"What's next?" Ling Wuxie murmured to himself, laughing. He knew nothing good would come; nothing important ever appeared in this damned mist!

  'I never thought I'd hate something in my life as much as I hate this!' Ling Wuxie grumbled, then stretched his neck. In front of him was a gray dirt road, and the moment he stepped on it, the sky above cleared the fog.

  Soon, an infinite darkness appeared. There was nothing—everything was wiped out, completely without light. Seeing that, Ling Wuxie's hairs stood on end, and his hands began to tremble. He wanted to turn back and run, but something inside him still held on to the hope of seeing his family.

  "C-continue... remember what you said at the beginning, that you'd move forward without looking back, relying only on your sword!" Recalling those words, he walked straight ahead, even with heavy breathing and an irregular heartbeat. He didn't stop his steps.

  Inside the area, Ling Wuxie saw gray rocks scattered in different places. Even without light, the place was still visible to human eyes, due to the strange landscape. Walking and observing all around, he heard sounds:

  "Huuuu-hu-hu"

  It was the hoot of an owl... but this one was strange. It sounded more like something from the beyond, as if a ghost were howling at night. That put Ling Wuxie on high alert. Quickly, he turned his eyes. In his view appeared a creature hard to describe.

  Its head was that of an owl, but the body was huge, reaching two meters tall. The skin was the same gray as the environment. The eyes, black like the night sky. It had four wings, whose feathers extended like a massive black leaf.

  Seeing that beast terrified Ling Wuxie. He froze, overcome by shock. The strange owl, noticing him, flew in his direction, hooting and opening its mouth.

  One didn't need to be smart to understand its intention: it wanted to devour the boy trembling in fear.

  Ling Wuxie panicked. He wanted to cry for help, but no one was there. He wanted his parents... but they weren't there. He was alone.

  Completely alone.

  With no one around, tears fell from his eyes. No matter how determined he was, seeing a creature like that, being only twelve years old, was too much for his young mind.

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  He was about to collapse in fear...

  The owl approached quickly. It landed and grabbed Ling Wuxie's tunic with its black claws, lifting the boy into the sky. He didn't react. He was paralyzed, frozen like a statue. This continued until...

  "Ling Wuxie!"

  Voices filled with concern invaded his mind. He remembered the gentle warmth of his parents, who had always taken care of him. When he was scared, his mother calmed him with her soft voice. When he did something wrong, his father would scold him... and then teach him the right way to act.

  With no one to guide him, he got lost. But remembering this, he began to recover gradually.

  'I came here because I want to go home! I entered this place expecting danger! I'm ready to face it all! I have a sword! I have my fists! I can't fall! Fight!'

  His mind awakened.

  Realizing he was in the sky, Ling Wuxie clenched his teeth and activated his Blood Qi. The next moment, he grabbed the owl's legs with his hands, squeezing them, bending the joints, and climbing toward its wings.

  The creature, flying back to its nest, let out a cry of pain and began to glide toward the ground, while the boy climbed onto its back, clinging to the feathers.

  The owl became furious and started shaking its wings, unleashing several gusts of wind that lifted Ling Wuxie's hair.

  Feeling the enormous pressure trying to throw him off, he gritted his teeth and grabbed the feathers tightly. His eyes were cold.

  'You really think this compares to drinking liters of essence? My will was forged in that moment! And now I'm no longer a coward!'

  Ling Wuxie had changed. The mist had forcibly transformed him! This short time was enough to alter his way of thinking. High in the sky, he descended, using the owl's back as a glider, until he saw a five-meter rock.

  They were heading straight for it.

  But Ling Wuxie remained calm. When they were five centimeters from the stone, he stood up, balancing himself, and jumped to the top of the peak. When he landed...

  "Boom!"

  The owl crashed into the rock, shattering it into countless particles. Ling Wuxie, on top, was thrown downward. To avoid the fall, he used his sword to cut into some of the surrounding stones and braced his feet wherever he could, reducing the impact.

  On the ground, he landed hard on his hip. A numbness spread through his body, along with a nasty wound on his thigh, bleeding nonstop. Gritting his teeth, he stood and went to the creature that was still breathing, focusing on tending to his injuries.

  But suddenly, the owl shivered. The next second, it turned to the side—where it saw two pupils staring back at it like the eyes of a wolf.

  Soon after, a sword glowing red descended upon its body. The owl trembled. Surely, before dying, it felt the same as Ling Wuxie did at the start.

  Fear.

  A feeling all beings experience, something impossible to eliminate. Especially when facing something more terrifying than oneself.

  But there are also those who use that fear to push forward—like Ling Wuxie, who after today, will never be the same.

  Piercing the owl's stomach with his sword, Ling Wuxie let out a sigh of relief. Then, he began cutting the creature's body. The next moment, he pulled out a cauldron and threw everything inside. A sea of gray blood emerged.

  "Gray blood? Is it because of this place? So the monsters here are different? What are they?" Ling Wuxie wondered, and decided to call them wandering phantoms.

  Naming the creatures, he raised his hand to the cauldron and touched the liquid. It was cold; he felt his hand freeze. That made him frown. According to his knowledge, essence is usually warm. The exceptions are true monsters, those in the Martial Realm who use True Qi.

  'There's no way this phantom is in the Martial Realm... it wouldn't die that easily. So the problem is this place.'

  Reaching that conclusion—and out of pure curiosity—he took a bit of the liquid and brought it to his mouth. The taste was sour and acidic.

  As it entered his bloodstream, Ling Wuxie felt it being refined. After all, it was still essence and could be used for refinement. But this one, in particular, provoked a strange sensation.

  He felt closer to that gray area. There was a strange aura there... one he still didn't understand.

  'This place is not simple.'