Tongtian Continent
In a quiet, gloomy forest filled with ancient trees that pierced the sky, a black hole suddenly appeared without warning. If anyone from this world were present, they would be scared out of their wits, because this was a spatial passage. It could twist anything to shreds; even the most powerful cultivators of the Tongtian Continent dared not guarantee their own safety when near such a spatial passage.
Suddenly, the spatial passage emitted an enormous explosion that echoed in all directions. Immediately after, a person and several suitcases flew out of it. It was a young man, unconscious from being ejected from the spatial passage. The passage then vanished, leaving behind only the quiet forest and the unconscious young man lying on the ground.
….
-?????
-Where am I? My head hurts so much.
The young man woke up, his eyes hazy, clutching his head. After a moment, he lifted his head and looked around. What met his eyes was a gloomy, dense forest with ancient trees nearly 40-50 meters tall. Their massive trunks required several people to encircle, and their canopies spread wide. Although it was daytime, the sunlight couldn't fully penetrate; only a few rays filtered through the gaps in the leaves, allowing him to confirm it was still day.
-Why can I see so clearly? I'm not wearing my glasses, now, am I?
He touched his face, feeling something strange. Before, he was severely nearsighted, over 5 diopters, yet now, without glasses, his vision was perfectly clear? He began to look around again.
-A forest? Why am I here? Wasn't I on a plane, going abroad for work?
-That's right, my phone! With my phone, I might be able to pinpoint my location.
Fumbling around, the young man found several suitcases. Inside, he found a phone, a few sets of clothes, and some small items. He felt a slight sense of relief, but the truth quickly brought disappointment: the phone had no signal. Although the battery was still at 100%, he couldn't use it for anything other than playing music and as a flashlight.
-Well, that makes sense. With such dense canopies, it would be a miracle to get a signal.
-Sigh, the phone isn't much help in this situation.
Sighing, he began to re-examine the items he had gathered: a few sets of clothes, a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, several empty water bottles, a pot, a first-aid kit, some canned food, a few sets of clothes, a folding knife, and… a key???
-What kind of lunatic brings a pot on an airplane???? What was he thinking?
-Living in the forest with just these items will be a bit difficult, but luckily the lighter can save me a lot of time starting fires. The first-aid kit might have medicine and some bandages for injuries. And the empty water bottles can be used to store water.
-First, I'll change into some fresh clothes, then I'll explore the surroundings and look for a water source.
……
In a gloomy forest, a young man wearing a t-shirt, black jeans, and sneakers walked step by step, examining his surroundings.
-How strange. This forest is so vast, yet there are no wild animals or birds? I've been exploring for almost an hour, and I haven't even heard the sound of a small animal?
As he pondered the strangeness of the forest, he fortunately heard a rumbling sound. Although very faint, it was clearly audible to his ears.
-Rumble… rumble…
-??? Rumbling? Ah, it's the sound of water falling from a waterfall! How lucky, I've found a water source!
Delighted to have found a water source, he quickly ran towards the sound he had heard. What appeared before his eyes was a large, powerful waterfall cascading into a lake. With no trees around, sunlight illuminated the entire lake, creating a rare and picturesque scene.
"There really is a waterfall," he murmured, "but I wonder if the water is drinkable?"
Slowly approaching the waterfall, he looked down at the lake and saw that the water was crystal clear.
"It looks drinkable," he mused, "but on second thought, it's best to boil it. Who knows if there are disease-causing bacteria in the water? If I get sick now, it'll be very hard to survive."
After careful consideration, he decided to gather some dry grass and twigs nearby to start a fire and boil the water.
"Younger Sister, let's quickly go find a water source. They surely wouldn't dare follow us into the Gloomy Forest."
"Alright, Elder Sister," the younger one replied. "The two of us have finally escaped them. Although hiding in the Gloomy Forest isn't ideal, at least we've escaped their devilish clutches."
"Yes!" the elder sister agreed. "It was also thanks to that earth-shattering explosion that came from who knows where, which distracted them and gave us a chance to escape. How lucky!"
Two young women, one dressed in blue, the other in white, both injured and looking haggard, were supporting each other as they walked through the gloomy forest, where there were no fierce beasts or birds.
"Elder Sister," the younger one said, "I smell burning grass and wood in the forest. It seems like someone is starting a fire."
"What?!" the elder sister exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What madman would start a fire in the Gloomy Forest? Doesn't he know that starting a fire in the Gloomy Forest is a huge taboo? Even Tribulation Stage cultivators wouldn't dare start a fire here!"
"Quickly," she urged, "we must get out of this area fast."
Meanwhile, a young man was diligently trying to start a fire to boil water, when suddenly, rustling sounds began to emanate from the surrounding bushes.
"Strange?" he thought. "There's no wind, so why are the bushes rustling?"
Thinking back, he hadn't even heard the sound of a small insect for a long time, so he simply dismissed it as his imagination and continued boiling the water.
"Roar... roar..."
"Howl... howl..."
"..."
The roars of beasts startled him, and he looked around. What met his eyes was a multitude of fierce beasts: some looked like wolves but had long, sharp fangs like saber-toothed tigers; others resembled snakes but were covered in spiky fur; all sorts of bizarre creatures were staring intently at him.
"Why are there so many monsters suddenly?" he gasped.
Sweat poured down his head like a stream, his mouth dry. Swallowing hard, he began to reconsider. Looking at the pot of water he was boiling, he noticed the firewood was almost completely burned out, and the water was bubbling furiously. "Could it be because I started a fire?" he thought. "If so, this is really bad. First, I need to figure out how to escape."
He looked around; he was surrounded on all sides, with no way to escape. After a moment of silence, he decided to charge wildly and carve a bloody path.
He looked towards the snake covered in spiky fur. Among the possible escape routes, this direction seemed the easiest. Having lived for nearly 20 years since childhood, this was the first time he prayed to gods and Buddhas, hoping this snake wasn't venomous.
Taking out his folding knife, he held it in his hand. In his heart, he counted: "1... 2... 3." Then he unleashed all his strength and ran swiftly towards the snake. But strangely, the snake showed no reaction. It just stood there, maintaining its previous posture, its spiky fur bristling.
Surprised by the snake's lack of reaction, he slipped and brushed his leg against the snake's fur. His face turned pale.
Oh no! This time I'm really done for. My legs are about to be ground to a pulp, how can I possibly run???
But contrary to his thoughts, as his leg brushed against the snake's bristles, he saw the spiky hairs begin to fall off wherever he touched. Yet, it couldn't leave even a tiny scratch on his leg.
“???? How can this be? That fur looked so tough, how could it be so soft???”
A thousand bewildered thoughts raced through his mind, but he quickly calmed down, remembering that the most important thing right now was to escape. So he plunged forward and ran.
After running for a while, feeling quite tired, he leaned against a tree trunk and looked back. Seeing no sign of any beast, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, then sat down at the base of the tree, panting.
“I’m so tired. If so many wild beasts surrounded me again, I wouldn't be able to run even if I wanted to.”
“Sigh, I left the pot behind again. How am I going to boil water next time?”
As he pondered how to boil water, he remembered being surrounded by monsters because he had lit a fire for that very purpose. Cold sweat broke out again.
“Never mind, next time I’ll just drink lake water directly. I’d rather die of illness, at least I’d last a few more days, than die in the mouths of those monsters.”
“But luckily, I still have a few bottles filled with water. At least now I don't have to worry about lacking water. Once those beasts disperse tomorrow, I can go back to the lakeside for more. For now, I should find a place to sleep.”
Having said that, the young man stood up and continued to survey his surroundings.
…… End of Chapter 1…..