A powerful presence swept across the area, its aura spreading outward with an intensity far beyond anything Li Ming had ever felt. It pressed against him from all sides, heavy and suffocating, making it difficult to even steady his breathing. In that instant, he could sense it clearly. The sheer weight of its strength, the vast difference between it and everything around him, left no room for doubt.
Yet that was not what unsettled him the most.
Li Ming's expression slowly tightened, a trace of fear surfacing in his eyes. He tried to focus, to locate the source of that overwhelming presence.
But he couldn't.
The aura did not come from a single direction. It surrounded him completely, as if it existed everywhere at once. No matter where he looked, the pressure remained the same.
For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind.
More than one!
The possibility that multiple creatures were approaching them at once made his heart race. But just as quickly, he dismissed the idea.
Something about it didn't add up.
The aura was identical from every direction.
That was impossible.
Every creature possessed its own unique aura, something that could never truly be replicated. Just like fingerprints, no two were ever the same. It was this very principle that allowed powerful individuals to track others, and why specialized devices were used to trace criminals and monsters through their aura.
Lately, Li Ming had begun to notice a faint change within himself. The aura around him, once something he could not perceive at all, now felt strangely clear. It was still new to him, still unfamiliar, yet he could sense it, faint currents flowing through the surroundings. Even his companions, as they fought at least hundred meter from him, seemed to carry their own distinct presence, their energy flaring and clashing against the monsters before them.
He watched them for a moment.
They were giving everything they had, every movement sharp and desperate. The sound of blades striking and the low growls of the beasts filled the air, yet Li Ming found it hard to stay focused on the fight.
Something else was drawing his attention. The aura around him began to change.
At first, it was subtle. Then it grew heavier, thicker, pressing against him with increasing intensity. Li Ming's expression tightened as he felt the shift. The presence he had sensed earlier was no longer distant.
And of course, Li Ming sensitivity towards the aura is higher than anyone present here. So, he is the only one experiencing pressure of it. others don't even know that something is approaching them. Therefore, it will be a long shot if they could feel the pressure.
It was Fastly approaching and it could reach them at any moment.
Li Ming forced himself to concentrate, trying to trace the source of that overwhelming aura. This time, his senses responded.
And what he found made his breath catch.
It was coming from below!
His eyes widened slightly as a cold sensation ran through him. The creature was not approaching from any direction he could see. It was moving beneath the ground. And this explains why aura is coming from everywhere.
As it approaches more toward them, he sensed something more surprising!
And that its Size!
For a brief moment, his thoughts went blank. The scale of it was far beyond anything he had imagined. It was not just large, it was massive, something that dwarfed everything around it.
The comparison came to him without effort.
It could swallow his entire house in a single motion.
That fact made his face even more terrifying.
Li Ming's senses sharpened, locking onto the movement beneath the ground.
It was heading straight toward Chen Yu and the others.
A sudden wave of urgency surged through him, his heart pounding as the realization struck. There was no time to think, no time to hesitate.
"Chen Yu! Move from there!" he shouted, his voice breaking through the chaos with all the strength he could muster. "A powerful monster is heading your way!"
Not only them everyone alongside him also looked at him wondering why he shouted.
His words carried a weight that could not be ignored.
Chen Yu and the others instinctively turned toward him. The moment their eyes met his, they froze for a fraction of a second. Li Ming's face said everything his words could not. The fear, the urgency, the sheer desperation in his expression made it clear that this was no ordinary warning.
There was no doubt.
Something dangerous was coming.
Without wasting another moment, all four of them reacted. With a sudden burst of strength, all four of them pushed back the four monsters. It wasn't smooth, but it gave them the opening they needed. Without wasting a single second, they turned and ran toward Li Ming with everything they had.
Li Ming stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the ground behind them, his chest tight as the pressure beneath the earth grew stronger.
Then the ground gave way.
RUMBLEEE!
A massive figure erupted from below, its presence overwhelming the moment it appeared. In a single motion, it swallowed all six monsters at once, as if they had never been a threat to begin with.
At first glance, it resembled nothing more than an earthworm. But that illusion shattered the moment one looked closer.
Its elongated body was no longer bare. Segments of hardened scales had begun to spread across its flesh; each one marked with jagged streaks of black and deep crimson colour.
What truly froze them, however, was not its appearance.
It was its cultivation.
The creature had reached the peak of the Power Initial Realm. The ninth stage. The very limit of that realm. The pressure it emitted was suffocating, pressing down on the surroundings like an invisible weight. Even the air felt heavier, as if resisting every breath they tried to take.
Alex felt his chest tighten.
A cold sensation crept up his spine, sharp and undeniable. His instincts screamed at him to run, yet his body refused to move. His eyes remained locked onto the creature, unable to look away. He could feel the difference clearly. This was not something they could face head-on. Not like before.
Around him, no one spoke.
They all stared at the monster, their thoughts converging into a single, chilling realization. If it were not for Li Ming warning, they would have ended up no different from those monster that they were fighting earlier.
However, for Li Ming their were series of thought going through his mind.
His thoughts raced, searching desperately for a way out. Fight? Impossible. Hide? Useless. Run? Perhaps, but even that felt uncertain.
This situation was worse than anything they had faced before.
Then, without warning, the creature began to change.
The crimson-lined scales started to spread.
At first, it was subtle. A few new patches forming along its body. But within seconds, the growth accelerated at an alarming rate. The scales multiplied, layering over one another, expanding like a spreading infection. The black and red patterns grew denser, more intricate, as if forming some kind of unknown design.
Alex's heartbeat quickened.
He watched as the last traces of its original flesh disappeared. Inch by inch, the creature transformed, until its entire body was encased in those eerie, gleaming scales. As if he is wearing an armour.
All this happened within a minute.
Whatever it had been before, it was gone now.
What stood before them had become something far more terrifying. even Li Ming's senses are sensing that even his signature aura has change somewhat, it like… evil.
Li Ming and the others could do nothing but watch.