Wild animals tend to congregate in large groups, which is noteworthy. While many of these groups are of the same species, there have been instances of adjacent species also congregating.
Qi Zhiheng recalled the locations where these wild beasts had gathered before and chose one area to explore.
"What are we here to investigate? Do we have any leads?" Yang Yitian followed behind Qi Zhiheng.
Qi Zhiheng's gaze swept across the ground inch by inch. He felt that relying solely on soul power to investigate was unreliable; otherwise, they would have killed so many wild beasts before they hadn't noticed anything unusual.
“I don’t have any clues, but I have some questions,” Qi Zhiheng explained. “I have some doubts. First, there’s their large-scale gatherings, and second, the breeding rate of these beasts. They reproduce very quickly, sometimes even having a beast tide every three years. There must be some reason for such a breeding rate. Also, what causes these beasts to have a beast tide? It doesn’t seem like it’s because of food shortages; there’s no need for them to come to human territory to die.”
Every time these wild beasts ventured into human territory, they were massacred. After so much time and so many bloodbaths, there's no reason why the beasts wouldn't learn their lesson.
Yang Yitian glanced at the ground a few times, then stroked his non-existent goatee: "Could it be that there's something in the forest that makes wild animals feel threatened?"
Qi Zhiheng: "It's very likely." Following this line of thought, one can guess the outcome, but it's unclear what caused the wild beast to come down from the mountain.
After searching the outermost part of the inner perimeter without finding anything, Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian decided to go deeper.
As they ventured deeper, the number of wild animals increased, but they still didn't see any animals gathered in large groups.
As they ventured deeper, they began to see small groups of wild animals gathering.
Qi Zhiheng approached a small group of wild animals, waved his hand to drive them away, and then stepped forward to investigate the cause.
He had explored the area inch by inch, and even picked a few potentially problematic plants to examine them closely.
"Any discoveries?" Yang Yitian followed behind him and peeked out as well.
Qi Zhiheng tossed the grass in his hand aside: "Nothing found."
Yang Yitian: "..." I didn't realize you were watching so intently.
Apart from the weeds that had been gnawed by wild animals, there was really nothing different from the surrounding area.
Some gentle spiritual energy still lingered in the air, presumably traces left by Qi Zhiheng when he used his technique.
Qi Zhiheng found nothing unusual here, so he continued to walk in.
The further they went in, the fiercer the beasts became, much as they had guessed. Only the strongest beasts could defend their territory, while the weaker ones were driven to the outskirts.
After driving away another pack of wild beasts, Qi Zhiheng still couldn't find anything strange, which made him somewhat frustrated. He even began to wonder if there was really something unusual about this place.
"How about we take a break?" Yang Yitian suggested, noticing Qi Zhiheng's slightly furrowed brows.
Qi Zhiheng nodded indifferently: "Then let's rest here for a while."
The two sat down on the spot, and Yang Yitian took out some food and started eating.
Qi Zhiheng drank a mouthful of spiritual spring water, restoring his energy.
Just then, a faint wisp of spiritual energy drifted towards Yang Yitian. Yang Yitian sniffed and said, "You used quite a bit of force in your move; the spiritual energy hasn't dissipated even after all this time."
"Hmm?" Qi Zhiheng was a little puzzled: "It's not some kind of powerful move."
"What kind of powerful move could leave so much residual spiritual energy?" Yang Yitian looked at him with a "Are you kidding me?" expression.
Qi Zhiheng was somewhat speechless: "It's just dealing with a few wild beasts, I wouldn't need to use any special moves." As soon as he said that, he realized something was wrong.
"Something's not right!" He suddenly stood up and extended his soul power to investigate the surrounding area. "There's too much spiritual energy around here." Too much to be anything but a remnant of his own spiritual energy.
Yang Yitian also stood up: "What's wrong? Did you find something?"
Qi Zhiheng said, "Let's go look around somewhere else. I have some questions I want to verify."
"Okay, let's go then." After saying that, the two went off to look for the next pack of wild animals.
This time, Qi Zhiheng did not use his spiritual energy. After driving away the wild beasts that had taken over the territory, he immediately stepped forward and finally got the answer he wanted.
Yang Yitian let out a soft exclamation: "Is there spiritual energy here?"
The gentle spiritual energy here, mixed with the explosive spiritual energy, makes it somewhat difficult to absorb, but this does not prevent them from discovering the gentle spiritual energy here.
Qi Zhiheng said, "There is indeed a gentle spiritual energy here. It seems that the wild beasts have also discovered the benefits of this spiritual energy. Let's explore a few more places."
After taking a few steps, Qi Zhiheng suddenly sensed a dangerous aura and quickly grabbed Yang Yitian, taking a few steps back!
A black spatial rift suddenly appeared where they had been standing, and then disappeared.
"It's spiritual energy!" Yang Yitian ran back to the spot where the crack had appeared, where some gentle spiritual energy remained.
Qi Zhiheng frowned and scolded, "How could you be so reckless!" The spatial rift had only disappeared not long ago. If it reappeared, it might devour Yang Yitian.
Who knows if a part of such an irregular spatial rift will remain outside after someone is pulled in?
Yang Yitian's behavior was truly too imprudent.
Yang Yitian pouted: "I don't think there's any danger." It's not just Qi Zhiheng who has a sense of danger; his sensitivity to danger is also very high, okay?
“It’s not good if you don’t sense the danger. What if your sense of danger is wrong? It’s best to be careful. Don’t forget you still have several sons waiting for you.” Qi Zhiheng didn’t press the matter further: “This spiritual energy was transmitted from the spatial rift.”
"So, the reason why the wild beasts gather is actually because of the spiritual energy that appears in these spatial rifts, right?" Yang Yitian said no more after he had put the matter behind him.
"It's very likely." Qi Zhiheng led his men further inside, but he couldn't be sure if the same situation would repeat itself.
Continuing to advance into the inner perimeter, after several inspections, Qi Zhiheng drew some conclusions.
The spiritual energy in the outer area is relatively weak, and occasionally some external spiritual energy seeps in through cracks, which is very beneficial to wild animals. This has led to wild animals gathering in groups, all of whom like this sudden influx of spiritual energy.
After walking a while further in, there were more places where spiritual energy appeared, and presumably there would be more spatial rifts here as well.
Qi Zhiheng saw the cracks that had appeared here. The cracks in the inner area had been there for a longer time and were overflowing with more spiritual energy.
There's a reason why they hadn't noticed the anomaly in the spiritual energy.
Previously, they only operated on the periphery, and when they acted with others in the gathering place, Qi Zhiheng did not dare to release his spiritual energy, lest he be gossiped about by the people in the group. It was precisely because they sealed their spiritual power that they were unable to detect any signs of spiritual energy here.
At least, Qi Zhiheng didn't believe that no one had come to investigate. If they had come, how could they not have found anything unusual?
Previously, Xiong Shuang mentioned that many people had died here. Qi Zhiheng believed that the deaths of those cultivators were closely related to these spatial rifts. Perhaps their deaths were not entirely due to these wild beasts. Although there were many wild beasts here, cultivators would still use their treasured spiritual power in dangerous situations. How could they use their spiritual power and still be killed by wild beasts that had no spiritual power? Such a reason was truly absurd and gave people a sense of ridiculousness.
The reason these cultivators died was most likely due to these cracks.
If that's the case, they're very likely to encounter the same dangerous situation if they continue deeper in.
"We've come this far, it would be a shame to give up now." Yang Yitian's gaze turned towards the inner perimeter.
The Qi Zhiheng phenomenon suggests that those cultivators who died must have had the same thoughts as them.
Yang Yitian, with a somewhat whimsical idea, said, "Do you think those missing cultivators might have already left? With so many spatial rifts here, is it possible that there are spatial passages inside?"
Qi Zhiheng reached out and tapped his forehead: "Don't think about such nonsense." He took Yang Yitian's hand. If they encountered a spatial rift and couldn't escape, they would hide inside the space, which would at least save their lives.
Just as Qi Zhiheng had expected, the further they went, the more spatial rifts they encountered. To be on the safe side, whenever they encountered a place where a spatial rift might appear, Qi Zhiheng would grab Yang Yitian and hide in the space. They managed to avoid any major dangers along the way.
The two continued to advance into the inner perimeter until they arrived at a flat grassland.
That's right! It is a grassland.
"Is this some kind of mess? The inner perimeter of the forest is a grassland? Am I seeing things?" Yang Yitian rubbed his eyes, looking incredulous.
Qi Zhiheng was also somewhat shocked, but what shocked him was not the appearance of a grassland. Anything could happen in the cultivation world. He wouldn't be surprised if there was an ocean here, let alone a grassland.
What shocked him was the changing seasons within it.
At this moment, Yang Yitian's attention also shifted from the grassland. What he saw was the grass, which was originally tender green, growing rapidly, then turning from emerald green to withering yellow, and finally being covered by white snow.
His mouth gaped open slightly: "What's going on? I feel like I've only been standing here for less than fifteen minutes, but a whole year has passed inside? Am I seeing things?"
“You’re not mistaken. A year has indeed passed inside.” Qi Zhiheng sensed danger again, grabbed Yang Yitian, and the two entered the space.
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