166: There is a bear

After the figures of Zhou Xiuyuan and the two others vanished, the light of the underground teleportation array gradually dimmed, and its patterns began to crack.

"Damn it!" Mo Xuan's expression was grim.

"Uncle Xuan, where did Xiao Yuan go?" Zhou Liyue watched Zhou Xiuyuan disappear within the light, her face filled with anxiety.

"Rumble!" Before Mo Xuan could reply, massive rocks began to fall from the space above, and the entire underground cavern started shaking violently.

"This place is collapsing. We must leave immediately," Mo Xuan said.

The wind wings on his back lightly swept, deflecting the giant rocks that were crashing down.

"Wind Cone." Mo Xuan moved slightly in his heart; his wind wings vibrated, and a conical whirlwind appeared above his head, drilling into the rock layers, forcibly tearing open a path out of the underground cavern.

Protecting Zhou Liyue beneath his body, Mo Xuan transformed his shape and flew straight up toward the surface through the opening created by the Wind Cone.

"Bang!" The Wind Cone burst out of the earth, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

A massive snake leaped out, hovering in mid-air, silently watching the ground continuously collapse downwards.

"Boom~" A long time later, the original barren mountain terrain was gone, replaced by a chaotic mess of dust and jungle.

"A Teleportation Array?" Mo Xuan remained silent.

Although neither he nor the Zhou Family had ever heard of the existence of a Teleportation Array, judging by the inexplicable disappearance of the three people underground and the glowing patterns, it was extremely similar to the Teleportation Arrays of the cultivation world he knew from his previous life.

"I wonder where this Teleportation Array leads..." Mo Xuan calmed his mind, letting the perception originating from his Bloodline spread out to sense the scale on Zhou Xiuyuan's body.

Although Zhou Liyue was anxious, seeing Mo Xuan's current expression, she did not speak to disturb him. She simply stood quietly beside him, looking at the collapsed ground.

After a long while, Mo Xuan sighed.

"It's gone..." The scale Zhou Xiuyuan carried, just like the one he had given Zhou Liye previously, had vanished from his senses.

"Other Worlds?" "I wonder if, after achieving a Nascent Soul Breakthrough, I can sense across realms..." Mo Xuan felt helpless; his strength was still insufficient.

"Uncle Xuan, what happened?" Zhou Liyue asked, her tone worried.

"He must have already left this World," Mo Xuan shook his head.

"Are there really other Worlds?" Zhou Liyue exclaimed in shock.

She had never even left Qingzhou. She heard that besides Qingzhou, the Nancang Domain had eight other provinces. And beyond the Nancang Domain lay the eleven domains of the Human Race, the six realms of the Demon Domain, and perilous places like the Sea of Chaos, as well as many spiritless lands. Such an immense and boundless World was already astonishing to her. Yet, she could not fathom the existence of other Worlds besides this one.

Mo Xuan did not reply, simply shaking his head. He was not entirely certain, but in the World of his previous life, human imagination was too rich. Therefore, he had some guesses regarding the disappearance of Zhou Liye and Zhou Xiuyuan.

"Let's go. Staying here serves no purpose," Mo Xuan said softly. "As long as my strength is sufficient in the future, I will be able to bring him back."

Zhou Liyue's expression was downcast, and she slowly nodded.

Mo Xuan looked at the ground, and his magical power surged out, altering the terrain and covering up the traces of the site. If the Zhou Family could obtain clues related to the Teleportation Array in the future, this place might still be useful.

Having completed all this, Mo Xuan's storm Incarnation dispersed, and the snake shadow returned to the precious bead, which fell into Zhou Liyue's hand.

Zhou Liyue took the precious bead, staring blankly at the ground Mo Xuan had concealed. After a long silence, she turned and flew toward the location of the Zhou Family... In an unknown space.

"Kid, from now on, you'll have to rely on yourselves," "I don't have much residual power left; I can only protect you up to this point."

Within the light, the snowy mountain phantom vanished, and the Sword Spirit's weak voice sounded in Zhou Xiuyuan's mind.

"Remember, high-grade precious materials, awakening..." The final words faded, and the Sword Spirit's voice completely disappeared.

The tattered long sword was dull and lifeless, showing no further movement.

Zhou Xiuyuan had no time to react. After the snowy mountain phantom disappeared, immense spatial tearing force descended upon the three of them once more.

Shen Xuanzhao's expression changed, and he once again summoned the several broken tortoise shells in his hand.

"Bang, bang, bang~" The tortoise shells cracked again.

Shen Xuanzhao bit the tip of his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of vital essence blood that landed on the tortoise shells. The shells buzzed, and their protective power greatly increased, leaving Shen Xuanzhao utterly pale.

Zhou Xiuyuan poured all the remaining magical power in his body into the precious talisman in his hand. A pagoda-shaped phantom was barely activated, enveloping the three people.

Yun Qingsi once again summoned the umbrella-shaped Magical Artifact, which now had numerous cracks. As the umbrella Magical Artifact slowly split further, blood spilled from Yun Qingsi's lips, and her face grew even paler.

Time flowed by. "Bang, bang, bang..." Several cracking sounds were heard. The tortoise shells completely broke and exploded. Shen Xuanzhao spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes dimming. Unable to hold on any longer, he fell unconscious.

Without Shen Xuanzhao blocking the outermost layer, Yun Qingsi's Magical Artifact and Zhou Xiuyuan's pagoda-shaped phantom shattered one after another after holding out for a little longer.

Both of them had exhausted their magical power, and Yun Qingsi fell unconscious.

Zhou Xiuyuan bit the tip of his tongue. Using his last shred of consciousness, he managed to pull the two closer to him, took out the scale from his Storage Pouch, and covered the three of them with it.

"Buzz~" A flash of light streaked across the unknown space.

Inside, a dark-colored scale with complex patterns bore countless marks resembling impacts. Although the scale was dim, it remained firm and stable.

Xuanming Realm, Sword Domain, Huangzhou, outside the Chenyuan Forbidden Land, in Youxiong Village.

"Look quickly, a star is falling!" An eight or nine-year-old boy excitedly shouted, pointing at a stream of light descending from high altitude.

"A shooting star!" "There must be a treasure in it..." "Maybe it contains a Treasure Trove that allows one to become an Immortal..." "Let's hurry..."

Around him, five or six children looked in the direction the eight or nine-year-old boy was pointing, and indeed saw a light falling. Everyone chattered excitedly, discussing the event.

"Go!" The eight or nine-year-old boy waved his hand, about to lead the five or six little kids toward the distant location where the stream of light had fallen.

"Slap~ Slap~" A strong man, about nine feet tall, bare-chested and wearing a beast hide around his waist, grabbed the eight or nine-year-old boy and gave him a severe beating.

"You dare to go near the Chenyuan Forbidden Land? You are truly reckless." The strong man scolded him while beating him, completely ignoring the child's cries in his hands.

The five or six other children nearby watched the miserable state of their leader, all falling silent in fear, lowering their heads and daring not to make a sound.

"I was wrong, I was wrong..." After being beaten for a long time, the eight or nine-year-old boy begged for mercy.

The strong man slowly nodded and put the boy down.

"That is the Chenyuan Forbidden Land. I heard there are many man-eating demons inside. Even Immortals might perish if they enter, let alone you little brats." "All of you, behave yourselves."

The strong man lectured the children. Seeing them nod obediently in agreement, he walked toward the stone house in the distance.

The eight or nine-year-old boy, Youxiong Yanzhi, looked at his timid companions, feeling a surge of anger.

"If they won't let me go, I'll go anyway!" Youxiong Yanzhi's eyes darted around. He snorted coldly at the others and limped away from the area.

After dark, a figure quietly slipped out of the stone house and ran toward the distant Chenyuan Forbidden Land.

Inside the Chenyuan Forbidden Land, within the ruins of a desolate, altar-like structure.

A flash of light streaked by, and three figures, covered in wounds and unconscious, appeared atop the altar, blood slowly seeping from their bodies.

Not far away, a dark-colored scale, dull and lifeless, was embedded in the ground.