DOOM!!!
The moment Lian Xing looked ahead, true fear seized him.
For the first time in his life, something primal screamed inside his chest—
Run.
If he stayed even a second longer, he would die.
"W–what… is that thing?" Lian muttered, staggering backwards.
Before him stood a horned creature cloaked in black scales. Its eyes burned crimson, and thick, corrupted Qi coiled around its massive body like living smoke. Its jaws were wide—
and in one hand, it held Boufēng dangling helplessly in the air.
"Mmm… It's been so long since I last ate," the beast rumbled, its voice deep and distorted.
"And this time… a thousand pigs have delivered themselves to me."
"Damn to think that those Shaolin toasts reduced me to this state."
It dropped Boufēng into its mouth.
Crunch!!!
Blood exploded outward as the creature chewed casually.
Lian's stomach twisted.
The beast's gaze slowly shifted.
Mo Fang stood frozen, paralysed by terror.
"Mmm… this one lacked flavour," the creature mused.
"I wonder if you'll taste any better."
"Stay away—stay away!" Mo Fang screamed, scrambling backwards on his hands.
He threw his blades, but they bounced off the creature's body, hitting the ground with a dull clank.
"Useless."
The creature seized his leg effortlessly, lifting him screaming into the air—
Then dropped him into its jaws.
Crunch! Crunch!
Mo Fang's wails echoed briefly—
Then stopped.
Silence.
The beast chewed lazily, as if mildly disappointed.
"Puhhh… how bland," it sneered.
"Humans have grown so mediocre."
It licked its lips.
"To think you once pushed my Demonic Sect to the brink of destruction…
and now you possess only traces of that power."
Its eyes narrowed.
"This brat's Wind God Root is so diluted… but I suppose it will suffice."
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Bones shifted.
Flesh twisted.
The creature roared as its body began to change.
"RAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Its form shrank and reshaped, black scales melting into pale white skin, horns retracting as its body refined itself—
Moments later, Mo Fang's appearance stood where the monster had been.
Taller.
Sharper.
Eyes cold, pulsing with demonic energy.
The creature flexed its fingers, testing the body.
"…This will do for now."
"Mmm… I felt eyes watching me."
The new Mo Fang leapt to the place where Lian Xing had been hiding—
Only to find nothing.
Lian was already gone.
Using his movement technique, he fled at full speed, pushing his body to its limits.
"Tch… the rat escaped," the demonic Mo Fang muttered, his lips curling.
"It must've been the one fighting this body before I awakened."
His eyes glinted coldly.
"No matter. Running only delays the inevitable."
He turned west.
"I'll find you soon enough."
Elsewhere, Lian Xing continued running, his breath ragged as a cave came into view along the side of the mountain.
"That thing was something else…" Lian thought, finally slowing.
"I searched for weaknesses—but found none, it was just standing there with no attack stance, it was just oozing danger."
His jaw tightened.
"Just what is this place? It's just one monster after another…"
"Though I wonder… who's stronger? That old man… or that demon?"
His thoughts were cut short.
Voices.
Chatter echoed ahead.
"F*cken, damn it," Lian cursed quietly.
"Do I ever get a chance to rest?"
He immediately suppressed most of the Qi he had spread earlier and slipped behind a massive boulder, hiding his presence completely.
"I can't afford another fight right now. I used too much Qi"
From his vantage point, he watched.
"Zhou Lung," someone pleaded, "I'll give you three Spirit Peaches if you let me join your group!"
More voices followed—offers of treasures, pills, herbs—all just for a chance to stand beside Zhou Lung.
"So that's how it is," Lian thought grimly.
"Must be nice to be a genius."
Zhou Lung didn't even need to search for treasures.
They came to him.
"He's practically a magnet for fortune."
Lian closed his eyes and focused inward, circulating his Qi as he refined the herbs he had eaten earlier.
A faint frost shimmered around him, mixed with subtle heat and flowing wind.
"…Whoa."
His eyes snapped open.
"Using wind, ice, and fire together makes refining so much easier."
The medicinal essence separated smoothly, pure and potent, flooding through his body.
Lian exhaled slowly as his strength returned.
"This place is dangerous," he thought.
"But… It's also an opportunity for me to grow."