Seemingly guided by the soul aura of Elder An, his speed increased dozens of times, and in a moment, he was back in reality.
On the cliff edge of the safe zone, behind a piece of broken rock, Li Chonglou, curled up, suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood and his eyes snapped open.
"Damn, I really pushed it too far this time!"
A look of annoyance flashed across Li Chonglou's face. The benefits he had gained in the colorful space were enough to allow him to break through to the peak of the seventh level after waking up!
However, the wisp of consciousness that had exploded just now had caused his entire being to wither.
Consciousness was a mystical, soul-like entity. For an ordinary person, let alone losing a part of it, even a slight injury would directly lead to a severe condition!
With even a little carelessness, one could become a fool for life!
Li Chonglou's ability to escape with his life this time was already a divine favor. However, because of this, all the achievements he had gained inside had vanished.
Well, it wasn't that they were gone, but in his severely injured state, it would take at least some recuperation to return to his peak.
"Indeed, one shouldn't be too greedy."
Li Chonglou sighed. At this moment, Elder An's surprised voice echoed in his mind.
"Little Li? You're out?"
Upon hearing this, Li Chonglou knew that Elder An definitely knew about the situation inside, and couldn't help but ask, "Elder An, what exactly is that place inside? How much time has passed now?"
The latter was the point he truly wanted to know. In that seven-colored space, he himself knew that over a hundred years had passed!
If the real world had also synchronized, then he would truly be more desperate than his severe injuries!
"The flow of time inside is different. It has only been half a day, which is twelve hours."
Li Chonglou immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Half a day was fine; he could accept even half a month, but anything more, and it would be unacceptable.
Elder An then explained, "That place is the end of the Great Dao. Generally, only those at the seventh level or above are qualified to enter. Moreover, among a thousand experts at the seventh level, not even one might have this opportunity."
Its importance was almost self-evident!
Shock spread across Li Chonglou's face. No wonder his progress inside had been so rapid, successfully breaking through from the peak of the sixth level to the peak of the seventh level in just half a day. If it weren't for his meddling hand, trying out that void space...
Thinking of this, Li Chonglou couldn't help but feel annoyed. If it weren't for his greed, he might have successfully broken through to the eighth level this time!
However, he didn't mention this to Elder An, and for some reason, Li Chonglou himself skipped over this topic.
"I suffered not a light injury inside, and I guess I'll have to head back now."
Elder An remained silent for a moment before saying, "Little Li, in order to allow you to hide inside, our energy is almost depleted. Without the replenishment of remnant souls, Old Lin and the others might not even survive until tomorrow."
"Ah?"
Li Chonglou immediately became anxious upon hearing this and quickly entered the bottle space. As expected, all the souls like Old Lin were in a weak state.
Although they couldn't see Li Chonglou's figure, they could sense his aura. Old Lin asked doubtfully, "Little Li, why do you seem even weaker than us?"
"Don't talk about it, I almost couldn't get out. How are you guys doing? How much longer can you hold on?"
Old Lin sighed, "What can be done? We can hold on for at most another day or two, but can you really manage in this condition?"
Li Chonglou didn't answer immediately but silently calculated the time remaining until the end of the Black Spirit period.
Excluding the initial two days, plus the current half a day, it meant that there was less than half a day left until the end of the Black Spirit period.
During this period, he definitely couldn't leave first. Who knew if that pervert was still searching for him outside?
If he had come out at his peak, he would still have the confidence to contend with the opponent, but now, let alone the seventh or eighth level, even a fifth-level cultivator would probably make him a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!
Besides this, there was another problem.
There were very few exotic beasts in the safe zone. If it weren't for the Black Spirit period, it would be difficult to even find Blackie, otherwise, it wouldn't be called a safe zone!
This meant that if he wanted sufficient remnant souls, his only option was outside the safe zone!
"It seems I have to take this risk."
Li Chonglou sighed. The condition of Old Lin and the others was actually worse than his. Although he was severely injured, as long as he didn't misuse his soul power, his condition was stable.
But their souls were constantly draining, and once all the power was gone, the consequences were self-evident.
"Don't worry, leave this to me."
After making his decision, Li Chonglou gave everyone an answer, then withdrew from the bottle space and said to Elder An, "Elder An, if I go outside now, what are the chances of success?"
Elder An said solemnly, "Little Li, your current situation is not optimistic. Even if I help protect your consciousness, you can at most exert about thirty percent of your strength."
Li Chonglou sighed helplessly. Even with Elder An's protection, if it were him alone, he probably wouldn't even have enough strength for twenty percent.
"But there's no other way now, I can only take a risk."
Elder An didn't respond. This was indeed the reality. Unless Li Chonglou intended to give up on Old Lin and the others, even with only twenty percent of his strength, he had to take this risk!
But before that, he had to survive until the Black Spirit period passed.
It was at this moment that Li Chonglou remembered Xiong Da and Mei Niang.
"It's over, I almost forgot about this!"
Li Chonglou was startled. At that time, he had originally asked Old Lin to enter Hua Zi's sea of consciousness again, but upon seeing that Hua Zi had entered enlightenment because of it, Old Lin ran out before Li Chonglou left.
"Given that kid's comprehension, he probably won't wake up for at least a day and a night."
This was Old Lin's explanation to Li Chonglou after he came out on his own. Compared to guarding Hua Zi, Old Lin was naturally more willing to go treasure hunting together!
Li Chonglou had just shaken his head helplessly at the time, not thinking much of it.
But now, it had left a huge hidden danger!
Someone quickly entered the bottle space and asked Old Lin, "Old Lin, how much longer did you see that kid Hua Zi needing to wake up?"
Old Lin's expression suddenly froze.
"Uh, it seems to be around this time too?"
Li Chonglou fell silent.
"Elder An, let's go out first!"
Hua Zi, after all, was Hei Zi, and they were people from two different worlds. Their relationship was only based on mutual benefit. Once that guy woke up and realized he wasn't around, he would definitely realize Old Lin's disappearance!
Especially when the Black Spirit period passed, the fate of Xiong Da and Mei Niang could be guessed with their toes!