The sun slowly rises
“We should move,” he said firmly. “We need to find the Solaris Yang Heart Fruit, the Lunarshade Yin Blossom, and a piece of Yin-Metal Essence. Only then can we prepare the treatment.”
Mo Zhen nodded.
Mo Yue’er tried to smile. “Then let’s not waste time.”
Xiao Jin stretched, sparks crackling lazily around its whiskers thinking is it breakfast time?
Lin Xian grabbed it by the scruff; Xiao Jin dangled helplessly.
“No breakfast until we finish the mission”
Xiao Jin protested silently, but didn’t resist.
Mo Yue’er giggled softly, a sound that briefly lightened the air.
---
The Deeper They Went—The Darker It Became
The forest changes as they advanced.
Trees grew massive and twisted, their branches coiling like withered claws.
Thick fog curled low across the ground, each wisp filled with thin, snake-like strands of dark qi.
The air itself turned heavy, oppressive, as though the world held its breath.
Quiet
Heavy.
They kept hearing these little whispers, like someone talking far away, but they couldn’t make out any word
The rustling of leaves sounded like murmured warnings.
Branches creaked.
Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed.
“So thick… The dark qi here is at least ten times denser than the outer forest.”
Mo Zhen frowned deeply.
“This isn’t natural. Something is gathering the darkness here.”
Xiao Jin hissed—
its primal instincts surging awake in an instant.
Every few steps, a shadow beast crawled out from behind a dead tree or rose from the fog.
Different from last night—
smaller, weaker.
Lin Xian killed each one with casual flicks of his sword.
SHING.
A head tumbled, black ichor spraying in a thin arc.
CRACK.
The core inside shattered like brittle glass, its faint qi dissipating into the mist.
Another step.
Another beast.
The same effortless rhythm.
None could make him take even a half-step back.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
As they walked, the darkness grew thicker
The silence hit harder than it should.
No bird calls cutting through the trees.
No faint hum of insects underfoot.
No whisper of wind anywhere.
The forest felt like a graveyard that hadn’t seen a living soul in a thousand years—
---
Then—Something Changed
Mo Yue’er suddenly slowed her steps.
Lin Xian noticed her fingertips trembling.
“Yue’er?”
She shook her head.
“I’m… fine…”
But her complexion turned pale.
Her breath grew shallow.
Her qi began to fluctuate chaotically—unsteady and weak.
Mo Zhen’s eyes widened in panic.
“No… not again…”
Lin Xian immediately reached out with his hand, placing two fingers on her wrist.
His face darkened.
Her qi pathways were trembling uncontrollably.
Her meridians trembled violently as strands of icy yin qi slithered through them like venomous serpents. The cold energy gnawed at her life force, creeping toward her heart.
Exactly the same presence that had once nearly destroyed Mo Zhen.
And worse—
it was spreading shockingly fast.
If this continued unchecked, it would reach her heart within half an hour.
He clenched his jaw.
“This poison… It’s identical to what infected your grandfather.”
Mo Zhen fell to his knees beside them, voice trembling.
“No… Yue’er… not you too…”
Mo Yue’er’s vision blurred as she leaned weakly against Lin Xian’s shoulder.
“I… don’t understand… I was… fine earlier…”
Lin Xian’s eyes snapped open.
“We don’t have time.”
Mo Zhen looked up in alarm. “What do you mean—?”
Lin Xian didn’t answer.
Instead, he gently lowered Mo Yue’er to sit against a twisted tree trunk.
“Yue’er,” he said quietly, “don’t resist anything I do.”
Her breathing was already uneven, but she nodded weakly.
Lin Xian lifted his right hand.
Two fingers extended.
The moment his fingertips touched her shoulder—
TAP.
A precise strike landed on Jade Gate Acupoint.
Mo Yue’er’s body trembled.
Before Mo Zhen could even react—
TAP.
TAP.
TAP.
His fingers blurred.
Each touch was light… almost gentle.
Yet every strike carried a thread of pure primal qi, slipping into her meridians like molten gold threading through frozen rivers.
Star Sea Point.
Silent Meridian Gate.
Nine Turning Pulse.
One after another.
His fingers moved with terrifying precision, tapping along hidden pathways known only to ancient medical scriptures.
Mo Zhen stared in stunned silence.
Each strike caused Mo Yue’er’s trembling meridians to stabilize slightly.
The invasive yin qi slowed.
Not gone.
But restrained.
Like a venomous snake suddenly pinned beneath invisible nails.
Lin Xian finally stopped.
A faint sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead.
Mo Yue’er gasped softly as warmth spread through her chest.
The suffocating cold inside her body retreated slightly.
“W-What did you do…?” Mo Zhen asked hoarsely.
Lin Xian exhaled slowly.
“I sealed several meridian gates temporarily.”
His gaze turned cold.
“The poison won’t spread for now.”
Mo Zhen’s shoulders sagged in relief.
“For now…?” he asked carefully.
Lin Xian nodded grimly.
“This is only delaying the inevitable.”
His eyes lifted toward the deeper forest, where the yin qi grew thick like storm clouds gathering.
“The source of this poison is nearby.”
His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
“And until I destroy it…”
His fingers slowly curled.
“…this forest will keep trying to kill her.”
Xiao Jin growled—
arcs of electricity snapping furiously around it.
Xiao Jin leapt down, circling her in concern.
Lin Xian’s eyes sharpened, golden flecks flickering.
“Not on my watch.”
He tightened his hold on Mo Yue’er, his voice dropping to an icy whisper.
“We need to finish this search quickly.
Once we find the Solaris Yang Heart Fruit.
And whatever poisoned her…”
A killing intent burst from him like a blade drawn from its sheath.
“…will not leave this forest alive.”
----------
The group pressed forward, the air growing colder with every step.
The deeper they walked, the darker the world became.
The air thickened, turning colder,
Yin qi pooled so heavily that even sound felt muffled. The trees around them were twisted and shriveled, their bark peeling like dead skin. Each step forward felt like trudging deeper into a forgotten graveyard.
Ahead of them, the forest opened unnaturally—an empty clearing swallowed in dense, pulsing yin qi.
It was too abnormal.
And everything felt deadly wrong.
Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed.
No more trees.
Just emptiness.
A circular clearing… but one that felt ominous
In the center stood a gigantic, grotesque tree—
Its bark pitch-black, covered in pulsing, vein-like lines glowing faintly purple.
Not a single leaf remained on the tree. It stood utterly lifeless, radiating nothing but a deathly aura.
And at its roots…
Rotting corpses.
Humans, beasts, some half-melted into the soil.
All dried, their life force sucked clean.
Xiao Jin hunched low, fur bristling like living lightning. The small beast's instincts, sharper than any human's, caught what Lin Xian's eyes could not—the tree wasn't dead. It was alive.
Lin Xian’s expression darkened.
His’s voice dropped, cold and grim.
“Is this… how the others died after entering this place?”
Mo Zhen swallowed hard, his face pale.
“That tree… its roots… it’s feeding on everything. The entire forest’s vitality… all flowing into it…”
The oppressive yin qi surged again, pressing on them like icy hands gripping their lungs.
Mo Zhen staggered slightly, aura flickering.
Even his powerful cultivation was being crushed.
“Grandpa Mo,” Lin Xian said sharply, “don’t move. Both of you stay back. This place is devouring your life force.”
Mo Zhen’s face was already pale, veins darkening around his neck.
He clenched his teeth and nodded, holding Mo Yue’er close.
Lin Xian stepped forward alone. The air pressed on him, but he didn’t feel the same pain Mo Zhen felt. Instead, the yin qi slid off his body like smoke pushed away by a breeze.
Why am I not affected? he wondered.
Is it because of the Nirvana Scripture? Or the Primal Qi inside me?
He got closer. The tree stood completely motionless now, almost pretending to be dead. But the feeling it gave off was anything but dead. Lin Xian could sense something lurking inside it, watching him.
Another step.
Then another.
As he reached ten meters from the monstrous tree—
The ground trembled.
Lin Xian froze.
“…?”
The massive tree twitched.
Then—
It l
unged.
A black mass shot toward him at terrifying speed, the entire trunk bending like a serpent uncoiling.
It moved as though it had no roots at all.
Mo Zhen’s voice cracked through the clearing:
“XIAN’ER!!! DANGER!!!”
Mo Zhen roared, his voice cracking with panic.
To be continued.
