The patriarch of the Hong family, the patriarch of the Ying family, the holy lord of the Tianji Holy Land, and others, upon receiving the news, were all enraged. They immediately dispatched people to search for the whereabouts of Lin Xiao and his group of four.
At the same time, they sent envoys to liaise with the various major powers, preparing to personally lead Martial Saint elders into action.
The four great powers readied themselves to ally once again, and this time they intended to deploy far greater forces.
With the Ji family patriarch now involved, the Central Province continent was about to be plunged into turmoil.
The intelligence gathered by the major powers indicated that Lin Xiao and the others had headed to Spirit Pool Island.
Martial Saint experts from every power mobilised without delay, planning to converge and descend upon Spirit Pool Island to exert pressure.
Yet while upheaval gripped the various regions, Lin Xiao’s group of four had already slipped away from Spirit Pool Island, secretly entering a teleportation array that took them near the Yaochi Holy Land.
From there, they quietly made their way northeast through Sheng Province.
After more than a month of travel, the four arrived unnoticed at the location Huo Ruyan had described.
Before them now stretched a boundless mountain range. Ancient trees towered into the sky, lush and verdant, with emerald grass carpeting the ground and thick mists cloaking everything.
Even at midday, the mist refused to lift. It shrouded the entire area, preventing anyone from seeing far.
Some trees rose hundreds, even nearly a thousand zhang high, of countless ancient varieties. At a glance, they were innumerable and impossible to distinguish.
Many of the ancient trees were species the four had never encountered, clearly of extreme antiquity.
The forest was also overgrown with vines of every size, packed so densely that in places there was scarcely room for a single person to squeeze through.
As soon as they neared the forest’s periphery, Lin Xiao felt a peculiar sensation arise within him.
Vaguely, it seemed as though something inside was calling to him.
“Could it be my imagination?”
A shiver ran through Lin Xiao. He turned to glance at the other three, who appeared merely to be assessing the terrain ahead, showing no sign of the same reaction.
“Do any of you feel as though something is summoning you?”
Lin Xiao could not help asking.
“Summoned?”
Huo Ruyan and the others looked at him in surprise, then shook their heads, puzzled.
“Perhaps I misfelt it.”
Lin Xiao shook his head as well.
It was only a vague sensation. He could not pinpoint exactly what it was, or even whether it truly existed.
He had never visited this forest before and had no connection to it. How could anything here summon him?
Most likely, he had simply imagined it.
“This place is unnaturally quiet. Not a single beast roar to be heard. It cannot be that simple.”
Long Tutian let out a long sigh.
“I cannot speak for beasts on foot or birds in the air, but within three thousand li there are absolutely no spirit insects or strange insects.”
Qing Yan sniffed the air and spoke.
The Demon Frog clan was most sensitive to insects, so his senses could not be mistaken.
“I only passed the outer edges of this area before. Curiosity drew me three hundred li in, but I dared not venture deeper. It seems even disciples of the Yaochi Holy Land avoid coming here to train. There must be dangers within, yet with our strength, entering a moderate distance should pose no great problem, provided we do not go too far.”
Huo Ruyan said.
“If the place held nothing unusual, it would not be utterly devoid of human presence. Only somewhere like this would escape the notice of the major powers. Let us enter.”
Lin Xiao spoke. He first summoned the battle skeleton and sent it ahead to scout.
Long Tutian and the others nodded. At their level, they would not lack the courage to explore.
Moreover, with the skeleton leading the way, the risk was greatly reduced. Should real danger arise, they could withdraw at once.
Only after the battle skeleton had advanced several hundred zhang into the forest did Lin Xiao and the others follow, moving cautiously behind it.
They needed only to penetrate a certain distance and find a sufficiently secluded spot.
Even after entering a thousand li, nothing untoward occurred.
The area remained silent. The only change was that the ancient trees grew ever taller.
Throughout his body, Lin Xiao felt that peculiar sensation intensify.
It was as though someone deep within the forest was truly summoning him.
“Something deep in the forest seems to be calling me. The feeling grows stronger.”
Lin Xiao no longer concealed it and informed the others.
This time, he was certain the sensation was real, not mere illusion.
Still, he did not understand why he experienced it, nor where it originated.
“Could some thing be drawing you in?”
Long Tutian frowned.
Huo Ruyan and Qing Yan also wore grave expressions.
Such a feeling often boded ill.
“Then, shall we continue deeper?”
Huo Ruyan asked.
“Proceed carefully and see what it is.”
Lin Xiao replied. He would not be satisfied without investigating.
In the end, with the battle skeleton still leading, the group pressed on.
After another thousand li, the sensation became even more pronounced.
Now, faintly, an ancient, endlessly hoarse voice seemed to reach Lin Xiao’s ears: “Child…”
His whole body jolted, and he shivered involuntarily.
“Lin Xiao, what is it?”
Huo Ruyan noticed his reaction and asked at once.
“Did you not hear anything?”
Lin Xiao countered.
All three shook their heads.
“It seemed as though someone was calling me. Perhaps I misheard.”
Lin Xiao said.
The others said little, but their expressions grew heavier.
Though Lin Xiao phrased it that way, they knew he would not invent such a thing. He must have sensed something genuine.
“I refuse to believe there is anything to fear. Let us go in and find out.”
Long Tutian declared instead.
He understood Lin Xiao’s nature well. The stranger the phenomenon, the more determined Lin Xiao would be to uncover its truth.
He himself was also intrigued. Such an extraordinary place stirred his curiosity too much to ignore.
Qing Yan and Huo Ruyan nodded, and they continued onward.
Along the way, apart from the ancient trees growing ever thicker and more towering, nothing unusual appeared.
After yet another thousand li, that hoarse voice came again, faint but unmistakable in Lin Xiao’s ears: “Child…”
His body shook once more. He drew the Yaoguang Broken Sword, gripped it tightly, gritted his teeth, and pressed on.
Seeing Lin Xiao react so gravely, the others knew he had heard the voice again. They too readied their weapons.
Huo Ruyan drew a blood sword, Long Tutian donned soft metal gauntlets, and Qing Yan clutched the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Disk firmly.
The four advanced with heightened caution. They sent the battle skeleton a full thousand zhang ahead to circle and scout the surroundings, confirming no anomalies before moving forward themselves.
Their pace slowed considerably.
