In the mountains, Yi walked at the forefront, occasionally looking back, only to find that no matter what kind of terrain it was, Wang Nan and Yan Shaozhe could always follow behind him.
"Don't worry about us getting lost. Just keep walking forward, and if you get tired, stop and rest for a while," Wang Nan said with a smile, looking at Yi, who kept turning around.
"No, I'm not tired," Yi shook his head. "We're almost there."
Wang Nan looked up and gazed ahead.
After a day of travel, the sun had already begun to set, casting an orange-red glow into the forest, creating a hazy atmosphere. In the distance ahead, a thin mist seemed to have risen, illuminated golden by the sunlight, making it difficult to see what was inside.
"Then let's rest here."
Yi looked at Wang Nan with a puzzled expression after hearing this.
"This place is still somewhat dangerous for you. We'll rest here tonight, and you get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, while it's still light, you should return to the village first."
Yi was about to say something more, but Wang Nan had already come to his side, patted his shoulder, and motioned for him to sit down. "Don't worry, what I promised you naturally counts. You rest for a bit, then show me your Spirit, and I'll teach you how to perceive the World's elemental force first."
"Okay," Yi finally nodded.
Yan Shaozhe stood to the side, watching Wang Nan chat with a child who didn't even have a single spirit ring. Although he didn't speak, many thoughts had already formed in his mind.
The night passed quickly. Wang Nan watched Yi walk away, then looked at Yan Shaozhe. "Dean Yan, let's go."
"Okay," Yan Shaozhe replied.
Wang Nan glanced at Yan Shaozhe, always feeling that his tone was slightly different from a few days ago.
But soon, he stopped thinking about it, because they had already stepped into the thick mist.
It was clearly only a step away, yet inside and outside the mist were two completely different worlds.
Wang Nan felt as if he had crossed a barrier. With his next step, he had already entered a simple courtyard.
The entrance was a half-open wooden door, covered in green vines with a few small flowers interspersed. Underfoot was a path paved with cobblestones, with various flowers and plants growing on both sides.
In one corner of the courtyard, there was a wooden round table, with two lounge chairs beside it. One of the lounge chairs was already occupied by a person, but that person was radiating golden light, making his appearance indistinct.
A boy seemed to sense the movement in the courtyard and ran out of the room, burrowing into his embrace.
Soon, another girl was carried out of the room, and the person holding her was Wang Nan's father, Wang Xing.
"You're back?"
Wang Nan looked at Wang Xing in front of him for a long time without speaking, finally sighing and reaching out to disperse the boy in his arms, leaving only a trace of moisture in his palm.
At some point, Wang Nan's eyes had begun to emit golden light. In his mental force Sea, the Evil Breaking Dragon was also looking straight ahead, its nine-colored light constantly swirling in its eyes.
Wang Nan took a second step and found himself still in the mountain forest, with plants growing on both sides, clearly all kinds of plant-type Spirit Beasts.
The surrounding mist seemed to have thinned a bit, allowing him to barely make out what was in front of him, but Yan Shaozhe was nowhere to be seen.
Wang Nan, possessing a half-Domain Spirit Ability, could clearly perceive that he was already within a Domain, but this Domain was a mental force type, leaning towards illusion rather than attack.
Thick mental force permeated all around, and this power not only blocked Wang Nan's mental force perception but also rendered his spirit tool detector useless.
Thick mist enveloped the surroundings, and behind him was no longer the place he had entered. However, after entering here, the call from his mental force Sea suddenly became clearer. It seemed that this Domain was what had been blocking the thing he was looking for.
It was difficult to discern direction in the mist, so Wang Nan simply followed the guidance from his mental force Sea and walked forward. Although there were some plant-type Spirit Beasts around, they posed almost no threat to him. After half an hour, the terrain gradually rose under his feet.
A tall mountain appeared before him, and Wang Nan also clearly knew that what he was looking for was at the top of the mountain.
Another half hour passed, and Wang Nan had already reached the mountain top. There was no longer a path underfoot, and the surroundings were still misty, but he could see that ahead was a cliff, and a familiar power was emanating from there.
That was Dragon might.
"Come in—"
An aged voice sounded in Wang Nan's ear.
Ever since the mysterious sensation appeared in his mental force Sea, Wang Nan had actually had an early guess about its true nature. On the Douluo Continent, possessing such great power could only be a God.
Since he had already arrived here, there was no reason to hesitate. Wang Nan took a step forward, and his body did not fall off the cliff but disappeared into thin air.
It was as if he had used the Spirit Ability of his left leg bone. In just an instant, Wang Nan arrived at an unfamiliar place. Immediately after, he discovered that all the spirit power in his body had become dormant, unable to exert even a tiny bit.
However, the impact on his mental force was much smaller; although it was suppressed, he could still release some.
Wang Nan communicated with his storage spirit tool using his mental force, and a metal long staff appeared in his hand. It was originally prepared for when his spirit power ran out, but now it seemed that having more things prepared was always good.
The surroundings were very quiet. Some plants grew solitarily on small hillocks not far away, but there was no trace of any other animals or Spirit Beasts.
After walking a few more steps, past these hillocks, a valley appeared before his eyes.
The valley stretched as far as the eye could see, with twilight gloom in the distance and faint wisps of mist. In the valley, countless gigantic skeletons covered every corner. A gentle breeze swept through these skeletons, making a "woo woo" sound, like countless giant Dragons moaning in the valley, their Dragon roars mournful and plaintive.
These were all true Dragon bones.
Wang Nan somewhat understood where the true Dragon skeleton he saw during his deep meditation under the Sea God Pavilion came from, and he also understood why this place had been subtly calling to him.
"Come—"
The aged voice became even clearer.
Wang Nan climbed down the stone wall of the valley, and when he stepped onto the ground again, a desolate aura came from all directions, and he seemed to hear the mournful cries of countless giant Dragons in his ears.
In his mental force Sea, the Evil Breaking Dragon's eyes were already filled with nine-colored light. Nine-colored mist also rose before Wang Nan's eyes, and a massive, illusory Dragon Clan figure gradually appeared before him.
The Dragon shadow shimmered with nine-colored light, each Dragon scale appearing to be inlaid with countless gems.
The Dragon shadow slowly spoke, its aged voice seeming to come from the distant sky, echoing continuously throughout the valley.
"You have finally arrived, arrived at this Valley of the Sleeping Dragon Clan."