Wreckage in the Mist

Six figures emerged from the hotel entrance and sped along the still-sleeping streets of Heaven Dou City towards the North Gate.

Tang Wulin took the lead, his feet moving in the rhythm of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Although he wasn't the fastest, each step he took was steady and maintained the formation.

Xie Xie followed behind him on the right, with half a piece of unfinished dry food still in her mouth. Yuanen Yehui was on his left, walking quickly.

Xu Xiaoyan and Ye Xinglan ran side by side in the middle. Gu Yue lagged behind, her footsteps so light they were barely audible.

Once outside the north gate, the view suddenly opened up.

North of Heaven Dou City lies a rolling hilly area, where low shrubs and wild grasses surge like green waves in the morning breeze.

A straight dirt road stretches northward, and at its end, a faint gray-blue mountain silhouette can be seen.

"That's the Sunset Mountains."

Tang Wulin pointed to the distant mountain shadows, his steps unwavering. "They look close, but you'll know how far they are once you start running."

Xie Xie swallowed the last bite of dry rations, took a sip of water, and said, "It doesn't look close."

As it turns out, it was indeed not close.

All six were Soul Master, with a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, but even after running from dawn until noon, the distant mountain shadow only changed from "vaguely visible" to "clearly defined".

When the sun was directly overhead, Tang Wulin stopped under the shade of a tree and gestured for everyone to rest for a moment.

Xie Xie plopped down on the tree root and rummaged through his Storage Soul Tool for a water bottle, taking several large gulps.

Yuanen Yehui stood at the edge of the shade, his gaze fixed on the increasingly clear mountain range in the distance, and he frowned slightly.

"From this distance, we should be able to see the foot of the mountain,"

She said, "But right now we can only see the ridgeline; the overall elevation of the Sunset Mountains isn't that high, the lower part is obscured."

Hearing this, Ye Xinglan also looked up and said, "It's not fog. Fog is white, that's colorful, it's more like..."

She paused, then found a suitable word: "Miasma".

Tang Wulin nodded. "That's poisonous miasma. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is located in the Core Area of the Sunset Mountains, surrounded by this kind of poisonous miasma, naturally formed and persistent year-round."

"The information provided by the Tang Sect states that the poisonous miasma is approximately twenty miles wide, with the toxicity increasing the deeper one goes. Even Soul Saint level experts in the central area would need poison-avoiding pills or special cultivation techniques to survive."

He took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, uncorked it, and poured out six dark green pills, giving one to each person.

"A poison-avoiding pill, distributed by the Tang Sect. Hold it in your mouth, don't swallow. The outer layer will slowly melt. One pill will last for six hours."

Xie Xie took the pill and weighed it in his hand. "Six hours? Twelve hours round trip, and it'll take a whole day and night just to get through the poisonous miasma?"

"That's the speed of an ordinary Soul Master," Ye Xinglan said, putting away the poison-avoiding pill and standing up to brush the grass clippings off her clothes.

"We don't need that long. If we travel at full speed, we can cross in three hours."

"Provided that you don't get lost."

Tang Wulin raised the Ice-Fire Seal. The small seal, intertwined with ice and fire, still steadily flickered with two faint red and blue lights under the midday sun. The light arrow pointed due north, unmoving. "With it here, the direction won't be wrong."

Xie Xie sprang up from the tree root, shoved the water bottle into his bag, and his fatigue was replaced by renewed excitement. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Tang Wulin chuckled, activated the Ice-Fire Seal once more, and was the first to leap out of the shade of the tree.

Six figures followed closely behind.

In the afternoon, the six of them finally arrived at the foot of the Sunset Mountains.

Only when you get close can you see the true nature of that poisonous miasma. It's not mist, but a colorful poisonous miasma rising from the ground, as viscous as semi-solidified oil, slowly flowing between tree roots and rocks.

The mountains and forests shrouded in poisonous miasma were deathly silent; there were no birdsong, no insect chirps, and not even the sound of the wind whistling through the trees.

A faint, sweet, fishy smell filled the air, like rotten flowers mixed with rusty iron.

Xie Xie stood at the edge of the poisonous miasma, took a deep breath—of course, on the side without the miasma—and then glanced back at everyone.

"I have a question."

"Explain."

"This thing doesn't look like a place anyone could easily walk into. What kind of environment inside could produce this color... poisonous miasma?"

"I'm not entirely sure."

Xie Xie remained silent for two seconds, expressionless, then said, "Fine, forget I asked."

Tang Wulin put the antidote pill in his mouth, and a cool minty taste spread from the tip of his tongue.

He held the Ice-Fire Seal in his left palm, freeing his right hand for any eventuality, and then took a deep breath.

The air at the foot of the mountain was still clean, carrying the scent of earth and wild grass.

"Once inside the poisonous miasma, do not separate; maintain a distance of no more than five steps. Visibility may be impaired, so if you cannot see each other, communicate by voice."

He paused, a habitual smile curving his lips. "Let's go."

Then he was the first to step into the haze.

The light dimmed the moment we entered the poisonous miasma.

Visibility here is less than twenty meters; everything beyond that distance becomes a blurry shadow, and anything further away is completely swallowed up by color.

The air became sticky and heavy; each breath felt like drinking a bowl of cooled, thick soup.

The minty flavor of the antidote pill continued to spread in the mouth, keeping the sweet, fishy taste out of the throat.

Five figures followed him in one after another, their footsteps swallowed up by the damp ground. Only occasionally, when a dry branch was stepped on, could one hear a crisp sound, brief and abrupt.

Tang Wulin held up the Ice-Fire Seal with his left hand, the faint red and blue light standing out conspicuously in the poisonous miasma, the light arrow pointing steadily forward.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the poisonous miasma ahead suddenly became thicker.

The smoke and haze pressed in from all directions toward the center, and visibility plummeted from twenty meters to less than ten meters.

The faint outlines of the trees that were once visible have completely disappeared, replaced by an endless expanse of bluish-gray chaos.

Tang Wulin frowned slightly, but did not stop walking.

The light arrows of the Ice-Fire Seal shone even brighter in the dense fog, pointing steadily in one direction like a compass.

As long as the direction is right, even the densest miasma is just a process that requires patience, not a real danger.

"Click--"

Tang Wulin turned around to look.

Xie Xie slowly lifted his foot, revealing the bone he had accidentally crushed.

Tang Wulin frowned slightly, about to say something, when he noticed Xu Xiaoyan spot, and he looked in that direction.

There were seven or eight skeletons there, the skeletons of small Soul Beast.

Ye Xinglan looked at Tang Wulin, "Did he die from poison?"

Tang Wulin pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Let's go, there's no point in staying here." Yuanen Yehui patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder.

He nodded and continued leading the way.

Beyond the poisonous miasma.

On the edge of the poisonous miasma, a figure silently descended from the branch of a withered old tree.

He had a thin face, and his eyes and brows carried a calm and composed air that only comes from having experienced too much of the world.

His hands were behind his back, his fingertips casually twirling a small jade piece, the surface of which faintly glowed with a red and blue light that shared the same origin as the Ice-Fire Seal.

Zang Xin, Deputy Hall Master of the Douluo Hall of the Tang Sect.

He watched as Tang Wulin and the other five disappeared into the depths of the bluish-gray poisonous miasma, and watched the miasma close up again and return to its deathly stillness after swallowing the six people, before he slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

The smile was faint, like watching a flock of fledglings try to fly out of the nest for the first time, with a hint of scrutiny, a hint of relief, and a hint of empathy that only those who have been through it can understand.

"They actually dared to go in without anyone guiding them..."

His voice was full of pride, "You have guts. I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

He twirled the jade piece between his fingertips, then clenched it back into his palm.

He didn't follow.

If Tang Wulin can't even get past the poisonous miasma and vines surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, then the Tang Sect's opportunity will have been wasted.

He stood on a branch of that withered tree, his robes fluttering slightly in the swirling air at the edge of the poisonous miasma.

He waited quietly.