The horizon had frozen.
To the north, the peaks of the Spirit Beast Range no longer carved the sky; they seemed to smother it. An unnatural silence had fallen over the high-altitude forest: not a rustle of wings, not a predator's cry, not even the whistle of the wind through the pine needles.
The air had become a solid, inert mass. A manifestation of raw Will.
Snap.
The sound of a knuckle cracking broke the stasis.
Mo Xi, the mage in ebony robes, stopped dead. His silk-gloved hand tightened around his jade scepter. As an expert at the [Luminous Trunk] rank, he was the pillar of the group. His internal Mana circuits vibrated with a cold, stable authority, like an invisible column of light anchored in the rock.
His two companions froze in his wake.
The youngest, Ye, was only at the [Ascending Bud] stage. His knees were already trembling under the atmospheric weight. His Mana reserve, still fragile, struggled to stabilize his body temperature in this dead immensity.
"The snow..." Ye whispered, his voice cracking with hesitation. "It's... it's rising."
It was true. The flakes were no longer falling. They rose toward the heavens in slow spirals, defying the laws of nature.
"Thermal illusion," Mo Xi cut in with a voice that brooked no argument. "Inverse currents are not rare. Keep your composure, Ye. Your instability is disrupting your Mana flow."
"No."
The word fell like a blade of ice.
Tanglon hadn't moved an inch. Although inferior to Mo Xi with his [Major Branch] rank, he exuded an unsettling calm. His pale gray pupils remained fixed on the black summit. He was a tracker mage, his Mana finely tuned for perception.
"It is not the air that moves," Tanglon resumed in a monotone.
A pulse rippled through the mountain. This time, even the stone seemed to hesitate.
Ye took a step back, his face livid.
"Then... what is it?"
A pause. Then, Tanglon's reply, barely audible:
"Something that breathes."
Suddenly, Mo Xi's voice no longer crossed his lips. His Mana vibrated directly into their conscious minds via a telepathic link:
[ Do not move. ]
Ye froze. Even Tanglon tightened his guard, feeling his superior's magical authority enveloping him for protection.
[ It is a defensive formation... and it has just activated. ] Mo Xi continued in their minds.
A beat. The mountain pulsed. Mo Xi narrowed his eyes, his jade scepter beginning to glow with an internal white light as he condensed his Mana.
[ ...It has already spotted us. ]
The air contracted. Then it collapsed.
An invisible Killing Intent slammed down upon them. This was not magic, but raw Qi—the world's energy weaponized. The ground gave way half an inch under the impact. Ye's knees, too fragile, hit the rock.
Crack.
Tanglon took the blow, his Mana shields flickering. Mo Xi remained standing, his ebony robes snapping violently, his shoulders bearing the weight of an entire mountain. Blood rushed to his temples, but his gaze remained steel.
Then—
A voice. Not a physical sound, but a colossal presence that crushed their souls.
[ You walk... without my permission. ]
A breath. The pressure doubled instantly. The stone began to disintegrate beneath their feet.
[ Therefore... die. ]
***
The air was no longer just heavy. It had crystallized into a Domain, a space where the laws of Mana were smothered by the beast's will.
Mo Xi tried to lift his scepter, but his Mana channels felt as if they were filled with molten lead.
[ It's... a Domain, ] vibrated in their minds. Mo Xi's voice was no longer a command, but an admission of helplessness.
Before them, the snow coalesced to form a colossal silhouette. This was no simple mage. It was an abomination of the Celestial Balance: a wolf's head with crystalline stag antlers, blindingly white, yet with eyes that burned with a blood-red demonic hunger.
Filaments of black mist escaped its nostrils, eroding the surrounding rock.
[ SPIRITUAL SOVEREIGN ]
The rank forced itself into their consciousness. Where the mages had to draw from their own Mana, this creature commanded the mountain's Qi (Celestial Energy) directly. It was two realms above Mo Xi.
The ground beneath Ye's feet turned to fine powder. The young mage couldn't even scream, his meridians compressed by the pressure.
Tanglon saw his own hands turning blue. The cold was spiritual—an essence drain devouring their life heat.
[ Absolute Domain: Demonic Frost Nullity. ]
The creature took a step. Just one.
The shockwave was not a sound, but a ripple of void. The forest below bent, thousands of trees snapping under the weight of the beast's natural Qi.
[ You have defiled this peak with your mortal breath, ] the presence thundered, each word making Mo Xi cough up blood as his internal magic circuits began to rupture.
[ Your essence shall serve as the soil for my next molting. ]
The beast opened its maw. It was not a roar that emerged, but a vacuum. The entire world seemed ready to be swallowed within.
The beast's vacuum created a shrill whistling sound, as if reality itself were being torn apart.
Mo Xi gritted his teeth, blood seeping from his gums. He slammed his jade scepter into the ground, triggering a bluish shockwave that temporarily stabilized the stone beneath their feet.
[ Keep your composure! ] his voice thundered within their minds, dispelling the shadows of terror. [ Stick to the original plan. Do not break the formation! ]
Despite the overwhelming pressure of the Spiritual Sovereign, Mo Xi's authority acted as an anchor.
Ye, his knees bloodied, forced his Mana circuits to stabilize. He was in no position to fight the beast, but he could still maintain the flow of energy required for the group's defensive shield. To his left, Tanglon had already vanished into a gray mist. His tracker-class Mana made him nearly immaterial to the world's eyes as he sought the divine predator's blind spot.
Mo Xi raised his scepter toward the sky.
"Mana Sequence: Eclipse Rampart!"
A dome of black light and azure crystallized around them, fighting inch by inch against the Demonic Frost Domain. The collision between the mage's pure Mana and the beast's corrupted Qi sparked explosions of violet embers.
The Spiritual Sovereign tilted its head, its blood-red eyes fixed on Mo Xi. It seemed almost amused by this resistance.
[ Gnats attempting to halt the winter... ]
With a slow, deliberate movement, the beast raised a massive paw, ready to crush their frail defense.
Mo Xi did not flinch. He knew the true battle had only just begun.