"Roar!"
Just as Su Fan thought the Great Qiongqi was dead, another roar echoed from the mist, followed by the sound of running. The Great Qiongqi's figure charged out of the mist once more.
However, the Great Qiongqi was no longer as majestic as before. One of its wings was still blown to smithereens, a terrifying gash from sword energy marred its head, and one eye was blinded, blood continuously flowing down.
The Great Qiongqi was severely injured, yet it fearlessly attacked Su Fan.
"Alas!"
Su Fan sighed and drew another sword.
"I can't help it. We don't speak the same language, and I can't explain. I'm sorry."
Su Fan apologized to the Great Qiongqi.
Vertical and Horizontal, Cross Slash!
Su Fan's figure vanished instantly, and two cross-shaped sword blades formed by sword marks sliced through the Great Qiongqi's body.
The Great Qiongqi froze in place, suddenly spewed a mouthful of blood, and fell to the ground, dead.
If there had been another choice, Su Fan wouldn't have wanted to kill it, but he had no choice. It had to be killed.
Su Fan ignored the Qiongqi on the ground and continued on his way, arriving at the secret chamber at the innermost part of the cave.
The stone walls of the secret chamber were covered in many scratch marks.
It was obvious that the Great Qiongqi had done it.
"I wonder if it still works."
Su Fan said uncertainly.
After being scratched like this, he wondered if the teleportation gate to the inheritance land had been damaged.
Su Fan reached out to touch the stone wall, and his arm passed directly through it. Fortunately, it was not damaged.
Without hesitation, Su Fan plunged headfirst into the stone wall.
Su Fan's vision suddenly opened up, and he found himself back in that beautiful mountain forest.
Looking at the realistic environment around him, Su Fan wondered how they managed to separate a small world from reality. It was too real.
Su Fan began to explore the inheritance land, specifically searching in places they hadn't been before.
Now that Su Fan's strength had increased, he didn't have to worry about encountering dangerous creatures. Moreover, the creatures he had encountered before were not strong in his eyes now; he could kill them with a casual swing.
Su Fan hadn't walked far when he encountered a strange creature.
It resembled an elephant, but with a very short trunk and two sharp tusks.
Upon seeing Su Fan, the elephant's eyes immediately turned red, and it charged at Su Fan like a mad beast, attacking Su Fan with its front tusks.
Su Fan, helpless, flipped and leaped, landing steadily on its back. He then proceeded to pound the elephant's head repeatedly.
The elephant was quickly dazed, its eyes spinning, and it obediently prostrated itself on the ground, completely subdued by Su Fan.
Su Fan thought it would make a good mount.
"Get up and take me around, or I'll kill you!"
Su Fan threatened the elephant.
To Su Fan's surprise, the elephant actually understood his words. It stood up with Su Fan on its back and obediently began to walk forward.
"You can understand me?"
Su Fan asked the elephant in surprise.
The elephant, showing human-like intelligence, nodded.
Holy cow!
Su Fan was somewhat shocked.
He was not shocked by the elephant's intelligence, but by its ability to understand human speech, which meant it had encountered other humans and spent a considerable amount of time with them.
Wait, no!
This place wasn't uninhabited before. Guiguzi's obsession had been here.
"Are there any other humans like me in this world?"
Su Fan asked the elephant again.
This time, the elephant shook its head.
Su Fan was now certain that the elephant had learned to understand human language from Guiguzi.
"Alright, take me around. Show me any special places."
Su Fan instructed the elephant.
Su Fan felt that any intelligent creature in this world could probably understand human speech.
Guiguzi had been here for thousands of years and must have felt lonely. When he had nothing else to do, he probably talked to these intelligent creatures, which led to many of them being able to understand human language.
The elephant carried Su Fan and galloped for a while, eventually arriving in front of a wooden house.
Su Fan immediately jumped off the elephant's back.
The wooden house before him was identical to the one on the mountain. The one on the mountain was an environmental representation, while this one was a tangible, real structure.
Su Fan's eyes welled up. This must have been where his master lived before he passed away.
Su Fan pushed the door open and entered. Everything inside the wooden house was exactly as it had been in the environment on the mountain: a bed, a cabinet, a desk, a dining table, and nothing else.
The only difference was a book placed on the desk.
It was inscribed with the four characters "Zongheng Yaoshu" (Art of Vertical and Horizontal).
This was the original "Zongheng Yaoshu."
When Su Fan had received the inheritance before, Guiguzi's obsession had directly instilled it into Su Fan's mind. This, however, was the physical version that had endured for thousands of years.
Su Fan wanted to pick it up but feared it might have decayed after thousands of years. His hand hovered over the desk, hesitant to move.
Su Fan carefully examined the surroundings. Just like the environment, it had not accumulated a speck of dust despite thousands of years passing. Everything looked as if someone had lived there yesterday.
He touched the table and chairs; they remained unchanged upon his contact.
Only then did Su Fan relax and confidently reach for the book on the desk.
Su Fan gently picked up the "Zongheng Yaoshu." The book looked as new as ever, clean and tidy, with every character clear.
Su Fan sat cross-legged at the desk and carefully examined the contents of the "Zongheng Yaoshu."
Most of the records were identical to the inheritance Su Fan had received, with no discrepancies. However, there were some clearer annotations.
It wasn't until Su Fan flipped to the last page that he found some different content.
"After more than seventy years, I have entered a new realm, which I temporarily designate as the 'Heavenly Human Realm.' The Heavenly Human Realm has four layers. Reaching the final layer allows one to break through the void and create matter with bare hands."
The first paragraph described the terrifying power of the Heavenly Human Realm, the last realm of the current 'Heavenly Realm.' Breaking through the void and creating matter with bare hands?
Su Fan was stunned. So, his master had already reached the final layer of the Heavenly Human Realm before he passed away. This inheritance land was a small world he had created by breaking through the void?
Su Fan collected his thoughts and continued to read.
"Heavenly Human Realm. Entering the Heavenly Human state is the most difficult. It is like trying to scoop the moon from the water, visible but unattainable. To enter the Heavenly Human Realm, one must sublimate the soul and transcend the void."
The latter part described the difficulty of breaking through to the Heavenly Human Realm and the method for doing so, but Su Fan still didn't understand.
What did sublimating the soul and transcending the void mean?
The soul was spirit, wasn't it? A sublimation of the spirit. What did transcending the void mean?
Su Fan couldn't figure it out.
Su Fan carefully put the book away, intending to take it back and cherish it. After all, it was the last item left by his master.
Su Fan walked out of the wooden house. A figure flashed before his eyes, darted into the forest, and disappeared.
Su Fan was startled.
How could there be someone here?