“Bang!”
With a loud crash, Zhao Yun’s back slammed heavily against the tree trunk, the sound echoing in the empty forest. As he fell, he quickly twisted his body to dissipate the force, his knuckles turning white from gripping the sword hilt tightly.
The moment he knelt on one knee and looked up, his pupils contracted sharply. Three purple moons hung in the sky, exuding a mysterious and majestic aura.
The infant in his arms had turned into a warm Jade Pendant, tied with a faded strip of swaddling cloth. Bloodstains remained on its surface, seemingly holding the lingering terror of the previous battle.
Zhao Yun tore off his tattered cloak to wrap the Jade Pendant, only to realize something strange about his left arm. A pattern of cyan Dragon Mark alternated between light and dark with his breathing, and each flash caused the surrounding vegetation to move without wind.
“This place is extremely strange…”
Zhao Yun muttered under his breath, tearing off the glowing Vine clinging to his Armor. When the thumb-thick vine snapped, the broken end oozed dark red sap that emitted a pungent odor.
The crisp sound of breaking branches in the distance shattered the forest's silence.
Zhao Yun held his breath and concentrated, his ear tips twitching slightly. He judged that something heavy was crushing the undergrowth five *li* away, mixed with the sound of colliding metal.
He lightly tapped a tree root with his toes and leaped several times to climb into the canopy thirty *zhang* high. In the forest shrouded by Morning Mist, the wreckage of three moss-covered Carriage frames could be vaguely seen.
“Help!”
A sharp cry for help sliced through the silence.
Zhao Yun’s pupils constricted. The sound was like a skylark whose throat was being choked, the tail end carrying a strange tremor. He grabbed a hard fruit from between the branches and threw it toward the source of the sound. The whistling sound of the fruit cutting through the air startled a large swarm of glowing insects.
In the clearing five *li* away, a Giant Bear seven meters tall was swinging its truck-sized forepaw menacingly. Its entire body was covered in crystalline scales, and every swipe of its paw generated an Ice Blue arc of electricity.
The small figure forced against the rock wall was only the size of a child. Tender branches resembling Deer Antlers sprouted from her emerald-green hair, and half of her transparent wings were shattered, making her look utterly helpless.
“A monster?”
In the instant Zhao Yun was stunned, the Giant Bear’s Claws swept toward the girl. He instinctively reached for his Quiver, only to remember his Arrows were long gone. In desperation, he tore off the tie securing the Jade Pendant at his waist and infused it with internal energy before throwing it. The Jade Pendant tore through the air with a Dragon Roar, striking the Giant Bear’s right eye precisely.
The moment the crystalline scales exploded, Zhao Yun rushed forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. He slashed horizontally with his Broken Sword at the Bear Paw, saving the girl. However, the Counter-Shock made his hand numb; this beast’s Claws were harder than Refined Iron!
“Big guy, run!”
The girl suddenly shrieked in a strange language.
Zhao Yun’s heart jolted, but his hands did not stop moving. The sound wave generated by the Giant Bear’s roar lifted the topsoil. He used the momentum to soar three *zhang* into the air, spinning his Broken Sword into silver blossoms in his palm.
“Pear Blossom Storm!”
He roared, his Dantian Qi Vortex spinning wildly, causing the Broken Sword to condense into a three-foot-long energy blade. Thousands of sword shadows poured down like a torrential rain, each Phantom Image precisely hitting the gaps in the Giant Bear’s scales.
As blood flowers burst all over the Giant Bear’s body, Zhao Yun spun and kicked its jaw. The ten-ton body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The girl stared blankly at this black-haired human. His white robe was stained with blood, yet his posture was upright. Beneath his torn battle attire, cyan Dragon Marks could be vaguely seen moving, radiating a unique, majestic temperament.
Duoli’s little heart pounded rapidly. It was the first time she had seen such a powerful and mysterious human up close. Upon seeing the scales on his left arm, she suddenly covered her mouth: “May the Spirit of Nature bless you!”
Zhao Yun frowned, looking at the crystalline scale fragments scattered on the ground. As soon as these fragments touched the earth, they turned into clear water and seeped into the ground. The Giant Bear’s Corpse also rapidly decomposed into Purplish-Black sludge; everything here was bizarre. He turned around, about to speak, when Duoli rushed forward and hugged his leg.
“Thank you, Lord White Dragon!”
The girl lifted her little face, smeared with mud, the tender buds on her Deer Antlers tickling Zhao Yun’s knee.
“I am Duoli?Greenvine, a ranger from the Mist Cloud Forest. May the Spirit of Nature protect you!”
Zhao Yun squatted down and realized this little person wasn't even as tall as his arm. Duoli’s emerald pupils reflected his youthful face, and he suddenly realized he seemed to have returned to the age of twenty.
Even stranger was that although the girl spoke a language other than Chinese, he could understand her, filling his mind with confusion.
“Where is this place?” he asked tentatively, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the Jade Pendant.
Duoli’s eyes suddenly widened, and the tender buds on her Deer Antlers instantly bloomed into white flowers: “Lord, you can speak Ancient Elvish!”
Half an hour later, Zhao Yun sat on a fallen giant tree, listening to Duoli explain with gestures. When the Tree Spirit became excited, the transparent wings on her back would shed fluorescent powder, drawing simple maps in the air.
“We are currently in the Mist Cloud Forest in the southeast corner of the Elt Continent. Walking west for three days will take you to Leeds City in the Dorte Kingdom.”
Duoli swung her bare feet and drew a crooked pattern of a Castle in the mud with a vine.
“Those bad humans wearing tin cans often come to capture us. I heard they want to obtain our Magic Power, or sell us to the Black Market as slaves. Many people from our tribe have been taken away; we don’t know if they are alive or dead now.”
Saying this, a flash of fear and sadness crossed Duoli’s eyes.
Zhao Yun suddenly placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder: “What was that Giant Bear just now?”
“That was an Ice Crystal Magical Beast! They should be hibernating in the Everfrost Mountains.”
Duoli suddenly shivered, and the white flowers on her Deer Antlers withered rapidly.
“Lately, many Magical Beasts in the forest have gone berserk. The Elder says it might be related to the Black Moon Altar. We heard that on the night of the full moon, the Black Moon Altar emits a strange power that affects nearby creatures, making them agitated and restless. Some people also say there is a huge conspiracy hidden behind the Altar, but we don’t know the specifics.”
In this world, Magic Power was ubiquitous, like air. Different races could perceive and guide Magic Power for their own use through meditation and special magical rituals. Magic Power was divided into attributes such as Wood, Fire, Wind, and Ice, each having unique characteristics and uses.
Magical Beasts like the Ice Crystal Magical Bear derive their Strength from innate Ice Magic Power, which has been twisted and amplified, making them exceptionally powerful and dangerous.
Noon sunlight pierced the three layers of the canopy, casting light spots on Zhao Yun’s battle boots. He looked at the Dragon Mark pattern flickering on his palm with his breathing, suddenly stood up, and picked up his Broken Sword.
“Lead the way. I’ll take you back to your tribe first.”
“But,” Duoli clutched the corner of his torn cloak, “Lord, your injuries.”
Zhao Yun looked down and found that the wounds from the battle at Changban Slope had completely healed without him noticing. He gripped the Jade Pendant tightly and faintly heard a heartbeat-like pulse coming from within, as if the pendant contained mysterious power.
At this moment, atop the Obsidian pyramid in the Dark Forest, twelve Soul Lamps simultaneously burst into flame.
The Dark Elf Astrologer trembled as he held the Tortoise Shell. The cracks formed an ancient Prophecy: “When the White Dragon reveals its scales, the eternal night shall break at dawn.”