For a single, fragile heartbeat—
Silence.
Then the forest **lit up**.
The moment the lightning discharged, it didn't descend like a bolt from the sky.
It **spread**.
Water became a web.
Every puddle, every soaked root, every drop raining down from the shattered serpents turned into a conduit. Lightning surged outward in a blinding lattice, branching through the forest floor, climbing tree trunks, ripping through mist and shadow alike.
The night turned white.
A thunderclap followed a breath later—**BOOM**—so violent it felt as if the world itself had been struck.
Screams erupted.
Cultivators convulsed mid-step, bodies locking as arcs of electricity crawled over skin and scales. Demon beasts howled as lightning tore through muscle and core alike, the water beneath their feet sealing their fate.
Those in the third and fourth layers didn't even have time to react.
They dropped instantly.
Smoke rose from scorched ground and twitching bodies as the charge tore through them, nerves fried, qi disrupted beyond recovery.
The fifth-layer cultivators fared little better. Some managed to throw up desperate barriers—but the water **inside** those shields betrayed them. Lightning crawled inward, bypassing defenses through the earth itself, slamming straight into their cores.
Crack—crack—crack.
One by one, creatures crashed to the ground, twitching violently before going still.
At the epicenter, the scarred man felt it before he saw it.
His weapon slipped from numb fingers.
His entire body seized as electricity tore through him, blood spraying from his mouth as his meridians screamed in protest.
"G—ahhh—!"
The fox had already moved.
The instant its paw touched the water and realization struck, it **leapt**, every ounce of power exploding beneath it. Lightning still caught its tail, crawling up its fur—but its barrier flared at full strength, diverting the worst of it outward. It hovered midair just as another surge rippled violently through the ground below.
Even so, its fur smoked.
"—Tch!" the fox hissed, hovering a few feet above the ground, its defensive barrier sealing around it from every angle like a translucent bubble as electricity detonated beneath.
When the light finally faded, the forest was unrecognizable.
The lightning storm lasted only a few breaths.
Then—silence.
Rain pattered softly as the last sparks died out, leaving behind scorched earth, steaming bodies, and the sharp stench of burned qi.
Trees smoldered.
The stream hissed and steamed.
Bodies lay scattered—some human, some beast, some half-shifted—most unmoving, a few twitching weakly before finally going still.
Only a handful remained standing.
And none were untouched.
From the center of the devastation, water slowly slid off invisible scales as the lizard straightened.
Its horns tore free from the earth with a sharp *crack*.
Lightning still danced across its body, arcs snapping between fractured scales before gradually dimming. The ground around it was glassed and blackened, the air thick with ozone.
The scarred man dropped to one knee, gasping, veins darkened and burned, cultivation in complete chaos. He looked up just in time to see the fox hovering before him—unharmed, eyes cold.
Above him, the fox stared.
For once—
No amusement.
No teasing.
Just raw, stunned awareness.
"…You're insane," the fox muttered under its breath.
Invisible, the lizard lifted its head slightly toward the fox's voice.
Its thoughts were calm.
Measured.
*They were all wet and standing in the water. As expected. The outcome was efficient.*
Around them, the last surviving cultivators—those at the sixth layer—hovered a short distance above the ground, faces pale, eyes wide, finally understanding something far too late.
They had not walked into a hunt.
They had walked into a **kill zone**.
The fox exhaled slowly, lightning still crackling and fading beneath its barrier as it lowered itself to hover just above the ruined ground.
"…Next time," it said dryly, voice carrying through the steaming forest, "you could at least give me a warning."
Its eyes flicked around, sharp and alert.
"I reacted fast enough," it continued, tone flat but edged, "but another heartbeat slower and I'd have been roasted right along with them."
There was no answer.
The fox clicked its tongue. "Tch. Talking to air again."
Around them, what remained of the battlefield barely dared to breathe.
Of the original crowd, only a handful still hovered—mostly fifth- and sixth-layer cultivators. Some had half-shifted back into their beast forms: scorched wings held stiff, fur smoking, scales cracked and blackened. Their eyes darted wildly, terror finally breaking through whatever greed had brought them here.
They felt it.
That pressure.
That something unseen was still moving—
Behind them.
Among them.
The lizard stood invisible at the edge of the devastation, water sliding silently from its scales. Its gold eyes—still blind—narrowed slightly as it lifted its head.
It inhaled.
Slow.
Deep.
The air was thick with burned qi, blood, ozone… and beneath it all—
A sharper scent.
Predatory.
*There.*
Its body lowered into a crouch, muscles coiling without a sound.
Then—
It lunged.
The air tore.
In a single blink, invisibility shattered as the lizard **appeared** beside a shadow leopard struggling to rise, one hind leg twitching uselessly, fur still smoking from lightning burns.
The leopard barely had time to widen its eyes.
A massive force slammed into its side.
The lizard's jaws closed around its throat with a wet, crushing **crack**, shadows dispersing violently as the beast screamed once—then choked.
The ground shattered beneath them as the lizard drove it down, claws pinning it in place, weight overwhelming. Dark blood spilled across scorched earth, hissing where it touched still-hot stone.
The remaining cultivators froze.
One of the sixth-layer survivors sucked in a sharp breath. "I–It was invisible—!"
Too late.
The lizard's head snapped up, blood dripping from its maw as it released the limp corpse. Lightning still faintly danced along its horns, its presence no longer concealed.
The fox turned fully now, eyes locking onto the scene.
"…So that's where you were," it murmured.
The lizard didn't look at it. Its head tilted slightly, nostrils flaring again, already sorting through scents—fear, blood, shattered spiritual energy.
*Plenty left,* it thought calmly.
The fox's lips curled—not into a smile, but something sharper.
"Well then," it said, weapons slowly lifting behind it, "looks like we're not done yet."
The surviving cultivators hovered higher instinctively, tension snapping tight as the realization settled fully—
The lightning had only been the opening act.
And now, the real hunt had begun.
The fox turned slowly.
Its gaze settled on the scarred man.
What remained of him trembled on one knee, smoke still rising from his body, meridians scorched black, breath coming out in broken, wet gasps. His eyes were wide—no rage left in them now, no schemes, no confidence.
Only fear.
"…It's about time we finish this," the fox said calmly. "You've already wasted enough of my time."
Three weapons moved.
Not rushed.
Not dramatic.
They struck as one.
**Clang—!**
The scarred man roared, forcing what little qi he had left into a barrier. Light flared desperately around him as he poured everything into it, veins bulging, blood leaking from the corners of his eyes.
The fox didn't even slow.
"How many times do I have to tell you," it said coldly, "that's useless."
The weapons crashed again.
Once.
Twice.
The barrier shattered like glass—**exploding into fragments of light** that scattered and faded before they could even touch the ground.
The fox was already there.
"Don't forget to take a good look—"
The sentence cut off.
So did the man.
Blood sprayed in a crimson arc as the fox's blade passed cleanly through his neck. His head separated from his body, eyes still frozen in disbelief as it tumbled away.
The headless corpse collapsed a heartbeat later, hitting the ground with a dull, final thud.
Silence rippled outward.
The fox flicked blood from its weapon, expression unchanged.
"As I said," it continued coolly, "I'll be taking everything now."
It pulled a blood-stained storage pouch from within its own, movements precise and practiced. Without releasing even a flicker of qi, it stored both the corpse and the jade spear in a single smooth motion.
"We'll sort that out later."
At the same moment—
A scream cut off abruptly nearby.
Another cultivator fell, body collapsing lifelessly as an unseen force tore through them.
The fox's ears twitched.
It glanced toward the remaining survivors—those still hovering, shaking, their numbers rapidly dwindling.
"Alright," it said, voice carrying clearly through the ruined forest. "Let's not waste time."
Its weapons rose again, locking onto new targets.
"We'll finish them off. Now."
Somewhere among the smoke and shadows, the lizard moved—silent, lethal, already choosing the next scent to erase.
The hunt resumed.
And this time—
There would be no survivors.