Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 190: The Spirit of the Mist

Chu Tianyu quickly emitted all his energy, adopting a defensive stance. In no time, a large swarm of insects, snakes, birds, and beasts rushed toward him. Just as he was about to launch an attack, something surprising happened—the snakes and scorpions parted to the sides even from a few meters away, simply bypassing Chu Tianyu without any aggression or malice.

This left Chu Tianyu deeply puzzled. Could the lunar energy on his body have such a powerful effect of repelling snakes and insects? Before he could react, he saw a mass of white mist moving in the southeast direction, gradually approaching him.

Drawing on years of experience, Chu Tianyu immediately understood why the snakes and insects had fled! He had always wondered why there were few wild beasts in the southeast, which had dampened his interest and led him to search elsewhere. Now, seeing this scene, it was easy to deduce the reason.

The mist quickly spread throughout the forest. Wherever it passed, scorpions that couldn’t escape fell from the trees, their bodies stiffening. But when the mist reached Chu Tianyu, he felt a force a hundred times more intense than the icy intrusion he had experienced upon entering the forest.

Yet Chu Tianyu was now fully capable of resisting it. The glow of his lunar energy remained unshaken by the mist, continuing to emit its soft luminescence. As the mist dispersed, he could clearly sense its power diminishing—likely, the thicker the mist, the greater its strength.

With this thought, Chu Tianyu became inspired. If the mist was dissipating gradually, it must differ from ordinary mountain mist that appears uniformly—it likely had a source. Perhaps the secret of the entire forest lay there, and maybe even a way out could be found.

Without further hesitation, ignoring the mist’s intensity, Chu Tianyu headed toward its source. As expected, the thicker the mist, the stronger the icy force. Along the way, he saw no signs of living creatures, only the skeletal remains of animals buried underground from time to time.

By the end, the fog was so thick it nearly covered the sky, enveloping Chu Tianyu entirely with visibility of no more than twenty centimeters. It was such a short distance. Chu Tianyu guessed this was thanks to the power of lunar energy within him; otherwise, it would have been completely impossible to see anything or move forward. Yet even this mere twenty-centimeter range made it difficult to determine direction, and at this point, it was hard to tell which areas had thicker fog or where the destination lay.

Chu Tianyu stopped in his tracks, relying solely on his hearing to detect any sounds around him, hoping to find some clues. Otherwise, being trapped in this dense fog was hopeless!

But aside from the swirling white mist, Chu Tianyu heard nothing. He chose another towering ancient tree, climbed up to its top, only to find that the treetop was still shrouded in fog. There was no way to gain a distant view, so he gave up.

Just as Chu Tianyu was at a loss, he could clearly sense that the fog was beginning to move in a certain direction—specifically, retreating toward a specific spot.

This change filled Chu Tianyu with secret joy. It seemed his guess was correct—the fog wasn’t like ordinary natural fog that forms and dissipates on its own, but rather seemed to be controlled, as if it could be released or withdrawn at will.

Now, Chu Tianyu didn’t need to rush. He waited for the fog to clear, then follow it, which would make it easier to find its source. Soon, the dense fog surrounding him began to recede, and in no time, Chu Tianyu could roughly see the surroundings again.

The fog dissipated quickly. Chu Tianyu determined his direction and followed it, traveling a long distance through areas where trees were so dense that it was hard to walk, with large swamps appearing from time to time on the ground—hard to detect from above and highly concealed. Eventually, Chu Tianyu relied purely on his physical strength, climbing between trees like a great ape.

After walking for a while, a faint “boom! boom!” sound of water came through. Judging by the sound, there must be a large waterfall ahead. As the fog continued to clear, Chu Tianyu looked into the distance and could faintly see a steep cliff ahead, with a white ribbon of water cascading down—it seemed the sound of the waterfall came from there. However, the direction the fog was retreating wasn’t toward that spot but was offset by nearly a few hundred meters.

When Chu Tianyu followed the direction in which the thick fog was retreating and arrived at the spot, he immediately felt a sense of clarity. This was not only due to the visual impact of the surrounding scenery revealed as the fog dissipated but also because this place contrasted sharply with the oppressive atmosphere of the dense forest. What lay before Chu Tianyu was a flat open area, with a deep blue lake in the distance and a small island in the middle of the lake. Though called an island, it was actually just a small platform above the water’s surface. On this platform grew a large, lush, unidentified tree, beneath which stood an amber-colored stone over two meters tall and one meter square.

The mist in the air seemed to be drawn away by this stone, as if it possessed an immense suction power capable of pulling in all the mist from the entire forest. However, what puzzled Chu Tianyu was that if it really was the stone causing this effect, its strong absorption power should have been noticeable even from right by the lake. Yet, despite being so close, he felt no trace of suction or pulling force. Unable to figure out what was going on for now, Chu Tianyu remained calm and began to observe his surroundings. This was a key principle of his wilderness training under his second master: whenever he arrived at a new place, he would stay still and observe first before taking any action.

The open area wasn’t large, and the entire lake’s water came from the waterfall just behind them. A river connected to this area, but strangely, as the water flowed into the lake, it didn’t create any ripples at all, as if the lake had no fresh water supply and remained as still as a mirror. Looking back at the dense forest, with the fog gone, Chu Tianyu finally noticed that the trees near the lake had mottled bark. Despite being mid-summer, their leaves had turned yellow and dried up, which made him realize how different this place was from the rest.

After examining everything, Chu Tianyu began walking around the lake, filled with questions, hoping to discover something. But after going around once, he found nothing. Only the amber stone in the lake, after absorbing the last traces of fog, seemed to come alive, with mist swirling around it and a radiant glow emanating from it, giving off a sense of endless vitality. Drawing on years of experience, although he didn’t know what the stone was, Chu Tianyu knew he had stumbled upon a treasure!

With this idea in mind, Chu Tianyu explored even more carefully. Such a precious treasure surely had some fierce beasts or ancient mythical beasts guarding it. With his current strength, though not inferior to before, the lack of true energy made it difficult for him to use his light-footed skills for flying. In case of any unexpected incidents, apart from fighting head-on, it would be hard for him to withdraw temporarily and wait for an opportunity to act.

Yet, skill breeds courage. After carefully checking again, Chu Tianyu chose a spot closest to the platform in the lake, stepped back, took a running start, and jumped—his body sliding down like a bird onto the platform in the lake. As soon as he stood firmly, he prepared to be vigilant and ready to act at any moment.

After waiting for a while with no reaction, Chu Tianyu finally felt a bit relieved. He examined the amber-colored stone under the tree. It stood bare against the tree, with not even a blade of grass growing around it, yet the entire ground exuded a sense of vitality.

Chu Tianyu steadied himself, realizing that the stone could absorb such dense evil mist and still maintain a completely opposite state of vitality—a true marvel of nature that couldn’t be understood by ordinary logic. With this thought, he cautiously approached it, testing each step until he reached the edge of the large stone. Still, neither the treasure-protecting spirit nor any fierce beast appeared.

Suddenly, a strong energy wave emanated from the amber stone, spreading through Chu Tianyu’s body and into the surroundings. He felt a surge of relief, as if all his bodily functions had been rejuvenated, full of vitality. The moon energy in his body stimulated every muscle and cell, making them pulse vigorously…

As Chu Tianyu was amazed by his body’s reaction, his hands seemed to be drawn by some force, lifting involuntarily and slowly approaching the amber stone like magnets.

Shocked, Chu Tianyu tried to pull his hands back, but he could no longer control them. Beyond the immense pull from the mysterious amber stone, even his body’s instincts seemed to attract him to it, forcing his hands to reach forward continuously.

The moment they made contact, another powerful suction force came from the stone, pulling Chu Tianyu’s entire body inward, pressing him tightly against the amber stone with his arms wrapped around it.

Chu Tianyu only felt a loud “boom” in his head and instantly lost consciousness…