Chapter 162 What a Strange Place Indeed

At present, however, he could barely probe a distance of a few dozen meters, and the resolution was far from high, making it entirely possible to mistake a human for a wild beast.

Zhang Pu felt helpless, for the nature of cultivation was such that one had to work diligently to reach higher realms before one's abilities could truly expand.

When Zhang Pu first attempted to project his spiritual consciousness, he had failed to detect either the mysterious person or Gao Yun.

He even muttered to himself in confusion: *Strange, could this place really be so desolate that even wild beasts are nowhere to be found?*

After all, had there been any beasts, his spiritual scan would certainly have picked them up.

This defied logic. According to reason, the more remote and desolate a location, the more abundant the wild beasts should be.

At least, that was how earthly logic dictated. This was not some miraculous realm within the world of immortality where normal logic ceased to apply.

Turning to Ye Hui, Zhang Pu asked, "How large is this forbidden area?"

Ye Hui, however, was momentarily at a point of not knowing what to say.

He had only visited this place once before, and that was in the company of Duan Jinhuan. Back then, he had not dared to wander about haphazardly, nor was it appropriate to question Duan Jinhuan. Matters concerning the forbidden area were strictly classified; even mid-level members of the Three Halls Association were forbidden from asking questions casually. On that occasion, Duan Jinhuan allowing him to accompany her into the forbidden land had already been a supreme honor, for before Zhang Pu made their acquaintance, Ye Hui’s status within the Three Halls Association was even lower than Gao Yun’s.

Seeing that Ye Hui could provide no answers, and unable to detect Gao Yun or the mysterious figure through his own spiritual perception, Zhang Pu deduced that this forbidden ground must be quite extensive.

Sensing that something was amiss, Zhang Pu concentrated his spiritual awareness even further. Gradually, he arrived at a startling realization: this forbidden zone seemed utterly saturated with an aura of death.

Indeed, it was the palpable aura of death itself!

An aura of this nature was something Zhang Pu had once experienced with profound intensity—in the Necrotic Astral Realm!

Such places were commonplace in the Necrotic Astral Realm, but in other astral realms or upon the present Earth, they were exceedingly rare.

At least, as far as Zhang Pu's own memories of Earth were concerned, this was the only location he knew of that possessed such deathly energy.

This chilling atmosphere was confined entirely to this forbidden territory, of unknown expanse. Outside its boundaries—even back at the Three Halls Association branch where he had recently arrived—not a trace of this deathly aura existed.

Could this miasma be unique to the forbidden land alone?

Lost in thought, Zhang Pu, accompanied by Ye Hui, ventured deeper into the depths of the terrain.

***

Now, Zhang Pu could clearly observe that Ye Hui was treading with the utmost caution. Zhang Pu knew he was guarding against the mysterious intruder who had abducted Gao Yun.

Yet, even without that incident, Zhang Pu could perceive that Ye Hui’s current state of mind was partly influenced by the oppressive atmosphere of the surroundings.

This aura of death was genuinely capable of exerting a psychological toll upon mortals.

It had the power to subtly alter a person's state of being.

The thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Pu's mind of the Necrotic Star Sovereign from the Necrotic Astral Realm. When the Sovereign had taken advantage of geographical superiority to wait in ease for fatigued enemies, he had employed special techniques that inflicted curses, lethargy, aging, and various other afflictions upon his foes, ultimately triumphing over formidable adversaries...

The Necrotic Astral Realm was truly a wondrous world. Aside from that realm, Zhang Pu had rarely encountered any locations of such wondrous and bizarre nature.

Before coming here, he had imagined that the place might house some cherished treasures he fancied, much like the items displayed at auction houses. He had never expected that the very soil of the Three Halls Association's forbidden ground would possess properties akin to some rare treasure.

To be frank, if an ordinary person were to accidentally stray in here, they would instantly suffer from adverse reactions—foremost among them being heart palpitations, profound fatigue, and other negative emotional states, while those more severely affected might even succumb to nervous exhaustion and the like.

*No wonder all the animals have fled far away from this place! No wonder my spiritual scan failed to detect any creatures earlier—neither large nor small!* A sudden wave of understanding washed over Zhang Pu.

As the two men ventured still deeper after some time, Zhang Pu noticed that even Ye Hui—traditionally a robust and sturdy fellow—was beginning to display signs of physical distress.

The surroundings were growing increasingly cold and gloomy, or at least that was how Zhang Pu felt, but Ye Hui was already breaking out in a heavy sweat.

Even along stretches of completely flat terrain, a strapping man like Ye Hui had begun to pant slightly.

Zhang Pu extended his spiritual consciousness as far forward as he possibly could once more, yet there was still no trace of Gao Yun's or the mysterious person's presence.

A sense of astonishment gripped Zhang Pu: *Could it be... that my spiritual perception is completely useless within this forbidden ground?*

What an utterly baffling phenomenon!

"Ye Hui, let's stop and rest for a moment!" Zhang Pu suddenly declared.

Ye Hui readily agreed. He had likely wanted to propose the same thing long ago, but since Zhang Pu was calling the shots, he had not dared to speak up.

Gazing at Ye Hui, whose face was beaded with sweat, Zhang Pu remarked, "Ye Hui, why do you look as though you've undergone extreme exertion, sweating profusely like this?"

"Indeed!" Ye Hui admitted honestly. "Navigating the mountains and rivers earlier left me feeling utterly exhausted. I've never reacted this way before under normal circumstances; today is truly bizarre. I suspect it has something to do with this forbidden zone."

As he spoke, Ye Hui cast a glance at Zhang Pu, only to find that the latter bore none of his own wretched disarray.

Ye Hui opened his mouth as if to say something, but reflecting on the fact that Zhang Pu was an extraordinary expert who naturally wouldn't be reduced to his own pathetic state, he swallowed his words.

Meanwhile, Zhang Pu continued to question him: "Ye Hui, was it like this when you came here last time?"

"Last time?" Ye Hui pondered for a moment before replying, "We didn't seem to venture this deep last time, and there wasn't such intense fatigue. Ah, I remember now! Last time, we only lingered near the perimeter of the forbidden area; even the master of the hall never penetrated very far in."

Weighing Ye Hui's words, Zhang Pu tried to calculate just how far he and Ye Hui had penetrated into the forbidden zone this time.

Yet, for the moment, he could gauge nothing precise.

Back in the days when he had shaken the cosmos under the moniker of Emperor Zhang, he could have pulverized a minor forbidden zone like this with a single effortless sweep of his palm.

Yet now, following his rebirth on Earth, his terrifying cultivation base had vanished entirely. He had been forced to start from scratch, like building a career with bare hands, and had only just stepped into the Foundation Establishment stage. He was still worlds away from the realm where he could obliterate an entire region with a mere flick of his palm!

With his current modest level of achievement—what he would once have considered a petty territory no larger than the palm of his hand—he now found himself trapped in something resembling a bewildering maze.

Bizarre! This place truly bore the characteristics of a labyrinth.

Zhang Pu began to secretly scrutinize their current surroundings, wondering if the stones, grass, and trees around them looked vaguely familiar.

Yet in this peculiar place, the grass, trees, and stones were nearly identical, making them exceedingly difficult to distinguish.

With his former level of cultivation, discrimination would have been an effortless feat.

Presently, however, even though he could rival a grandmaster of human martial arts, a martial arts grandmaster was not omnipotent on Earth.

If a place was sufficiently wondrous and bizarre, even a martial arts grandmaster would stumble and fall.