The demonic cultivator's eyes hardened.
For the first time since this battle had begun—
The situation had truly turned **dangerous**.
Wind screamed around him as the storm serpents blocked his escape path, their massive bodies of lightning and wind twisting through the sky like living hurricanes.
Behind him—
The lizard was closing the distance rapidly.
Too fast.
*Damn it.*
The poison pulsed violently through his meridians again.
His Golden Core qi suppressed it for the moment, but every burst of movement forced the toxin deeper into his body.
If this continued…
His expression darkened.
Abruptly—
He stopped fleeing.
Golden light **erupted** from his body.
The sky shook.
Storm clouds were blasted apart as the pressure of a true Golden Core cultivator exploded outward in all directions.
The lizard noticed instantly.
His wings shifted mid-flight as lightning crackled across his scales.
The cultivator slowly turned around in the sky, facing him directly now.
The amusement was gone from his face.
Only cold calculation remained.
"You little beast…"
Golden qi surged around him like burning sunlight.
"You've forced me into quite the troublesome situation."
The storm serpents continued circling the sky.
Lightning flashed across the lizard's body as he hovered silently in the air, watching.
Waiting.
The cultivator raised one hand.
Golden symbols began forming in the air around him.
A technique.
But this one was different.
Heavier.
Denser.
The sky itself seemed to bend slightly around the forming power.
"Originally…"
The cultivator spoke slowly.
"This technique was meant for enemies worthy of a Golden Core battle."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"But I suppose you qualify."
The lizard's pupils thinned.
Instinct screamed.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
Far below, the fox felt it too.
Her eyes widened in alarm.
"Oh no…"
She immediately shouted upward.
"White! Don't let him finish that!"
But the lizard had already moved.
Lightning detonated across his wings.
BOOOOM!
He shot forward like a bolt from the heavens, tearing through the storm at impossible speed.
Storm serpents lunged with him, their jaws wide as they charged the cultivator from every direction.
But the cultivator didn't move.
The golden symbols in the sky finished forming.
His hand slowly closed.
"Spirit Art…"
The air collapsed inward.
"…**Heaven Locking Domain.**"
CRACK.
A golden sphere suddenly expanded outward from the cultivator.
Not an explosion—
A **domain**.
Everything within its radius froze.
Storm serpents.
Lightning.
Wind.
Even the air itself seemed to slow.
The lizard's charge **stuttered** mid-flight as invisible pressure crushed down on him from all directions.
His wings strained against the weight.
Lightning flared violently across his scales.
But the pressure only tightened further.
The cultivator stared calmly now.
"This domain suppresses everything beneath the Golden Core realm."
His gaze was icy.
"You should feel honored."
He raised his hand again.
Golden light gathered into a massive spear above him.
"You're the only Foundation Establishment creature who has ever forced me to use this."
The spear condensed.
Denser.
Deadlier.
The surrounding sky dimmed under the weight of its power.
"Die."
He thrust his hand downward.
The spear screamed toward the lizard like falling judgment.
But—
The moment it launched—
The cultivator suddenly felt something.
A vibration.
A strange fluctuation in the air.
His eyes flickered slightly.
Below him—
Inside the domain—
The lizard had stopped struggling.
Instead…
He was staring upward.
Completely still.
Lightning crackled softly across his black horns.
His golden eyes were calm.
Watching.
Calculating.
And then—
Very slowly—
The lizard **smiled**.
Not with his mouth.
But with his eyes.
The cultivator's instincts screamed.
*Something's wrong.*
But it was already too late.
Because the lizard had realized something.
Even inside the domain—
Wind still existed.
And lightning—
Was **everywhere**.
The sky suddenly darkened.
The storm answered his call.
Lightning began gathering across the entire battlefield, crawling through the clouds like living veins of light.
And the lizard spoke a single quiet sentence.
"Your domain…"
Lightning spread across the heavens.
"…is still inside **my storm**."
For a brief moment—
The sky went **silent**.
The golden spear descended like divine punishment, tearing through the air toward the lizard's head. The crushing pressure of the domain bore down from all directions, attempting to lock his body in place, suppress his movement, and suffocate the storm surrounding him.
But the lizard did not move.
He simply **looked upward**.
Lightning crawled slowly along the black scales of his tail.
Above him, the storm responded.
Clouds twisted violently.
The wind currents that had been suppressed began to **vibrate**.
Not breaking the domain—
But slipping **through it**.
Because wind could never be completely contained.
And lightning—
Lightning followed the wind.
The cultivator's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Impossible."
Then it happened.
A single bolt of lightning **fell from the clouds**.
Not toward the lizard—
But toward the **domain itself**.
CRAAACK!!
The bolt slammed into the golden barrier surrounding the battlefield. The domain trembled slightly as ripples of energy spread across its surface.
The cultivator frowned.
But before he could react—
Another bolt fell.
Then another.
And another.
The sky had become a **storm furnace**.
Hundreds of lightning currents gathered above the battlefield, spiraling together into a massive vortex of wind and thunder.
Inside the domain—
The lizard's scales began glowing faintly blue.
Electric arcs ran across his body like living veins.
Far below, the fox stared upward in disbelief.
"…Little White…?"
The cultivator's calm expression was finally beginning to crack.
"This creature…"
He could feel it.
The storm outside his domain was **synchronizing** with the lizard.
This wasn't a technique.
It wasn't a spell.
It was instinct.
A bloodline authority.
The lizard spoke quietly.
"You used your domain…"
Lightning surged violently around him.
"…but you trapped yourself inside my storm."
The cultivator's eyes widened.
The golden spear he had launched continued descending—
But the moment it entered the storm vortex above—
BOOM!!
A colossal bolt of lightning struck it directly.
The spear shattered midair, exploding into fragments of golden qi.
The cultivator reacted instantly, pouring more spiritual energy into maintaining his domain.
Golden light intensified.
But it was already too late.
Because the storm had **answered**.
The sky roared.
A massive lightning serpent formed above the battlefield—larger than anything the lizard had summoned before.
Its body stretched across the clouds like a living river of thunder.
The cultivator stared upward.
"…This is getting out of hand."
The serpent opened its enormous maw.
And descended.
The lizard moved at the exact same moment.
Lightning exploded from his wings as he launched forward with terrifying speed, the storm serpent diving alongside him like divine judgment.
The cultivator roared.
Golden energy surged violently as he raised both hands, forming multiple layers of defensive techniques.
"Enough!"
The serpent struck.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The collision shook the heavens.
Wind, lightning, and golden qi erupted across the sky like exploding stars.
The domain shattered.
Fragments of golden energy scattered across the clouds like shattered glass.
The shockwave blasted outward for miles.
Mountains trembled.
Forests bent under the pressure.
Even the fox was forced to brace herself against the ground as hurricane-force winds tore across the battlefield.
For several seconds—
The sky became nothing but blinding light.
Then slowly…
The storm began to settle.
Lightning faded.
Wind weakened.
Smoke drifted through the air.
High above—
A figure slowly emerged from the fading light.
The demonic cultivator.
Still hovering.
But this time—
His breathing was heavy.
His robes were torn.
Blood ran down one side of his face.
His golden aura flickered slightly.
Below him—
The lizard hovered in the air as well.
Lightning still crackled across his body, though far weaker than before.
Both of them stared at each other across the ruined sky.
The cultivator wiped the blood from his mouth.
Then—
To the fox's surprise—
He **laughed**.
A deep, excited laugh.
"Ha…"
"HAHAHAHA!"
His eyes burned with wild interest as he looked at the lizard.
"A Foundation Establishment creature forcing me into this state…"
He tilted his head slightly.
"I was right."
His gaze sharpened like a blade.
"You are something extraordinary."
The poison within his body pulsed again.
His expression darkened slightly.
But the excitement in his eyes remained.
"Unfortunately…"
Golden energy began gathering around him once more.
"…this battle still isn't over."
Lightning crackled across the lizard's scales in response.
Neither side moved.
But both understood the same truth.
The next exchange—
Would decide **everything**.