Zian awoke beneath a sky of thorns.
The air was thick with spiritual pressure, pulsing from the trees themselves—twisted, black-barked things with leaves like razors and roots that throbbed like veins. Each branch curled with malice, and the wind carried faint whispers.
This was no ordinary forest.
"A devouring realm…" Zian muttered.
The egg pulsed faintly at his side, nestled within his spiritual pouch. Its heartbeat synchronized with his own, giving him a strange, calm focus amidst the oppression.
The ground trembled beneath his feet.
Something stirred in the roots.
From the shadows emerged a creature—part vine, part beast, part corpse. Its head resembled a malformed deer skull, but its body was composed of twisted wood and sinew, with green flame flickering between its joints.
[Devourer of the Deep Roots – Spirit Beast, Rank: Low Earth]
Zian didn't hesitate.
He channeled corpse flame into his legs and vanished in a burst of speed, Panther Step allowing him to blur past the beast's first lunge. He spun mid-air, launching a spear of fire toward its core—but the vine-beast swatted it aside with a shriek.
It was fast.
More than that—it could suppress flame.
"So you feed on spiritual fire…" Zian said, frowning. "Let's try corpse qi instead."
He pressed his palm to the ground.
Tremor Pulse. Corpse Bloom variant.
From the earth erupted a ring of black lotus flames, infused with the taint of death. The beast shrieked again, recoiling as the flames clung to its body—corrupting its structure, slowing its regeneration.
Zian followed up with a direct blow to the beast's weakened limb, bursting it with focused qi. Vines scattered like bone shards.
But just as he thought it over, the forest responded.
Every tree around him awoke.
Dozens of red eyes opened on trunks.
Dozens of vines uncoiled from branches.
The Devouring Grove had recognized him as prey.
"You've got to be kidding."
Zian retreated swiftly, leaping branch to branch, ducking whip-like roots and clawing vines. His breath was shallow, but his eyes gleamed with dangerous light.
"If I can't outrun you…"
He grinned, flicking a beast core from his pouch.
"Then I'll feed you something you can't digest."
He crushed the core in his palm—an old wolf beast's flame-natured essence—and flung the raw qi into the trees.
The forest devoured it.
And then… it screamed.
The grove began to convulse as incompatible qi surged through its root systems, fracturing balance.
Zian took the opening and plunged deeper into the forest.
Inner Grove – Heart of Thorns
After hours of dodging and weaving, Zian reached a clearing.
At its center stood a tree unlike the others.
White bark. Leafless. Carved with ancient runes that shimmered silver.
At its base lay a skeleton in monk's robes, fingers curled around a jade medallion shaped like a fang.
"An ancient cultivator…"
Zian approached cautiously.
The egg pulsed wildly now, resonating with the runes.
As he reached out, the tree shifted. Its bark split open—and a hollow cavity emerged. A place not meant for leaves… but for containment.
Zian knelt and set the egg inside.
The runes lit up instantly.
The tree trembled.
And then—
Thump.
A single heartbeat.
The egg cracked.
A tendril of silver-black mist rose from within, curling around Zian's wrist like a warm chain. His mind flooded with images—
Wings of starlight
Eyes older than heaven
Claws drenched in divine blood
The Sovereign Core had awakened a fragment of its will.
"You… are the Fang-Bearer…" whispered the mist.
Zian fell backward, gasping.
The egg remained still—but it was no longer dormant.
Elsewhere – Spirit Realm Cavern
In a chamber of ice, Jin Yue knelt before a crystal altar.
He held a scroll bound in bone and sealed with dragon blood.
Behind him, three spirit beasts circled—each bound by contract sigils etched in jade.
"He's bonded it," Jin Yue whispered.
"He won't survive the next awakening. Not unless he devours it."
He stood.
"Then I'll be the one to devour him."
He opened the scroll.
A single line of text burned across his vision:
To consume the Sovereign, one must first abandon humanity.
Jin Yue's eyes gleamed red.
"I already have."