On the room, Dippy searched around for some information about the guild. Ming Li's aim was to find information about the dark aura surrounding the guild. There were several scrolls and books lying around in Dippy's room. Ming Li checked each and everyone of them using Dippy. He was shocked from the abundant information he got from Dippy's books and scrolls. "So there are Ten groups that holds the greatest power in this lands. Crystal Leaf Sect, Golden Phoenix Order, Black Spider Guild, Ten Great Merchants Union, Li Clan, Zhao Clan, Blue Dragon Sect, Divine Earth Sect, Holy River Tribe, Yang Clan. Besides these ten, there were also some other groups, however they could not compare against the Ten Powerhouses." Ming Li then pondered for a while "Also, these scroll states that the land which we reside in is only a small plane from the hundreds of planes that exist. To be able to go to a different plane, one must reach the Heavenly Realm or someone from the Heavenly Realm must accompany you to reach the other planes." With all of the unexpected information he got, he was flabbergasted and could not digest the information properly. Suddenly being introduced to a new world made him feel extremely small and made him unconsciously reject the idea. However, the scroll he got seemed real and ancient. It does not seem like a made up tale created to amuse kids. Also, he never heard of the Heavenly Realm. As far as he knows, the Soul Ascension Realm was the limit of being a seeker. So these new information made him more interested in the scrolls and books at Dippy's room. He read more books, however, he didn't find anything related to the black aura in the guild. It does not seem like that it was a common knowledge shared to the younger generations. But he was still satisfied with some interesting information he got. His eyes shone with interest as he made Dippy walk out of the room and investigate more. Days passed, however he did not get much information on the dark aura. Also, he never found any new information regarding the other planes. It seems like the information was limited to what he already knew. While he did not get too much information regarding the dark aura, he found some interesting legend about it. That the dark aura came from a demon who was killed and sealed deep below the mountain. When Ming Li came across the word "Demon" he instantly felt the urgent need to find the source of the aura. If he could use the demonic energy of the demon just like the corpse he got, he would become more powerful which could help him in his fight with the Black Spider Guild. He spent most of his effort looking for more clues, and spent his remaining time killing guild members and getting stronger. Time passed, and he rapidly grew stronger. With his constant gathering of soul ores through killing, he became rich enough to buy tons of demon's grace. The current amount of demon's grace on his possession, could allow him to skyrocket to the tenth level of Body Tempering Realm. Never in his wildest dreams would he expect that he could reach such a level in a short amount of time with his crappy core. Killing and stealing made him realize the reward of bad things. However, because of his little remaining morals, he does not want to steal or kill anyone that wasn't his enemy. After continuous failure in gaining more information, he decided to leave Dippy on his own for a while and increase his level. Ming Li left a portion of his consciousness on Dippy which he could use to still control Dippy even he was under deep meditation if he wished to. On a room at Nutty's place, Ming Li sat crossed legged surrounded by dozens of demonic nature's dew. Each nature's dew would enter his body making his energy rise tremendously. Sweats poured from his forehead as he focused in absorbing all the demonic energy from the nature's dew. Every breath he took would have traces of demonic energy in it. Various screech could be heard from each drop of nature's dew, which Ming Li could not get used to. The screech felt as if it originated from the underworld and would always make Ming Li feel danger every time he absorbs the nature's dew. However, this did not stop him from greedily absorbing everything. With the incoming war, his primary goal was to get as strong as he can to ensure his survival. ... Months passed and Ming Li still sat crossed legged unmoving on his room. There was no more demon's grace surrounding him, however his aura was erratic. It would sometimes be extremely high, and sometimes extremely low. His face was also full of discomfort while breathing with inconsistent rhythm. After a few breaths his frown grew more evident as he slowly opened his eyes and said "This is not working, I can't get through the bottleneck of the body tempering realm. I have reached the tenth level in three months and fifteen days of continuous absorption of demonic energy, however I haven't made any improvement on the last fifteen days." Ming Li sighed and said "I have read in the documents in Dippy's room that to enter the Fusion Realm, one should combine his soul and body. But my soul seems to reject merging with my body because of my demonic core.... I guess I really have to try doing that..." "Also, I feel bothered by the fact that I have't found out the source of this dark aura. It also hinders me from moving further. It seems like I really need to satisfy this first before I could actually move forward." Ming Li said while shaking his head slowly. After a while, Ming Li stood up and went out of his room and swallowed a pill to lower his level up to the third level of body tempering realm. He has been meditating in his room for a whole four months, so It has been a while since he went out. "Ming Li! Where have you been!? I have been looking all over for you. I thought you have died or something." Pan Bo shouted while frantically running towards Ming Li. "I have been on secluded meditation for a while. Why are you looking for me? What happened?" "Nothing much, I have just been worried. But guess what! I have increased several levels while you were stuck in your room doing nothing." Pan Bo boasted. Ming Li slightly chuckled and said "So you only came to look for me to boast?" "No! I have good news. The guild has been offering items to improve our levels rapidly in exchange for monster cores. I have used that to gain level rapidly. I am almost at the tenth level right now." Ming Li was a bit surprised in the growth of Pan Bo. Compared to him who spent millions of soul ores, Pan Bo's growth seems to be much easier. "Tsk, This core of mine really is a bad luck. Also the guild seems to be preparing for war already, but what will they do with the monster cores? Is it related to the dark aura that seems to be growing more dense?" "Come on! Let's hunt together. I'll help you rapidly increase your level." Pan Bo offered excitedly. Ming Li shook his head and said "I am sorry, but I have some things to do. Maybe next time." "Hmm, Ok, Just tell me when you're ready." Pan Bo left while saying those words. When Pan Bo left, Ming Li connected his consciousness with Dippy and immediately shouted "WHAT THE #3&&, Dippy are you a #&@(*$ rabbit?" Ming Li felt a headache coming and sighed. "I guess leaving only a small portion of my consciousness to control you could not control your stupid lust. However good thing is that you gained some good information." "So the monster cores being collected are really for the dark aura. Even though Dippy did not get the information on how they use it and its exact location, he found out the people who knows something about it." Ming Li smiled while thinking of a plan to get more information on the names Dippy gave him. "Gui Zhong, the weakest one who knows about the dark aura, he is at the second level of Fusion Realm, and a main member of the Gui Clan. Let us see if your name really suits you!" Ming Li laughed and strode towards the forest outside the guild. Along with the information about the people who have knowledge regarding the dark energy, Dippy gave him the exact location where Gui Zhong leads his group to hunt for monsters.