The forest changed as they traveled deeper.
For the first twenty kilometers, the Blackwood felt familiar. Dense canopy, filtered light, the steady hum of ambient qi that characterized the forest's edge. Wang Ben had experienced this during his family's journey from Redstone City, the cultivated awareness of nature that came from living near one of the world's great wilderness areas.
But as the team pressed further, something shifted.
The trees grew taller, their trunks thickening to diameters that would have taken centuries to achieve. The canopy closed overhead until sunlight became a distant memory, replaced by the soft luminescence of phosphorescent fungi and spirit plants that had adapted to eternal twilight. The ambient qi changed too, becoming denser and more focused.
[ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: Blackwood interior, 35km depth]
[Ambient qi density: 2.3x surface level]
[Elemental composition:]
[- Wood: 61%]
[- Earth: 24%]
[- Dark: 8%]
[- Other: 7%]
[Spiritual flora: Extensive. Multiple species producing cultivation-grade materials]
[Fauna detection: Limited activity in immediate area. Larger signatures at distance]
[Note: Dark element concentration increasing as depth increases. This is consistent with Lin Suyin's briefing regarding unusual elemental signatures]
"The qi here is different." Zhao Yu's voice was hushed, instinctive caution in an environment that demanded respect. "Thicker. Like breathing soup."
"The Wood essence concentrates as you move away from the forest edge," Lin Suyin explained without breaking stride. "The trees draw ambient spiritual energy inward, creating a gradient that becomes more intense toward the center. Most cultivators find it uncomfortable."
Wang Ben didn't find it uncomfortable. His cultivation flexibility allowed him to adjust to the Wood-dominant environment without difficulty, his qi adapting to match the ambient signature. But he could feel the Dark traces that Lin Suyin had mentioned, cold pockets hidden in shadowed ravines and underground passages.
Something down there, he thought. Something that produces Dark-aspected energy in an environment that should suppress it.
They continued in formation, Lin Suyin leading with one scout ahead and one behind, Zhao Yu and Wang Ben in the center. The Silent Path members moved with professional silence, their cultivation signatures muted to near-invisibility.
The first beast encounter came at the forty-kilometer mark.
The creature was a spirit wolf of moderate size, its body wreathed in Wood-aspected energy that allowed it to move through the forest like a shadow given form. The System classified it as late-stage qi condensation equivalent, dangerous but manageable.
[SPIRIT BEAST DETECTION: Wood-aspected wolf]
[Classification: Pack predator, territorial species]
[Threat level: Moderate (late-stage qi condensation equivalent)]
[Behavior assessment: Observing but not attacking. Territory guardian, not active hunter]
[Recommendation: Avoid confrontation. Proceed with caution to minimize provocation]
Lin Suyin signaled a halt, her hand movements conveying instructions to the team without words. They froze, waiting as the wolf studied them from a distance that suggested curiosity rather than aggression.
Long moments passed.
The wolf eventually lost interest, turning away to resume its patrol of whatever territory it protected. The team remained motionless until its presence had faded completely from spiritual sense.
"That was a scout," Lin Suyin murmured when they resumed movement. "The pack will know we're here now. We need to move faster before they decide whether we're a threat."
The pace increased, pushing toward the first anchor point before the forest's inhabitants could organize a response.
They reached the clearing just before nightfall.
The space had been claimed by nature since whatever had originally shaped it, overgrown with vegetation that had reclaimed what human hands had cleared. But beneath the green growth, Wang Ben could sense something else. A formation presence, old and powerful, pulsing with energy that shouldn't have survived years of neglect.
"This is it." Lin Suyin stopped at the clearing's edge, her expression unreadable. "The first anchor point. My scouts found it three weeks ago."
Wang Ben moved forward, his formation senses extending toward the hidden structure. The energy signature was complex, layers of inscription work that had been designed to last for decades. Whoever had built this knew their craft intimately.
And Wang Ben recognized that craft.
He stopped breathing for a moment, his hand reaching out to brush aside the vines covering the nearest formation node. The inscription style, the particular way the detection arrays interlocked with the structural supports, the elegant efficiency of the power routing... he had seen this before. In his grandfather's workshop. In the formation texts that Li Cheng had left behind when he disappeared.
Grandfather.
The word echoed in his mind, carrying seven years of absence with it. Seven years of questions, of wondering, of not knowing whether Li Cheng was alive or dead. And here, in the depths of a forest that few cultivators ever entered, Wang Ben found proof that the old man had been here. Had worked here. Had built something meant to last.
You were here. You built this.
Wang Ben stood motionless, letting the realization settle into his bones. The formation hummed beneath his awareness, a steady pulse that felt almost like a heartbeat. His grandfather's heartbeat, still echoing through the work he had left behind.
What were you watching for? What kept you here instead of coming home?
He forced himself to focus, to look past the emotional ache and analyze what he was seeing. The System helped, translating his observations into structured data.
[FORMATION ANCHOR ANALYSIS]
[Age: Estimated 8-12 years]
[Construction: Professional quality, core formation-level work]
[Purpose: Monitoring/containment (specific target unknown)]
[Status: 67% functional, degraded without maintenance]
[Elemental focus: Detection arrays tuned to Dark and Ice signatures]
[Note: Construction style consistent with Wang Clan methodology. High probability of Li Cheng origin]
Wang Ben approached the anchor's core, a carved stone pillar hidden beneath years of overgrowth. The inscriptions were faded but still legible, protective seals and detection arrays that had been maintaining their function through sheer quality of construction.
"Can you read it?" Lin Suyin asked, watching from a distance that gave him room to work.
"Some of it." Wang Ben traced the inscription patterns, his formation training allowing him to parse the general purpose if not the specific mechanisms. "It's a monitoring array. Designed to detect specific frequencies of spiritual energy and record their occurrence."
"What frequencies?"
Wang Ben examined the detection settings more closely. The answer formed slowly as he pieced together the array's design.
"Dark element with Ice contamination," he said finally. "Something that produces both simultaneously. The array was designed to track its location and intensity over time."
The implications were troubling. Dark and Ice combined, deep in a Wood-dominant forest. Whatever produced that signature, it wasn't natural.
...
The scouts reported their findings as darkness fell.
They had explored the surrounding area while Wang Ben analyzed the anchor, mapping the immediate terrain and identifying potential threats. What they found added layers to an already complex picture.
"There are more anchors," the lead scout said, her voice pitched low despite the privacy formations Wang Ben had established around their camp. "At least three more within ten kilometers. The pattern suggests a monitoring network, not a single observation point."
"A network." Lin Suyin's expression was thoughtful. "Your grandfather didn't just find something here. He built an entire surveillance system to watch it."
"Whatever he was monitoring, he expected to be watching for a long time." Wang Ben looked at the anchor pillar, still visible in the gathering gloom. "These formations were designed for decades of operation. And they're still partially functional after years without maintenance."
"Can you restore them?"
"Possibly. With time and materials I don't have right now." Wang Ben considered the situation. "But we might not need to restore them. If the detection arrays are still partially active, they might have recorded something useful."
"Recorded?"
"Formation anchors can store information. It's not common design, but it's possible for someone with the right skills." Wang Ben approached the anchor again, examining its structure with renewed focus. "If grandfather built in recording capability, there might be logs of what the array detected."
The System helped him parse the inscription work, identifying components that might serve information storage functions. The design was sophisticated, requiring several breaths of careful analysis before Wang Ben found what he was looking for.
A storage formation, nested within the detection array. Designed to record each significant detection event with timestamp and intensity.
[STORAGE FORMATION: Accessing recorded data]
[Records found: 847 entries spanning 7 years, 3 months]
[Detection events: 623 confirmed, 224 uncertain]
[Maximum intensity: Entry 412 (Year 4, Month 8) - "Unusual surge, recommend immediate investigation"]
[Most recent entry: Year 7, Month 2 - "Signal stable, within normal levels"]
[Status: No entries after Year 7, Month 2. Maintenance failure or monitoring abandoned]
"There are records," Wang Ben said. "Seven years of detection events. The last entry is from a little over two years ago."
"What does it say?"
"The signal was stable. Normal levels." Wang Ben frowned. "But before that, there was a surge in Year 4. Something unusual that required immediate investigation."
Lin Suyin processed this. "Year 4 would have been three years after your grandfather disappeared. He was still monitoring at that point."
"And then he stopped. Either the monitoring ended, or..." Wang Ben didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
Or something happened to the person doing the monitoring.
The night passed uneasily.
They established a defensive boundary around the clearing, Wang Ben's formation skills providing basic protection while the scouts maintained watch. The forest sounds continued around them, the rustle of creatures and the whisper of qi through ancient trees.
Wang Ben couldn't sleep.
He lay on his bedroll, staring up at the canopy that blocked even starlight from reaching them. The phosphorescent fungi cast the clearing in pale blue luminescence, creating shadows that shifted and moved with every breath of wind. The forest was never quiet... not truly. Distant howls, the crack of branches under unseen weight, the constant murmur of spiritual energy flowing through roots and trunks and leaves. It was like lying inside a living thing, feeling its pulse around him.
His thoughts kept returning to his grandfather.
Seven years. Li Cheng had been missing for seven years, and in all that time, Wang Ben had never stopped wondering. Had he been captured? Killed? Had he simply chosen to leave, to abandon his family for reasons none of them could understand?
But now Wang Ben knew the truth was more complicated than any of those possibilities.
Li Cheng hadn't abandoned them. He had been here, in this forest, building a surveillance network with the same careful precision that had made him a renowned formation master. He had been watching something. Protecting something. Or perhaps protecting them from something.
The realization should have brought relief. Instead, it opened new wounds.
You could have sent word, Wang Ben thought, the ache in his chest familiar and unwelcome. You could have let us know you were alive. Mother waited. Father searched. Grandmother...
He thought of Li Mei, her gentle strength hiding depths of grief that she rarely showed. She had never stopped believing her father would return. Never stopped setting a place for him at family dinners, as if he might walk through the door at any moment.
And all that time, Li Cheng had been here. Alone. Watching.
Why didn't you trust us enough to explain?
Wang Ben pushed himself upright, unable to lie still any longer. He moved to sit near the anchor pillar, studying the formation work and trying to understand what his grandfather had been pursuing. The detection settings pointed toward something that produced Dark and Ice energy simultaneously. Something unnatural, hidden deep in the forest.
[HYPOTHESIS: Li Cheng's monitoring target]
[Based on detection criteria, the target produces:]
[- Dark-aspected qi (primary)]
[- Ice-element contamination (secondary)]
[- Sustained output over years (stable source, not transient phenomenon)]
[Possible sources:]
[- Corrupted qi nexus (underground spiritual formation)]
[- Sealed entity (ancient containment, leaking energy)]
[- Artifact of unknown origin (producing anomalous qi)]
[- Unknown cultivation site (abandoned or hidden)]
[Recommendation: Further investigation required. Current data insufficient for definitive conclusion]
"You should rest." Zhao Yu appeared beside him, moving with the quiet that his Battle Soul training had instilled. "We've got another long day tomorrow."
"I know. I'm just... trying to understand."
"Your grandfather's work?"
"Why he would spend years watching something in the forest. Why he didn't come home." Wang Ben stared at the anchor pillar. "He was a core formation cultivator. Strong enough to handle most threats. What could keep him here for so long?"
"Maybe it wasn't about strength." Zhao Yu sat beside him, his presence solid and reassuring. "Maybe he found something he couldn't leave. A responsibility that outweighed everything else."
"Including his family?"
"I don't know. I never met the man." Zhao Yu's voice was gentle. "But I know his grandson. And if you're anything like him, he probably thought he was protecting his family by staying away."
Wang Ben considered this. The logic had a certain tragic sense to it. If Li Cheng had found something dangerous, something that required constant monitoring, he might have chosen to maintain the vigil rather than risk leading it back to his loved ones.
It didn't make the absence hurt less. But it made it easier to understand.
"Thanks," Wang Ben said quietly.
"Get some sleep. We've got more anchors to find tomorrow."
...
Morning brought fresh challenges.
The team broke camp and resumed their exploration, following the pattern of anchors that the scouts had identified. Each new site confirmed the scope of Li Cheng's work: a comprehensive monitoring network that covered kilometers of deep forest, all focused on the same central detection target.
[ANCHOR NETWORK ANALYSIS: Updated]
[Confirmed anchor sites: 4]
[Estimated total network: 6-8 anchors in hexagonal pattern]
[Central focus: Approximately 15km from current position]
[Detection convergence: All anchors oriented toward central point]
[Environmental data: Dark-Ice qi signature strongest toward network center]
"He was watching something specific," Lin Suyin said as they examined the third anchor. "All these arrays point inward. Whatever he was monitoring is at the center of this network."
"Do we go there?" Zhao Yu's tone was eager but controlled. "If that's where the answers are..."
"That's also where the danger is." Lin Suyin studied the map that Wang Ben had been constructing. "These anchors were built for observation, not protection. Whatever's at the center, your grandfather didn't think he could contain it. Only watch it."
The assessment matched Wang Ben's own analysis. Li Cheng's formation work was sophisticated, but it lacked the containment elements that would suggest he was trying to seal or suppress the target. He had been gathering information, not taking action.
What were you waiting for? Wang Ben wondered. What were you hoping to learn?
They found signs of activity at the fourth anchor.
Recent tracks in the soft earth. Traces of qi that hadn't fully dissipated. Evidence that someone, or something, had passed through the area within the past few weeks.
"Not beasts," the lead scout reported after examining the evidence. "These are humanoid footprints. Cultivator weight distribution."
"My grandfather?" The hope in Wang Ben's voice was immediate and unwelcome.
"Impossible to say. The tracks are too degraded for detailed analysis." The scout's expression was professionally neutral. "But someone has been here recently. Someone who knew where to look."
Lin Suyin considered the implications. "If Li Cheng is still alive, still monitoring his network, he would know we're here. These tracks might be his attempt to check on activity near his observation points."
"Or they might be someone else entirely." Wang Ben looked at the tracks, trying to parse meaning from the partial impressions. "The Frozen Jade Kingdom knows about the Blackwood's resources. They might have scouts of their own."
"In the deep forest? Unlikely, but not impossible." Lin Suyin made a decision. "We document what we've found and return to the fortress. This has become more complicated than a simple scouting mission."
"We're leaving?" Zhao Yu's disappointment was evident.
"We're being smart. We've found evidence of something significant, something that requires more resources than a five-person team can provide." Lin Suyin began packing her equipment. "We report our findings, analyze the data Wang Ben recovered from the anchors, and plan a proper investigation."
The logic was sound. Wang Ben knew it, even as part of him wanted to press deeper, to find the answers that his grandfather had spent years pursuing.
But wisdom meant knowing when to retreat.
The return journey began in the early afternoon.
They moved faster now, the urgency of their discoveries pushing them toward home. The forest seemed to watch them go, ancient trees standing silent witness to the small group of cultivators who had ventured into their depths.
Wang Ben cultivated as they traveled, taking advantage of the dense ambient qi to continue his advancement. The Wood-dominant environment suited his flexibility, allowing him to absorb and integrate spiritual energy with unusual efficiency.
[CULTIVATION SESSION: Traveling meditation, 4 hours]
[Qi absorbed: 521 motes]
[Qi retained: 52 motes]
[Retention efficiency: 10.0%]
[Elemental composition:]
[- Wood: 27 motes (51.9%)]
[- Earth: 13 motes (25.0%)]
[- Dark: 7 motes (13.5%)]
[- Other: 5 motes (9.6%)]
[Environment: Blackwood interior (Wood/Earth dominant, Dark pockets)]
[Note: Traveling meditation reduces retention efficiency compared to stationary cultivation. Host adapting to unusual elemental environment without difficulty. Dark element absorption proceeding normally despite typical cultivator resistance to Dark qi. This flexibility continues to exceed standard expectations]
The Dark motes were new. Wang Ben hadn't absorbed significant Dark-aspected energy before, but his cultivation treated it no differently than any other element. The qi integrated smoothly, becoming part of his cultivation base without resistance or rejection.
Still no problems, he thought. Still mixing elements that should conflict. I don't know why this works for me when it shouldn't.
The question was whether anyone would notice the unusual signature of his qi as he absorbed elements that most cultivators would resist.
They emerged from the deep forest as evening fell, the canopy thinning to allow sunset light through the trees.
Lin Suyin called a halt at the forest's edge, the team taking a moment to rest before the final push to the fortress. They had been moving since midday, and even cultivators needed occasional respite.
"What do we tell the fortress command?" Zhao Yu asked, stretching muscles that had been pushed to their limits.
"The truth, with appropriate discretion." Lin Suyin glanced at Wang Ben. "We found formation anchors of sophisticated design. We recovered data suggesting long-term monitoring of an unusual phenomenon. We observed signs of recent activity in the area."
"And the connection to my grandfather?"
"That stays between us for now." Lin Suyin's voice was firm. "Wang Clan business shouldn't become fortress gossip. We'll inform Elder Wang Hongwei privately and let him decide what to share."
Wang Ben nodded agreement. The fewer people who knew the details, the easier it would be to control the narrative.
"There's something else." The lead scout spoke up, her voice carrying a note of caution. "The network isn't complete. Based on the anchor pattern, there are at least two more observation points we didn't examine. And none of us got close to the central focus."
"You're saying we need to go back."
"I'm saying someone needs to go back. Eventually." The scout's expression was unreadable. "Whatever Li Cheng was watching, it's still there. Still doing whatever drew his attention in the first place. Ignoring it won't make it go away."
The words hung in the evening air, a reminder that this expedition had raised more questions than it answered.
Wang Ben looked back at the forest, the ancient trees fading into shadow as night approached.
I'll be back, he thought. Whatever you found, grandfather, whatever you were protecting us from. I'll find it. I'll understand it.
And maybe I'll find you too.
"Let's go," Lin Suyin said. "The fortress is waiting."
They moved out, leaving the Blackwood's depths behind but carrying its mysteries with them.