With that in mind, Tang Wulin led the way as he traversed deeper into the demonic island.

There were no paths on the island, and the only landmarks were those dead black trees, all of which looked roughly identical, so there was no way to ascertain which direction they were going in. As such, they could only continue to forge directly ahead toward a set direction.

After entering the forest, the deathly aura that Tang Wulin had sensed earlier had clearly become more pronounced. The surrounding air had turned very cold, but Tang Wulin shielded everyone from the sinister chill in the air. His Golden Dragon King bloodline aura was as scorching as the sun, keeping most of the chilly sensation at bay.

Even without a reminder from Tang Wulin, everyone was restricting their soul power from circulating as it normally would; they had to conserve their soul power for when it was needed most. If they couldn't find any places on the island where natural energies existed, then they had to devise a strategy to get out of their current predicament.

Tang Wulin observed the sky up above as he walked through the forest. They had "borrowed" the aircraft at dawn, and the sky was slowly beginning to brighten. Looking out from the island, there didn't seem to be anything different about the outside world.

Just what kind of event could've taken place to reduce a cluster of islands to this godforsaken state? It was quite clear that human activity wasn't responsible for this as there was no point for the federation to do this.

In that case, this could've only been caused by a natural event, but what kind of natural event could've possibly resulted in this tragedy?

Could it be that there was some kind of massive soul formation that was constantly stripping away the natural energies in the air? But if that were the case, then how could that black seawater be explained? The black sea had the terrifying ability to devour all energy.

After walking for two hours straight, everyone was beginning to sweat a little. However, they were trying to conserve their soul power, so they didn't use it to speed up. All of them were carrying food in their storage soul tools, but they had eaten a lot of it during their days spent in the detention chamber, and they hadn't had a chance to replenish their food supplies, so they had to be conservative with their consumption as well.

"Let's rest here for a while," Tang Wulin said.

Overall, this place was where he felt the least potent deathly aura, and his powerful Golden Dragon King bloodline aura would be able to protect everyone for a short time. However, even so, they would still be in some strife if they were to stay here for too long unless he broke through his next Golden Dragon King seal so he could attain more bloodline power to combat the deathly aura here.

Tang Wulin quickly climbed up a nearby tree so he could see further from a higher vantage point.

There seemed to be no end in sight to this black forest, but as he cast his gaze deeper into the demonic island, he suddenly caught sight of a wisp of a blackish-purple color.

What was that?

Tang Wulin had only taken a quick glance at that wisp of blackish-purple color in the distance, yet an extremely powerful sense of foreboding had welled up in his heart, making him feel as if his body were about to be torn into shreds.

What powerful energy! Wait, if there's energy there, then that should be apart of natural energies. Perhaps that place is the key to getting out of here!

With that in mind, Tang Wulin was greatly reinvigorated, and after climbing back down from the tree, he immediately informed his friends of his findings.

After resting for a short while longer, then having some food, they set off again, this time with a clear target.

After walking for two more hours, they finally emerged from the black forest. However, the earth was still of an inky-black color, and from there, they were close enough to see the wisp of blackish-purple color in the distance even from the ground.

Blackish-purple light flashed in a subtle manner up ahead, striking the beholder with a terrifying sense of annihilation.

"What is that?" Xu Lizhi murmured.

Yue Zhengyu's brows furrowed slightly. "I feel like my body is about to be torn apart just from looking at it."

"Me too," Xu Xiaoyan panted, and Yue Zhengyu hurriedly positioned himself in front of her to alleviate her discomfort.

"Let's go back into the forest," Tang Wulin immediately instructed at the sight of the agonized expressions on everyone's faces.

Appraising the blackish-purple light was certainly far from a pleasant experience for him, but with his powerful Golden Dragon King bloodline aura, he wasn't suffering as much as his friends were.

After retreating back into the forest, everyone was feeling a lot better with the trees acting as a barrier of sorts.

"That aura was really terrifying, but it doesn't seem to be energy of any element we've seen before. What was it?" Ye Xinglan mused.

Tang Wulin said, "We'll only be able to ascertain what it is after getting closer to it. Wait here for me; I'll go have a look."

"Captain," Xie Xie grabbed onto Tang Wulin's arm, and said, "Let me go instead. I'm faster, and I'll be able to escape more quickly if any mishaps arise."

Tang Wulin shook his head. "You're indeed faster, but you won't be able to withstand the effect of that energy for long. Don't worry about me; I have my bloodline power to support me, so I'll be fine."

Indeed, no one could compare with Tang Wulin in terms of physical resistance, not even Yuanen Yehui.

After taking a deep breath, Tang Wulin didn't conserve his energy any longer as he summoned his suit of one-word battle armor. A golden visor slowly appeared over his face, and powerful blood essence fluctuations began to emanate from his body.

He exited the forest in a flash, then abruptly sped up and charged directly toward the blackish-purple light.

As expected, after putting on his suit of battle armor, everything was a lot easier to handle. However, Tang Wulin could still feel that the sense of annihilation he was being afflicted by was becoming more pronounced as he traveled toward that blackish-purple energy.

His soul power and blood essence power combined to perfection, and he circulated them throughout his body as stipulated by the Mysterious Heaven Method. He then swept his right hand over his forehead, and his Golden Dragon Spear appeared in his grasp. He pointed the spear directly forward, and an umbrella-shaped barrier of golden light erupted from the tip of the Golden Dragon Spear, keeping that fearsome aura at bay.

In doing so, the pressure was alleviated somewhat, and Tang Wulin was able to accelerate again. He could sense that both his soul power and blood essence power were being expended at a rapid rate.

They hadn't been devoured by his surroundings; instead, this level of power output was required to withstand that terrifying aura.

After charging out of the forest for around a kilometer, he could even sense that the surrounding air was fragmented. Those fragments of air whistled toward him like sharp blades, forcing him to expend more of his power to resist them.

Dragon scale patterns began to surface over his suit of battle armor, and he'd been forced to unleash his Golden Dragon Body.

A low dragon's roar rang out around him, barely keeping the devastating aura at bay. Right at this moment, everything suddenly blurred before Tang Wulin's entire world turned a blackish-purple color, as if his entire body had been devoured by something. He abruptly shuddered, and the terrifying pressure around him was instantly alleviated, leaving him feeling as light as a feather as he arrived in another world.

He was gasping for breath like a fish out of water, and in that instant, he truly did feel as if his body were about to be completely torn apart. Even his suit of battle armor was about to give out, yet all of that immense pressure had suddenly vanished, and the stark contrast left him feeling as if he'd lost all of his bones.

After panting heavily for a while, he discovered that he was situated within a massive valley. This valley was no longer inky-black in color, and there were many lush plants growing around him. In the distance, he could see a massive pillar of blackish-purple light piercing into the heavens, and the mere sight of it struck him with that powerful sense of foreboding again. However, what was even more surprising to him was that there were natural energies here. Furthermore, he quickly sensed that this place had far more abundant life force energy than in the outside world.

He had a plant-type martial soul, so he was very sensitive to the life force energy in a place. With every single deep breath he took, he felt as if his body were being cleansed.

Right at this moment, a coarse voice suddenly sounded. "It's quite impressive that you made it into this place without any guidance." Tang Wulin's heart jolted with shock, and he turned around to discover an old man appraising him with his head cocked to the side.

The man looked like a relic of the ancient past! He was around 180 centimeters tall, but his back was slightly hunched over. He had a head of disheveled white hair that hung straight down around his face, which was filled with wrinkles and liver spots. He was holding a cane in one hand, and despite his ancient appearance, his eyes were extremely clear and bright.

Due to the innumerable wrinkles on his face, Tang Wulin could only barely manage to ascertain from his expression that he seemed to be smiling.

He hurriedly said, "Hello, my name is Tang Wulin, and I'm from Shrek Academy."

The old man nodded in response. "I know, I know. You're quite a handsome little guy."

Tang Wulin scratched his head, and asked, "Senior, can you tell me what kind of place this is?"

The old man replied, "This is the demonic island, so it's obviously the place where demons reside! Hahaha!"

The old man suddenly burst into laughter as he spoke.

A place where demons reside? Tang Wulin's heart stirred slightly. He couldn't sense even a single hint of threat from the old man. In fact, there didn't even seem to be any energy fluctuations emanating from his body; he was just like a normal frail old man.

Tang Wulin asked, "The academy instructed us to come here to undergo military training; what's that going to be about?"

The old man shook his head. "I'm not responsible for all that, but there will be other people here that will tell you what you'll need to do. Come to think of it, it's been a very long time since your academy has sent anyone here. Everyone's waiting, so come with me; I'll take you to them."

He turned around as he spoke, and limped deeper into the valley, using his cane to support himself in the process.