At dusk, flocks of birds returning to the forest skimmed across the sky, their cries rolling over the mountains like a tide.
At the far edge of the western sky, the setting sun sank inch by inch, dyeing the surrounding clouds the fiery red of a prairie fire. The spread of rosy clouds billowed in the evening wind, scorching the eyes.
At that moment, Su Fan's figure crushed through the layer of rotting leaves in the primeval forest, every step sinking into dead branches and leaves deep enough to bury his ankles.
The ancient wilderness was like a silent giant beast. Trees and shrubs grew wildly in twisted forms, and the daylight leaking through the interlaced branches shattered into mottled gold leaf across his shoulders.
When the sky was neither fully bright nor fully dark, he finally climbed to the summit, his panting mingling with the mountain wind brushing past his ears.
Standing at the cliff's edge and looking out, he saw the setting sun gild the boundless forest sea. That stretch of green, with no end in sight, refused to reveal even a trace of cooking smoke.
These continuous mountains were far more vast and brimming with life than he had imagined.
Along the way, he saw all kinds of strange, gigantic ancient trees and old vines, as well as enormous, multicolored mushrooms growing beneath their shade.
Su Fan had been trekking through the mountains for half a month, yet he still had not made it out of this unbroken range.
Su Fan's Spiritual Sense had not recovered in the slightest. Even the smallest thought sent piercing pain through his mind, like needles stabbing him.
The meridians and dantian within his body remained a chaotic mess. Though they had eased somewhat, he still did not dare to mobilize his