The summit remained silent beneath the drifting clouds.
Ancient pressure lingered across the Ascension Grounds while cold spiritual winds swept softly around the massive stone gate standing at the peak of the mountain.
Elder Mo remained kneeling.
Head lowered.
His robes fluttered faintly beneath the mountain winds as the cracked stone beneath him radiated traces of lingering spiritual pressure.
Then—
a voice echoed from beyond the gate.
Ancient.
Calm.
Yet carrying a pressure so immense that the surrounding spiritual energy distorted the moment the words appeared.
"…Why are you here?"
The voice was not loud.
Yet the instant it sounded—
the clouds above trembled faintly.
The mountain itself seemed to grow heavier.
Elder Mo immediately lowered his head further.
"Supreme Elder…"
His voice was respectful.
Careful.
Measured.
"There is an urgent matter at hand."
"The sect… faces a tremendous crisis."
Silence followed.
A suffocating silence.
Then the voice echoed once more.
"…Why are you here?"
A brief pause followed before the voice spoke again.
"…Where is Disciple Yuan?"
The question caused Elder Mo's body to stiffen slightly.
His fingers tightened subtly against the cold stone beneath him.
For a fleeting moment—
he hesitated.
Because even now—
speaking the truth still felt unreal.
Then finally—
slowly—
he answered.
"…Sect Leader Yuan…"
"…has fallen."
The mountain became silent.
Completely silent.
Even the drifting winds seemed to pause.
Elder Mo continued quietly,
"The other elders who entered the Azure Root Forest alongside him…"
"…have also perished."
A faint tremor entered his voice despite his efforts to suppress it.
"Currently…"
"…I am the only remaining Core Formation elder within the sect."
Silence answered him once more.
Longer this time.
Heavier.
Then—
the voice echoed again.
But now—
the calmness within it had changed.
"…You claim…"
"…that all the elders are dead?"
A terrifying pressure spread outward across the summit.
CRACK.
The stone beneath Elder Mo fractured instantly.
His breathing nearly stopped.
Sweat immediately formed across his forehead.
Yet the voice continued.
Slowly.
Coldly.
"…How is that possible?"
"Core Formation cultivators are not existences that can simply be erased."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
"…Who killed them?"
Elder Mo's throat tightened slightly.
Inside his mind—
the battlefield surfaced once more.
Storms splitting apart the heavens.
Blue flames devouring spiritual energy.
Core Formation elders dying one after another.
And those golden eyes staring calmly through the destruction.
Elder Mo slowly lowered his head even further.
Then finally spoke.
"…A spirit beast."
The pressure around the summit shifted instantly.
The clouds above darkened faintly.
Even the spiritual formations surrounding the mountain flickered once.
Then—
the pressure descending from beyond the stone gate intensified violently.
BOOOOOOM!!
The summit shook.
Cracks spread across the ancient stairs beneath Elder Mo while the surrounding spiritual clouds twisted chaotically.
Elder Mo's body slammed harder against the ground.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth instantly.
Yet he did not dare move.
The ancient voice echoed once more—
this time carrying unmistakable anger.
"…A demon beast?"
"You are telling this seat…"
"…that a single beast slaughtered the entire sect leadership?"
The pressure grew even heavier.
Even the surrounding formations flickered beneath its weight.
Then—
the voice sharpened further.
"…What realm was this beast?"
Elder Mo's breathing became strained.
But still—
he answered truthfully.
"…Early Core Formation."
The moment the words left his mouth—
the pressure exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The mountain clouds above shattered apart instantly.
The stone beneath Elder Mo sank several inches downward from the force alone.
His vision blurred violently.
Then—
rage thundered from behind the gate.
"…What kind of joke is this?!"
The voice roared across the summit like heavenly wrath.
"You expect this seat to believe…"
"…that a mere beast at the early stages of Core Formation managed to kill seven cultivators above its realm?!"
The pressure descended harder.
Elder Mo's body trembled uncontrollably now.
But he still forced himself to speak.
"…This junior would never dare lie before the Supreme Elders."
His voice shook slightly.
Yet he continued.
"The beast… was abnormal."
"It possessed multiple elemental affinities."
"Lightning."
"Flames."
"Wind."
"Concealment abilities."
"And…"
Elder Mo hesitated briefly.
Then quietly added—
"…a manifestation."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The pressure across the summit paused faintly.
Then—
another voice spoke.
Different.
Older.
Colder.
"…A manifestation?"
This voice carried less rage.
But far more danger.
Elder Mo immediately realized—
another Supreme Elder had awakened.
His forehead pressed deeper against the shattered stone.
"Yes, Supreme Elder."
"I witnessed it personally."
"It possessed spiritual intelligence beyond ordinary beasts."
"It fought with the experience of a seasoned cultivator."
"It adapted continuously during battle."
"And…"
His throat tightened slightly.
"…its strength continued increasing the longer the battle lasted."
The clouds above the summit churned slowly.
Then—
the first voice spoke again.
Lower now.
Thoughtful.
"…Bloodline."
Another voice answered from deeper within the mountain.
"…Most likely an ancient variant."
A third presence surfaced faintly within the depths of the mountain.
"He said the creature possessed concealment abilities capable of evading spiritual perception…"
"…and a manifestation despite only being at the early Core Formation realm."
Silence followed briefly.
Then—
"…Such a creature should not exist within this region."
Elder Mo remained kneeling silently while cold sweat drenched his back completely.
Because now—
he could feel it clearly.
More than one Supreme Elder had fully awakened.
Ancient spiritual senses swept quietly across him.
Reading his aura.
Examining his injuries.
Distinguishing truth from lies.
Finally—
the first voice echoed once more.
"…Describe the creature."
Elder Mo swallowed slowly.
Then—
he spoke carefully.
"…A white-scaled reptilian beast."
"Roughly three to four meters in length during battle."
"Golden eyes."
"Blue lightning and azure flames."
"It possessed wings…"
A faint pause followed.
"And draconic characteristics."
The summit fell silent again afterward.
But this time—
the silence felt different.
Heavy.
Calculating.
Cold mist drifted slowly across the Ascension Grounds while ancient pressure lingered around the enormous stone gate like an invisible ocean.
Beyond the gate—
the awakened Supreme Elders remained quiet for several moments after Elder Mo finished recounting the battle.
Then—
the first voice echoed once more.
"…Draconic characteristics…"
A faint pause followed.
"…Could it possess an ancient bloodline?"
The second voice answered calmly from deeper within the mountain.
"Even if it does…"
"…the abilities described remain excessive."
"Lightning."
"Flames."
"Wind."
"Concealment."
"A manifestation."
"And poison capable of killing Core Formation cultivators."
Silence lingered briefly.
Then the voice continued.
"Most importantly…"
"…the ability to evade divine sense."
The surrounding clouds churned faintly afterward.
The first voice spoke again.
"You confirmed this personally, Mo?"
Elder Mo immediately lowered his head further.
"Yes, Supreme Elder."
"It vanished completely several times during battle."
"Even divine sense could not lock onto it."
A faint pause followed.
"Only the tracking talisman allowed us to vaguely determine its location afterward."
Silence returned.
Then—
a third voice surfaced from beyond the gate.
Older.
Calmer.
Yet carrying a strange heaviness behind every word.
"…Explain everything from the beginning."
Elder Mo inhaled slowly.
Then—
he began recounting the entire incident once more.
From the first rumors spreading among the disciples.
The disappearance of scouting groups.
The deaths occurring within the Azure Root Forest.
The decision to deploy the Sect Leader alongside six Core Formation elders.
And finally—
the battle itself.
Storms tearing apart the heavens.
The manifestation.
The bloodline transformation.
The poison.
The slaughter.
Time passed slowly as Elder Mo spoke.
No one interrupted him again.
Only silence answered from beyond the gate.
Eventually—
his voice faded.
And the summit became still once more.
Cold winds drifted softly across the mountain peak.
Then—
the second voice finally spoke.
"…So."
"You used the tracking talisman to corner it…"
"…yet your group was instead hunted down one after another."
The voice remained calm.
But disappointment lingered faintly beneath it.
Another silence followed.
Then—
the third voice spoke.
"And before that…"
"…you allowed dozens of Foundation Establishment disciples to perish inside the forest."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Elder Mo's body stiffened.
His head lowered further against the cracked stone.
The third voice continued slowly.
"The sect lost nearly all of its active Core Formation cultivators."
"Most of its Foundation Establishment disciples sent beyond the sect."
"And Sect Leader Yuan himself."
A faint pause followed.
"All because you underestimated a creature you did not understand."
The words descended heavily across the summit.
Elder Mo clenched his fists slightly.
Yet he did not defend himself.
Because there was nothing to defend.
The second voice spoke again afterward.
"…Yuan acted too rashly."
"He allowed pride to cloud his judgment after Elder Han's death."
The first voice added calmly,
"And all of you assumed it was merely a mutated beast."
Silence followed once more.
Then—
the third voice quietly said:
"…A costly mistake."
The spiritual pressure across the summit gradually settled afterward.
But the atmosphere only became heavier.
Because everyone understood clearly now—
this was no longer simply a beast hunt.
The Azure Sky Sect had already suffered catastrophic losses.
And somewhere beyond the distant mountains—
that white-scaled creature was still alive.
The summit remained silent beneath the drifting clouds.
Then—
space distorted.
Without warning—
three figures appeared before the ancient stone gate.
No spiritual fluctuations.
No visible movement.
One moment—
nothing stood there.
The next—
three Supreme Elders had already arrived.
Elder Mo's pupils contracted instantly.
He immediately lowered himself fully onto both knees.
"Supreme Elders."
Cold pressure spread naturally from the three figures across the summit.
Not intentionally.
Simply existing was enough.
The first was an elderly man dressed in dark azure robes embroidered with flowing cloud patterns.
His white hair drifted gently despite the absence of wind.
His eyes remained calm.
Ancient.
Unfathomable.
The second was a middle-aged man wearing black robes lined with golden markings.
Sharp-featured.
Cold-eyed.
Spiritual pressure subtly distorted around him without pause.
The third—
a woman dressed in pale silver robes.
Long black hair flowed behind her while faint spiritual mist circled naturally around her body.
Her presence felt calmer than the others.
Yet somehow—
far more dangerous.
Elder Mo kept his head lowered.
Not daring to meet their eyes directly.
The female Supreme Elder stepped forward slightly.
Her voice remained calm.
Steady.
"You still possess the tracking talisman connection."
It was not a question.
Elder Mo answered immediately.
"Yes, Supreme Elder."
The woman's gaze drifted toward the distant direction of the Azure Root Forest.
Or perhaps—
even farther beyond.
Then she spoke again.
"Good."
A faint pause followed.
"Once your injuries stabilize…"
"…you will guide us to this beast personally."
Cold wind drifted across the summit.
The black-robed Supreme Elder narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If the creature truly possesses an ancient bloodline…"
"…then allowing it further time to grow would become troublesome."
The elderly Supreme Elder calmly added,
"And if its concealment abilities evolve further…"
"…finding it later may become considerably more difficult."
The female Supreme Elder looked back toward Elder Mo.
"You will recover immediately using sect resources."
"No restrictions."
"Spirit medicines."
"Recovery pools."
"Blood restoration pills."
"Take whatever is necessary."
Her tone remained calm throughout.
Yet every word carried absolute authority.
"We move the moment your condition allows it."
Elder Mo's heart tightened slightly.
Because unlike the previous expedition—
this time—
Nascent Soul cultivators themselves would personally descend into the Azure Root Forest.
He immediately lowered his head deeper.
"This disciple understands."
The female Supreme Elder stared at him silently for a moment longer.
Then—
her gaze shifted toward the distant horizon beyond the mountains.
Toward the endless wilderness stretching far beyond the Azure Root Forest.
Her eyes narrowed faintly.
"…An early Core Formation beast…"
"…with abilities surpassing its realm to such a degree…"
A faint pause followed.
Then quietly—
"Interesting."
Beside her—
the black-robed elder spoke coldly.
"Interesting or not…"
"…it will die."