Qinghe Immortal Clan.

In a dark, unknown space.

Song Qingming sat cross-legged on the ground, holding several earth-attribute spirit stones that emitted a faint yellow light in his hands, and was trying his best to draw spiritual energy from them to replenish his own magic power.

After a while, although the spiritual light of the spirit stone in Song Qingming's hand had dimmed considerably, it did not turn into a pile of powder as before.

After trying for almost half a day to absorb the energy, he only managed to recover a trace of magic power from it.

Faced with this unexpected result, Song Qingming's expression instantly turned somewhat grim.

Previously, in the valley of the "Dark Cloud Mountains", Song Qingming fought against the woman in white.

Although they ultimately succeeded in severely damaging the "demon tree's true form," thwarting the demonic cultivators' plan to ambush and kill them, and helping the human cultivators win the great battle.

Unfortunately, Song Qingming himself was unable to escape at the last moment and was suddenly sucked into the spatial teleportation array cast by the other party.

Shortly after he was sucked into the vortex, he felt a dizzying sensation, and his entire body was instantly imprisoned by a powerful spatial force, making it impossible for him to move.

Only when he fell to the ground from a void did Song Qingming realize that his magical power had been completely exhausted during the teleportation, and he was extremely weak.

Fortunately, after he fell to this place, he did not encounter the white-clad woman who had pulled him in, nor any other demonic cultivators nearby.

Otherwise, given Song Qingming's weakened state, let alone fighting against the white-clad woman with a higher cultivation level than him, he would probably only be waiting to die if any Nascent Soul level demonic cultivator came.

Seeing that his condition was really bad, Song Qingming could only try to take the pills in his "storage bag" to restore his magic power.

To his surprise, for some reason, the flow of spiritual energy in this place was much slower than in normal places.

After swallowing the pill, he tried for a long time but was unable to refine it, and in the end he could only spit it all out.

Seeing that taking pills was not working, Song Qingming took out the spirit stones he was carrying and began to refine them to absorb spiritual energy.

As a result, half a day passed, and Song Qingming had not even been able to completely refine a single mid-grade spirit stone. The spiritual energy he extracted from it was simply a drop in the ocean for a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like himself.

In the end, he relied on the remaining map on his body to absorb the spiritual energy of the surrounding world, which allowed him to successfully recover less than half of his magical power.

Only now did Song Qingming feel a little better, unlike before when he had difficulty even standing up and walking.

Pills and spirit stones are useless. I don't know what kind of place I am in. Why is the surrounding spiritual energy frozen?
"No, I have to get out of here right now, or I'll be in big trouble if those guys catch up with me!"

Looking at the spirit stone in his hand, which was still gleaming, Song Qingming couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Ever since he fell to this place, Song Qingming has been constantly worried that the white-clad woman and other demonic cultivators might suddenly appear and catch him off guard.

Although his internal magical power had only recovered to less than half of its original level, he could only exert about one-tenth of his original strength.

But after thinking for a while, Song Qingming still chose to get up and leave the spot, to see if he could escape this place that was so unfavorable to him.

Although the surrounding environment was very dark, Song Qingming was still able to use his relatively strong divine sense to discover that he was in a huge cave.

About a hundred feet above their heads were thick layers of black rock.

In order not to easily reveal his location, Song Qingming did not choose to cast a spell to illuminate his surroundings, but instead relied on his own divine sense to keep exploring forward.

He originally wanted to release a few "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" to help scout the way.

When he opened the "Spirit Beast Bag," he discovered that these spirit insects, which had been lively and energetic outside, had all suddenly lost their spiritual power and fallen into a deep sleep after entering this strange space.

Even the "Ice and Fire Flood Dragon," who had already reached the Nascent Soul realm, was no exception. He was so weak that he couldn't even open his eyes and could only lie motionless in the "Spirit Beast Bag."

Seeing that they, like himself, were unable to recover their magical power in the short term, Song Qingming had no choice but to abandon the idea and put the "spirit beast bag" back into his waist.

Then, looking into the distance, they continued to explore the cave exit ahead.

".."

Inside a cave several tens of feet wide, a woman in white sat gracefully atop a circular stone platform.

Not far away in mid-air, a young man dressed in a gray robe was casting a spell to infuse a very dense black demonic energy into the body.

After a while, the white-clad woman's aura had recovered considerably, and the gray-robed man slowly cast a spell to withdraw the demonic energy from his hand, then voluntarily descended from mid-air.

"What exactly happened? Why did you suddenly come back here alone? Where are the others?"

"The plan in the Dark Cloud Mountains has failed. The situation is urgent and there is no time to meet up with them. In order not to expose the teleportation array, I have no choice but to activate the array and return first."

"Didn't you say last time that everything was ready? How could it suddenly fail? Did you alert those old guys?"

Upon hearing this, the woman in white sighed and said, "Don't worry, all those who came this time are Nascent Soul cultivators. If we had really alerted those old guys, I'm afraid I wouldn't be back by now."

"What? A few Nascent Soul cultivators were able to make you all look so disheveled? I must have misheard!"

Upon hearing the white-clad woman's explanation, the gray-robed man looked somewhat surprised, as if he couldn't believe what she was saying.

Faced with the gray-robed man's question, the white-clad woman did not offer any further explanation. Instead, she stood up and said, "Let's not talk about that now. Lend me your Demon Dragon Thorn for a moment."

"Dragon Thorn, what do you need this for now?"

"Go kill someone!"

".."

Faced with the white-clad woman's somewhat murderous reply, the gray-robed man remained silent for a moment, then with a flash of inspiration, threw a black short sword at her.

Watching the departing woman in white, the man in gray shook his head slightly, then turned and sat down cross-legged on the stone platform.

As the gray-robed man rapidly formed hand seals, bursts of black demonic energy suddenly emerged from above his head, quickly descending and entering his body.

At the source of the black demonic energy, a huge stone coffin, two or three zhang wide, was hung high on the top of the cave by more than a dozen chains.

".."

In the dimly lit passage, Song Qingming flashed lightning in his hand, and a small demon, about half the height of a person, quickly went still in mid-air, its charred corpse falling directly to the ground.

After dealing with the monster in front of him, Song Qingming glanced at the two passages leading in different directions and quickly chose one of them to enter.

Having explored the cave for more than half an hour, Song Qingming had not encountered any powerful demonic cultivators along the way, but he had been attacked by more than a dozen low-level demonic creatures.

These low-level monsters seemed similar to those he had encountered in the valley before. He wondered if they had been sucked into this place by the vortex like him.

Fortunately, there weren't many monsters, so they didn't cause Song Qingming too much trouble along the way.

After walking for a while, Song Qingming finally spotted a beam of light falling from above not far ahead.

Upon seeing this, he immediately strode forward to the vicinity of the light, and upon looking up, he discovered that it was a luminous bead hanging from the ceiling of the cave.

Moreover, there was more than one passageway ahead, which had illuminated the entire cave.

Upon discovering that there was a man-made passageway, Song Qingming did not hesitate and quickly walked forward in that direction.

After walking several hundred feet, Song Qingming noticed that the light ahead had suddenly brightened, and he had walked out of the cave and arrived at an open space.

Looking up, all around and in the entire sky was a hazy gray, with neither the sun nor the moon in sight.

For a moment, Song Qingming couldn't tell whether it was day or night.

With the help of the slightly brighter light, Song Qingming also found that he was standing on a barren mountain, with no flowers, grass or trees in sight except for rocks and soil.

After trying the spell, Song Qingming discovered that even outside, the flow of spiritual energy was still very slow, and a look of disappointment immediately appeared on his face.

Although he had successfully emerged from the cave, he still did not know where he was.

Moreover, his magical power could not be restored in a short time. At this moment, Song Qingming was not out of danger and needed to find a way to escape from here as soon as possible.

Otherwise, given his current condition, he could face a life-or-death crisis at any moment if he encounters a formidable opponent.

As Song Qingming sped down the mountain road, the thick fog gradually dissipated, and he could see that the foot of the mountain below was not far away.

Just as Song Qingming was walking briskly halfway up the mountain, a powerful aura suddenly appeared at the distant mountaintop, and a figure in white quickly chased after him out of the cave he had left.

"Damn it, this guy really won't leave us alone!"

The moment the woman in white appeared, Song Qingming spotted her and quickly ducked behind a nearby boulder.

The woman in white who had chased after them glanced around and then waved her hand, causing countless black demons to leap out of the cave behind her.

Seeing the numerous demonic creatures searching down the mountain, Song Qingming quickly cast a spell to conceal his aura.

Then he turned around and quietly made his way down the mountain.

He now had less than half of his magical power left, while the white-clad woman in the distance seemed to be in much better condition than him. Song Qingming had no confidence whatsoever in fighting her.

Now caught in a dilemma, he can only gamble on his luck.

Fortunately, the mountain is now filled with the sounds of monsters rummaging around, and the thick fog obscures the view, making it appear gray and gloomy.

Taking advantage of these natural geographical features, Song Qingming carefully made his way down the mountain for several hundred feet, and was now very close to the foot of the mountain.

Just as Song Qingming was about to leave the mountain, the thick fog at the foot of the mountain ahead dissipated, and a semi-transparent protective barrier suddenly reappeared before his eyes. Only then did Song Qingming see clearly that behind this protective barrier was a void of sheer cliffs, and outside, gusts of wind and wildfire seemed to be constantly attacking, their fierce aura causing the protective barrier in front of him to tremble incessantly.

"Haha, so you were hiding here after all."

"I didn't expect you to still have the strength to run so far in this desolate outer realm. I really admire you."

Before Song Qingming could react, a woman's laughter came from not far behind him. The woman in white had already led countless demons to surround him.

Seeing that he had been discovered, Song Qingming no longer hesitated and used the little magic he had left to cover his body before rushing towards the transparent shield in front of him.

The transparent shield in front of him seemed to be only used to protect against the strong winds outside, and it did not stop Song Qingming. He easily passed through the shield and came to the outside.

But before he could even catch his breath after stepping outside, several powerful wind blades accompanied by raging flames suddenly attacked him, striking Song Qingming's protective aura and forcing him back several steps.

Having just managed to block several wind blades in front of him, Song Qingming was immediately attacked by a scorching gale from above, and soon he was surrounded by countless flames.

Before Song Qingming rushed out of the protective barrier, he thought that the surrounding area was just some ordinary restrictions set up by the other party.

It wasn't until he was struck by the fierce winds and flames rushing towards him from all sides, making it difficult for him to stand, that he realized the winds in front of him seemed unusual.

Its power far surpassed any other array formations or restrictions Song Qingming had ever seen before; it was something that a Nascent Soul cultivator like him could not easily handle.

Just as Song Qingming reached the blazing flames with all his might, the woman in white in the distance had already arrived in front of the "transparent shield".

Looking at Song Qingming, who was struggling to hold on outside the protective barrier, she did not rush to attack him. Instead, a playful smile appeared on her face.

"Kid, how's it going? Not a pleasant experience with this outer-boundary gale, is it?"

"Let me tell you the truth, this is not your human world. Even if I don't take action, you can forget about escaping from here."

To be honest, I really don't understand how you managed to recover that little bit of magical power.

It seems you are hiding quite a few secrets, and I'm almost reluctant to make a move.

"Or I'll give you another chance. If you obediently hand over the ancestral wood you possess and then acknowledge me as your master, I'll spare your life, how about that?"

Despite the teasing words coming from the woman in white behind him, Song Qingming ignored her and hurriedly activated the fragmented diagram on his body to help restore his magic power in order to resist the external gales.

However, while the fragmented map of opportunity could help Song Qingming continuously replenish some of his magical power, the power of the gale before him was not something he could easily handle.

Soon, Song Qingming was blown around by the gale again, and his body swayed, and he was sent flying backward.

"Hmph! You really don't know what's good for you. Fine, I'll settle the score with you later."

Just as Song Qingming was being blown further and further away from the transparent shield by the gale, a black light flew quickly from the void, turning directly into a rope that tied around his waist, stabilizing his figure in mid-air.

The person who made the move was none other than the woman in white who had been watching the show from the sidelines for quite some time.

She had deliberately teleported Song Qingming here, partly to vent her anger for ruining her plans.

Another reason is to reclaim the original form of the "Level 5 Demon Wood" that Song Qingming had previously taken.

Seeing that Song Qingming was about to be swept away by the gale from outside the boundary, she couldn't sit still any longer and hurriedly cast a spell to pull him back into the "transparent shield".

After all, the place they were in was very special. Even though the woman in white was in better condition than Song Qingming, she still couldn't stay there for too long in the face of the fierce external winds.

If Song Qingming were really swept away by these gales, then all her previous efforts would have been in vain.

Just as the woman in white was trying to pull Song Qingming back, a sharp sword light suddenly appeared and severed the spiritual ropes binding him.

The next moment, Song Qingming was swept away by the gale and flew rapidly downwards into the void.

"How dare you! You deserve to die!"

Seeing that Song Qingming had actually used his magic to cut the rope that saved him, the woman in white was immediately surprised. She really hadn't expected him to make such a choice.

Furious, she quickly cast a spell to pass through the protective barrier, trying to catch up with Song Qingming, who had already been swept away by the gale.

But as soon as the woman in white passed through the protective barrier, the surrounding gale quickly blocked her path.

After chasing for only a short distance, the woman in white stopped, not daring to go any further, and could only watch helplessly as the other person's figure quickly disappeared into the void below.

"No!"

After shaking off the white-clad woman's entanglement, Song Qingming, who was still struggling in the distant void, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then took out two spirit pills from his body and threw them into his mouth.

Finally, he's rid himself of this troublesome opponent!
Having witnessed the woman in white's actions, Song Qingming naturally realized that she wanted to save his life first, preventing him from being swept away by the surrounding gale.

But now that he has successfully returned to the protective shield, he will inevitably lose the ability to resist and fall into the hands of the other party. Song Qingming can obviously guess what will happen to him.

He is now in dire straits, and no matter which choice he makes, it will be extremely dangerous, with a slim chance of survival.

Even knowing he was in a life-or-death situation, Song Qingming still wanted to die with some dignity, and he absolutely did not want to fall into the hands of demonic cultivators and become a puppet controlled by them.

In addition, another reason he made this choice was because of his experience dealing with the external gale just now.

After accidentally discovering that the fragments of the map on his body had been taken outside, the speed at which his magical power was restored far exceeded that when he was in the cave, and was exactly the same as before.

He was already struggling to hold on, but with the help of the incomplete map, he gradually stabilized his condition in the gale, and his situation was much better than at the beginning.

That's why Song Qingming just decisively cut off the spiritual light released by the woman in white and chose to directly plunge into the outer winds in front of him.

Even though he could temporarily withstand the fierce gale from outside the boundary by relying on the fragmented map, Song Qingming was still unsure whether he could survive in such a place.

According to what the woman in white just said, she is not on any continent in the human world, but most likely in some hidden space.

Having already experienced the various anomalies of this place, Song Qingming had no doubts about her words, and it didn't seem like she was deliberately deceiving him.

Although Song Qingming successfully escaped the white-clad woman's entanglement, he still didn't even know where he was.

How to get back home became a major problem for him.

Now that things have come to this, no matter how dangerous the road ahead may be, I can only take it one step at a time.

Having made his decision, Song Qingming withdrew some of the magic power that had stabilized his body, leaving only the magic power shield in front of him to withstand the surrounding gale-force winds.

He then began to fully activate the remaining diagram on his chest to accelerate the refining of the elixir within his body.

Sure enough, once outside, Song Qingming's speed in refining pills gradually recovered, and before long, his internal mana had recovered considerably.

Only then did he feel a little more at ease, and he couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate.

If it weren't for the rare treasure like the incomplete map, even if Song Qingming had a lot of pills and spirit stones to replenish his mana, he would have had little use for it in this environment.

".."

In order to maintain his magical shield, Song Qingming could only float in the void with the gale from outside the boundary.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but just as Song Qingming was feeling extremely anxious, a large palace phantom suddenly appeared in the void in front of him.

Seeing this, a glimmer of hope ignited in Song Qingming's heart, and he immediately poured all the magic power he had accumulated into his own magic power shield.

The next moment, a flash of spiritual light appeared on Song Qingming's body, and he broke free from the gale beside him.

He then transformed into a streak of light and flew swiftly towards the distant palace complex.

Although fierce winds and flames constantly attacked from the surrounding void, Song Qingming's internal magical power had recovered by more than half thanks to the help of the incomplete map during this period.

He was in much better condition than before.

With all his might, he quickly passed through the numerous strong winds and successfully approached the vicinity of the palace complex.

Only then did Song Qingming realize that this enormous palace complex floating in the void was incredibly vast, stretching as far as the eye could see, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Who on earth possesses such great supernatural power to move such a massive palace into this void?

This is probably something only powerful cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage or above could accomplish!
Looking down at the palace complex that was still shifting positions, Song Qingming sighed softly and immediately used the last bit of his magic power to change his escape light and rush forward.

Once he successfully passed through the transparent shield above the palace, the surrounding gale disappeared instantly, and the exhausted Song Qingming immediately fell directly from mid-air.

With a "plop," Song Qingming fell into a pool below, splashing up a huge spray of water.

It wasn't until quite some time later that his head slowly surfaced, and a look of relief and joy appeared on his face.

"There's always a way out! I've survived!"

".."

After washing his face thoroughly in the water, Song Qingming was about to swim to the shore when he suddenly noticed a figure appearing on the bank ahead.

The newcomer, with a slight smile, looked at Song Qingming, who was still in the water, and slowly asked:

"Who are you? Are you perhaps new here?" (End of Chapter)