Chapter 85

Bathed in the morning sun, Gu Fei took a deep breath, and a faint fiery aura seemed to envelop his body. Faint, almost imperceptible flames appeared to dance on his skin.

At this moment, it seemed as if Gu Fei had truly connected with the true fire of the sun, the pure yang energy. The fire element within his body resonated, and threads of solar essence were refined and integrated into his body.

By connecting with the five elements of heaven and earth, Gu Fei could harness the power of the external elements to temper his own five elemental energies. At this moment, he clearly felt that his life essence was stronger than before.

Gu Fei felt a surge of joy. The human body is like a treasure trove, and as his cultivation deepened, he realized that the treasures within the body were endless. After unlocking one treasure, there was always a greater one waiting for him.

By connecting with the great five elements of heaven and earth, what extraordinary things would happen in the future, Gu Fei did not know. But at the moment, he could feel his life essence gradually becoming stronger.

The strengthening of life essence brought great benefits. The abundant life essence would nourish his injured body, accelerating its recovery. It could even regenerate severed limbs and regrow flesh on bones, reaching the realm of an indestructible physical body.

As the sun rose high, Gu Fei gradually stopped absorbing the solar energy. The red flush on his skin gradually faded, and the hazy fiery aura around him retreated into his body.

After a night of cultivation, although Gu Fei did not make any breakthroughs, he felt that his body had become much lighter and his strength had increased significantly. The five elemental energies within his body were lively and vibrant, constantly nourishing his flesh and bones.

He gently stretched his limbs, and with a "swish," he leaped off the rock and plunged into the forest. Several afterimages flashed as he swung his hands, releasing several brilliant, blade-like energy beams that cut through the giant trees, causing them to fall with a loud "thud," stirring up clouds of dust and leaves.

At this moment, a figure appeared at the cave entrance. She saw the rapidly moving figure in the forest and was shocked. Gu Fei had brought her so many surprises.

"Swish!" In the next moment, the figure at the cave entrance moved, and Gu Fei left a trail of lingering afterimages as he appeared in front of Ling Luoyan.

"You're finally awake." Gu Fei looked at Ling Luoyan's face, which was pale and listless, indicating that her spirit had been severely damaged.

In fact, Ling Luoyan was lucky. The five ghost cultivators from Fengdu Ghost Palace had not fully refined their ghostly treasure, the Five Ghost Banner. If it had been fully refined, a single shake would have extracted the soul of anyone or any beast, using it as nourishment for the banner.

"Where are we?" Ling Luoyan looked around and asked.

Gu Fei shrugged and said, "I don't know where we are. I only know that we are in a dangerous, primeval mountain range."

"What should we do now?" Ling Luoyan frowned, knowing that her disappearance would cause chaos in the caravan.

"Well, you should be more familiar with these mountains than I am!" Gu Fei said with an awkward smile. It was his first time leaving the mountain, so he had no idea where they were.

"Eight Hundred Li Yunmeng Mountain. This is a primeval mountain in the southern part of the Yan Kingdom. We need to get back to the boat," Ling Luoyan said after a moment of thought.

"Do you know which direction to go?" Gu Fei asked. In the mountains, it was easy to tell directions during the day, but he had no idea which way led to the river.

He could not hear any human voices or the sound of flowing water, and for miles around, there was no sign of human habitation, let alone a major river.

"How did you bring me to this hellish place?" Ling Luoyan was panic-stricken. She looked around at the desolate landscape, which was a wilderness.

In the distance, the silhouettes of fierce beasts moved through the forest, and towering ancient trees with canopies that blocked out the sun were entangled by century-old vines. Unknown, clear bird calls echoed through the forest.

This was the first time Ling Luoyan had ventured into such a wilderness. She was at a loss, not knowing what to do. After all, she was a delicate young woman, a flower in a greenhouse, who had never experienced such a situation. Her eyes welled up, and she felt like crying.

"How can a man be so much like a girl? It's just that we're lost in the wilderness!" Gu Fei shook his head when he saw Ling Luoyan's pitiful expression.

At this point, Gu Fei still had not realized that Ling Luoyan was a woman, even though he had smelled a faint fragrance and noticed how light she was when he carried her last night.

"Alright, even though we don't know where we are, I have a method to get back to the river," Gu Fei said after some thought.

"What method?" Ling Luoyan asked urgently, on the verge of tears.

"A simple method. We are no more than two hundred li away from the river, and the river runs from north to south, spanning the entire Eight Hundred Li Yunmeng Mountain. We can start from here and walk two hundred li in both the east and west directions. That should get us back to the river, right?" Gu Fei said seriously.

"East and west, each two hundred li? Are you joking?" Ling Luoyan was shocked. This was a primeval forest, and walking hundreds of li on foot would be exhausting, if not deadly.

Even on a well-paved road, walking hundreds of li would wear out the soles of one's shoes. Her legs would be ruined. Ling Luoyan felt a chill at the thought.

"Do I look like I'm joking? Unless you have a better idea, we have to do this," Gu Fei said irritably.

If it were up to him, he would not want to return to the river. He would travel south through the primeval forest, fighting the fierce beasts along the way. By the time he reached the southern wilderness, his cultivation would have advanced significantly.

Comfortable living would make one lazy, which was not what Gu Fei wanted. Only by constantly facing danger could his cultivation improve. Pressure brings progress, and he needed to maintain a sharp and vigorous spirit.

"This..." Ling Luoyan was taken aback. She could not think of any other way.

"Or you can wait here while I scout the area. Once I find the direction, I'll come back for you," Gu Fei suggested, seeing Ling Luoyan's hesitation.

"No, I don't want to stay here," Ling Luoyan said, grabbing Gu Fei's arm tightly, her face full of panic. It was no wonder she was afraid; the primeval forest was full of dangerous beasts.

"How can a young woman stay here alone?"

"Alright, which direction should we go first?" Gu Fei asked. The chances of finding the river were fifty-fifty, whether they went east or west.

"Whatever direction you choose, I'll follow," Ling Luoyan said, leaving the decision to Gu Fei.

"The sun rises in the east, so let's go east," Gu Fei said, looking at the sun in the east.

"Let's go!" With the decision made, Gu Fei moved quickly toward the east.

"Hey! Wait..." Ling Luoyan called out and hurried after him.

Walking through the endless primeval forest, Gu Fei often saw bones, mostly those of large herbivores. For example, in a marsh with lush vegetation, several giant elephant skeletons, tens of meters long and several meters high, lay among the water and grass. Elsewhere, the bones of wild oxen were scattered among the rocks.

However, Gu Fei also discovered some unknown, massive skeletons scattered in the forest, which were particularly terrifying. He became more cautious, as these unknown bones might be the remains of extremely fierce beasts.

In the Eight Hundred Li Yunmeng Mountain, a vast primeval forest, the absence of fierce beasts would be unimaginable. However, after traveling dozens of li, Gu Fei had not encountered any particularly fierce or dangerous beasts.

This surprised Gu Fei. For others, fierce beasts might be a nightmare, but for him, they were a whetstone. In battles with fierce beasts, he would learn many useful combat techniques.

"Hey, do you know how far we've walked?" At the foot of a hill, Ling Luoyan sat down on a rock, took out a large, red fruit from her chest, and took a bite.

In the primeval forest, there were many unknown fruits, but Ling Luoyan only dared to eat the ones she recognized. She had picked quite a few along the way.

Gu Fei turned back and saw Ling Luoyan stop. He also stopped, walked to a large tree, leaned against the trunk, and took a bamboo tube from his waist. He unscrewed the cap and took a big sip of the cool spring water.

He had made this while passing through a forest, as water was essential in the primeval forest, even if food was not.

"It's still early. I estimate we haven't walked more than a hundred li," Gu Fei said, based on his experience living in the mountains. They had only traveled dozens of li in the primeval forest.

Of course, this might be because he was carrying Ling Luoyan, who was as delicate as a girl. Gu Fei thought she was a pampered disciple from a noble family, but he did not know that this handsome young man was actually a woman.

"What? How can this be!" Ling Luoyan screamed when she heard Gu Fei's words. "When will we get out of this hellish place?" she wailed.

"Roar..."

At that moment, a loud roar suddenly came from deep within the mountains ahead. The sound was deafening, shaking the earth, and causing chaos in the forest.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...

It sounded like a massive creature running, with heavy footsteps shaking the ground and causing the forest to tremble.

The heavy footsteps were rapidly approaching them.

"Bad!" The sudden roar shook Gu Fei's blood and made his body tremble. His eardrums almost burst. He threw the bamboo tube, leaped to the stunned Ling Luoyan, grabbed her under his arm, and jumped to the treetops, fleeing like the wind.

In a hurry, he looked back and saw a massive figure moving through the forest, trees falling, and leaves flying. He could vaguely see a huge creature rampaging through the forest.