The crimson moon cast no warmth.
Only judgment.
Max's feet sunk slightly into the blackened soil. It wasn't normal earth—this was marrow-packed ground. Remnants of something long dead… or still dying.
Across from them stood six cultivators, each bearing no emblem, no sect seal, no name.
Only the symbol of the Veiled Path—tattooed behind their right ear, barely visible in the half-light.
The scarred woman stepped forward again. Her blade gleamed, though no light touched it.
"You've crossed the threshold," she said. "From here on, you are no longer disciples. No titles. No clans. No attachments."
Her voice was hoarse, like stone scraping bone.
"Here, you are prey."
Max narrowed his eyes. "And you're the predator?"
The woman gave a grin—one that didn't touch her eyes.
"No. We are just the gatekeepers. The predators come later."
She raised a hand.
From the shadows behind her, four masked figures emerged. Each wore dull gray cloaks, and none of them walked—they glided, like specters bound by hunger.
"Trial One: Blood Among Shadows," she said.
"The rules are simple. Survive seven nights within the Forest of the Veil. No external tools. No spiritual treasures. No contact with the outside. If you leave the forest before the seventh night ends—you fail. If you die—well…"
Her lips curled.
"You die."
Lian Yue's expression didn't change. But her aura coiled tighter.
Max was already processing—mapping terrain, sensing the spiritual pull from the trees, noting the faintest breeze shift.
One of the masked specters floated toward them. Then dropped a pouch in front of each pair.
"Inside: one flare stone," the woman said. "You may use it only once. Light it, and we will come."
"But rescue doesn't mean safety. Sometimes, death is the lesser reward."
She gave them one last look.
"Good luck, initiates."
Then they vanished—like a curtain being torn from a stage.
⸻
[Nightfall – Within the Forest]
The trees breathed.
Not figuratively.
The forest inhaled and exhaled, each leaf vibrating with rhythmic pulse.
Max leaned close to a bark. It was warm.
"Living wood," he muttered. "Old. Possibly sentient."
Lian Yue crouched beside him. "That means it can track us."
They moved fast, weaving through thick roots and hanging vines that pulsed like veins. No sound of birds. No insects. Just the wind—always one direction. East.
"That's our first clue," Max said. "This forest wants something."
She nodded. "Or it wants us somewhere."
They chose to move against the wind.
⸻
[Hour Four – Unknown Depths]
By the fourth hour, the trees had changed.
Thicker trunks. Leaves like razor edges. And the forest floor now glimmered faintly with bioluminescent spores.
Max paused.
"There's spiritual toxin in the air now. Don't breathe too deep."
Lian Yue tied a cloth around her nose. Her hands trembled slightly—her flame core still unstable.
"Don't use your core too much," Max said.
"I won't."
He hesitated.
Then reached into his sleeve and handed her a second tonic.
"I wasn't supposed to bring more than one. But I prepared."
She stared at it, then took it without a word.
But her fingers brushed his as she did.
⸻
[Hour Six – First Blood]
It came without sound.
A flicker of movement.
Max ducked—barely—as a shadow claw scraped the air above his neck.
A beast.
No—not a beast.
A mirrorling.
Humanoid in shape, but made entirely of reflective skin. It twisted its limbs in impossible angles and moved faster than spirit perception could track.
Lian Yue flared her aura once, drawing its attention.
"Don't use a technique—conserve!" Max called.
She nodded—and met the creature head-on.
Her movements were like molten arcs—elegant, efficient.
Max darted behind, drawing its attention back.
"Over here!"
It turned—and met his palm.
Falling Ember Palm – Suppressed Form
A dull thud.
The creature screeched—but not in pain.
In recognition.
Its head split open—and another face blinked beneath. A child's face.
Lian Yue froze.
"Max…"
"I see it," he whispered.
Then slammed his foot into its chest—crushing the hidden core.
The mirrorling collapsed into shards that evaporated into fog.
They stood there, panting.
"Did it… mimic a soul signature?" she asked.
"Not mimic," Max said. "It copied mine. Exactly. Down to the flicker."
She stared at him.
"They're learning us."
He nodded grimly.
"They're not just beasts. This trial… isn't just survival. It's extraction. Someone—or something—is trying to study us."
Lian Yue's jaw clenched. "Then we give them nothing."
⸻
[First Dawn – Shelter]
They found a shallow cliffside burrow and sealed the entry with a low-tier formation.
Inside, it was dark, but safe.
Max unrolled a basic energy map using spirit sand. The forest's shape was not linear—it looped, forming a spiral inward.
"The center is either the goal… or the worst trap."
Lian Yue leaned against the wall. "How many made it through the first night?"
Max thought back.
"I counted sixteen others entering."
She nodded.
"By tomorrow," she said, "there'll be less than half."
He didn't argue.
Silence stretched between them.
Then she asked, softly, "Are you scared?"
Max looked at her—truly looked.
And whispered, "Yes. But not of dying."
She met his gaze.
Then looked away.
"…Me neither."
She reached into her pouch and tossed him something.
He caught it.
A folded slip of parchment.
On it: a flame symbol, drawn by hand.
"I never told you what that seal was," she said.
"It's not just a bloodline marker. It's a key."
He blinked.
"To what?"
"To something even I wasn't supposed to remember."
She paused.
"But the forest does. And it wants me to awaken it."
Max looked at the symbol.
Then at her.
"We'll face it together," he said.
She smiled.
This time, no shadow behind it.
And outside, the forest stirred again.
Hungry.
Watching.
Waiting.
⸻
[End of Chapter 31]