Split into Three Groups

Jialan recalled the necromancer they had encountered in the Misty Forest last time. They had suspected then that a greater force stood behind him. Now, that suspicion was very likely correct.

"That Sun Fruit..." Jialan suddenly thought of something and lowered his voice further. "Is it meant to deal with the undead? I heard it has a special purifying effect on creatures of darkness."

Argyle's steps paused almost imperceptibly. "Partly correct. But its true purpose..." The Light Knight cut himself off, as if wary of something. On the night before their departure, he had received a letter from his family and had already come faintly close to the truth.

The group trekked through the deep snow for most of another day before finally nearing the entrance to Shadow Valley. The closer they came to Shadow Valley, the less snow there was on the ground. It was as though this place could even control the weather. Argyle raised a hand to signal the party to stop. He stared fixedly at the valley entrance shrouded in dense mist, the muscles beneath his armor visibly tensing.

Following his gaze, Jialan could not help holding his breath. At the entrance to Shadow Valley, several twisted black thornbushes wriggled strangely, as though they were alive. Their surfaces gleamed with an unnatural oily sheen, and suspicious dark-red matter clung to their sharp barbs.

"Something's wrong..." Argyle's hand returned to his sword hilt, his voice extremely low. "These thornbushes shouldn't be growing in this season."

Albert cautiously moved closer to inspect them, the old mage's brow furrowing ever deeper. "Someone cast a Dark Nourishment Spell here. Judging by the state of these thorns, the caster is at least an advanced necromancer." He lightly touched the surface of a thorn, then quickly withdrew his hand. "It seems we aren't the only ones with our eyes on this valley."

After a moment of thought, Argyle made a decisive decision. "The group is too large a target. We'll split up. Two mages and three soldiers per team, divided into three squads. Keep in contact through the crystals."

He turned to Jialan. "You're with me, along with three elite soldiers. We'll gather Sun Fruit. Albert will lead another group to collect Shadow Crystals, and the rest will gather Star Brilliance Grass."

Jialan noticed that Argyle had deliberately lowered his voice while assigning tasks, seemingly unwilling to let the others hear the details of their team's mission.

After the groups were formed, Argyle pulled Jialan aside. "Listen. Sun Fruit grows in the deepest part of Shadow Valley, where the powers of darkness and light converge. It's extremely unstable." The Light Knight's expression was unusually grave. "I need you to stay alert the entire time, especially for any abnormal magical fluctuations." Jialan nodded and quietly checked his equipment.

The three squads split up at the mouth of the valley, each advancing along a different route. Jialan followed closely behind Argyle, with three fully armed elite soldiers behind him. They moved silently through the twisted trees, every step taken with utmost care.

As they ventured deeper into the valley, the surroundings grew increasingly bizarre. The branches of black trees twisted into the agonized shapes of human figures, and scattered white bones could be seen on the ground from time to time. Most unsettling of all was the cloying stench of decay filling the air, enough to make one dizzy after breathing it for too long.

"Put these on." Argyle handed everyone a face covering soaked in medicine. "They'll filter out most of the toxic gas." Jialan accepted the covering but did not put it on immediately. His sharp gaze swept across the eerie surroundings as his hands swiftly formed seals. Jialan began chanting a string of spells in a low voice. His voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable sense of power.

"Focus Casting!"

A clear blue light burst from his fingertips and poured into his crown like a sudden enlightenment. A flash of blue passed through Jialan's pupils, and his thoughts immediately became extraordinarily clear.

Argyle and the three soldiers watched in surprise. Before they could react, Jialan had already begun his second spell.

"Mental Revelation!"

A silvery-white halo formed above his head and slowly descended like a crown, eventually sinking into his hair and vanishing. As the halo merged with him, the world within Jialan's perception became clear down to the finest detail. He could distinctly "see" the path of every trace of magic around him, and even the tiniest dark particles in the air had nowhere to hide.

"Mind Guard!"

A pale golden barrier quietly unfolded within his mind, resisting possible mental assaults like the most loyal of guards. The dark aura pervading Shadow Valley was completely shut out, unable to affect his mind any longer.

Finally, he locked his index fingers and thumbs together, forming a triangle before his eyes. "True Sight!" A sharp gleam flashed through his pupils, and the mist before him seemed to be torn open at one corner by an invisible hand. The scenery hidden within the fog immediately became clear.

This seamless chain of spell enhancements took no more than a few breaths. Various magical lights flashed across Jialan's body in succession before fading away, leaving Argyle and the three soldiers dumbstruck. They had never seen a mage cast so many enhancement spells on himself in such a short time.

"You..." Argyle wore a rare expression of surprise. "Those spells..."

Jialan calmly put on the protective face covering. "Multiple Casting consumes a great deal, but it's worth the risk in a place like this."

Argyle gave him a long look and said nothing more, merely gesturing for them to move forward.

As they traveled deeper into the valley, Jialan's caution proved correct.

With the aid of True Sight, Jialan repeatedly spotted deadly traps hidden within the mist ahead of time. Those seemingly ordinary black thorns were actually covered in spikes capable of piercing steel armor, their surfaces glinting with a suspicious purple-black sheen. Beneath stretches of apparently smooth snow lay bottomless fissures, their edges crusted with strange ice crystals.

"Stop!" Jialan suddenly stretched out a hand to block a soldier who was about to move forward. The sole of the soldier's boot was only inches from a patch of "ground." When Jialan illuminated the area with "Light Spell," everyone sucked in a cold breath—the ground was not ground at all, but a carefully disguised magical illusion. Beneath it was a deep pit filled with poisoned spikes, with several corpses faintly visible at the bottom.

"They look like soldiers from the Aus Empire..." Argyle carefully examined the bodies, his expression darkening. "They died no more than three days ago."

Most horrifying of all, the corpses had already begun to show signs of turning undead—their skin had taken on an unnatural bluish-gray hue, while their nails had grown sharp and black.

The three elite soldiers unconsciously stood a little straighter, their gazes toward Jialan gaining a measure of reverence. In a place like Shadow Valley, a perceptive spellcaster could often determine the life or death of an entire team.