Lan Tian lay on the rocky shore for a long time. Only after his racing heartbeat gradually settled into a normal rhythm did he brace himself against the ground and slowly sit up.
He looked up at the narrow strip of sky overhead. The top of the cliff was completely out of sight, with only a sliver of deep-blue daylight falling from an immense height and casting a faint beam of light across the dark valley floor.
The surroundings were eerily quiet. Only the gentle lapping of lake water against the shore and the occasional drip of water from the rock walls could be heard. The howls and pursuit of those poisonous soul beasts had vanished completely, as though this deep valley had cut them off into another world.
He waited for a while, listening intently.
There was no movement from the cliffs above.
The Empress Medusa clearly had not pursued him, and those poisonous soul beasts probably did not dare leap rashly into this unknown abyss.
At least, he was safe for the moment.
Lan Tian pushed himself to his feet with a hand on his knee, stretched his stiff limbs, and began searching for a safe place to recover.
He followed the lakeshore for some distance and found a spot beneath a sheltered rock wall. The ground there was relatively flat and dry, enclosed by rocks on three sides, with only the front facing the lake. The open view made it easy to keep watch.
He sat cross-legged and slowly released his Blue Silver Grass martial soul from his palm. Vines spread along the ground in every direction, weaving a sparse sensory network that covered an area of roughly fifty paces around him.
Then he raised his hand and activated Sun and Moon Shine Together.
A golden field