Wait a minute!

Su Ran noticed a strange phenomenon. Amid the howling wind, there was only one tree spinning around him. Although the trees on the ground were affected, they were not uprooted, which puzzled Su Ran. Why was the fierce wind targeting only him, even causing the tree beside him to suffer as well?

Could it be...

Su Ran thought of an absurd possibility. Could it be that the fierce wind was created by someone and the target of this attack was him? This left him no room to fight back!

Was it a coincidence, or was it premeditated?

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

Who was targeting him? Su Ran had no idea. It was his first time in this terrain, so how could he have made an enemy? His vision struggled to peer through the violent wind around him, and he failed to spot any enemy figures. What puzzled Su Ran was, if the attack was targeted at him, why wasn’t his health decreasing?

It really was bizarre!

With all these doubts in mind, Su Ran was buffeted about by the strong wind, dizzy and disoriented, as helpless as a kite with its string cut.

Since he couldn’t resist, he might as well learn to enjoy it. Su Ran summoned a Sand Shield to protect himself, reached Unity of Heart and Spirit, and let the wind forcibly pull him towards an unknown terrain.

Unfortunately, Su Ran didn’t have the ability to close his eyes, and the violent wind made his eye sockets sore. The Bone Soul Ghost Fire within flickered, as if it were in danger of being extinguished.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when, just as he felt he was about to faint, the roaring of the wind gradually subsided. He and his remaining pets fell from mid-air.

"Thump, thump, thump."

A series of thuds followed, with Su Ran being no exception. He crashed to the ground, narrowly avoiding death.

With his current condition, the fact that he was not forced offline was already a big deal; where would he find the energy to use the Treading on Air Technique?

It took a while before Su Ran finally felt better mentally. The Soul Fire in his eye sockets returned to normal, and it was as if his soul had reentered his body, regaining control over it.

Upon realizing his weak, near-death state, a chill ran down Su Ran’s spine, and he felt an immense relief. It was incredibly fortunate that he hadn’t tragically fallen to his death!

Without hesitation, Su Ran pulled out several graveyard grasses from beneath him, not caring whether they were clean or not. He stuffed them into his mouth and chewed vigorously. In a short time, his health was fully restored, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

Next, Su Ran turned his gaze to his army of Summoned Beasts. They were just like defeated soldiers—the Sand Puppet and Dark Bone Lion were nowhere to be seen, leaving only the small zombie and skeleton centipede, along with two Summoned Skeleton Warriors, looking listless and pitiful beside him.

Su Ran promptly recollected the small zombie and skeleton centipede back into the pet space before he had the opportunity to look at the surrounding environment.

What appeared before Su Ran was a pond of pitch-black polluted water, impenetrable to sight, with bursts of foul smell emanating from it. He hurriedly stepped back a few steps, fearful of being enveloped by the stench and becoming poisoned.

The ground beneath Su Ran’s feet was barren, void of any grass, and even the soil had turned dark brown. It was evident that the pollution from the pond was severe, alarming to anyone who saw it.

However...

What purpose did the violent wind have in bringing him to a place void of even rabbit droppings?

Or was it possible that there was a hidden plot waiting for him to uncover?

Glancing at the disgusting stagnant water, Su Ran’s face turned rather unpleasant. He thought to himself that even if there was a plot, it needed serious consideration—this pond was just too nasty!

"Splash."

As Su Ran was contemplating, ripples appeared on the black, ink-like surface of the water, and a bald head emerged from it.

Seeing this, Su Ran felt a sincere admiration. The fact that this NPC could survive in such an environment was impressive!

"Hahaha, I’ve finally waited for you, boy!"

The Elf jumped out and stood on the surface of the water as if it were solid ground. Su Ran inwardly acknowledged his inferior control.

Su Ran cautiously sized up the bald elf, feeling that his build was not much different from that of a banana, but there was a world of difference in his aura. Facing this black elf, Su Ran couldn’t muster the thought of opposing him; it was like looking up at a towering giant.

"Senior, was it you who summoned me here?"

Su Ran carefully chose his words before asking, "This is the forbidden land of the elf clan, how are you here as well?"

"Haha, what a wise Undead Skeleton!"

The black elf laughed heartily and strode forward, stepping across the surface of the water towards Su Ran.

To Su Ran’s amazement, not a single ripple formed on the water’s surface as the black elf walked—it was simply unscientific!

"Skeleton Warrior, you guessed correctly, it was indeed I who guided you here."

The black elf reached the shore, revealing a smile that he seemed to believe was affable, "You are an emissary of the elf clan, nothing is amiss about your visit to my patch of land."

"As for why I am here,"

the black elf chuckled and explained to Su Ran, "If I told you I was born right here, would you believe me?"

"What?"

Su Ran was a bit slow to respond. Born in the forbidden land—could this black elf be a child left behind by Wen Liu? At that thought, a flame of gossip ignited in Su Ran’s eyes, and he asked eagerly, "Senior, may I ask what your relationship with Wen Liu is?"

"Wen Liu?"

As soon as the black elf heard this name, it was like lighting a powder keg. He was instantly enveloped in furious anger, appearing to transform into another person entirely, frightening Su Ran with his ferocious demeanor.

Not good, it’s as if I’ve kicked a hornet’s nest!

Su Ran hastily cast aside his thoughts of gossip, put on an angry face, and reproached, "Senior might not be aware, but this Wen Liu is shockingly evil, having harmed the Elf Forest to such an extent, completely disgracing the face of the elf clan!"

"Eh?"

Seeing the sudden change in the Undead Skeleton’s tone, the bald black elf was taken aback, his fury abating somewhat, but the icy look on his face remained, he sneered, "Skeleton brat, do you not know that Wen Liu and I are both of the black elf lineage?"

Now it was Su Ran’s turn to be dumbfounded.

What was this bald elf getting at?

Just a moment ago, he seemed to detest Wen Liu to the bone, and now he was defending him. How was Su Ran supposed to explain himself?

Damn, it’s all because I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut!

Su Ran realized he had made a fatal mistake by speaking recklessly without understanding the relationships involved. Great, now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place...

"Senior, what do you think then?"

Su Ran cautiously pushed the unstable conversational grenade back, careful not to say anything wrong that might offend the bald elf.

"Even if he is a black elf, to have polluted my Spirit Spring to such a state, I wish I could dismember him into thousands of pieces!!!"

The bald elf seethed, venting all the anger in his heart.

Spirit Spring?

Could it be that this pool of dead water was the Spirit Spring?

You’ve got to be joking, right?!