Chapter 63: The Ancient Mythical Beast

They left the two beasts at the boundary and stepped over the invisible line. Instantly the scenario changed and everything around them werr shrouded in darkness.

"Great. Now we just gotta stumble around in the dark i guess." Lin Feng muttered.

"Wait. Look there." Yu Mei said.

Lin Feng looked at wherebYu mei was pointing and saw a small bobbing blue light. Wait Two? Then it slowly grew in numbers. At first there were only two or three soft blue lights drifting far between the roots, easy to dismiss as something getting reflected. Then more of them filtered out of the mist, until a loose constellation of gentle, pulsing glows surrounded the path.

They gave off the exact flavor of residual hostility Lin Feng’s cultivation loved. One particularly bright wisp bobbed ahead along a narrow root ridge. Lin Feng’s eyes followed it. The light dipped, flared, and released a faint scent like. He feet started moving on it’s own.

Suddenly Yu Mei’s hand closed on the back of his collar and yanked. He stumbled back onto solid root, heart thumping hard. The wisp bobbed in place as if disappointed, then drifted farther along the unsafe ridge. Several others moved to join it, forming a tidy little trail of invitation.

Lin Feng stared at them.

"No. Not falling for that again"

The lights pulsed innocently. He sent a controlled surge of Qi through the new weapon. The blade’s edge lit with a thin line of killing intent. The nearest wisps flickered violently and snuffed out. The rest scattered into the mist like guilty thieves, leaving only ordinary gloom behind.

Yu Mei released his collar.

"You’re welcome."

"Thank you. But i would’ve handled it." He sulked

"You were one step from a long fall and a nasty death."

Lin Feng wiped a hand over his face and kept walking, now treating every soft light like a threat.

They didn’t even travel farther before they started hearing an eery echo.

"Now what?"

Figuresbpeeled themselves out of the wet bark and the thickest curtains of mist. Pale, halfbformed shapes that carried the leftover emotional residue of things that had already died in this domain. Some retained vague beast outlines. Others looked almost human. All of them leaked fragments of fear and rage. One drifted close enough to brush directly against Lin Feng and immediately panic slammed into him.

It was not his own fear. It belonged to whatever had died to create the echo and for a moment it was in his chest like a second heart. Lin Feng jerked backward with a raw, involuntary sound, nearly lost his footing on the slick root, and swung the weapon in a short, vicious arc while his free hand shoved at empty air. It tore through the nearest fragments like damp cloth. Yu Mei’s earth qi flared at the same time, roots spearing up to scatter the rest. The echoes dissolved, but the terror lingered a bit more longer.

Lin Feng stayed where he was for several breaths, weapon raised, shoulders tight, waiting for his circulation to feel like his own again.

Yu Mei lowered her spear and studied him.

"Still with me?"

"What were those things?"

"More of those creatures who loves to manipulate people and suck their sould out. But considering everything you did well. You truly have gone stronger."

He accepted that with a small nod.

They stood together in the new silence. Nothing else drifted out of the mist. Instead a much heavier pressure settled over the entire stretch of channel aimed squarely at the two of them. They have got the direct attention of whatever owned this domain.

Yu Mei’s voice was quiet. "I can feel it. It’s looking at us now."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The sound was immense, carrying a physical weight that made the stagnant pools ripple and sent a cold tremor straight up Lin Feng’s spine. Beside him, Yu Mei instantly changed her stance, with her spear slanting forward defensively as her eyes darted into the featureless white.

"What the hell was that?" he muttered.

Despite the terrifying nature, neither of them backed down. They pushed through the next curtain of mist. The moment they stepped past the final ridge of tangled roots, the suffocating darkness vanished with unnatural suddenness.

The darkness was gone. Bathed in a soft, ancient luminescence, the remains of a massive stone shrine lay open before them. Overgrown ruins of beautifully carved pillars and weathered pedestals formed a wide, silent courtyard. But neither the ancient architecture nor the sudden clarity of the air held their attention.

Both of their mouths opened in absolute astonishment at the figure occupying the central pedestal.It was a majestic, pristine white beast. It had a snout and it’s fur was pure, clean white, shifting slightly under elegant, ancient ornaments that jingled softly with its breath. A pair of large, folded wings rested against its sides, and embedded directly into its forehead was a large, brilliant blue gem that shined.

[WARNING]

[An Ancient Mythical Beast Detected]

[Extremely Dangerous]

"Do you see that too?" he asked, his voice hushed in genuine astonishment.

"Yeah... I’m not blind." Yu Mei’s gaze was locked on the creature.

Lin Feng swallowed hard, looking at the sheer aura radiating off the beast. The sheer density of the qi in the courtyard made hismeridians grind together in warning.

"Yu Mei... I think I’m not ready."

"Too late now," she whispered flatly.

"Hmmm."

The beast hummed. The blue gem on its forehead flickered with a casual pulse of light, and then, the majestic head tilted downward.

"I applaud you for reaching this far. Not many have done it."

Lin Feng’s mouth opened even further. He pointed a shaking finger at the pedestal.

"It speaks!!!" he said loudly.

The white beast let out a low, rumbling chuckle that vibrated through the stone floor, the sound so effortlessly heavy that it forced Lin Feng to snap his mouth shut.

"A while ago, a pipsqueak came flying in, challenging me," the beast continued, its eyes drifting toward a corner of the ruins where a few scattered, iridescent feathers still lingered.

"Now, two humans are standing in my dominion. What is it with today?"

"Wait!" Yu Mei started, her eyes widening as she looked at the feathers.

"Yeah," he muttered, the cold certainty from earlier finally locking into place. "That sound was... Skypiercer alright."

The beast completely ignored their realization, shifting its massive white wings lazily as it settled its chin back down onto its front paws. "Now, tell me about your objective before I dispatch you two next."