Elder Han's formation talisman pulsed once within his hand.
The surrounding air changed immediately.
Not violently.
Subtly.
The forest wind slowed.
Loose leaves drifting through the air began moving unnaturally slowly, as though the very space around them had thickened into invisible water.
Golden runes spread outward from the elder in expanding concentric rings, embedding themselves into the surrounding environment.
A spatial locking formation.
Not powerful enough to completely imprison a true Golden Core beast—
but more than sufficient to interfere with movement.
More than sufficient to expose disturbances.
The Foundation Establishment disciples watched nervously from behind the protective barrier.
One of them whispered hoarsely,
"…He's forcing the beast to reveal movement traces."
Elder Han did not respond.
His concentration remained absolute.
Layer after layer of spiritual sense spread across the surrounding forest while the formation stabilized further.
The pressure in the air deepened.
The forest itself seemed to slow.
Then—
a leaf stopped midair.
Not naturally.
Something had disturbed the airflow around it.
Tiny.
Brief.
But Elder Han saw it.
"There."
His arm moved instantly.
BOOM—!
Golden Core energy erupted outward in every direction.
Not a focused strike this time.
Not precision.
Destruction.
A massive wave of spiritual force exploded outward from Elder Han like a collapsing star, tearing indiscriminately through the surrounding forest.
Trees shattered into splinters.
The earth ruptured upward in violent arcs.
Stone, dust, leaves, and broken branches were swept into a storm of compressed spiritual energy.
The technique devoured everything within several hundred meters.
The Foundation Establishment disciples recoiled in shock.
"E-Elder?!"
But Elder Han ignored them completely.
His eyes remained cold.
Sharp.
Searching.
Because his thoughts were racing now.
No aura.
No visible body.
No detectable spiritual fluctuations.
And yet the creature continued attacking from nearby.
Which meant only one thing.
It was close.
Watching.
Waiting for openings.
If he could not detect the beast directly…
…then he would destroy the environment itself until something reacted.
The expanding shockwave tore through the forest canopy.
Space trembled.
Air screamed.
And then—
something appeared.
Not suddenly.
Not violently.
Quietly.
As though a distortion in reality itself had begun to fade away.
The disciples' eyes widened.
Bent air slowly unraveled.
Light straightened.
And the hidden figure finally emerged.
Hovering motionlessly in the sky.
Small.
White-scaled.
Golden-eyed.
Silent.
A storage pouch hung casually around its neck beside a talisman.
The severed senior disciple's pouch.
The severed senior disciple's escape talisman.
The remaining cultivators froze.
Because they finally understood.
The thing hunting them…
…was not some gigantic demonic beast.
It was not monstrous in appearance.
It was not roaring.
Not raging.
The white lizard simply floated there calmly, staring down at them with cold golden eyes utterly devoid of panic.
And somehow—
that made it infinitely worse.
One disciple's face turned pale.
"…That's it?"
Another whispered hoarsely,
"A… reptile?"
But no one truly believed those words anymore.
Not after feeling the suffocating pressure hanging in the air.
Elder Han stared directly at the creature for the first time.
And his expression slowly darkened.
Not because of overwhelming visible aura.
The opposite.
There was almost none.
The lizard simply existed there naturally, as though perfectly fused with heaven and earth itself.
No wasted energy.
No leaking spiritual pressure.
No instability.
Which meant only one terrifying possibility.
Perfect control.
The elder's instincts screamed immediately.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
The white lizard hovered silently while shattered debris and drifting dust circled through the ruined forest around it.
Then its golden eyes shifted slightly toward Elder Han.
Calmly.
Studying him in return.
No fear.
No hostility.
Only observation.
As though he were the one being evaluated.
That realization caused Elder Han's heart to tighten faintly.
The elder slowly spoke.
"…So you are the thing hiding within this forest."
The lizard did not answer.
Wind moved softly around its small body.
The pouch hanging from its neck swayed lightly in the air.
One of the disciples suddenly recognized it fully and began trembling.
"T-that's Senior Brother Liang's storage pouch…"
Another swallowed hard.
"And his escape talisman…"
The implication crashed down upon the group instantly.
The beast had not merely killed him.
It had looted him afterward.
Intentionally.
Deliberately.
Intelligently.
Elder Han's gaze sharpened further.
His eyes remained locked onto the white lizard hovering within the drifting dust.
Silent.
Motionless.
Watching him with calm golden eyes.
The elder's spiritual sense continued spreading outward cautiously, but unlike before, there was no frustration in his thoughts now.
Only clarity.
Because he finally understood the mistake.
We underestimated it.
Not merely the disciples.
Not merely the sect.
Even he himself had arrived carrying assumptions.
A beast that had only recently stepped into the Golden Core realm.
Dangerous, yes.
But still ultimately a beast.
Something ruled by instinct.
Something predictable.
Something that could eventually be cornered through superior cultivation and experience.
But now—
those assumptions felt foolish.
Elder Han's eyes narrowed faintly.
A demonic beast at early Foundation Establishment already possesses intelligence rivaling humans.
Some surpass them entirely.
Every cultivator understood this truth.
Demonic beasts were not ordinary animals.
The stronger they became, the more terrifying their intelligence grew.
Cunning.
Patience.
Territorial awareness.
Predatory calculation.
And this creature before him…
…had survived heavenly tribulation.
That fact alone changed everything.
The elder's thoughts sharpened rapidly.
To reach Golden Core as a beast…
…it would have survived countless hunts.
Countless battles.
Years of growth.
Years of killing.
His gaze remained fixed upon the white lizard.
No aura leakage.
Perfect concealment.
Precise assassination capability.
Complete emotional control.
And perhaps most importantly—
strategic behavior.
It had intentionally allowed survivors to escape.
Manipulated information flow.
Tested responses instead of attacking recklessly.
And now it floated there openly observing him in return.
Not like prey cornered by cultivators.
But like another hunter assessing danger.
The realization settled heavily in Elder Han's chest.
This is not some newly evolved beast intoxicated by power.
This thing thinks.
The elder slowly exhaled.
The circulation of spiritual energy within his body shifted subtly afterward.
Not weaker.
Sharper.
More controlled.
Instinctively, he adjusted his stance.
No openings exposed.
No reckless probing.
No unnecessary movement.
The disciples behind him noticed immediately.
Because Elder Han had changed.
Before, he carried the composed confidence of a Golden Core elder investigating a dangerous beast.
Now—
his posture resembled a cultivator preparing to confront an equal.
One disciple swallowed nervously.
"…Elder?"
Elder Han never took his eyes off the lizard.
His voice emerged low and steady.
"Do not treat it as a beast."
The disciples froze.
The elder continued calmly.
"Proceed as if you are facing a veteran Golden Core cultivator."
Those words struck the group like freezing water.
Because the implications were horrifying.
A concealed Golden Core demonic beast was already terrifying enough.
But a hidden Golden Core predator possessing the intelligence, discipline, and patience of an experienced cultivator—
that was something else entirely.
The white lizard continued hovering silently amid drifting dust and shattered leaves.
Golden eyes unreadable.
As though calmly listening to Elder Han's conclusions.