Chapter 557: Tianfa Forest

Ever since leaving the Daoist temple, Zhang Nuo and Chen Shuang'er had encountered almost no trouble along the way, and three years later, the two appeared before a vast forest!

This forest was boundless to the eye, and the thickest of the great trees inside were actually a hundred zhang wide! It was the first time Zhang Nuo had ever seen such thick trees!

Chen Shuang'er's face was filled with wild joy, and she kept pulling on Zhang Nuo's hand, shaking it back and forth; this place was her destination: the Tianfa Forest! And the Chen Family's secret cultivation site was located right inside the Tianfa Forest!

The Tianfa Forest was situated within the sphere of influence of the Wuliang Dao Sect. Because the area covered by this forest was overly vast, very few cultivators would venture into it! This was not because they feared powerful demonic beasts inside, but because this forest had a legend attached to it!

It is rumored that before the Immortal Domain was even established, this forest already existed, and inside it, there was an existence similar to a True Immortal! That was a cultivator far beyond the Great Accomplishment Stage, said to be able to turn their hands to summon clouds and rain, with divine abilities reaching the heavens and earth! However, for some reason, this True Immortal existence had fallen inside the Tianfa Forest!

Later generations said that because this True Immortal had violated certain laws of heaven and earth, they were condemned to be imprisoned in this forest for their entire life, unable to take even half a step out, and had to endure the constant bombardment of ten thousand layers of heavenly lightning every day, until finally, their primordial spirit was exhausted and they perished! From then on, this forest was called the "Tianfa Forest!"

Within this forest, powerful Restrictions often appeared. If a cultivator encountered one by accident, they would be severely injured at best, or lose their life at worst! In the territory of the Wuliang Dao Sect, this forest was also known as a land of misfortune! Very few cultivators would enter it!

Listening to Chen Shuang'er finish saying all this, Zhang Nuo's brows furrowed tightly! It sounded like these things were just a legend, yet vaguely, there seemed to be some kind of inevitable connection!

"Fairy Shuang'er, since the Tianfa Forest is so strange, can you enter it alone?"

Looking at the graceful young girl, Zhang Nuo said with a hint of worry.

"Fellow Daoist need not fear. My Zhen Family has passed down a map of the Tianfa Forest. As long as we walk according to this map, there will certainly be no trouble! Fellow Daoist, just follow this little girl!"

With a turn of her figure, Chen Shuang'er led the way in front, and Zhang Nuo followed closely behind her. He was equally curious in his heart: what kind of cultivation site could it be that the Chen Family valued it so much!

Just as they entered the forest, Zhang Nuo felt gusts of cold wind blowing toward him; even with his cultivation and state of mind, he could not help but feel a chill! But looking at Chen Shuang'er, after entering the Tianfa, she was like a fish finding water or a bird returning to the forest! Not only was her face filled with smiles, but even her body began to glow with a faint spiritual light!

This strange phenomenon left Zhang Nuo very puzzled. Why was Chen Shuang'er not afraid at all of the Tianfa Forest, which was known as a great land of misfortune?

After flying forward for several days, Zhang Nuo became even more suspicious. In this forest, he couldn't even see a single small beast; apart from various towering trees, there were no living creatures at all! Wisps of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, giving one the feeling of traveling through seawater!

Yet the Spiritual Qi in the forest was exceptionally dense; taking a single breath gave one the feeling of being in a paradise beyond the world! At this time, the white spiritual light on Chen Shuang'er's body was becoming brighter and brighter, to the point that even she herself noticed it!

Likewise, she could not understand why such a thing was happening! However, since the white light was harmless to her, she did not dwell on it and continued to fly forward according to the map in her mind.

Two months later, the two of them appeared in front of a Cave Abode! This Cave Abode was covered in various plants; if not for Chen Shuang'er leading the way, even Zhang Nuo's Divine Sense would likely not have been able to discover it!

"This is the place!"

Looking back at Zhang Nuo, Chen Shuang'er gave a calm smile!

"Since we have arrived, then Zhang can be considered to have completed the task; at least I have not failed the great trust of Senior Chen!"

"Fellow Daoist wants to leave?"

Chen Shuang'er was slightly stunned, and her eyes revealed a hint of reluctance! She had spent over a dozen years with Zhang Nuo, and she had long since developed a sense of reliance on him in her heart.

"I have other matters to attend to, so naturally I cannot stay with Fairy forever!"

Zhang Nuo shook his head slightly. Although Chen Shuang'er's cultivation was not weak, at times, she was just like a little child!

"In this little girl's opinion, it would be better for Fellow Daoist to stay and keep me company, because this Tianfa Forest is easy to enter but difficult to leave. Has Fellow Daoist not noticed that the scenery behind us has been constantly changing as we passed?"

The young girl's words startled Zhang Nuo. He truly had not noticed this point; out of curiosity about the Tianfa, his attention had always been on the front, and he had not paid any heed to what was behind! Looking back now, he saw that just as Chen Shuang'er said, the scenery they had just come through had already changed into a different appearance!

"This... how is this possible? Could it be that the Divine Sense Mark I left along the way has also disappeared?"

"Fellow Daoist need not be surprised! This is the strangeness of the Tianfa. Let alone the marks left by Fellow Daoist, even the marks left by those old monsters of the Refining Void Stage would be wiped away all the same!"

After hearing this, Zhang Nuo fully grasped the terror of the Tianfa Forest. He had not encountered danger while coming along the way, but now he realized that it was only because Chen Shuang'er was leading the way that they had not gone astray. If he had come alone, he would definitely have been lost within it!

Suddenly, Zhang Nuo looked up toward the sky, and a thought vaguely arose in his heart!

"Is Fellow Daoist thinking of using full power to drive your escape light to fly into the high sky, hoping to expand your field of vision? Thinking that this way you can find a way out?"

The young girl smiled sweetly, tilting her head to look at Zhang Nuo. This time, for some reason, the young girl had become clever, instantly seeing through his intentions!

Helplessly nodding, Zhang Nuo did not deny it!

"Fellow Daoist should not think about that. In the Tianfa, a type of Forbidden Air Restriction has been placed. As long as the flight altitude is not higher than the treetops, there is absolutely no problem, but once you exceed the treetops, you will immediately attract heavenly lightning!"

At this moment, Zhang Nuo felt like crying without tears! He had only been focused on following the young girl earlier and had not noticed that she had been flying lower than the treetops the whole time!

"According to Fairy's words, is it impossible for me to leave this forest no matter what?"

"You could say that!"

This time, Chen Shuang'er's answer was very straightforward.

"Since that is the case, then please, Fairy, take me out, and then you can return here to cultivate!"

"That won't work!"

Still a straightforward answer, which immediately made Zhang Nuo feel unhappy! What is this? I used all my strength and nearly lost my life to escort you to this place, and in the end, you want to trap me in this place where not even a bird exists? Seeing Zhang Nuo's expression change, the young girl hurriedly said:

"Fellow Daoist, do not misunderstand. It is not that this little girl is unwilling, but the Restriction here is quite special. The path we just walked will only reappear after a hundred years. This means that one path can only be walked once every hundred years! And as for other paths, even if one could leave this forest, there are certain risks involved!"

Zhang Nuo was completely desperate this time. A hundred years! He would have to wait a hundred years to get out; what kind of strange Restriction was this!

"Sigh! Forget it. A mere hundred years is nothing to cultivators like us. Then I will just stay here and cultivate with Fairy for a hundred years!"

Since he couldn't leave either way, Zhang Nuo had no choice but to agree! Hearing this, the young girl giggled, then walked toward the entrance of the Cave Abode! With a light flip of her jade hand, a Flying Sword flashed out, and under the drive of her Divine Sense, she slashed away the plants blocking the entrance of the Cave Abode!

At this time, a stone door about a zhang high appeared before the two. This stone door looked extremely sturdy from the outside; even after countless years, it remained as solid as a rock!

Zhang Nuo stepped forward and pushed the stone door with his hand, but the door did not move at all, which filled him with shock. With his powerful physical body, he could not shake the stone door even in the slightest!

"Fellow Daoist, there is a method to open this stone door. If one does not know the method, even if dozens of Integration Stage cultivators joined forces, they might not be able to open it!"

As the young girl spoke, she walked up to the stone door. Her delicate body swayed slightly, and a phantom of a White Tiger appeared above her! Immediately following this, a tiger's roar rang out, and then the stone door slowly opened!

Zhang Nuo took a deep breath. It seemed that the Restriction here could not be opened by anyone other than the Chen Family, who possessed the bloodline of the True Spirit White Tiger!

After the stone door opened, Zhang Nuo and Chen Shuang'er walked into the Cave Abode. As soon as they entered, there was a spacious hall in front, with an area of over a thousand zhang. At the top of the hall, eight night-luminescent pearls, each half a zhang in size, were suspended, occupying eight different directions.

The placement of these night-luminescent pearls alone was very significant. Although Zhang Nuo was not proficient in the way of Arrays, having been influenced by Chunyangzi, he knew a little bit about it!

The eight night-luminescent pearls occupied the eight main positions of the Cave Abode: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui. On one hand, they served the purpose of illumination, and on the other, they could provide early warnings!

His gaze looked toward other positions in the hall, and he saw that most of it was empty space. Only against one wall was there a Putan, and the surrounding walls were as smooth as mirrors, painted with various patterns. For a moment, Zhang Nuo did not look closely but walked directly into the depths of the Cave Abode!

On the left and right sides of the hall, several Stone Chambers had been opened. It seemed the previous owner of this Cave Abode was also a learned and talented person, having dabbled in everything from astronomy to geography, and all sorts of things between heaven and earth!

After walking around the Cave Abode a few times, Chen Shuang'er felt a sense of novelty! After so much trouble, she had finally arrived at the destination!

Zhang Nuo, however, was frowning the whole time. There was only one thing he could not understand: who exactly built this Cave Abode? If someone said it was built by the Chen Family themselves, he would not believe it even if he were beaten to death!