Deep in the forest, the light was dim and the sky overcast.
Occasionally, a gust swept through, rustling the leaves like the whispers of some unknown creature and sending chills down their spines.
Chen Xiaojun and his companions were cautiously following a narrow trail.
Suddenly, heavy thuds drew closer from afar. A deafening roar shattered the silence, followed by an enormous black shape bursting out of the trees.
It was a One-Horned Black Bear, its eyes blood-red and its body radiating ferocity as it barreled toward them.
But a closer look revealed that the powerfully built One-Horned Black Bear was fleeing blindly in panic. Its eyes were filled with terror, and black swellings covered its body.
Behind it came a buzzing roar. An enormous black cloud swooped after it like an inseparable shadow, wings beating with furious buzzing like a black army bent on revenge.
The One-Horned Black Bear's huge body weaved through the forest, but no matter how hard it tried, that black cloud remained hot on its heels.
The bear's panting grew heavier. Each breath felt like a raging fire igniting inside its chest, pain and terror intertwining until it was nearly driven to collapse.
As they rapidly approached-
"Black Fiend Bees! Run!" Sharp-eyed Zhang Ci roared.
Black Fiend Bees were notoriously vicious in the Soul Beast Realm and counted among its natural disasters. These third-grade soul beasts were extremely venomous and swarmed in their thousands upon thousands.
They had long since learned of the Black Fiend Bees' terrifying nature in their textbooks. Seeing them in person now scared their souls clean out of their bodies, and they hurried to flee.
Just then, a sudden chorus of buzzing rang out. Like shadows racing through the night, a mass of black cloud closed in on them at astonishing speed.