Douluo:Peerless Tang Sect: Douluo of Peaceful Heaven

Sunset Forest—a vast woodland located southwest of Heaven Dou City, leaning toward the north. Its trees were predominantly conifers, and the terrain sloped from east to west.

At midday, sunlight filtered into the dense woods, but failed to penetrate beyond the edges. Only in the sparse outer fringes could rays of light be felt. The rest of the forest exuded an eerie gloom, filled with desolation.

At the northeastern edge of the forest—its main entrance—a small winding path extended from the main road, disappearing into the shadowy trees. It was here that Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Cai Mei'er, and Yan Shaozhe touched down.

"Let's go," Yan Shaozhe said, staring ahead into the dim forest.

"No problem," Zhu Ziyang nodded, then turned to Jiang Nannan.

"Nannan, the rest is up to you!"

"Got it!" Jiang Nannan replied confidently.

The group stepped into Sunset Forest.

Compared to the Star Dou Forest, which they were more familiar with, Sunset Forest was distinctly different. Its vegetation was sparser, its flora less diverse—tall conifers and low thorny shrubs dominated. The trees stood well apart from one another, with little overlap in their canopies.

Within minutes, they encountered their first soul beast—a low-level creature with just ten years of cultivation. The beast sensed their presence and fled without hesitation. The group paid it no mind and continued onward.

Along the way, they encountered more soul beasts, but all were similarly weak—none had even reached the hundred-year threshold. This struck them as distinctly odd.

"Strange," Jiang Nannan said. "We've already come quite a distance, yet all the soul beasts we've seen are at the ten-year level. Why?"

"There's definitely something wrong," Yan Shaozhe muttered, his brow furrowed. "This is a soul beast habitat after all. But with creatures this weak? It's not natural. Maybe it has something to do with that miasma pillar rising deep within the forest."

"Let's keep going," Zhu Ziyang said. "If there's an answer, it'll be at the center of the forest."

"I agree," Cai Mei'er nodded.

"Then let's speed things up," Yan Shaozhe decided. "Mei'er, take Jiang Nannan. I'll take Ziyang. Let's fly."

With that, he grabbed Zhu Ziyang's arm, and Cai Mei'er took Jiang Nannan's hand. The four of them soared forward, heading deeper into the forest.

Inside the forest, light dimmed dramatically. The group lost track of time as they flew dozens of kilometers before pausing for a break.

"This should be the middle region of the forest," Yan Shaozhe said, descending and surveying their position from above.

"The middle? Are you serious?"

Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan were both shocked.

"The center of a forest—especially one as famous as Sunset—shouldn't be this empty. There aren't even any thousand-year beasts here!"

Zhu Ziyang had read of Sunset Forest's storied history. To see it now so depleted was staggering.

"It really is unusual," Yan Shaozhe said grimly. "We've passed several soul beast corpses along the way. Their skeletons were intact—no signs of battle. Whatever killed them wasn't claws or fangs."

"It's the miasma," Cai Mei'er said with dread in her voice. "That's why the miasma here is so thick—it feeds on these dead beasts, who in turn become catalysts, accelerating the spread of the toxic fog. Beasts die, miasma thickens, more beasts die… a deadly cycle."

"If this continues, the entire forest could become a miasma swamp. And if that happens, even Heaven Dou City might be threatened."

"Who could've done something so ruthless?" Yan Shaozhe's face twisted with fury. "Poisoning a forest this size… it's monstrous!"

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister," Zhu Ziyang said solemnly, "let's keep moving. The truth might be just ahead."

They resumed their advance—but had barely covered another kilometer before they all stopped dead in their tracks.

Their expressions turned grave.

Ahead, the trees still stood tall, but the leaves had vanished. Some trunks were riddled with holes, and others had bark stripped away, revealing ominous purple rot beneath. And drifting through the air were strange, multicolored clouds—soft and mist-like, floating in patches like dreamlike fog. But this fog was a sickly grey-white, and carried a deadly presence.

"Miasma," Yan Shaozhe said coldly. "This is serious."

"Let's take to the skies," Cai Mei'er suggested. "This fog is dense enough to corrode soul power. It'll be safer above the canopy."

"Agreed," Yan Shaozhe nodded. Without waiting for a reply, he lifted off with Zhu Ziyang in tow.

As they ascended through the treetops and burst above the canopy, the air grew visibly clearer. And when they finally emerged into open sky—

—they all froze.

Below them, the forest stretched in eerie silence. Faint white mist drifted through the trees, flowing like currents. But the deeper they looked into the forest, the denser that fog became—until it no longer resembled mist, but a blanket of cloud.

At the center, that cloud had become a massive, multicolored wall, so dense and strange it exuded a chilling aura.

"There!" Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er pointed in unison.

"Yes, that's it!" Jiang Nannan added, eyes wide. "I can feel it… there are so many rare herbs in that direction!"

"Then we've found it," Zhu Ziyang said excitedly. "Below that miasma cloud… that must be the Icefire Yin-Yang Well! The miasma is being used to hide its location!"

"Let's take a look!"

Yan Shaozhe's eyes gleamed with hope. He dove toward the cloud, with Cai Mei'er close behind. The others followed swiftly.

They reached the edge of the miasma barrier.

"Stop here," Yan Shaozhe said, eyes narrowing. "Any closer and Ziyang and the others might be overwhelmed. Mei'er, hold Ziyang—I'll try to clear a path."

He handed Zhu Ziyang to Cai Mei'er, then took a step forward and released his martial soul.

Behind him, nine soul rings rose: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black. A full nine-ring Soul Douluo—no, a Super Douluo.

His fourth ring lit up. A searing beam of light energy shot from his palms, piercing toward the fog.

Then something unbelievable happened.

The beam struck the cloud—and was swallowed whole. The barrier didn't even ripple.

"What…?" Yan Shaozhe's face darkened. He activated his sixth soul skill—again, the cloud absorbed it without resistance.

"This is…"

A mix of shock and anger twisted his features.

He had never been so humiliated by an attack being rendered completely useless.

Furious, he activated his Martial Soul Avatar. A massive golden Radiant Phoenix emerged, wings stretching wide across the forest sky. His ninth soul ring lit up.

Golden flames, blazing like meteors, rained down on the miasma cloud.

At last, the fog parted.

Under the intense bombardment of a Super Douluo's ninth soul skill, the cloud thinned and dispersed, revealing a faint glimpse of a hidden valley below.

But just as the group began to cheer—

—the cloud began reforming.

The colorful fog reassembled at frightening speed. Within moments, the opening had shrunk to the size of a house.

"This…" Yan Shaozhe's fists trembled. His pride, his power, had been mocked by this cursed fog.

Just as he prepared to unleash his full strength again, Cai Mei'er stopped him.

"Senior Brother, enough!" she shouted. "This isn't a physical fog. It's not natural. It's reacting to you—it's playing with you! I'm certain it's being controlled. Whoever controls it is probably right below. Let's head down and investigate!"

"…Fine. I'll listen to you."

Shaozhe sighed and retracted his phoenix form, diving into the forest below.

Cai Mei'er shook her head, exasperated. She followed with Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan close behind.