Henry Dawson was drenched in cold sweat, but compared to the torment from the black broken sword a month ago, this was nothing! The key issue wasn’t whether he could endure such pain, but that his body truly felt like it was about to split apart!

　　Buzz!

　　At that moment, the black broken sword, which had remained motionless, suddenly trembled, like an adult growing impatient with a child’s pestering. An aura of supreme power, as if it could suppress the heavens, surged forth, filling his entire dantian.

　　Henry Dawson felt as if some mysterious power had been injected into his body, and his nearly collapsing dantian immediately stabilized.

　　Boom—the shockwaves still raged and battered, and Henry Dawson’s dantian continued to expand, but the excruciating pain that seemed about to tear him apart was gone.

　　He’d been saved by the black broken sword!

　　Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour!

　　Nearly forty minutes later, the shockwaves in Henry Dawson’s dantian finally exhausted their strength, and the space within his dantian had expanded to four feet in size—more than double what it was before!

　　Everything returned to calm, like the sea after a violent storm, tranquil and undisturbed.

　　Henry Dawson was stunned. Was it over just like that?

　　Why hadn’t even a bit of true essence increased? What was the point of this, just expanding his dantian by more than double—what use was that?

　　What kind of treasure was this!

　　He couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly, but since it could make a demon beast guard it and cause the black sword to react, this ink fruit was definitely no ordinary item! As for what benefit the expansion of his dantian space would bring, perhaps that would only become clear in the future.

　　Henry Dawson stood up. There was still some time before midnight. The cave was too narrow to practice swordsmanship, and it was pouring rain outside. He might as well explore how deep this cave really was.

Chapter 8: Moonshadow Heart Technique

　　Henry Dawson continued deeper into the cave.

　　Although the entrance to the cave was extremely narrow, the further he walked, the more spacious it became. Of course, it wasn’t wide enough to walk sideways, but about enough for three people to walk abreast.

　　After walking for over ten minutes, there was still no sign of reaching the end. Henry Dawson was not one to admit defeat. Once his temper flared, he decided to challenge the cave and insisted on reaching the end!

　　It was pitch black outside, let alone inside the cave, where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Fortunately, there were no forks in the cave, just a single path extending forward, so there was no fear of getting lost.

　　Henry Dawson occasionally struck the cave walls with his longsword, using the faint sparks from the friction to briefly illuminate his surroundings.

　　Another half hour passed, and he still hadn’t reached the bottom of the cave.

　　Anyone else would have turned back by now, but Henry Dawson was stubborn. Since he’d made up his mind to reach the end, he absolutely wouldn’t give up halfway—otherwise, he wouldn’t have endured ten years under the black sword’s trials!

　　As long as it wasn’t a labyrinth, he would eventually reach the end.

　　Another hour later, a faint light suddenly appeared ahead. Though very weak, to someone who had been in darkness for so long, it was like a beacon. Henry Dawson was delighted, but his vigilance grew even stronger, gripping his longsword tighter in his right hand.

　　A few more steps forward, and the light grew brighter, revealing an exit.

　　As he stepped out, his vision suddenly opened up. The moon was bright and the stars sparse—he had entered a secluded valley.

　　Henry Dawson looked up at the sky, not knowing when the heavy rain had stopped. The grass throughout the valley was covered in sparkling droplets, appearing even more lush and green, exuding a vibrant aura.

　　The valley wasn’t large, only about a hundred meters across, surrounded by mountains on all sides—a completely isolated place. The cliffs were so steep that even spirit apes would have trouble climbing to the top.

　　Beneath the western cliff was a small pond, beside which stood a large tree. Its spreading canopy completely shaded the pond, and the leaves swayed gently in the night breeze, making a rustling sound.

　　When his gaze swept beneath the tree, Henry Dawson’s eyes narrowed.

　　A corpse!

　　Leaning against the tree, the head, neck, and hands had already turned to bone, while the rest was hidden beneath a vermilion brocade robe, concealing the ghastly white bones. But the exposed skull alone was terrifying enough.

　　Only now did Henry Dawson recall that not long ago, he had just killed someone!

　　What shocked him was that he didn’t feel any discomfort at all, as if he hadn’t killed a person, but merely slaughtered a chicken or a dog!

　　“The path of martial arts is inevitably filled with killing. Looks like I’ve already adapted ahead of time!”

　　“But I have no intention of becoming a bloodthirsty killer… My bottom line is, no one had better mess with me!”

　　Henry Dawson’s gaze was resolute. He set aside the matter of killing and strode to the base of the tree.

　　The bones of the head and neck were intact. Henry Dawson lifted the corpse’s clothing and saw that three ribs at the chest were broken, with the broken bones lying on the ground, glistening and pure white.

　　“This person must have suffered a blunt force blow while alive, damaging his internal organs, then fled here and died from his injuries!”

　　“This is proven by the intact clothing on his body. If it had been a stabbing weapon, there would be holes in the clothes! And if his enemy had pursued him here, he couldn’t have died in this position!”