The night sky remained quiet after the manifestation dispersed.
Clouds drifted slowly through the heavens.
Faint strands of dark blue lightning still lingered briefly between them before fading completely into the darkness.
High above the mountains—
the invisible white lizard hovered motionlessly.
Golden eyes thoughtful.
Calm.
The memory of the projection replayed clearly within his mind.
The shape.
The structure.
The resonance between his Golden Core and the manifested form.
Unstable—
but successful.
A true manifestation.
Incomplete.
Yet undeniably real.
The lizard remained silent for several moments afterward.
Then inwardly—
a quiet realization surfaced.
Since I've done it once…
…I can do it again.
The thought settled naturally within his mind.
The difficulty had not been power.
Nor spiritual control.
It had been understanding.
Identity.
Construction.
And now—
he understood the process.
Not fully.
But enough.
The lizard's golden eyes narrowed faintly afterward.
Then another thought followed immediately.
…But doing it here was careless.
The surrounding clouds rolled softly beneath him.
His attention expanded outward instinctively.
Careful.
Sharp.
The manifestation had released significant spiritual fluctuations into the atmosphere.
Storm resonance.
Golden Core pressure.
Gravitational distortion.
Even if brief—
such phenomena could potentially attract attention from distant cultivators or nearby demonic beasts sensitive to spiritual changes.
And more importantly—
the hidden valley wasn't far beneath him.
The cave.
The fox.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
That was a mistake.
The lizard moved immediately afterward.
Gravity shifted.
The lingering storm clouds surrounding the area dispersed instantly as invisible force pushed them outward across the night sky.
Wind currents changed direction.
Residual lightning vanished.
The remaining traces of leaked spiritual energy scattered rapidly into the atmosphere until the heavens gradually returned to normal.
Silent.
Empty.
As though nothing had happened there at all.
Still concealed—
the lizard's golden eyes swept slowly across the surrounding mountain ranges afterward.
Carefully observing.
Searching.
Spiritual perception spread outward across the darkened skies.
Distant forests.
Mountain peaks.
Traveling beasts.
Scattered cultivator auras far beyond the valley.
But nothing nearby reacted abnormally.
No one approached.
No spiritual senses probed the area.
No witnesses.
The lizard remained still briefly afterward.
Then inwardly—
a calm conclusion surfaced.
No one saw it.
Good.
His body drifted downward afterward.
Invisible beneath the night sky.
Silent as gravity carried him lower through the clouds toward the mountain forests below.
Above him—
the sky remained dark and peaceful once more.
As though the enormous phantom lizard if it should be called that had briefly existed there—
had never appeared at all.
The forest was quiet beneath the night sky.
Trees stretched endlessly across the mountainside while moonlight filtered softly through thick branches overhead. Wind rustled through leaves in slow waves, carrying the distant cries of nocturnal beasts deeper within the wilderness.
Between the trees—
nothing could be seen.
Yet an invisible presence moved soundlessly through the forest.
The white lizard drifted low between the trunks before finally descending toward the ground below.
Softly.
Without a sound.
Grass bent slightly beneath unseen force as his small concealed body landed among scattered dry leaves and exposed roots.
Then—
stillness.
The lizard remained motionless.
Invisible.
Golden eyes quietly observing the forest around him while faint spiritual energy flowed softly beneath his white scales.
The night remained calm.
No beasts approached.
No cultivators nearby.
Only the quiet breathing of the wilderness.
A moment passed afterward.
Then the ground beneath him shifted faintly.
The lizard's small body slowly began sinking downward into the earth itself.
Not violently.
Naturally.
Like slipping beneath water.
The soil parted soundlessly around his concealed form while loose dirt and roots distorted gently without breaking apart.
The lizard's golden eyes narrowed faintly as he descended deeper.
Interesting.
Now that his control over spiritual energy had increased—
using earth escape techniques had become significantly easier.
Much smoother than before.
His mind drifted briefly toward the earlier cultivators he had observed using elemental movement arts throughout battle and travel.
At the time—
copying them had required instinctive imitation and crude force.
Now—
it felt natural.
Controlled.
Precise.
The lizard continued sinking deeper until only disturbed grass remained above the surface.
Then—
he stopped.
Beneath the earth, darkness surrounded him completely.
Yet spiritual perception spread clearly through the soil around his body.
Roots.
Stone.
Moisture.
Tiny insects moving through underground tunnels.
Everything felt strangely fluid now beneath his spiritual awareness.
The lizard moved again afterward.
And the earth yielded.
His small body glided forward beneath the ground as though swimming through deep water.
Smooth.
Effortless.
The surrounding soil parted naturally around him under subtle earth manipulation and refined spiritual control.
Then suddenly—
FWOOSH.
The lizard burst upward from the earth several meters away.
Dirt scattered softly outward as his invisible form emerged briefly into open air—
before immediately diving back downward again.
Straight into the ground.
Seamless.
Fluid.
Like a fish disappearing beneath water.
The forest remained silent while the hidden lizard continued moving beneath the earth in smooth flowing paths.
Up.
Down.
Through roots and stone.
Experimenting quietly with his growing control.
Far beneath the moonlit wilderness—
something unseen was adapting once again.
the invisible white lizard moved silently beneath the earth.
Smooth.
Effortless.
Soil and stone parted naturally around his body while spiritual energy flowed quietly beneath his scales.
Then—
he stopped.
Golden eyes narrowed faintly within the darkness underground.
Something.
A vibration.
No—
multiple.
The forest above trembled softly through his sharpened senses.
Footsteps.
Breathing.
Movement.
His hearing had changed again after refining the Golden Core essence.
Sharper.
Far sharper.
Even through layers of earth and roots, he could hear distant sounds with unnatural clarity now.
Crying.
A beast growling.
Heartbeat.
The lizard's attention shifted instantly toward the source.
Then he moved.
Fast.
The earth flowed around him as his small concealed body shot through underground layers toward the distant disturbance.
Moments later—
he emerged partially from the ground.
Only his invisible head rising soundlessly above the soil beneath thick forest shadows.
Golden eyes observed quietly.
A scene unfolded before him.
A boy.
Young.
Perhaps barely into adolescence.
Yellow hair matted with dirt and tears.
His body trembled violently against the forest floor while blood spread slowly from claw wounds across his side.
And across from him—
a beast.
Large.
Cat-like.
Dark gray fur covered its muscular body while spiritual energy circulated visibly around its claws and fangs.
A Rank Two Mid-Stage Beast.
Equivalent to a Second Stage Spirit Refining cultivator.
Nearby—
growing between exposed roots—
was a small spiritual plant bearing several glowing blue berries.
A minor spiritual herb.
The reason for the conflict.
The boy sobbed weakly while trying to crawl backward across the dirt.
The beast growled deeply.
Slowly approaching.
The lizard observed silently between them.
A child.
And a mid-stage Rank Two beast.
The outcome was obvious.
The lizard had already begun turning away.
Not interested.
This kind of thing happened constantly throughout the wilderness.
Weak things died.
Strong things survived.
Natural.
But—
he stopped.
His body became still beneath the earth.
That feeling again.
The same strange tightening from before.
The same sensation he had experienced with that other child.
The lizard's golden eyes narrowed faintly.
The beast lowered itself.
Muscles tightening.
The terrified boy's eyes widened as tears streamed harder down his face.
Then—
the beast lunged.
Fast.
Fangs open.
Claws extended directly toward the screaming child.
And at the same instant—
CRACK—!
An earth spike erupted violently from below.
Fast enough to blur.
The jagged stone spear pierced directly upward through the beast's skull.
Blood exploded outward instantly.
The beast's body jerked once in midair before collapsing lifelessly onto the ground beside the stunned child.
Silence.
Only the boy's ragged breathing remained.
His trembling eyes stared at the dead beast in complete shock.
Blood dripped slowly from the stone spike protruding through the creature's head.
The forest became quiet again.
And beneath the shadows nearby—
the invisible white lizard still watched silently.
Motionless.
Golden eyes resting calmly upon the terrified child.