The Blackwood swallowed them within moments.
Wang Ben led the expedition through familiar territory, passing the outer anchor points he had inspected during his first survey. The formations still functioned, their detection webs registering their passage without alarm. His grandfather's work remained intact despite years of neglect.
"These formations are older than I expected," Lin Suyin observed, studying the inscription patterns with professional interest. "The design language predates modern standards by at least a century."
"Grandfather learned from his grandfather. The techniques were passed down." Wang Ben traced a particularly complex formation line. "But these outer arrays are just the beginning. The deeper work is more sophisticated."
The Silent Path scouts ranged ahead and behind, their movements silent, their presence barely detectable even to Wang Ben's enhanced perception. Lin Suyin moved beside them, her attention divided between the formations Wang Ben studied and the forest around them.
"How far do we need to go?" she asked.
"Beyond the last anchor point I documented. Into territory grandfather didn't include in his official surveys." Wang Ben's voice carried certainty he didn't entirely feel. "The trail markers should guide us from there."
The first sign of trouble appeared as the sun climbed toward midheaven.
Wei, the lead scout, returned with a report that made everyone's hands drift toward weapons. "Tracks ahead. Fresh, within the last few days. Ice cultivator signature."
"Yue Clan?" Lin Suyin's voice sharpened.
"Uncertain. The signature is purer than expected. Old-style cultivation patterns." Wei's expression was troubled. "There's something else. The vegetation is damaged in ways that suggest combat. Something happened here recently."
Wang Ben examined the area when they reached it, his System providing analysis that confirmed the scout's observations.
[ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: Combat residue detected]
[Age: 3-5 days]
[Participants: At least 2 cultivators (Ice signature, Wood signature)]
[Outcome: Unclear. No bodies or blood detected. Combat ended without apparent deaths]
[Notable feature: Ice cultivation techniques show unusual age characteristics. Qi manipulation patterns consistent with ancient cultivation methods (pre-standardization era)]
Old-style cultivation, Wang Ben thought. Someone using techniques that haven't been taught in generations.
"We proceed with caution," he decided. "Whatever happened here, we need to understand it before making assumptions."
The expedition continued, their formation tightening as the forest grew denser.
The landscape changed as they penetrated deeper.
The trees grew larger, their trunks wider than buildings, their canopy blocking so much light that the forest floor existed in permanent twilight. Wood essence thickened until it pressed against Wang Ben's consciousness like a physical weight.
[ENVIRONMENTAL SHIFT: Deep Blackwood core region]
[Qi composition:]
[- Wood: 61.3% (heavily dominant)]
[- Earth: 24.2% (supporting)]
[- Dark: 8.1% (concentrated in shadow areas)]
[- Water: 4.7% (trace)]
[- Other: 1.7% (mixed)]
[Notable feature: Dark element presence significantly elevated compared to outer regions. Source unknown]
[Warning: Ambient qi at this density may affect technique execution. Elemental mismatches could cause unpredictable results]
Wang Ben filed the warning away, noting how his own cultivation adapted to the changed environment. The Wood essence flowed into him without resistance, integrating with his cultivation base as smoothly as the Ice had in Frozen Jade territory.
The beast attacked without warning.
One moment, the forest was silent except for their own movement. The next, something massive erupted from the undergrowth, its form a twisted combination of plant and predator. Vines writhed where limbs should have been, and its eyes glowed with the sick green light of corrupted Wood essence.
[THREAT DETECTION: Corrupted spirit beast]
[Classification: Wood elemental, twisted form]
[Estimated grade: Tier 3 (equivalent to foundation establishment class)]
[Anomaly: Beast shows signs of Dark element corruption. Normally incompatible with Wood cultivation]
[Combat assessment: Extreme threat. Recommend coordinated assault targeting corruption source]
"Scatter!" Wang Ben shouted, diving aside as vine-limbs lashed through the space where he had stood.
The expedition split, each member engaging from different angles. The Silent Path scouts coordinated strikes that exploited openings in its defenses, their Metal techniques cutting through outer growths.
But it was Lin Suyin who made the difference.
Her cultivation erupted with devastating precision, silvery qi condensing into blades that sheared through the beast's vine-limbs faster than they could regenerate. Where the scouts' attacks cut, hers severed completely.
"Aim for the chest!" Wang Ben called, his System highlighting the corruption's source.
Lin Suyin didn't hesitate. She moved with the fluid economy of someone who had survived decades of dangerous work, her qi coalescing into a single piercing strike that drove through the corrupted Wood essence into the creature's heart.
The beast screamed, a sound that combined animal pain with something older and more terrible. Then it collapsed, its corrupted essence dissipating into the forest air.
Silence returned to the forest.
"That was not a normal spirit beast," Scout Wei said, his voice shaky.
"No." Lin Suyin examined the remains with professional detachment. "The corruption signature is unusual. Dark element integration with Wood essence shouldn't be stable, let alone produce a functioning creature."
"Unless something is creating these corruptions intentionally." Wang Ben knelt beside the ash, his mind racing. "The energy pattern feels familiar. Similar to what grandfather's anchors were designed to detect."
"We're getting close to whatever he was monitoring."
"Yes. And the closer we get, the more dangerous this becomes."
...
The trail markers appeared as evening approached.
Wang Ben recognized them immediately: subtle carvings in tree bark, positioned at angles that seemed random but actually formed a cipher known only to Wang family members. His grandfather's handwriting, preserved in living wood.
"These are different from the anchor formations," he explained, tracing the first marker's pattern. "Personal markers. Trail guidance that grandfather didn't want anyone else to follow."
"Can you read them?" Lin Suyin asked.
"The cipher is family knowledge." Wang Ben studied the patterns, decoding the message embedded within. "This one indicates a campsite ahead. Safe territory, defensible position. He used it as a base for deeper exploration."
"How old are these markers?"
"Years. At least seven, possibly more." Wang Ben felt the weight of time pressing against his awareness. "He was here for a long time before he disappeared."
The expedition followed the trail markers as darkness gathered, each carved symbol confirming that they walked paths Li Cheng had traveled before them. Whatever secrets the deep Blackwood held, grandfather had known them.
And now his grandson would know them too.
...
The campsite was exactly as the markers promised.
A natural clearing surrounded by ancient trees, their branches forming a canopy that provided shelter without completely blocking the sky. Grandfather's touch was evident in subtle ways: stone arrangements that formed defensive positions, tree trunks carved with protective formations, a stream diverted to provide fresh water.
"He lived here," Wang Ben realized, studying the camp's layout. "Not just visited. Lived, for extended periods."
"The formations are sophisticated," Lin Suyin admitted. "Detection arrays, concealment barriers, emergency evacuation routes. This wasn't temporary accommodation."
The Silent Path scouts established perimeter watch while the others explored the campsite. Evidence of habitation was everywhere once you knew what to look for: worn paths between locations, storage niches carved into tree roots, a meditation platform positioned to catch morning light.
And in a hollow beneath the largest tree, a sealed container that bore the Wang family crest.
"This is it," Wang Ben breathed, recognizing the Wang family crest on the sealed container. "Whatever he was protecting, the answers are here."
He reached for the container, feeling the formations resist his touch. Then recognition flared as the seals detected his bloodline, and the resistance faded.
Inside, carefully preserved against time and elements, lay a leather-bound journal and a collection of artifacts he couldn't immediately identify.
The journal's first page bore a single line in his grandfather's handwriting:
If you're reading this, I'm dead. What follows is the truth of what I found, and why I couldn't let anyone else know.
Wang Ben's hands trembled. He had known, of course. Seven years without contact, without word, without any sign of his grandfather's survival. He had known. But seeing the words written in that familiar hand, the final confirmation from Li Cheng himself...
He closed the journal carefully, not trusting himself to read further with the others watching. The truth could wait until he had privacy to process it. Until he could grieve properly for the man who had taught him everything.
"Wang Ben?" Lin Suyin's voice came from behind him. "Did you find something?"
"Answers," he said, keeping his voice steady through sheer will. "But they'll take time to understand."
...
Emerald Serpent Kingdom, thousands of kilometers to the southwest
Shen Ruoxi had been flying for three hours, and she was getting bored.
The landscape beneath her blurred as she crossed another mountain range, her nascent soul cultivation carrying her through the sky faster than any mount could manage. Flight was the privilege of her realm, and she used it shamelessly. Behind her, the pursuit had thinned considerably since she'd left the capital. The smart ones had given up after the first hundred kilometers. The stubborn ones had died when she'd stopped to make a point.
These last few were either very brave or very stupid. Probably both.
"Stop, thief!" The lead pursuer, a captain of the Emerald Serpent royal guard at the mortal shedding realm, was actually keeping pace. Impressive, for someone a full realm below her. "You cannot escape the kingdom's justice!"
Shen Ruoxi sighed and stopped in midair, turning to face her pursuers with an expression of theatrical patience. Four of them left. Two mortal shedding, two core formation. The mortal shedding cultivators had some kind of movement technique that let them keep up, probably a kingdom specialty. The core formation ones were simply being dragged along by their superiors' techniques.
"Justice," she repeated, examining her nails. "Is that what we're calling it? I thought this was about the Celestial Void Jade I liberated from your treasury."
"That jade is a national treasure! It's been in the royal collection for six hundred years!"
"And now it's in my storage ring." Shen Ruoxi smiled pleasantly. "My brother needs it more than your collection does. Be grateful I only took one thing."
The lead guard's face purpled with rage. "Hold her here! The Protector is coming!"
They attacked as a group, which showed decent tactical thinking. The two mortal shedding cultivators came in high, their techniques crackling with lightning qi that was probably quite impressive against normal opponents. The core formation pair tried to flank, cutting off her retreat angles.
Shen Ruoxi didn't bother retreating.
She moved through them like wind through wheat. The first mortal shedding guard died before he understood she'd moved, her hand passing through his chest and emerging with his still-beating heart. The second managed to scream before she crushed his throat. The core formation cultivators tried to flee the moment they saw their superiors fall, but fleeing from a nascent soul cultivator was an exercise in optimism.
It took her less than three breaths to kill all four.
"Tedious," she muttered, flicking blood from her fingers. This was the problem with the current era. Everyone was so weak. Even at mortal shedding, they moved like they were underwater. No challenge. No excitement. Just...
A pressure descended on her like a mountain falling from the sky.
Shen Ruoxi's eyes widened, and she moved on instinct, vacating the space she'd occupied just as a blade of green qi carved through the air where her head had been. The attack continued past her, slicing through a distant mountain peak like it was made of paper.
Now that's more like it.
She turned to face the newcomer, and felt something she hadn't experienced in decades: genuine interest.
The woman who hovered fifty meters away was ancient in the way only nascent soul cultivators could be: her face young and beautiful, her eyes holding centuries of accumulated experience. Green robes marked her as Emerald Serpent royalty, and the pressure radiating from her cultivation was unmistakably nascent soul.
Early stage. Same as Shen Ruoxi.
"You killed my guards," the woman said. Her voice was cold, controlled, but Shen Ruoxi could hear the anger beneath it. "You stole from our treasury. You have brought chaos to my kingdom."
"Your kingdom is very small," Shen Ruoxi observed. "I'm surprised you have a nascent soul protector at all."
"We have survived for three thousand years by being small enough to ignore and strong enough to punish those who don't." The woman's qi began to manifest around her, taking the form of a massive serpent made of wind and lightning. "I am Mei Zhenqing, Protector of the Emerald Throne. You will return what you stole, or you will die here."
Shen Ruoxi considered her options. She could fight. Mei Zhenqing was early nascent soul, same as her, and she had been fighting cultivators stronger than herself for eight hundred years. It would be a real battle, the kind she hadn't had since... well, since she couldn't remember when.
But the Celestial Void Jade in her storage ring was for Wuyan. Her brother needed it for whatever mysterious project he was working on, and he'd been very specific about the timeline. If she got injured here, or worse, if the fight dragged on long enough for reinforcements to arrive...
Priorities, she reminded herself. Mission first. Fun later.
"Counter-offer," Shen Ruoxi said, letting her own qi manifest. Unlike the protector's serpent, hers took no particular shape. Just raw power, dark and hungry, the signature of someone who had killed far more than she'd cultivated. "I leave now, with the jade, and I don't come back to burn your kingdom to the ground."
Mei Zhenqing's eyes narrowed. "You think you can threaten me?"
"I think we're evenly matched, and I have somewhere else to be." Shen Ruoxi smiled, and this time there was nothing pleasant about it. "But I remember my enemies, Protector. And I always pay my debts."
She moved before the protector could respond, pushing her movement technique to its absolute limit. The protector's serpent struck at where she'd been, but Shen Ruoxi was already kilometers away, accelerating toward the kingdom's border with every breath.
Mei Zhenqing didn't pursue. Smart woman.
As the Emerald Serpent Kingdom faded behind her, Shen Ruoxi allowed herself a moment of genuine satisfaction. Not because she'd escaped, which had never been in doubt, but because she'd found something rare.
An equal.
I'll be back, she promised silently, touching the storage ring where the Celestial Void Jade waited. Once I've delivered this to Wuyan, once his project is complete... I'll come back and we'll have a proper fight.
She was already looking forward to it.
...
The cultivation session that night was affected by the environment.
[CULTIVATION SESSION: Deep Blackwood campsite]
[Duration: 4 hours]
[Qi absorbed: 498 motes]
[Qi retained: 80 motes]
[Retention efficiency: 16.0%]
[Elemental composition:]
[- Wood: 311 motes (62.4%)]
[- Earth: 112 motes (22.5%)]
[- Dark: 47 motes (9.4%)]
[- Water: 21 motes (4.2%)]
[- Other: 7 motes (1.5%)]
[Environment: Deep Blackwood (Wood/Dark saturation)]
[Note: Dark element absorption detected. This element is normally hazardous to cultivators without specific compatibility. Host's elemental flexibility is allowing integration without apparent negative effects]
[Warning: Long-term effects of Dark element accumulation are unknown. Recommend monitoring for changes in cultivation behavior]
Wang Ben processed the warning while his body absorbed the forest's strange qi. Dark element, normally dangerous, integrating with his cultivation as smoothly as any other energy.
Another anomaly. Another mystery.
But the journal waited, and its secrets promised answers that might explain everything.
Tomorrow, he would read his grandfather's final testimony.
Tonight, he would rest, and prepare for whatever truth awaited.