The Golden Core cultivator no longer held back.
Golden light flooded the sky, illuminating everything in a blinding radiance.
The spear returned to his grasp, spinning once in a perfect arc before thrusting forward again—this time not as a single strike, but as a storm of golden projections.
Dozens of spear phantoms rained down.
Each carried the full weight of true Golden Core force.
The lizard shot upward to evade—
But a sweeping arc of golden qi slammed into his flank mid-flight.
He was hurled sideways, scales cracking under the immense pressure.
Before he could stabilize—
A palm strike descended from above.
The golden giant's hand mirrored the motion flawlessly.
BOOM—
He was smashed into the air, then struck again by a spiraling spear thrust that pierced through his storm barrier, driving him backward across the sky.
Wind shattered.
Lightning dispersed.
The storm that once obeyed him now struggled under the overwhelming density of Golden Core power.
Below, the fox's expression tightened.
He was holding his own—
But barely.
Another technique activated.
Golden chains of condensed qi shot outward, writhing like living serpents as they sought to bind his wings mid-motion.
The lizard twisted violently, tearing through two of them—
But a third wrapped around his hind leg, detonating on contact and sending him spiraling.
He caught himself midair, breathing heavier now.
Cracks lined his white scales.
Blood streaked down his side.
The cultivator hovered steadily, his aura blazing like a second sun.
"This is the difference between us," he said.
Another thrust—
The lizard barely deflected it with his claw, yet the impact still blasted him backward.
Pain flared sharply—
And through it—
He felt something else.
Inside his mind.
A strain.
The earlier soul attack had left a tremor in his consciousness.
He could feel it clearly now.
If he used it again—
He could strike once more.
One clean, decisive blow.
But if he forced a second after that—
Backlash.
Blindness.
Just like before.
Temporary.
But in this fight—
Temporary was death.
He steadied his breathing midair.
Golden energy rained down again, forcing him to dive sharply to avoid a piercing beam that split the clouds behind him like a blade through silk.
He could feel the cultivator adapting.
Guarding his spiritual sea more tightly.
Reinforcing it subconsciously.
If he waited too long—
The opportunity would vanish.
Another blow struck him across the chest, cracking scales and sending him crashing into a mountain ridge.
Rock shattered.
Dust filled the sky.
He rose slowly from the rubble.
Wings trembling slightly.
Golden eyes still steady.
Above him, the cultivator pointed the spear downward.
"You cannot win."
His voice was cold.
"You are extraordinary for your realm."
A pause.
"But extraordinary is still beneath me."
Golden light condensed again for a decisive strike.
Below—
The lizard's vision sharpened.
Not physically.
Mentally.
He could feel the storm.
He could feel the wind.
He could feel the cultivator's soul—
Still slightly unstable from the first strike.
There.
A fracture.
Small.
But real.
One more soul attack.
It would land harder this time.
But if again—
Darkness.
Again.
His mind calculated calmly despite the chaos.
If he blinded himself—
Could he still fight relying purely on his sense of hearing?
Would his domain awareness compensate?
Golden light above intensified.
Decision time.
The storm began to spiral inward once more.
And deep within his golden eyes—
A faint glow began to gather.
The lizard's pupils flared—
A second soul pulse erupted.
Invisible.
Sharp.
Direct.
It struck.
And—
Nothing.
The Golden Core cultivator didn't even flinch.
Instead, he smirked.
Golden light shimmered faintly around his head—an inner defensive layer activating, inscriptions briefly visible along his temples.
"Did you truly believe," he said coldly, "that I would not prepare after your first strike?"
His aura stabilized completely.
"My spiritual sea is guarded now. If soul attacks are all you have left to rely on—"
His gaze lifted—
Meeting the lizard's eyes fully.
"—then this battle is over."
And then—
He stopped speaking.
Mid-breath.
The smirk froze on his face.
His body halted in place.
Golden energy still blazed around him—
But it no longer moved.
His spear hovered inches from shifting position—
Yet remained suspended.
Inside his mind—
Confusion exploded.
My body…
He tried to move a finger.
Nothing.
He tried to circulate qi.
It flowed—
But it didn't obey.
It continued along its previous pathway without responding to intent.
His thoughts sharpened in alarm.
This isn't a soul attack—
Below him—
The lizard stared upward, lightning crawling violently across his black horns and along his spine.
His golden eyes were calm.
Focused.
I was never aiming for your soul.
He had already concluded the cultivator would reinforce his spiritual defenses.
So he didn't target the spiritual sea.
He targeted something else.
The moment their gazes locked—
He released not a soul spear—
But a soul command.
A disruption pulse aimed at the cultivator's mind-to-body transmission.
Not damage.
Interference.
A severing of command flow.
Temporary.
Fragile.
But real.
Paralysis.
Even if it lasted only a second—
That was enough.
The lizard moved.
No wind buildup.
No warning.
He vanished—
Appearing before the immobilized Golden Core cultivator instantly.
Maw wide open.
Lightning so dense it screamed.
The cultivator's protective barrier was still active—
But static.
Unreinforced.
The lizard's jaws slammed down.
CRACK—
The storm-infused bite detonated against the golden shield.
Lightning drilled inward violently.
The barrier fractured.
Split.
Shattered.
Golden shards of qi exploded outward.
The cultivator's pupils widened in horror—
Still unable to move.
The lizard's fangs pierced through—
And sank deep into his shoulder.
This time—
There was no barrier to soften it.
Dragon fangs tore flesh.
Lightning surged directly into his meridians.
A thunderous explosion erupted at point-blank range.
The paralysis broke.
Too late.
The cultivator screamed as he was blasted backward, half his upper robe obliterated, blood spraying across the sky.
Golden Core energy fluctuated wildly.
One arm hung partially limp.
Lightning continued crawling inside his body, disrupting circulation violently.
Far below—
The fox exhaled sharply.
"He… tricked him."
High above—
The lizard hovered again, blood staining his teeth.
Storm clouds spiraled faster now.
The Golden Core cultivator steadied himself with visible effort.
Breathing heavier.
Aura unstable.
For the first time since the fight began—
He looked wounded.
Truly wounded.
His eyes burned with fury and disbelief.
"You…"
Lightning crackled louder around the lizard.
He did not speak.
He did not roar.
He simply watched.
And for the first time—
The Golden Core cultivator realized—
He was no longer hunting.
He was fighting something that could kill him.