Lin Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly. The three opponents were formidable—two top-tier fourth-level Martial Kings and one fifth-level Martial King. Fighting them together would be troublesome.
But expecting him to hand over his spoils? That was absolutely impossible.
To him, the three were merely a challenge, not enough to make him fear.
“You don’t have the qualifications to take anything from me!” As he spoke, Lin Xiao’s vital energy surged within, powerful spiritual fluctuations rippling out, ready to unleash a spiritual attack on the trio.
“Attack!” Zuo Ye wasted no more words. Delaying further would bring the trailing crowd, complicating things with more hands in the mix.
But just as they were about to strike, a sound of the earth splitting echoed.
“Boom!”
The scorched ground suddenly cracked, a fissure stretching a thousand metres. The ground trembled faintly, and from the crack, a terrifying aura seeped out. Just a trace of it spread across the heavens, enveloping a hundred-mile radius.
The aura was so oppressive it nearly suffocated Lin Xiao.
His brows twitched, every hair on his body standing on end, a bone-chilling sense of crisis flooding his heart.
Not just Lin Xiao—the three about to attack halted, instinctively shifting from offense to retreat.
But in that instant, a shocking scene unfolded. Clusters of white, hair-like tendrils, finer than silk, burst through the ground, shooting skyward.
“What!” Lin Xiao’s expression changed, and he tried to retreat, but the white tendrils were so fast they touched him in a blink, wrapping around his entire body at a speed he could barely react to.
It wasn’t just him—Zuo Ye, Ma Yin, and Han Bin, unable to retreat in time, were also tightly bound by the white tendrils.
“What the hell is this!” The three shouted in horror, their vital energy surging, but they couldn’t break free.
At that moment, the trailing crowd of Martial King youths arrived. Seeing the scene, they froze in fear, halting at the periphery.
The four strongest figures were trapped by this thing—how could they fare any better?
The arriving crowd showed lingering fear. The Glazed Spirit Fruits were tempting, but this danger was too great. Luckily, their slower speed had spared them from being trapped by the tree.
Among them were Yuan Fen, Liu He, Wu Yifeng, and Wu Xiaofei.
Seeing the situation, they were initially shocked. Then, Yuan Fen and Liu He’s eyes gleamed with schadenfreude.
Lin Xiao being trapped was great news for them. Ideally, he’d die in these mysterious white tendrils.
Wu Xiaofei and Wu Yifeng, however, showed deep worry but didn’t dare approach. The tendrils were too strange, unlike anything they’d ever seen or heard of.
Even Lin Xiao and the others couldn’t break free. If they went closer, they’d only be courting death.
“It’s the Sky-Gazing Whisker!” Lin Xiao’s forehead veins throbbed as he recognized it.
The Sky-Gazing Whisker was a creature from ancient times, something even the Heaven-Devouring Spirit Emperor had only read about in ancient texts.
A bizarre beast, its body like a furball, capable of growing countless white, whisker-like tendrils. These tendrils were incredibly tough—unless one’s cultivation far surpassed the creature’s level, they were nearly indestructible.
At its peak, the Sky-Gazing Whisker’s tendrils could cover hundreds or thousands of miles, extending or retracting at will. Their tips were razor-sharp, able to drain the blood of humans and spirit beasts, even sucking bones dry.
This creature was as formidable as, if not stronger than, ancient mythical beasts.
Lin Xiao never imagined such a documented creature would appear in this battlefield.
It was hard to fathom how many eons this battlefield had existed.
This Sky-Gazing Whisker must have survived somehow, likely tied to the Mist Forest.
The forest and its vanishing barrier qi were probably linked to the creature’s emergence.
But Lin Xiao had no time to ponder this. He urgently channelled his vast vital energy, his arms exerting immense strength to break free.
Yet the white tendrils were unyieldingly tough, leaving him immobile.
“Boom!” In a critical moment, Lin Xiao summoned his Thunder Martial Intent. Lightning crackled from his body, striking the tendrils.
The tendrils shuddered briefly but showed no further reaction. Even thunder power couldn’t burn them.
“Only spiritual energy will work!” Lin Xiao’s heart steeled, ready to unleash his spiritual energy. He refused to believe that the primal energy of the heavens couldn’t destroy these tendrils.
But at that moment, seeing Wu Xiaofei and the others, his brows furrowed, and he shouted, “Get out of here, now!”
Wu Xiaofei and Wu Yifeng, startled, moved to retreat. But at that instant, clusters of white tendrils burst from the ground in all directions, cascading upward, wrapping around them and binding them tightly.
“Damn it!” At the same time, others were ensnared by the tendrils. Within a hundred, then hundreds of metres, the newly arrived crowd was trapped by masses of white tendrils, unable to move.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a youth struggling fiercely was pierced by the tendrils’ sharp tips. They burrowed into his body, draining his blood in moments, killing him instantly.
The crowd gasped in horror, their eyes filled with terror.
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” …
To their despair, another terrifying sound came from the direction of Mist Forest City. Thunderous roars echoed, and a massive cloud of dust rolled in from the horizon, accompanied by faint beast howls.
“A beast tide! A beast tide is converging on the Mist Forest!”
Someone cried out in panic. They’d thought the barrier qi made the Mist Forest safe, devoid of life except for its trees.
They hadn’t expected this anomaly—terrifying white tendrils sprouting from the ground and a massive beast tide charging from behind. Even if they weren’t pierced by the tendrils, the tide would overwhelm them.
They were trapped in a death sentence.
“I almost forgot—the Sky-Gazing Whisker can summon beast tides,” Lin Xiao’s heart jolted. Beyond its bizarre nature and terrifying attacks, the Sky-Gazing Whisker was a king among beasts, capable of emitting unique sounds to trigger beast tides, commanding the worship of countless creatures.
