"If I'm not mistaken, it's been three months outside. We should be heading back soon, right?" Ye Chen felt something off about Evan Yang's words and asked suspiciously.
The other two also looked at Evan Yang with curiosity. Seeing their surprised expressions, Evan finally decided to explain everything to them.
After hearing him out, all three showed shocked expressions—especially Derek, who asked, "Death River?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard them call it," Evan Yang replied.
"It's a miracle this artifact wasn't destroyed," Derek said, sounding much more mature now—no longer a child, but speaking like an adult.
"What's so special about this Death River?" Evan Yang asked, curious after seeing Derek seemed to know about it.
Derek explained, "I heard about it when I was little. The adults used to say that in the Fiend Realm, there's a river—anyone who touches it dies, and even some artifacts are destroyed."
"Is that really true?" Evan Yang asked skeptically.
"Absolutely," Derek confirmed.
"So you're saying we're trapped inside the False Mountain, and now it's fallen into some mysterious river?" Ye Chen exclaimed in shock.
"Be careful," Winter said softly to Evan Yang. Ye Chen, unwilling to show weakness, patted Evan's shoulder, "Kid, you better watch yourself. Don't die—I still want to go back to the Human World."
Feeling their concern, Evan Yang smiled, "Don't worry."
Then, with a flash, Evan Yang left the tower and appeared on the outside platform. He looked at the endless spiral staircase below and the narrow path ahead, muttering, "Who invented this False Mountain? There are so many weird and chaotic things inside."
After a moment of discomfort, Evan Yang took a tentative step forward. Immediately, a wild wind swept in from the left, trying to blow him off.
Evan Yang quickly retreated, watching the wind disappear. He wondered, "Does the wind only appear when I step onto the path?"
That was exactly the case. After several attempts, Evan Yang found that every time he stepped onto the path, a strong wind would blow from the side.
If it was a short distance, Evan Yang could rush through, but with his spiritual sense, it looked like a deadly road with no end in sight.
"Looks like I'll just have to tough it out," Evan Yang sighed after thinking it over, then stepped onto the path. The wind appeared again.
The wind was so strong it seemed determined to drag Evan Yang down. Below was nothing but darkness, and flight was forbidden. Evan Yang comforted himself, "I can hold on."
But as the wind swept by, it gave Evan Yang no room to breathe. He wrapped himself in a spiritual energy barrier and forced his way through.
Step by step, it was tough—like a snail crawling along the road.
Luckily, moving slowly meant he wasn't at risk of falling off so easily.
"Just keep going," Evan Yang thought, even though he felt his body swaying dangerously. He relied on his own stability and strength to push forward, inching along.
Like that, Evan Yang spent a whole day moving only a few meters. He could barely see ahead or behind, so he kept going, hoping to find the end.
Throughout this process, Evan Yang relied entirely on the Spirit-Draining Box to keep himself going.
After about a month, Evan Yang finally saw land ahead—there were even trees, like a snowy field. He was overjoyed; at least he could finally see something besides darkness, fire, and wind.
But the further he went, the harder it got. The wind grew stronger, and as he neared the snowfield, a killing cold seeped in from that direction.
Evan Yang had to activate his Sacred Flame to keep himself warm.
After another ten days or so, Evan Yang finally sat down in the snow. The snow melted around him, leaving icy puddles and water.
"Phew, this place is hell. At least I didn't fall—otherwise, all those months of effort would have been wasted," Evan Yang muttered gloomily.
Just then, Evan Yang felt his body changing.
He quickly sat down in the snow and began meditating, watching as his Soul-Gathering region expanded.
"Is this... a breakthrough?" Evan Yang was surprised as his Soul-Gathering region grew stronger. Thinking back on months of intense effort, he realized the region was finally surging, especially after he relaxed just now.
So Evan Yang focused on every change in his Soul-Gathering region, as if nothing outside mattered to him.
No one expected Evan Yang to reach enlightenment at this moment. He sat in the snow, and as he entered enlightenment, his Sacred Flame stopped circulating. His body, once warm, became stiff, but his spiritual power kept flowing, unaffected.
Snow began to fall the moment the Sacred Flame vanished.
His figure slowly disappeared, becoming a snowman, then finally a small snow mountain as the snow piled up.
Everything seemed peaceful—snow, trees, nothing else. But in this place, there was a uniquely special snow mountain.
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click the next page to continue reading!
That snow mountain grew from small to large. About a year later, it suddenly exploded apart with a roar, splitting into pieces, and a white mist rose from where the snow mountain had been.
Just then, Evan Yang felt his body changing.
He quickly sat down in the snow and began meditating, watching as his Soul-Gathering region expanded.
"Is this... a breakthrough?" Evan Yang was surprised as his Soul-Gathering region grew stronger. Thinking back on months of intense effort, he realized the region was finally surging, especially after he relaxed just now.
So Evan Yang focused on every change in his Soul-Gathering region, as if nothing outside mattered to him.
No one expected Evan Yang to reach enlightenment at this moment. He sat in the snow, and as he entered enlightenment, his Sacred Flame stopped circulating. His body, once warm, became stiff, but his spiritual power kept flowing, unaffected.
Snow began to fall the moment the Sacred Flame vanished.
His figure slowly disappeared, becoming a snowman, then finally a small snow mountain as the snow piled up.
Everything seemed peaceful—snow, trees, nothing else. But in this place, there was a uniquely special snow mountain.
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click the next page to continue reading!
That snow mountain grew from small to large. About a year later, it suddenly exploded apart with a roar, splitting into pieces, and a white mist rose from where the snow mountain had been.
Evan Yang sat within the mist, just awakened from enlightenment. His body temperature returned, and any snow that touched him instantly turned to vapor.
"That felt great," Evan Yang said, feeling as if he'd slept for a whole year.
Now his Soul-Gathering region felt incredibly strong. "Is this mid Soul-Gathering?" Evan Yang had advanced from early to mid stage in just a few years—something he hadn't expected.
To savor the power of mid Soul-Gathering, Evan Yang dashed wildly across the snow. His speed and strength were more intense than ever. If he faced the Nether Patriarch now, he could finish him off with one powerful strike before the black qi could even be unleashed.
"So satisfying!" Evan Yang exclaimed, then stopped moving. The snow around him kept falling.
"Snow? Where does this lead?" Evan Yang finally realized he was still in the snowfield. Surrounded by endless white, he muttered, unable to find a way out even with his spiritual sense.
Faced with such a situation, Evan Yang was confused. At least the spiral staircase and the suspended path had directions, but here, it was just a vast white expanse—impossible to judge where to go.
After searching for a while, Evan Yang muttered, "No direction? Then I'll make my own." So he started walking straight, following the line of the suspended road behind him.
The snowfield was huge. After a month of walking, Evan Yang hadn't reached the end. He refused to turn, determined to keep going in one direction—he couldn't believe the snowfield was endless.
He continued for another month. Ahead, a snow mountain appeared, and ice blocks began to fall from above at high speed and weight. Evan Yang didn't dare to take them head-on.
He began dodging and weaving through the snow, slowing down as ice blocks blocked his path and the ice mountain loomed ahead.
His whole body erupted in flames—Ninety-Ninefold Purefire. When ice blocks fell from above, he punched them aside, advancing with the roar of his attacks echoing overhead. Reaching the base of the ice mountain, Evan Yang kicked out a foothold, using the momentum of the flames.
The foothold grew larger, and Evan Yang repeated the process with his other foot. Soon, he was scaling the ice mountain, running along its side like a martial artist.
He kept attacking the ice blocks overhead with his hands whenever needed.
"This is insanely difficult," Evan Yang grumbled as he attacked and found footholds, muttering complaints the whole time.
After a few days, he finally made it past the mountain, crossing from the base to the summit and reaching the other side.
"Looks like there's a forest ahead?" Evan Yang was surprised to see the snow disappear, replaced by dense trees.
He rushed out of the snowy area, though snow blocks kept falling from above.
Like that, Evan Yang spent another day escaping the strange snowfield.
"Anyone weaker than me would be dead by now," Evan Yang grumbled, thinking of the three previous regions.
After complaining, Evan Yang began exploring the forest. He found only trees—no paths, no directions. "Do I have to just keep walking again?"
Helpless, Evan Yang kept moving through the forest. Thankfully, there was nothing strange here, so he could traverse it easily. He smiled to himself, "At least there's no danger here."
He locked onto the surroundings with thousands of strands of spiritual sense, just in case danger appeared.
But after running for a whole day, he still hadn't reached the end of the forest. He kept going, and after a month of frantic running, Evan Yang wondered, "What kind of forest is this?"
A month of nonstop sprinting left Evan Yang exhausted. If he kept this up, he'd go crazy, so he stopped and focused on his surroundings.
Curious, Evan Yang walked up to a tree and examined it. "Why do all these trees have black patterns?" he wondered.
After a month of running, the most notable thing Evan Yang saw were those black patterns on the trees.