed his body, using the momentum to swing towards another rock he could grab, and began to climb upwards.

Over the years, the erosion has made the rock face under the waterfall very slippery and easy to lose one's grip. It's not so bad at lower places, but if you fall from a higher place, you could get seriously injured again.

We need to think of a way...

As he pondered, Shi Jinzhe's gaze settled on the brambles around his waist.

It was long enough, with spikes as sharp as nails, and had grown barbs after absorbing Shekh's power and drinking his blood...

It shouldn't be difficult to use it to pierce through a stone wall.

He desperately tore off the brambles that refused to let go, then, grasping one end, he hurled them heavily against the damp stone wall.

The spikes were driven into the stone wall, and after pulling them out several times, they were firmly fixed in place. This method was feasible.

Every half meter along the path, Shi Jinzhe would smash the bramble against the rock face, knocking off several spikes. Not satisfied with its secure hold, Shi Jinzhe would pull it upwards and continue using the latter half as a climbing rope.

As the sky turned red and the sun was about to set, he sped up, despite the pain from the waterfall hitting his body.

The blood-red sunset filled the entire field of vision, and the edge of the sky hole was as smooth as if cut by a knife, dividing the sky in two. Under the strong color contrast, the sky below appeared a bluish-black color.

Something that looked like a hand but wasn't quite a hand clung to the edge of the cave, its raised back propelling its body until it finally snapped back to the ground.

The mountain streams on the surface were much warmer than those underground. He straightened up and walked away, leaving the blood-red sun that shrouded the sky behind him.

The waterfall washed away the blood and mud from his body, and without the obscuring filth, he transformed from a severely injured man into a monster that looked like a human.

His white hair had grown longer, extending beyond his shoulder blades, curling and clinging to his body. The slow healing had only cured his internal injuries; large patches of fresh, torn skin remained on his body.

These wounds turned white at the edges after being soaked in water for a long time, especially the wounds on the waist, which bled when touched.

If you're not going to die, don't worry about it. After a while, I waded through the water and walked towards the shore, finally arriving at the foot of the mountain.

This is the last leg of the journey; he just needs to reach the summit.

Without lingering, his figure disappeared into the mountains and forests once again.