Thunder rolled across the heavens once more.
The faint smile on the lizard's face vanished as quickly as it had appeared, returning his expression to that same calm, unreadable stillness.
But the damage had already been done.
Because Elder Han now understood something even more terrifying than the creature's strength.
It possessed patience.
The elder's grip tightened around the Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear until silver-gold energy cracked violently around his hand.
His thoughts sharpened with ruthless clarity.
This information must reach the sect.
Immediately.
Not later.
Not after victory.
Now.
This was no longer a rogue Golden Core beast.
This was an intelligent calamity capable of long-term planning, concealment, adaptation, and bloodline abilities beyond ordinary classification.
If left alone—
it would continue evolving.
Continue learning cultivator techniques.
Continue hunting.
Elder Han's spiritual energy shifted subtly.
Not weaker.
Focused.
Prepared.
His battle instincts had already changed.
Before, he had searched for opportunities to kill.
Now—
he searched for opportunities to escape.
Across the battlefield, the white lizard watched him silently.
Golden eyes observed every fluctuation carefully.
Then, inwardly—
a quiet thought surfaced.
So now it knows.
The lizard hovered motionlessly while lightning crawled across his scales.
Interesting.
Would knowing the truth change the elder?
Would desperation sharpen him further?
Would survival instinct finally force him beyond restraint?
The lizard's golden gaze narrowed slightly.
When cornered, that is when one becomes truly dangerous.
Especially those with something to protect.
Especially veterans.
He wanted to see it.
How far would this Golden Core cultivator go now that fear had entered the battle?
Beneath the storm-filled heavens, Elder Han slowly lowered his stance.
The Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear rotated once within his grasp.
Silver-gold energy condensed tightly around his body instead of erupting outward recklessly.
Compression.
Efficiency.
Preparation for extreme movement.
The white lizard noticed immediately.
He's going to run.
Not surrender.
Not panic.
A calculated retreat.
But retreating from a battle between Golden Core existences required one thing above all else—
surviving the exchange that followed.
Thunder rumbled softly overhead.
The lizard's golden eyes remained fixed calmly upon Elder Han.
Then—
gravity intensified once more.
Not violently this time.
Quietly.
The surrounding air thickened.
Space itself seemed to grow heavier between them.
A warning.
Or perhaps—
permission.
Elder Han's spiritual energy compressed even tighter around his body.
Silver-gold light flowed violently through the Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear while his thoughts narrowed toward a single objective.
Escape.
Not victory.
Not pride.
Survival.
The disciples had already fled using transmission talismans and movement techniques.
Good.
At least part of the sect would learn the truth.
But he still needed to leave this battlefield himself.
Because no report from frightened disciples could ever fully explain what this creature truly was.
The elder's eyes remained locked onto the tiny white lizard suspended between storm and flame.
That thing needed to be witnessed directly.
Its abilities.
Its intelligence.
Its growth speed.
Its very existence threatened the balance of the entire region.
I need an opening.
Just one.
His thoughts raced while spiritual energy circulated faster and faster through his meridians.
Then—
the sky darkened further.
Elder Han's instincts screamed instantly.
Not from above.
From everywhere.
The storm clouds twisted violently across the heavens as thunder exploded continuously without pause.
BOOOOOOM—!
Dark blue lightning illuminated the battlefield again and again.
And within the storm—
shapes moved.
Long.
Massive.
Endlessly coiling through the clouds.
Elder Han's pupils contracted sharply.
Another serpent emerged.
Then another.
Then another.
Each colossal body formed from storm clouds and crackling lightning, their glowing blue eyes opening one after another across the heavens.
One.
Three.
Five.
Nine.
The entire sky became filled with enormous serpentine forms moving through the darkness like ancient celestial beasts awakening from slumber.
Thunder shook the world continuously beneath their presence.
The elder stared upward in disbelief.
"…Impossible…"
His voice came out hoarse.
Because the pressure descending now was no longer merely overwhelming.
It felt apocalyptic.
The ruined battlefield vanished beneath the shadows of countless storm-serpents overhead.
Blue lightning illuminated their enormous bodies as they coiled endlessly through the clouds surrounding the tiny white lizard at the center of it all.
Small.
Silent.
Hovering motionlessly while golden eyes gleamed softly within the darkness.
Watching him.
Elder Han felt genuine terror grip his heart for the first time in centuries.
Not caution.
Not uncertainty.
Fear.
Because the contrast was horrifying.
Such monstrous power…
…centered around something so small and calm.
The white lizard tilted his head slightly afterward.
Almost curious.
As though observing how much pressure the elder could still endure.
Then—
the serpents moved.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
The heavens collapsed downward.
Multiple storm-serpents descended simultaneously through the clouds, carrying enough lightning force to shatter mountains from proximity alone.
The air screamed.
Space distorted violently.
The ruined earth below split apart beneath the descending pressure.
Elder Han's expression twisted sharply.
He raised the Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear instantly.
Silver-gold energy erupted outward in a massive explosion around him.
"I WILL NOT DIE HERE!"
BOOOOOOM—!
His Dharma Form expanded violently behind him, growing larger as spiritual energy poured into it recklessly.
No restraint remained.
No conservation.
The elder understood now.
Normal combat methods would never create an escape opportunity.
There was only one path left.
A final resort.
His cultivation base trembled.
Then burned.
FWOOOOOSH—!
Silver-gold energy erupted directly from Elder Han's body.
Not a spiritual technique.
Not external flame.
His own cultivation essence.
His own Golden Core origin energy.
The surrounding pressure exploded upward instantly.
The descending storm-serpents slowed slightly as the elder's aura surged violently beyond its previous limits.
Blood trickled from the corner of Elder Han's mouth.
But his eyes became terrifyingly sharp.
Burning cultivation.
A forbidden method.
Temporary power at the cost of permanent damage to his foundation and future cultivation path.
Perhaps irreversible.
Perhaps fatal afterward.
But he no longer had another choice.
The elder's voice roared across the battlefield alongside the enormous Dharma Form behind him.
"YOU MONSTER—!"
The Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear screamed as he thrust it skyward with everything remaining.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
A pillar of spiraling silver-gold force erupted upward like a dragon ascending toward the heavens, colliding directly against the descending storm-serpents.
The heavens detonated.
Lightning and spear-force exploded across the clouds in continent-shaking shockwaves.
Entire serpent bodies ruptured apart into storms of lightning—
only to reform again instantly within the darkness.
But Elder Han had already moved.
Fast.
Faster than before.
Burning his cultivation had pushed his body beyond ordinary limits as he transformed into a streak of silver light shooting toward the distant horizon.
Escape.
Now.
His thoughts focused solely on survival.
Yet as he fled—
his instincts suddenly froze.
A soft voice drifted through the thunder behind him.
Disappointed.
"…So this is desperation."
Elder Han's eyes widened.
Too close.
The elder turned instantly—
and saw golden eyes directly behind him.
The white lizard hovered silently within the storm-filled air only meters away.
Calm.
Untouched.
As though the catastrophic clash moments earlier had never mattered at all.
Blue lightning crawled softly across white scales.
Then gravity descended.
Not upon the battlefield.
Only upon him.
CRACK—!
Elder Han's body slammed downward through the sky violently as invisible force crushed him from every direction at once.
Bones fractured instantly.
Blood exploded from his mouth.
The Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear nearly slipped from his grasp as his body plummeted toward the shattered earth below like a falling star.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A new crater exploded across the ruined landscape.
Dust and molten stone erupted skyward.
Above, the storm-serpents coiled endlessly through the heavens while thunder rolled across the darkened world without pause.
And high above the crater—
the tiny white lizard looked downward silently.
Golden eyes gleaming within the storm.