Chapter 71 The Myriad Manifestations Forest: A Refined Heart, A Word of Faith, A Meeting with Mingqi and Ade…

Seeing that Mingqi and Ade hadn't returned yet, Yan Chao said, "I want to wait for them to come back before I leave. At least, I should say goodbye."

Bangling said, "There's no need to say goodbye. When they return and see you're not there, they'll naturally know you've left. Besides, the journey is long, and we need to set off immediately."

Upon hearing this, Yan Chao glanced at Bang Ling with a puzzled look, noticing the urging in his eyes, but she still didn't respond. She got up, found paper and pen, and left a letter. The content was as usual, and to avoid worrying Ming Qi, she didn't mention Wan Xianglin in the letter.

Yan Chao had lived in the mortal realm for over a hundred years and had never heard of Wanxiang Forest, nor had Ming Qi mentioned it. Moreover, Bang Ling was actually going to personally take her there. Yan Chao could clearly sense that this time was different from any other. Therefore, she left Mo Mo at home.

"MoMo, this time you're the one guarding the house."

Mo Mo glanced at her, flapped its wings a few times, landed on her hand, and tilted its head to stay still, which meant it agreed.

Bangling said, "Let's go, the road ahead is still long."

When Mingqi and Ade returned, Yanchao had already been gone for some time.

Mingqi saw the letter on the table and said, "She's gone again."

Adele asked worriedly, "Won't something happen if you leave in such a hurry?"

Ming Qi laughed, "It's good that she's gone. We'll have a good meal tonight, but there won't be any for her." Then he looked at Mo Mo, "Little Mo Mo, you'll have an extra meal tonight too!"

When I opened my eyes again, a thick, impenetrable fog pressed down heavily, obscuring my mouth and nose. Light struggled to penetrate through gaps in the treetops overhead, only to be quickly swallowed up again. There was no path beneath my feet, only massive tree roots and slippery moss. The air was thick with the musty smell of rotting earth and a cloying, fishy fragrance; each breath made me feel suffocated. In the distance, a strange bird call drifted by, sounding like a broken gong, its direction indiscernible.

The towering ancient trees all around were twisted and bizarre, with countless gray-green vines and animal carcasses hanging from them, and water droplets from huge fern leaves dripping onto the thick layer of fallen leaves.

“...tap...tap..."

This is the Forest of Myriad Forms. Beyond the Three Realms, its laws are beyond reach.

Yan Chao swallowed a pill, took out a tinderbox, and the faint light was barely enough to illuminate the area. She looked around, took a few tentative steps, and stopped in a relatively flat area: "Bang Ling, are you still there?"

Bangling said, "Of course I'm here. You're new to this place and don't know anyone, so it's only natural that I should guide you."

His voice could be heard, but he could not be seen. His voice was also as if veiled by fog, and not very clear.

Yan Chao carefully checked himself over and found nothing amiss. Bang Ling seemed to chuckle and said, "Keep moving forward. Remember to watch your step."

They walked for an unknown amount of time, time itself becoming blurred. The fog showed no sign of thinning, and their hearts grew increasingly tense. Suddenly, Bangling's voice rang out again: "They are just ahead."

Yan Chao looked in the direction of the sound and vaguely saw three figures in the misty haze. They had all clearly just experienced something. Yao Xu's sleeves had several scratches, and Mi Qing's hair was somewhat loose, with a few strands clinging damply to her cheeks. Feng Xi, on the other hand, was relatively well-dressed, though his expression was tense.

Feng Xi was the first to see her. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Chao Chao, are you alright?"

Yan Chao said gently, "I'm fine. Are you all alright?"

Yao Xu stepped forward and said, "We're all fine, it's just that this place is too strange."

Yan Chao breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Have you checked their bodies for any abnormalities?"

Mi Qing said, "My magical powers are still intact, and everything is as usual."

Yan Chao asked, "Were you also brought here personally by the Banner Spirit?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xi swung his palm towards the source of the spirit's voice and said, "That's right. But he should come out and explain himself!"

Before he could finish speaking, a cry of "Ouch!" was heard, and the spirit appeared, falling heavily to the ground.

Bangling lay sprawled on his back, his entire body burying itself in the ground, looking utterly pathetic. He coughed a few times, spitting out mouthfuls of dirt and fallen leaves, and said, "You...you...you really have no respect for the elderly whatsoever! Do you know how hard it was for me to bring you all here by creating four clones all by myself!"

Yao Xu said, "You've been very strange since your first appearance. Now you've brought us to this Wanxiang Forest, which we've never even heard of. What kind of place is this? What are you going to do?"

Bangling didn't answer immediately. Instead, he sat up, crossed his arms, glanced at the four of them, chuckled, and said, "You are really ignorant. You don't even know that Wanxiang Forest is such a beautiful place."

"......"

Beautiful? Where is the beauty? The oppressive fog, the towering and eerie trees, the lack of sunlight, the oblivion of time, and more like danger.

Yao Xu said, "Do you have a problem with your aesthetic sense? What's beautiful about this godforsaken place?! It's clearly full of dangers!"

The spirit said, “I told you you were ignorant. This place is called ‘Forest of Myriad Phenomena,’ located beyond the Three Realms. Here you can see all the phenomena of the world and the origin of all life. Don’t you all want to find an answer? The answer is right here. As long as you pass the test, everything will be right before your eyes.”

Now the four of them understood completely: this time, they were coming for them.

Whether it was a misperception or not, when Yan Chao heard Bang Ling mention Wan Xiang Lin, although his expression remained normal, there was a hint of sadness in his words.

Mi Qing asked, "What kind of test?"

Bangling said, "I don't know."

Upon hearing this, Yao Xu's expression changed again, and he said, "What do you mean by that?"

The spirit said, "The Forest of Myriad Forms contains myriad forms, and each person is different. Only you yourselves can know what your trials are."

Feng Xi laughed and said, "That's interesting. But judging from what you're saying, if we don't pass the test, won't we die here?"

Bangling chuckled and said, "How are you so clever! That's why I want to remind you: 'The road ahead is fraught with danger and uncertainty, and life and death are unpredictable. Even if you have extraordinary magical powers, only by guarding your true heart can you find a glimmer of hope.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, the spirit disappeared, leaving only the words: "Good luck to you."

The four looked at each other in bewilderment. Feng Xi tied a red thread to Yao Xu and Mi Qing's wrists respectively, saying, "This place is eerie, we must be careful. If we get separated, we can use these threads to find each other."

Yan Chao also took out several bottles of medicine and distributed them to the group, saying, "You all know how to use these medicines, but I hope you will never have to use them."

As if on cue, the four exchanged gifts. Mi Qing transformed her zither music into a calming bell, while Yao Xu prepared food compressed into the size of pills.

Yao Xu said, "I've been studying this for a long time, and it's finally come in handy today. That guy said we might die here. Who are the four of us? No matter what lies ahead, bring it on!"

Feng Xi patted his shoulder and said, "Be careful in everything."

The fog seemed to grow even heavier. The cloying, fishy scent around us intensified, seeping into our clothes and burrowing into our pores like countless tiny insects crawling on our skin, bringing a disorienting itch. Light was completely blocked, and our five senses were obscured; we could only rely on our hearing to discern the sounds around us.

Yao Xu muttered a complaint under his breath: "This godforsaken place..." His voice was swallowed by the fog, leaving only half a sentence.

Feng Xi's voice rang out close to Yan Chao's left: "Chao Chao, could you move closer to me?"

His breath brushed against her head, and Yan Chao's heart stirred slightly. She didn't speak, but her body unconsciously took half a step closer to him.

Just then, the four of them suddenly stopped, as if they had bumped into an invisible wall. The dizzying sweet and fishy smell around them also suddenly reached its peak.

Feng Xi said, "Everyone be careful!"

However, it was too late.

Yan Chao's medicine has lost its effectiveness.

A sudden wave of drowsiness washed over them, and before the four could react, everything around them became blurry and distorted.

"Feng..." Yan Chao wanted to call Feng Xi's name, but her tongue froze. Her last thought was sitting in front of a small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, with a light drizzle falling outside.

"Chao'er, come in and eat."

A voice rang out from behind Yan Chao. Startled, she quickly turned around and saw that the speaker was Yun Xiang. Yan Chao opened her mouth for a long time before finally managing to call out, "Mother."

Yun Xiang stepped forward, wiped the raindrops from her forehead, took her hand, and said, "Are you staring at the rain like a madman? Come in and eat, Xi'er is here today too."

As soon as she finished speaking, Feng Xi ran into the courtyard in the rain and said with a smile, "Aunt Xiang, Xiao Chao, it's been a long time."

Seeing this, Yunxiang hurriedly said, "Why don't you use an umbrella in the rain? Luckily, the rain isn't heavy. Come in quickly, be careful not to catch a cold."

Feng Xi said confidently, "I'm in great shape! Don't worry about me."

Ming Qi happened to be carrying a plate of food out of the kitchen. He handed Feng Xi the towel draped over his shoulder and said, "Hurry up and wipe yourself off! You'll have to tell me all about where you've been all this time."

Feng Xi said, "Alright! No problem!"

During the meal, Yun Xiang and Ming Qi served Yan Chao and Feng Xi a lot of food. The four of them sat together, eating and listening to Feng Xi recount his experiences traveling the world.

Warm and ordinary, yet it makes people nostalgic.

Suddenly, the sound of rain outside the window became sharp! The raindrops hitting the window paper didn't leave water droplets, but rather a large, rapidly spreading patch of scarlet!

Yan Chao looked up and saw that the three people who had been chatting and laughing just moments before now had bloodshot eyes and were staring at her fiercely, their eyes filled with disgust and judgment!

"A filthy and sinful person like you... dares to talk about peace?"

"Sizzle!"

Yun Xiang suddenly raised a dagger and stabbed it into her heart without hesitation!

Blood gushed out, and in an instant, she found herself in another downpour. Covered in wounds, she and many others, mistakenly believed to possess the power of all spirits, were thrown into a mass grave amidst shouts of battle. She lay helplessly among the corpses, the rain washing over her blood-soaked body, only intensifying the pain until she lost consciousness.

When Yan Chao woke up again, she had been rescued by a couple. Outside the window was a clear blue sky after the rain, and she gazed at it quietly for a while. At this moment, the woman brought in a bowl of soup. Seeing that she was awake, she helped her up and said, "Miss, you are very lucky to have woken up. Come and try my soup. My cooking is not very good, please forgive me."

Yan Chao took a sip. It was a bit salty and not exactly delicious, but at that moment, she felt that no delicacy in the world could compare to this bowl of soup. She didn't say anything, but slowly drank it, sip by sip, and smiled as she thought of the sky outside the window.

Just as she was about to take a break, the scene suddenly changed again.

Yan Chao arrived in the Ghost Realm again. To be precise, he arrived in the Ghost Realm seven hundred years ago.

She saw seven-year-old Feng Xi, who had suffered the loss of her parents and family members in a single day. Feng Xi was all alone in the dark and desolate Yansha Field, processing her pain alone.

"Feng Xi! Feng Xi—!"

Yan Chao called his name loudly, but he seemed not to hear her. Then, she saw Feng Xi standing before a furnace, a dagger pointed at his heart. The excruciating pain from before returned, and Yan Chao cried out urgently, "Feng Xi, stop! What are you doing?!"

However, no matter what she said, it was useless. The moment the dagger pierced her heart, Yan Chao's body shuddered violently, and she collapsed to the ground. Feng Xi then declared, "Today I relinquish this body! From this day forward, Feng Xi will be the last name of the dead!"

"ah--!!!!!"

In an instant, a surge of powerful energy coursed through his entire body. Feng Xi collapsed to his knees, screaming in agony, before finally losing consciousness. When he awoke again, his hair had turned white.

Yan Chao looked at everything before her in despair, feeling powerless to do anything about it. She unexpectedly discovered a familiar feeling about the power emanating from Feng Xi.

It is the power of all spirits!

It turns out that she wasn't the only one in the world who possessed the power of all spirits.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Yan Chao gave way, and she and Feng Xi plummeted downwards. Everything that had just happened vanished like a bubble, and a rush of mist filled her mouth and nose. Her foot slipped, and she stumbled, managing to regain her footing.

The fog was still thick and sticky, but the sweet, fishy smell had faded considerably. All around were twisted giant trees, slippery moss, and the howling wind.

His face was pale, and fine beads of sweat covered his forehead. He suddenly turned his head, his gaze instantly locking onto her. Their eyes met, and their eyes were filled with lingering fear and heartache.

No need for further explanation; a single glance is enough to tell us about many things from the past.

On the other side, Yao Xu knelt on one knee, coughing violently. Mi Qing's face was pale, and her body trembled slightly. She suddenly looked up at Yao Xu, her eyes filled with panic and anger. Her lips trembled, as if she wanted to say something, but then she bit her lower lip tightly.

Yao Xu stood up and went to help Mi Qing, who was standing to the side, but she pushed him away. She looked at the two people opposite her and asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you both alright?"

Feng Xi shook her head, ignoring them, and stared only at Yan Chao, her voice tense as she said, "Just now... you..."

Yan Chao stared at him, his breathing slightly rapid, and said, "You too..."

Before they could finish speaking, something exploded silently in their eyes, then silently healed itself.

Yao Xu wiped his face, still feeling a bit shaken, and asked, "Does this mean I passed the test?"

The fog seemed to have lifted somewhat, and a road suddenly appeared ahead. The four realized that what they had just experienced was only the beginning.

Each of the four had their own thoughts as they stepped onto the road with an unknown end. The air was thick, and the only sound was the soft crunch of decaying leaves being crushed underfoot. Step by step, they led themselves deeper into the forest.