Flying up into mid-air, he finally realized that the valley where the Changsheng Sect resided was already at the northeastern edge of the Tianyu Mountain Range.
The Tianyu Mountain Range stretched four hundred miles north to south and about eight hundred miles east to west, filled with towering mountains and countless bizarre peaks.
According to statistics, there were ninety-eight officially registered sects in the mountains, along with five hundred and seventy-seven immortal dwellings of rogue cultivators.
The cultivation world under heaven could be broadly divided into several factions including Daoist, Demonic, Buddhist, Sorcerer, and Ghost, with the Tianyu Mountain mainly dominated by Daoist sects.
Among them, the Yunhai Sect was the most powerful, boasting as many as thirty thousand disciples under its banner.
Tongtian Peak, where the Yunhai Sect was now located, had once been the headquarters of the Changsheng Sect.
The vast majority of the sprawling Tianyu Mountain Range consisted of virgin forests rarely visited by humans. Those sects and rogue cultivator dwellings were mostly concentrated in the northeast, southeast, and southwest regions. The other areas were either forbidden zones filled with miasma and poisons or controlled by the Yunhai Sect.
Yannangui was located northwest of Tongtian Peak and was quite easy to find.
Tongtian Peak was the tallest mountain in the Tianyu Mountain Range, reaching a height of five thousand zhang, piercing through four layers of sea of clouds, and clearly visible from over a hundred miles away.
Li Feng engaged in Airborne Flight. At first, his speed was about fifty kilometers per hour. Feeling it was a bit slow, he continuously accelerated, quickly breaking past one hundred.
During flight, maintaining a layer of protective barrier could effectively block the head-on gales and air currents of high-speed flight.
Before long, Li Feng arrived at the outskirts of Tongtian Peak.
Suspended in mid-air, he looked up and was greatly shocked.
The Tongtian Peak before him was twice as tall as Mount Everest on Earth. The mountain terrain was straight and towering, and the entire mountain was lush and verdant with no snow accumulation.
It was now close to noon, and many cultivators were coming and going across the firmament—some riding clouds and driving mist, some riding giant cranes and fierce birds, and others flying on swords.
Flowing lights flickered, immortal music drifted, and the sea of clouds rolled—what a dreamlike and bizarre scroll of immortal paintings, which completely opened the eyes of Li Feng, the country bumpkin from Earth.
Looking at the towering peak and imagining the magnificent scene of the hundreds of thousands of Changsheng Sect disciples who used to live on Tongtian Peak, Li Feng secretly swore in his heart that he must lead the Changsheng Sect to recapture this blessed mountain.
Wandering for a moment in the northern part of Tongtian Peak, Li Feng changed direction and headed northwest.
According to the map, Yannangui was about a hundred miles northwest of Tongtian Peak. At Li Feng's flying speed, he could reach it in half an hour.
Yannangui—as the name implied, even wild geese with an exceptionally good sense of direction would find it hard to fly out of this maze-like forest.
Within the primitive forest with a radius of a hundred miles, over a hundred not-so-tall peaks were situated. These peaks were low, with the highest being no more than five hundred zhang.
Because Yannangui was surrounded on all sides by tall mountains, air circulation here was poor.
With dead wood, fallen leaves, and animal carcasses accumulating day by day, miasma slowly formed.
Looking down from the air, one could only see the ground covered by a grayish-white thick fog, with only a few peaks four to five hundred zhang high having a small section of their ridges protruding above the smoke and miasma.
Although Li Feng was feeling a bit cocky right now, he had not completely lost his mind.
Judging from the attitude of his junior martial brothers and sisters toward Yannangui and the fragmented memories of the original owner, he knew it was not groundless that this place was called a human forbidden zone.
Therefore, Li Feng did not land directly in the center of this lost forest, but instead landed on the eastern edge.
The moment he plunged into the thick fog, Li Feng smelled a nauseating odor.
He knew this was miasma, and it was poisonous.
He immediately held his breath while simultaneously raising a protective qi shield around his body to isolate the miasma.
It was currently afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly, but it was extremely dim here, with no sun visible when looking up.
Visibility here was extremely low, just like being in a heavy fog on a winter morning, except that the fog here had an even heavier color than smog.
Looking at it from the firmament, it appeared grayish-white due to the sunlight.
Only after truly entering did Li Feng realize it was gray.
Underfoot was a thick layer of dead branches and rotting leaves; with every step, his feet sank deeply into the leaves.
Many exotic flowers and plants as well as towering ancient trees could be seen.
Vines and thorns were everywhere, with no signs of human activity.
Li Feng drew the Duannian sword from behind his back, looking around vigilantly.
He was just here to try his luck.
He didn't dare hope for a millennium-old great demon, but figured that if he could hunt a few century-old beast demons, he could also sell them for a lot of silver.
As he continued to venture deeper, Li Feng found that he had lost his bearings.
Because he couldn't see the sun and had no effective visual reference points, he completely lost all sense of direction in this place.
It hadn't even been half an hour, and he had completely lost his way, which made Li Feng feel somewhat discouraged.
Suddenly, a gray poisonous snake disguised as a tree branch launched an attack at Li Feng's neck.
Fortunately, Li Feng's cultivation was not bad and his reaction was extremely quick. He instantly dodged and swung his broken sword, cutting the gray poisonous snake into two pieces.
The poisonous snake did not die immediately; the two halves of the snake body twisted rapidly under Li Feng's feet.
Especially the snake head part, which actually opened its triangular mouth and spat a stream of venom toward Li Feng's ankle.
Shocked in his heart, Li Feng jumped and dodged again.
The venom sprayed onto several flowers, plants, and leaves, and they withered away in an instant.
With a flick of his hand and a drop of his sword, Li Feng chopped the snake's head into seven or eight pieces.
"This place is truly fraught with danger at every step! I almost died before my campaign even started!"
Li Feng spat a heavy loogie unceremoniously at the poisonous snake that was already thoroughly dead at his feet.
He was the Chosen One who had transmigrated after all; if he were bitten to death by a tiny poisonous snake, wouldn't it make other transmigrators laugh their heads off?
Having encountered the first poisonous snake, in the dozen or so minutes that followed, Li Feng felt like a greenhorn entering a brothel for the first time—a greenhorn hanging full of silver and possessing handsome looks, driving those young maidens so wild that they swarmed around him, eager to deflower him.
Poisonous snakes, venomous scorpions, poisonous toads, venomous lizards, and many other messy poisonous insects all successively sent him friendly yet fatal greetings.
After killing yet another large centipede that attacked him, Li Feng didn't dare to walk any further.
Looking at the one-meter-long red centipede at his feet, he thought to himself what kind of terrifying world this actually was, that even centipedes could grow this large.
You must know that he was still just wandering around the eastern edge of Yannangui.
Living creatures possessed an extremely strong sense of territory. Just like the Changsheng Sect, which was now very weak and thus driven to the northeastern corner of the Tianyu Mountain Range to barely survive.
These poisonous insects and creatures were no different; the ones living on the edge of Yannangui were all very weak.
It was hard to imagine just how terrifying the poisonous insects living deep within the Yannangui maze were.
Li Feng began to get cold feet.
"Alas, it seems I was too naive! I'd better think of other ways to earn spirit crystals!"
His little life was what mattered most, and he finally understood why Yang Mo would rather die than come here to explore with him.
He was just preparing to retreat from this place.
Suddenly, from deep within the thick fog, an unusual sound came.
***
### Chapter 9: The Fairy in White
The strange sound coming from deep within the thick fog caught Li Feng's attention.
That strange noise was very faint at first, but within a dozen breaths, it became extremely violent.
The earth trembled, and the cracking sounds of towering ancient trees being snapped made one's heart shudder.
Feeling that something was amiss, Li Feng was just preparing to make himself scarce when the thick fog ahead suddenly surged and rolled, and a wave of air swept over.
The next moment, a beautiful woman dressed in white as snow with flowing black hair, holding a fairy sword as bright as autumn water, swept past right above his head.
Their eyes met, and time seemed to slow its pace at this very moment.
In that instant, Li Feng felt as though his soul had left his body.
Beautiful!
Truly beautiful!
As someone who had seen countless beautiful female celebrities on Earth, he had fancied himself possessing a strong immunity to beauties.
Yet at the very first sight of this woman in white, he was still deeply shocked by her beauty.
A long dress as white as snow, with fluttering hems resembling white snowflakes drifting down into the mortal world.
Her skin was whiter than frost, fair, delicate, and tender enough to be broken by a blow.
Her features were exquisite, and her pupils were a deep black, bright as autumn water.
Her figure was slim and tall, with curves in all the right places, broad shoulders, a wide chest, and smooth lines.
Amidst her elegance and nobility, she also exuded a touch of cold detachment.
Li Feng couldn't help but stare in a daze.
He sighed in his heart: How could there be such a cold, peerless, and extraordinary woman in this world!
She was just like Xiaolongnü from Mr. Louis Cha's novels walking into reality.
When the woman in white saw a man standing below, a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.
She did not have as many psychological activities as Li Feng and reacted instantly.
She only said two words: "Run!"
Then, she vanished into the miasma.
Awakening from his daze, Li Feng was startled.
Before he had time to ponder why there would be a beauty in this ghost of a place, he was about to flee by flying.
However, it was already too late.
From the direction the woman had flown, a loud roar echoed.
Immediately following that, Li Feng saw a huge ancient tree, complete with branches and leaves, smashing toward him.
Li Feng hurriedly executed his movement technique to dodge. Although he avoided the ancient tree, an overwhelming force immediately hit him squarely in the back.
In that instant, he felt as though he had lost control of his body, and his thoughts were like a machine shutting down.
His body flew out uncontrollably for over a dozen meters and heavily smashed into the ground.
Only after landing did Li Feng feel a sharp pain all over his bones, and the spiritual energy in his meridians rippled wildly.
Unable to suppress it, a mouthful of old blood gushed out of his mouth.
*Crack, crack, crack...*
Numerous ancient trees were snapped by immense force. Raising his head to look, Li Feng saw a massive monster's head burst through the thick fog.
The monster looked similar to an ape, but was of gigantic size. The largest African silverback gorilla on Earth that Li Feng had once seen in the zoo was nothing compared to this giant ape before him.
No, it was like its grandson!
Standing about twenty meters tall, its entire body was covered in long red fur, but its head was white, its pupils were like copper bells, its nose was sunken, and its arms were as thick as giant trees.
The red-furred giant ape saw Li Feng lying on the ground. It seemed extremely angry at these humans who had broken into its territory without permission.
Its huge arms beat against its chest, and it opened its bloody maw, letting out a deafening roar.
Li Feng was completely dumbfounded.
Only a single thought echoed in his mind: "Hollywood movies are real! This is King Kong who loves hanging out on rooftops!"
The red-furred giant ape raised its huge arms high and smashed them down fiercely toward Li Feng.
At this moment, the qi and blood within Li Feng's body were churning, and he had no strength to dodge at all.
Just as the mountain-like giant palm was about to smash him into a meat patty, he suddenly felt a pulling force coming from the back of his neck.
In the flash of lightning, he saw that unbelievably beautiful woman in white dragging him by the collar and pulling him rapidly backward.
*Bang!*
The red-furred giant ape's arms smashed onto the spot where Li Feng had just been lying. The earth shook, dead wood and stray rocks flew everywhere, and a huge deep crater was smashed into the ground!
Seeing this scene, Li Feng was scared out of his wits!
What was his "striking across mountains through ox" compared to this giant ape?
Missing its strike, the red-furred giant ape grew even angrier. With a single spring, it lunged toward the two of them.
"Go!"
The woman in white forcefully shoved Li Feng backward. With an "ouch," Li Feng rolled backward and crashed into the root of a large tree, finally coming to a stop.
He felt pain all over his body and was dizzy, seemingly suffering even more than being run over by a semi-trailer before his transmigration.
Vaguely, he saw the fairy sword in the hand of the woman in white who had saved him suddenly burst forth with brilliant purple rosy clouds.
The woman in white waved her fairy sword rapidly, and hundreds of sword qi shot toward the red-furred giant ape.
The red-furred giant ape let out another roar, and a powerful sonic wave of air erupted from its bloody maw. All the incoming qi swords shattered and vanished within the sonic wave.
The woman seemed to have already suffered not-insignificant injuries; under the giant ape's sonic wave, she directly coughed up a mouthful of vital blood.
The next moment, one of the red-furred giant ape's giant arms swept across.
With nowhere to avoid, the woman in white could only grip the hilt with both hands and rapidly spin her fairy sword.
Sword qi circulated, forming a Taiji diagram five to six feet in diameter in front of her.
This was a defensive barrier that could withstand a certain degree of attacks from spells or magical treasures.
Unfortunately, what she was facing was the terrestrial overlord of the Tianyu Mountain Range—the vicious beast Zhu Yuan!
This Zhu Yuan was over a thousand years old, possessing not only a body of copper and iron skin that was impervious to blades and spears, but also terrifyingly formidable strength.
The red-furred giant ape's giant arm swept over fiercely.
The Taiji defensive barrier set up by the woman in white crumbled into pieces instantly without offering almost any resistance.
After shattering the Taiji barrier, the giant arm continued onward with unabated momentum, crashing heavily into the woman in white.
The woman in white let out a miserable scream, her slender body sent rolling backward until she crashed right beside Li Feng.
Just as Li Feng was climbing back up, he was tripped over again by the woman in white, and the two of them tumbled together.
In this moment of life-and-death crisis, Li Feng had no smug joy of having a beauty in his arms, nor did he have time to feel the softness of this delicate body.
Seeing the red-furred giant ape triumphantly beating its chest with its arms, he scrambled to his feet.
He wanted to ask about the condition of the woman in white.
Looking down, he saw that the woman in white had suffered extremely heavy injuries from this blow.
Her face was as pale as paper, and blood continuously gushed from her mouth.
The thick red blood stained her chin and dyed her snow-white clothes red.
Even the fairy sword she gripped tightly in her hand rapidly lost its rosy glow.
Without pausing to think, Li Feng grabbed the woman's fairy sword and shoved it into the scabbard on her back.
Then, picking up the woman in white, he prepared to flee.
The woman in white was quite chaste; she hadn't expected this stranger before her to pick her up.
Her very first reaction was to give Li Feng a big slap across the face.
Despite her injuries not being light, this slap was crisp and heavy, directly stunning Li Feng.
His face burned with pain, and his entire brain entered a state of temporary system crash.
***
### Chapter 10: Carrying a Woman to Escape for Life
Seeing that these two humans were trying to run, the red-furred giant ape roared and gave chase once again.
Suppressing the churning blood within his body, Li Feng propelled himself off the ground.
In his view, although this giant beast was formidable, it was ultimately a terrestrial creature.
As long as he carried the woman and flew up into the sky, he could escape its pursuit.
Having just flown upward by more than thirty zhang, the woman in white in his arms suddenly spoke with difficulty: "Don't... don't fly out of the miasma... the sky... the sky is even more dangerous!"
Just as suspicion arose in Li Feng's heart, he felt the air currents rolling like waves right above his head.
"Turns out there's something even deadlier up in the sky!"
With his heart skipping a beat in fright, Li Feng thanked the heavens that the beauty in his arms had reminded him; otherwise, had he rashly flown up, he surely would have faced more misfortune than fortune.
There was an unknown monster above, and a giant ape larger than King Kong below.
Their current predicament truly fit the saying: no road down on earth, no door up to heaven.
With the giant ape below sweeping its giant arm, Li Feng had no time to think and could only fly at top speed through the miasma to dodge.
Because the miasma was too thick and visibility was too low, his flight altitude was only around thirty to forty zhang, and giant trees and peaks continuously appeared before his eyes, nearly causing him to crash countless times.
The giant ape and the mysterious monster in the sky were extremely angry at the humans who had broken into their territory tonight, pursuing the two of them relentlessly.
This wild escape lasted for nearly an hour.
Having long lost his bearings and fleeing in a blind panic, Li Feng had no idea which area of Yannangui they were currently in.
Amidst his rapid escape, Li Feng suddenly saw a tall giant tree appear before his eyes.
The giant tree was hidden within the miasma, and by the time Li Feng saw it with his naked eyes, the tree trunk was already less than fifteen meters away.
If it were a towering ancient tree that required five or six people to hug, he could still barely manage to dodge it.
Although the giant tree appearing before him was not very height-wise, the range of its spreading branches and leaves was immense, and the entire crown resembled a small mountain hidden in the miasma.
Li Feng's speed was too fast. Even though he hit the brakes at the very first moment and swerved his steering wheel, under the effect of momentum, he still couldn't avoid colliding with a section of the ancient giant tree's branches.
"Ouch!"
With a miserable cry, Li Feng and the beauty in his arms tumbled down together.
Strangely enough, the vicious giant ape that had been relentlessly pursuing the two of them all this time actually stopped chasing, though it didn't leave either, lingering nearby and continuously letting out roars.
The mysterious monster in the sky did the same.
Seeing that the two beasts were not pursuing them anymore, Li Feng was overjoyed and hurriedly checked the injuries of the woman in white.
During the escape, the woman had still been conscious.
Whether it was because of that collision just now or this shocking tumble, the woman had fallen completely motionless.
Thinking she might be dead, Li Feng hurriedly leaned in to listen to her heartbeat.
Surrounded by pitch-black darkness, and with the heart area being quite sensitive, Li Feng was now lying prone on the woman's chest—a posture that was extremely lewd.
Of course, Li Feng had no mind to think about such things at the moment.
He only had one thought: "If such a beautiful fairy were to die, it would be far too much of a pity."
Whose pity it was, even he didn't know.
The woman wasn't dead; soon, Li Feng felt the faint heartbeat coming from within her chest.
He finally let out a sigh of relief.
Enduring the pain all over his body, he struggled to his feet.
Yannangui was far too dangerous, filled with poisonous insects and creatures everywhere; he didn't dare to be careless, scanning his surroundings vigilantly for fear that a vicious beast or poisonous insect might suddenly spring out from the darkness to attack him.
After scanning the surroundings for a long time, there wasn't even a single poisonous snake around, which made him feel slightly at ease.
He hurriedly sat cross-legged in meditation, suppressing the chaotic true essence and spiritual power within his body, planning to figure out a way to escape after the woman in white woke up.
Not daring to cultivate for too long, he stopped as soon as he had slightly suppressed the true essence in his body and eased his physical pain.
At this moment, Li Feng was full of regret, wishing he could give himself a few heavy slaps.
His junior martial brothers and sisters had turned pale at the mere mention of Yannangui, yet he had thought that because he could fly and smash a large boulder with a single punch, he was invincible under heaven.
Now look at him—his little life was mostly likely going to be forfeited right here.
The woman in white had yet to wake up. For the sake of safety, Li Feng continued his duties as a night patrol security guard.
Wielding the broken sword, he paced around the woman.
Quiet. Deathly quiet.
Even the roars of the giant ape had vanished.
A night breeze gently brushed past, slowly rolling the miasma, making it seem even thinner here than in other places.
Li Feng raised his head to look at the giant tree standing before him.