The Avalon Of Five Elements

The rock beneath his feet was piercingly cold, and Ai Hui felt as if he was walking on a polar ice sheet.

How long had he been walking? He couldn’t be sure.

Time elapsed in a strange and unpredictable manner, like the meandering of streams. In this space, Ai Hui wasn’t able to accurately judge the time.

After several failed attempts, Ai Hui decided not to waste any more energy on it.

It wasn’t just his ability to judge the time, but also his sense of direction that had been affected. There were no stars above him and no distinctive features on the terrain either. The ice-cold, barren land displayed no trace of life.

Ai Hui had traveled extensively, but there was nothing like this place.

There was no vegetation, no insects, no elemental energy wave motion, and not even a breeze. There was nothing but the black, ice-cold rocks to keep him company.

How strange.

He could only advance aimlessly.

Some time later, a slight glimmer appeared before this muddle headed man, jolting him out of his daze.

Just imagine an exhausted traveler, having trekked under the empty sky for a whole night, finally catching sight of the first rays of the morning sun. There was nothing more stirring and exciting than this.

Ai Hui’s body was boosted with a sudden surge of energy. All of his weariness was emptied out.

He sped toward the glimmer, moving faster than a cheetah.

The surroundings became increasingly bright as he shrugged the darkness and nothingness behind him. Ai Hui felt himself crossing the boundary between yin and yang.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked down. A tender, jade green color had caught his attention.

It was an ordinary looking blade of grass that grew on the black rock.

Ai Hui observed it carefully. The grass had no unique characteristics and was no different from a typical weed. The only difference was that the blade of grass wasn’t growing from in between the cracks, but from within the rock. Then again, this also wasn’t anything special since many plants absorbed nutrients from these rocks. Some would even turn the solid rocks into soft silt.

Thanks to his accumulated experience in the Wilderness, Ai Hui was somewhat of an expert when it came to identifying different vegetation.

A few names flashed across his mind, but he eliminated them one by one. At first glance, all these seemed possible, but upon closer inspection, this blade of grass had indefinite features.

Ai Hui shook his head. It was probably a new species. He simply couldn’t be sure.

He quickly threw this insignificant thought aside. Being able to locate a live being amid this completely desolate land was undoubtedly a huge encouragement.

Ai Hui sped up a little and was welcomed by more greenery and light.

He couldn’t identify the source of the light since there were still no stars and no moon above his head.

"What a strange place," Ai Hui muttered to himself for the umpteenth time.

He continued walking, and the greenery grew lusher, making it difficult for him to see any exposed black rock. The ground became uneven in height. Ai Hui was no longer standing on a vast plain.

The number of species of vegetation started to increase as well. He even discovered a thicket.

It was a fluffy and brightly-colored thicket, no different from a bloodied dog’s tail, that reached Ai Hui’s waist. Since there were no weeds within the radius of a meter around this thicket, the black rock was exposed and the thicket was exceptionally eye-catching among the ridged, mountainous land.

As such, Ai Hui was able to notice it from afar.

Yet another species he hadn’t seen before.

The hollow, heart-shaped leaves were slightly bigger than fingernails and looked like red balloons. The branches were extremely fine, almost similar to natural silk. Ai Hui suspected that the leaves would drift far off into the sky if their branches were cut off.

He tried breaking a fine branch, but instead of floating, the connected leaf burst like a bubble and vanished out of sight.

A balloon-like thicket?

What a strange thicket.

Ai Hui shook his head. He couldn’t be bothered to think any more.

This entire place was just odd.

As he was about to continue on his journey, he felt something fall. He looked up and saw countless light specks sprinkling down from the endless void and breaking the dark night.

A vast whiteness filled his vision, as if a snowfall had just occurred.

Ai Hui reached his palm out subconsciously, allowing the light specks to land on it.

The specks were the size of grains and emitted a soft radiance. They fell onto his palm without the least bit of harshness. It was an unexpectedly warm and comforting experience.

Indescribably, Ai Hui was attracted to these light specks. A weak whirlpool formed as the specks within a few meters from him came toward him. The glimmering balls fell onto him and disappeared instantaneously as a gush of faint warmth took over his body.

Clap, clap, clap.

A condensed wave of explosions sounded from close by.

Ai Hui was alarmed and hurriedly followed the source. All he saw was the bursting of the red thicket leaves, which created many tiny, tender, and fresh lips. The silk-like branches danced hysterically as these red lips nimbly caught the miniscule glimmers. They were like a bed of snakes, dancing in disorder, yet precise and free from entanglement.

They were so rapacious that it was as if they had been waiting for a long time.

The once fluffy and cute thicket had, in an instant, turned devilish.

Not just the thicket, but even the lush, carpeted grass had sinisterly transformed. The blades of grass were frantically waving, mimicking arms in attempt to capture the drifting glimmers.

The previously peaceful land had turned savage, similar to how a group of predators would transform upon smelling blood.

The "snow" only lasted for about 20 breaths before disappearing. It came and went without any warning.

Suddenly, Ai Hui’s vision regained clarity. Peace had returned to the bloodthirsty grass and the devilish thicket. Everything had changed so fast, leading him to suspect that it could all have been an illusion, like a dream that ended before it could begin.

He shuddered uncontrollably.

What just happened wasn’t an illusion or a dream.

The nearby thicket had grown a notch. The grass patch under it had thickened as well.

All within those 20 breaths.

What a strange place.

Ai Hui looked around, all while raising his guard.

While that crazy experience had left him unsettled, he had also benefited from it. His footsteps had gotten lighter, and he could feel warmth spreading within his body. Absorbing these warm flows would strengthen his ability.

Ai Hui continued on his path without stopping.

More species appeared along the way. There were wild flowers of all sorts of colors, and he could even see a grassland with splendid colors. It was no longer a monotonous scene.

Thickets became a common sight as he moved forward. They had all kinds of shapes and variety. It was an eye-opening experience for Ai Hui. He hadn’t seen two identical looking thickets thus far. Each one was unique.

By now, Ai Hui had encountered three "snow falls."

One was crystal blue, one emerald green, and the other a faint red. These three "snow falls" occurred irregularly and lasted for a different period of time as well. The longest lasted 40 breaths, while the emerald green one ended the fastest, lasting only seven breaths.

Ai Hui did not know what these light balls were, but evidently, these peculiar "snow falls" had a nourishing effect on this land.

Whatever the case, everything around here was strange.

It was no longer a dull sight before him. He could see huge trees of great heights, beautifully colored vines, and scattered thickets. Yet, despite being knowledgeable in plants, Ai Hui wasn’t able to identify any of them. They were all different.

Some trees were pencil-straight with silvery trunks that stood like swords pointing to the sky and had leaves that looked like clouds and mist.

There were also trees that had coiled branches, as soft as snakes, that opened themselves to form a huge web when the "snow" fell.

Ai Hui could be sure now that other than the grass at the outermost edges, he wouldn’t spot any two identical plants.

This grotesque and variegated world left Ai Hui with an unreal feeling.

He had never heard of a place like this, except perhaps in fairy tales.

It was a pity that he wasn’t in one right now since this world was not only monstrous, but also full of danger.

It was even more so than in the Wilderness.

Ai Hui walked on the rocks carefully. The black rocks that he had loathed before had become his refuge. That ice-cold sensation kept him grounded.

The vast green land was no longer visible.

Ai Hui understood the ultimate goal of the evolution of these plants–to catch the falling "snow flowers" which were also their food. In this region, the grass weren’t able to survive. The more oddly shaped and bulky plants were the final victors.

Ai Hui quickly realized that these victors emerged not through their physical attributes but through their shocking "hunting techniques."

Ai Hui had witnessed for himself how some blood-streaked, ringed vines had wrung a stumpy, gurgling brown tree with feather-like leaves to death. The coils of these vines were like Indian kraits, agilely twining around their victim. The stumpy brown tree’s leaves then plugged themselves into the streaked rings, causing a blood-like juice to flow out from the vines. While the leaves absorbed the juice, the vines continued tightening their grip around the stumpy tree trunk, essentially strangling it.

The tree trembled slightly, releasing a strange and urgent cry. More leaves started piercing the blood-streaked, ringed vines and sucking the juice within.

Just as the vines were almost embedded in the tree, the blood-streaked rings started snapping. Each section became a seed and sprouted wildly.

Amid this conflict, the more skillful blood-streaked, ringed vines emerged as the final winner. The stumpy tree collapsed and turned into a pile of delicacy.

The ringed streaks around the vines were no longer red, but golden.

They turned their gaze toward Ai Hui.