The Eerie Mist Thickens, the Ravine's Shadow Emerges

The crackling of the campfire sounded exceptionally clear in the silent mountain hollow.

The brief rest had done nothing to dispel the gloom in everyone's hearts. Instead, that silent display of intimidation had made the atmosphere even heavier.

Using the excuse of adding wood to the fire, Su Lie approached Lin Chen again. He lowered himself greatly, his voice carrying a cautious note of probing. "My lord... your methods are truly heaven-reaching and earth-shaking. I offended you earlier. I hope you can forgive me."

Lin Chen did not even raise his eyelids. He merely gave a soft "Mm" through his nose as a response.

Su Lie's heart tightened. He knew the other party had no desire to speak further. Sensibly, he did not ask again about Lin Chen's origins or purpose, instead saying, "My lord, the road ahead will be even more difficult. According to the map, we must next pass through an area called the Soul Bewildering Mist. A strange fog hangs there year-round. Not only does it obscure one's vision, it seems... it seems to affect the mind as well. Many teams that entered it became separated and even lost their way."

He paused and watched Lin Chen's reaction. Seeing that he remained calm, he continued, "Once we pass the Soul Bewildering Mist and go farther ahead, we should be able to see the outline of Yin Wind Ravine from afar. But around there... it is said that even more dangerous things lurk. Ordinary people do not dare approach it at all."

Only then did Lin Chen slowly open his eyes, his calm gaze falling on Su Lie. "More dangerous things? Such as?"

Under that profound gaze, Su Lie felt an invisible pressure descend upon him. He hurriedly lowered his head. "It is said... that second-rank demonic beasts appear there. Yin Wind Wolves, which are extremely fast, and Soul Devouring Spiders, which can spit poisonous silk and weave illusions... These are all rumors. The furthest the merchant caravans organized by our Su Family ever went was the outer edge of the Soul Bewildering Mist. We never dared venture deeper."

Lin Chen nodded slightly and said no more. Second-rank demonic beasts were equivalent to human cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm. With his current strength at the Body Tempering Eighth Layer Peak—though he could trigger the Foundation Establishment tribulation at any time—they were not unbeatable, but they did warrant caution.

"Young Miss..." Su Lie glanced at Su Ling'er, who was curled beneath a blanket some distance away, her face growing ever paler. His voice carried a plea. "My lord, we must hurry on."

Lin Chen's gaze swept over Su Ling'er, noticing the barely perceptible tremble in her fingertips and the deep pain between her brows. The yin cold power of the Cold Water River had indeed stirred up the trouble within her body. He vaguely sensed that the power lurking inside the young woman seemed to share an exceedingly faint common origin with the strand of Water Yin Cold Dao Rhyme he had just refined and absorbed—yet it was far more tyrannical and chaotic.

"Set out." He rose to his feet. His voice was not loud, yet it roused everyone's spirits.

The group set off once more.

This time, Lin Chen still walked at the very front, but his steps seemed to carry a peculiar rhythm. The winds around him appeared to take the initiative to avoid him, while the loose stones beneath his feet seemed to lose their edges, making his stride exceptionally steady.

The Su Family members behind him clearly sensed the difference.

The farther they went, the heavier the damp chill in the air became. A faint grayish-white mist also began to spread. At first, it was thin, merely blurring the distant scenery. But as they ventured deeper, the mist grew denser and denser, visibility plummeting until they could soon see only a few yards ahead.

Even stranger, the mist seemed to possess a certain stickiness. It coiled around their bodies, leaving them feeling weighed down, even making it difficult to breathe. An indescribable sense of oppression also began to settle over their hearts, making them restless and anxious for no reason.

"This is the Soul Bewildering Mist..." Su Lie's expression turned grave as he repeatedly reminded the guards, "Stay close! Don't fall behind! Steady your minds—don't be fooled by illusions!"

The guards gripped their weapons nervously, following close behind the person ahead of them as they warily surveyed the thick mist around them. Shadowy figures flickered within the fog, as though countless ghostly silhouettes were swaying there. Faint whispers also seemed to drift past their ears, unsettling their minds.

The carriage moved through the mist with increasing difficulty. Su Lie had to constantly shout directions at the top of his voice just to barely keep the group from scattering.

Inside the carriage, Su Ling'er's condition worsened. Curled in the corner, her body shook violently beyond her control. Her teeth were clenched tight, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped across her forehead. The grayish-white mist seemed to stimulate her even more intensely, causing the cold energy in her body to race and collide like wild horses breaking free of the reins, bringing unbearable pain.

"Ugh..." At last, she could no longer endure it and let out a suppressed groan, curling herself even tighter.

"Young Miss!" The female attendants beside her cried out and tried to step forward, only to be blocked by an invisible force.

Lin Chen, walking at the front, paused slightly.

He did not look back, but a faint yet pure ripple of energy, carrying a trace of gentle vitality, silently spread toward the carriage like invisible threads and lightly covered Su Ling'er's body.

This was the purest Life Origin power refined by his Myriad Dao Furnace. Though there was very little of it, it carried a trace of the essence of "refining all things and creating life."

That gentle energy seeped into Su Ling'er's body. Rather than directly confronting the violent cold energy, it nourished her damaged meridians and vitality like spring wind and rain, attempting to stabilize the bodily balance that was on the verge of collapse.

Su Ling'er's violent trembling gradually eased, and her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. Though her complexion remained pale, she was at least no longer in such unbearable agony. She opened her eyes somewhat blankly, feeling a warm current flowing slowly through her body and driving away a portion of the bone-deep chill.

Was it... him?

She instinctively looked toward that blurred figure outside the carriage, a complicated and indescribable emotion rising in her heart.

Lin Chen paid no mind to any of this. His attention was focused more on the eerie mist.

What the mist contained was not simply water vapor, but an exceedingly mixed yin energy blended with a faint strand of spiritual power capable of influencing the soul. For ordinary martial artists, it was indeed quite troublesome.

But for him...

With a thought, the Myriad Dao Furnace within him silently began to operate. The mist energy attempting to erode and confuse him was, the instant it neared his body, drawn and pulled by an invisible force, then silently swallowed and refined like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea!

Though this mixed yin energy was not of high quality, it made up for it in sheer quantity. After refinement, the purified yin-cold energy was perfect for verifying and strengthening the strand of Water Yin Cold Dao Rhyme he had just acquired.

A faint, elusive realization flowed through his heart.

His control over ice and yin-cold attribute powers was improving at an exceedingly slow yet genuine pace. Even Phantom Step seemed to become more effortless to perform within this dense fog. His figure grew even more elusive, as though he had merged into the mist itself.

The group struggled through the dense fog for roughly an hour.

Without warning... the mist ahead began to thin.

Their view suddenly opened up!

Before them lay a scene that made their hearts quail.

The ground beneath their feet was scorched black and withered, with not a blade of grass growing upon it. The air was filled with an even denser chill carrying the stench of decay.

And directly before them, roughly a thousand yards away!

An incomparably enormous, bottomless black rift stretched across the earth as though it had been cleaved open by the colossal axe of gods and devils!

On both sides of the rift stood impossibly steep black cliff walls, their jagged rocks resembling the fangs of evil ghosts. Gust after gust of visible black yin wind, dark as ink, howled from the depths of the rift, producing mournful wails like ghosts weeping. Merely hearing them from afar made one feel as though their very soul had turned cold!

At the entrance to the rift, the mist was even denser, nearly taking on a solid black form as it churned endlessly, completely concealing everything within the ravine. All that remained was a pitch-black opening like the maw of some enormous beast, exuding a terrifying aura capable of devouring all things!

"Yin... Yin Wind Ravine!" Su Lie stared at the enormous black rift, his voice dry with disbelief and profound terror. "We... we've arrived!"