Another black figure swiftly shot past Long Xiao. This time, Long Xiao clearly saw that the figure was a cultivator wearing a coarse cloth cloak.
The cultivator paid no attention to Long Xiao, not even glancing at him. It was as if Long Xiao was obstructing his path, and he was merely driving Long Xiao away by attacking him.
One cultivator was chasing an inhuman black shadow. Long Xiao felt curious and followed behind the cultivator.
Initially, Long Xiao could still see the cultivator's retreating back. After running for less than half an hour, the cultivator completely vanished into the night.
The surroundings were pitch black, with no sound, not even a wisp of wind.
Long Xiao looked around but saw nothing. Unable to find the cultivator, Long Xiao had no choice but to retrace his steps.
After walking for over an hour, Long Xiao still hadn't found the hillside and the small path. He realized he might be lost.
He dared not walk further. If he went in the wrong direction, he would only move further away from the castle. If he accidentally wandered into the abbey, he might be captured by the abbey's cultivators.
Although Long Xiao's strength had increased significantly in the past few days, he found that in this place, his strength was not even considered average.
The two cultivators who came to capture Long Xiao were not inferior to him in strength. It was due to his life essence, his myriad of unpredictable techniques, that Long Xiao managed to bluff them.
In the castle, after Long Xiao had become familiar with a group of cultivators, he had also discreetly tested their strength. He discovered that he was the weakest among them all.
Unable to find his way, Long Xiao sat down and waited for dawn.
When the sky turned a pale white in the east, it was already bright daylight. Long Xiao stood up and looked around.
The surrounding environment was completely unfamiliar. He had never been to this place before. Long Xiao was currently in the middle of a hillside, with lush green grass on the ground and a large patch of shrubs taller than a person not far away.
In the morning light, several unknown small birds chirped in the bushes, as if waking the sun that was about to rise above the horizon.
To get a better view of his surroundings, Long Xiao ascended the hill.
Standing at the summit and surveying the area, all he saw were mountains, one after another, ridges connected to ridges. The distant mountains had forests and waterfalls, the hillsides had grasslands, and there were also various animals, large and small, that Long Xiao had never seen before.
He couldn't find the castle, nor could he find the abbey.
"I'm lost," Long Xiao muttered to himself.
Unable to find the castle, Long Xiao stopped looking around. He casually chose a direction, intending to leave this place first.
Walking along the ridge, Long Xiao traveled for a day and a night. To his front, back, left, and right, there were still mountains. In the undulating mountain range, he didn't even see a single small village.
Long Xiao felt dejected, wondering what kind of place this was, with nothing but mountains.
If he didn't move, he would never get out of the mountains. Helpless, Long Xiao had no choice but to keep walking forward.
After walking for three days, Long Xiao finally discovered that he had emerged from the mountains, and in front of him lay a vast, boundless sea.
The waves gently kissed the shore. Long Xiao happily walked through a patch of coconut trees and reached the beach.
An hour later, his initial joy subsided, and Long Xiao became dejected again. The long coastline stretched out to the distance on both sides, mountains lay behind him, and the sea stretched before him.
Not only was there no one here, but he couldn't even see a single small animal.
Long Xiao's stomach had been empty for a long time. He wanted to find some seafood to eat but found nothing. He didn't even see a single shell in the sea.
Looking around, the only thing edible was coconuts. Thinking of the refreshing coconut water and sweet coconut meat, Long Xiao walked towards the coconut grove.
For a master like Long Xiao, getting a few coconuts was very easy.
He picked up a few pebbles from the ground and threw them. A few coconuts fell from the trees.
After eating and drinking his fill, Long Xiao began to ponder which direction to go.
The mountains behind him were the way he came. The sea in front of him was impassable without a boat. The only paths available were the coastlines on either side.
Long Xiao didn't think much and casually chose a direction, walking along the coastline.
He walked for an entire day, reciting scriptures as he went. He had become accustomed to reciting those strange scriptures. With each recitation, he could feel his demonic energy growing.
As dusk approached, Long Xiao stopped and looked back. Behind him was the long coastline, to his left were mountains, and to his right was the vast, endless sea.
When Long Xiao saw the coconut grove not far away, he was greatly surprised. This coconut grove was identical to the one where he had eaten coconuts.
Walking to the edge of the coconut grove, Long Xiao felt as if he had encountered a ghost barrier. He suspected it was likely a massive magical formation.
When setting up a magical formation, magical artifacts are placed in specific locations. The energies of the artifacts communicate with the energies of heaven and earth, using these energies to form the formation.
Long Xiao sensed the surrounding energies but found no special points of energy, nor did he detect any manipulation of the energies of heaven and earth.
Unable to find any traces of the formation, Long Xiao was still unwilling to give up. He searched again using the methods for finding demonic formations, but still found nothing.
It felt like a formation, yet he couldn't find any traces of it. This could be due to two reasons: either he was mistaken, or it was indeed a formation, but his strength was insufficient to perceive it.
The methods for setting up formations in the world were varied, and formations themselves were diverse. It wasn't strange for a formation to be imperceptible.
After repeatedly checking and finding not a single trace of a formation, Long Xiao stopped searching. He went to the coconut grove and looked around, but apart from the fact that this grove was identical to the previous one, he saw nothing unusual.
Long Xiao knocked down a few more coconuts, ate his fill, and then, remembering which tree he had picked coconuts from, he continued on his way.
Long Xiao did not rest. He walked, reciting scriptures, from nightfall until dawn.
Finally, Long Xiao saw another coconut grove. This grove was identical to the two he had visited before.
Long Xiao quickened his pace and entered the coconut grove, finding the tree from which he had previously picked coconuts.
Counting the coconuts on the tree, he found the number to be the same as on the tree he had picked from last time. Long Xiao knocked down a few more coconuts, ate his fill, and set off again.
He walked for four consecutive days without rest and encountered a total of eight identical coconut groves.
The coconut trees were the same, and the number of coconuts on each tree was the same. Long Xiao always picked coconuts from the same coconut tree, varying the quantity each time and making marks at the base of the trees. This way, he could confirm whether he had visited this grove before.
Eight identical coconut groves, and Long Xiao had visited each one only once. Sitting in the eighth coconut grove, Long Xiao began to ponder what kind of formation this was.
There were many types of formations related to the number eight, but human formations associated with the number eight were almost all derived from the Eight Trigrams.
Long Xiao used a stick to deduce on the sand in the manner of the Eight Trigrams. An hour later, Long Xiao was shocked to discover that this was not a formation related to the Eight Trigrams at all.
If it wasn't a formation related to the Eight Trigrams, and if it was a formation, it might be related to other races.
He couldn't deduce demonic formations. As for demons, gods, immortals, and other races, Long Xiao had no contact with them, and he didn't know if they were extinct. Furthermore, there were no relevant texts in the Dragon Sutra.
Helpless, Long Xiao had no choice but to move forward again. A day later, he saw another coconut grove.
Entering the coconut grove, Long Xiao quickly found the tree from which he had picked coconuts.
He didn't find his mark. After counting the coconuts, Long Xiao realized that this was the very first coconut grove he had entered.
Walking along the coastline all the way, he returned to the starting point. This indicated that he was on an island.