The fox hovered calmly, tails swaying as if this were nothing more than a casual stroll through the forest.
Its gaze swept across the battlefield—smoking corpses, shattered earth, scattered weapons—before settling on the figures still lingering above, suspended by qi and fear.
"You're still standing," the fox said lightly. "Not helping. Not running. Just… watching."
A soft chuckle followed.
"I'll admit, I appreciate the convenience. If you'd tried to flee, we'd have had to chase you down. That would've been annoying."
Its eyes narrowed, sharp and cold beneath the faint curve of its smile.
"But you didn't."
The fox lifted a paw, gesturing lazily at the carnage below.
"You stayed. Waiting for gains. Waiting for others to die first. Waiting to see if you could pick up what's left."
It tilted its head.
"Greed like that? It works in our favor."
A brief pause.
Then its gaze shifted—pinning the two cultivators at the fifth layer like insects beneath glass.
"I am, however, a little surprised," the fox continued, voice calm yet heavy with pressure, "that **you two** still think there's a way out of this."
The air thickened.
From somewhere unseen, water stirred.
Lightning crackled faintly.
The fox's smile widened just a fraction.
"So," it said softly, almost politely,
"who's going to try first?"
Both fifth-layer figures moved at the same time.
No words.
No hesitation.
Their disguises **shattered** mid-charge.
One twisted in midair as fur tore through flesh—bones cracking, qi surging—before resolving into a **Crimson-Backed Dire Ape**, its body massive and corded with muscle. Red markings blazed across its spine as it roared and brought both fists together, shockwaves rippling outward.
The other dissolved into shadows and wind, its form elongating as scales replaced skin—a **Gale Fang Night Viper**, long and sinuous, wings of translucent wind unfurling along its sides as it hissed, fangs dripping with condensed qi.
They attacked from opposite sides.
The ape came first.
It slammed both fists down, the air **exploding** as compressed force crashed toward the fox like a falling mountain, intending to crush barrier and body alike.
At the same moment, the viper vanished.
Not invisibility.
Speed.
A blur of wind and darkness reappeared behind the fox, jaws opening wide as serrated qi fangs snapped shut—aimed straight for its spine.
The fox didn't retreat.
Didn't panic.
It laughed.
"So beasts after all," it said lightly. "Good. I was hoping."
All three of its weapons moved at once.
The black spear **dropped**, its tip plunging downward and detonating the ground beneath the ape's strike. The force twisted aside as the fox's barrier flared—white, gold, and unyielding—absorbing what remained with a thunderous **boom**.
At the same time, the jade spear reversed midair, spinning backward in a vicious arc. Its edge sliced through the viper's wind shroud—
**Clang—!**
Sparks erupted as scales held, but the impact sent the viper spiraling away, hissing in pain.
That was when the ape realized something was wrong.
Its massive feet hit the ground—
And the water beneath them **rippled**.
Invisible waves spread outward.
From nowhere, an unseen weight slammed into the ape's side.
**CRACK.**
Ribs caved inward as an invisible maw tore into flesh, lightning flickering briefly along the wound before vanishing.
The ape roared, staggering, swinging wildly at empty air.
The fox's voice drifted calmly through the chaos.
"You really should've run."
Charging the fox head-on was a mistake.
Charging it **while something unseen hunted beside it**…
Was suicide.
But—
The two beasts adapted instantly.
They hadn't survived to the fifth layer by being stupid.
The **Crimson-Backed Dire Ape** slammed its fists into its own chest, blood and qi splattering as crimson markings ignited along its spine and arms.
Its ability awakened.
**Blood Fury · Mountain Tyrant Physique**
Its aura **exploded**.
Muscles swelled grotesquely, veins glowing red as its body grew denser—heavier. Each step cracked the ground beneath it. Strength multiplied violently, pain dulled to nothing as vitality surged. Even its crushed ribs began forcing themselves back into place with sickening cracks.
The ape roared, the sound alone blasting trees apart, then **leapt**, both fists raised overhead—intent on smashing the fox out of the sky like a falling insect.
At the same time, the **Gale Fang Night Viper** coiled midair, pupils narrowing to slits as strange wind-runes lit along its scales.
Its ability unfolded in silence.
**Heaven-Splitting Wind Domain**
The forest **tilted**.
Wind no longer flowed—it **obeyed**.
Invisible blades formed in every direction, pressure multiplying as the air itself sharpened. Movement became resistance. Breathing became strain. Even qi circulation felt sluggish, as if pushing through a storm.
The viper's body blurred into dozens of afterimages, each one real for a fraction of a second—fangs striking from every angle at once, aimed not only at the fox, but at the *space* around it.
The fox finally clicked its tongue.
"Tch… troublesome abilities."
It twisted midair, barrier flaring brighter as wind blades screeched across it, sparks raining down. One cut slipped through, slicing fur and drawing blood from its shoulder.
Below, the ape's shadow swallowed everything.
The fox's eyes sharpened.
The jade spear **reversed** and shot downward—but the ape caught it barehanded.
**Clang—!**
The ground shattered as the ape landed, grinning through blood as it *threw* the spear aside and swung a fist the size of a boulder straight into the fox's barrier.
The impact detonated like a landslide.
The fox was sent flying, crashing through three trees before stabilizing midair, its barrier flickering violently.
Above the chaos, the sixth-layer cultivators stared in shock.
"They're pushing it back—!"
But then—
The wind froze.
Not stilled.
**Interrupted.**
The Gale Fang Night Viper's domain wavered as something unseen **entered** it.
The viper's eyes widened.
It felt it this time.
A presence moving *through* its wind without resistance.
Too close.
Too fast.
The lizard appeared for the first time—half-visible, scales crackling faintly with lightning, maw already open.
Its ability activated instinctively.
**Predatory Phase · Lightning Assimilation**
Its body phased for a heartbeat—half real, half elemental—as it passed *through* the densest wind blades unharmed, jaws closing around the viper's neck.
**CRUNCH—!**
Lightning detonated **inside** the viper.
Wind screamed as its domain collapsed inward, imploding around its own core. The beast shrieked once before its body went limp, crashing into the forest below in a smoking heap.
The ape froze mid-roar.
Its Blood Fury surged harder in response, eyes burning red as it turned—
Too late.
The fox was already above it.
All three weapons aligned.
Its voice was calm again.
"You chose the wrong prey."
The killing blow descended.