"The Primordial Divine Tree that seals the Evil Dragon, the legend is actually true!" Qi Xiao exclaimed in disbelief.
Legend has it that deep within the Evil Dragon Forest, there exists an ancient divine tree known as the World Tree. It suppresses and seals an extremely malevolent Demon Dragon, whose body is filled with terrifying Evil Power. Anyone who approaches this place is devoured by the Evil Power and dies instantly!
"What is this?"
Xia Feng, with sharp eyes, suddenly discovered a nearly transparent thin film in the air less than a meter away.
He looked around in confusion. The film seemed to extend infinitely in all directions, with no end in sight.
At this moment, the film appeared to be expanding and was moving closer to both Xia Feng and Qi Xiao.
"Run, run!" Qi Xiao recognized the thing, his eyes filled with infinite terror. However, due to his severe injuries, he could barely move, so he pinned all his hopes on Xia Feng, his eyes pleading, "Save me..."
Qi Xiao felt he might still have a chance to be saved; he wasn't ready to die.
Xia Feng wouldn't foolishly rush to help immediately. In the blink of an eye, he retreated behind Qi Xiao and smiled, giving a thumbs-up: "Go for it! You're the best!"
Although Xia Feng didn't sense any danger, he still decided to let Qi Xiao test the waters first.
"You—"
Qi Xiao's eyes widened in shock, but before he could react, the moving film instantly passed through his body, "Ah—"
His speech abruptly ended, his frightened eyes instantly becoming lifeless and hollow as he leaned motionless against a tree trunk, facing the north and the drifting snow.
"Eh? Why is it quiet now?"
Standing behind, Xia Feng couldn't see his condition and shouted in confusion, "Hey, are you still alive? If not, make a noise."
The film continued moving slowly, and Xia Feng stepped back, eyeing Qi Xiao's figure suspiciously, but then he vaguely noticed something and focused his gaze.
He saw a nearly transparent, blurry orb of light being extracted from Qi Xiao's head and rising. The shape vaguely resembled a human body.
"Is this... a soul?" Xia Feng muttered in confusion. He had only seen such animations in theory classes during his first year but had never witnessed the real thing.
The transparent figure twisted, its features savage, its arms flailing as it let out silent screams. It desperately reached out to Xia Feng for help in panic, but to no avail; the Spiritual Body drifted higher and higher.
Whoosh—Whoosh—
The snow flew wildly, and the wind howled.
A multitude of dense, dark gray fogs surged from all directions, instantly enveloping and devouring Qi Xiao's Spiritual Body, leaving only his despair-filled grey eyes exposed.
"No!!!"
Xia Feng faintly heard his shrill scream echoing through the sky.
In the blink of an eye, the gray fog dispersed, and the Spiritual Body was completely disintegrated, his soul scattered.
"This gray fog is… concentrated Evil Power!"
Xia Feng mourned Qi Xiao for half a second, then became excited, "So that's it. Well then, I should just accept it graciously!"
He stepped forward and, the moment he entered the film, his movements froze.
"Eh?"
Xia Feng suddenly felt light, looking down, his head was actually below his own waist... what?
He kicked like swimming, and his Spiritual Body started to ascend rapidly.
Soon, he saw large clouds of gray fog floating in the air. He sniffed, "Gulp—"
Such a rich vanilla ice cream scent! Excited, he stretched out his arms and shouted with his eyes closed, "Come on! Hit me all you want, I can take it!"
Whoosh—Whoosh—
Snow flew and a cold wind blew. Xia Feng squinted open one eye. The gray fog clouds in the distance remained motionless, completely lacking the earlier enthusiasm they had shown Qi Xiao.
Xia Feng, puzzled, swam toward a smaller cloud of gray fog.
Swoosh—
The small gray fog cloud instantly retreated ten meters.
"Eh?"
Xia Feng paused, then turned and headed toward a larger cloud of gray fog in the north.
Swoosh—
The large gray fog cloud moved even faster, disappearing in an instant.
"Eh, eh???" Xia Feng took a deep breath; he couldn't believe it and flew towards an even larger cloud of gray fog in the east, declaring fiercely, "You dare to run, just try it!"
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
The super-large gray fog cloud instantly split into countless smaller fog clouds, scattering in all directions, and suddenly, the sky was empty.
Snowflakes drifting, the north wind howling, Xia Feng hung forlornly in the snowy landscape, feeling cold inside.
Alright, alright! So that's how it is!
He felt the blatant discrimination!
"No way, I just can't believe it!" He locked on to a small fog cloud, gritted his teeth, and continued the chase, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
Wherever he passed, the fog clouds scattered madly, like frightened fish fleeing a suddenly appearing shark.
Fear and disgust filled the air.
"Fine, good, well done! You've won!" After failing to catch a single one, Xia Feng ultimately gave up.
But when he looked down, he froze.
Below, on the endless snowy plain, stood dozens of people scattered about, all of them with vacant expressions, quietly gazing toward the World Tree.
These people were likely part of an adventure group, or the military from a few years ago, attempting to explore the supposed Evil Dragon treasure, only to have their souls buried here.
From a distance, Xia Feng could dimly see half-buried skeletons, severed limbs, and ice sculptures in the snow.
Such were the surface appearances, indicating how many souls' shells were hidden beneath the constant heavy snow.
Following the textbook method he had learned, Xia Feng managed to return to his own body and confirmed his bodily functions were normal. Then, relaxing his will again, his Spiritual Body soared higher, venturing deeper.
Unconsciously flying for over an hour, but the distance between him and the towering World Tree in the distance seemed not to have shortened at all.