The first stop.

After splitting up with Luo Shui'er, Liang Chen quickly memorized the guidebook and made his way deeper into the hidden realm. He didn't move in a straight path, climbing into the trees and taking a roundabout way through the forest. He had two reasons for doing this, the first one being that he was running out of medicinal herbs and was in dire need of new ones to refill his stock. Taking a roundabout path allowed him to follow the directions of the guidebook, tracking down the marks left by some medicinal herbs that he could pluck.

The second reason was that there were actually several dangerous zones within the forest, the most prominent one located at the center of the forest. The guide was vague about exactly what was located at the center of the forest, but the few people that had managed to come back after reaching the depths of the forest had reported that it was a land of death, with even the land itself dying and distorting.

Liang Chen wanted to take the chance and see if he could find more Demonic beasts that he could absorb. But even when he followed the exact directions of the guidebook, finding the tracks of Demonic beasts that were weaker than him, their nests would always end up being empty.

Had it been just one empty nest, he could consider it a coincidence. But over the span of five days, he had come across four empty nests, each of them showing signs that the Demonic beasts had quickly left. He couldn't help but wonder, had they noticed his approach, or was there some other reason that they were fleeing from their nests? And if they had indeed noticed his approach, why would they flee? Demonic beasts were famous for their ferocious nature, with most of them hating humanity. They would gladly take any chance they had to fight against humans, even if they were weaker.

The path through the forest that he had settled on went past a spot that was very close to a spot that was considered to be the edge of the depths of the forest, allowing Liang Chen to get a slight glimpse of the land of death that was the center of the forest. And upon seeing the scenery that spread out, he fully understood why it was called a land of death.

The land of death was one of the few places in the outskirts of the hidden realm where there was no snow. No matter how much snow fell onto the land of death, it would dissolve before it even touched the ground. The earth was an ashen gray in color, the trees brittle and dried up, twisting and contorting as if they were in immense pain. A faint white mist lingered over the ground, coiling around the bleached bones that littered the earth.

From his vantage point that was a small distance away from the edge of the land of death, Li Yang could see bones that belonged not only to humans but also several different types of Demonic beasts. When he turned to look deeper into the land of death, a terrifying sense of death filled every inch of his being, his instincts letting him know that there was no chance of survival if he were to set foot into that place. Just what could be located there, to even be able to kill the land?

Even if he spent time thinking about it, Liang Chen would not come to a proper answer, so he simply threw the thoughts and questions to the back of his mind. He had already been traveling for five days, the marks of human activity growing more abundant as Liang Chen started to get closer to the end of the forest, closer to the first goal he had decided on after reading the guidebook.

On the seventh day after splitting up with Luo Shui'er, Liang Chen managed to leave the forest, having spent almost an entire month within the forest. Thanks to the constant pressure in the hidden realm, Liang Chen's body had gotten more toned and muscular, his childish features vanishing because of the brutal training he put himself through. Since he could only wash himself with the surrounding snow, his body was somewhat dirty, but he paid it no heed.

A vast plain greeted him after he left the forest, waist-height grass swaying in the wind, the faint fragrance of flowers drifting on the breeze. Liang Chen merely swept the plain, his eyes settling on a small city in the distance. The buildings in the city were created by cultivators who had either the stone or metal element, so their shape and looks varied greatly. He could see a stone forest spread out far behind the city, trees of stones and large boulders covered in moss stretching towards the sky.

The city was his first stop, while the forest of stone was his second stop. The city being one of the few places that could be considered safe within this hidden realm. But when the guidebook called it safe, that was only from Demonic beasts, the danger of humans was still very present within the city. Inside the city, the strongest ruled freely, with the weak forced to obey any order. Murdering those you didn't like, raping the beautiful women, robbing those you knew had many resources, all these things were very common, even happening directly on the streets.

Yet despite being almost lawless, these cities were the only places one could buy or sell items within the hidden realm. Each city within the hidden realm had a single market that was protected by a collaboration of the strongest groups within the city. As long as one paid a small tax to the rulers of the city, they could freely buy and sell things within the market, their safety guaranteed. Of course, once you left the market, you could only rely on yourself to protect your wealth.

Liang Chen had some Demonic beast meat that didn't fit his elements, so he was looking to sell it, he was also looking to buy more Demonic beast meat and blood that suited his two elements, allowing him to continue to quickly increase his strength.

The reason he wanted to go to the stone forest was also quite simple. The stones within the forest contained a strange attractive force that drew down lightning from the sky. The stones harvested and stored the lightning, forming crystals that contained large amounts of pure lightning energy. There were also quite a few lightning element herbs and Demonic beasts that could only be found within the stone forest, making it an excellent place for Liang Chen.

But before he could think about what to do in the stone forest, Liang Chen had to enter the city and manage to sell his items. He took his eyes away from the stone forest and started making his way toward the city. He could see a few people walking in and out of the city, as well as what seemed to be corpses nailed to the large stone walls that surrounded the city.

As he started to get closer to the city, a low sound started to ring within his head, like an indistinct whisper that tried to warn him about going places with people. Liang Chen's expression sunk a little as he rubbed his own temples, muttering to himself.

"Be quiet, you don't control me, and you certainly don't choose where I go."

Liang Chen knew exactly what this indistinct whisper was, it was the influence from the Demonic beast blood he had bathed in several times, trying to get him to avoid places with multiple humans. Liang Chen was fine with listening to his more bestial instincts during battle, but he refused to let them control him. It was he who would control his instincts, not the other way around.

He took a few deep breaths as he continued to walk, the whispering fluctuating between quiet whispering and loud screaming, but he simply continued to ignore it, rapidly approaching the city. He hoped that he could enter it and quickly finish his business, without anything troublesome happening.