?The shaft didn't end in a floor. It ended in a cavern so vast it had its own weather system.

  ?Jiang Chen landed on a ledge overlooking the abyss. Below, a sea of glowing blue mist churned, thick and heavy as oil.

  In the center of the cavern, suspended by thousands of thick, pulsating vines, hung a structure that looked like a heart.

  ?It was the size of a house.

  It beat.

  Thump-thump.

  With every beat, a shockwave of blue spores blasted outward, washing over the cavern walls.

  ?[Zone: The Heart of the Rot.]

  [Atmospheric Toxicity: Critical.]

  [Venom Heart: Overloaded. Filtering at 40% efficiency.]

  ?Jiang Chen coughed, spitting up a glob of blue phlegm. His [Bronze Skin] sizzled faintly. Even his mutated biology struggled here.

  The "Foundation Establishment" signal wasn't coming from the heart. It was coming from the guardian beneath it.

  ?A figure sat cross-legged under the floating heart, tethered to it by tubes of flesh inserted into its spine.

  It was human—or it had been. Now, it was a statue of calcified white bone and blue muscle, holding a massive, rusted greatsword.

  ?[Boss Detected: The First Foreman (Mutated).]

  [State: Dormant.]

  [Cultivation: Half-Step Foundation Establishment.]

  [Note: The host of the Parasitic Root.]

  ?Jiang Chen stepped back into the shadows of the tunnel.

  "Half-Step Foundation," he whispered.

  That meant the creature had liquefied half its Qi. It could project energy blasts. It could fly for short distances. Its skin would be harder than iron.

  ?Jiang Chen looked at his hands. [Bronze Skin] was tough, but against that greatsword? He would be cut in half.

  He had 2,871 EV.

  He couldn't hoard it anymore.

  ?"System," Jiang Chen hissed, his voice trembling with the pain of the toxic air. "Open the Evolution Tree. Show me the Cultivation path."

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  ?[Evolution Tree Accessed.]

  [Current EV: 2,871.]

  ?The menu expanded, showing options he had never seen before.

  ?1. Cultivation Breakthrough (Forced): ?Description: Use pure biological energy (EV) to forcibly widen meridians and condense Qi. ?Cost: 500 EV per Layer. ?Risk: High probability of meridian damage. Extreme pain. ?2. Organ Evolution: Venom Core (Tier 3): ?Description: Creates a solid core within the Venom Heart to store condensed Poison Qi. ?Cost: 300 EV. ?3. Sensory Evolution: Void Eyes (Tier 1): ?Description: Perceive the flow of Qi and structural weaknesses (The "Lines of Death"). ?Cost: 400 EV.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't hesitate.

  "Buy the Core. Buy the Eyes. And raise my Cultivation to Layer 5."

  ?[Calculation:]

  ?Venom Core: 300 EV. ?Void Eyes: 400 EV. ?Cultivation (Layer 2 \rightarrow Layer 5): 3 Layers x 500 = 1,500 EV. ?Total Cost: 2,200 EV. ?Confirm?

  ?"Do it."

  ?[Initiating Void Ascension.]

  ?It didn't feel like power. It felt like being put in a hydraulic press.

  Jiang Chen fell to his knees, his back arching as his spine tried to snap.

  Inside his chest, the Venom Heart convulsed, folding in on itself, crystallizing into a dark, purple gem the size of a walnut.

  ?Then, the energy hit his meridians.

  It was a flood. A tsunami of raw power tearing through the narrow channels of his Qi network.

  POP. CRACK.

  Micro-fractures appeared in his bones. Blood leaked from his eyes, ears, and fingernails.

  But the Bronze Skin held him together, acting as a pressure vessel for the explosion inside.

  ?[Cultivation Rising...]

  [Layer 3... Complete.]

  [Layer 4... Complete.]

  [Layer 5... Complete.]

  ?Jiang Chen screamed, but no sound came out—his vocal cords were paralyzed by the surge.

  Finally, his eyes burned. The pupils dissolved, replaced by a swirling void of black and violet.

  ?The pain vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, terrifying clarity.

  ?Jiang Chen stood up.

  The blue mist no longer burned his lungs. The Venom Core inhaled it greedily, converting the toxicity into a reservoir of Poison Qi.

  He looked at the world.

  It was different.

  Lines of white light crisscrossed the cavern—the flow of energy. He could see the "tether" connecting the Boss to the Heart. He could see the weak point in the Foreman's bone armor.

  ?[Status Updated.]

  [Cultivation: Qi Condensation Layer 5 (Mid).]

  [Current EV: 671.]

  ?He flexed his hand. The Void Claws emerged, longer and darker than before, humming with the power of Layer 5 Qi.

  ?"System," Jiang Chen said. His voice was deeper, resonating with a metallic timbre. "Play the boss music."

  ?He walked out of the tunnel.

  He picked up a loose stone and threw it.

  Clack.

  It hit the Foreman's bone helmet.

  ?The figure under the heart twitched.

  Dust fell from its shoulders.

  Slowly, agonizingly, the First Foreman stood up. He was ten feet tall, a nightmare of bone and muscle. He grabbed the rusted greatsword, dragging it across the stone floor with a screech that set Jiang Chen's teeth on edge.

  ?The Foreman turned. His face was gone, replaced by a cluster of glowing blue fungi.

  A sound came from the creature—not a voice, but a psychic vibration that hit Jiang Chen's mind.

  ?INTRUDER.

  ?The Foreman raised the sword. Blue energy—liquid Qi—coated the rusted blade.

  He swung.

  A wave of blue fire slashed through the air, cutting a groove into the stone floor as it raced toward Jiang Chen.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't dodge.

  His Void Eyes traced the trajectory.

  He stepped slightly to the left. The energy wave missed him by an inch, singing his bronze skin.

  ?Jiang Chen smiled.

  "Too slow."

  ?[Skill: Thunder-Blood Burst.]

  ?He vanished.

  A streak of bronze lightning shot across the cavern, aiming straight for the titan's knee.