"Let's go, little human!"
Wu Huang's field of vision moved so fast that he had to close his eyes to keep from getting dizzy.
The beast, considering everything, showed a minimum of courtesy: it did not crush him or cause him direct harm with its claws or jaws. However, the absurd speed at which it was traveling was a torture all on its own.
Wu Huang felt his body being violently lashed by the cutting wind. The air pressure was so suffocating and the battering against his face so brutal that, unable to resist the physical impact in his current state, he ended up spitting out a trail of blood.
"Weak human, do not stain my fur with your blood," the beast complained as the invisible force squeezed his body even tighter.
"This humble being apologizes," Wu Huang replied as quickly as he could to prevent the monster from crushing him in a fit of rage.
At the same time, he had to be extremely careful with his own movements; with the violent swaying of the journey, a single misstep or miscalculation would have caused him to bite his tongue hard.
Wu Huang felt the invisible force release his body and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
"We have arrived, human. Do not look so pathetic and stand up."
Still weak, Wu Huang pushed himself up little by little. As he looked ahead, his pupils shrank in horror. Countless traces of death stretched out before him: the corpses of beasts of various types, sizes, and shapes covered the ground in all directions.
He took a step back, his face turning pale. Although he was used to the cruelty of this cultivation world and had already witnessed death on several occasions, he had never seen a scene of massacre on such a colossal scale.
"Weak human, your legs are trembling," the creature mocked, its raspy laugh echoing in the gloomy place.
The beast walked forward and Wu Huang was finally able to observe it clearly: it was a large black panther, more imposing than an adult human but smaller than an elephant.
"Stop staring at this seat and come over at once."
Wu Huang swallowed hard and stepped forward. As he fixed his gaze right at the center of that grim cemetery, he discovered that there was a solitary plant in the middle of everything.
[It is a Crystal Blood Herb,] the Celestial Book explained in his mind.
Wu Huang was profoundly shocked. A Crystal Blood Herb was an extremely rare celestial treasure. Looking around, it became obvious why all those beasts had slaughtered each other: not only were they competing to obtain the treasure, but they were also being manipulated by the frenzied influence emanating from the plant itself.
Suddenly, Wu Huang's eyes began to dye a crimson red.
[Keep your mind calm! Use the Clear Heart Technique!], the Celestial Book warned him.
The words resonated forcefully and partially calmed Wu Huang's mind. He immediately sat on the ground and began to channel the technique to repel the mental invasion.
"As expected of a scheming human, you have your methods to counteract that influence," the panther commented with a trace of approval in its rough voice.
Once his mind stabilized, Wu Huang stood up and walked forward. With a steady yet cautious hand, he grabbed the Crystal Blood Herb and pulled to extract it.
The moment he pulled it out, his face turned as white as a sheet.
The Crystal Blood Herb was not alone; it was attached to a thick, bulbous root that had a disturbing, slightly human, and completely red face.
"It's a spiritual Ginseng!" he screamed in pure horror.
The terrifying Ginseng that had just been revealed slowly opened its mouth.
Understanding instantly what was about to happen, Wu Huang covered his face with one hand and hastily enveloped his ears with his spiritual power. However, it was not enough.
With the Ginseng at the epicenter, a powerful spiritual scream spread violently in all directions.
The Great Beast, seeing the mouth of the root open, immediately threw itself backward, knowing perfectly well that it was an extremely dangerous attack. It had planned from the very beginning for the human to take the hit!
Instead, poor Wu Huang, who held the plant in his hands, received the devastating impact of the spiritual scream directly at point-blank range. Tears of blood began to stream from his eyes and run down his face, while his throat filled with the metallic taste of blood.
In the sea of his consciousness, his very soul was taking the full brunt of the Ginseng's roar, and small cracks began to form in his essence. Just at that critical moment, the Celestial Book shot forward and took on Wu Huang's form. Countless golden pages appeared around it and enveloped the young man's soul to mitigate at least a bit of the devastating damage.
Wu Huang, who was barely conscious, gripped the Ginseng with all his might, trying to crush it.
Understanding his action, the spiritual scream grew even louder. Wu Huang almost let go of it due to the unbearable pain; but he knew that if he did, it would be impossible to grab it again and he could only await his death as his soul would be completely shattered by the scream.
"Stop or I will crush you," Wu Huang threatened in a choked voice as he tightened his grip, breaking part of the Ginseng's body.
The mystical root, terrified of being destroyed and using its small trace of spiritual consciousness, understood the human's lethal intent and immediately stopped the spiritual scream.
Wu Huang fell heavily to the ground as blood dripped forcefully from his seven orifices.
"After all, I could trust you, human," the Great Beast said with a light, ironic laugh.
"Now, hand over the treasure and go silently to your next life," the panther added as it pounced toward him with a overflowing murderous intent.
Understanding that he was on his last legs and completely incapable of defending himself, Wu Huang closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow.