The remaining disciples reacted instantly.
Fear shattered whatever paralysis still held them.
Talismans ignited one after another as defensive barriers flared around their bodies. Artifacts rose trembling into the air. Spiritual energy surged wildly through meridians as techniques circulated in desperation.
One disciple activated a defensive seal around both arms.
Another hurriedly pulled out a jade shield with shaking fingers.
Their senses stretched outward frantically, eyes wide as they searched the silence for anything.
Anything at all.
But there was nothing.
No visible enemy.
No clear aura.
No target.
Only silence.
Heavy.
Endless.
The disciples slowly shifted into a defensive formation, standing back-to-back beneath the trees while breathing unevenly.
Nearby, the headless corpse of their senior disciple lay motionless on the forest floor, blood continuing to spread beneath it.
And beside one of them—
only inches away—
the invisible **Lizard** hovered silently.
Golden eyes watched the trembling cultivators calmly.
They couldn't see him.
Couldn't sense him.
Couldn't even comprehend how close death truly was.
The silence stretched longer.
Until finally—
the lizard moved.
Wind stirred suddenly through the forest.
Leaves rustled violently overhead.
Branches bent sharply as pressure shifted through the air.
Not crushing.
Warning.
Like the distant arrival of a storm.
Then a voice emerged from nowhere.
Cold.
Calm.
Neither loud nor soft.
Yet it carried clearly throughout the forest.
"Leave."
The disciples froze instantly.
Fear tightened around their throats.
The unseen voice continued.
"Get lost."
There was no rage in it.
No bloodlust.
Which somehow made it even worse.
Because it sounded certain.
Like something deciding whether they were even worth killing.
The disciples hesitated for only a fraction of a second before survival instinct overwhelmed everything else.
They ran.
Immediately.
Spiritual techniques erupted beneath their feet as they fled desperately through the forest.
None of them dared look back.
One disciple's thoughts spiraled chaotically.
*It spared us…*
*That demonic beast actually spared us…*
Another swallowed hard while sprinting.
*No…*
*It could have killed us anytime it wanted…*
The realization only deepened their fear.
Behind them, the forest gradually fell silent once more.
The invisible lizard remained motionless among the trees, watching them disappear into the distance.
Then his thoughts moved quietly.
"They're searching for me."
Simple.
Obvious now.
Sect disciples.
Patrol groups.
Search parties.
All moving through the territory hunting traces of the unknown Golden Core beast.
The lizard's golden eyes narrowed faintly.
"Then I only need to give them a reason to send more."
Not Spiritual Refining cultivators.
Not weak disciples.
Foundation Establishment.
Cultivators dense enough in spiritual energy to satisfy the hunger.
To accumulate evolution points faster.
To continue advancing.
The wind around him gradually calmed.
And within the distorted air, the hidden predator quietly began planning how to turn the sect's search…
…into his feeding ground.
The forest fell completely silent after the disciples fled.
Only the corpse remained.
Headless.
Blood soaking slowly into the earth.
The invisible **Lizard** hovered silently for another moment before his concealment rippled.
His body expanded back into its normal form as he descended beside the corpse.
White scales reflected faintly beneath the filtered forest light.
Golden eyes lowered calmly.
No hesitation followed.
His maw opened.
And he began feeding.
Bone cracked between his jaws.
Flesh disappeared rapidly.
Blood essence drained completely.
Efficient.
Controlled.
Several minutes later, nothing remained except scattered stains across the ground.
And three items.
A sword.
A storage pouch.
And the talisman.
The lizard stared at them silently.
Then his body shrank once more, returning to his smaller form as concealment naturally spread across him again until only faint distortions remained in the air.
His tongue brushed slowly across his maw.
Clean.
His attention shifted toward the talisman.
"So this is the special talisman."
The spiritual fluctuations within it remained unstable.
Active.
Not fully triggered.
But close.
The disciple had spoken truthfully.
The talisman was indeed nearly activated already.
One signal—
and it likely would have teleported the holder away instantly.
The lizard examined it quietly for another moment before moving.
The cord attached to the storage pouch looped easily around the talisman. He slipped both casually over his neck, allowing them to rest lightly against his chest.
Not elegant.
But functional.
The pouch still carried its imprint seal.
Locked.
The lizard's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"Can't erase it."
Not yet.
Not without wasting time forcing through the spiritual imprint.
His thoughts shifted immediately toward the cave.
Toward the **Fox**.
"She can deal with it later."
The fox understood spiritual manipulation and imprint removal far better than he did.
So he would simply keep it until she awakened.
The invisible lizard slowly lifted back into the air once more.
Silent.
Concealed.
Far away, the fleeing disciples continued racing through the forest.
Breathing hard.
Spiritual energy fluctuating wildly from fear and exhaustion.
None of them slowed.
None dared.
Because their thoughts remained trapped on the same realization.
That thing—
that hidden demonic beast—
had been close enough to kill all of them whenever it wanted.
One disciple's face remained pale as he sprinted.
"Senior Brother died without even reacting…"
Another swallowed hard.
"We couldn't sense anything."
Their fear deepened the more they thought about it.
Because now they understood something terrifying.
The unknown Golden Core beast wasn't merely powerful.
It was intelligent.
Patient.
And capable of hiding perfectly within the world itself.
The disciples didn't stop running until the forest finally began thinning.
Only then—
only after placing dozens of miles between themselves and that place—
did they finally slow down.
Breathing raggedly.
Faces pale.
One nearly collapsed against a tree, his hands still trembling uncontrollably.
No one mocked him.
Because all of them were shaking.
The image of their senior disciple dying replayed endlessly inside their minds.
One second alive.
The next—
headless.
No aura.
No warning.
No visible attack.
Only death.
One of the younger disciples finally spoke hoarsely.
"We need to report this immediately."
Another nodded rapidly.
"A hidden Golden Core beast."
"Intelligent."
"Possibly capable of concealment techniques."
His voice tightened further.
"Maybe even specialized in assassination."
That possibility made the entire group visibly uneasy again.
Because ambush predators were among the worst demonic beasts to encounter.
Especially intelligent ones.
The disciple who had doubted the senior earlier clenched his fists slightly.
"Senior Brother said the talisman would get us out if something happened…"
A pause followed.
"But he died before he could even react."
Silence immediately followed those words.
Heavy silence.
Because they all realized the same thing.
If the beast had wanted them dead—
they would already be dead.
One disciple swallowed hard.
"Why did it let us go?"
Nobody answered.
None of them understood.
But the unknown frightened them far more than open hostility would have.
Far above them, hidden completely within bent light and distorted air, the invisible **Lizard** moved silently through the sky.
Watching them from a distance.
Not close enough to alarm them.
Just enough to listen.
The pouch hung lightly around his neck beside the talisman.
The lizard's thoughts remained calm.
The fear spreading among the disciples would travel faster than he ever could.
Back to the sect.
Back to the elders.
Back to everyone searching for the unknown beast.
And fear changed behavior.
Fear attracted stronger cultivators.
More cautious cultivators.
Foundation Establishment experts.
Possibly even stronger ones.
The lizard's golden eyes narrowed faintly.
Good.
That was exactly what he wanted.
Weaker prey no longer mattered much.
Spiritual Refining cultivators barely provided anything useful now.
To continue growing—
he needed denser spiritual energy.
Stronger bloodlines.
More refined cultivation.
The invisible lizard drifted higher into the clouds silently.
Below him, the disciples finally reached a mountain road connected to sect territory.
Without wasting another moment, they activated communication talismans with trembling hands.