The thick fog was like an invisible giant beast, swallowing all sound and light. Mengli and I felt our way forward through the Misty Forest. The eerie roaring grew closer and closer, and my heart leapt into my throat.
"Mengli, be careful!" I pulled Mengli behind me with a single jerk, drawing the long sword from my waist while keeping a vigilant watch on our surroundings.
"Roar—!"
Accompanied by a deafening roar, a gigantic black shadow lunged out of the mist. Staring intently, I saw it was a giant bear the size of a small hill, its entire body covered in pitch-black scales, a pair of crimson eyes flashing with a ferocious glint.
The giant bear brandished its sharp claws and lunged straight at me. I sidestepped to dodge, thrusting my long sword out as I moved, but it only left a shallow white scratch on the creature's scales.
"Such hard armor!" I was startled; this giant bear's strength far exceeded my imagination.
"Brother Chen, watch out!" Mengli cried out in alarm, channeling hand seals as an Ice Icicle Technique shot toward the giant bear.
The ice icicle struck the giant bear's head with pinpoint precision, yet it merely caused the beast to pause for a brief moment before it attacked us with even greater fury.
"Damn it!" I clenched my teeth, knowing that brute force was not the way.
"Mengli, let's fall back!" While fending off the giant bear's attacks, I pulled Mengli backward.
Fighting as we retreated, we finally reached the entrance of a ravine.
"There's no way ahead!" Mengli said anxiously.
I looked up to see steep cliffs on both sides of the ravine—there was simply nowhere to escape.
The giant bear pressed in step by step, driving us into a desperate corner.
At this critical moment, an elderly voice suddenly echoed through the ravine: "Young people, do not panic! Do as I say!"
Mengli and I looked toward the source of the sound to see an old man in gray robes standing deep within the ravine, though neither of us knew when he had arrived.
"Who are you?" I asked vigilantly.
"Who I am does not matter. What matters is that I can help you." The old man smiled faintly, pointing to a giant boulder in the center of the ravine. "Do you see that boulder? Use your blood to write the character for 'Guard' upon it."
Doubts stirred in my heart, but at this point, I could afford no hesitation. Mengli and I exchanged glances, bit our fingers, and traced the word "Guard" onto the giant boulder.
In an instant, the boulder flared with brilliant light, and a dazzling white radiance enveloped Mengli and me.
When the white light faded, Mengli and I found ourselves in an unfamiliar place.
"Where is this place?" Mengli asked in surprise.
I looked around and realized this was an ancient ruin; amidst the broken walls and fallen pillars, past glories were faintly discernible.
"It seems we stumbled upon the 'hope' spoken of by that voice." I took a deep breath, a flicker of hope surging in my heart.
"Brother Chen, look!" Mengli pointed ahead, shouting excitedly.
Following the direction of Mengli's hand, I saw a towering stone tower deep within the ruins. Its peak flashed with dazzling golden light, seeming to guide our way forward.
"Let's go, Mengli, let's take a look." I took Mengli's hand and walked toward the stone tower.
I knew our trials had only just begun...
Inside the ancient stone tower, our gentle breathing and footsteps echoed. The air was thick with a stale scent, as though it had slumbered for thousands upon thousands of years. Strange runes were carved into the stone walls, emitting a faint, dim glow in the weak light. I had a vague feeling these runes looked familiar, yet I could not recall where I had seen them.
Finally, we reached the top of the stone tower. There stood only an ancient altar, and in the center of the altar rested a rusty iron sword, plain and unadorned, devoid of any special features.
"Is this the 'hope' the voice spoke of?" I pointed at the iron sword, asking in disbelief.
Mengli also furrowed her brow, reaching out to touch the iron sword, but I pulled her back with a jerk.
"Be careful!" I scanned our surroundings vigilantly, a sense of unease welling up in my heart. "It's too quiet here—eerie to a fault."
Mengli nodded, realizing something was amiss as well. We cautiously approached the altar and carefully observed everything around us.
Suddenly, the iron sword on the altar began to vibrate violently, emitting a buzzing sound. Immediately afterward, a dazzling white light burst from the iron sword, engulfing Mengli and me.
When the white light dissipated, we found ourselves back in that misty forest. The iron sword in our hands remained as rusty as before, showing no changes whatsoever.
"How could this be?" Mengli said with disappointment. "This sword has no power at all!"
My heart was also filled with confusion and dismay. Could it be that after enduring every hardship, what we ultimately obtained was nothing more than a useless piece of junk?
Laden with doubt and disappointment, Mengli and I returned to the Wu Family. When Elder Wu laid eyes on that rusty iron sword, the hopeful expression on his face instantly clouded over with gloom.
"How could this be..." Elder Wu murmured to himself, his tone laden with disappointment and despair. "Is the Wu Family truly destined to perish like this..."
Seeing Elder Wu so crestfallen, Mengli and I felt heavy-hearted as well. We knew this iron sword carried the hopes of the entire Wu Family; now that hope was shattered, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury for them.
"Is there truly no other way?" I couldn't help asking.
Elder Wu shook his head and let out a long sigh: "Unless..."
His sentence remained unfinished, but I knew he must have other thoughts in mind, held back only by some reason he could not voice.
Just as everyone in the Wu Family plunged into despair, that elderly voice echoed in our ears once more...
Elder Wu's hesitant expression ignited a faint spark of hope in my heart. Could there really be another way?
At that moment, the elderly voice sounded in my mind once again: "Child, do not lose heart. True hope is not a piece of mortal iron."
I abruptly raised my head and scanned my surroundings, yet no figure was in sight. "Who is it? Who is speaking?"
Elder Wu and Mengli looked at me with puzzled expressions; clearly, they had not heard the voice.
"Do not worry, child; only you can hear my voice." The voice seemed to perceive my thoughts. "The sword in your hand is not a true weapon; it is merely a key—a key to unlock true power."
A key? I lowered my gaze to the rusty sword in my hand, my heart filled with bewilderment. Could this seemingly ordinary iron sword still conceal some secret?
"A true weapon requires your conviction and courage to awaken it," the voice continued. "You must find the entrance to the Realm of Wuji. There, you will attain the power to conquer all obstacles."
Realm of Wuji? I had never heard of such a place. Yet I could sense the voice was not deceiving me; it was guiding me, leading me toward true hope.
I took a deep breath and turned to look at Mengli; her eyes, too, flashed with a resolute light. We both knew the road ahead was fraught with the unknown and danger, but we no longer had any choice. For the Wu Family, and for ourselves, we had to find the true weapon and overcome every difficulty!
"Let's go!" I said to Mengli, my tone brimming with determination.
Mengli nodded and gripped my hand tighter. Together, we stepped out through the gates of the Wu Family, setting off toward that unknown Realm of Wuji.
Little did we know, shortly after we left the Wu Family, a group of figures in black quietly appeared outside the gates. Every single one of them possessed extraordinary martial prowess, cold gazes, and an aura of chilling murderous intent.
With the Wu Family's defensive fortifications crumbling under the enemies' assault, whether Kong Chen and Wu Mengli could find the true weapon in time to save the Wu Family from mortal peril remained an unknown...
We journeyed northward, guided by the voice in our minds, crossing three tall mountains until we finally reached a desolate stretch of gobi desert.
"Child, cross this gobi desert, and you will find the entrance to the Realm of Wuji," the elderly voice echoed in my ear. "Remember, conviction and courage are your only weapons."
I turned to look at Mengli; her beautiful face was covered in exhaustion, but her gaze remained steadfast. Hand in hand, braving the scorching sun, we walked step by step deeper into the gobi.
This gobi desert was even more desolate than I had imagined—endless yellow sand with not a single trace of life. After walking for an entire day without a single drop of water, our physical strength had reached its absolute limit.
"Kong Chen, I... I can't walk anymore..." Mengli leaned against me weakly, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Mengli, hang on just a little longer, we'll find the Realm of Wuji soon!" I supported Mengli, trying to cheer her up.
Yet right at that moment, the elderly voice suddenly rang out in my mind: "Child, watch out! Someone is coming!"
I was startled and looked around, but saw no one. "Who is it? Who is speaking?"
"Don't speak, child, feel it with your heart!" The voice grew urgent. "Someone is lurking in the shadows, watching us!"
I closed my eyes, concentrated my focus, and carefully sensed the surrounding aura. Sure enough, not far from us, two powerful auras were rapidly closing in.
"Mengli, run!" I grabbed Mengli and bolted in the opposite direction of the auras.
"Who goes there? Sneaking around!" a chilling voice called out from behind.
I looked back and saw two figures in black chasing after us. Their movements were agile and blindingly fast, closing the distance behind us in the blink of an eye.
"Who are you people? Why are you following us?" I demanded loudly while retreating.
"Hmph! Go die!" The figures in black did not answer my question, launching a direct attack instead.
I hurriedly pulled out the rusty sword to parry, but before my sword could even touch the attackers, I was sent flying by a powerful force. Crashing to the ground, I felt a stifling chest pain as a mouthful of blood gushed out.
"Kong Chen!" Mengli cried out in alarm, hurrying over to help me up.
"Who on earth are you? Why target us?" Mengli glared at the figures in black, her eyes filled with fury.
"Hmph! If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for knowing things you shouldn't!" the figures in black said coldly. "Prepare to die!"
Raising their weapons once more, the attackers lunged toward us. At that critical juncture, a flash of golden light struck and repelled them.
"Who's there?" I looked up to see an old man in green robes, possessing the ethereal grace of an immortal, standing before us.
"Senior, save us!" I hurriedly pleaded with the old man for help.
"Who are you people? Why harass these two children?" The old man looked at the figures in black, his tone icy.
"Hmph! None of your business!" Knowing the old man's formidable power, the figures in black dared not linger and turned to flee.
"Trying to leave? Not that easy!" The old man let out a cold snort, his figure flashing as he gave chase.
"Senior, wait for us!" Pulling Mengli along, I hurried after them.
However, after chasing for a long while, we lost sight of the old man entirely, and the two figures in black had vanished without a trace as well.
"Senior... Senior..." I shouted at the top of my lungs, but received no response.
"Kong Chen, what do we do now?" Mengli asked anxiously.
I looked out at the boundless gobi desert, my heart filled with bewilderment. We were lost, having lost track of the old man and the direction to the Realm of Wuji.
Worse still, I knew this was only the beginning—greater dangers still lay ahead...