The monster from his dreams

They raced down the mountainside with wind in their hair. It was biting and a long way down, but Yuan Xuelan had insisted on it and Liu Sumeng had no reason to refuse. He was a bit fatigued, sure, but it was probably his mind and not his body.

Liu Sumeng smiled, feeling freedom whip at his robes as the open sky spread out ahead of him. Below was the white-coated slopes dotted with pine trees. He would take any moment of reprieve he was given.

They stopped by the Crimson Bloom first, curious, and also in search of the character Mo Fei. The towering tree was unlike the mysterious wonder they had first come across when they scaled the slopes of Tianwen. Instead, it had become merely a shell what it had been.

Gone were the vibrant red blossoms that won the tree its name. There was no power that flowed through its bark, any sense of mystery or wonder sucked out. What was left was a sad, dead tree. The bark was dry and creaked against the wind.