Wu Huang's face turned pale; he retracted his Divine Sense and concealed himself completely. Fortunately, as the magical beasts did not detect him and had no intention of wasting time killing him, they simply passed right by him.
"That was too close!" Wu Huang managed to transmit mentally, feeling his heart skip a beat. Cold sweat soaked his back.
[Calm down. Don't breathe, don't use Qi,] the Celestial Book warned in his mind. [Those were just the vanguards. The true masters of this territory are about to arrive.]
Wu Huang gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected a simple night outing to end in being kidnapped and finishing in the middle of an uncontrolled stampede. He immediately emerged and began to run. High-level magical beasts were not like low-level ones; those beings are more like natural disasters capable of changing the environment with a single movement. Of course, the level of the beasts in this forest wasn't that high, but for a simple Qi Refiner, even a slightly strong beast was enough to kill him.
Although hiding would work for a while, looking at the number of beasts, it was impossible to stay hidden. Thus, the best option was to escape before they arrived.
Of course, the few beasts that noticed him immediately lunged at him. Wu Huang gritted his teeth and dodged as best as he could. Countless magical beasts of various sizes and strengths fixed their gaze on him for an instant, but their instincts and desire to grow stronger prevailed; they abandoned the fight with the human and threw themselves at one another.
"As long as the spirit herb remains unclaimed, the beasts will fight among themselves to obtain it. This is the best time to escape," he murmured to himself as he propelled himself forward, leaving the area in a hurry.
Scenes of carnage and bloodbaths erupted everywhere. Magical beasts devoured each other, their torn bodies covering the ground. To the monsters, the young man no longer mattered; they continued to slaughter each other in a blind frenzy. Using that chaos as cover, Wu Huang managed to put some distance between them.
Suddenly, Wu Huang's pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks as he felt a terrifying aura.
[A Great Beast!]
In this world, the beasts that cultivated heaven and earth were divided into realms just like cultivators: Magical Beast, Great Beast, and Beast King. These are the most common, with the Beast King being equivalent to a Golden Core cultivator. There were also two legendary ranks above these: the Calamity Beast and the Divine Beast, equivalent to the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation realms. Because magical beasts possessed monstrous bodies and massive energy reserves, they were physically superior to humans. Facing one of these creatures of the same level alone was usually a death sentence.
Therefore, for a simple cultivator at the Qi Refinement stage like him to run head-first into a Great Beast... was exactly the same as meeting Death itself.
"This is absurd," Wu Huang murmured with a bitter, humorless laugh.
It was impossible to escape; he wasn't fast enough. If he turned his back and ran, he would only accelerate his end. In the world of cultivation, a weakling's back was always the easiest target. So, there was only one thing left to do. A desperate gamble.
Wu Huang didn't run. Instead, he threw himself heavily onto the ground, pressed his chest against the earth, and curled his body as much as possible, even holding his breath. He felt the absurdly terrifying presence slowly approach before stopping right in front of him. The pressure in the air was so heavy he could almost hear his own bones creaking.
"Human..."
A voice that sounded almost human, yet so raspy and guttural it could barely be identified, echoed through the area. Wu Huang curled up even more, feeling cold sweat soak his back.
A trace of Divine Consciousness? he couldn't help but think, completely incredulous.
This was not common at all; much less that a Great Beast would be able to communicate directly with a mortal in the common tongue.
"This humble junior greets Your Excellency," Wu Huang said with his head bowed, showing maximum respect.
He felt the colossal being's gaze narrow slightly.
"A human greeting a beast with such humility? Normally, your kind calls us monsters and would seek to kill me directly," the creature explained with a hint of amusement in its raspy voice, completely ignoring the terror its mere presence caused.
Wu Huang immediately shook his head, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
"This humble junior would never dare to think of such a thing. Before Your Excellency's immense power, this minor one can only feel deep and sincere admiration."
"Admiration?"
The guttural voice echoed again, this time accompanied by a blast of hot air that slammed directly into his body.
"You are clever for a mere human ant, though your kind are always this sycophantic," the creature added, letting a trace of deep hatred slip into its voice.
Wu Huang's body trembled immediately. The mere hint of malice in the monster's words was enough for his body to be crushed against the ground by the weight of its aura. Wu Huang's mind was numb. Although it was the first time he had encountered a Great Beast, it was obvious that this being was extremely special, even among those of its own rank.
"Time is running out, and the Celestial Herb is finally about to be born," the being said, as its attention drifted toward the horizon. "Those fools down there understand nothing. That herb is nothing more than a mere appetizer. The true jewel is elsewhere, and I can feel that it is linked to you in some way. So, you will help me obtain it."
Before Wu Huang could even process what was happening, he felt a violent tug at his neck. His body was bound by an invisible force, completely unable to move.
"Don't move, or I will crush you," the monster warned him immediately.
Upon hearing the direct threat of death, Wu Huang remained as still as a dead fish, even holding his breath. The creature, satisfied with his obedience, nodded and lunged forward with a suppressed roar.
"Let's go, little human!"