By dawn, the forest had changed.
The mist had thickened—not a gentle veil, but a creeping thing that clung low to the ground, curling between roots and stones as if searching for breath.
The group moved quickly. The glade was behind them, but the danger hadn't faded. The corrupted stag-beast had only been the beginning.
Zhao Ren marched ahead, bruised but steady.
Yue Shanshan cut through vines with clean, silent precision.
Li Heng hummed softly, his fingers resting on the flute at his waist.
Mei Lin walked close to Dawn, arrow nocked, every step deliberate.
Dawn, as always, moved without sound. His footsteps left no mark. His presence bent around obstacles like mist.
---
They passed a clearing littered with shattered stone—fragments of an old formation pillar cracked through the middle. Blood streaked one side. Whatever had happened there, it hadn't ended cleanly.
"Should we check?" Zhao asked, slowing his step.
"No," Dawn said.
He didn't explain.
No one asked again.
---
The Moonshade Thistle Grove lay just ahead. Faint blue petals shimmered under veiled light, glowing with spiritual residue Rare,Dangerour,Valuable.
But they weren't alone.
Across the glade stood four disciples from Iron Serpent Hall.
At their front stood **Wei Feng (Qi Refining – Stage 5)**.
He stared at Dawn like he'd been expecting him.
"Of course," he said, voice flat. "You again."
Mei Lin's posture stiffened. Yue's fingers twitched. Zhao sighed.
Li Heng smiled faintly. "Here's the trouble."
Wei Feng stepped forward.
"There's enough thistle for both groups. We don't have to fight," he said, calm and clear. "But let's be honest—you don't get to lead this."
Dawn didn't speak.
Wei's jaw ticked. "Still pretending to be above everyone?"
Still no answer.
Then the grove shuddered.
Six thistle stalks pulsed once—then burst open.
The earth split.
**Thistle Lurkers** erupted from the soil—vine-limbed, scale-backed, hissing.
---
Chaos.
Zhao met the first with a clean spear thrust. It stumbled but didn't fall.
Mei Lin loosed two arrows—one landed, one deflected.
Yue slipped low beneath a whipping tail, slicing deep along a Lurker's flank.
Li Heng struck a dissonant note—the vibrations staggered one just long enough for Zhao to finish it.
Wei Feng fought with brutal grace, his strikes efficient and cutting.
And Dawn—
He didn't move.
A Lurker lunged straight for him.
Mid-lunge, it stopped.
Its body shook.
Collapsed.
Dead.
No wound. No light. No sound.
Only a presence. Something ancient, watching.
The others felt it—a momentary chill like memory itself brushing the skin.
---
Wei Feng's eyes narrowed. "What did you just—?"
He didn't finish.
A deeper roar tore through the trees.
The **Moonshade Devourer** emerged—massive, moss-armored, fanged, and foul. It dragged roots behind it, its eyes alight with a predator's hunger.
It saw Dawn.
It charged.
"We have to retreat," Wei snapped. "No one here can—"
"I'm not retreating," Dawn said.
His voice calm and Certain.
He stepped forward. The Devourer lunged.
Dawn vanished.
Reappeared behind it.
**One motion.**
The Devourer's body locked. Convulsed.
Collapsed.
Dead.
.....😵
The forest held its breath.
Then—**something glowed.**
Just above Dawn's collarbone, beneath the fabric of his robe, a faint, ancient symbol shimmered violet-gold before fading.
It resembled a **dragon coiled within a broken circle**, surrounded by lines like flowing script.
No one else saw it—except Li Heng, who tilted his head slightly. But said nothing.
---
High above, in the sect's mountain pavilion, the elders watched in silence.
Elder Qin leaned forward. "He didn't just kill it. He *undid* it."
Elder Lanyue's eyes were locked on the faint residual glow. "That symbol… That's not from current era. That's pre-Sect Era."
The third elder—silent until now—spoke quietly. "Open the old maps. The ones from before the mountain was tamed. Check the south ridge."
Lanyue nodded. "I already did."
She turned the viewing jade. In the forest where Dawn now stood, a hidden formation flickered—faint, buried, long dormant.
Until now.
---
In the glade, the others were still recovering.
Mei Lin approached slowly.
"You didn't even use Qi," she whispered. "What are you?"
Dawn didn't answer.
Behind them, the ground shifted with a soft hum.
A boulder cracked open—revealing a **stone archway**, half-buried and covered in old runes. It hadn't been there moments before.
Everyone turned.
"What... is that?" Zhao said, spear tightening.
"A hidden zone," Yue murmured.
"No mark on the trial map," Li Heng added. "Curious."
Wei Feng stepped closer but froze.
The runes shimmered violet when Dawn neared—then dulled when he stepped away.
Only him.
Only Dawn.
---
In the mountains, Lanyue's voice was almost reverent.
"It's responding to him."
The third elder's brow furrowed. "Then we have a problem."
---
Back in the forest, Dawn stood before the archway, face unreadable.
He looked back at the others.
"I'm going inside."
And without waiting, he crossed the threshold.
The runes flared.
The entrance sealed behind him.
---
**End of Chapter Nine**