Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Four Years
This left Ji Chen very shocked, as if this ancient cave had a master who only allowed him to take one Divine Medicine, not permitting him to take a second.
In his surprise, Ji Chen’s gaze also swept across everything in the cave, a nameless panic appearing in his eyes.
At this moment, it felt as though an invisible pair of eyes was staring at him, making Ji Chen feel very uneasy.
Soon, he tried to approach the Cold Pool again and took out a Jade Bottle, planning to collect some Cold Pool Water.
This time, that repulsive force did not stop him.
After filling the bottle to the brim with water, Ji Chen stood up and clasped his fists, slightly bowing to the surroundings.
"Puh!"
Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his chest and couldn’t help but cough up a mouthful of blood.
Ji Chen’s face changed drastically, and using his Divine Thought to look into his Spiritual Sea, he found that the wounds on the Great Tao had become extremely severe, as if the entire Spiritual Sea might collapse at any moment.
Because the flow of time in this cave differed from the outside world, during his time in the cave, at least two years might have passed outside!
Not daring to hesitate, Ji Chen didn’t want to stay here for another moment.
After properly storing the Jade Bottle, he dashed out of the cave as fast as he could.
"Hoo!"
Before long, he ran out of the ancient cave and let out a long breath, "From the time I entered the ancient cave until now, it spent about half an hour...but nearly three years have passed outside!"
It’s hard for Ji Chen to believe it would be true without having experienced it firsthand.
Plus, since he took the red fruit and spent a year awakening, this means that since entering the Immortal Burial Forest, exactly four years have actually passed!
Thinking this, Ji Chen felt as if he were in a dream.
"Puh!"
He coughed up blood once again, with the wounds on the Great Tao becoming much more severe.
Without hesitating, Ji Chen immediately sat down where he was and took out the purple fruit he had obtained in the cave.
"I hope this is the Dao Heart Fruit, otherwise..."
After murmuring to himself, he began to devour the purple fruit in large mouthfuls.
Unlike the red fruit, the purple fruit was rather sweet.
After eating it, Ji Chen sat quietly in place and waited for a moment, yet noticed nothing unusual in his body.
This made him furrow his brows involuntarily, "Could this just be an ordinary fruit?"
"Buzz..."
Just as he finished speaking, suddenly, within his Spiritual Sea, an inexplicable force emerged out of nowhere, instantly spreading to all parts of his body.
This force was somewhat warm, making Ji Chen’s body become warmer.
But as time went on, this force grew stronger, becoming unbearably hot, soaking him in sweat from head to toe.
The feeling was not pleasant, as though he might explode and die at any moment.
Ji Chen gritted his teeth and persisted, soon discovering that the wounds in his Spiritual Sea started to heal gradually.
Not only that, but the aura around him began to surge wildly.
"Bang!"
In less than a few dozen breaths, a muffled sound came from his body.
At this moment, Ji Chen’s cultivation unexpectedly broke through from the First Layer of the Returning Ruins Realm to the Second Layer!
Moreover, the surging aura showed no signs of stopping, still intensifying.
"Bang!"
After another quarter of an hour, a muffled sound came once more, and he reached the Third Layer of the Returning Ruins Realm!
With each increase in strength, Ji Chen also found that the restless force within him gradually calmed down.
The reason he could break through continuously in such a short time was probably due to this force.
He sat cross-legged in place for a full half a day.
Finally, everything settled, and the force that emerged from nowhere completely disappeared from within Ji Chen.
By now, his cultivation had already reached the Seventh Layer of the Returning Ruins Realm!
"Unbelievable..."
Ji Chen was astonished, taken aback by the incredible effects of the Dao Heart Fruit.
At this moment, not only had the wounds in his Spiritual Sea disappeared, but his cultivation had also skyrocketed, advancing from the First Layer to the Seventh Layer of the Returning Ruins Realm!
The surge in strength, the transformation of his physical body, and the comprehension of the Night Emperor’s Heavenly Scripture—all culminated into significant ascendance over these four years for Ji Chen.
He let out a long breath, then stood up, slightly bowed his hands, and gave a salute to the ancient cave not far away.
Ji Chen could almost confirm that some unknown existence was within this ancient cave, the master of this place.
He didn’t know what this was, but he held a sense of awe, especially since he obtained the Dao Heart Fruit here.
Quickly, after simply worshipping the Night Emperor, Ji Chen no longer hesitated, stepping toward the base of the Divine Mountain.
Now that his body had transformed into the Hongmeng Body, the Forbidden Power in the mountain no longer affected him.
Thus, Ji Chen did not hurry to leave the Immortal Burial Forest and instead observed his surroundings while making his way out.
As one of the three major forbidden zones in the Northern Nether Realm, the Immortal Burial Forest held countless unknown mysteries, never fully explored or left by anyone throughout history.
But now, Ji Chen had broken this taboo and might become the first person to walk out of the Immortal Burial Forest.
...
Several days later, he finally emerged from the forbidden zone.
Turning back, he gazed at the purple mountain behind him, still having a dreamy and surreal feeling even now.
He couldn’t believe he really found the Dao Heart Fruit and gained so many opportunities inside.
Whether it was the Hongmeng Body or the Night Emperor’s Heavenly Scripture, obtaining just one of these opportunities would mean tremendous transformation for anyone.
"I wonder how the Lingyun Sect is doing..."
After being away for four years, Ji Chen naturally felt a concern, not hoping that the development of the Lingyun Sect had exceeded his expectations, but wishing that everything was fortunate and nothing bad had happened.
Of course, with Nangong Ao’s protection, Ji Chen felt relatively at ease about the Lingyun Sect.
However, during the four years he had been away, undoubtedly many things must have happened in the outside world.
Four years may not be a long time, but it is enough to change a lot.
Celestial Wave City.
It was one of the few prestigious ancient cities within the realm and the closest Cultivator City to the Immortal Burial Forest, only two to three hundred miles apart.
Although the Immortal Burial Forest was a perilous place, people had continually tried to explore it over the years, hoping to find some opportunity within.
Of course, these so-called explorations were nothing like Ji Chen’s deep venture into the mountain but instead involved lingering around the outskirts, searching for things that drifted out from the mountains and not daring to truly enter.
As a result, Celestial Wave City, being the closest city to the Immortal Burial Forest, became a foothold for these ’adventurers.’
Not long after walking out of the Immortal Burial Forest, Ji Chen arrived at this city.
To his surprise, at this moment, within Celestial Wave City, among the cultivators walking along the street, there were many with bizarre appearances, some with a dog’s head and a human body, others with a human head and a horse’s body, quite strange indeed.
"Have the ancient alien races finally emerged..."
Ji Chen couldn’t help but mutter to himself, and seeing such a scene, it wasn’t hard to speculate that the Dragon Race, Demon Race, and other ancient alien races had completely emerged during these four years, competing with the Human Race for opportunities in the world.