Zhou Yan thought to himself and then observed carefully. He discovered that the entrance to this Shenmo Mountain Range was not outside the Divine Realm, but within it, and not even in the outer regions.
"This means the Shenmo Mountain Range belongs to the core area of the Divine Realm," Zhou Yan mused, looking at the entrance to the mountain range, and then quickly flew towards the peak.
As soon as Zhou Yan reached the summit, a powerful pressure descended, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Zhou Yan quickly circulated his cultivation technique to resist the pressure, but he found it too terrifying to withstand. He immediately activated the Blood Refining Art, rapidly absorbing the pressure to heal his injuries.
This terrifying pressure lasted for several minutes. Only after the pressure on Zhou Yan had significantly weakened did it slowly dissipate. Zhou Yan let out a long sigh of turbid air, feeling as if he were drenched.
"The pressure of the Shenmo Mountain Range is too immense. I estimate I can only last about ten minutes at most," Zhou Yan thought to himself, then continued his search.
In this area, Zhou Yan saw countless giant stone pillars descending from the sky. Each pillar was thousands of feet tall. Zhou Yan guessed that these pillars might be part of some large structures or a grand hall of a sect, or perhaps they were formations used to guard the sect.
Upon this thought, Zhou Yan's heart filled with joy.
"Hahaha... It's truly a case of searching high and low and finding it unexpectedly. How could such a fortunate event happen to me?" Zhou Yan exclaimed, thinking this was like a windfall from heaven.
As Zhou Yan pondered, he continued to fly deeper into the mountain range. In the center of the mountain range, he saw many demons. These demons were not strong, with the most powerful only at the Divine Venerable level, not even reaching the peak of Divine General. Seeing their strength, Zhou Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He only needed to find and kill that one demon.
These demons also noticed Zhou Yan. Many of them looked at him, and some demons, more directly, lunged at Zhou Yan, intending to assassinate him.
"Hmph!" Zhou Yan snorted coldly as he looked at the charging demons and waved his hand. A ball of golden flame instantly shot out.
"Rumble!"
"Ah!"
"Boom boom boom!"
Instantly, swathes of demons screamed and fell to the ground. The surroundings fell silent. Those demons were stunned; the power Zhou Yan displayed was too formidable for them to resist.
Zhou Yan ignored the demons and continued to fly forward. He flew for five to six hundred miles and saw a giant black hole.
"Is that the core area of the Shenmo Mountain Range!" Zhou Yan thought to himself and immediately flew towards the black hole.
Soon, Zhou Yan arrived before the black hole. It was extremely vast. Standing in front of it, Zhou Yan felt an immense spatial force pressing down, giving him a suffocating sensation.
Zhou Yan immediately activated his defensive barrier and drew his Chaos Sword, then quickly thrust it into the black hole before him.
"Whoosh!"
Instantly, Zhou Yan was pulled into the black hole by its powerful spatial force.
The next second, Zhou Yan found his legs sinking into a swamp, and his entire body was submerged. Zhou Yan immediately activated his chaotic energy to cleanse his legs.
However, the effect was slow because the swamp contained poisonous liquid. The poison was extremely potent, and Zhou Yan had to thoroughly cleanse it.
Soon, Zhou Yan had cleansed his legs. He immediately leaped out and quickly moved away from the swamp.
After Zhou Yan left the swamp, the entire black hole suddenly vanished. Zhou Yan shot out from the swamp and landed heavily on the ground, causing pain throughout his body.
Fortunately, Zhou Yan reacted in time, or he would have been trapped and unable to escape. Zhou Yan thought, immediately got up, and quickly moved away from his original location, flying in all directions.
On a giant tree not far away, several women dressed in luxurious palace attire watched Zhou Yan.
"Did you see that? This human is so powerful; he actually came out of the swamp!" one woman said to another beside her.
The other woman, named Yun Yan, was beautiful. She looked at Zhou Yan's departing figure with an unhappy expression.
"Hmph! I've long suspected where this human came from. He must be a disciple of some ancient sect or a rogue cultivator. The technique he used just now should be the legendary 'Free and Unfettered Divine Art.' Do you know what the Free and Unfettered Divine Art is?" Yun Yan asked the woman beside her.
"It's the ultimate technique of the Free and Unfettered Divine King. This divine art can only be mastered by a true inheritor. I didn't expect to encounter it here!"
"Yes, I suspect he is a disciple of an ancient sect or a rogue cultivator. Let's not act rashly. We should follow him first and investigate his situation!" Yun Yan said.
...
Zhou Yan flew for a distance in the forest. Finding no demons pursuing him, he stopped flying and found a dry spot to rest and recover his strength.
After a short rest, Zhou Yan continued his search deeper into the area, looking for any demons at the Divine King level or above.
Before long, Zhou Yan found a large river.
"Hahaha... I finally found it!" Zhou Yan shouted excitedly and immediately leaped up, quickly heading towards the river. As he flew towards the river, he checked his surroundings. The river flowed very rapidly and with great force. Zhou Yan directly entered the river, sinking into it. The water was chillingly cold.
Soon, Zhou Yan was submerged in the water, leaving no trace of him on the surface.
Zhou Yan did not hesitate and swam towards the depths, deciding to leave the area no matter what.
He then dived into the deep river. This river was very deep. Zhou Yan sank for three to four kilometers before stopping. He then quickly took out a piece of clothing from his storage bag and changed into it.
Zhou Yan's clothes were wet. He casually put on two dry outfits and then quickly flew towards the canyon ahead, preparing to find a place to hide.
...
On the mountainside of a large mountain, a man with a giant axe on his back was meditating.
Suddenly, the man opened his eyes and looked into the distance.
"Hmm? He's still here!" The man frowned slightly and then quickly flew towards Zhou Yan.
Not long after, the man arrived before Zhou Yan and, looking at him, his eyebrows furrowed.