Elder 1's chest heaved, sweat slick on his brow, but his mind was razor-sharp, his resolve unwavering. The time for retreat had long passed. This battle would be decided in the next moments—he could not afford even a fragment of hesitation.
His Qi surged, flooding his body as he drew deep from the core of the earth itself. With a guttural roar, he slammed his palms against the ground. The earth trembled beneath him, dust and rubble quivering as jagged fissures tore open.
"Gaia's Grasp."
The words were barely a whisper, yet the earth heard them—and it obeyed.
With a deafening crack, multiple colossal arms of stone erupted from the ground, their massive fingers clawing skyward like the hands of an ancient giant. Each arm was as thick as a tree trunk, gleaming with the natural sheen of polished stone, their surfaces crackling with raw Qi—tiny sparks dancing down the rugged, earthen limbs.
They lunged forward with brutal speed, tearing through the air toward the lizard.
The lizard's golden eyes narrowed. Lightning flared across its scales as it twisted and arched with impossible agility, weaving through the barrage.
> "Hmn. An earth technique," it thought. "Is it trying to trap me?"
One arm slammed into empty air as the creature darted aside. But Elder 1 had known it would evade the first strikes. He wasn't relying on a single blow.
The arms came again—relentless, impossibly fast, each one reaching for the creature with unyielding intent. The ground trembled with every new eruption of stone.
The lizard's wings snapped open, lightning crackling along its body as it spiraled upward to dodge another strike. It was fast—too fast. But Elder 1 had planned for this.
He could feel the creature's every movement—every shift of its tail, every twitch of its wings—through the earth beneath him. The stone limbs closed in once more, forming an unbreakable web of earth and power, driving the lizard into a corner.
For a single heartbeat, the creature was trapped—its movements slowed, its path blocked by the crushing will of the earth.
But only for a moment.
And in that fleeting instant of distraction, Elder 1's hands shifted.
He did not hesitate. Qi surged into his right hand, tracing intricate sigils through the air. The symbols glowed fiercely, then coalesced into a long, narrow lance of pure energy.
"Celestial Thrust!"
With a flick, he sent the spear streaking through the night, a sharp, precise strike aimed exactly at where the lizard would be forced to fly. The air crackled as the beam tore across the battlefield, moving faster than sight could follow.
The lizard's eyes snapped toward him. It was close—too close—but not close enough. With a beat of its wings, it banked sharply, twisting away from the attack, its golden gaze locked on the Elder.
But as it moved, one of the earth arms—the one Elder 1 had timed perfectly—slammed into its wing, knocking it just slightly off-course.
And in that split second, the Celestial Thrust found its mark.
The lance pierced into the wing, crackling with the intensity of a storm. The creature shrieked, wings spasming under the impact as shockwaves rippled outward.
For a moment, the world went silent.
The lizard hung in the air, trembling, its golden eyes wide with shock—and something else. Something that almost resembled respect. It had been wounded. Not a deep wound, but enough to show it that Elder 1 was no mere prey.
Lightning rippled across its scales as it recovered, shaking away the pain. Its eyes narrowed into razor-thin slits of killing intent.
> "I can't let myself be trapped," it thought. "I need to kill him before that happens."
The hunt was far from over.
Its wings snapped wide, and with terrifying speed, it hurled itself toward the Elder. But Elder 1 wasn't finished. He couldn't afford to be.
He raised his hands, drawing even more Qi into his body. As the lizard closed in, maw open wide, fangs crackling with electricity, Elder 1 gathered every last ounce of his strength.
His body shuddered beneath the torrent of power coursing through him. The earth cracked under his feet as he planted himself firmly for the final confrontation.
---
The Final Clash
The lizard descended like a living tempest, jaws wide, lightning screaming in the air. Its intent was absolute: it would end this with one strike.
But Elder 1's eyes burned with fierce determination. His Qi erupted like a volcano. His barrier shimmered into existence around him, raw and chaotic, just as the lizard's fanged maw crashed down.
The collision was deafening.
CRACK!
The impact rang out like the heavens shattering. Lightning flared, sparks danced wildly—but the barrier held. Barely.
And the true battle began.
Elder 1 surged forward, driven by pure instinct and survival. Each step sent tremors through the earth. As the lizard recoiled, he did not hesitate—he pressed the advantage.
The ground beneath him split once more, not to entangle, but to strike. The stone arms erupted again—sharper, faster, more focused. The earth had learned. And so had Elder 1.
The lizard twisted, wings snapping back as it dodged the first flurry of strikes—but the arms had adapted. One massive limb coiled around its leg with a brutal crunch, holding it in place.
The creature roared, struggling to break free.
And then the earth moved again.
From the massive arm holding the beast, dozens—then hundreds—of smaller stone arms burst forth like a swarm of grasping serpents. Thin but viciously strong, forged from condensed Qi and hardened stone, they shot out with explosive force. They latched onto the lizard's wings, its tail, its torso—every inch they could reach.
The lizard shrieked, lightning exploding outward in violent arcs. Sparks tore small craters into the stone limbs, but they did not break.
They held.
More arms erupted from the ground, wrapping, coiling, constricting—burying the beast under a writhing nest of living earth.
For the first time, the lizard looked truly trapped.
Its wings were pinned.
Its limbs immobilized.
Its tail bound.
It thrashed like a chained titan, each movement sending stone shards flying—yet every broken arm was instantly replaced by another, tightening and constricting.
Elder 1 felt the strain tear through his body—veins bulging, Qi roaring like a storm through his meridians. Sweat streamed down his face, but his eyes burned with unshakable focus.
"This ends now."
He inhaled, slow and deep, and his entire cultivation base ignited.
Qi surged into his core, then up through his chest, racing down his arms until the very air around him trembled. Sigils spiraled to life around his forearms—ancient, resplendent symbols that flickered like newborn stars.
The lizard sensed it. Its golden eyes widened, its body trembling with fury and desperation. It released one final explosion of lightning, a cracking dome of gold—
But the arms held.
The earth held.
Elder 1 held.