A moving... portal?
Shen Heng nodded, his gaze turning slightly serious as he looked at the flickering flames ahead.
Although it's just speculation, it does seem to have a certain degree of possibility.
And if that's not the case, then so be it; but if it really is...
A moving portal.
This alone almost completely extinguished any thought anyone had of leaving.
After all, how can one find a portal that might appear in a certain space, in a certain place, and whose location is not fixed, among countless other spaces?
Let alone the fact that ordinary people can't perceive the subtle changes in space, even if they could, finding their way there wouldn't be so easy!
Of course, it is impossible to determine whether this is true or not at present.
In conclusion
Shen Heng turned to look at Qin Yu.
"You've been searching this way based on the degree of spatial Distortion, so the degree of Distortion in this space must be quite deep?"
"Yes, the space we're in now is much more Distortion than the space I was initially transported into," Qin Yu nodded.
"Can you estimate how long it will take to find that place where the Distortion and Order are most extreme?" Shen Heng asked.
"Hmm... it shouldn't be long. If it's a few spaces, we might find one; if it's a dozen, we should be able to find one!" Qin Yu said thoughtfully.
"Can you even tell from that?" Shen Heng looked at Qin Yu with some surprise.
He had only asked the question casually and hadn't expected to get an answer.
After all, this question is like being in an unfamiliar river, constantly walking deeper and deeper, and then being asked when you will reach the deepest point.
Normally, we shouldn't be able to reach a conclusion!
After all, you're not familiar with this river, so how can you know how long it will take to reach the deepest part?
Of course, not everyone will answer "I don't know," more likely they'll answer... "Soon?"
The reason is quite simple; it's probably just their own perception.
Shen Heng looked away.
He didn't really believe in this feeling, but he could use it as a reference and incorporate it into his thinking process.
Of course, it's best not to have too high hopes for this.
Then, considering a minimum of a few and a maximum of a dozen...
Shen Heng lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then asked:
"The degree of Distortion in each space is within a certain range, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Qin Yu responded, looking at the captain with some confusion, unsure why the captain was asking this.
"How far inward can we determine this range?" Shen Heng continued to ask.
"Hmm, it's hard to say, but after exploring inwards for about fifty kilometers, we can roughly determine the median value of the Distortion level of this space," Qin Yu said thoughtfully.
Shen Heng nodded slightly, deep in thought.
"What's wrong, Captain?" Qin Yu asked softly after waiting for a while.
Shen Heng turned his gaze over, paused, and then said as if making a decision:
"After that, we stopped exploring the depths of space like we did today. Instead, in each new space, we determined the approximate degree of Distortion, then returned to the boundary to find portals to other spaces. We continued this process, determining the degree of Distortion of each space connected to our current one, then choosing the space with the deepest Distortion to cross over to, and then repeating the process."
Qin Yu paused for a moment, then said, "To shorten the search time?"
"Well, it's understandable that we didn't know before, but now that we have a direction, we naturally need to shorten the search time, after all..." Shen Heng paused, looking at Qin Yu with a serious expression, "We've been teleported to this space for over two months. If this drags on any longer, the situation will become even more dire for the other soldiers."
After a moment's hesitation, Qin Yu nodded.
The two chatted intermittently for a while, and after eating some of the Calamity Beast, they each began to cultivate.
After a long while, the full moon hung high in the sky.
Qin Yu opened her eyes. She glanced at the captain, who was still sitting not far away breathing in the air, and then slowly shifted her gaze outside.
A somewhat happy voice echoed in my mind.
"Hehe, I was a little worried about what would happen if we encountered any danger later, but now it's all good. We've brought the captain over, so as long as we don't encounter any powerful Sixth Tier Calamity Beast, we can go wherever we want!"
"But if we keep searching, it's hard not to encounter Sixth Tier Calamity Beast, right?" Qin Yu shifted his attention somewhat. "After all, we're searching for the way out, and they've heard the news; they should be searching for the way out too."
"Well, that's true, but as long as we don't run into them directly, that's fine!" the voice in my head said. "We can't be so unlucky as to search for over two months, get close, and then find them just as they've found them, right?"
Qin Yu did not refute this point.
She paused for a moment, then said:
"But what if we get stuck there?"
"Ah, uh, eh... I don't think so!" the voice in my head said uncertainly.
Seemingly sensing the lack of confidence in the voice in her mind, Qin Yu paused and said:
" Sister Liya, don't you know what the situation is like with the World Tree sapling right now?"
"How could that be? Of course I... well, I don't know either."
The voice in my mind went from high to low, then returned to its usual tone:
"However, probably very few people in the entire Ruins Realm know about this, since this place is that broken serpent's territory, and there are very few in the entire Ruins Realm who can defy its will to enter."
"So, a Calamity Beast has entered?" Qin Yu asked.
"Well, I don't know, maybe yes, maybe no? But I'm more inclined to think no!" the voice in my head said.
"Why?" Qin Yu asked, somewhat puzzled.
"This place is where that damned snake keeps the World Tree saplings, not for people to cultivate or steal treasures or anything. Why would it let anyone in here for no reason?" The voice in my mind replied matter-of-factly.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu fell silent.
It seems... that's indeed the case!
"Furthermore," the voice in my mind continued, "I haven't heard anything from the Calamity Beast about anyone leaving from this side."
"So, in other words, we have no idea what kind of situation we'll be facing next?" Qin Yu asked, lowering her eyes.
"Hmm, right? But it's probably not that dangerous, but it's probably not that safe either!" the voice in my head muttered.
"Not that dangerous, but not that safe either?" Qin Yu asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Well, it's not that dangerous because it's, after all, a sapling of the World Tree. It won't cause us any harm, and might even be able to help us in the future. It's not that safe because..."