While Liang Chen was unconscious, he dreamt. For once, he did not have the same nightmare that he had ever since that day, he instead saw a peaceful dream, a dream that tugged at his heart.

In the dream, he was back in Green Rivers City alongside his parents. There was no Qing Lan Yong, no execution, no relentless desire for strength. He did not bother spending too much time on cultivation, picking up a career as a chef instead, opening a restaurant of his own. After a few years, he married Qing Chun and had three children with her, every day of their lives filled with peace and love.

But despite experiencing the passage of years, Liang Chen did not for one second forget that it was naught but a dream. There was a constant voice in his ear, whispering to him about the truth, describing the final moments of his parents. Each word that the whispering voice spoke caused his blood to boil harder, strength hidden deep within him slowly welling up, roaring as it surged towards the surface.

As the dream neared its end and Liang Chen started to somewhat regain consciousness, the whispering voice in Liang Chen's ear was slowly replaced by other sounds, the sound of a light breeze, the sound of crunching snow, as well as a different voice that sounded a bit distant.

"Isn't that the two hunters that roam around here? Did they die fighting this snake? Huh, there is someone inside it?"

The voice seemed to belong to a male youth, Liang Chen feeling his body twitching somewhat after hearing a sudden unfamiliar voice. The sound of crunching snow rang out again, someone seemingly walking closer. Liang Chen heard what sounded like bodies being moved, the sound of crunching snow coming closer. The unfamiliar voice rang out once more, this time sounding much clearer and closer.

"The poor kid must have been swallowed whole. Someone sliced open the stomach, but it seems to have been too late. Well, can't allow anything to go to waste."

After a somewhat pitying sigh, Li Yang felt something touch his body, the first proper sensation he felt since he fell unconscious. His entire body tensed up from the touch, all traces of drowsiness and unconsciousness vanishing as his eyes shot open. Liang Chen sat up and his arm stretched out on its own, grabbing onto the throat of the youth that was touching him. Liang Chen's poisonous Qi flooded towards his hand, but it slowed down as the youth screamed out.

"Stop, stop! I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Liang Chen's instincts screamed at him to fill his hand with poison, to melt the youth who had dared lay his hands on him, but Liang Chen forced the violent instincts down, taking a good look at the youth in front of him. The youth was a man who seemed to be approaching his thirties, his head was covered in unkempt brown hair and he had a slight stubble on his chin. His skin was somewhat pale and his somewhat larger than usual eyes were a bit red and bloodshot. He was clad in a silver robe engraved with the image of a white dragon coiling around the moon. With his hand still on the man's throat, Liang Chen spoke out.

"WhO aRe yoU!?"

Liang Chen's voice came out louder than he had planned it to, it was also rather distorted because he had just woken up from an unknown period of unconsciousness. The man shivered slightly as he looked at Liang Chen, quickly answering after sending a scared glance at Liang Chen's eyes.

"I am Shentu Jun, a junior disciple of the Moon Dragon sect!"

Liang Chen could not see it, but Shentu Jun had been able to see Liang Chen's pupils contract when he spoke out, resembling the pupils of a snake. Luckily, the contraction only lasted for a short second before it vanished, Liang Chen's pupils returning to their normal state. Liang Chen did not let go of Shentu Jun's throat, continuing to question as he swept his own body to see if anything was missing.

"Moon Dragon sect? What is that?"

Liang Chen knew about the strongest powers on the Fallen Cloud continent, but he had never heard about any power called the Moon Dragon Sect. Shentu Jun did not even dare breathe too deeply, lest Liang Chen's hand tighten around his neck.

"The Moon Dragon Sect is one of the five great rulers that control the eastern part of this planet. We got news of this hidden realm, so a few junior and senior disciples were sent to see what we could learn! I swear I am telling the truth!"

Shentu Jun had reached the middle stage of the Mortal Tower realm so he had felt rather confident as he traveled the outskirts of the hidden realm. But whenever he glanced at the faint purple glow that was gathering in Liang Chen's hand, he felt his entire body tremble, a feeling of death flooding him. Liang Chen's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to talk.

"Five great rulers? What about the five great clans?"

Liang Chen had always been taught that the five great clans were the mightiest powers around, no one else even close to them. But according to this Shentu Jun, there were even greater powers out there, powers that could control an area much larger than any one of the clans. Shentu Jun once more quickly responded, he loved live, so he did not even dare think about lying.

"They are only subsidiaries to the five rulers, each clan belonging to one of the rulers. The Moon Dragon Sect controls the Huang clan."

Shentu Jun was not surprised that Liang Chen did not know about the five great rulers, as it was information that only the strong knew about. Even within the five clans, only those close to the peak of the clan knew about the fact that they were subsidiaries to greater powers. Liang Chen stayed silent for a bit, taking in the information before he asked his next question.

"Who are the other four rulers?"

Liang Chen mostly believed Shentu Jun, mostly because he could feel Shentu Jun's fear, not only seeing it in his eyes but even smelling it like a faint fragrance. If he was able to lie while feeling such intense fear, there was nothing Liang Chen could do. But Shentu Jun was just as terrified as Liang Chen believed, so he quickly told Liang Chen everything he had been taught by Senior Disciple Yao.

"The other four rulers are the Nightshield sect, the Ghost Soul sect, the Fiendgod sect, and the Storm Wolf Sect. Along with the Moon Dragon Sect, they control the entire eastern half of the planet. As for the western part of the planet, it is controlled by the Dawn's Blade Alliance, but I don't know if they have sent any disciples to investigate this hidden realm!"

Liang Chen fell into another short silence as he took in all the information. Six great powers that controlled the entire planet, and the great clans he had feared before were nothing but subsidiaries, pawns to be used. It was a bit hard for him to accept it immediately, but there was something he wanted to know.

"Which of the rulers is in control of the Qing clan?"

Qing Lan Yong was the most talented disciple that the Qing clan had seen in the last 1000 years, cementing his position as the Young Master. If he joined one of these great powers, how hard would it be for Liang Chen to catch up to him, to kill him? Shentu Jun searched his memories for a short moment before speaking out in a somewhat uncertain voice.

"The Qing clan is under the control of the Nightshield Sect. I heard that one of the Qing clan ancestors has a high position in the sect, so the Qing clan is treated well by the Nightshield sect."

After Shentu Jun told Liang Chen everything, an uneasy silence descended between them. Liang Chen was busy taking in all the new information, his head somewhat lowered, while Shentu Jun was busy trying to calm down his hammering heart. After a minute of silence, he could no longer bear it, speaking out in a begging voice.

"I swear, I am telling the truth! So please, don't kill me."

Liang Chen stopped his thinking, his eyes landing on Shentu Jun again. Liang Chen felt his hand twitch, the poisonous Qi within it trying to flood into Shentu Jun's throat, trying to obey Liang Chen's instincts. Liang Chen narrowed his eyes, glaring at his own arm as he forced the Qi within it back into his Ascending Tower. He let go of Shentu Jun's throat, his arm trembling slightly.

"Leave, quickly."

Shentu Jun immediately stood up and spun around, dashing away without even looking back. Liang Chen continued to glare at his arm until the trembling stopped and it calmed down. He was in control over this body, not his instincts, he would only kill when he allowed himself to kill. Shentu Jun had not done anything to him, so he would not allow himself to just kill Shentu Jun. Liang Chen took a deep breath, glancing at the sky as he muttered to himself.

"Five great rulers, Dawn's Blade Alliance? Forget about it, none of them matter."

He could only shake his head. None of the great rulers had anything to do with the weak him, and it was unlikely that he would have too much to do with them in the future. All he wanted to do was kill Qing Lan Yong, and then maybe see if there truly existed a way to bring back the dead.

It was only after shaking his head that Liang Chen noticed that he was still covered in Demonic beast blood and guts, the corpse of the snake lying right next to him. Liang Chen clenched his fist and examined his own body, checking the increase of his strength. Upon seeing the result, he tilted his head slightly, his eyes landing on the snake.

"My strength...seems to have increased by quite a bit. My poison has also gotten more vicious. Should be because of you?"

Liang Chen's cultivation had completely skipped the middle stage of the Mortal Tower realm, jumping directly to the late stage, his Ascending Tower now having three floors. His poison still changed between green and purple, but there was now a faint yellow light glowing within the poison, turning it even more vicious.

The snake had only been at the middle stage of the Mortal Tower realm, so Liang Chen had never expected it to propel him all the way to the late stage. But what he forgot was that he had also absorbed a tiny amount of the crimson lightning that descended from the sky, the lightning had also helped him increase his cultivation.

He stood up and stretched his body, a soft popping sound ringing out from his joints. His ability to resist the omnipresent pressure in the hidden realm had also increased somewhat, his body growing stronger and faster. Liang Chen quickly checked the body of the snake, but he did not find what he was looking for.

"No Demon Crystal, so it was either stolen or I unconsciously absorbed it."

Liang Chen found it unlikely that someone had stolen the Demon Crystal, as they would have also taken the rest of the snake's body, as well as the interspatial ring that Liang Chen was now carrying. Looking at the dead snake and sensing his increased strength, Liang Chen's lips slowly curved into a wide grin.

"The wolves didn't work. The porcupine didn't work. But this snake, this snake worked. Lightning also works just as wonderfully as the first time, could it be that I can only use blood from Demonic beasts that have the lightning and poison element to cultivate? How troublesome, I wish someone had warned me about that before I wasted so much time."

This was the most logical conclusion that Liang Chen could think of at the moment. But how could he know that it was not normal for people to only be able to use the blood of Demonic beasts with certain elements? Liang Chen quickly stored away the body of the snake within his interspatial ring, saving the meat for later.

After storing away the corpse, Liang Chen swept the surrounding forest with his eyes, but there were no traces of Demonic beasts. He climbed up a tree and found a secure branch, scrubbing himself clean with the snow that had gathered on the tree, planning what he would do next.

"At least I know now so that I can stop wasting time and focus my efforts. My strength has increased, so the number of Demonic beasts I can kill has grown somewhat."