The jagged line where civilization ended and the 'Dark Forest' began loomed ahead.
Towering trees stretched endlessly toward the heavens, their thick canopies so dense that not a single ray of sunlight could pierce through.
The forest floor lay in perpetual shadow, shrouded in an eerie twilight no matter the hour.
Locals even called the 'Dark forest' the 'Night Forest', a place where day never quite arrived, and the darkness seemed to breathe with secrets of its own.
Fang Yuan arrived at the forest's edge, no longer dressed as an old rogue or wandering elder.
Today, he wore the guise of a young master, arrogant, refined, and unmistakably noble.
A long flowing robe of deep sapphire trimmed with silver cloud patterns wrapped around his lean form, the fabric whispering with every step.
His dark hair was swept back into a high, elegant knot secured by a jade pin, from which a silver tassel swayed with practiced grace.
