Hartley was greeted by a familiar darkness, in fact darkness did this shade of inky blackness no justice in its description.

It was like being in suspended animation inside a barrel of hot tar, his mind was active but his body felt unresponsive, he could not feel or control any of his limbs.

To Hartley's relief, the time spent in this state wasn't nearly as long as the last time he had crossed into the pocket dimension, and his suffering not nearly as painful.

Whoosh!

Luscious greenery and giant trees burst into view around him almost like virtual reality.

He landed beside a giant tree, its hefty branches shooting out in every direction.

Dead leaves and dirt flew out in every direction as soon as his feet touched the ground, the rotting brown and yellow pieces fluttered back to the earth in slow motion, accompanied by a downpouring of dirt and small pebbles.

Hartley's black robe swayed back and forth, he stood planted like a javelin stuck in the earth, sunshine bathing his figure as beams of light penetrated through the gaps in the canopy overhead.

He felt no ill effects this time, vivid memories of his and Zhi Ruo's ordeal flashed in his mind, it was an experience he wished not to repeat.

At that time they couldn't even stand up for the first few hours after crossing into this dimension.

The scents and ambient sounds of the forest flooded his senses immediately. His head swivelled around, hearing groans and painful moaning to his left.

Hartley spotted the commander ten meters away, his massive frame had flattened a patch of shrubbery, he was laying face down tangled in vines, gasping for air and weakly flailing like a drowning man.

Hartley used gravity manipulation to untangle and float the commander over to him, placing the massive man in an upright sitting position against the trunk of the giant tree.

Commander Genk looked absolutely miserable, he was having prolonged convulsions.

Lethargy and drowsiness crept into his bones as he groaned in pain, he felt like he'd rather lay down and die than try to move a muscle.

It was a new and scary feeling for a man who prided himself on physicality.

Tap Tap Tap...

Soon after tending to the commander Hartley heard quick footsteps crunching against the dried leaves and twigs. A smile bloomed on his face as he saw a figure approaching from the east, it was Zhi Ruo, she had Qin Li slung over her shoulder like a slab of meat. His face was blue and his wheezing loud.

Zhi Ruo placed him down beside the commander.

Both men wheeezed in unison, struggling to catch their breath, chests rising and falling, their mouths wide open trying to inhale as much air as possible.

"Thank the holy matriarch that you're ok."

Zhi Ruo said as she greeted her husband, rushing over and embracing him in a long drawn out hug, Hartley smiled and kissed the top of her scarlet head repeatedly, happy to see that she wasn't suffering from acclimatising to the pocket dimension.

After a while Hartley asked, "have you seen Kang?"

She moved back, looked into his eyes and answered "no, I heard a massive disturbance to the right so I carried Qin Li in this direction without stopping.

Hartley stretched out his awareness to scan the surroundings, soon he could sense a lone human to the south.

"Look after these two for a minute, I'll be back soon."

Hartley spoke then blinked out of sight, leaving dried leaves swirling around in his place.

Zhi Ruo then turned her attention to the two incapacitated men letting out hoarse groans of pain.

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***

Roar!

The ground trembled, shaking leaves loose from all the trees around. Most birds in the area abandoned there nests, flying off in panic.

A massive green beast resembling a dinosaur was eyeing a human intruder in its territory. Its nostrils flared with anger, the puny creature wasn't even attempting to flee.

The white robed man within its sight struggled to stay on his feet, stumbling around like he was drunk.

Hartley arrived on the scene, moving through a cluster of thick trees and undergrowth just in time to see the face-off between Kang and the giant beast.

Incredulity flashed across his handsome face. It was almost miraculous that Kang could stand and move, let alone fight with a beast, especially one at this size. It stood at least fifteen meters high with a bulky build and razor sharp claws.

One has to understand that acclimatising to the pocket dimension on first entry was one of the most brutal experiences he'd ever had. It restricted the use of one's lungs and sapped the energy from every sinew in the body.

Hartley sucked in a cold breath, the vicious beast roared again, poised to make its move.

Hartley's hairs stood on end, he summoned his elemental swords with a bright flash and was about to rush out and help.

He wasn't needed though.

"Stay back!" Kang instructed, finally steadying himself.

The beast charged, its enraged eyes bulging with ill intent. its thumping steps ravaged the ground, creating a crater with every step.

Leaves and dirt flew up behind the vicious beast ruthlessly bearing down on the white haired old man, teeth exposed and snarling, ready to devour its prey.

In almost comedic fashion the old man threw a pathetic off-balance punch, he was fully ten meters away from the beast and struggling with his footing.

Hartley was nervous, contemplating whether he should intervene against Kang's wishes.

In the eyes of anyone below the saint realm, Kang's response to the beast's charge would be tantamount to suicide.

Kang's fist and forearm moved forward, disappearing through the small vortex of a swirling spatial crack, emerging from another spatial crack ten meters away, the nonchalant punch collided with the chest of the beast, it buckled and wobbled, stumbling backwards.

The impact was like a rocket propelled grenade hitting a wooden shed.

Crack!

The sound of bones shattering was followed by a deafening high pitched wail of pain from the beast, it was all one could hear in the forest, the beast stopped dead in its tracks, plopping down to the ground like a sack of rice, flattening a dozen trees and shaking the forest floor like an earthquake.

Its thick blood mixed with pieces of its internal organs gushed non stop from its mouth, tongue hanging out to the side and eyes rolled back in its head as it expelled its final breath.

It remained sprawled across the forest floor in a crater of destruction, unmoving and silent, partially obscured in a rising cloud of dust.

Kang white robe flapped around in the residual wind, he stumbled around to regain his balance.

"Are you ok senior?"

Hartley caught up to the white robed man with worry.

"Nothing to worry about."

He answered seriously, waving his hand to stop Hartley from coming closer and fussing about his condition.

It took him a few minutes but he finally steadied his breathing, stood still and closed his eyes.

Hartley looked over at the corpse of the beast laying in a pool of its own blood, that simple attack from Kang demonstrated his superb control over his techniques.

To kill such a beast with only one hit, and not induce a single flash of black energy was almost impossible.

The smell of blood permeated the air and was bound to attract more beasts this way. Hartley prepared himself to defend Kang from any other approaching beast as he waited.

After another five minutes.

"Ok lets go." Kang opened his eyes moving with steady steps leaving Hartley's jaw on the floor, wondering if Kang had already acclimatised to the pocket dimension.

***

Just like the last time, the group found shelter inside a hollowed out giant tree. This was Hartley's second visit so he was way more prepared, bringing everything necessary for comfortable survival.

Commander Genk and Qin Li were laying on beds covered in fluffy blankets, still struggling with acclimatisation.

Kang was meditating in the lotus position on a prayer mat to the far side of the space.

Over the course of the next year, Qin Li and commander Genk would need rehabilitation.

Just like Hartley and Zhi Ruo had experienced on their first entry into the pocket dimension, the two would have to relearn how to breathe, how to move, and how to fight.

Kang's case was different, he only needed a few months to fully adapt and return to full strength.

The group took refuge at the same place Zhi Ruo and Hartley did the first time around.

This was a run down town, hijacked by trees shooting towards the sky and sweeping flora, slowly transforming it into a luscious forest.

There was no telling how much time had passed since their last visit, the broken buildings looked more dated, stifled by the abundance of vivid greenery.

Half of some structures had crumbled away like sand, leaving less visible signs of the once mighty civilization that formerly ruled these lands.

Their first year went by quickly, Hartley and Zhi Ruo's familiarity with the area made it a smooth process, rehabilitating Commander Genk and Qin Li by pitting them against the weaker beast at first, ratcheting up the difficulty as they progressed.

Both had made big gains in their cultivation as well. Qin Li reached the seventh layer in the xiantian realm while Commander Genk and Zhi Ruo were half way to the ninth layer of the xiantian realm.

Kang's cultivation realm was still a mystery and Hartley was making significant strides towards the third layer of the saint realm.

In a few weeks they would start their journey south towards the falcon mountain range, unfortunately it would be a journey spanning years, but also an opportunity to grow stronger in this environment that complimented elemental cultivation.