“What do you mean?” Casey asked.
“Because no one can pinpoint where exactly that so-called forbidden area is inside!” Isaac Herring responded.
“So, over time, fewer people mentioned it, and even fewer truly considered it a forbidden area.”
“It’s just that there are high-level fierce beasts inside, so ordinary people don’t dare to enter.”
“If there are rumors, hasn’t anyone gone in to explore?” White Tiger asked.
“Of course, there have been!” Isaac Herring replied.
“But as far as I know, those who went in looking for the forbidden area came back empty-handed, with no gains.”
“Many of them not only failed to find the forbidden area but were also attacked by high-level fierce beasts, losing their lives inside.”
“No one has ever found the forbidden area?” Azure Dragon asked.
“At least I’ve never heard of it!” Isaac Herring shook his head.
“Elder Isaac, what do the rumors say? What kind of place is that so-called forbidden area?” Felicia asked.
“I don’t know what kind of place the forbidden area is either,” Isaac Herring paused before continuing.
“It’s just rumored that a peerless strongman once fell in that primeval forest, so many believe there might be a legacy of the strongman inside.”
“But after so many years, no one has ever found the so-called legacy.”
“Another peerless strongman?” Azure Dragon and the others were slightly numb to the concept of ‘peerless strongmen’ by now, as they seemed to pop up frequently.
“Yes!” Isaac Herring nodded again.
“Do we know who exactly it was?” Felicia asked again.
“No one knows exactly who it was. Currently, there are two different versions circulating!” Isaac Herring responded.
“Some say it was the strongest person in the history of Forbidden Ruins Space, while others say it might be a master from some unknown domain.”
“Alright!” Felicia replied.
“Elder Isaac, you can go back now. I’ll take Casey and the others to look for Elder Cruz!” Billy said after some thought.
“Mr Billy, it’s said that there are high-level Sacred Beasts in the Misty Forest. Be careful!” Isaac Herring reminded them.
“Got it!” Billy nodded.
Soon, Billy, Opal, Amber, Casey, Azure Dragon, Azure Fang, Bob, and Stout flew off.
As usual, Stout carried several cloth bags. It was unclear whether he was looking for people or natural treasures.
Fifteen minutes later, they landed at the mountain trailhead on the outskirts south of the city.
They then started walking up the mountain.
As they walked, they released their spiritual power to probe their surroundings.
“Boss, any discoveries?” After walking for a while, Stout looked at Billy and asked.
“No!” Billy shook his head slightly.
Within his spiritual power’s range, there were only some low-level fierce beasts and no other living creatures.
“Everyone spread out and search!” After walking a bit further inside, Billy said.
“Remember to search the periphery first and avoid entering the Misty Forest for now. Inform me if you find anything unusual!”
After saying this, he took out a stack of ‘sound transmission talismans’ and distributed them to everyone.
“Okay!” Everyone took their sound transmission talismans and scattered in different directions, flying off individually.
The primeval forest was indeed vast; just the periphery was enough to keep them busy for a while.
It took nearly an hour to search the periphery near Skydragon City thoroughly.
The result was the same as before: apart from some low-level fierce beasts, there were no other discoveries.
“Boss, Elder Cruz and his group must have entered the Misty Forest,” Azure Fang said after regrouping with everyone.
“Alright!” Billy nodded. “Let’s go in and take a look!”
With that, he led everyone toward the Misty Forest.
After about twenty minutes, they could clearly feel the mist thickening around them.
“It’s really strange; spiritual power is obstructed here,” Azure Dragon remarked after walking a bit further.
As he said this, everyone else also noticed that their spiritual power’s range was at least halved in this area.
“Could it be because of some array?” Bob responded.
“I don’t think so; it’s just a forest,” Azure Dragon said before looking at Billy. “Boss, can you sense any formation lines?”
“No,” Billy shook his head.
“That’s really strange. Who knows what’s in here…” Azure Fang frowned slightly.
“There are fierce beasts coming!” Casey interrupted Azure Fang’s words.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As soon as Casey finished speaking, a series of heavy footsteps sounded. Soon after, a dozen four-horned fierce beasts surrounded them.
“They’re just low-level Divine Beasts,” Stout said with slight disappointment. He no longer cared for such low-level beast cores.
The dozen four-horned fierce beasts roared and launched an attack, charging wildly.
“Get lost!” Stout raised his hand and sent out several gusts of wind. Azure Fang and Bob also joined in, sending out flashes of cold light.
These low-level fierce beasts were naturally no match for them. In less than two minutes, all but one injured beast that managed to escape lay on the ground.
After dealing with these fierce beasts, they continued forward.
Along the way, they encountered two or three more waves of fierce beasts’ attacks. However, they were all low-level Divine Beasts and posed no threat to them.
As they went deeper, the mist grew thicker and visibility decreased gradually.
After walking for a while longer, they arrived at a clearing where Billy and his group had been over a year ago.
Back then, they had encountered a fifth-rank Divine Beast python here, which was later slain by Billy.
Additionally, Billy had uprooted a Kylin fruit tree from a nearby rock cliff back then and was chased by a seventh-rank Divine Beast for quite some distance afterward.
Returning to this familiar place now brought back some emotions for them.
In just over a year, so much had happened. Now that they were back here again, they were all in the middle to late stages of the Sacred Realm and no longer had to worry about being attacked by high-level Divine Beast.
“Stout will follow me; everyone else pair up and search around!” Billy instructed after scanning their surroundings.
“Okay!” Everyone replied in unison.
Then they paired up and scattered in different directions.
Billy and Stout headed toward the right front area.
Upon entering this part of the forest, they noticed that the level of fierce beasts was significantly higher than outside. They frequently encountered one or two Sacred Beasts along the way.
Although these were low-level Sacred Beasts, their attack power was much stronger than that of ordinary fierce beasts.
Even warriors at the early stages of the Sacred Realm would find it difficult to retreat unscathed here.
This was likely why most people didn’t dare venture deep into the Misty Forest. After all, there weren’t many mid-to-late-stage Sacred Realm practitioners in Forbidden Ruins Space; ordinary people clearly wouldn’t dare come here.
“What a treasure!”
After walking for a while, Stout’s eyes lit up as he looked at a fruit tree on a distant rock wall.