A small hill appeared ahead. After Henry Dawson felt his way over, he discovered that between two large rocks there was actually a narrow hole just wide enough for one person to pass through, extremely well hidden.

He thought for a moment, then dove right in, just in time to take shelter from the rain.

Once inside, Henry Dawson realized the cave was actually quite deep, pitch black, with no end in sight.

He first sat cross-legged to restore the true energy he had expended. With the large amount of food in his stomach now digested, and having not eaten for several hours, he suddenly felt ravenously hungry.

He took out a few pieces of pre-roasted jerky from his backpack. Although cold and hard, there was no way he could gather branches to make a fire at this moment, so he could only gnaw on them slowly. But when you're hungry, it doesn't taste bad at all—soon, a large piece of jerky was gone.

With his stomach full and his true energy mostly restored, Henry Dawson naturally felt much more confident. In this special place, even if those seven people chased him here, he wouldn't be afraid—he could hold the pass alone, and kill anyone who came!

Thinking of his pursuers, Henry Dawson hurriedly took out that jet-black fruit. What kind of treasure was this, guarded so diligently by the three-tailed wolf eagle and able to trigger a reaction from the black broken sword?

As soon as he took out the fruit, a faint glow appeared in the cave—the fruit actually emitted light!

Although it wasn't very bright, and the cave was well hidden, Henry Dawson still didn't dare take any risks. He walked a long way further into the cave. Now, not only was the light from the ink fruit limited, but even if he lit a fire, it would be impossible to spot from outside!

Henry Dawson carefully examined the fruit.

In the darkness, the fruit emitted a gentle glow. Though faint, it was enough to reveal its full appearance.

Henry Dawson brought the fruit closer. Beneath the thin skin, it was dazzling like a sky full of stars, filled with countless glowing specks. It was these starlike points of light that made the fruit glow.

If he removed the outer layer, the light would surely be much stronger!

Henry Dawson thought to himself, but had no intention of breaking the skin. If the juice inside sprayed out, this exotic fruit would be wasted!

This was definitely a rare treasure! But how to use it was a problem.

Henry Dawson couldn't help but hesitate. He was sure this fruit was a heavenly treasure, but spiritual fruits and exotic herbs couldn't be eaten casually. Some required careful combination like medicine, some were too potent and needed to be taken in several doses.

If he ate it recklessly, would something go wrong?

Huh?

Just as he was hesitating, he saw the starlight inside the ink fruit dim a little!

Could it be that if you don't consume it immediately after picking, its medicinal power will dissipate?

In just an instant, the ink fruit dimmed even more.

Henry Dawson hesitated no longer. He tossed the ink fruit into his mouth, closed his eyes, and swallowed it whole!

As soon as the ink fruit entered his throat, the skin broke apart, releasing a burst of juice that instantly turned into a stream of icy liquid, rolling down into his stomach.

Boom!

Henry Dawson looked inward at himself, and saw that the liquid seemed to be made of countless stars. The moment it reached his stomach, it suddenly burst apart, turning into countless sparkling starlight particles that entered his bloodstream and surged throughout his body.

Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, when these starlight particles reached his lower abdomen, they immediately rushed toward his dantian.

Henry Dawson was startled, thinking the black sword was about to "steal the prize" again, but when the starlight particles entered his dantian, the black broken sword remained motionless, while the starlight particles dotted the dantian.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—before long, all the starlight particles had flowed into the dantian through his blood, like a sky full of stars. Henry Dawson's consciousness roamed among them, as if flying through a vast galaxy—magnificent and grand.

Boom!

Suddenly, one starlight exploded, forming a shockwave that rippled through the entire dantian.

What!

Before Henry Dawson could react, another starlight exploded, then a third, a fourth!

Like a chain reaction, almost all the starlight exploded at once, forming wave after wave of shockwaves that rampaged wildly through Henry Dawson's dantian!

Henry Dawson's whole body trembled violently, as if being struck repeatedly, feeling as though his dantian was about to burst!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wave after wave surged through, forcibly expanding his dantian bit by bit. The force of these shockwaves didn't dissipate completely, but instead, like waves crashing on a shore, after hitting the embankment, they rolled back and surged to the other side.

The dantian is a truly mysterious place. The human body isn't that big, but as Henry Dawson saw with his inner vision, his dantian space was already a circular area three feet in diameter—he could tell by comparing it to the size of the black broken sword.

Now, under the shockwaves from the exploding starlight particles, his dantian space had forcibly expanded to about three feet two inches, and was still growing!

But this was about to burst him open!

Pain! Excruciating pain! Unimaginably intense pain!