The moment that Shun Long's feet passed through the black door, a blinding white light forced him to close his eyes, as a familiar feeling of spatial teleportation passed through his body.
The moment that Shun Long opened his eyes again, he noticed that the scene around him had changed, as he found himself inside an unfamiliar forest.
The colorful trees around him, as well as the cries of the magic beasts in the distance made it obvious that Shun Long had arrived in the king's garden.
After remembering the restrictions that the emotionless voice had set before he had entered the second trial, Shun Long sent his spiritual strength inside the 'Stone of Time', and looking at the black dragon who was now happily munching on the flesh of the 'Nine-eyed giant worm' he said
''Little Black, make sure to avoid using your soul sense again until we leave this place.
Although I didn't sense any hostile intentions from that voice, I'm not sure if things will remain the same if you end up being exposed. So unless it's absolutely necessary, you must not use your soul sense until we leave this 'Vermilion realm'.''
Little Black suddenly stopped eating, as he looked at Shun Long with serious eyes, and nodding his head he said
''Master, I will try to breakthrough to the 5th rank, as soon as I finish with the 'Nine-eyed giant worm's body. After my breakthrough, even a peak rank 5 Nascent soul expert won't be my match!''
Shun Long shook his head as he heard little Black's words and said seriously
''Don't rush your breakthrough until you are ready. If worse comes to worst, then we can just flee from this place. I'm also not sure how strong a rank 4 Nascent soul cultivator really is, but I doubt that he will be that much stronger than the 'Nine-eyed giant worm'.''
The black dragon felt warmth in his heart as he heard this, and nodded his head in response as he continued eating the 'Nine-eyed giant worm'.
Shun Long's consciousness then returned to his body, and after taking a look around him, he climbed on top of the tallest nearby tree, as he observed the area he was in.
A cloud of dust had been raised a few miles away from him, as Shun Long could sense the violent clash of auras all the way to his current location.
After deliberating for a bit, he still decided to head over and check what was going on.
Although Shun Long's strength had grown exponentially, especially after he had reached the peak of the second stage in his 'Monarch's Eternal body', he still didn't know if he could defeat an early rank 3 magic beast.
After all, even the weakest rank 3 magic beasts, were as strong as peak rank 3 Heaven grade cultivators.
A few minutes later, Shun Long had already arrived at the scene, only to see 6 disciples in tattered black robes lying on the ground.
Shun Long recognized the emblem on these disciples' chests, and understood, that they belonged to the 'Poison Hall'.
Liu Jian had already warned the disciples of the 'floating cloud sect', that there were 3 main powers that they shouldn't offend inside the 'Vermilion realm'.
The 'Golden Buddha temple' was the first on this list, as they were the strongest power in the Desolate east.
The second was the Bright Moon academy. Liu Jian had even mentioned that this academy didn't lose out to the 'Golden Buddha temple' by much in terms of power, and their roots even extended beyond the Desolate east.
The third power on Liu Jian's list was precisely the 'Poison Hall'. If a disciple of the 'floating cloud sect' was to offend the disciples of the 'Poison Hall', then the sect wouldn't offer them any protection.
All of a sudden, less than a mile away from Shun Long, the sounds of fighting once again resumed.
Shun Long followed the sounds until he arrived at the foot of a small mountain.
The scene unfolding in front of his eyes had left him tongue-tied.
3 black-robed disciples of the 'Poison Hall', 2 of them at the early rank 1 Heaven grade, and the other one in the middle of rank 1, had surrounded a gorgeous girl in green clothes.
The girl was holding a thin but long white sword, and seemed to be at the middle of rank 1 in Heaven grade as well.
The moment that Shun Long's eyes landed on this girl's face, his mind almost blanked out for a moment.
Shun Long didn't even immediately move as a series of questions flashed through his head
''Do these coincidences really exist? Or is this what people refer to as fate?''
Shun Long had never believed that one day he would have to play the hero for a damsel in distress.
Although he had believed himself to be a cold person, one who only cared about his close ones, the moment that his eyes saw Liu Mei with blood all over her robes, he felt like someone was tugging the strings in his heart.
''Is it because she stood up for me when I first entered the sect? Or is it because I felt pity for her after hearing about her life from Fu Li?''
Shun Long didn't know when or why, but he just found out that at some point, he had already developed a soft spot for this peerlessly beautiful girl in front of him.
The young man at the middle of rank 1 in Heaven grade, finally woke up Shun Long who had fallen into a stupor with his loud laughter, as he looked at the injured Liu Mei in front of him and said
''HAHAHAHA Bitch! Did you think that you could escape after injuring so many of my brothers? This young master simply asked you to accompany me for a drink, and yet you dare to not give face to my 'Poison Hall'?!''
Then, with a lewd smile on his face, the young man from the Poison Hall looked at Liu Mei who was still on the ground as she struggled to get up with the help of her sword, and said
''Don't worry, I, Su Honghui am known for being benevolent after all. Come here and beg this young master, and I can still forgive you.''