Flaxseed sucked air through his teeth and growled, “This pace will kill us. Nine Serpent Mountain commands too many blades, keep bleeding power like this, and they’ll grind us into dust before nightfall.”

Jared wiped a smear of ash from his cheek, mind racing. They needed a place to vanish, replenish their strength, and resume the search for the Flaxseed clan’s killers before the mountain’s hunters boxed them in.

Through the ragged vapor ahead, a yawning canyon mouth emerged, its entrance wreathed in cloud like a gateway to myth. Shattered pavilions and toppled columns clung to the cliffs, hinting at an empire swallowed by time and silence.

“That‘s… The Fallen immortal Valley?” Flaxseed breathed, awe cutting through his fear.

“Perfect,” Jared replied, eyes bright with hard resolve. “A maze of ancient wards, no sane hunter will follow us in.”

In a heartbeat they shared a look and plunged into the silver mist. Behind them the bounty hunters skidded to a nervous halt, none daring to tread past the valley’s invisible boundary.

The moment they crossed, the air thickened, humid and heavy, as though the valley itself wished to crush intruders.