By the time the hustle and bustle as well as the flickering flames of Ashen Town were completely devoured by the dense shade of the Black Forest, Lynn's boot soles were already caked with decaying leaves and wet mud. He trekked alone through the depths of this continent's most renowned perilous terrain, and the footprints he left behind vanished swiftly amid the mist in the woods—this was the shadow power he had unconsciously channeled, wrapping his whereabouts in an invisible veil.
Unlike the outer woodlands where sunlight could still penetrate occasionally, the ancient trees here were nothing short of "living colossi." Their trunks were so thick that it would take over a dozen people linking arms to encircle one, their bark cracked like the scales of an old dragon. The branches they sprouted intertwined overhead, weaving an airtight vault. The moonlight, already sparse, was filtered through layer upon layer of foliage, leaving only a few pale silver spots on the ground by the time it reached there—barely enough to make out the path beneath one's feet. The air hung heavy with the fishy sweetness of humus and the cold astringency of demon realm moss, the two scents mingling into a unique aroma that stung slightly when inhaled into the lungs. A common traveler would feel dizzy and disoriented after breathing this air for even a moment, but Lynn took a deep breath and tensed his shoulders and neck in comfort—this rich dark energy was seeping into his limbs and bones through his respiratory tract, steadying the breath that had grown slightly erratic from his escape from Ashen Town.
His fingertips brushed the trunk of an ancient tree beside him unconsciously. Suddenly, a few wispy strands of black qi darted out from the bark, coiling around his fingertips like frightened little snakes. They nuzzled gently against his palm before dissipating reluctantly. This was the "Shadow-Grain Tree," unique to the depths of the Black Forest, which only showed affinity to pure dark power. Lynn curled the corner of his lips, not pausing his steps as he pressed forward in the direction indicated by the residual aura of the Dark Tome etched in his memory.
After walking for an indeterminate amount of time, a faint rustling sound suddenly drifted over from ahead. Lynn froze in his tracks, his figure dropping half a foot in an instant as he merged into the shadow of a dead tree beside him—he had long since mastered the rudiments of the Shadow Concealment Technique, and even without deliberate activation, his body had already developed an instinctive response to danger. Narrowing his eyes, he looked ahead and saw, dozens of paces away, beneath a cliff roughly three yards high, a carpet of blood-red vines. The leaves of these vines were serrated, with glistening dewdrops hanging from their tips; if sunlight shone on them, they would refract a poisonous blue glow. These were none other than the bloodsucking vines that struck terror into the hearts of all who heard of them in the Black Forest.
For any ordinary person who approached, these bloodsucking vines would lash out instantly, their stems whipping toward the prey like steel whips. Their serrated leaves could slice through flesh with ease, and the barbs on the vine surfaces would cling tightly to wounds, greedily sucking blood and life force. Lynn stepped out of the shadows, and no sooner had he taken two steps than a thick bloodsucking vine on the outermost edge suddenly lashed out against all reason. Its stem, as thick as a bowl, sliced through the air with a whistling sound toward his face, the poisonous dew on the tip of its leaves glinting coldly in the dimness—obviously, this vine had higher intelligence; it was not completely deterred by his dark aura, and instead sought to launch a fatal pre-emptive strike.
Lynn's pupils contracted slightly, and his body instinctively slid half a foot backward and to the side. The vine brushed past his shoulder armor and slammed into the ground, sending decayed leaves flying. Before he could steady himself, the walls of vines on both sides suddenly stirred. Dozens of thin vines coiled toward his limbs like snakes emerging from their dens, while the thick vine that had launched the initial attack changed direction and swept toward him with its serrated leaves. "Stubborn fools," Lynn growled softly. A ball of condensed shadow energy instantly gathered in his palm, and with a flick of his wrist, he slapped it toward the nearest thin vine.
There was a soft hissing sound as the shadow energy collided with the thin vine, instantly scorching it into a charred stump. A pungent smell of burning, mixed with the scent of vine sap, filled the air. Seizing this momentary gap, he tapped the ground with his toe and leaped into the air, avoiding the thick vine's sweep. As he twisted in mid-air, he flicked his fingertips repeatedly, sending out several thin shadow blades that precisely cut through the few thin vines coiling toward his ankles. The moment he landed, he deliberately released his dark aura suddenly, surging toward the cluster of vines like a tide.
This time, all the bloodsucking vines trembled violently. The thick vine that had launched the first attack even curled up into a ball, its leaves drooping and losing all aggressiveness. Immediately afterward, all the bloodsucking vines began to retreat frantically. The impenetrable wall of vines receded to both sides like an ebbing tide, revealing a narrow rock crevice just wide enough for one person to pass through. Faint ancient runes were still carved on the edges of the crevice; though blurred, they still emitted a faint restrictive aura. Lynn glanced at the charred vine stumps on the ground, dispelled the remaining energy in his palm, and reined in his aura to a steady state.
"This is the place," Lynn murmured softly. His voice echoed through the silent woods, startling a few owls hiding behind the vines. He bent down and squeezed into the crevice. The narrow passage was pitch-black, with slippery moss covering the rock walls. After walking roughly a hundred paces, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared ahead, and in the next moment, his field of vision expanded dramatically—
Before him stood an ancient outpost built into the mountainside. Most of the outpost's city walls had collapsed, revealing the rammed earth layers inside. Green vines clung to the walls, lending a touch of vitality to the broken battlements. The central main tower still stood tall, its body constructed from dark cyan boulders. Though most of the dome at the top was damaged, it still retained traces of its former grandeur. The entire ruin was shrouded in a faint purple barrier, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, which blocked out both sunlight and moonlight. Only a few strands of starlight filtered through the gaps in the barrier, casting tiny speckles on the ground. Lynn stretched out his hand; when his fingertips touched the barrier, a warm sensation spread through them. This was a concealment barrier set up by ancient wizards, capable of perfectly shielding both aura and visual detection. Even a high-ranking mage passing by would mistake this place for nothing more than an ordinary ruin.
He passed through the broken city gate and entered the outpost's courtyard. In the center of the courtyard stood a dried-up well, and half a rusted bucket fragment lay on the well platform. Several suits of long-rotted armor were piled in the corner; the metal parts of the armor had turned into dark red rust, crumbling to powder at the lightest touch. Lynn's footsteps echoed through the empty courtyard, startling a few bats hiding in the armor, which fluttered their wings and flew toward the windows of the main tower.
A stone door stood at the entrance of the main tower, carved with a spreading black eagle clutching a longsword in its talons. Lynn pushed against the stone door, but it didn't budge an inch. He gathered a wisp of shadow power at his fingertip and tapped it gently on the eagle's eye. With a soft "click," the stone door slowly slid open to both sides, revealing a spiral stone staircase leading upward. The steps were covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly untouched by human feet for a long time.
He climbed the staircase to the top of the tower. The circular room there was the best-preserved part of the structure. In the center of the room stood a stone altar, carved from a single block of obsidian. Intricate magic circles were etched into its surface, and faint traces of energy still lingered at the circle's core. Four arched windows lined the walls of the room; the glass in the windows had long since shattered, and the evening breeze drifted in through them, carrying the cool scent of the woods. Lynn walked over to the altar, took the Dark Tome from his arms, and placed it gently in the center of the altar.
No sooner had the book touched the altar than it floated up on its own. Its pages spread open slowly, emitting a soft, dark glow. The glow was a pale black, yet it wasn't harsh; instead, it carried a warm sensation, illuminating the entire room. The walls of the room...