Fleeting Opportunity (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Ghostly's figure solidified at the edge of the clearing, his voice raspy. "More than one aura. A fierce battle happened here. One side was a soul beast skilled in spiritual power, at least thirty thousand years of cultivation, but it has already fallen. The other side..."

He paused, and his shadow seemed to ripple. "The aura is violent, chaotic, carrying a strong desire to devour and destroy. Not like a common soul beast. More like... some kind of mutant or something that crawled out from deeper within. It killed this spiritual-type soul beast and may have devoured part of its spiritual origin. The lingering oppressive aura points toward the valley to the northeast."

A spiritual-type soul beast over thirty thousand years old—fallen!

Hu Liena looked at those semi-transparent fragments and broken tendrils, a flicker of regret passing through her eyes.

Spiritual-type soul beasts suitable for her were already rare, and those over thirty thousand years were practically impossible to encounter by chance. She hadn't expected it to already become another's prey.

And the thing that killed it, lurking in the valley, sounded extremely dangerous, and its attribute didn't match hers either.

"Elder," she quickly composed herself and suggested calmly, "Since the suitable soul beast is already dead, and the existence in that valley is so dangerous and mismatched in attribute, should we consider turning back?"

Though she craved power, the current importance of "Lin Fan" and the unsettling pressure emanating from that valley inclined her toward caution.

Yue Guan pondered, about to speak—

Suddenly!

"Roar—!"

A terrifying, earth-shaking roar, as if from the ancient primordial wilderness, erupted without warning from the depths of the forest behind and to their side!

This roar was completely different from the violent pressure they had sensed earlier from the valley to the northeast. It was filled with pure, extreme power and primal majesty. The sound waves, like a tangible tsunami, rolled in with a pressure that made one's soul tremble.

Crack! Crack!

Several ancient trees around them, requiring multiple people to encircle, developed fine cracks on their trunks under the impact of the sound waves!

Gravel on the ground hopped and trembled, and the air itself seemed to freeze.

"Not good!" Yue Guan and Ghostly's faces changed instantly as they shielded Hu Liena, the other two, and Yu Tiancheng behind them. The golden light of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and the dense shadow intertwined into a barrier, desperately resisting the terrifying wave of sound.

Yet this roar didn't seem aimed at them—more like some kind of declaration.

Immediately after, a thunderous, earth-shaking crash came from afar, as if a colossal creature was rampaging through the forest. Trees fell in swaths, mixed with the terrified, despairing cries of other soul beasts.

"A hundred-thousand-year soul beast! And an extremely powerful one at that!"

Ghostly's voice carried unprecedented gravity as his shadow churned violently. "This aura... could it be one of the true overlords of the Star Dou Great Forest? How did it appear at the edge of the Mixed Zone?"

Yue Guan's face darkened. "No matter why, this is not something we can provoke! Withdraw immediately! Stay away from this direction and that valley!"

A hundred-thousand-year soul beast! An overlord of the Star Dou!

This realization made everyone's scalp tingle.

Even Yue Guan and Ghostly had no sure victory against a hundred-thousand-year soul beast; escaping unscathed would already be a blessing!

"Go!" Yue Guan barked, and a phantom of a golden chrysanthemum enveloped the group as he prepared to retreat swiftly away from both the roar and the valley.

Now!

The "moment of chaos" that Yu Tiancheng had been waiting for, exceeding his expectations, had arrived in the most violent way possible!

He had already forgotten this part of the plot, but the sudden appearance of the Titan Giant Ape brought him an unexpected delight.

The terrifying roar of the hundred-thousand-year soul beast and the ensuing forest tremor instantly drew all of Yue Guan and Ghostly's attention and soul power toward defense and evacuation preparations.

Everyone's perception was shaken and disrupted by the awe-inspiring might of that primordial beast!

Yu Tiancheng's eyes flashed with sharp light, and he didn't hesitate for a moment!

"Void Flash!"

His figure blurred on the spot, a faint silver glimmer flickering. Instead of following the group's retreat, he teleported in the opposite direction, behind a dense patch of Confusing Heart Shrubs.

This spot happened to be at a brief weak point in Ghostly's shadow caused by the shift in direction for retreat.

The moment he appeared, the silver talisman in his hand was already activated!

"Teleport!"

Soul power poured in frantically, connecting to the preset safe coordinates on the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest within the talisman.

Silver light blazed, countless spatial runes danced, and a stable, powerful Space Power instantly enveloped him.

"Stay!" Hu Liena's sharp cry rang out almost simultaneously.

Even in such chaos, she had keenly detected Yu Tiancheng's movement. A pink charm light pierced through space straight at him—it was her enhanced First Soul Skill: Fox Charm!

Yet this charm, which would have succeeded a hundred percent, was offset and deflected upon touching the silver light by the chaotic Space Power and the protective force of Yu Tiancheng's fully activated Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul.

The remaining influence could no longer stop the teleportation process.

Silver light flared, then abruptly contracted!

The teleportation barrier clashed violently with the Fox Charm light, sending out invisible ripples of spirit and space.

"Buzz—!"

The Fox Charm light twisted and dissipated under the Space Power, failing to breach the barrier.

But Yu Tiancheng still felt a sharp, needle-like sting in his mind—even blocked, the residual force of this enhanced charm was no small matter.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The silver light vanished.

Yu Tiancheng's figure, along with the chaotic spatial fluctuations, vanished in an instant.

Only the faint spatial ripples in the air remained, along with the terrifying, earth-shaking rumble of hooves growing closer from afar.

"ROAR—!" The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's roar rang out again, more furious, more pressing.

At the valley entrance, a deathly stillness fell.

Hu Liena stood rooted to the spot, her pink eyes fixed on the spot where Yu Tiancheng had disappeared, her fingertips digging deep into her palms.

He got away! In the unprecedented chaos of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's sudden appearance, he had once again seized that fleeting thread of opportunity!

Yue Guan's face was ashen, Ghostly's shadow churning violently.

They had been outmaneuvered by a two-ring brat, who had successfully escaped while the threat of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast bore down on them!

"After him!" Yue Guan ground out through clenched teeth, his gaze locked on the direction Yu Tiancheng had vanished, then darting warily toward the source of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's commotion.

"The teleportation range can't be too far! Old Ghost, take Nana and the others and withdraw at full speed to a safe point! I'll go after that brat—there's no way I'm letting him slip away!"

He had to make a choice: pursuing "Lin Fan" and ensuring Hu Liena's safe retreat. The latter took priority, but he was by no means willing to let "Lin Fan" go.

"Elder Yue, make sure to capture him alive!" Hu Liena said urgently, her tone resolute. A dead "Lin Fan" couldn't write any more diaries!

Yue Guan gave her a deep look, nodded once, and his form transformed into a streak of brilliant golden light, chasing after the rapidly fading traces of spatial fluctuation at maximum speed.