Danger Encountered

Chapter 24: Encountering Danger

The lush, verdant forest exuded the most primal aura of nature.

Mornings in the forest always felt incredibly refreshing. Closing his eyes and walking through the woods, Chen Yun felt as if every cell in his body was intoxicated by the gentle air of this world. The pure energy, imbued with a rich life force, slowly seeped into his pores and then flowed throughout his body, bringing a tingly, cool sensation. The pleasure that penetrated his very soul made him want to...

At this moment, Chen Yun was experiencing this firsthand.

He sat cross-legged by the pond, eyes closed, slowly inhaling and exhaling. His breaths were long and even. This was Chen Yun's daily morning routine.

As Old Ent had said, all things in time were bound by this world. In the darkness, an invisible hand seemed to be guiding the development of all things. This was the law of the world. Only by comprehending, or even mastering, this law could one break free from the world's constraints and control their own destiny.

This was something all cultivators above the Fifth Order on the continent knew. It was also a form of cultivation called meditation. When Chen Yun first heard the term, he was stunned. Wasn't this the meditation of mages from his past life's online novels? But on this continent, only Warriors existed; there were no mages.

Although Warriors focused on their own combat strength, once their personal power reached a certain stage, it was no longer as simple as just increasing their Battle Qi. At this point, more emphasis was placed on controlling the laws of heaven and earth. Mastering and using some spatial laws was the mark of a Venerable expert. Therefore, Venerables gained the ability to break through the spatial constraints of the continent and leave for higher realms or other places.

Due to the limitations of life spans, there wasn't enough time for contemplation. Moreover, in the early stages, the focus was on personal combat strength. Thus, meditation and contemplation generally only began after reaching the Fifth Order Sect Master.

However, Chen Yun was different. He possessed the powerful Dragon Bloodline, and his talent could be described as monstrous. One had to realize that most people at his age hadn't even reached the Warrior stage. Therefore, Old Ent decided to let him begin contemplating meditation early, which would be beneficial for his future development.

This world never lacked geniuses. Some had even reached the Third or Fourth Order, like Wright, whose talent was also astonishing. But that was only because he possessed the extremely precious Berserk Bloodline, which he had awakened early. However, such individuals were far too few.

How difficult it was to comprehend and then utilize the laws of heaven and earth! Among the countless beings on the continent, only a handful could reach this level, let alone control these laws. If one could truly achieve such a realm, they would indeed be like gods.

Of course, the "gods" here did not refer to experts at the War God level. War God was merely a classification of strength.

True gods were incredibly powerful. Legends said they possessed immense divine abilities, such as bringing the dead back to life, traversing time and space, and even altering fate. It was said that the so-called Gods of ancient times were only a minority who had reached this realm; the rest were merely demigods.

Chen Yun sat there motionless, like a fossil. This was his first time meditating. He didn't know how to sense the so-called heaven and earth. There was no special method for this meditation and contemplation; it was entirely based on personal feeling. What one could comprehend depended entirely on personal fortune. It was difficult to achieve anything without extraordinary talent and great fortune.

On the surface, it seemed to have little practical use. However, it would improve one's soul perception sensitivity. Although the improvement efficiency was minuscule, everything required slow accumulation.

Chen Yun's mind was currently clear and tranquil, his sea of consciousness serene. This was the most basic requirement for contemplating heaven and earth – the principle of "stillness." Stillness did not mean the environment had to be quiet, but rather one's inner self. Every cell (though people in this world didn't know what cells were yet), as well as the soul and state of mind, had to be still, regardless of how noisy the surroundings were. This was because the myriad phenomena of the world were the "Dao" of the entire heaven and earth. To derive the Dao from within was what cultivators had to do.

Time flowed by slowly. Although it was only a brief moment, and on the surface, nothing in the world seemed to change, the underlying transformations were far from simple.

At this moment, Chen Yun suddenly had a vague premonition, as if a membrane lay between him and understanding, which could be pierced with a gentle touch. Yet, this extremely thin membrane blocked Chen Yun, making it difficult for him to see through. For a moment, Chen Yun was deeply confused, his soul fluctuating within his sea of consciousness.

Although this meditation and contemplation seemed simple, it was actually extremely dangerous. After all, the path of cultivation would not be smooth sailing. If one's soul became severely lost during the process of contemplation and they did not awaken in time, over a long period, their soul would dissipate into the heaven and earth, becoming its energy.

This sounded truly chilling, but it was the reality. Of course, danger and opportunity coexisted. Such a situation often arose when one's fortune was about to manifest. However, it was incredibly difficult to gain anything from it. With the slightest carelessness, one could become lost in the vast Heavenly Dao, never to find their way back.

It was unexpected that Chen Yun would encounter such a situation right at the beginning of his contemplation. It was unclear whether this was his good fortune or his misfortune.

Chen Yun's body remained seated motionless. However, the life force emanating from him was gradually weakening. If things continued like this, unless someone woke him up or he woke himself up, Chen Yun would likely die without realizing it. Moreover, Old Ent was not around at the moment. It could be said that Chen Yun's situation was extremely perilous.

At this moment, Chen Yun's soul was fluctuating more and more violently. A transparent, unseen layer of film on the surface of his soul was becoming increasingly thin. His soul was also dotted with specks of golden light. If a peerless master were to probe with their divine sense, they would surely be astonished.

Normally, souls were blue. Only upon reaching the Venerable realm would a soul undergo a cataclysmic transformation and evolve into a golden soul. Yet, Chen Yun, with his mere Fourth Order strength, had a golden soul. This was astonishing! It was clear that Chen Yun's soul was inherently golden, merely concealed by that mysterious blue film.

However, the worst had still happened. At this moment, this golden soul was slowly becoming thinner.

Suddenly, Chen Yun's entire body convulsed, and a look of extreme pain appeared on his face, as if he were experiencing some terrible scene.

Yes, at this moment, Chen Yun's mind was filled with the painful experiences of his past and present lives. Ultimately, he had not yet shed his past life's identity and integrated himself into this world. Moreover, the experiences of both lives had left indelible marks on his soul.

Just as he was contemplating, he suddenly fell into a peculiar state. However, familiar scenes then barged in like wolves and tigers, disrupting that wondrous state and plunging his soul into a dark world filled with endless, unbearable past events. Endless mockery, like a flood of beasts, fiercely pounced upon him, repeatedly crashing against his soul, causing his entire body to convulse suddenly.

Just as Chen Yun's life force dropped to an almost imperceptible level, a faint dragon's roar suddenly emanated from within his body.

Immediately after, the body, which had almost lost all signs of life, suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light. A rich life force surged and strengthened at an astonishing rate. At this moment, Chen Yun's sea of consciousness was in turmoil, with golden waves churning incessantly.

Above the sea of consciousness, a small dragon, entirely golden yellow, with scales that emitted a cyan glow, circled and writhed. Dragon roars emanated from its mouth, and sound waves spread outwards like ripples. The inexplicable black gas surrounding the sea of consciousness, as if encountering its natural enemy, fled in panic, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

At this moment, Chen Yun's soul felt clear. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a strange fluctuation suddenly came from the depths of his soul, followed by a high-pitched dragon's roar, which instantly freed his soul.

After a long while, the golden light on Chen Yun's body gradually receded. His eyes slowly opened, and for a moment, two terrifying golden lights, about a foot long, shot out from them before instantly returning to normal.

His cultivation had not improved, and everything seemed as if nothing had happened. However, if one looked closely, they would notice that his eyes had become deeper, as profound as the stars in the universe, making one feel as if their soul would be sucked out with just a glance.

Chen Yun twisted his neck and stretched his body, producing a series of cracking sounds that surprised him.

Chen Yun slowly stood up, and at this moment, a sound of wind breaking through the trees could be heard.