[System Log: Sub-Mission – Eastward Exploration Activated]
Squad Leader: Yunxiao the Mist Serpent
Assigned Beasts: 20
Objective: Explore and claim Sector E-17
Region Status: Unmapped – High Spirit Qi Distortion Detected
Hazards: Unknown
Bonus Objectives:
Locate lost ruins
Investigate illusion-based anomalies
Recruit rare or endangered beast species
---
The eastern winds howled as Yunxiao slithered forward, his pale silver body coiling through the brush. Behind him followed a disciplined squad of 20 beasts—foxes with mist-blood, serpents of venomous lineage, and agile monkeys with third eyes opened to Qi fluctuation.
The forest grew stranger with each step.
Mist hung thick in the air, neither natural nor harmful—yet charged with illusory Qi. Trees shimmered, changed shape, and even whispered in languages long forgotten.
> "This region… it's layered in illusion domains," Yunxiao thought. "It tests perception. One wrong step, and we're prey."
He raised his tail.
> "Formation: Crescent Eye. We hunt in silence."
The beasts obeyed, spreading out with practiced ease.
---
Hours passed, or maybe minutes—the mist made time a blur. Then one of the scouts, a fox with glimmering fur, cried out mentally:
> "Commander! A ruin… no, a shrine!"
They gathered at the foot of a moss-covered stone temple, half-sunken into the earth. Glyphs pulsed faintly along its surface—ancient beast script. At its center stood a statue of a six-eyed panther, fangs bared, wings folded.
Yunxiao hissed softly. "I know this creature. The Dream Eater. A guardian beast said to dwell in illusion realms."
The statue's eyes glowed.
Then it moved.
---
[System Alert – Hidden Encounter Triggered!]
Guardian Beast: Dream Eater Panther (Illusion Sovereign Fragment)
Status: Awakened – Semi-Conscious Trial Form
Challenge: Survive its trial to earn recognition or relic key
Failure: Squad will be marked and hunted by illusion beasts for 7 days
---
The ground fractured. The mist thickened—and suddenly, the world changed.
Yunxiao found himself alone, standing before a mirror version of himself. But this Yunxiao had crimson eyes, and his aura was cold and ruthless.
> "A trial of self… fitting," the real Yunxiao said calmly.
Behind him, his squad also faced their own reflections—their greatest fears, regrets, and flaws.
> "Focus," Yunxiao whispered through their link. "These illusions only have power if you give it to them."
With a battle cry, the beasts engaged their dark selves.
Yunxiao clashed with his reflection—fang against fang, mist against shadow. Every blow stirred memories, regrets of his past servitude, of the chains he once wore.
> "I am no longer bound," he roared. "I serve by will—under a leader worthy of loyalty!"
With one final strike, he pierced through the reflection.
---
Light burst from the shrine. The statue's wings unfurled, and a voice echoed through the area:
> "Trial complete. You may take the path forward."
A stone opened behind the shrine, revealing an underground corridor pulsing with dreamlike Spirit Qi.
Inside, they found:
A Spirit Herb that blooms only within illusions
A Map Fragment inscribed with dream-beast migration paths
A dormant cub wrapped in silver mist—a Dream Panther, newborn and orphaned
Yunxiao gently coiled around the cub and whispered,
> "You'll have a home now. A future."
---
[System Log – Mission Update]
Territory Beast Count: 321 / 1000
Zone E-17: Claimed
Special Acquisition: Dream Panther Cub
Bonus Trait Acquired: Mistborn Bond – Enhances illusion resistance and perception across all territory beasts by 5%
---
As Yunxiao led his squad back toward the core, the mist behind them parted. The eastern forest had accepted Tian's will—through loyalty, through struggle, through the strength of beasts who chose each other.
> "One step closer," Yunxiao said. "To unity."