The air changed the moment he stepped beneath the ancient canopy of the Sunset Forest.
The soft rustle of spirit leaves, the distant calls of unknown beasts, and the acrid tang of poisonous pollen in the wind—this place was not just alive, it was aware. Li Wei cloak fluttered behind him as he descended from the ridge, his Diendriver holstered beneath the folds of his black robes. He walked with measured steps, each one echoing with quiet confidence.
Now, it felt like returning to an old battlefield. The terrain might shift, but the warrior remembers the blood that stained the soil.
He reached a clearing where moss-covered stones arranged in a near-perfect spiral glowed faintly under the overcast light filtering through the trees. The center was empty—yet even without seeing it, Li Wei knew this was the gate.
He pulled a small jade token from his sleeve.
The token was no ordinary item. Carved into the shape of a serpent coiled tightly around a blooming lotus, it pulsed faintly in his palm, warm and alive. It had been Dugu Bo parting gift—proof of their agreement and a key to the formation that guarded his most precious domain.
Li Wei whispered, "Let me in, Old Poison."
He infused a sliver of spirit power into the token.
At once, the surrounding mist stirred unnaturally. The stones began to hum, and the air crackled with invisible tension. Then—without warning—a wave of toxic pressure burst outward in a wide ring from the spiral, hissing like serpents waking from sleep. Purple lightning danced across the trees. The air itself grew heavier, and even a Spirit King might have turned back.
But Li Wei stood still.
The jade token flared with green light. One by one, the glowing stones dimmed. A low groan echoed from the earth as if the forest itself was reluctantly granting passage.
The mist parted. A narrow pathway revealed itself—hidden between layers of illusion and venomous deterrent.
Li Wei stepped forward.
"Just wait out here. I will come to get you before we leave this place." He glance toward the back where a team of Spirit Hall waiting.
The team that also wear the same black robe as him just answer him. "Yes, sir."
They do not know the important of this person, but he seems to be a high level person as this was the command from the elder hall.
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The forest beyond the barrier was different. Deathly silent. Not a single insect buzzed, not a leaf fell. The soil shimmered faintly with the trace of spirit herbs, and even the roots of the trees curled away from the central region.
As he advanced, the temperature fluctuated wildly—first sweltering heat, then biting cold. The closer he got, the more intense the extremes became. It was as though the world's balance had been split in two.
Then, he saw it.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
It defied logic—two pools divided perfectly down the middle of a circular crater. One side boiled with molten red flame, seething with heat that warped the air. The other steamed with a pale mist, crystalline ice forming lotus patterns on its surface. In between them, no transition—only a razor-thin divide, like the world itself was being torn in two.
Li Wei inhaled softly.
"So this is it..."
His breath misted on one side and steamed on the other. A paradox made real.
He stepped closer, taking in the surrounding herbal paradise. There were herbs growing all around the crater—some pulsing with light, others wrapped in veils of frost or cloaked in red mist. He recognized a few: the Fiery Apricot, the Eight Petal Ice Flower, and others described vaguely in the records of the Spirit Hall. But most were unknown even to him.
He look toward where the garden, Sanctuary that he name, located. The herb seem to be budding a new leaf as he inspected it. Then he move toward Ice and Fire Ying Yang well.
Li Wei knelt at the edge of the crater, drawing a map from his sleeve—sketched by Elder Yue himself. It marked possible clusters of high-value herbs and ones that should not be touched without prior preparation. He also taken out the book that Elder Yue gave him to refer the shape and herb that he need when he ask Elder Yue.
He activated his Diendriver and summoned Kamen Rider Kiva.
A crimson figure wrapped in bat-like armor appeared behind him, emitting waves of sound that resonated gently with the area. Kiva presence didn't disturb the environment—it calmed it, using a harmonic frequency to pacify the more aggressive plant energies.
Li Wei began to move.
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He reached for a Jade Scorpion Orchid nestled in frost—just as its petals began to retract defensively. His hand halted.
Too soon.
He needed to warm it slowly—counterintuitive, but necessary to awaken it without triggering its venom.
With careful spirit control, he summoned a thin line of fire using his Diendriver and gently brought the temperature up around the orchid. Only when its petals relaxed again did he pluck it, wrapping it into the specialize chest that can stop the degradation of the herb. Combine it with the storage that can stop time inside, he can inspect it a few times without worry.
The most important thing that Elder Yue advice was that to leave the root intact. To make sure that future people can also use it.
Time blurred as he harvested three more rare herbs, each one presenting a different challenge.
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By midday, Li Wei had collected eight rare herbs. Each one chosen not for his own benefit, but tailored toward the growth of his team: one to strengthen Zhu Zhuqing's body control, another to harmonize Ning Rongrong's spirit energy fluctuations, one that might help Meng Yiran refine her poison resistance even further.
He reserved one for Xiao Wu and left none for Tang San. A hypocrite like that do not deserve it and empower him only make him easily to backstab him. Only stupid people trying to empower an ungrateful person like that.
As he stood at the edge of the well one last time, he took a deep breath.
"This place… it challenges you. Forces you to think not only of yourself, but those you fight for."
He opened the jade token again and infused it with spirit power once more.
The barrier began to close behind him as he stepped away, the forest sealing its secrets once more.
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By the time he emerged from Sunset Forest, the sun was already sinking low behind the mountains.
His storage ring is full of living light and coiled energy. His heart… steady.
The Continental Tournament loomed on the horizon.
But he would be ready.
And so would they.