Chapter 96: The Ancient Creature

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: The Ancient Creature

The roar tore through the mountain.

For a moment, Xi Yunxui could hear nothing else.

The sound was so immense that it seemed to shake the very air around them, swallowing the rustling of leaves, the flowing water of the spiritual spring, and even the frantic cries of the birds fleeing through the canopy. The ground beneath her feet trembled violently, forcing Xi Yunxui to widen her stance to keep herself upright as the entire mountain seemed to shudder in response.

Ancient trees swayed from side to side.

Their enormous branches collided overhead, sending leaves and broken twigs raining down through the forest.

The spiritual spring beside them surged over its banks, while cracks continued spreading through the soil like countless black veins.

Xi Yunxui stared at the enormous fissure before her.

Something was coming out.

She could not see its entire body yet, but the sheer pressure radiating from beneath the earth made every instinct in her body scream that she should run.

The first thing to emerge was a massive claw.

It pierced through the shattered soil and sank deeply into the earth, its dark talons digging into the ground as though the creature below were using the mountain itself to pull its body upward.

Xi Yunxui’s breath caught.

The claw alone was enormous.

It was larger than her entire body.

Hui’s fingers tightened around the back of Xi Yunxui’s clothing, while King C stood frozen several steps away. Even the normally fearless little creature had lost every trace of his usual curiosity.

Biyu hovered above them, its wings beating rapidly as it released frightened cries.

Another tremendous tremor shook the mountain.

The creature pulled itself higher.

More earth collapsed around the opening, revealing a massive scaled arm covered in dark brown-black armor-like scales. Each movement sent waves of spiritual energy rolling through the forest, forcing nearby trees to bend beneath the pressure.

Xi Yunxui’s face gradually lost its color.

She had encountered dangerous situations in her past life.

She had been kidnapped.

She had faced people who wanted to harm her.

She had even experienced the strange dangers that came with this world.

But this was different.

This was the first time since arriving in this modern world that Xi Yunxui truly understood what fear meant.

Not nervousness.

Not caution.

Fear.

The kind that crawled through her body before her mind could even process the danger, making every instinct scream at her to flee.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

’What... is that thing?’

The creature continued pulling itself from beneath the mountain.

Its massive shoulders emerged first, followed by a thick, muscular torso covered entirely in dark scales. Its body resembled that of an enormous ancient reptilian beast, yet there was something almost humanoid about its structure.

Two enormous horns curved backward from its head, giving its silhouette an even more terrifying appearance.

Then its head emerged.

Xi Yunxui’s pupils contracted.

The creature’s face was monstrous.

Its jaw was broad and powerful, lined with rows of sharp teeth, while its skin was covered in overlapping dark brown-black scales that looked almost like natural armor. Several smaller horns protruded along the sides of its skull, and two enormous eyes slowly opened beneath heavy ridges of bone.

The eyes were what frightened Xi Yunxui the most.

A deep crimson iris surrounded an unnaturally black pupil.

The pupil remained completely still as it surveyed the forest.

Then its gaze shifted.

It found Xi Yunxui.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Xi Yunxui felt as though the entire world had stopped.

The creature’s eyes were not those of a mindless beast.

There was intelligence within them.

Ancient intelligence.

And something else.

Recognition.

Xi Yunxui’s heart pounded violently against her ribs.

The creature had sensed her.

The next movement was even more terrifying.

A pair of enormous wings unfolded from its back.

The force generated by the movement sent a violent gust through the forest, flattening grasses and scattering leaves in every direction. The wings stretched outward until they seemed large enough to cover the surrounding trees, their membranes dark and thick, reinforced by long skeletal structures that gave them the appearance of enormous bat-like wings.

The creature continued rising.

Its waist emerged.

Its legs followed.

Every time one of its feet touched the ground, the mountain shook beneath the weight.

By the time its entire body finally emerged from the earth, Xi Yunxui had to tilt her head almost completely backward to see its face.

It was enormous.

Far larger than any creature she had ever imagined encountering.

The ancient beast slowly straightened its back, its enormous wings extending behind it while fragments of stone and soil continued sliding from its scales.

For several seconds, it simply stood there.

The forest had become completely silent.

Then the creature raised its head.

Its crimson eyes narrowed.

And it roared again.

The second roar was even more terrifying than the first.

A visible wave of spiritual energy exploded outward from its body.

Trees bent nearly to the ground.

The surface of the spiritual spring shattered into countless ripples.

Xi Yunxui was forced several steps backward, pulling Hui against her as she raised one arm to protect the little girl from the debris.

King C was knocked onto his back.

Biyu was thrown sideways through the air before desperately correcting its flight.

When the roar finally faded, Xi Yunxui remained frozen.

Her breathing was uneven.

She stared at the creature in disbelief.

Then, unable to hold herself back any longer, she whispered,

"System..."

The familiar panel appeared before her.

Xi Yunxui swallowed.

"What have I done?"

For once, the system did not immediately answer with one of its usual cheerful responses.

A few seconds passed.

Then the panel appeared.

[Host, please remain calm.]

"Remain calm?"

Xi Yunxui stared at the enormous beast.

"How am I supposed to remain calm?!"

The creature moved one massive foot.

The ground shook.

Xi Yunxui’s voice became strained.

"What is that thing?"

[The System advises the Host not to engage with the entity.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

"Engage?"

She almost laughed from disbelief.

"I wasn’t planning to!"

[Correct.]

[The Host’s current strength is insufficient to confront the entity.]

Xi Yunxui stared at the notification.

"How insufficient?"

There was another pause.

[The difference in strength cannot be accurately calculated.]

Xi Yunxui’s face became even paler.

The system continued.

[Host is strongly advised to avoid attracting the entity’s attention.]

Xi Yunxui looked toward the creature.

Unfortunately, that advice came far too late.

The beast was already looking directly at her.

Its enormous head tilted slightly.

Xi Yunxui’s heart sank.

It knew exactly where she was.

She slowly glanced toward Hui, King C, and Biyu.

"Don’t make any sudden movements."

King C nodded immediately.

Hui pressed herself against Xi Yunxui’s side.

Biyu landed quietly on a nearby branch, its feathers puffed and its eyes fixed on the creature.

Xi Yunxui began moving backward.

She did not dare turn around.

She did not dare run.

Every instinct told her that the moment she turned her back on the creature, it might attack.

So she took one careful step backward.

Then another.

Her movements were deliberately slow, her body lowered slightly as she attempted to guide the three creatures toward the thicker forest behind them.

"Stay close."

King C followed her.

Hui remained glued to her side.

Biyu moved from branch to branch above them, keeping its movements as quiet as possible.

Xi Yunxui continued retreating.

For several seconds, it seemed as though the creature simply watched them.

She began to hope that perhaps it had no intention of attacking.

Perhaps they could escape without attracting its attention.

Then she noticed something that made her heart sink.

The creature’s head had turned.

Its crimson eyes followed every single movement they made.

It had been watching them the entire time.

Xi Yunxui’s fingers tightened.

’It knows.’

She did not tell the others.

There was no point.

They were already being watched.

The creature slowly lowered its head.

Its enormous nostrils flared.

It inhaled.

The surrounding spiritual energy seemed to tremble.

Xi Yunxui’s expression changed.

It was sensing something.

Her.

The creature was sensing the spiritual energy within her body.

She suddenly remembered how violently the mountain’s spiritual energy had reacted when she began cultivating.

Her stomach sank.

---

In a completely different part of the country, Huo Jingchen was sitting inside his office.

He had been reviewing documents when his hand suddenly stopped.

His expression changed.

A strange pressure had appeared in the air.

At first, it was barely noticeable.

Then it grew.

Huo Jingchen slowly raised his head.

The spiritual energy around him had become unstable.

His eyes narrowed.

"What is this?"

He stood so quickly that his chair moved backward.

The energy fluctuation was not normal.

It was vast.

And more importantly, it carried an oppressive presence that made even an experienced cultivator instinctively cautious.

Huo Jingchen immediately reached for his suit jacket and slipped it over his shoulders before taking his phone from the desk.

The moment he opened the office door, he nearly collided with someone outside.

Zhou Rui.

His assistant stopped immediately.

"President Huo."

Huo Jingchen did not waste time.

"Did you feel it?"

Zhou Rui’s expression was unusually serious.

"Yes."

"How far does it reach?"

"I don’t know."

Huo Jingchen’s gaze darkened.

He could already feel the answer.

This was not a disturbance that could be contained within a single city.

It was spreading through the spiritual network of the entire region.

"Call everyone."

Zhou Rui immediately understood.

"Everyone?"

"Every cultivator from the Middle Level upward."

Huo Jingchen’s voice was cold and decisive.

"Tell them to find the source of the energy fluctuation immediately."

He paused before adding,

"If this continues unchecked, calamity will befall us."

Zhou Rui’s expression changed.

He nodded and immediately reached for his phone.

"Understood."

As Huo Jingchen began moving toward the elevator, the same disturbance was being felt by cultivators throughout the country.

The moment the ancient beast’s energy spread beyond the mountain, cultivators of every level felt something unusual.

Those at the lower levels could only sense that the spiritual energy around them had become disturbed.

Middle-Level cultivators felt something far more alarming.

They could sense the overwhelming pressure hidden within the fluctuation.

And those above the Middle Level immediately understood that something extremely dangerous had emerged.

Across the country, cultivation families, sects, organizations, and independent cultivators began reacting.

Within the Wei Sect, several cultivators abruptly abandoned their meditation.

At the Shu Sect, elders stepped out of seclusion as the spiritual energy around the mountain peaks fluctuated violently.

The Xu Sect immediately began gathering its stronger cultivators.

The Xi Sect, the Ling Sect, and the He Sect all experienced similar disturbances.

No one knew exactly what had happened.

But everyone knew that something had awakened.

Even cultivators in Country Z felt the abnormal energy fluctuation.

The distance between them and the mountain did not matter.

The energy was simply too powerful.

Rumors began spreading almost immediately.

Some believed that a powerful spiritual treasure had appeared.

Others suspected that an ancient inheritance had been uncovered.

But the strongest cultivators were far less optimistic.

They could feel the oppressive aura hidden within the energy.

Something had emerged.

Something dangerous.

And no one knew how powerful it was.

---

At the foot of the mountain, Qing Xi stood motionless.

She had been tracking Xi Yunxui ever since the day she infiltrated the plane and secretly placed a tracker on her.

The tracker had eventually led her here.

But the mountain itself had stopped her from going farther.

A powerful barrier surrounded the area, preventing outsiders from entering.

Qing Xi had attempted to approach it several times, but every attempt had failed.

So she had been forced to remain at the foot of the mountain, watching from a distance.

She was a cultivator at the Gradual Stage, Level One.

Even with her cultivation, the energy fluctuation had nearly made her legs weaken.

Cold sweat trickled down her back.

Her face was pale as she stared toward the mountain.

"What in the world is happening up there?"

She could not see what was happening inside.

She did not need to.

The pressure alone was enough.

Qing Xi’s fingers tightened around the object she was holding.

Something had changed.

Whatever had happened inside the mountain was far beyond anything she had anticipated when she began tracking Xi Yunxui.

And the longer the energy continued spreading, the stronger her unease became.

---

Back inside the mountain, Xi Yunxui knew none of this.

She was still focused entirely on the creature standing before her.

Her body remained tense as she slowly guided Hui, King C, and Biyu toward the trees.

One step.

Then another.

She was trying to make their retreat appear natural, hoping that if they moved quietly enough, the creature might lose interest.

But the creature continued watching.

Its enormous crimson eyes followed every movement.

Xi Yunxui finally reached the edge of the forest.

She thought they might actually have a chance.

Then the creature moved.

It did not attack.

It merely took one step forward.

The ground shook beneath its foot.

Xi Yunxui stopped breathing.

The creature lowered its enormous head until its gaze was almost level with the trees.

Its black pupils narrowed.

The surrounding spiritual energy began gathering toward it.

Xi Yunxui suddenly understood.

It was not allowing them to leave.

It had been watching them retreat because it was deciding what to do with them.

And for reasons Xi Yunxui could not understand, its attention remained fixed entirely on her.

Her heart pounded.

She instinctively moved Hui farther behind her.

King C bared his teeth despite the enormous difference in size.

Biyu spread its wings and released a frightened cry.

The creature stared at the three of them.

Then its gaze returned to Xi Yunxui.

A strange rumbling sound emerged from deep within its chest.

Xi Yunxui swallowed.

She had never felt so small.

The creature leaned closer.

Its crimson eyes reflected her tiny figure.

For several long seconds, nothing happened.

Then the beast opened its enormous mouth.

Rows of terrifying teeth became visible.

Xi Yunxui’s entire body tensed.

But instead of attacking, the creature inhaled.

The spiritual energy surrounding the forest began rushing toward its mouth.

Xi Yunxui’s expression changed.

The creature was absorbing the energy.

Not from the mountain.

Not from the spiritual spring.

From her.

She felt the spiritual energy inside her body being pulled toward the surface.

The system immediately appeared.

[Warning!]

[The entity is attempting to absorb the Host’s spiritual energy.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

The creature’s crimson eyes brightened.

The mountain trembled beneath them.

And for the first time, Xi Yunxui realized that the ancient beast had not awakened simply because she had disturbed its territory.

It had awakened because it had sensed her.

Because something within her had called to it.

And now that it had found her, it had no intention of letting her leave.