29 Entering The Forest!

"Alright, let's go." Long Hengxu's voice roused Gloxinia from his thinking. He smiled and continued, "I was just like you guys when I first came to one of the Eighteen Pillars of Heaven. I got used to it after a few more visits though. In any case, every single one of the Eighteen Pillars of Heaven has a mural worthy of admiration."

(A/N: In case you forgot, Eighteen Pillaars of Heaven mean the 18 biggest Spirit Pagodas.)

Using his skill, Nature Connection to control his sweat to dissipate and changing his facial expression, Gloxinia smiled and followed Long Hengxu.

Wu Zhangkong said, "Restrain yourselves until you enter the spirit ascension platform. You'll only have yourselves to rely on once you enter."

Surprised, Tang Wulin asked, "You're not entering with us?"

Wu Zhangkong explained, "Only Soul Masters with four rings or less can enter the elementary spirit ascension platform."

Long Hengxu nodded. "But you can rest assured, we will be watching all of you carefully from the outside. If you encounter a dangerous situation, it will be your duty to take the initiative to withdraw. We'll give you the full explanation in a bit."

With Long Hengxu and Wu Zhangkong in the lead, everyone entered the elevator. Contrary to their expectations, they began to descend instead of ascend.

A faint feeling of weightlessness told them that they were penetrating deep underground. As for how deep, it was impossible to tell.

The Spirit Pagoda was indeed worthy of being called the number one organization on the continent; they possessed both the strongest power, as well as the greatest resources. The amount they spent on engineering such a thing was simply astronomical.

This elevator had no numbers displayed to indicate the time or level, but at least three minutes passed before it gradually came to a stop.

Everyone exited the elevator and entered an expansive hall where 19 staff members were present. Behind them were countless metal passages

Long Hengxu took out a peculiar card and handed it over to one of the staff members. The staff member didn't utter a single word, simply gesturing for them to follow.

Ten meters down the corridor, they entered another elevator and continued their descent. This time they stopped after 19 seconds, finding themselves in a circular room upon exit.

This room was still made entirely out of metal, but hanging on the wall was a giant soul screen. An image of a green world flickered on the screen. It seemed to be a jungle.

The staff member turned around and began to speak. "There are four quotas open for entry to the spirit ascension platform. When you can no longer bear the danger, press the emergency distress button and you will immediately return here. Pay attention to what I say next."

"The spirit ascension platform is the fruit of a millennium years of our Spirit Pagoda's efforts and knowledge. We had invested an enormous amount of resources and used our spatial technology to create a different world, therefore, the first thing you need to note is that the spirit ascension platform is a virtual world. To be precise, it is half virtual and half real. This is because a lot of the virtual data relies on your input. However, it can be considered purely virtual within the elementary spirit ascension platform, so there is no need to fear for your lives."

"You can do anything you want in the spirit ascension platform, but your main objective will be to survive. Do your best to survive as long as you can. The longer you survive, the greater the benefits you will reap."

"Secondly, don't believe that it is completely safe in there. Although your life will not be in danger as only your brain waves are active in there, in some extreme circumstances, there is a possibility that your brain waves will be damaged and cause danger to your corporeal body. As such, the moment you face danger beyond your power to deal with, press the emergency exit button; and you will immediately exit the spirit ascension platform. Understood?"

"Understood." The four students responded quickly.

The staff member nodded. "As for the rest, you will learn them after experiencing it inside. Today is the first time you will be inside, so you probably won't survive too long, but it should leave a deep impression on you. Prepare yourselves mentally and remember this: don't panic if you run into a dangerous situation. Soul beasts aren't that scary if you know how to react properly."

The four children were filled with anticipation after listening to the staff member's explanations. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were especially excited since this was their first time learning about the spirit ascension platform.

They would enter with their brain waves? Just how would that feel? Would it be like vr back in his old world and just have the feeling of a helmet on your head or would it feel immersive, like sword art online?

With a press of a button, four metal boxes came out of the wall. These boxes were laid horizontally, each with a person sized-hollow within it, which made them slightly resemble a coffin.

"Lay down inside."

The four of them followed the staff member's instructions and laid down in the metal boxes. The boxes were so cold that it snapped their minds into focus.

The interior was lined with electrodes, which quickly began to stick to their body snuggly.

"We're going to start now. Prepare yourselves. Relax your bodies and wait for the scan to begin. You may feel some discomfort during the scan, but just bear with it for a moment."

That was the last piece of instruction the five students received from the staff member before the five metal boxes had slowly slid back into the wall. They were enveloped in darkness.

A sudden numbness encompassed Gloxinia's body and agitated his excited soul power and blood; it was as if something was tunneling through his body. His body became paralyzed as the numbness grew stronger.

A while later, his body suddenly started trembling, rousing him from his drowsiness. To his surprise, he now stood in a brightly lit place.

The numbness had disappeared along with the metal box, replaced by a metal device that had a big red button. It was attached to the back of his hand.

'Is this the emergency exit button? Where is this?'

Gloxinia already had an initial impression of what the spirit ascension platform would be like from the novels explanation, but now that he had actually entered, he was utterly shocked. Only now could he understand how much the Spirit Pagoda had poured into their research.

He was surrounded by gigantic trees and large thickets of shrubbery. There wasn't a single path in sight. It felt like he had entered an ancient forest.

However, what was most astonishing to him was how realistic this place felt. He lightly pinched his own cheeks in disbelief, before examining his surroundings, touching everything, and finally, confirming that it was real.

'Heavens! This spirit ascension platform is just too magical!'

His heart overflowed with awe. Such a place was simply too magical for him to fathom.

Only after a few moments of admiration was Gloxinia finally able to calm himself down. In the first place, he was already far calmer than his peers. After all, he was many years older than them mentally so it would be rather embarassing if he couldn't even stay calm in a situation like this.

He looked down at his hands and summoned Basquias while also pointing at the grass below him, beckoning it to move slightly with his Nature Connection.

When both tests worked, he could confirm that everything was the exact same as reality, truly fascinating.

Gloxinia was not the type of person to make rash decisions, so having predicted he would go to the Spirit Ascension Platform soon, he had used the head key a few days ago to refresh his mind by reading memories he had about it.

From those memories he could make out 1 main rule, which was to never fly! From his memories, anyone who flew in the Spirit Ascension Platform would get swarmed in a matter of seconds! The best thing to do would be to survey your surroundings and then hunt that way!

Thus, with a clear objective in mind, he silently crouched down and surveyed his surroundings. His spiritual power had already reached the Spirit Connection realm, so it was far more sensitive to changes in the external world.

The first thing he felt was the breath of life that permeated the forest. Only this could be considered an authentic ancient forest! Where could one even find such a forest in the modern day federation? The majority of ancient forests had already been cut down by humanity. In fact, it was said that the continent's greatest forest, Great Star Dou Forest, was only a husk of its former self, left with a meagre one percent of its original area.

'So ancient forests are actually so beautiful… The air is so refreshing. Ah, it feels so wonderful here.'

The moment he had arrived at this forest, Gloxinia had felt like he was at home. It was as if he had returned after a long vacation and could finally just sit down and relax at home.

Gloxinia's eyes were twinkling with excitement as he fully absorbed this wondrous feeling. He felt as if he was back in his room on earth, playing games with friends and having fun. What a truly nostalgic feeling.

Sitting down from his squat, he gently ran his fingers through the grass and shrubbery around him. At the same time, he subconsciously released Basquias and his Fairy King's Wings.

The aura of life he sensed grew stronger in an instant, as if all the plants in his surroundings were joyously cheering. Gloxinia immersed himself in this quiet forest that was brimming with life, feeling everything within.

---------------------

The fifth region of the Spirit Pagoda's elementary spirit ascension platform.

"What is he doing?" Long Hengxu was pointing at a screen that was displaying Gloxinia sitting down with his eyes closed. He was leaning against a tree with his mouth slightly curved, a pleasurable smile gracing his face.

No matter how he looked at it, Long Hengxu felt that this child was taking a nap! Gloxinia had such a wonderful opportunity to enter the spirit ascension platform, yet, he was taking a nap?

Wu Zhangkong said, "He seems to be contemplating something.. Leave him alone for now, perhaps he will get more rewards from this trip than anticipated."

---------------------------

Words: 1813

Author's Note: Early chapter causee i felt like it. Next chapter will come out some time today.

NEXT CHAPTER HAS ACTION I SWEARRR

Thank you all for all the collections and powerstones!