Yang Wanqing let out a short gasp behind her.
"Wow—"
Chen Siyao straightened up and looked around.
A forest stood in the distance. But none of those trees were species she recognized.
Their trunks were grayish white, with warped grain, as though some force had twisted them.
Their crowns were enormous, their leaves patterned in alternating deep purple and dark gold.
Some branches bore glowing fruit—orange-red and thumb-sized, swaying gently in the breeze.
An indescribable scent hung in the air. It was neither floral nor grassy, but something more fundamental—clean and ethereal. Every breath seemed to push stale air out of her lungs.
"There's spiritual energy," Yang Wanqing said, catching on first. "There's spiritual energy in the air!"
Chen Siyao tried circulating her cultivation technique, and sure enough... an extremely thin current of spiritual energy flowed through the air. It was faint, but very pure.
Chen Hao stood a few steps ahead, surveying their surroundings.
His expression was less one of surprise than scrutiny.
Xiao Yue had already rolled twice on the blue grass in excitement, then chased after a bug that flew out of it.
The bug had four pairs of wings and an agate-colored body. Its flight path wobbled as though it were drunk.
The Wolf King was nowhere near as relaxed. He crouched beside Chen Hao's feet, ears standing straight up, his nose twitching constantly as he warily sniffed everything around him.
"Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." Yang Wanqing turned in a circle, not knowing what to do with her hands. "Is this the Otherworld? This... am I dreaming? Yaoyao, pinch me."
Chen Siyao pinched her.
"Ow! It really isn't a dream!" Yang Wanqing rubbed her arm, her voice trembling with excitement. "This is insane! I've never seen any of