Gurgle, gurgle ~~ ~~Gurgle, gurgle~~

  We had taken no more than fifty steps when a strange and unmistakable sound came from behind us. At the same time, the ground beneath our feet—once as solid as bedrock—began to tremble noticeably.

  Instinctively, I turned around, only to be startled by the eerie sight unfolding in Duan Lake.

  Currently, the ke reminded me of a boiling pot of water. The once still surface had been completely disrupted by countless bubbling swells, hissing as they released white steam into the air. It was a terrifying sight.

  “What's happening?” I gasped, clutching his sleeve in panic.

  "The true culprit."

  He pushed me behind him, his expression unwavering as he fixed his gaze on the ke.

  "The true cul—"

  Before I could finish my sentence, a deafening explosion rang out. The center of the ke suddenly burst apart, sending a towering spray of water into the air.

  Amidst the chaos, a massive bck shadow surged out from the depths, accompanied by a terrifying roar unlike anything I had ever heard. It shot straight toward the sky, leaving a trail of fshing lightning and rolling thunder in its wake. In an instant, the hard-won clear skies darkened once more, as if the very heavens had been overturned.

  My hand, still clutching his sleeve, was already slick with sweat. Though I wasn't a deity, I could still sense the danger lurking beneath this sudden shift in the world around us.

  Fear gripped my heart, yet my curiosity—my desire to witness the unknown—fought against my instinct to flee. Peeking out cautiously from behind him, I dared to observe the unfolding scene with just one eye. I had to see just how many more earth-shattering moments this day had in store for me.

  And soon enough, I found out.

  I was so utterly shaken that I nearly fainted on the spot.

  The sky above the ke was no longer just gloomy—it was pitch bck. Below, several enormous tornadoes raged across the water's surface, whipping up massive waves that crashed violently in all directions. Even the seemingly immovable trees surrounding the ke trembled under the force of the storm, their lush branches rustling frantically.

  It was as if countless invisible bck hands were trying to snap them apart without mercy, determined to break these young, thriving lives.

  A genuine sense of worry filled my heart. These trees were not just part of the ndscape; they were my kin—an extension of myself. Within their bodies flowed a breath of my own essence.

  “Our trees… I don't think they can hold on!” A few leaves fluttered past above us. I grabbed his sleeve tightly, my voice ced with urgency. The words "our trees" slipped out instinctively.

  But he didn't even turn around. Instead, he replied calmly, “The trees I pnted aren't so easily destroyed. Don't worry.”

  “Oh!” I blinked in surprise, then patted my chest and let out a small breath of relief.

  I had always known that he never lied, so when he spoke, I believed him without question.

  And sure enough, despite the dire situation, the trees remained unbroken. Aside from a few fallen leaves, not a single trunk had snapped. Instead, their thick, sturdy bodies revealed an unexpected resilience. No matter how fiercely the tornadoes bent and pressed them down, they would always straighten back up—unyielding, unwavering.

  My worries for the trees had indeed been unnecessary.

  Even so, my heart was still only half at ease—where had that massive creature gone after it shot out of the ke? Had it hidden behind the clouds? Or had it already fled far, far away?

  I certainly hoped for the tter. Even though I had only caught the briefest glimpse and hadn't seen any details, that thing had left me with an indescribable sense of dread.

  The wind showed no signs of dying down, and the pitch-bck clouds coiling over the ke were steadily expanding, soon engulfing the two of us beneath their shadow.

  He had yet to take any action, merely gncing up at the sky from time to time, as if casually observing the strange phenomenon above.

  Perhaps it was just my nerves pying tricks on me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the darkness spreading overhead was trying to swallow us whole. A heavy weight settled in my chest, pressing down with an unbearable sense of suffocation.

  How much longer would this go on?

  What exactly was behind all of this?

  And when—when would we finally be able to leave?

  Before the string of questions in my mind could even form into words, a deafening cp of thunder split the sky above us.

  "Watch out!"

  His low voice rang out as he grabbed me—who had already lost half my soul in fright—and leaped backward.

  Almost at the exact same moment, a bzing fireball shot down from the sky, nding precisely where we had just been standing. A searing golden light burst forth with a thunderous explosion, shattering the once-ft ground into a gaping crater. Mud and embers flew in all directions.

  Even though we were already airborne, supposedly at a safe distance, I still got struck on the top of my foot by a few stray chunks of flying earth.

  “Ah!” I yelped, frantically shaking my leg. Those seemingly insignificant clumps of dirt were scalding hot, and my foot immediately turned red, burning with pain.

  If just a few tiny chunks of mud could cause this much harm, then if that fireball had hit me directly… wouldn't I have been reduced to nothing but ashes?!

  A lingering fear gripped my heart.

  Just then, across from us, several streaks of silver-white lightning sshed through the sky, their edges tinged with an eerie mix of red and blue. The colors shimmered strangely, both mesmerizing and menacing.

  "Two reckless fools daring to act so arrogantly in my domain."

  A deep, brooding voice echoed through the stormy sky, yered with an eerie emptiness that made it seem as though it came from everywhere at once. The words seeped into my ears from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint the source.

  "Heh, come out already. Hiding behind the clouds—are you feeling shy?"

  He remained perfectly composed, a mocking smile pying at the corners of his lips.

  I hadn't seen his lips move—the sound had come directly from within him, calm yet resonant, rippling through the boundless sky and earth that had long lost their distinction.

  Roar!

  Whatever was lurking behind the clouds had clearly been enraged.

  A bone-chilling bellow tore through the air, shaking the very ground beneath us.

  My ears buzzed from the deafening force.

  Then, from the depths of the bck clouds, a massive cw emerged—its surface covered in dense, glistening scales. Above, razor-sharp talons curved slightly, gleaming with an eerie, piercing light, so lethally sharp that they seemed capable of shredding anything in their path.

  Before my stunned gaze could even leave that terrifying cw, the thick yers of dark clouds that had been concealing its owner suddenly parted—moving aside like two colossal doors being pulled open in perfect unison.

  I blinked dumbly, unable to find the words to describe the monstrous being now revealed beyond the clouds—the very creature that had burst from the ke, the one with those horrifying cws.

  It wasn't just the cws—its entire body was covered in scales. Deep purple, each one shimmered with an eerie glow, neatly arranged in fwless symmetry. Its body shape resembled the snakes, big and small, that slithered around Mount Fulong—long, sinuous, and flexible. But the sheer size of it was overwhelming. Even the rgest serpent I had ever seen would be nothing more than a tiny earthworm in comparison.

  And then there were its cws—four formidable limbs, each ending in deadly talons—something no snake should ever have.

  My gaze traveled up along its massive body…

  Good heavens, what kind of head was that?!