The mist swallowed the forest whole.
By the time the five of them reached the edge of the forest, the path behind had already vanished into pale white haze. The trees ahead rose like silent sentinels, their twisted branches disappearing into thick vapor.
Han Wei exhaled slowly. "This is the Mistbound Forest."
Lan Jian frowned. "Flying above it would be faster."
Lan Xue shook her head. "No. The spiritual current above is unstable. If we fly blindly, we may never find the mountain."
Mo Xuan studied the mist quietly. It was not ordinary fog. It carried faint spiritual fluctuations.
"We descend," Lan Jian decided.
All five landed lightly on the forest floor.
Lan Xue raised her hand and formed a seal. Frost-blue energy shimmered around her fingertips.
"Iceheart Breath Ward," she murmured.
A faint chill spread around them, forming a thin barrier over their noses and mouths.
"The mist may contain hallucinogenic spores," she explained. "This will prevent inhalation."
Han Wei grinned. "Then let's move in fun mode."
Ling Yue rolled her eyes. "There is no fun mode in a cursed forest."
Mo Xuan glanced at her briefly. She met his gaze for a second before both looked away.
They stepped into the mist together.
Visibility dropped to only a few meters. Trees loomed like shadows. The air felt heavy, almost watchful.
They walked in a tight formation — Lan Jian leading, Lan Xue behind him, Han Wei guarding one side, Ling Yue and Mo Xuan close together.
After what felt like an hour—
Lan Xue suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Everyone froze.
She pointed toward a tree ahead.
A faint mark glowed faintly on its bark — an icy sigil.
"I placed that Ice Shade marker earlier."
Han Wei blinked. "Earlier?"
"Yes. When we entered."
Silence settled.
Ling Yue looked around slowly.
"So… we walked in a circle?"
Lan Jian's jaw tightened. He summoned his sword and hurled it forward with spiritual force. The blade shot straight into the mist—
Only to whistle back from behind them and land at his feet.
Han Wei let out a low whistle.
"That's not natural."
Ling Yue dropped to sit cross-legged. "So what now? We walk until next year?"
Mo Xuan remained standing, eyes half-closed.
He replayed every step in his mind.
"There is no formation," he said quietly.
Lan Jian frowned. "Not a formation?"
"No spatial folding. No rotational illusion. The ground beneath us is unchanged."
Lan Xue narrowed her eyes. "Then what is it?"
Mo Xuan opened his eyes slowly.
"We are not walking in circles."
A pause.
"We are dreaming."
The words fell heavily.
Han Wei laughed once. "That's impossible."
Mo Xuan shook his head. "When we entered, something triggered subconscious control. The mist is only a medium. The real trap is mental."
Ling Yue stood up slowly. "Then how do we wake up?"
Mo Xuan extended his hand toward Han Wei.
"Give me your sword."
Han Wei hesitated but handed it over.
Ling Yue's expression shifted uneasily.
Mo Xuan held the blade calmly.
"In dreams," he said quietly, "the only true exit is death."
Before anyone could react—
He drove the sword straight through his own chest.
Ling Yue's breath caught.
The blade pierced his heart.
His body dissolved instantly into drifting mist.
Everything shattered.
—
Mo Xuan opened his eyes.
Cold.
Rough bark pressed against his back.
Thick, twisted vines bound his arms and legs tightly.
The mist was real.
But now he could see clearly.
A colossal tree towered above them — its trunk gnarled and blackened, its branches writhing like living serpents.
Embedded within its bark were bones.
Skulls.
Corpses dried into husks.
Its roots pulsed faintly with green light.
Life force.
It was feeding.
Mo Xuan flexed his fingers. His cultivation had returned.
He unleashed spiritual force sharply, shattering the vines binding him.
He dropped to the ground and immediately moved toward the others.
Ling Yue.
Lan Xue.
Lan Jian.
Han Wei.
All were suspended in the air, wrapped tightly in parasitic vines that pulsed slowly — draining their vitality.
Mo Xuan leapt upward, slashing through the binding roots.
One by one, they fell.
He caught Ling Yue first, lowering her gently to the ground.
Lan Jian and Han Wei recovered quickly upon impact.
Lan Xue rolled to her feet.
Behind them—
The massive tree shrieked.
The mist thickened violently.
At the same time—
Inside the dreamscape—
Lan Jian's eyes sharpened.
"He was right," he murmured.
Without hesitation, he thrust his sword into his own heart.
The illusion shattered.
One by one, the others followed.
Moments later—
All five stood before the monstrous tree.
Its bark cracked as it writhed in fury.
Lan Xue stared at the corpses embedded in its trunk.
"Those… are real."
Han Wei swallowed. "How many died here…"
Mo Xuan's gaze darkened.
"It consumes life force. Slowly. The dream keeps victims still while it drains them."
Ling Yue clenched her fists.
"If we stayed one full day—"
"We would be among them," Lan Jian finished grimly.
The tree lashed out with thick roots.
Lan Jian and Lan Xue responded instantly.
"Ice Severance!"
Twin arcs of frost sliced through the roots.
Han Wei's blade flashed in golden light, cutting through the lower tendrils.
Ling Yue unleashed Frost Veil Slash, freezing several vines midair.
Mo Xuan stepped forward.
His sword glowed faintly — not with ordinary qi.
With deathly resonance.
He leapt upward and struck directly at the tree's core.
The blade pierced the pulsing green nucleus hidden within the trunk.
The tree let out a piercing wail.
Cracks spread rapidly across its bark.
Green light flickered violently—
Then shattered.
The massive trunk split in half and collapsed heavily into the forest floor.
The mist began to thin.
Silence returned.
Only the scattered bones remained.
Ling Yue turned slowly, staring at the skeletal remains.
"So many people…"
Lan Xue closed her eyes briefly. "Cultivators. Travelers. Anyone seeking the mountain."
Mo Xuan looked ahead.
"We cannot stay here."
Han Wei nodded. "Agreed."
They moved on.
The mist gradually faded as they advanced deeper into the forest.
By evening—
The trees parted.
And the mountain revealed itself.
It rose majestically against the sky, its peaks piercing the clouds. Spiritual energy flowed visibly along its ridges like rivers of light.
Lan Jian exhaled slowly.
"That… is no ordinary mountain."
Ling Yue felt it too.
The spiritual density was immense.
It pulsed like a living heart.
Mo Xuan's eyes sharpened.
Inside that mountain—
Power.
Opportunity.
Danger.
All intertwined.
Han Wei stepped forward.
"Well. We didn't die in the forest."
Lan Xue adjusted her grip on her sword. "Which means the real trial begins now."
Ling Yue glanced at Mo Xuan.
He met her gaze.
No words.
But both understood.
Whatever awaited inside—
It would change everything.
Together, the five stepped toward the entrance.
And the mountain swallowed them whole.
End of Chapter 18...