Immortality and cultivation: Heaven rewards diligence, and success is inevitable.

The dizziness from the teleportation passed quickly.

Jiang Shi opened his eyes and found himself standing on a soft grassy field.

The grass was very tall, past my ankles, and felt soft and spongy underfoot, like walking on cotton.

Overhead, a dense canopy of trees, with intertwined branches and layers of leaves, blocked out the sky.

Only a few rays of light leaked through the gaps, casting dappled patterns on the ground.

The air was filled with a rich wood-based spiritual energy, and every breath felt refreshing in the lungs.

But the coolness has a hint of sweetness, and smelling it for too long can make you dizzy.

This is still the Wood Element Realm, and this teleportation array doesn't lead to the third level.

Huo Lie squatted to one side, rubbing his temples, his face not looking too good: "You bastard, you dragged us into this. I haven't even agreed to team up with you yet."

Shui Lingxi stood not far away, the little blue beast on her shoulder looking around warily, its fur standing on end.

She didn't speak, but her eyes were unfriendly as she coldly glanced at Jiang Shi.

Feng Yiran finally emerged from the light, sheathed his sword, and looked around.

His expression didn't change much, as if he was used to this kind of environment.

Jiang Shi ignored Huo Lie's complaints and began to observe his surroundings.

The trees here are taller and denser than before, with trunks so thick that several people cannot wrap their arms around them, and the bark is covered with moss and vines.

The ground was covered with all kinds of spiritual plants, some of which were glowing, some were wriggling, and some could move on their own.

"It's poisonous." Shui Lingxi suddenly spoke, her voice cold and clear. "It's wood-type miasma. Prolonged inhalation will affect spiritual consciousness, and in severe cases, it can cause hallucinations."

She took out four pills from her storage bracelet and handed one to each person: "Miasma-avoiding pills, hold them in your mouth, don't swallow. One pill will last for two hours."

Jiang Shi took the pill and smelled it. It had a cool, medicinal fragrance with a faint bitterness.

He held it under his tongue, and the cloying sweetness immediately faded, making him much more alert.

Huo Lie chewed on a pill and asked indistinctly, "What do we do now? Go our separate ways?"

Feng Yiran said, "I'm looking for the Five Elements Sword Intent, so we'll go together since we're on the way. It's said that there's a remnant of the Wood Element Sword Intent on this second level."

Shui Lingxi said, "I'm looking for a spiritual plant called the Green Wood Spirit Flower, which is located deep within the second level."

Huo Lie shrugged: "Whatever, it's boring to travel alone anyway. The Burning Heaven Sect only sent me this time, so no one is teaming up with me."

Four people, four different goals, but all heading towards the depths of the second level.

They didn't form a formal alliance, but they also didn't separate; the four of them walked together into the depths of the forest.

The further you go into the forest, the darker it gets.

The canopy of trees overhead grew denser and denser, almost blocking out all the light.

Jiang Shi raised his hand and released a ball of flame that hovered above his head, illuminating the path ahead.

The four walked forward on the soft grass without saying a word.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber, and Huo Lie was the first to lose his temper.

"What do you think is the guardian beast on the second level?" he asked as he walked, his tone casual, as if he were chatting about everyday things.

"Green Wood Python," Shui Lingxi said. "Late stage of Golden Core, enormous in size, with strong constricting power and thick, tough skin. Its weakness is fire."

Huo Lie grinned: "Afraid of fire? That's perfect, I'm a fire enthusiast."

The group walked for about half an hour, talking as they went. The trees ahead began to thin out, and the light became brighter.

"Something's not right." Feng Yiran stopped in his tracks.

He squatted down and used his hands to brush away the fallen leaves and weeds on the ground, revealing the soil underneath.

The soil was black, but there were dark red streaks mixed in with the black, like blood seeping into the soil.

"Someone has been here," Feng Yiran stood up and looked ahead. "And more than one."

Jiang Shi's spiritual sense also caught some information.

Three hundred feet ahead, there were signs of a battle; the residual fluctuations of true essence had not completely dissipated, and it was the aura of a Golden Core cultivator.

"How long has it been?" Jiang Shi asked.

"Less than an hour," Feng Yiran said.

The four quickened their pace and hurried in that direction.

Soon, they arrived at the battlefield.

a mess.

A large number of trees were fallen, the ground was pitted and uneven, and there were charred marks everywhere.

Several large trees were snapped in half, the breaks jagged and uneven, as if they had been violently broken by something.

Three corpses lay on the ground.

They were all at the Golden Core stage, two men and one woman, all wearing the same black Taoist robes.

Feng Yiran examined the wounds on the corpse.

The wound was deep, running from the chest down to the back, with clean edges, as if it had been cut open by something sharp.

"It wasn't a spirit beast." Feng Yiran glanced at the wound. "A spirit beast's claw marks wouldn't be this neat. This was done by a human."

The four continued walking forward, but their vigilance had increased significantly.

Jiang Shi spread his spiritual sense even further, covering an area of ​​two hundred feet around him.

Feng Yiran slowed his pace even further, each step seeming as if he were measuring the ground.

The little blue beast on Shui Lingxi's shoulder perked up its ears and made a low whimpering sound.

After walking for about an hour, the trees ahead suddenly thinned out, and the view opened up.

It was an open space, about a hundred feet in circumference, with a huge ancient tree growing in the middle.

The trunk of the ancient tree is so thick that it would take more than a dozen people to hug it, and its canopy blocks out the sky.

Just as the four were about to continue forward, the ground suddenly shook.

Just as the four were about to continue forward, the ground suddenly shook.

Then came another one, even more intense than the first.

A crack appeared in the trunk of the ancient tree, and a rich, sweet-smelling wood-elemental spiritual energy gushed out from it.

Jiang Shi walked up to the ancient tree and reached out to touch the trunk. The bark was warm, like the skin of a living creature, and something was wriggling beneath it.

He withdrew his hand and looked at the three of them.

"The Green Wood Python is inside the tree. Should we wait for it to come out, or go inside?"

"Go in," Feng Yiran said.

He drew his sword, and with a flash of light, cut a gash in the tree trunk.

The crack extended inwards, and it was pitch black inside, making it impossible to see how deep it was.

A rich, wood-based spiritual energy surged from the crack, carrying a sweet, slightly fishy smell.

Jiang Shi raised his hand, and a ball of green light shone in his palm. He was using wood-type true essence, which would not cause a disturbance of spiritual energy here.

Under the bluish light, you can see that the inside of the tree trunk is hollow, like a natural passage.

The passage extends downwards with a very steep slope, and it's unclear where it leads.

Feng Yiran was the first to go in.

Jiang Shi followed behind, Huo Lie was third, and Shui Lingxi was last.

The passageway was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

The tree walls on all four sides were indeed slippery to the touch, like the intestines of some kind of animal.

After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the passage began to widen and the slope became gentler.

A light appeared ahead, not the blue wood-elemental aura, but golden.

Jiang Shi withdrew the blue light from his palm and slowed his pace.

At the end of the passage was a huge tree hole.

The tree hollow is hundreds of feet in diameter, and the top is so high that you can't see the top.

The tree walls on all four sides were covered with glowing moss, illuminating the entire tree cavity.

In the center of the tree hole, a giant python coiled up, which was the Green Wood Python.