The woods did not change. At least, not as far as could be seen.
The tall pines, the rustling underbrush, the distant howls of creatures roaming in the nighttime darkness—all the same.
Yet Su Vaen knew better. There was something beneath, something concealed, festering in the depths of this land.
After months of battle and hard work, he is now eighteen. In the Primordial Continent, most people consider an eighteen year old human a full fledged adult enough to start his path in the world of strength.
From then, mother no longer seeks his child if he is gone and father stops giving shelter.
He had regained the majority of his strength. His Tenebris Energy was denser than ever before, and his senses sharper.
Dimensional Perception had gotten better, causing him to see farther with that strange, formless sense.
But it wasn't just his strength that was different. His instincts, forged in battle, warned him something was wrong.
Tonight, he was going to find out what.
Wrapped in the Shadow Veil, he was a ghost moving among the trees.
His Tenebris Energy concealed, his own form hidden, he moved silently, as if he were a part of the darkness itself. His was a forest world, and yet even he had not seen the subtle irregularities until now.
Eccentric irregularities. Unnatural patterns.
Deafening silence in some areas—a absence of life, as if the very animals themselves avoided approaching.
And most importantly, the slight evidence of human existence.
Why would Foundation Establishment cultivators be sent so far into the forest?
A normal outpost? No. There were no indications of any such outpost. This was an area abandoned by civilization, where only creatures roamed.
There was only one logical explanation—something was being hidden here. He thought it would be better if things don't go the way which he fears.
He tracked the unusual routes, cautious and slow steps, exact movement.
He noticed little things—a gentle dip in the ground, almost imperceptible markings on tree trunks, and most prominently, the absence of desolate beasts in any area.
These led him to a small doorway where, as appearances went, everything seemed to be as it should.
But as he stood there, Dimensional Perception picked up on something—a distortion of space, a faint variation in the landscape.
His "vision" told him the ground in front of him was solid, but his instincts said otherwise.
He dropped to his knees and placed his hand on the ground. It was cold. Too cold.
A secret facility. Underground.
He shoved his hand against the ground, using a strand of Tenebris Energy into his fingers. It flowed into the earth, checking for irregularities.
The moment it made contact with a certain spot, there was an abnormally high resistance that pushed it away.
That was what he wanted to know.
Su Vaen took a slow breath. Something was beneath him. A building. A complex.
And someone had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden.
His fingers traced the ground lightly, and he sensed the soft edges of a hidden stone slab.
The entrance, perhaps? No mechanism was visible—meaning it likely required some kind of external stimulus.
A hidden door, an underground base, and guarded by Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators.
What the hell is happening here?
He did not act rashly. He was strong, but he was not conceited.
To take on Peak Foundation Establishment professionals head-on was idiotic with his current strength, especially with him kept in the dark about information.
So instead, he withdrew into the shadows, moving stealthily into the forest.
This was something he could not ignore.
He would have to dig deeper, but for now, he had found the door. And that alone had already changed everything.
Something was happening in this forest. Something dangerous.
And Su Vaen was going to find out.