The Golden Core cultivator staggered midair, his golden aura flickering violently around him.
He growled, fury twisting his features—
Then something inside him shifted.
Not pain.
Not lightning disruption.
Something colder.
Spreading.
His breath hitched.
His meridians… slowed.
Golden qi that once flowed like a roaring river now felt viscous. Heavy. Sluggish.
His pupils constricted.
…Poison?
Before he could act again—
His internal circulation stuttered.
Just for a fraction of a second.
But for a Golden Core cultivator—
That fraction was terrifying.
His mind replayed the last exchange:
The bite.
The lightning surge.
The shattered barrier—
And then—
A memory surfaced.
A sharp impact at his lower ribs.
Brief. Subtle. Overshadowed by the explosion.
His gaze dropped.
Below him, the lizard hovered silently.
Licking blood from his maw.
Slow. Deliberate. Almost casual.
But his tail—
The black, spike-like scales along its tip were stained deep red.
The cultivator's expression twisted.
"When…?"
His mind raced.
During the bite. While his paralysis was breaking. While his attention focused on the fangs tearing into his shoulder—
The lizard had twisted.
And struck.
The tail spike had pierced flesh for less than half a heartbeat.
Just enough.
The lizard's golden eyes gleamed faintly.
Not wild.
Calculated.
He flicked his tail once—
Blood scattering into the storm.
And if dragons could smile—
That was one.
The cultivator felt it clearly now.
The poison wasn't ordinary.
It wasn't corrosive.
It wasn't explosive.
It was invasive.
It traveled along meridians with frightening compatibility, riding spiritual pathways instead of fighting them.
It spread fast. Too fast.
His breathing grew heavier.
Golden qi flared violently as he forced circulation into suppression mode.
"Seal!"
He slammed his palm against his chest, golden inscriptions forming across his torso as he attempted to isolate the poisoned meridians.
The poison slowed—
But didn't stop.
It resisted. Adaptive.
It felt almost… alive.
His eyes snapped back to the lizard.
"You planned this."
Lightning intensified around the dragon's horns, thunder rumbling low in the sky.
He had known a second soul attack would fail.
He had known paralysis would be brief.
He had known Golden Core defenses were overwhelming.
So he layered the attack.
Paralysis.
Bite.
Lightning disruption.
And hidden within it—
Venom.
The cultivator's golden aura pulsed irregularly.
He could suppress it—for now.
But that meant dividing his attention.
Dividing his power.
The fox, watching from below, muttered quietly,
"Dragon bloodline… and poison?"
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"He's terrifying."
Above—
The lizard didn't rush.
Didn't waste energy.
He hovered.
Waiting.
Lightning gathering once more.
He could feel it.
The cultivator's power had not dropped drastically—
But it had destabilized.
And instability—
Was all he needed.
The Golden Core cultivator forced his breathing steady, golden light blazing brighter as he crushed several poisoned pathways and rerouted circulation.
He lifted his spear again—
But this time—
There was a flicker in his movement.
Small.
But real.
The storm above began to roar louder.
Because now—
The battlefield was no longer even.
It was tilting.
The Golden Core cultivator's eyes never left the lizard.
He could see it.
The patience.
The waiting.
It wasn't pressing recklessly anymore.
It was watching him decay.
It's waiting for the poison to fully circulate.
If he continued exerting full Golden Core power, the venom would ride the accelerated meridian flow and spread faster.
If he suppressed it, his combat strength would drop.
Either path led to disadvantage.
His jaw tightened.
I underestimated it.
If he had crushed the creature at the beginning—
Before the bloodline awakening.
Before the storm control matured.
Before the poison.
He would not be forced into this position.
A wise man knew when to retreat.
And survival came before pride.
Without another word—
He turned.
Golden light flared beneath his feet as he shot backward, spear cutting a path through the clouds.
He intended to disengage instantly—
To escape beyond the storm's domain.
Below—
The lizard saw it.
Golden eyes sharpened.
It's trying to escape.
He could not let a Golden Core cultivator who knew his capabilities leave alive.
Not after this.
Not after being seen.
Storm clouds churned violently—
But he didn't rely on the storm alone.
Deep within his body—
Something stirred.
"Blood Fury."
The ability activated.
His aura—
Exploded.
Red energy burst from his scales like ignited magma.
Muscles swelled unnaturally, compressing and expanding as his frame grew denser—heavier.
The air around him distorted under sheer physical pressure.
Veins beneath his white scales glowed crimson.
His black horns darkened further, streaked with faint red fissures.
Strength multiplied violently.
Pain vanished.
Injury dulled to irrelevance.
Vitality surged like a second heartbeat layered atop the first.
The storm recoiled from him momentarily—
Then was forced outward by the shockwave of his roar.
The roar alone shattered nearby clouds and split the air in a circular blast.
Below, the fox's eyes widened.
"He's stacking physiques now—that's the ability of the dire ape?!"
The lizard lunged.
Not with elegance.
With brutality.
The air detonated behind him.
His body carved a visible trench through the sky as he accelerated far beyond his previous speed.
The fleeing cultivator sensed it—
And his heart skipped.
The pressure behind him had changed.
He turned his head slightly—
And what he saw froze his blood.
The lizard was no longer simply storm incarnate.
He looked like a crimson war-beast wrapped in lightning.
Distance vanished in an instant.
The lizard appeared behind him—
Claw raised.
Heavy. Dense. Mountain-breaking.
He brought it down.
The cultivator barely twisted, raising his spear horizontally to block.
Impact.
The sky shattered.
Golden light and red lightning collided violently.
The cultivator was slammed downward like a falling meteor, crashing through layers of cloud before smashing into the earth miles below.
The ground ruptured.
A crater formed instantly.
The lizard descended like a divine executioner.
He landed at the crater's edge.
Lightning crackling.
Red aura surging.
Breathing steady.
Inside the crater—
The Golden Core cultivator coughed blood.
His golden aura flickered wildly now.
The poison churned faster from the forced exertion.
He tried to rise—
But his body felt heavier.
Slower.
Above him—
The lizard stepped forward.
Each step cracking the earth further.
Golden eyes stared down at him without hesitation.
This time—
There was no hunger.
Only killing intent.
The hunter had tried to retreat.
And now—
The mountain had fallen on him.