In the Gloom

Shen Shuibi was like an isolated island left behind by the world, utterly out of place in it.

She shut out both chill and heat; even all the qi Li Qi himself could see had nothing to do with her.

Perhaps there were other kinds of qi he could see, but that was already beyond the scope of his observation.

Just as he could not see the progress bar on Mr. Zhu.

Perhaps it was beyond the limits of his abilities.

The power of the Outer Path was not omnipotent, either.

Li Qi tried to apply his knowledge, bringing what was written in the "Zhu" book into reality.

From this perspective, he widened his eyes and tried to see into the distance.

Then, all of a sudden, he saw the setting sun on the horizon, its rays shining over.

And the clouds of qi above his own head—

The dusk of the setting sun dyed the clouds above Li Qi's head blood-red!

And they seemed to be breathing, swelling and contracting as they writhed.

"Green means insects, white means mourning, red means war and desolation, black means water, yellow means abundance..." Li Qi muttered, eyes wide as he repeated those words.

The clouds above his head... seemed to be red, didn't they?

Red meant war and desolation—was there a Calamity of Soldiers coming?

That had to be fake, right? It should just be ordinary fiery sunset clouds, shouldn't it?

Fiery sunset clouds were red. That was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Li Qi tried to reassure himself.

Yet suddenly, his heart gave a violent jolt.

Cold sweat broke out at once. His heart pounded faster and faster, turning his skin slightly red.

"This is... a sudden foreboding?" Li Qi wiped away his cold sweat.

The divination methods recorded in the "Zhu" book could not possibly be groundless!

That meant the danger had not passed them by!

"Old Ma! Miss Shen! Move! Someone is definitely coming for us! Help me make preparations!" Li Qi shouted!

"Think... think, what did the 'Zhu' book say again?" Li Qi forced himself to calm down.

He hurriedly flipped through the book. This time, he only skimmed it, specifically searching for matters of divination, hoping to find a solution or some other method of divination.

Then he suddenly came across an explanation.

"Wood born in spring gains strength in its season. Though the pillar may encounter the palace of death and extinction, if its course leads into a land of birth and flourishing, it shall not die." Li Qi slowly read the passage aloud.

Wood born in spring...

Wood born in spring...

He sank into thought.

Night had fallen. The houses and villages in the valley were hidden beneath the heavy darkness, hard to make out clearly.

Baiyue had many mountains; indeed, this place was called the Myriad Mountains. Thus, most villages in the wilderness were nestled amid dense mountains, where forest cover was at its thickest, and forests surrounded them on every side.

But forests were not all the same.

Any place with people permanently living there could not truly be called a "forest."

People were born to reshape their surroundings, turning them into forms fit for their own existence.

Farther away from "people" and "villages."

Where the "true forest" lay.

The surrounding rocks gaped with enormous fissures, springs bubbling out from within. Trees grew in tangled profusion; some towering trees twisted and coiled, while others had even been split in two by lightning. Vines and plants knotted around one another, looking from afar like scraps scattered across a spiderweb. The air felt damp and stifling, which was perfectly normal. Within a forest, dense leaves, towering trunks, and swamp gas could all prevent heat from dispersing, raising the temperature and making the air oppressively hot.

In the primeval jungle of Baiyue's Myriad Mountains, every tree and shrub crowded together without restraint, utterly shapeless and devoid of order.

Strange patterns were everywhere in the corners, as though the place itself had been twisted from the start—this was a place that would leave city folk accustomed to streets dizzy and disoriented.

Within such a primeval jungle, the last streak of sunlight shone between the mountains, dyeing the originally green ravines and woodland a brilliant crimson. It was as though flames were burning, or as though glaring blood were rushing down from the valley.

The heat of day swiftly faded, while the night wind, carrying threads of chill, grew ever stronger, blowing people's hands and feet stiff.

In the pitch-black valley lay a ravine steeped in primal air. Moss-covered rocks everywhere, broad-leaved shrubs, and wall-climbing vines made the terrain exceptionally complex. Beyond the distant mouth of the valley stood a forest that blotted out the sky and sun, while on the right were several cave mouths as though cleaved open by blades, black within and leading who knew where.

Almost no human had ever set foot here. It was a paradise for demons.

Vines and plants tangled together, making the path extremely difficult to traverse. Even professional hunters would inevitably find the terrain too rugged, and fierce beasts and carnivorous plants grew in abundance. It was an exceedingly dangerous place.

Yet in this paradise of demons, a squad of soldiers had appeared.

A squad of roughly ten soldiers clad in black armor—and every single one of them had a horse!

Each soldier was mounted, while the horse belonging to the captain at the front stood a full seven chi tall. Calm and composed, brimming with spirit, it seemed to radiate pride with every lift of its head.

Among them was a standard-bearer, a flag hanging from his spear and snapping loudly as it danced in the wind blowing head-on.

The flag was painted with spreading branches, resembling a pine tree.

"Banner Officer, this is where that Dragon Steed was last seen. The bloodstains are still here, but he took a halberd strike from you. His injuries should be severe," a soldier said to the officer.

"I used Sha Qi in that strike. His injuries are definitely serious. He can't have gone far. There must be traces within five hundred li. Keep searching," the officer said coldly.

"By the way, Zhang Wu, your Art of Divination was able to accurately predict his location before. Why has it stopped working now?" The officer turned to another soldier.

The soldier named Zhang Wu gave a bitter smile. "Banner Officer, my father was a village shaman, so I merely picked up a little of the Art of Divination through constant exposure. How could I be considered a true diviner?"

"But I suspect that since it worked before and has suddenly failed now, that Dragon Steed may have encountered an expert. An expert of high rank can naturally disturb karma around them, making the Art of Divination prone to failure."

"I've heard that some experts possess an Immaculate Body. Filth cannot approach them, evil ghosts and demons cannot touch them, neither cold nor heat can invade them, and all manner of techniques are greatly weakened against them. Even curses cannot be imposed upon them, making them even harder to divine. Staying by their side naturally creates a shield..." the soldier said.

The officer, however, sneered. "An Immaculate Body? That would require an expert of at least the fifth rank in the Daoist sects. One finger would be enough for them to crush every last one of us. Would someone like that take an interest in a mere Dragon Steed? The mounts beneath their feet would be true dragons!"

"So that absolutely cannot be the reason. What else could it be?" he asked again.

"Then... it could also be that the Dragon Steed encountered some place where qi surged skyward. For instance, he may have run into a city teeming with human vitality, or a graveyard thick with deathly qi. Once struck by that qi, his trail could have been concealed," he replied.

"That's possible. Search in that direction," the officer ordered.