Hungover, I crossed over to the psychic realm

During the long and arduous exploration journey, Lin Yu and Li Qiang were like a solitary boat adrift on the vast and turbulent ocean. All around them were surging waves, and the road ahead was filled with boundless confusion and the unknown. However, their longing for their hometown in their hearts was like an eternal lighthouse that pierced through the thick fog, guiding them and making them not miss any clue that might lead them home.

Their clothes had long been worn out by the hardships of time and the baptism of wind and rain. The corners of their clothes were torn open by the fierce wind, and the fabric had faded from its original color, becoming dull and lifeless. There were still ferocious tear marks left from the intense battles with demon beasts on the clothes. Those torn pieces of fabric seemed to be telling the stories of the life-and-death struggles they had endured. And there were also the mottled mud stains they rubbed on when climbing steep mountains. Each stain recorded the hardships of their journey over mountains and through forests. Their faces looked particularly haggard due to the long-term running around and physical and mental exhaustion. Their eye sockets were deeply sunken, engraved with the vicissitudes of life. However, there was always a blazing light shining in their eyes. Their two hearts longing to return home, even after going through countless hardships and dangers, were still burning hot and had never dimmed even for a moment, as if declaring to fate their persistence in going home.

It was a day when the wind howled and the rain poured down. The sky and the earth seemed to be tightly shrouded by a thick and gloomy curtain, so airtight that it made people feel almost suffocated by the oppression. The raindrops as big as soybeans, with overwhelming momentum, smashed heavily onto the ground like cannonballs, splashing layers of water. Each drop seemed to carry a thousand catties of force, making a crackling sound when hitting the ground. They struggled to move forward in the forest. The wind was like a fierce beast, raging through the forest and letting out a deafening roar. Wherever the wind passed, the trees were blown off balance, and their branches whipped each other, making a creaking sound, as if they would be uprooted and thrown into the air by the wind at any moment. The rain kept flowing down their cheeks, blurring their vision and making the world in front of them hazy. Their feet were laboriously lifted and placed in the muddy ground. Every step required a great deal of physical strength, as if they had fallen into an endless quagmire and could not extricate themselves.

In order to avoid this sudden and extremely fierce wind and rain, they hastily took shelter in an ancient cave hidden deep in the forest. The entrance of this cave was extremely concealed, tightly blocked by layers of vines and dense branches and leaves. Those vines were intertwined and crisscrossed, like a huge and complex green spider web, tightly wrapping the entrance of the cave. If it weren't for a stroke of luck, an ordinary person would hardly be able to discover this secret place hidden deep in the forest. They struggled to push aside the vines, and a damp and musty smell rushed towards them. That smell was a mixture of the fishy smell of the soil and an unknown musty odor, making them frown involuntarily and a trace of uneasiness welling up in their hearts.

Inside the cave, it was dark and damp, filled with an old and stale smell. That smell seemed to be the decayed flavor precipitated by time, constantly diffusing and fermenting in this enclosed space. Occasionally, water droplets fell from the walls, making a ticking sound that echoed in the silent space. Every sound seemed to be the countdown of time, and every sound reminded them that there were countless dangers and unknowns hidden in this unknown cave, making a trace of 

uneasiness rise in their hearts. They moved forward cautiously. The ground under their feet was covered with thick silt and gravel. They had to be especially careful with every step. If they were not careful, they would slip and fall, getting covered in mud. The magic tools in their hands emitted a faint light. That light flickered unsteadily in the dark, like a candle in the wind, which could be swallowed up by the darkness at any moment, but it tried its best to illuminate the road ahead, reflecting their cautious figures moving forward. Their figures seemed extremely small and lonely under the faint light.

Suddenly, Lin Yu's gaze was attracted by a huge stone stele deep in the cave. The stone stele towered into the clouds, like a majestic mountain peak, standing in the darkness and exuding an awe-inspiring aura. The surface of the stone stele was engraved with strange runes and patterns. The runes sparkled with a faint light, like the twinkling stars in the night sky, mysterious and profound, as if telling the endless mysteries since the birth of the universe. The patterns were mysterious and unpredictable. Some were like galloping beasts, baring their teeth and claws, as if they would jump out of the stone stele and pounce on the intruders the next second. Some were like soaring birds, with a vigorous posture, as if they were about to break through the sky and explore the end of the universe. Some were like mysterious symbols, complex and obscure, as if telling a story that had been sealed by time for a long time and was unknown to people. The stone stele exuded a mysterious and ancient aura all around. That aura was deep and heavy, as if it had traveled through endless time and space and rushed towards them from ancient times, making them feel a shock from the ancient past. Their hearts involuntarily accelerated, as if they were about to jump out of their throats.

Lin Yu, with his rich knowledge accumulated during his long cultivation years and the valuable experience from countless explorations of ruins, knew at a glance that this stone stele was extraordinary. His heart suddenly beat faster, and an indescribable excitement welled up in his heart, as if he had seen the dawn in the dark and the hope of going home. He immediately called Li Qiang, his voice trembling slightly, a tremor interwoven with excitement and anticipation: "Li Qiang, come quickly and take a look at this stone stele!" The two of them came to the stone stele together. Lin Yu squatted down and carefully observed the runes at the bottom of the stone stele. His fingers gently touched those uneven lines, feeling the marks of time, as if having a silent conversation with the ancient years, trying to find clues to crack the mystery. Li Qiang, on the other hand, warily observed the surroundings. He held the magic tool tightly in his hand, and spiritual power circulated around his body, ready to deal with any possible danger at any time. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, not missing any corner. Every slight movement could arouse his vigilance. His ears carefully listened to every sound in the cave, like a vigilant cheetah, ready to strike at any time.

In the following days, Lin Yu devoted himself wholeheartedly to the study and interpretation of the runes on the stone stele. He spread out all the ancient books he had brought in front of the stone stele. Those ancient books had yellowed paper, exuding a faint smell of ink. They carried the wisdom and secrets of countless predecessors. Every turn of a page was like having an in-depth conversation with history. He compared various rune systems he had seen before and often forgot to eat and sleep, losing track of time. When he was hungry, he would just eat a few mouthfuls of dry rations. Those dry rations had long become hard and difficult to swallow, but he didn't care at all. When he was thirsty, he would take a sip of the accumulated water in the cave. The water had a trace of bitterness and a muddy smell, but he still drank it all in one gulp. His eyes were always fixed on the stone stele and the ancient books, as if that was his only hope of going home. He pondered over every stroke of each rune and every detail of each pattern repeatedly, just like carving a precious work of art, trying to find the key clues from those subtle aspects. When he encountered something puzzling, he would have a heated discussion with Li Qiang. The two of them expressed their opinions freely, and the sound of their argument echoed in the cave. Lin Yu waved the pen in his hand and wrote down various speculations and interpretations on the paper. The dense handwriting covered the paper, and those papers seemed to carry their hope of going home. Li Qiang put forward different viewpoints, understanding these mysterious symbols from different angles, and using spiritual power to sketch the shapes of the runes in the air and simulate their running tracks. The shining spiritual power light was particularly dazzling in the dark cave.

After arduous efforts, Lin Yu finally discovered an astonishing secret. It turned out that this stone stele was left by an ancient powerful being. That powerful being had extraordinary strength and left countless amazing legends in this world. It was said that he had once torn the void with his bare hands, making the cracks in the universe appear in his hands. He could manipulate the power of the stars, making the stars move according to his will. With a single gesture, he could change the world, possessing the power to destroy the heavens and the earth. His deeds were passed down from mouth to mouth, becoming an eternal legend in the world of cultivation and being admired and worshipped by later generations. The stone stele recorded a method of time-space travel. However, this method was extremely dangerous and required a huge price to be paid. If there was the slightest mistake, one might be scattered to the winds and disappear from this world forever.

According to the records on the stone stele, in order to return to Earth, three spiritual pearls containing the power of time and space needed to be found. Each of these three spiritual pearls possessed the miraculous power to change time and space and was the key to opening the door to their hometown, the only hope for them to go home. The first spiritual pearl was said to be hidden at the bottom of the Blazing Flame Abyss. There, it was filled with endless flames and magma, and the temperature was extremely high. An ordinary cultivator who got close would be instantly vaporized, leaving not even a trace of ashes. The blazing magma was like a boiling sea of blood, constantly churning and surging, making a deafening sound, as if it was an angry roar from the depths of the earth, declaring the danger here to the world. The second spiritual pearl was in the extremely cold land of the Ice Soul Snow Region, surrounded by thick ice layers and fierce ice beasts. If one was not careful, they would be frozen into an ice sculpture and forever sealed in this extremely cold place. Those ice beasts were huge in size, with sharp fangs and claws. They roared on the ice field, and the cold air they exhaled could instantly condense into an ice fog, making people shudder, as if they were in the ice cellar of hell. The third spiritual pearl was in the depths of the Misty Swamp. The swamp was filled with deadly poisonous fog and strange traps. Stepping into it might lead to getting lost and falling into an irreversible situation. Various unknown dangers were hidden in the poisonous fog. Once inhaled, it would make people feel weak all over and lose consciousness. Their feet would sink deeper and deeper into the silt of the swamp, and eventually, they would be completely swallowed up by the swamp.

Moreover, each spiritual pearl was surrounded by a powerful guarding force. The spiritual pearl in the Blazing Flame Abyss was guarded by a powerful Flame Demon. It was surrounded by raging flames and possessed the power to destroy the heavens and the earth. The Flame Demon was several zhang tall. Every step it took could make the ground tremble, and cracks would appear on the ground, as if the earth was about to break under its feet. Its roar could shatter mountains and rivers. Wherever the sound waves reached, rocks would crack and magma would erupt, and the whole world seemed to be shaking under its roar. The spiritual pearl in the Ice Soul Snow Region was surrounded by a group of Ice Elves. They were good at manipulating ice and snow and could freeze the enemy instantly. These Ice Elves were agile in shape and could shuttle freely in the ice and snow. Their spells could plunge the whole world into ice and cold. With a single gesture, an ice and snow storm would howl up, freezing everything in this endless ice and cold. The spiritual pearl in the Misty Swamp was guarded by a mysterious Swamp Behemoth. It was huge in size and hidden under the swamp, ready to launch a deadly attack at any time. The skin of the Swamp Behemoth was as hard as iron, and ordinary attacks could not harm it at all, as if it was the master of this swamp. Its attack was silent. When you detected the danger, you often had already fallen into its attack range, making it impossible to defend against. One could only wait for death in fear. After Lin Yu and Li Qiang learned this news, they were both excited and worried. They were excited because after a long period of confusion and exploration, they had finally found a glimmer of hope to return to Earth, as if they had seen a bright guiding star in the dark night sky. That light illuminated the road home for them and made them see the dawn of reuniting with their family and friends, and an uncontrollable joy welled up in their hearts. They were worried because the process of obtaining the spiritual pearls was full of unknown dangers and challenges. Every step might be a life-and-death test. If there was the slightest mistake, they might pay the price of their lives, be scattered to the winds, and never be able to return to their hometown and meet their family and friends again. But they looked at each other, and determination was revealed in their eyes. No matter what awaited them ahead, for the sake of going home and reuniting with their family and friends, they decided to move forward bravely. Even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire and thorns all the way ahead, they would never back down. The belief in their hearts was like a blazing fire that would never go out, illuminating the road ahead for them and supporting them to keep moving forward in the direction of home.