Shadow Valley

The group continued for several more hours towards the center of Shadow Valley. The surrounding mist grew thicker and thicker, to the point where they could barely see their hands in front of their faces. A biting chill permeated the air, causing even their breaths to form white mist that condensed into tiny ice crystals on their face coverings.

"Careful where you step," Argyle whispered, his voice sounding unusually muffled in the dense fog. "The ground here..."

Before he could finish, a black shadow suddenly lunged from the mist, its speed so great that its outline was almost indistinguishable. Jialan only had time to instinctively dodge sideways before a searing pain ripped through his left arm—three wounds, deep enough to see bone, tore through his robe, and blood gushed out.

"An Advanced Shadow Beast!" Argyle shouted sharply, finally drawing his longsword. Dazzling Light Battle Qi erupted like the dawn's first light, instantly illuminating their surroundings and revealing the attacker's true form.

It was a creature the size of a bear, pitch-black, as if composed of pure shadow. Only its two crimson eyes glinted with malevolent light. Its claws were half a meter long; these were what had nearly torn off Jialan's entire arm. Most unsettling was that Jialan, even with several magical enhancements, hadn't detected its presence while it was hidden in the fog.

"This is impossible..." a soldier stammered, backing away in terror, his silver sword trembling in his hand. "How could an Advanced Shadow Beast appear in Shadow Valley? According to the accord, the barrier should..."

The battle erupted instantly. Argyle's Light Battle Qi had a natural counter to Shadow Beasts, but he dared not use his full power; excessive energy fluctuations might attract even more terrifying entities. And this Advanced Shadow Beast was clearly unusual. Not only could it resist the power of light, but it could also absorb some Battle Qi to convert into its own energy. Each of its attacks carried a chilling dark corrosion.

Jialan gritted his teeth against the pain and used the Soothing Rain Spell to temporarily seal his wounds. He quickly formed hand seals and chanted an Ice Element incantation: "Ring of Ice Seal!" An ice-blue halo spread out, successfully slowing the Shadow Beast. But to his shock, this spell, which was highly effective against ordinary Shadow Beasts, only lasted a few seconds against the one before him.

"Aim for its eyes!" Argyle yelled, simultaneously unleashing a Light Slash towards the Shadow Beast's foreleg. Three well-trained soldiers immediately formed a triangular formation, their silver weapons leaving gashes on the Shadow Beast—these specially made weapons were inscribed with runes specifically designed to counter dark creatures.

The battle raged for nearly half an hour. The Shadow Beast's every attack carried corrosive Dark Energy. Where its claws raked the ground, plants instantly withered and turned to ash. A soldier was carelessly grazed on the shoulder, and the flesh immediately began to rot, emitting a nauseating stench.

Finally, with a Holy Light Judgment from Argyle, the Shadow Beast let out a piercing shriek and dissolved into black mist, leaving behind only a fist-sized black crystal.

"This is highly irregular," Argyle said gravely, picking up the crystal. Light Battle Qi caused black smoke to rise from its surface. "Advanced Shadow Beasts shouldn't be able to pass through planar rifts... unless..."

"Unless the rift has widened," Jialan finished, a chill creeping into his heart. He quickly cast a healing spell on the injured soldier, but the wounds caused by the dark corrosion were extremely difficult to heal; he could only stabilize the condition for now.

Argyle turned his gaze towards the depths of Shadow Valley, where the mist had taken on an ominous purple-black hue. "Shadow Valley connects to the Shadow Sub-plane, and this rift has always been jointly guarded by the two great empires. According to the Border Shadow Accord, only low-level Shadow Beasts can pass through the rift; advanced individuals should be blocked by a dual barrier."

Shadow Valley lay deep within the Misty Forest, at the border between the Longsheng Empire and the Aus Empire. Due to its unique spatial structure, it formed a natural rift leading to the Shadow Sub-plane. The two empires maintained permanent garrisons here, establishing a dual barrier around the rift to prevent advanced Shadow Beasts from crossing. Under normal circumstances, only low-level Shadow Beasts could pass through as a "pressure release valve." If advanced or even master-level Shadow Beasts crossed in large numbers, it would pose a catastrophic threat to the entire continent.

"Why didn't we receive any news?" Jialan asked, bandaging his wound. "Didn't the border garrisons of both countries notice anything unusual? A major event like the rift widening couldn't happen without warning."

Argyle's expression grew even more somber, the black crystal in his hand creaking as he squeezed it. "That's the problem. Logically, any fluctuation in the rift should trigger an immediate alarm from the monitoring arrays of both countries." He looked up, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Unless... someone deliberately tampered with the data from the monitoring arrays."

The three soldiers exchanged glances, clearly terrified by this possibility. Jialan suddenly recalled the undead wearing Aus Empire uniforms and the dark runes on their chests. A terrible suspicion began to form in his mind—could the Aus Empire be colluding with the Dark Council, deliberately allowing the Shadow rift to widen? But what was the purpose of this? And what role did the Imperial military play? Allowing Shadow Beasts to invade their own territory?

The group finally reached the center of Shadow Valley. The sight before them made Jialan involuntarily hold his breath—a massive black vortex hung motionlessly in the air, at least twenty meters in diameter, rotating slowly. Dark red patterns flashed across the surface of the vortex, pulsing like veins.

This rift, leading to the Shadow Sub-plane, was firmly sealed by two barriers: the outer layer was the golden barrier of the Longsheng Empire, and the inner layer was the blue barrier of the Aus Empire. Both barriers appeared intact, shimmering with light, as if everything were normal.

"The barriers... look fine?" one soldier asked doubtfully.

Argyle, however, frowned. "It's too quiet. Under normal circumstances, the barriers should be constantly under assault from Shadow creatures." He took a few steps closer to examine them carefully. "And the frequencies of the two barriers are perfectly synchronized. That's not normal..."

Jialan also felt something was wrong. How could two barriers of different origins and attributes resonate so harmoniously? It was as if they were being forcibly synchronized by some power. Beneath this surface calm lay a disturbing dissonance.

About ten meters from the vortex, three or four peculiar trees grew sporadically. These trees were a translucent milky white, their trunks covered in golden patterns that seemed to flow like liquid sunlight. But bizarrely, their roots plunged deep into the pitch-black soil, the roots themselves a sinister dark red. Each tree bore seven or eight white fruits emitting a soft glow—the Sun Fruits, their objective.