Chapter 103: Suddenly Seeing the Light

In the two months that followed, Feng Zi and his party trudged arduously through the Yanglu Gulin.

During this journey, which could hardly be called short, the entire party was left with extremely profound impressions—

They had once set foot upon an endless sea of sand, where unknown beings shaped like giants bathed in a sea of lightning, roaring at unknown existences high above in the heavens.

They saw the sky suddenly shrouded in a sky-filling glow, as billions of majestic beings clad in golden armor descended to the mortal realm to crusade against existences hiding in the shadows.

Above a sea of ice, the confrontation between two giants shattered thousands of icebergs; their bodies flowed with endless Qi and Blood Power, appearing like two great suns.

One careless move, and they were swept into a battlefield where two great armies clashed; the strength of every single soldier far surpassed their own...

Feng Zi discovered with frustration that the terror of the Yanglu Gulin far exceeded what Qingyang had described:

Every inch of land here seemed capable of connecting to any corner of Tianyuan, and countless terrifying creatures hid in the shadows of the ancient trees.

And the only common sense here was that there was absolutely no common sense that functioned—

A sea of clouds could be as heavy as a mountain, streams could surge with scorching energy, and the air itself could transform into invisible blades that killed!

Even more, Feng Zi solemnly suspected that in this Yanglu Gulin, the flow of time was not regular either:

Countless figures with strength far exceeding this era, and creations far beyond the craftsmanship of this world, appeared like phantoms and vanished like illusions.

Aside from causing them harm, those existences left no traces here, as if everything were truly just a dream.

All of this made the party hold the utmost awe for this place.

In this environment fraught with crises, no one dared to act rashly, fearing that their own movements would once again drag everyone into unknown danger.

Because of this, apart from the less capable Qingyang, the four of them—Feng Zi included—unanimously adopted a "rotation" system.

They would even tie the two people resting to trees to prevent them from moving about.

The remaining three would sit around the campfire, motionless, waiting for the sun to rise again.

Just like this, the group stumbled along, traveling toward the south in a very disheveled state.

Two months of time is not long to speak of, but it was filled with hardships.

Fortunately, although everyone except Qinglin had sustained injuries, they all walked out of the ancient forest safe and sound—

No one fell behind, and no one was left with incurable hidden ailments.

When the view suddenly opened up and an endless plain appeared before them, the group looked back at the forest behind them with pleasant surprise, and greedily took in the scenery of the plain.

After confirming that they had truly walked out of the Yanglu Gulin, Feng Zi threw away the branch he had used for scouting and said joyfully:

"Finally, we have walked out of that dangerous Yanglu Gulin alive."

Looking at the vast plain before him, Qingyang's eyes immediately welled up with tears: "Great, we really made it out alive."

The journey through the ancient forest had been far too perilous, to the point that even with the protection of Feng Zi and the others, Qingyang had felt despair many times.

And now that he had finished this journey that was almost impossible to complete, how could Qingyang not be moved?

He silently noted the kindness of Feng Zi and the others in his heart, and resolved that he must repay their care.

As for the Yanglu Gulin... Qingyang also secretly made up his mind that no matter what, he would never set foot in this place again!

"Well, I shouldn't speak too definitively; at least until I become a Golden Core master, I will absolutely never enter the Yanglu Gulin again," Qingyang thought to himself.

Of course, to say that this trip had no gains at all would naturally be biased.

The Yanglu Gulin was rich in resources, and being constantly at death's door could indeed stimulate a person's potential to the maximum—

In just two months, the strength of the entire party had seen significant improvement:

The one with the greatest harvest was naturally Qingyang, who had the shallowest foundation; he successfully broke through from Qi Refining to the Foundation Establishment Realm, catching up to the major realm of the three Martial Artists in the Transformation Realm.

The progress of Lu Hanwen and Li Shou was unknown, but their Qi and Blood had become increasingly restrained, and their entire presence had become much more composed.

And Feng Zi had made even greater strides:

【Transformation Realm (Great Accomplishment): 10123/15000】

【Lifespan: 300 years】

In just two short months, he had transformed from a Transformation Realm practitioner who had just caught a glimpse of the realm to one of Great Accomplishment!

As for Qinglin... although she did not say it herself, and Feng Zi could not tell, her strength should have recovered quite a bit more—

Compared to two months ago, she was clearly more at ease when dealing with the many incidents in the Yanglu Gulin.

Of course, regarding this unknown and dangerous place, Feng Zi was also unwilling to venture deep into it again:

It was true that the Yanglu Gulin was full of opportunities, but one had to have the luck to enjoy such opportunities!

At the very least, Feng Zi considered his own luck to be not very good, and he dared not gamble on such things.

After the group rested for a while, Feng Zi looked at Qingyang beside him:

"Fellow Daoist Qingyang, I also wish to witness that Golden Core master; I wonder if you have heard of that person's whereabouts?"

"The whereabouts of a Golden Core master?" Qingyang repeated subconsciously upon hearing this.

Immediately, he realized that Feng Zi was willing to continue traveling with him, and he was overjoyed:

"Naturally, I have heard of them. I heard that the master is stationed in the Jiuhe Pingyuan—which is this vast plain before our eyes—at its center.

"It is said that under the protection of that master, the surrounding settlements have migrated to one place, forming a... great city."

For the people of this era, settlements were the norm, and the form of a "city" was still very unfamiliar, so Qingyang spoke with great hesitation.

Feng Zi pondered it seriously and found that this explanation was consistent with the normal laws of development.

But looking into the distance, how vast was this plain before them—

Even within Feng Zi's field of vision, he only saw the first great river of the Jiuhe Pingyuan at the very edge of his sight.

He once again deeply realized how vast this land named Tianyuan was:

"Fellow Daoist Qingyang, we must still have a very long distance to go before reaching the great city where that master is stationed."

To this, Qingyang nodded slightly: "Yes, it is about ten thousand miles away; the entire Jiuhe Pingyuan is much larger than the Yanglu Gulin."

Hearing this, not only Feng Zi, but Lu Hanwen and Li Shou could not help but choke:

From the border to the center, it is actually a full ten thousand miles away; the vastness of this region is something I fear even Zhenbei Dao cannot match!

However, Qingyang's next sentence still made everyone heave a sigh of relief:

"But I have heard from traveling merchants that in the south of Yanglu Gulin, there is a fairly large tribe where we can rest our feet."

Yet, Feng Zi looked into the distance and discovered something strange, so he could not help but warn:

"Everyone, I may have to say something disappointing—

"I believe I see the tribe that Fellow Daoist Qingyang spoke of, but the situation there... does not seem very good."