Gui Mei's figure solidified at the edge of the clearing. In a hoarse voice, he said, "There's more than one presence. A fierce battle took place here. One side was a Spirit Beast skilled in Spiritual Power, with at least thirty thousand years of cultivation, but it has already fallen. The other side..."
He paused. The shadows seemed to ripple. "Its aura was violent and chaotic, filled with an overwhelming desire to devour and destroy. It didn't seem like an ordinary Spirit Beast. It was more like... some kind of mutated creature, or something that came from deeper within. It killed the spirit-type Spirit Beast and may have devoured part of its Spiritual Origin. The residual, violent pressure points toward the valley to the northeast."
A spirit-type Spirit Beast with more than thirty thousand years of cultivation had fallen!
Hu Liena looked at the translucent fragments and broken feelers, a hint of regret flashing in her eyes.
Spirit Beasts suited to her spirit abilities were rare to begin with, and one with more than thirty thousand years of cultivation was practically impossible to find. She hadn't expected it to have already become someone else's prey.
And the thing that killed it was lurking in the valley. It sounded extremely dangerous, and its attributes didn't suit her either.
"Elder," she said, quickly collecting herself and offering a calm suggestion. "Since the Spirit Beast suited to me is dead, and the presence in the valley is so dangerous and incompatible with my attributes, should we consider heading elsewhere?"
She yearned for power, but the importance of "Lin Fan" right now, along with the unsettling pressure coming from the valley, made her favor caution.
Yue Guan pondered, about to speak—
Suddenly!
"Roar—!"
A terrifying roar, as if from the ancient wilderness, shook the heavens and earth. Without warning, it erupted from the depths of the forest behind them!
This roar was completely different from the violent pressure they had sensed earlier coming from the valley to the northeast. It was filled with pure, overwhelming power and untamed majesty. The sound wave came rolling toward them like a tangible tsunami, carrying an oppressive force that made their souls tremble.
Crack! Crack!
Several ancient trees, each so thick that it would take several people to wrap their arms around them, developed fine cracks across their trunks under the impact of the sound waves!
The stones on the ground hopped and rattled. It was as if the air itself had frozen.
"Not good!" Yue Guan and Gui Mei's expressions changed drastically. They immediately shielded Hu Liena and the others, along with Yu Tiancheng. The golden glow of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and the dense shadows intertwined into a barrier, doing everything they could to withstand the terrifying sound waves.
However, the roar didn't seem to be directed at them. It was more like some kind of declaration.
Right after, a thunderous rumble came from the distance, shaking the earth as if a colossal creature were charging through the forest. Trees toppled in swathes, mixed with the terrified, despairing cries of other Spirit Beasts.
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! And an exceptionally powerful one!"
Gui Mei's voice carried a gravity unlike any he had shown before. The shadows churned violently. "This aura... Could it be one of the true overlords of the Star Dou Great Forest? Why would it appear near the edge of the Mixed Zone?"
Yue Guan's expression darkened. "Whatever the reason, this is beyond our ability to handle! Retreat at once! Get away from this direction and the valley!"
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! An overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest!
The realization made everyone's scalp prickle.
Even Yue Guan and Gui Mei had no guarantee of victory against a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Getting away unscathed would be a stroke of luck!
"Move!" Yue Guan barked. A golden chrysanthemum phantom enveloped the group as he prepared to lead them at full speed away from both the roar and the valley.
Now!
The "moment of chaos" Yu Tiancheng had been waiting for—one that surpassed all expectations—had arrived in the most violent way possible!
He'd nearly forgotten this part of the story. Now that the Titan Giant Ape had suddenly appeared, he felt an unexpected surge of joy.
The terrifying roar of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, followed by the trembling forest, quickly drew all of Yue Guan and Gui Mei's attention and Soul Power toward defense and preparations to retreat.
Everyone's senses were shaken and disrupted by the presence of that primordial beast.
A sharp glint flashed in Yu Tiancheng's eyes. He didn't hesitate for a moment!
"Void Flash!"
His figure abruptly blurred, a flash of silver flickering around him. Instead of fleeing with the group, he teleported in the opposite direction, behind a thick clump of Confusing Heart Shrub.
The spot happened to lie in a brief weak point in Gui Mei's shadows as he turned to lead the retreat.
As soon as he appeared, he activated the silver talisman in his hand!
"Teleport!"
He poured Soul Power into it, connecting with the safe coordinates he had set near the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Silver light flared. Countless spatial runes danced around him, and powerful, stable Space Power instantly enveloped him.
"Stop!" Hu Liena cried out almost at the same moment.
Even amid such chaos, she had keenly noticed Yu Tiancheng's movement. A pink, bewitching light pierced through the space toward him—it was her strengthened First Soul Skill, Fox Charm!
But the charm, which had been guaranteed to succeed, was neutralized and deflected the moment it touched the silver light. The disordered Space Power and the protective power of Yu Tiancheng's fully activated Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul had countered it.
The little influence that remained wasn't enough to stop the teleportation.
The silver light flashed brightly, then contracted sharply!
The teleportation barrier clashed violently with the Fox Charm's light, sending out invisible ripples of spiritual and spatial energy.
"Buzz—!"
The Fox Charm's light twisted under the Space Power and dissipated without penetrating the barrier.
But Yu Tiancheng still felt a needle-like pain stab through his mind. Even blocked, the aftershock of her strengthened charm was no trifling matter.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The silver light vanished.
Yu Tiancheng's figure disappeared in an instant, along with the turbulent fluctuations in space.
All that remained were faint ripples in the air—and the terrifying pounding of footsteps drawing closer in the distance, making the earth tremble.
"Roar—!" The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast roared again, angrier and closer than before.
At the entrance to the valley, all was silent.
Hu Liena stood motionless, her pink eyes fixed on the spot where Yu Tiancheng had vanished. Her fingertips dug deep into her palm.
He had gotten away! Amid the unprecedented chaos caused by the sudden appearance of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he had once again seized the fleeting chance to escape!
Yue Guan's face had turned ashen, while Gui Mei's shadows churned restlessly.
They had been outplayed by a two-ringed brat and watched him escape just as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast threatened to close in!
"After him!" Yue Guan ground out through clenched teeth. He looked toward the spot where Yu Tiancheng had vanished, then warily glanced toward the source of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's approach.
"The teleportation range won't be great! Gui Mei, take Nana and the others and retreat to a safe place at full speed! I'll go after that brat. I can't let him get away!"
He had to choose. Chasing "Lin Fan" and ensuring Hu Liena's safe retreat were both important, but the latter came first. Still, he wasn't about to let "Lin Fan" escape without a fight.
"Elder Yue, make sure you bring him back alive!" Hu Liena said urgently, her tone firm. A dead "Lin Fan" couldn't write any more diary entries!
Yue Guan gave her a long look and nodded. His body transformed into a brilliant streak of golden light as he pursued the rapidly fading traces of spatial fluctuations at top speed.
Before you continue