You Said This Was the Great Thousand World?

However, in the blink of an eye, before the Snake-People Tribe could react, Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong had already made their move.

"Mystic Ice Dragon Flight!"

"Double Fire Feathers!"

With their angry shouts, five lifelike ice dragons and countless two-colored fire feathers condensed around them and attacked the Snake-People below.

Before the dizzying sensation of spatial distortion had completely subsided, Huo Yuhao's feet had already stepped onto solid—or rather, abnormally solid—ground.

As far as the eye could see, there was a chilling, deathly silence.

The sky was a murky, leaden gray, devoid of Sun Moon, and stars, only a dim, oppressive halo shrouding the land. The earth appeared a sickly gray-black, cracked and parched, barren of any vegetation.

Only a few jagged rocks, resembling the skeletons of giant beasts, stood haphazardly on the wasteland, casting distorted shadows. The air was thick and heavy, carrying an indescribable, decaying stench, like rusting metal.

"This is the Great Thousand World you spoke of?" Huo Yuhao's voice was calm, but his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings, his Spirit Probe instantly spreading out to cover an area of dozens of miles. "You said the spiritual energy is so dense you can take a bath? I feel like I'm taking a bath in a dry well?"

"This is not right! This is really not right!" The Guardian Mirror tied to Huo Yuhao's hair was flashing silver light wildly, and the cracks on the mirror surface seemed to be trembling.

Its voice was filled with disbelief and a hint of barely perceptible panic. "This is the right direction, right? But here—why is there still not a trace of spiritual energy? It's even worse than the Battle Qi Continent!"

Xue Protector closed his eyes to sense for a moment, then opened them and said with some helplessness, "Master, the energy of this world is extremely thin; I am completely unable to replenish my Dou Qi."

Xue Protector's aura was extremely weak. Because he used the Guardian Mirror to traverse space, he had consumed nearly 90% of his Dou Qi. If he could not recover now, they would not be able to use the Guardian Mirror to return the way they came.

Huo Yuhao glanced at the mirror, who was still questioning his existence, took out several exquisite jade bottles from his Storage Ring, and tossed them to Xue Protector. He said irritably, "Luckily, I was prepared. These are Qi-Recovery Pill refined by Elder Huo."

Before leaving the Battle Qi Continent, Huo Yuhao practically "looted" the entire alchemy area, taking away all the pills of grade four and above.

After all, after Huo Yuhao helped the Alchemy Department build the spirit field, Elder Huo generously said that Huo Yuhao could take any pills from the Alchemy Department at will. Therefore, Huo Yuhao did not stand on ceremony.

Among the pills taken were many of the Fifth Grade and higher pills treasured by Elder Huo. These pills possessed various effects, but at this moment, they could only be used as "rations" to replenish Dou Qi!

Xue Protector respectfully accepted the pills, poured out a few and put them in his mouth. The powerful medicinal properties dissolved, barely sustaining his power as Dou Zong.

The Guardian Mirror continued to mutter, its voice filled with frustration. "Impossible! All the lower planes are on the same spatial layer, only the Great Thousand World are in the upper space—this coordinate clearly points to the upper space!"

But what kind of hellish place is this?

"Stop nagging!" Huo Yuhao rubbed his temples, which were throbbing from its noise, and snatched the small mirror from the end of his hair. "Mirror Auntie, since we're already here, let's wander around, learn about this world, and then head back."

As he spoke, he chose a direction and began to walk. His Spirit Probe remained at its maximum range, vigilant for any unusual movement in this desolate wasteland.

The murky, leaden-gray sky stretched endlessly. Huo Yuhao and Xue Protector appeared exceptionally small in this desolate scene. Every step they took on the parched ground produced a chilling "rustling" sound, as if they were treading on countless withered bones.

An hour passed quietly.

Huo Yuhao's Spirit Probe never stopped, continuously spreading outwards from him. However, the only information returned was desolation.

"Nothing at all—" Huo Yuhao muttered to himself, his brows furrowing even more. With their speed of travel and the breadth of their Spirit Probe, they had theoretically already observed half the country.

However, this desolation seemed endless; not a single person, not even a speck of moss or a flying insect appeared.

"Master," Xue Protector's voice was low, "We found nothing."

Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on a slightly undulating horizon in the distance. The edge of his Spirit Probe returned some more regular lines and outlines, different from the pure wasteland.

After traveling some distance, a vast ruin came into Huo Yuhao's mental vision.

It's called a city ruin, but in reality, there are only scattered fragments of the foundation outline that are almost blending into the gray-black earth. In a few more years, even these traces will probably disappear completely.

Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks, not daring to step into the ruins. A glint of silver light flashed in his eyes, and a trace of extremely pure spiritual energy was extracted.

Under Huo Yuhao's control, this Spiritual Clone Simulation as a small pebble and, with the help of the wind, quietly drifted into the ruins.

The pebbles drifted slowly through the ruins. Huo Yuhao's senses enveloped the ruins, carefully examining every crack.

"Still nothing!" Huo Yuhao was somewhat disappointed. There was no valuable information in this ruin, not a single written or pictorial record.

Just as he was preparing to leave this increasingly oppressive ruin—

"I understand!" The Guardian Mirror suddenly vibrated violently in Huo Yuhao's hand, its surface gleaming with silver light. His voice carried a hint of sudden realization. "The spatial layer in which your Battle Qi Continent is located is different from other lower planes! That's why I came to the wrong place!"

"The real coordinates should be to continue in this direction—upwards—" Its voice suddenly lowered, carrying a strange sense of unease.

"What's wrong?" Huo Yuhao took another step, but his brows furrowed even more. Walking on this land, thanks to the Heavenly Cycle Art he cultivated, which was not picky about energy, he could still slowly absorb the meager energy to recover from his consumption.

But the energy feedback from this plane felt cold, malicious, and bloody, making him feel extremely uncomfortable, as if he were naked in a sewer that hadn't been unclogged in a long time.

"This plane is very strange----" Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks.

"Quick! We need to get out of here!" The Guardian Mirror's voice suddenly screamed deep within Huo Yuhao's soul, filled with unprecedented panic and urgency. "It's the aura of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan! It permeates every corner of this plane! They've been to this plane! Or, they're still here!"

Its mirror-like surface flashed with silver light, preparing to relock the coordinates of the Battle Qi Continent.

"Extraterritorial Evil Clan?" Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks. "An enemy of the Great Thousand World?"

"That's right! They are the enemies of all living beings! In the Great Thousand World and all lower planes, wherever they pass, life is extinguished, all things wither, and everything is corrupted and devoured!" The Guardian Mirror's telepathic message was filled with deep-seated hatred. "We'll discuss the details later! Let's get out of here! Immediately! Right now!"

However, the next second, the Guardian Mirror's scream turned into utter terror, "Impossible!!! The coordinates of the Battle Qi Continent —can't be found! Are they blocked by some force? Could this be a trap?! We were deliberately lured here?!"