The air changed before the landscape did.
As the five Outer Court disciples descended the final ridge, the wind grew heavier. Moist. Cold.
Black Mist Valley lay ahead like a wound in the earth.
The mist did not drift naturally.
It moved in slow currents, coiling along the ground, rising and sinking without pattern.
Lin Xuan felt it immediately.
Not fear.
Pressure.
The three Inner Court supervisors halted at the valley's edge.
"This is the outer perimeter," one of them said calmly. "Stay within visual range. No one separates without permission."
His gaze swept across the five.
It lingered on Lin Xuan for half a second longer.
Lin Xuan said nothing.
The group stepped forward together.
The mist swallowed them.
Visibility dropped to less than thirty meters.
Sound dulled.
Even footsteps felt muted.
Spiritual perception became distorted, like sensing through water.
One of the disciples muttered, "It's suppressing detection."
"Yes," the supervisor replied. "That's why beasts thrive here."
They moved in formation.
Two at the front.
Three in the center.
Supervisors guarding the rear and flanks.
Lin Xuan walked quietly, conserving energy.
The mist brushed against his skin like cold breath.
Inside his consciousness—
The dragon was awake.
Not restless.
Alert.
This is not natural formation.
Lin Xuan's gaze remained forward.
"Artificial?"
A remnant. Something collapsed long ago.
Before he could ask further—
A sharp cry came from the front.
"Movement!"
A shadow burst through the mist.
Low.
Fast.
Fur blackened by corruption.
Eyes glowing faint green.
A Mistfang Wolf.
But larger than normal.
Mutated.
The front disciple barely raised his blade before the wolf slammed into him.
Metal clashed against bone.
The force knocked him sideways.
The supervisors reacted instantly.
Wind blades cut through the mist.
The wolf dodged unnaturally.
Too agile.
It wasn't charging blindly.
It was probing.
Lin Xuan stepped sideways to intercept.
The wolf's eyes locked onto him.
For a fraction of a second—
Something changed in its gaze.
Recognition?
No.
Instinctive hostility.
It lunged at him instead of the wounded disciple.
Lin Xuan pivoted, avoiding the bite by inches.
His good arm drove forward, striking the wolf's ribcage.
He did not use the dragon's power.
Just pure, controlled force.
The wolf staggered.
But did not retreat.
Its body convulsed.
Spiritual energy flared erratically beneath its skin.
One of the supervisors slashed downward, severing its spine cleanly.
The wolf collapsed.
Silence returned.
Too quickly.
Lin Xuan stared at the corpse.
Its veins were darkened.
Not just mutated—
Infused.
"This isn't ordinary corruption," one supervisor muttered.
Another crouched beside the corpse.
"There's residual energy inside it."
His eyes narrowed.
"Ancient."
Lin Xuan said nothing.
But inside—
The dragon's voice was colder now.
It is reacting.
"To me?"
To us.
The group resumed moving.
More cautiously.
The wounded disciple was stabilized but pale.
"This valley feels wrong," one of the Outer Court members whispered.
No one disagreed.
After half an hour—
They reached a shallow clearing.
Broken stone pillars jutted from the ground at uneven angles.
Old.
Weathered.
Almost swallowed by earth and mist.
The supervisors exchanged looks.
"This structure was not recorded in previous surveys."
One stepped closer to a pillar and brushed away moss.
Faint carvings emerged.
Not sect symbols.
Not common script.
Older.
Lin Xuan felt a subtle vibration inside his chest.
Very faint.
Like a distant echo.
He stopped walking.
The dragon's presence expanded slightly.
This place once belonged to something else.
Before anyone could investigate further—
The mist thickened abruptly.
Visibility dropped to less than ten meters.
"Regroup!" a supervisor ordered sharply.
Lin Xuan turned—
And realized the formation had already loosened.
He could no longer see two of the Outer Court disciples.
"Senior Brother!" someone shouted from the fog.
Then—
A scream.
Cut short.
The sound did not echo.
It was swallowed.
The supervisors released bursts of wind energy to disperse the mist.
For a moment—
Shapes flickered in the haze.
Multiple.
Not wolves.
Taller.
Humanoid.
Moving unnaturally.
Then gone.
Lin Xuan's heartbeat remained steady.
But his senses sharpened to their limit.
This was no simple beast territory.
Something was herding them.
Testing spacing.
Separating targets.
A hand suddenly grabbed Lin Xuan's sleeve.
It was Chen Wei.
Pale.
"They're not acting like beasts…"
Lin Xuan nodded slightly.
"Stay close."
The mist shifted again.
This time—
It did not feel random.
It felt intentional.
Inside his consciousness—
The dragon spoke in a low, controlled tone.
We are being observed.
Lin Xuan did not ask by what.
Because he could feel it too now.
A presence deeper within the valley.
Not fully awake.
But aware of their entry.
The supervisors finally regrouped the team.
One disciple was missing.
No blood.
No body.
Just absence.
One supervisor's voice hardened.
"We retreat to higher ground. Now."
No one argued.
As they began moving back—
Lin Xuan glanced once toward the deeper part of the valley.
Through a brief thinning of mist—
He thought he saw something.
A massive silhouette far in the distance.
Not moving.
Not attacking.
Just watching.
And for the first time since entering—
The dragon's voice carried something rare.
Not hunger.
Not excitement.
But recognition.