After a dizzying spell of vertigo, space finally stabilized.
"A bit dizzy, but I am alright."
Hyacine lightly shook her head, and the slight discomfort quickly dissipated. She immediately scanned her surroundings with alert eyes.
What appeared before her was a forest almost entirely obscured by a massive canopy. Each tree was like a pillar supporting the heavens, reaching dozens of meters in height. The dense foliage cut the sky into fragmented pieces, allowing only scattered moonlight to struggle through the gaps.
However, the interior of the forest was not pitch black. The soil of this forest was covered with ferns that emitted a faint blue-green fluorescence. Their mysterious glow illuminated this forest of giant trees like a dreamlike landscape, providing enough light to see the surrounding environment clearly.
"Such a tall forest... it is even more grand and spectacular than Greenshade Spring. And so many strange glowing plants... is this a fantasy world?" Hyacine could not help but whisper in admiration, shocked by the sight before her. "But these trees are too big; I cannot see the situation outside the forest at all."
"Dudu~"
At that moment, Little Ica, the small Pegasus who had been floating quietly beside her, suddenly let out a cheerful cry.
"Hmm?" Hyacine looked over at the sound. "You are saying you can fly up and take a look?"
"Dudu!"
Little Ica nodded happily, its tiny wings fluttering lightly behind its back.
"Then I will leave it to you. Be careful."
Seeing this, Hyacine agreed with a smile. Having received permission, Little Ica immediately turned into a streak of light and quickly flew toward the high canopy layer.
Watching Little Ica leave, Hyacine withdrew her gaze and began searching for Hong Guoguo. She scanned the surroundings, her eyes passing over the glowing fern thickets, the thick trunks, and the gnarled roots, but she could not find any trace of Hong Guoguo.
"Where is Hong Guoguo?" Hyacine frowned slightly. "Could she really have been randomly teleported elsewhere, just as Cipher feared?"
As for an accident during the crossing resulting in her not arriving at all, Hyacine did not consider that possibility. After all, during the crossing, she could feel that the internal spatial turbulence was not too powerful. With the double insurance of the Localization Anchor and the Shield, it was unlikely for things to go wrong mid-transit.
Seeing that she could not find her with the naked eye, Hyacine temporarily closed her eyes and began to search using her mental power. Soon, she sensed a familiar aura directly above her head.
Hyacine looked up, her gaze piercing through the gaps in the branches. Sure enough, on a thick branch over twenty meters above the ground, she found Hong Guoguo curled into a ball and unconscious.
"So she is hanging in a tree... no wonder I could not find her." Hyacine pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.
Then, a brilliant Rainbow Light appeared beneath Hyacine's feet, easily lifting her body and delivering her steadily to Hong Guoguo's side. Hyacine carefully picked up Hong Guoguo, placed her on the rainbow cloud, and slowly descended back to the ground.
After landing, soft Rainbow Light shimmered in Hyacine's palm again as she lightly covered Hong Guoguo's forehead. As the warm energy flowed, Hong Guoguo's long eyelashes fluttered a few times before she dizzily opened her eyes.
"Sister Hyacine...?" Her eyes were still somewhat misty. After seeing the person in front of her clearly, she asked subconsciously, "Where... are we?"
"I am not sure either." Hyacine withdrew her hand and shook her head. "How do you feel? Look around; is this your original world?"
"Original world?!" These words were like a shot of adrenaline, instantly waking Hong Guoguo up completely.
She jerked into a sitting position and eagerly looked around at the towering giant trees and the glowing blue-green ferns covering the ground. Upon seeing this scene, her eyes grew wider and wider, filled with unbelievable joy.
"This... this is... the Emerald Forest?!" she cried out, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"Emerald Forest? You recognize this place?" Hyacine immediately followed up.
"Yes! That is right!" Hong Guoguo jumped up excitedly, her tail wagging with fervor. "The Emerald Forest! The largest and oldest forest on the Eresia Continent! In the deepest part of the forest is the territory of the elves!"
Next, she tilted her head back to carefully observe the height of the canopy and the faint light filtering through. She then looked down at the distribution of ferns at her feet and said with even more certainty:
"Looking at the height of these trees and the density of the starferns... we should be in the Twilight Hills region in the eastern part of the Emerald Forest, and on the outer fringes at that!"
To explain more clearly, Hong Guoguo quickly crouched down, picked up a small twig, and used the dim light provided by the glowing ferns to draw rapidly in the soft soil. She first drew a large circle: "This represents the entire Emerald Forest."
Then she drew a circle about half that size inside the eastern portion of the larger circle and tapped it with the twig:
"Here are the Twilight Hills. Our position is roughly here."
Afterward, she drew an upward arrow above the small circle representing the Twilight Hills: "Go north! As long as we keep going north, we will soon be able to walk out of the forest! Outside the forest is a vast plain, which is the border of a human kingdom..."
Having said that, she tilted her head and tried hard to remember.
"Ugh... what was that kingdom called? It has been too long since I was back, and I rarely went there, so I forgot the name..."
After realizing she could not remember the name, she stopped trying and drew a leftward arrow inside the small circle:
"Going west means going deeper into the heart of the Twilight Hills. The elves live over there, but they are very mysterious, and the Emerald Forest is ridiculously large. It is not easy to find them."
Hyacine watched the simple map on the ground intently. As Hong Guoguo explained, she quickly organized her thoughts:
"So, your suggestion is that it is best for us to go north and enter that human kingdom first?"
"Exactly!" Hong Guoguo nodded vigorously, her tail wagging along. "The human kingdom has many people and many towns. It is much safer than the peril-filled outskirts of the forest! Rather than trying our luck finding elves in the vast sea of trees, it is better to go to the human kingdom and post a search request through the Adventurers Guild. That way, the hope of finding Sister Zhaoran is much greater!"
"Understood." Hyacine nodded, but then another point occurred to her. "However, since we are currently in the eastern part of the Emerald Forest, why not just walk east out of the forest instead of detouring north?"
"Because further east is the edge of the continent!" Hong Guoguo answered immediately. "That way is all vast ocean; there are no roads."
"I see. So the Emerald Forest is the eastern edge of the continent..."
After listening, Hyacine nodded in understanding. She now had a preliminary impression of a portion of this continent's layout.
"Sister Hyacine, let's head out!" Hong Guoguo was already impatient. She pointed north, her eyes flashing with the light of hope. "The sooner we reach the human kingdom, the sooner we can post the request! Maybe we will have news of Sister Zhaoran very soon!"
With that, she set off at a light jog toward her identified north.
"Little Ica, scouting finished. Come back!"
Seeing this, Hyacine called out toward the canopy layer and then stepped forward to follow Hong Guoguo's nimble figure. After a short while, the two of them quickly disappeared into the giant forest glowing with faint fluorescence.