The air split—
He was already there.
The fox felt it first.
That suffocating pressure crashing down from above—
Too fast.
Too close.
The Golden Core cultivator appeared directly in their path, robes snapping violently in the wind, dark purple hair streaming behind him.
No wasted words.
He struck.
His palm descended.
Demonic qi condensed into a colossal shadowed imprint that swallowed the sky whole.
Little White reacted on instinct.
Wings snapped inward—
Scales layered tight—
His massive body folded around the fox and the child mid-flight.
Impact.
BOOOOOOM—
The heavens seemed to cave in.
The demonic palm smashed into his wings.
Lightning armor detonated into wild sparks.
Bones groaned under catastrophic force.
The blow drove him downward like a falling star.
They plummeted.
Wind screamed past in violent spirals.
The fox clenched her jaw but did not break formation, arms locked around the child beneath the lizard's protective shell.
"Hold!" she transmitted sharply.
The ground rushed up—
CRASH!!!
Earth erupted outward in a devastating shockwave.
Stone shattered.
A crater formed instantly as Little White's body slammed into it, wings still wrapped tight.
Dust and debris blasted skyward in a towering column.
For a single breath—
Silence.
Then—
Thin cracks of blue lightning flickered within the smoke.
The lizard's wings trembled.
Several scales were blackened.
Blood trickled from the corner of his maw.
But he had endured it.
Above the crater—
The Golden Core cultivator descended slowly.
Unhurried.
Untouched.
His gaze cold.
"You shield them well," he said calmly.
Demonic aura coiled around him like a living serpent.
Below—
Little White slowly unfolded one wing.
Golden eyes blazing now.
Not fear.
Fury.
Lightning gathered again—denser than before—the ground beneath him turning molten from residual discharge.
The fox rose along the crater's edge, robes torn, eyes sharp as honed blades.
Retreat was no longer simple.
The cultivator lifted his hand once more.
This time—
Black chains of condensed demonic qi began forming behind him.
A binding technique.
Serious now.
The air tightened again.
And this time—
He wasn't testing them.
The crater smoked.
Little White stood.
Massive frame rising from shattered earth.
Golden pupils narrowing into vertical slits.
Blood dripped from his maw.
He dragged his tongue across it—
Licked it clean.
*It's strong.*
Lightning crackled faintly along his scales.
*I can't win head-on.*
The demonic pressure above weighed down like a collapsing mountain.
*…But I still want to fight it.*
His claws dug deep into molten stone.
Rock split under the force.
*If we can't escape… then I'll kill it.*
Above, the cultivator observed in silence.
His gaze sharpened.
"Oh?"
His lips curved faintly.
"Such killing intent from a mere beast…"
Demonic qi twisted behind him, chains half-formed.
"Do you truly believe you can kill—"
The ground exploded.
He stopped mid-sentence.
The entire crater floor detonated outward as colossal shapes burst free.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
Massive serpents of compressed earth and stone surged upward, bodies thicker than ancient trees, scales layered rock infused with veins of lightning.
Their eyes glowed blue.
Their maws opened—
And they lunged.
All at once.
From every direction.
They coiled upward violently, seeking to bind, crush, devour in a single coordinated assault.
The cultivator's eyes flickered with mild surprise—
Then cooled.
"So you control earth as well…"
The first serpent reached him—
He moved.
A blur.
His palm carved downward, cleaving the serpent's head clean apart.
Rock detonated into fragments.
But the others were already upon him.
One wrapped around his leg.
Another snapped toward his torso.
Two more constricted from behind.
Lightning surged through their bodies as Little White roared again, channeling power into the construct.
The serpents tightened.
Crushing force multiplied.
Stone shrieked under pressure.
At the crater's edge, the fox stood with the child sealed behind layered formations, eyes locked upward.
*Buy time… just buy time…*
Above—
Demonic qi erupted.
Black light expanded outward in a circular blast.
BOOM.
Three serpents disintegrated instantly.
Fragments rained like meteors.
But two remained.
Coiled tight.
Lightning arced violently across their stone bodies, reinforcing the bind.
The cultivator's expression hardened at last.
His aura deepened—darker, heavier.
The air warped around him.
Cracks spread across the serpents' bodies as his power surged—
Yet they continued constricting.
Little White's muscles trembled.
Blood vessels stood out beneath white scales.
He poured more energy into the technique.
The earth beneath the surrounding city quaked violently.
Buildings in the distance collapsed from the aftershock.
Above—
The cultivator's voice dropped.
Cold.
"You are forcing me to use more strength than you deserve."
The demonic chains fully manifested behind him now—
Thicker.
Sharper.
Alive.
They lashed outward.
Piercing through one serpent.
Then the other.
Stone exploded.
Lightning scattered into the sky.
The remaining serpents shattered.
Fragments rained down into the ruined crater.
Silence followed.
Dust drifting slowly.
Little White stood breathing heavily.
Energy consumption immense.
Above—
The Golden Core cultivator hovered free once more.
Untouched.
Black chains floating behind him like executioner's instruments.
His gaze locked onto the lizard.
This time without amusement.
Only intent.
"You truly wish to kill me."
His aura pressed downward harder.
Crushing.
"And now… I will no longer treat you as prey."
The chains moved again—
Faster than before.
"Shut up," he snarled.
Lightning surged violently across his scales, arcing between his horns in jagged crowns of blue-white light.
"I'll kill you."
The earth trembled again—
But this time, the temperature plummeted.
Frost spread across shattered stone in racing patterns.
Moisture crystallized midair.
The cultivator's eyes narrowed slightly.
From the fractured ground—
More serpents rose.
Not only earth this time.
Ice.
Massive serpents of compressed frost and jagged crystal surged upward, their translucent bodies glowing pale blue. Freezing mist spiraled around them, locking debris in place as it passed.
Alongside them—
Reinforced earth serpents erupted again, thicker than before, lightning veins pulsing through layered stone.
Earth.
Ice.
Lightning woven through both.
They launched together.