Eastmountain City, located southwest of Eastsea City.
This is the hometown of Zhong Shenxiu after his rebirth, and it is also the place he chose as his holiday penance.
Although it is said to be my hometown, in fact, I don't have much feelings about my hometown.
Children who grow up in orphanages probably understand the word "hometown" as "a place where they once lived."
Eastmountain City's streets, buildings, and even the smell of the air don't have much special meaning to him.
But there's one good thing here - it's close to Eastsea City, but not in Eastsea City.
Close and easy to get to and from.
Being away makes it easier to hide and be quiet.
Badi Holy Dragon was walking half a step ahead, his short red hair still like a burning fire in the sunlight. He turned his head and whispered, "The Master, twenty miles ahead is the entrance to the mountain range. I have explored it, and there is no human settlement within a hundred miles."
Zhong Shenxiu nodded.
Under the investigation of Badi Holy Dragon, Zhong Shenxiu entered the mountain forest to the west of the East Sea area.
In this era, the original mountain forests have begun to become increasingly scarce.
Soul Guidance Technology is highly developed, and mankind's ability to develop land is unprecedentedly strong.
Plains were reclaimed into farmland, hills were bulldozed to build factories, and even some mountainous areas that were originally considered undeveloped were eaten away inch by inch amidst the roar of soul guidance machinery.
There are fewer and fewer primitive mountain forests and they are getting farther and farther away.
But not nothing.
That's it.
As the junction of the central zone and the eastern zone of the Douluo Continent, there is a continuous mountain range running across it. The mountain range is not high, with the main peak just over two thousand meters above sea level, but it is very long and deep, with mountains one on top of another, and the end cannot be seen at a glance.
Due to the gradual extinction of Soul Beast, this mountain range has gradually become deserted.
This place used to be a paradise for hunters. Soul Beast is rich in variety. Although the vintage is not high, the advantage is the large quantity.
Every year, a large number of Soul Master go into the mountains to hunt Soul Beast and obtain Soul Ring. As a result, the villages and towns at the foot of the mountain have prospered for a while.
But that's all in the past.
With the sharp decline in the number of Soul Beast, Federation has introduced protection policies, and fewer and fewer Soul Master are hunting Soul Beast. Coupled with the maturity of Artificial Soul Ring technology, that is, the maturity of Soul Spirit, hunting Soul Beast in the mountains has become a matter with an extremely low input-output ratio.
Without Soul Beast, there would be no hunters. Without hunters, there would be no business. Without business, villages and towns would be empty.
Sun-Moon Federation can naturally develop this place. But without mineral deposits, no special resources, and no strategic value, Federation will not be stupid enough to waste manpower and material resources to develop this virgin forest.
Therefore, this place has become a deserted and lawless place.
It is said to be a lawless place, but in fact no lawless people will come.
The people who are really causing trouble look down upon this kind of place - there is no oil, water, power, and they can't even build a decent stronghold. At most, they are desperate fugitives who will crawl into the mountains, but whether they can come out alive after getting in depends on their fate.
For Zhong Shenxiu, this is actually the best place for cultivation.
No people, no distractions, no rules.
There are only mountains, only trees, and only wind.
There is also a place where he can fight with his arms and legs free.
The traces at the foot of the mountain are very faint.
The village that once existed can no longer be seen, only a few collapsed stone walls are left half buried in the soil, with vines and weeds squeezing out from the cracks in the walls, shining green. A barely recognizable path winds towards the mountain, and most of the road is covered with fallen leaves, making a small rustling sound when stepped on.
Badi Holy Dragon walked in front with a steady pace. Each step was on the ground and made almost no sound.
Zhong Shenxiu followed behind, Light-Imperial Ninja Blade hung on his waist, and the scabbard occasionally touched the side of his leg, making a slight sound.
The two people walked one behind the other along the path into the mountains.
After walking for about an hour, the surrounding trees became denser and denser, with branches and leaves stacked together in layers, cutting the sunlight into tiny pieces of gold and scattering them on the ground.
Badi Holy Dragon stopped and looked back at Zhong Shenxiu.
"Master, it's almost here. Going further in, the terrain will be more complicated."
Zhong Shenxiu Look around.
This is a relatively open forest glade, about the size of two basketball courts. The ground is relatively flat with not much gravel. It is surrounded by dense mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, with natural shelter on all sides.
There is a huge fallen dead tree in the center of the clearing. The trunk is mostly rotten, and the surface is covered with moss and unknown mushrooms. Next to the dead tree is a small piece of exposed rocky ground, which has been polished smooth and shiny by the sun and rain.
"Right here." Zhong Shenxiu said.
Badi Holy Dragon nodded, turned around and walked towards the edge of the open space. He squatted down and placed his palms on the ground. Red Soul Power poured out from his palms and spread in all directions along the ground.
After a while, he stood up and walked back.
"There is no human presence within a radius of five miles. There is a stream three miles to the east, and the water quality is drinkable. There is a cave two miles to the west, which can be used as a temporary foothold."
He paused and added, "There are some wild beasts in the mountains, but there are no Soul Beast."
Zhong Shenxiu nodded and said nothing more.
He took off Light-Imperial Ninja Blade from his waist, leaned against the dead tree, then walked to the center of the open space and stood still.
Close your eyes.
Breathe.
The air in the mountains is much cooler than that in the city. It smells of earth and rotten leaves, and when you breathe it in, you feel a refreshing and refreshing feeling in your lungs. The wind blows through the treetops, making a rustling sound, and there are birds chirping in the distance, one after another, not urgent nor slow.
Zhong Shenxiu stood there, motionless.
His consciousness began to sink into his body.
Eternal Myriad Dragon Source Art circulated slowly in the meridians, like a quiet underground river, flowing silently under the skin. The power of light surged in the blood vessels, warm and soft, intertwined with the dragon blood in his body, indistinguishable from each other.
Level 40.
He has been standing on this threshold for a while, and it is time for him to break through and enter the realm of Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
Among Douluo Plane and Laws, when Soul Master breaks through the bottleneck, it is necessary to kill Soul Beast and condense Soul Ring.
In today's era, Soul Spirit technology is mature. Most of the time, Soul Spirit can be used to condense Soul Ring for Soul Master.
Zhong Shenxiu opened his eyes and took out a palm-sized metal ball from the bracelet on his wrist.
The bracelet was Storage Soul Tool given to him by Wu Zhangkong. It was silver-gray in color with fine Soul Guide Array patterns engraved on the surface.
Zhong Shenxiu Gently press a red button on the surface of the metal ball.
There was a soft "click" sound, and the metal shell popped open to both sides, revealing the glass cover inside.
Inside the transparent cover, a small crimson snake coiled up in a ball, sleeping quietly. The snake's body was only as thick as chopsticks, and its curled-up diameter was no more than five centimeters. Its scales glowed a dull red in the sunlight, like agate soaked in blood. The snake's head was buried in the middle of its body, and its face could not be seen clearly, but two very small protrusions could be vaguely seen on the top of its head, as if horns had not yet grown out.