In a space shrouded in mist, a consciousness as insubstantial as a wisp drifted aimlessly. Everything was enveloped in a thin, pervasive fog with no end in sight.

  "Who am I?"

  "Where is this? How did I get here?"

  The intangible consciousness drifted through the mist, floating for an immeasurable amount of time. Apart from the white fog, there was nothing else.

  It felt intensely lonely. It wanted to scream, instinctively making the motion of opening its mouth, only to find it couldn't produce a sound.

  A bolt of lightning, thick as a water barrel and golden in color, flashed across. It was followed by an earth-shattering tremor that seemed to rip through the mist.

  Finally, it saw something other than fog. This filled it with inexpressible joy. However, the golden lightning conveyed a sense of solemnity and contained boundless power capable of destroying heaven and earth. It instinctively knew that if it got too close and was struck by that lightning, it would be utterly annihilated, leaving nothing behind. This was a primal fear.

  The sky-crumbling, earth-shattering tremors continued. The consciousness was also dizzied by the immense noise and shockwaves.

  An unknown amount of time later, Leo woke from his daze. He looked around in astonishment at a clear, bright world that vaguely resembled the canyon from before, but the ground was bare—no vegetation, only stones and soil.

  A thin layer of mist still hung around the surroundings. Though not as thick as before, visibility was still limited.

  How had he suddenly returned to the canyon? Wasn't he on the small ledge of the cliff? This sudden thought struck Leo as utterly bewildering. Then, looking down, he was startled to find himself floating several yards above the ground. He had been floating all along.

  Am I dead? Is this the state of my soul? Leo was baffled. With a thought, he drifted out a dozen yards quite swiftly.

  He resolved to explore what this place actually was. However, after drifting for a while, he encountered a transparent, film-like barrier. It didn't hinder him much; he passed right through it. But the moment he crossed, Leo felt an immense pulling force, dragging him somewhere else. A pain so deep it felt bone-splitting made him scream. It seemed his entire body was about to be torn apart by this force. The pull was too powerful, offering no chance for resistance.

  "Am I really going to die?" Despair washed over Leo. At that moment, the surrounding mist churned violently. Threads of mist surged towards him, wrapping around his consciousness to form a spherical fog cocoon. Only then did Leo feel the pulling force vanish completely.

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  "Such terrifying power." Leo was deeply shaken. After the initial shock, he wondered about the fog cocoon. What was it, and why did it protect him? Where did it come from? Leo racked his brains but naturally found no answer. Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided not to dwell on it. Surviving was a good thing, after all.

  "Achoo!" An unknown time later, Leo shivered and instinctively opened his eyes. He found himself completely drenched.

  "What was that about a mysterious space just now? I was floating the whole time."

  Leo scratched his head, thinking for a while but unable to make sense of it. He could only recall eating a green fruit before falling unconscious, then feeling like his body was about to burst, followed by losing consciousness—probably fainting, and later perhaps falling asleep. So, he attributed everything that just happened to a dream.

  The wet clothes sticking to his body were very uncomfortable. With no one around, Leo quickly stripped off his clothes, intending to hang them on the vines to dry in the mountain breeze. Only then did he notice the vines on the cliff wall had all turned withered and yellow, showing no signs of life. Looking up towards the clifftop, the canyon that was once shrouded in clouds and mist was now clear under a bright sky, with not a trace of fog left.

  "What on earth happened to this valley? So strange, so bizarre." Leo muttered to himself.

  Half an hour later, the clothes were dry. He hurriedly put them on. Though no one was around, he still felt uncomfortable being naked.

  His stomach began to rumble again. Leo patted his belly and looked up at the cliff top. He figured he must have slept through at least an entire night. With no food here, if he waited any longer, even if the wolves above left, he'd be too weak from hunger to climb up.

  After all, the small ledge was still nearly twenty yards below the top. The area with vines started about five or six yards from the cliff edge. Getting up there wouldn't be easy.

  Having considered this, he decided to take the risk. He placed his short sword at his waist, tied one end of the remaining rope around his waist, coiled the rest, and looped it over his shoulder.

  After these preparations, he tested the strength of the vines with both hands and then began climbing, hand over foot.

  Some of the vines had been withered for a while, but a significant portion had been green just yesterday. For some unknown reason, they had all turned yellow overnight. Even the few trees on the cliff face had lost their vitality, withering in a single night.

  After cultivating The Primordial Chaos Scripture, Leo's physical constitution had improved severalfold. Climbing over a dozen yards didn't tire him out.

  He clamped his legs around a sturdy vine, tied one end of the rope to his short sword, grabbed the sword, and hurled it towards the nearest withered tree on the cliff top. After several failed attempts, on the fifth try, the sword hooked onto a branch. It twisted and caught. Leo pulled hard; the sword was securely lodged in the fork of the branch and didn't fall. Heartened, he climbed up the rope, nimbly leaped onto the ground, and found no wolves in sight. However, the scene before him left him stunned.

  Having spent nearly a year in this canyon, he was intimately familiar with it—perpetually shrouded in mist, filled with the roars of tigers and cries of apes, overgrown with weeds and dense trees.

  But now, under a blazing sun with direct sunlight, there was not a trace of fog. Moreover, all the grasses and trees in the valley had withered, showing no signs of life whatsoever. Everything seemed eerily strange and unfamiliar.

  Since he couldn't figure out what had happened, Leo decided not to dwell on it. Since the valley had turned into a barren wasteland, he should leave first.

  He untied the short sword from the rope. Armed with his only weapon, he quickly departed. The distance from the valley entrance, which he had covered two days ago, was at least several dozen miles. Relying solely on his legs would take a while. The other day, when he channeled his spiritual energy to his eyes, his vision had greatly improved. If he applied his spiritual power to his legs, would it have a similar effect?

  With this question in mind, Leo attempted to channel the spiritual energy from his elixir field to his feet. Instantly, his leg strength seemed to increase severalfold. A single stride covered nearly half a yard. He was overjoyed. Among the disciples of the Thunder Blade Sect back then, few could achieve such speed.

  Discovering another use for his spiritual energy excited Leo immensely. These successes filled him with ambition. Even if that black-robed elder refused to teach him, he could figure out the uses of spiritual energy himself. This must be what's called immortal techniques, he thought.

  Leo figured that after nearly two days, his small green ants were probably nearly gone anyway. He might as well take advantage of the black-robed elder's absence and escape the valley directly. Otherwise, when the elder returned, he'd surely beat him to death.

  However, when he was just three or four miles from the cave dwelling, almost ready to escape the canyon, Leo suddenly halted.