The faint curve at the corner of the lizard's maw vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
But Elder Han saw it.
And somehow, that sight chilled him more than the overwhelming pressure suffocating the battlefield.
Because the creature had looked…
interested.
Not threatened.
Not desperate.
Interested.
Like a cultivator who had finally found an opponent worthy of serious consideration.
Elder Han tightened his grip around the Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear.
Silver-gold spiritual energy surged violently through the weapon, causing the spearhead to emit shrill waves of compressed force.
SHIIIIING—!
The air split apart repeatedly around its tip.
Behind him, the surviving disciples were already retreating rapidly through the devastated forest under his voice-transmission command.
Good.
At least that part was proceeding correctly.
The white lizard's golden eyes drifted briefly toward the fleeing cultivators.
Then calmly returned to Elder Han.
He noticed them.
But did nothing.
Interesting again.
Elder Han's thoughts sharpened instantly.
It's allowing them to leave.
Not because it cannot stop them—
because it chooses not to.
That realization only deepened the danger this creature represented.
The elder inhaled slowly.
Then moved.
BOOOOOOM—!
The crater beneath him exploded apart as his figure shot skyward like a silver meteor.
This time, there was no probing strike.
No restraint.
The Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear thrust forward directly.
"Heaven-Piercing Spiral!"
The spear screamed.
Silver-gold light erupted outward in spiraling torrents around the weapon, forming a massive rotating drill of condensed spiritual force that tore through the atmosphere itself.
Storm clouds split apart in its wake.
The shattered earth below fractured further from the residual pressure alone.
Fast.
Violent.
Absolute penetrative force.
Even the space ahead warped beneath the attack's rotational compression.
The white lizard watched the incoming spear calmly.
Then—
gravity shifted once more.
BOOOOOOM—!
An invisible pressure crashed directly onto Elder Han mid-charge.
But this time—
the elder was prepared.
"BREAK!"
Silver-gold energy detonated outward from his Dharma Form.
The colossal manifestation behind him thrust both hands downward against the invisible force crushing him.
The heavens trembled violently.
The gravity field distorted—
slowed—
and for the first time—
was pierced.
Elder Han burst through the compressed field with explosive force, spear still driving forward.
His eyes sharpened.
Got you.
The distance vanished instantly.
The spearhead arrived directly before the lizard's chest—
And missed.
The white lizard twisted sideways through the air with terrifying precision, moving only inches yet avoiding the lethal thrust completely.
The spiraling spear-force tore past his scales.
But Elder Han had anticipated that.
His expression hardened.
The spiral exploded outward instantly.
BOOOOOOM—!
The compressed rotational force expanded into a shredding sphere of silver-gold destruction around the lizard at point-blank range.
The air imploded.
Storm clouds ruptured apart.
Countless spear-like shockwaves erupted in every direction simultaneously.
This—
was the true killing phase of the technique.
An unavoidable burst domain.
The surviving disciples in the distance stared back in shock.
"Elder Han landed it?!"
But within the exploding storm—
golden eyes remained calm.
Blue flames erupted instantly around the lizard's body.
FWOOOOOSH—!
Sapphire fire condensed into layered spirals around him, forming rotating rings of spiritual flame that intercepted the expanding spear-force head-on.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—!
Explosive collisions rang continuously across the heavens.
Silver-gold force shredded through the outer flame layers—
but slowed.
Deflected.
Consumed.
The lizard's body remained untouched within the inferno.
Then his tail moved.
A simple motion.
Yet the storm-serpent above responded instantly.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
A pillar of dark blue lightning descended directly onto Elder Han from above.
Too close.
Too sudden.
The elder's pupils contracted sharply.
His Dharma Form raised one arm instinctively.
The lightning struck.
The heavens detonated.
A sphere of blinding blue destruction swallowed Elder Han entirely as thunder annihilated the surrounding air.
The shockwave flattened everything beneath it.
Entire mountain ridges collapsed in the distance.
Even the retreating disciples were thrown violently off their feet despite already being kilometers away.
And within the exploding lightning—
a silver figure burst outward.
Elder Han coughed blood.
His robes were scorched black.
One sleeve had vanished entirely.
Yet his eyes remained sharp despite the damage.
Fast adaptation.
Too fast.
That was the terrifying part.
The beast's techniques lacked the refinement of veteran cultivators—
yet its instincts compensated instantly.
No wasted movement.
No hesitation.
As though battle itself came naturally to it.
Above him, storm clouds churned endlessly while blue flames illuminated the darkened sky.
The white lizard remained suspended calmly between both colossal serpents.
Untouched.
Silent.
Watching him carefully.
Then—
for the first time since revealing himself—
the lizard moved forward voluntarily.
One step through the air.
The storm shifted with him.
Flames coiled around him like living creatures.
Gravity distorted softly in expanding ripples.
And Elder Han's instincts screamed.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
The lizard's voice drifted quietly across the battlefield.
"…You're trying to buy time."
Elder Han's expression did not change.
But inwardly—
his heart tightened.
Because the creature had seen through his intentions completely.
The white lizard tilted his head slightly.
Golden eyes calm.
"…Good."
Another step forward.
BOOOOOOM—!
The sky darkened further.
The storm-serpent coiled lower through the heavens while the flame-serpent opened its jaws beside him.
"But…"
Blue lightning briefly illuminated the lizard's face.
"…you assume I care whether they escape."
The words landed heavily.
Not arrogance.
Simple truth.
And somehow—
that was worse.
Elder Han tightened his grip around the spirit spear.
Because he suddenly realized something horrifying.
The disciples surviving…
may never have mattered to this creature at all.
They had merely been bait.
A method to lure stronger opponents here.
To test.
To learn.
To measure itself against the sect.
Blue lightning illuminated the battlefield in violent flashes.
Storm clouds churned overhead while oceans of sapphire flame rolled through the shattered heavens beside them.
And suspended between both catastrophes—
the white lizard smiled faintly.
Not widely.
Not mockingly.
Just enough.
Enough for Elder Han's instincts to tighten violently.
"…That's right," the lizard said softly.
His voice carried strangely clearly through the thunder.
"They were bait."
The storm-serpent coiled slowly overhead.
Blue fire drifted from the flame-serpent's jaws like falling stars.
Golden eyes remained fixed calmly upon Elder Han.
"…Just like the ones before."
Silence.
Then—
Elder Han's pupils contracted sharply.
The ones before?
His thoughts raced instantly.
The slaughtered disciple.
The escaped outer sect members.
The communication talismans.
The sect's earlier assumptions.
The scattered demonic beast incidents across the region.
Everything suddenly aligned into a single horrifying possibility.
Not accidents.
Not chaotic killings.
Selection.
Controlled escalation.
The creature had been intentionally luring stronger and stronger cultivators.
Testing responses.
Measuring the sect's reaction speed.
Studying combat methods.
Learning.
Elder Han felt cold realization settle heavily into his chest.
This thing…
…has been preparing.