The Gale Wolves were a specific breed of low-level Demon Beast raised by Wuya Hall in semi-captivity. The sect allowed them to roam the back mountain for one purpose: to harvest their fangs.
Although their cultivation base was negligible, a pair of mature Gale Wolf fangs was an excellent material for refining artifacts. To protect this resource from being devoured by stronger predators, the sect ensured no powerful Demon Beasts existed in this area.
Yet, something had brutally killed this wolf.
Su Miaoqing approached the corpse, pinching her nose to suppress her nausea.
Xiao Yifeng frowned, scanning the dark treeline. "Senior Sister, it seems we have an intruder. Or perhaps a beast from the deep wilderness crossed the boundary."
He gestured at the mangled carcass. "This Gale Wolf was at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, yet it was killed with a single strike. Ordinary beasts aren't capable of such precision. We should return immediately and report this to the Senior Brothers."
Su Miaoqing’s eyes lit up, her fear replaced by a spark of defiance. She snorted coldly. "What is there to fear? Isn't your Senior Sister here? I want to see what kind of monster dares to eat my family's livestock. Just watch me skin it alive."
Seeing her eager expression, Xiao Yifeng felt a headache coming on. He knew that look; she was interested, and once she was interested, there was no stopping her.
Before he could utter a word of protest, Su Miaoqing dropped Little White to the ground. "Go, Little White! Track it down!"
The snow fox landed, sniffed the air reluctantly, and then darted into the forest like a streak of white light.
The two disciples followed the fox, tracing a path of flattened grass and broken branches. Before long, they stumbled upon two more wolf carcasses.
The scene was identical: killed instantly, Demon Cores stolen, but the valuable fangs left untouched.
Xiao Yifeng’s suspicion hardened into certainty. This was the work of a powerful predator hunting for energy, not a scavenger.
He moved cautiously, constantly checking their blind spots. "Senior Sister," he whispered, glancing back at her. "This beast is hunting for cores. It kills instantly and efficiently. Its strength shouldn't be underestimated. We really should go back and let the Seniors handle this."
"Coward," Su Miaoqing scoffed. "It's just a beast. How strong can it be in the outer perimeter? We can't let it keep poaching our wolves. With me here, you have nothing to worry about."
Xiao Yifeng paused. Logic was on her side; in his previous life, he had never heard of a catastrophe occurring in the Wuya Hall back mountain during this time period. If a truly dangerous monster were here, history would have recorded it.
Maybe I'm being too paranoid, he thought. He decided to let her have her way, though he kept his guard up.
Following Little White’s lead, they found a trail of increasingly fresh kills. Xiao Yifeng knew they were close.
Suddenly, a rustle echoed from the brush ahead. Little White darted forward, then let out a fierce, warning roar.
Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing exchanged a sharp glance. Su Miaoqing’s hand flashed, retrieving a Low Grade Immortal Sword from her Storage Ring. Fearing for the fox, they rushed forward.
In a small clearing, another wolf lay dying, its belly ripped open. Beside it stood Little White, transformed into his true form—a snow lion as tall as a man. His fur stood on end, and he was growling low at an empty patch of air ahead.
There was nothing there.
Xiao Yifeng frowned, puzzled. He turned to speak to Su Miaoqing.
"Watch out, Xiao Feng!" she screamed.
Her hands blurred through a seal, and her Immortal Sword screamed through the air, shooting past Xiao Yifeng’s shoulder.
Xiao Yifeng reacted on instinct. He didn't look; he threw himself forward in a clumsy roll.
Wham!
A massive tail materialized out of thin air, slamming into the spot where he had been standing a split second ago. Dust and debris exploded into the air.
Just as quickly as it appeared, the tail vanished again.
Before they could catch their breath, a sickening thud echoed through the clearing. Little White yelped in pain as he was swatted out of the air like a fly. The snow lion rolled across the dirt and lay still, his fate unknown.
"Little White!" Su Miaoqing cried, her voice cracking with panic. She moved to rush to her pet, but Xiao Yifeng, still on the ground, grabbed her ankle.
She froze, realizing her mistake. Panic was death.
She forced herself to calm down. With a sharp gesture, she recalled her sword. It split into several shimmering phantom blades that circled around them, forming a defensive perimeter.
Xiao Yifeng scrambled to his feet, eyes darting around the empty clearing. "Senior Sister, careful. This beast can turn invisible."
"En," she grunted, not turning her head. Her eyes scanned the canopy, the brush, the shadows.
Suddenly, the air above them rippled.
A gaping maw, wide enough to swallow a man whole, materialized in mid-air. Before they could react, a ball of dark green light condensed in its throat and was spat out with terrifying speed.
Su Miaoqing didn't flinch. She pointed a finger, sending her phantom swords slashing toward the projectile.
"No, don't hit it!" Xiao Yifeng shouted.
Too late.
Boom!
The swords struck the green orb, detonating it instantly. A cloud of thick, heavy poison gas exploded outward, enveloping them in a noxious fog. The poison was pervasive, seeping into their pores and lungs. Instantly, the world began to spin.
Through the haze, a colossal shape shimmered into existence. It was a giant python, easily 30 feet long. Its body was flesh-colored, covered in strange, translucent scales that refracted light like a prism, rendering it nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Its mouth, a bloody basin of razor-sharp teeth, lunged at them.
Xiao Yifeng shoved Su Miaoqing aside with all his strength and leaped in the opposite direction. The jaws snapped shut on empty air.
They tumbled to the ground, disheveled and gasping.
"It's the scales," Xiao Yifeng coughed, eyeing the beast. "They bend light. If we were at the Foundation Establishment stage and had Divine Sense, we could see it clearly. But with just our eyes..."
The python's triangular eyes fixed on them with cold malice. It decided Su Miaoqing was the greater threat and abandoned its stealth. With a roar, it lunged at her again.
Su Miaoqing, dizzy from the toxin, fought through the haze. She guided her sword with trembling fingers.
Clang!
The Immortal Sword struck the python, splitting into a dozen phantom blades that hacked wildly at its body—the Phantom Light-Splitting Sword Technique.
Sparks flew like fireworks. The blades skittered off the beast's scales, leaving only shallow white scratches. Its hide was terrifyingly tough.
"Too hard!" Su Miaoqing gritted her teeth. She changed tactics.
"Fall! Thunder Prison Sword Formation!"
Her swords plunged into the earth in a circle around the beast. Arcs of lightning leaped between the blades, forming a crackling cage that bound the snake tight. The beast writhed as electricity sizzled against its scales.
"Got you!" Su Miaoqing exhaled, a triumphant smile breaking through her fear. She turned to Xiao Yifeng. "Xiao Feng, look! I told you I could—"
She stopped. Xiao Yifeng wasn't smiling. He was staring past her, his face pale with horror.
A heaven-shaking roar erupted behind her.
The python’s body suddenly swelled, muscles bulging as it unleashed a sonic scream that shattered the air. The electric net snapped like twine.
The shockwave slammed into Xiao Yifeng, sending him flying. He hit the ground and vomited a mouthful of blood, his heart sinking into his stomach.
That pressure... It’s a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast!
How was this possible? How could a monster of this level exist in the sect's back garden?
He had no time to ponder the impossibility. He scrambled up, hands forming seals frantically. Fireballs, ice spikes, and water bullets rained down on the beast, but the monster ignored them completely. Its focus was entirely on Su Miaoqing.
The battle turned into a desperate brawl. The python’s tail carried the force of ten thousand jin, smashing trees and rocks alike. Su Miaoqing danced around the strikes, using her movement techniques to dodge the poison spits and snapping jaws, but she was losing ground.
Her attacks were like tickling an elephant. The beast was enraged, not injured.
Growing impatient, the python opened its maw again. Another ball of concentrated poison gas formed.
Su Miaoqing, having learned her lesson, held her breath and prepared to dodge. She locked eyes with the beast, watching for the telltale twitch of its muscles.
Suddenly, a gleam of cunning flashed in the snake’s vertical pupils.
A mental attack!
The moment their gazes met, Su Miaoqing felt a spike of vertigo. The beast had used a low-level illusion technique to trigger the toxins already in her blood.
Her vision blurred. Her knees buckled.
Smash!
The massive tail whipped around and slammed into her unprotected side. She was swatted out of the air like a ragdoll, her sword clattering away into the darkness. She hit the ground hard, coughing up blood, unable to stand.
The python didn't hesitate. It slithered toward her with terrifying speed, jaws unhinged, ready to swallow her whole.
Su Miaoqing watched death approach. Regret washed over her—not for herself, but for the boy she had dragged into this mess.
Am I going to die here? Am I going to get Xiao Feng killed too?
The stench of the beast’s maw filled her nose. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.
But the bite never came.
The python jerked to a halt, its head snapping back.
Behind it, a small figure had grabbed onto the tip of its massive tail with both hands.
Xiao Yifeng dug his heels into the earth. The beast dragged him forward, his boots plowing a deep furrow through the soil.
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