"Elder Luo… we were not the true target."
The words hung in the ruins like a blade suspended above a throat. Luo Yuanji's brow tightened.
Moyu swallowed, trembling. "The formation… the core… they took it."
Yuanji's gaze sharpened. "The core?"
"They bypassed the formation without triggering a single alarm… silenced the elders… and claimed the central formation core." Moyu's hands quivered violently. "Without it, the whole system is useless. They controlled it. Turned it against us—trapped us inside, cut off any chance to escape or call for help."
The weight of his words pressed down like an invisible mountain. A formation core was the heart of a protective array. Its theft was not merely sabotage—it was total domination, the ability to turn a defensive fortress into a cage.
"They didn't want anyone leaving," Moyu whispered, fear hollowing his voice. "Not alive. Not to warn the others. That's… that's why we survived. We weren't important enough to kill."
Luo Yuanji exhaled slowly, his mind racing far faster than his breath. Two demonic beasts—one a fox, the other some unknown scaled monstrosity. Their precision, intelligence, and terrifying strength revealed they were far from ordinary threats.
"They acted with intent," he murmured, stepping over shattered stone. His hand brushed a broken pillar as if testing the lingering qi. "One beast bypassed the fifth-layer elders… killed its way down to the second layer… and left no traces detectable by any of our senses. Coordinated, strategic—this is far beyond mere instinct."
His gaze drifted toward the city beyond the fractured estate walls.
"The Shen Clan was only the beginning… or a diversion."
Moyu shivered. "If… if that's true… then the other clans—"
"Exactly." Yuanji's voice was calm, but edged with iron. "The Lin Clan, and my own Luo Clan. They're next. They're preparing to strike multiple clans in quick succession."
He tightened his fists. "For two beasts to kill a fifth-layer cultivator—and others at the fourth, third, and second layers—the stronger one, whether the fox or that scaled creature, must be at least fifth-layer or higher. The second beast… at least fourth. Together, their strength is catastrophic."
He stepped to the pavilion's edge, eyes narrowing at the dark cityscape.
"A fifth-layer demonic beast… accompanied by an unknown variant with unpredictable capabilities… both highly intelligent, capable of exploiting formations and human flaws. This attack was not random. They studied us. Planned this."
Two beasts, one using illusions to cloud perception, the other—a creature without a known form, power, or limits. And they moved with alarming speed.
Yuanji's heart tightened. The night outside suddenly felt smaller, quieter—yet beneath the stillness, danger stirred like a coiled serpent.
The cunning of the fox… the slaughtering claws of the scaled creature… they were already reaching for another clan.
They had ravaged the Shen Clan.
By now… they could be moving again.
"It has already been too long," Yuanji whispered. "By now… they may already be at another clan."
He pivoted sharply, eyes scanning the city's skyline. The Lin Clan—closest to the Shen—flashed first in his mind.
I need to confirm the Lin Clan isn't already under attack.
He moved to the fractured roof's edge, robes whipping through the cold night air. He needed information. He needed direction. He needed to follow their trail before another estate fell silent.
Closing his eyes, he cast his divine sense outward. Spiritual perception unfurled in expanding waves, faster than sight or sound. The city spread beneath him—rooftops, courtyards, streets—all trembling faintly with qi.
His senses swept beyond the ruins of the Shen Clan estate—toward the Lin Clan.
At first, only the gentle hum of ordinary city life answered him. Minor cultivators cycling qi. Guards on patrol. The soft pulse of people at rest.
Then—a subtle tremor.
A shift.
A disturbance, faint but unmistakable, rippled through the Lin Clan estate.
Yuanji's eyes snapped open. Violent qi erupted at the edge of his perception—jagged, raw, alien. It carried killing intent sharp enough to bite into his seasoned senses.
The beasts… they're already there.
He didn't waste a breath. Qi coiled around him like compressed storm winds as he tracked the disturbance's coordinates.
"They moved faster than I expected," he muttered. "The Lin Clan is already under attack. How did I not sense this sooner…?"
Another pulse of alien qi flickered through his mind.
One fourth-layer…
The other… roughly third-layer.
Enough to threaten lower-layer cultivators—but not enough to kill fifth-layer elders.
> "So how did all the Shen elders fall so easily…? Is there something more to these beasts than cultivation alone? What are they hiding?"
Yuanji inhaled deeply, steadied his spirit.
> "No use guessing now. I need to reach the Lin Clan immediately. I must warn Lin Canghua—these beasts are no ordinary demons. Even if he's recently broken through to the sixth layer, he must not underestimate them."
His next steps were fixed:
Reach the Lin Clan.
Warn Lin Canghua.
Witness the beasts that slaughtered the Shen elders.
Join the fight.
Then return to protect his own Luo Clan.
But first—speed mattered more than anything. Even a heartbeat of hesitation could doom another clan.
The night air trembled under the pressure of his rising energy.
He stepped forward.
He moved.
Moments later, Luo Yuanji descended upon the outskirts of the Lin Clan estate, his boots touching down at the very edge of a shimmering wall of light.
The defensive formation encasing the estate pulsed with layered runic patterns—tight, sealed, and unmistakably active. The barrier rose like a translucent dome, its surface rippling with condensed qi.
From behind it, he could clearly feel the chaos inside.
His divine sense brushed the formation's exterior, and the violent clash of qi resonated through him—explosions of spiritual force, cries of exertion, the sharp, predatory fluctuation of demonic aura.
The battle was already well underway.
Yuanji narrowed his eyes.
If I tear down the barrier without warning… the Lin Clan might mistake my arrival as an attack.
The Lin Clan, already under assault from demonic beasts, would be on the edge of panic. A sudden breach from outside could easily provoke a backlash—or worse, disrupt whatever defensive measures Lin Canghua was using to hold the beasts at bay.
He lifted his hand, fingers brushing the barrier's surface.
Ripples spread outward in concentric waves, but the formation held strong, rejecting his attempt to pass.
Lin Canghua… he should still be alive.
The sixth-layer patriarch was no weakling. But even a sixth-layer expert, if caught unprepared or surrounded, could be forced into dangerous territory.
Yuanji drew a steady breath, channeling qi into his voice.
"Lin Canghua," he called out, his voice carried through voice transmission —calm yet forceful enough to pierce the formation. "This is Luo Yuanji of the Luo Clan. Your estate is under assault by demonic beasts. I am here to assist— the barrier!"
His words echoed across the shimmering dome, disappearing into the clamor within.
Seconds passed.
He felt another tremor of violent qi from inside—this one sharper, more desperate. A surge of demonic intent pressed outward, followed by a burst of human spiritual power struggling to suppress it.
Yuanji clenched his jaw.
Is he unable to respond? Injured? Or simply too occupied fighting to hear me?
The barrier vibrated faintly—but still no response.
He tried again, channeling more qi into his voice, sending it deeper into the formation's core pathways.
"Patriarch Lin! This is Luo Yuanji! Do not mistake my intentions—I am here to reinforce you. Lower the barrier!"
The barrier flickered… once… like a heartbeat.
Then another pulse of violent qi erupted from within—fiercer this time. Something struck the inner wards, making the formation's runes flare in agitation.
The beasts are pushing them hard… this battle is escalating.
Yuanji's eyes hardened.
He stepped closer, one palm pressing directly against the barrier. Qi spiraled around his arm, ready—just in case he needed to forcibly break through.
But he restrained himself.
Breaking in prematurely risked confusion, panic, or even friendly fire.
Lin Canghua needed to acknowledge him—or at least provide an opening.
The battle inside intensified, demonic roars echoing faintly through the barrier, accompanied by the clash of spiritual arts.