Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

Time flies like a fleeting arrow. Half a month has passed since the earth-shattering battle on the Holy Mountain.

Hu Qing and his party traveled thousands of miles and finally arrived at the southwestern border of the continent.

The scenery here is completely different from the ice and snow in the North and the plains and hills in Middle-earth. It feels like stepping into another world.

Looking around, there are towering ancient trees everywhere.

Giant trees rise from the ground, their trunks so thick that they require ten people to hug them, and their canopies block out the sun, cutting the sky into tiny blue fragments.

Thick vines entwine around like giant pythons, and all kinds of strange and colorful ferns and shrubs fill every inch of land.

The air was so hot and humid that you could squeeze water out of it, and it was filled with a strong, unique smell of rotting grass and soil.

This is a pristine green kingdom that is so vibrant that it is almost violent.

However, this seemingly vibrant forest is rarely visited by people, or it can be said that there is no human habitation at all.

Hu Qing and his team traveled through this area, which the locals called "Ten Thousand Miles of Forest Sea", for half a month. Apart from themselves, they did not see any signs of human activity.

Xiao Zi had already woken up from his coma. The Ice Emperor's fatal attacks seemed to have stimulated his bloodline by accident, and his cultivation had actually improved a lot.

The purple scales on the dragon's body became increasingly darker and brighter, with a faint flash of lightning.

But this lazy guy's nature is hard to change. As soon as his injury healed, he immediately returned to his habit of never standing up instead of lying down.

She shrank in size all day, dozing off on Gu Yang's shoulders like a delicate purple scarf.

It seemed quite dissatisfied with the humid and hot environment around it, and occasionally shook its tail to drive away the small flying insects trying to approach.

Hu Qing and Gu Yang used the half-month travel time to completely stabilize their state of mind, which had become somewhat frivolous due to the transfer of the twin flowers' spiritual power and a series of battles. Their aura became more condensed and restrained.

Next, it is a matter of painstaking effort, constantly accumulating spiritual power and trying to break through the second shackles of the Nascent Soul stage - that will be a key step towards a higher level of power.

At this moment, the two were sitting on the thick branches of a huge birch tree that was dozens of feet tall.

Surrounded by layers of thick, broad leaves, the view is extremely limited. All you can see is different shades of green, and you can't make out what's happening in the distance.

In this disorienting green maze, they could only rely on the faint mark left by Old Xia and their most primitive sense of direction to move forward with difficulty. If they were not careful, they would be completely lost.

But they did not dare to go down to the ground easily.

The most terrifying thing about this green miasma forest is not getting lost, but the insects that are everywhere and make your scalp tingle.

The insects here are much larger than those in the outside world, and their variety is outrageous.

Giant blood-sucking mosquitoes as big as fists, ferocious centipedes as long as arms, strange beetles that can spray corrosive venom, and those overwhelming flying ant colonies with teeth so sharp that they can chew up a large beast in an instant... each one is deadly enough.

Hu Qing and Gu Yang suffered a great loss when they first entered the forest.

They thought they had only cleared a small group of poisonous bees blocking their way, but they accidentally became contaminated by the special pheromones emitted by the bee corpses.

As a result, in the blink of an eye, they were chased for hundreds of miles by a swarm of bees that came like a dark cloud after hearing the news, and various predatory insects that were attracted by pheromones!

The scene was a nightmare. In the end, he jumped into a turbulent river in a panic, dived under the water and swam downstream for a long time before he managed to escape.

From then on, the two would rather jump between the treetops with difficulty than set foot in the forest.

Hu Qing was carefully picking the tender leaves from the birch tree beside him and rubbing the leaves in his palms.

He squeezed out the dark green sticky juice and then carefully smeared it on his and Gu Yang's clothes and exposed skin.

The birch leaf sap has a pungent and acrid smell that effectively masks their own scent and prevents them from being discovered by the predatory insects with keen sense of smell under the tree.

Gu Yang made a bitter face and let Hu Qing smear the foul-smelling liquid on his arm, complaining:

"How many days has it been? The mark given by Elder Xia is as good as dead, without any movement at all!

This ghost forest is so vast, with trees everywhere. I can't even find a reference point after walking so far. It's too difficult!"

He felt like he was turning into a savage.

Xiao Zi, who was dozing off on Gu Yang's shoulder, raised her eyelids as if in agreement and let out a slight, dissatisfied gurgle.

Although its scales make it immune to common insect bites, the buzzing sound of the insects' wings is overwhelming and pervasive, making it impossible for it to sleep peacefully.

This is simply torture for a dragon that needs sufficient sleep to digest its strength and increase its cultivation.

Hu Qing's face was calm, and he continued to perform his disguise meticulously. He said:

"The area of ​​this forest is far larger than we expected. Judging from our current speed and direction, we have only explored one-fifth of the area at most.

There's no rush. The mark isn't reacting, which means the fragment is either hidden very deep, or its aura is obscured by the unique environment or some other force here."

He paused, looked at Gu Yang, a flicker of determination in his eyes, "I plan to try to break through the second shackle in the next few days."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yang immediately cast a look of envy and a little worry.

Breaking through the shackles is no easy task and requires an absolutely quiet and safe environment. Choosing to break through in this dangerous forest is extremely risky.

But he also knew that Hu Qing made this decision because he must have sensed an opportunity and had an urgent need to improve his strength for the subsequent more dangerous journey.

"Are you sure?" Gu Yang stopped complaining and asked seriously.

After Hu Qing wiped off the last bit of juice, he looked down at the bottomless green abyss beneath his feet, where insects rustled and chirped. His eyes were deep:

"Fifty percent. I need you and Xiao Zi to protect me."