Sunset Forest—located southwest of Heaven Dou City—is a forest lying slightly to the north. The terrain sloped from east to west, and its trees were predominantly coniferous.
Though it was noon and the sun shone high, its rays barely penetrated the depths of this vast forest. Only the sparse areas near the edges basked in sunlight, while most of the forest remained dark and desolate, filled with a lonely gloom.
Zhu Ziyang's group of four landed at the northeastern corner of Sunset Forest, which was also the forest's main entrance. A winding trail branched from the main road and stretched all the way to the forest boundary before vanishing among the trees.
"Let's head in," Yan Shaozhe said, staring into the murky woods.
"No problem," Zhu Ziyang nodded, then turned to Jiang Nannan. "Nannan, we're counting on you now."
"Understood!" Jiang Nannan nodded confidently.
The group entered Sunset Forest.
Compared to the Star Dou Forest they were familiar with, Sunset Forest had very noticeable differences. The vegetation here was sparse and somewhat different in species. It consisted almost entirely of straight coniferous trees and short, thorny shrubs. The trees were spaced apart, growing independently of one another.
Not long after entering, they encountered a soul beast—a mere ten-year-old creature. Sensing the overwhelming aura from the four humans, it fled in terror without so much as a glance back. The group paid it no mind and continued walking.
Along the way, they encountered several more soul beasts, but all were similarly weak—ten-year-old soul beasts with no trace of a hundred-year-old in sight. This oddity raised everyone's alertness.
"We've already entered quite deep into the forest. Why are all the soul beasts just ten-year-olds?" Jiang Nannan asked.
"Something's not right!" Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier both wore thoughtful expressions. Yan Shaozhe said, "Sunset Forest is supposed to be a soul beast habitat, yet the soul beasts are this weak? There must be something off. Maybe it has to do with that towering miasma deeper inside!"
"Let's keep going," Zhu Ziyang said. "A forest's heart is always at its center. If we can get there, we might uncover the truth."
"Ziyang is right," Cai Meier agreed.
"Alright then, let's speed up!" Yan Shaozhe decided. "Meier, you take Junior Sister Nannan, I'll carry our little junior. Let's move fast!"
Saying this, Yan Shaozhe grabbed Zhu Ziyang's arm while Cai Meier did the same with Jiang Nannan. The four shot deeper into Sunset Forest.
Inside, the dim lighting blurred their sense of time. After traveling dozens of li, they finally stopped for a short rest.
"We should be at the center of Sunset Forest now," Yan Shaozhe rose into the air to confirm their position before landing.
"The center?" Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan both exclaimed. "That's impossible! There's only some thousand-year soul beasts here? That's ridiculous!"
Zhu Ziyang couldn't believe it. This forest was once famously recorded in the history books, and now the central area only housed thousand-year soul beasts? Not even a single ten-thousand-year one?
"It is indeed bizarre," Yan Shaozhe said with a heavy expression. "We saw many soul beast carcasses along the way. Their bodies were mostly intact, which means they didn't die in battle but were likely killed by something else."
"The miasma," Cai Meier said gravely, eyes wary. "No wonder it's so intense here. These soul beast corpses serve as natural miasma catalysts. The enhanced miasma then poisons more beasts, which in turn generate more miasma when they die. It's a vicious cycle! At this rate, the entire Sunset Forest will become a miasma swamp. It might even reach Heaven Dou City eventually!"
"What kind of force would do something so vile?" Yan Shaozhe growled, eyes flashing.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, we should move forward," Zhu Ziyang urged. "The truth might be just ahead."
The group set off again. But before they even walked one kilometer, they were forced to stop.
"This is…" All four of them stared ahead, shocked.
The trees ahead still stood tall, but their leaves were mostly gone. Many trunks were riddled with holes, and exposed bark gleamed with a sinister purple. The air was filled with drifting clouds of colorful mist—at first glance, they looked like celestial clouds, but in reality, they were an ashen gray.
"Miasma," Yan Shaozhe said coldly, eyes sharp.
"Senior Brother, let's take to the skies," Cai Meier suggested. "This miasma is so dense it's corroding our soul power. We can't resist it down here—we're better off flying above it."
"Agreed," Yan Shaozhe nodded and immediately lifted Zhu Ziyang into the sky.
Zhu Ziyang felt the air brighten as they rose. After breaking through the treetops, they could finally see Sunset Forest's true face from above.
The forest below was silent. A light mist swirled among the trees, and the deeper it got, the thicker it became—so thick that it resembled clouds. At the deepest part, the clouds had formed into a multicolored barrier. But this colorful fog had none of the beauty one would expect. It exuded a chilling aura that made all life instinctively retreat.
"There!" Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier pointed to the same spot.
"Yes, right there!" Jiang Nannan also pointed. "I can sense lots of spirit herbs in that area!"
"Then this must be it!" Zhu Ziyang said excitedly. "That dense miasma below could be concealing the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!"
"Let's check it out!" Yan Shaozhe said with hope in his eyes. He led the way toward the dense cloud layer, followed closely by Cai Meier. Soon, they reached the edge of the miasma.
"Any closer and it'll be dangerous," Yan Shaozhe warned. "Meier, hold onto Ziyang. I'll try to break through this fog."
He passed Zhu Ziyang to Cai Meier and stepped forward, summoning his martial soul. Nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—rose behind him. His fourth soul ring lit up, and a blazing ray of light shot into the miasma.
Then came a shocking sight—the soul skill was swallowed by the fog with no reaction at all. Not a single ripple. Not a single gap!
"This..." Yan Shaozhe's face darkened. He immediately used his sixth soul skill, only for the same result—the miasma devoured it with ease, like it was nothing.
Furious, Yan Shaozhe unleashed his martial soul avatar. A massive golden Light Phoenix emerged high above the forest. With his ninth soul ring activated, the phoenix unleashed waves of dazzling light. Golden flames rained down like a doomsday meteor shower, smashing into the miasma below.
At last, something changed. The cloud layer trembled and briefly parted, revealing a faint valley below.
But before the group could even feel relief, the miasma began reforming. Within seconds, it had almost completely sealed the gap—only a house-sized hole remained.
"This…" Yan Shaozhe was livid. Humiliation and fury welled inside him. He had never been insulted like this before. This damned miasma!
Just as he was about to go all out, Cai Meier stopped him.
"Senior Brother, stop!" she called out. "This miasma isn't physical. No matter how many times you attack it, it's useless. It feels… alive, like it's toying with us. I think someone's controlling it from below. Let's go down and find them!"
"Alright. I'll listen to you, Meier," Yan Shaozhe said, calming down. He withdrew his martial soul avatar and flew downward.
"Sigh…" Cai Meier sighed helplessly, then brought Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan down after him.
(End of Chapter)
---
A Huge Shoutout and Welcome to Nathan Hall for Joining us on Patreon and Becoming a Member of Diamond.
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon, There is 2 Chapters Ahead of Release for Free Memebers on my Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.