Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

Hengsheng raced through the endless forest, his speed akin to a train tearing through the wilderness. The wind howled against his ears, leaves rustled in his wake, and the faint echo of snapping branches accompanied his every stride. It had been a month since he began his journey back to the Lan Clan base, determined to not waste any time. He had ignored the urge to explore and instead pressed forward with singular focus. Now, as he entered the dense greenery of the endless forest, he felt a surge of hope—his destination was close.

But something was off.

He slowed his pace, his sharp eyes narrowing as unease crept up his spine. The forest, typically brimming with life, was unnaturally quiet. The usual sounds of chirping birds and rustling foliage were absent, replaced by an oppressive silence that seemed to blanket the entire area.

Hengsheng’s steps faltered, his instincts screaming that something was wrong. "Too quiet," he muttered under his breath. Ordinarily, demon beasts would have already challenged him at least once, but he hadn’t encountered a single one in the past hour. Not even the faintest trace of their presence lingered in the air.

With a frown, Hengsheng closed his eyes and extended his senses. He willed his Spirit Bodies to materialize, four translucent forms shimmering as they floated out of him and shot in different directions. Thanks to his cultivation at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm, each Spirit Body could now travel up to a kilometer away from him, allowing him to scour the area thoroughly.

Even as he ran, his Spirit Bodies weaved through the dense forest, inspecting every shadow and corner. The soft rustle of leaves and occasional creak of ancient trees filled the air, but there was no sign of life. After an hour of fruitless searching, Hengsheng came to a halt, his breathing steady yet heavy with suspicion.

"This isn’t normal," he muttered, his brows furrowing deeply. The absence of any demon beast wasn’t just unusual—it was alarming. His mind raced with possibilities, but none of them brought him comfort. His base wasn’t far from here, and leaving this abnormality unchecked could spell trouble for the Lan Clan.

As he pondered, a sudden movement broke his thoughts. Yunsu, perched on his shoulder, stirred uneasily. The normally calm and collected cat was sniffing the air frantically, her gray fur standing on end. She let out a low hiss, her ears flattened, and her five-colored fur shimmered faintly as her agitation grew.

"Yunsu, what’s wrong?" Hengsheng asked, his tone tense.

The feline hissed again, tapping her nose repeatedly with her paw as if trying to convey something.

"A bad smell?" Hengsheng guessed, his frown deepening.

Yunsu gave a sharp meow in response, her tail lashing in irritation. Hengsheng felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. He heightened his senses to their peak, straining to detect whatever Yunsu had sensed, but there was nothing—no sound, no movement, no scent beyond the earthy aroma of the forest.

"This doesn’t make sense," he murmured, frustration creeping into his voice. "Let’s head to the Divine Tree. If something’s wrong, the answer might be there."

Adjusting his direction slightly, Hengsheng set his sights on the center of the forest. His movements slowed to a cautious pace, each step deliberate and measured. The towering trees seemed to close in around him, their ancient trunks casting long shadows under the dim canopy. A heavy tension hung in the air, pressing down on him like an invisible weight.

Hengsheng’s hand instinctively hovered near his weapon as he advanced. Whatever was happening here, he was determined to uncover it—before it reached the Lan Clan.

As he continues deep inside the center of the endless forest he starts to find Traces of battle that seem to have happened long ago since nature seemed to recover it if he had not looked for a clue he might not have noticed it despite traces of battle all around he did not find a single drop of blood or corpse of demon beast at all it was like it being clean up after the battle end "this is cultivator doing?" Hengsheng thought the abnormality happening here might be caused by cultivator-only humans that have many weird methods to kill or cause something like this the demon beast is never doing this since they are all simply fighting for natural treasure or territory not doing mass disappear like this.

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Soon, Hengsheng reached the open plain in the heart of the forest, where the towering Divine Tree stood proudly. The sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks. Surrounding the tree was a massive gathering of demon beasts—thousands of them, at least ten thousand from countless species, sprawled across the area.

Hengsheng’s eyes widened in shock. The last time he visited this place, only a few hundred of the strongest demon beasts dared to occupy the sacred ground near the Divine Tree. But now, the sheer number was overwhelming, a vast sea of beasts of all shapes and sizes.

As he appeared on the edge of the clearing, several demon beasts noticed him. Their heads turned in unison, and a few growled or roared in surprise, their eyes locking onto him. Some with humanoid limbs raised their hands or paws to point in his direction, but oddly, none of them showed any signs of aggression.

Hengsheng frowned, his confusion mounting. "What is this? A secret party of demon beasts?" he muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he tried to make sense of the bizarre sight.

He stood at the edge of the plain, his thoughts racing. What could have caused such an unprecedented gathering? However, before he could dwell on it further, the situation took a drastic turn.

The previously subdued murmurs and growls of the beasts suddenly transformed into a deafening uproar. Roars, screams, and howls filled the air, all directed at him. Yunsu, perched on his shoulder, leapt off with a startled hiss, her fur bristling.

Hengsheng’s instincts screamed at him, and he reacted without hesitation. His body tensed as he jumped away from his position, flipping mid-air just as a deafening "Boom!" erupted from where he had been standing moments ago. The ground cracked and splintered under the force of the impact.

He landed gracefully several meters away, his heart pounding in his chest. His sharp gaze snapped to the source of the attack—and froze in horror.

Emerging from the shadows was a grotesque monstrosity that defied logic and nature. Its massive body stretched over a hundred meters long, lacking a head but consisting of a writhing mass of veiny, pulsating flesh. Hundreds of twisted, claw-tipped, hand-like legs writhed and twitched unnaturally, jerking and grasping at the air in a chaotic rhythm.

Bulbous, unblinking eyes were scattered across its grotesque form, each darting independently, oozing sickly black ichor that streaked its mottled skin. Twisted and malformed mouths were scattered across its body, snapping and gnawing at nothing. From those mouths came an unholy cacophony—a symphony of guttural growls, haunting whispers, and bone-chilling screams that seemed to pierce the soul.

The air around it shimmered and warped as if reality itself was being bent under its unnatural presence. An oppressive dread gripped Hengsheng’s heart, making each breath feel heavy and labored.

He shuddered, his voice barely above a whisper. “What in the heavens… is this abomination?”

It didn’t feel like any demon beast Hengsheng had encountered before—not remotely. There was no trace of spiritual Qi emanating from it, yet the sheer force of its earlier attack left no doubt about its power. Hengsheng quickly assessed its strength—it was easily comparable to a Spiritual Foundation Realm cultivator.

Perched on his shoulder, Yunsu leapt back onto him, her fur bristling as she hissed furiously at the creature. Despite her usual courage, Hengsheng could feel her fear radiating from her small body.

The monstrosity suddenly lunged at him again, its grotesque limbs flailing. Hengsheng acted on instinct, leaping backward as he gathered Qi into his palm and launched an attack. "Pakk!" The Qi strike landed, tearing apart a chunk of its flesh in an explosion of grotesque matter.

However, Hengsheng didn’t relax. His sharp gaze swept across the scene, noting how the ten thousand demon beasts surrounding the Divine Tree reacted. They screamed and roared in fear, darting around the tree in panicked chaos. None of them, however, dared to leave the Divine Tree’s protective aura, their terror directed solely at this monster.

Just as he expected, the creature’s shredded flesh began to writhe and regenerate almost instantly. Within moments, the gaping wounds mended themselves, and the monstrosity surged at him once more.

"Boom!" The ground shattered as the creature’s massive limb slammed into it, narrowly missing Hengsheng as he dodged. He retaliated with a relentless barrage of Qi blasts, each strike hitting its mark with thunderous explosions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The creature’s flesh was torn apart repeatedly, pieces of its grotesque body flying in all directions. Yunsu, now standing on his shoulder with her hind legs, joined the assault. She swiped her claws through the air, unleashing five-colored Qi slashes that ripped into the monstrosity, carving it apart piece by piece.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

For a full minute, Hengsheng and Yunsu unleashed their unrelenting assault. The creature’s body was reduced to a mangled, unrecognizable mess. Hengsheng leapt back to assess the damage, his chest heaving from exertion.

But the scene before him deepened his frown. The monstrosity’s shredded body began to squirm and knit itself back together. In a mere ten seconds, it had fully regenerated, its grotesque form restored to its original state.

Hengsheng’s eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped to a murmur. “Is it… immortal?”