The group continued deeper through the forest, their movements cautious and tense as spiritual senses spread outward in careful waves.
Above them, the invisible **Lizard** drifted soundlessly between the trees.
Watching.
Listening.
One of the younger disciples finally spoke again, this time in a quieter voice.
More uncertain.
"Senior Brother…"
He hesitated before continuing.
"What exactly are we even doing out here?"
The others glanced toward him.
He swallowed lightly.
"I mean… if that beast is really still around…"
A brief pause followed.
"…wouldn't searching for it just be seeking death?"
The question lingered heavily among them.
Because none of them had truly wanted to say it aloud before.
The memory of the ruined basin still weighed on everyone who had seen it.
Two full days of tribulation.
An entire lake erased from existence.
Residual pressure lingering months afterward.
No ordinary beast could accomplish something like that.
The senior disciple remained silent for a moment before answering.
"We're not hunting it."
His tone stayed calm and measured.
"At least not us."
One disciple blinked.
"Then why are we here?"
The senior glanced ahead through the forest.
"The sect already understands that lower-level disciples wouldn't survive against something capable of enduring Golden Core tribulation."
A faint bitter smile appeared briefly.
"Even some elders probably wouldn't."
The younger disciples stiffened slightly at those words.
Because if even elders were uncertain…
…then what exactly had survived out there?
The senior continued.
"Our task isn't to fight it."
"We're searching for traces."
"Resources."
"Hidden caves."
"Anything left behind."
He paused briefly before his expression hardened.
"And more importantly…"
"We're observing movement."
One disciple frowned.
"Movement?"
The senior nodded.
"If a beast that powerful remains within this territory, the sect wants to know how it hunts."
"How it behaves."
"Whether it's territorial."
"Whether it attacks cultivators on sight."
A short silence followed.
Then, more quietly—
"Whether it's intelligent."
That single word changed the atmosphere instantly.
Because intelligent beasts were infinitely more dangerous than savage ones.
The younger disciples exchanged tense looks.
One muttered under his breath.
"If it's intelligent enough to hide from the sect for months…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
The implication already settled heavily over the group.
Above them, concealed perfectly within distorted air, the lizard remained silent.
Golden eyes watched calmly from the canopy.
Because now he understood something else as well.
The sects weren't merely searching for him.
They were trying to determine what kind of monster he had become.
The group slowed slightly as they crossed into a denser section of forest.
The Foundation Establishment disciple at the front spoke again.
"Don't misunderstand the situation."
His voice remained calm, but serious.
"No one at Foundation Establishment would willingly seek out a Golden Core demonic beast."
A pause followed.
"That's suicide."
The younger disciples inwardly agreed immediately.
Even they understood the difference between realms.
Foundation Establishment cultivators might appear powerful to mortals, but before Golden Core…
…they were nothing.
The senior disciple continued walking steadily.
"But the sect's reward is too high."
His eyes narrowed faintly.
"Information alone is worth an enormous amount of contribution points."
That immediately caught everyone's attention.
Contribution points meant resources.
Techniques.
Pills.
Status within the sect.
Everything depended on contribution.
The senior continued quietly.
"If someone discovers the beast's location…"
"Or even a reliable trail…"
"That alone could change a disciple's future."
Greed flickered through several pairs of eyes.
Even fear weakened slightly after hearing that.
But the senior raised a hand.
"Relax."
His tone remained composed.
"I'm not stupid enough to gamble my life recklessly."
As he spoke, his hand brushed lightly against his sleeve.
A faint spiritual fluctuation leaked outward briefly.
"I possess a high-grade escape talisman from the sect."
One disciple's eyes widened.
The senior nodded.
"It's already semi-activated."
"If anything happens…"
"I only need to trigger the final signal."
"And we'll be teleported away immediately."
The tension within the group eased somewhat after hearing that.
Though not completely.
Because escape talismans were never absolute.
Especially against something unknown.
One of the Spiritual Refining disciples walked silently near the back of the group, his expression neutral outwardly.
But inwardly, his thoughts darkened.
*Bullshit.*
His eyes flicked briefly toward the senior disciple ahead.
*If he truly wanted the reward safely…*
*Why didn't he bring other Foundation Establishment cultivators?*
The answer felt obvious.
Because lower-level disciples were expendable.
Scouts.
Bait.
Additional eyes to spread spiritual sense while he remained protected behind his talisman.
If danger truly appeared…
…would the teleportation even include all of them?
The disciple wasn't certain.
And that uncertainty made his stomach tighten.
Above them, hidden perfectly within bent light and distorted air, the **Lizard** listened silently.
Golden eyes remained fixed on the group below.
Calm.
Still concealed.
Still unnoticed.
And now he understood the situation even more clearly.
To the sect, he wasn't merely danger.
He was opportunity.
A reward worth risking lives for.
The invisible lizard stared silently at the group below.
Emotionless.
Still.
The Foundation Establishment disciple continued walking, still speaking, still completely unaware.
Then the lizard moved.
Not his body.
Only a slight flick of one claw.
A tiny motion.
Barely visible.
But the wind answered instantly.
A compressed blade of air formed soundlessly.
Thin.
Invisible.
Sharper than steel.
It crossed the distance faster than thought.
And passed directly through the disciple's neck.
Cleanly.
For one suspended instant…
…nothing happened.
The senior disciple took another step forward.
Still alive.
Still unaware.
Then blood exploded outward.
His head separated completely from his body.
It spun violently through the air as crimson sprayed across the forest floor.
The body remained standing for a brief second, swaying once before dropping heavily to its knees.
Then it collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Blood spread rapidly beneath the corpse.
Silence followed.
Absolute silence.
The remaining disciples froze completely.
Eyes widened.
Breathing stopped.
Because none of them saw what happened.
No visible attack.
No enemy.
No warning.
One moment their senior had been alive.
The next—
he wasn't.
Fear flooded the air instantly.
Pure.
Cold.
One disciple stumbled backward, hands trembling violently.
"W-what…"
Another stared at the corpse in horror.
The headless body lay motionless in spreading blood while the severed head rested several meters away, its eyes still frozen open.
The forest itself suddenly felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Like something unseen was watching them from every direction.
One disciple suddenly spun around wildly.
"WHO'S THERE?!"
His voice cracked from panic.
No response came.
Only wind moving through leaves.
But somehow that silence felt far worse.
Because now they understood.
The thing they had been discussing.
The thing their sect had spent months searching for.
The creature that survived heavenly tribulation.
It was real.
And it was here.