200 kilometers from the village, Aldrian and Eleine stood before a wobbly space. In the center of it, there was a crack in space shaped like a semi-circle. The crack itself was located inside a small cave with a diameter of 3 meters, covered by dense roots, making it easy to miss by a passerby.
Aldrian knew this place because it was within his domain, and sometimes he would come here to comprehend the space energy surrounding it. This helped him enrich his imagination and comprehension to improve his technique concepts. Aldrian could feel the abundant spatial energy and the concept of this spatial crack, which greatly aided him.
After a few moments of admiring the spatial crack before them, Aldrian looked at Eleine.
"Young master, do you have any disguise technique?" Eleine asked.
"Disguise?"
"Yes, young master. I'm sorry, but your red hair will attract attention in the outside world. Just to be safe, you should disguise your face as well," Eleine said. She worried that someone would link her young master to the Flamecrest family. Even though not all red-haired people are from Flamecrest, in the Barisan continent, red hair is a unique color, so it's better to prevent any potential trouble.
Actually, he didn't have any disguise technique, but he didn't panic. With his imagination and comprehension at that exact moment, he created his own disguise technique. Suddenly, his hair turned black, and his handsome face changed into a different handsome face. Eleine, who watched, was satisfied with his disguise. With that, they would have more freedom to move in the outside world. She also used her disguise technique, changing her hair to black and adopting a more plain face to hide her beauty.
"Ready?" he asked.
Eleine just nodded, and they rushed into the spatial crack without hesitation. As they entered, they felt a powerful force pulling them in, causing their senses to become disoriented. All of this happened in a matter of seconds, and before they knew it, they found themselves in a different environment.
They arrived in what appeared to be a huge inner cave. It wasn't completely dark inside because there were some substances that emitted light, resembling fireflies on the ceiling of the cave. The stalactites and stalagmites around them also gave the place an archaic aura. Aldrian and Eleine immediately checked their surroundings with their senses for potential dangers and looked around to better understand where they were.
Eleine, who had experience with spatial journey, still felt uncomfortable. She looked at Aldrian, who had a lower cultivation level, to see how he was handling it. She saw Aldrian frowning as if contemplating something, but she thought he handled the spatial movement quite well.
Often, when people use a spatial crack for the first time, their visual senses become disoriented, and they stagger immediately after emerging from the crack and the worst they will vomited. So, she thought Aldrian handled it well, perhaps feeling only slight discomfort. Little did she know that his frown was for a different reason.
"My control of the surrounding energy feels heavier, like something is trying to obstruct my control and senses." he thought. He had felt something similar when his domain hadn't yet filled the entire secret realm, but it was much heavier here. Compared to the secret realm, here it felt much more oppressive and for some reason he felt irritated.
"I can still see the energy in the surroundings, but it's much blurrier," he added.
The conclusion is that his abilities connected to sensing and controlling energy are reduced by at least 40%. That's quite significant for him, but he can adapt quickly. Moreover, he thinks it can also serve as training to sharpen his senses outside the domain. Something obstruct him? Then he will just keep pushing.
Once they were sure there was nobody in the vicinity and no dangers were detected, they walked toward the cave passage. Still vigilant and heightening their senses, they continued walking, passing a few curved passages before they saw a light in the distance. When they arrived outside the cave, they were greeted by a row of tall and dense trees. In front of them, the path was covered by tall grass, and the cave entrance was concealed by large tree roots that hid the mouth of the cave.
After taking in the surrounding scenery for a moment, Aldrian and Eleine cautiously walked away from the cave, still with their senses stretched out. The senses of a middle earl stage cultivator can reach 320 km from its epicenter, while a high viscount stage can reach 280 km. But for Aldrian, his senses can reach more than 350 km, a range usually achieved by peak earl stage cultivators! Despite his sense of energy being weakened, his ability to scan the surroundings remained as strong as it was within his domain.
Eleine then jumped onto the tallest tree trunk to get a better view of the area and keep watch from above. Aldrian, seeing this, followed Eleine and also surveyed the scenery from above. What he saw was a vast, flat forest stretching to the horizon. Having grown accustomed to seeing forests in the secret realm, he admired it for a moment, thinking to himself,
"I am in the outside world."
He then took a deep breath and looked in one direction, "The call is coming from that way."
After leaving the secret realm, the sensation of being called became clearer and stronger, but he resisted the urge to rush there immediately.
"Young master, I can recommend some places to visit first to get accustomed to after arriving here," Eleine suggested.
Aldrian listened to Eleine and then asked her, "Do you know what lies in that direction?" as he pointed towards the source of the call.
Eleine looked in the direction Aldrian pointed and then replied, "To be honest I don't know, young master. That is the inner area of the Everlasting Silent Forest, which has never been touched or explored. I advise against going there because it's very dangerous. Forget the inner area; even this part of the forest we are in now has never been ventured into before. Lord Aldrey and Lady Irene only came here by chance due to certain circumstances."
Aldrian listened to Eleine's explanation and could only sigh. It seemed he would have to postpone his journey in that direction.
"But that was before we entered the secret realm. In the Barisan continent, the legend of the Everlasting Silent Forest is well-known, stating that anyone who steps into this forest never returns. At least now we know that they seem to be swallowed by a space crack leading to the secret realm. The exit of the secret realm opening indicates that changes have occurred in this forest over the past few years, so the situation might have changed."
Aldrian felt relieved upon hearing this; it seemed he could head there in the future. At least now he could plan it first, considering the dangers. He decided to prepare himself thoroughly before making the journey.
"So, what do you recommend for this trip?" Aldrian asked.
Eleine looked towards the north and then east. "I recommend we go to the elven territory first. The elves have a good relationship with orthodox cultivators, so we can observe the situation and developments there. For now, information is the most important thing." Eleine replied.
At the moment, their position was in the outer area of the Everlasting Silent Forest, specifically in the northern part of the forest. Eleine wouldn't recommend going to the Doria Empire in the northeast or the Vindas Empire in the north even though they are much closer to minimize the risk of Aldrian encountering issues related to his parents' family. Thus, the elven territory was the most logical choice for now.
"The elven territory," Aldrian murmured, his curiosity piqued. He had never seen other races before. He had only heard stories from his parents about various races in the outside world, such as elves, dwarves, and even beasts with intelligence like humans who could speak and transform into human forms. So when he heard they would go to one of their territories, Aldrian felt a keen interest.
With their destination decided, they descended from the tree and began their journey southeast.
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After traveling for a week, they encountered various forms of life, such as animals and beasts with weaker cultivation levels than theirs. They had yet to encounter any humanoid life forms during their journey. For Aldrian, this might have been typical, but for Eleine, it was unusual for this forest.
With the presence of roaming animals and beasts, it indicated that the forest had undergone changes in the past few years. The name Everlasting Silent Forest was not for nothing, any life that entered would be trapped within. The fact that these animals could roam freely suggested that the dangers of the forest might have diminished, or perhaps its status as a forbidden zone had been revoked.
They are currently resting with Eleine keeping watch from a tree branch and Aldrian sitting cross-legged on the ground. He cultivates and continues to train his comprehension even in the middle of his journey. If there are no obstacles, they will reach the elven territory in six months.
A few hours later, they resumed their journey, hoping to encounter some form of life that could provide them with information. As if the sky heard their hearts' desire, a few hours later, they sensed something within their range, and it seemed that whatever it was also sensed them.
Aldrian, who perceived them through his senses, was momentarily stunned because the aura and form of life that appeared in his sense were unlike anything he had seen before. With their high speed, they finally encountered their first humanoid life form.
"Elves." for the first time in his life, Aldrian saw an elf.