The demonic core dissolved the moment it slid down his throat.
Dense spiritual energy burst outward through his meridians, flowing like molten stone through his body. The white-scaled lizard remained standing atop the remains of the **Stone-Tusk War Boar**, golden eyes steady as the system began its work.
Inside him, the newly acquired gene awakened.
He could feel it.
Heavy.
Earth-aligned.
His thoughts drifted briefly.
*Stone-Tusk War Boar…*
*It's similar to the Iron-Tusk Boar.*
Another brute demonic beast known for raw power and thick bones.
But this one carried stronger earth energy.
More force.
More mass.
The system's voice echoed again.
**[Gene Fusion In Progress…]**
A deep pressure spread through his body as the gene merged with his existing physique.
Muscle fibers tightened.
His bones trembled faintly.
The scales along his torso hardened further as the earlier **Stoneback Reinforcement** reacted to the new earth-based traits.
Lightning flickered briefly along his spine as the two forces—storm and earth—adjusted to each other.
Then—
The system spoke again.
**[Fusion Complete]**
The pressure inside his body slowly faded.
The lizard exhaled quietly.
His golden eyes gleamed faintly as he flexed his claws against the rocky ground.
The strength in his limbs felt… heavier.
Denser.
The fusion had integrated well with his body.
He slowly stepped down from the corpse.
Then turned.
His glowing eyes swept across the forest.
The hunt was not finished yet.
"I can't sense any others… Was it alone?" he thought.
"Don't these creatures move in herds like Iron-Tusk Boars?"
But there were no other boars nearby.
Far away in the valley clearing, he could still faintly sense the fox's aura. She was still focused on the ring, steadily grinding down the stubborn imprint.
Which meant—
He still had time.
Time to hunt.
Time to gather more **evolution points**.
The storm dragon's body began shrinking again.
Large scales compressing.
Muscles tightening.
Within seconds, he returned to his smaller form.
The air around him bent slightly as light warped across his scales.
Slowly—
He vanished.
Invisible once more.
Golden eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
Then the wind carried him forward again—
Deeper into the forest.
---
The invisible lizard moved silently through the trees.
The canopy above thickened, blocking most of the fading daylight. Long shadows stretched across the forest floor, and the spiritual energy in the air grew heavier the deeper he traveled.
His small body glided between branches.
No sound.
No presence.
Only the faint distortion of air as wind currents carried him forward.
His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dim forest, tracking the spiritual flow around him. Every creature left traces—small animals, insects, birds perched high in the branches.
But he ignored them.
They were worthless.
He needed stronger prey.
His senses expanded outward again.
Hearing sharpened.
Vision focused.
Minutes passed.
Then—
His ears twitched.
A faint metallic sound.
*Clang.*
His body stopped instantly, hovering between two branches.
The forest fell still.
Then it came again.
*Clink.*
Stone scraping metal.
The lizard's pupils narrowed.
That sound did not belong to a demonic beast.
He drifted forward through the trees, careful not to disturb even a single leaf.
Soon the forest thinned.
Through the branches ahead, a small rocky clearing came into view.
Three figures stood there.
Humans.
Cultivators.
Two wore dark robes reinforced with iron chest plates. The third knelt near the ground, digging carefully at the base of a glowing plant rooted between two stones.
A **spirit herb**.
Mid-grade.
The lizard remained motionless among the branches above them.
Invisible.
Watching.
The cultivator digging the herb finally spoke.
"Hurry up."
His voice was low and impatient.
"We shouldn't stay in this valley too long."
One of the others crossed his arms.
"You're the one who insisted on harvesting it."
The third cultivator glanced nervously toward the forest.
"This place feels strange."
He lowered his voice.
"The spiritual currents here are… unstable."
The invisible dragon watched silently.
Their cultivation levels revealed themselves clearly to his glowing eyes.
Two were **Early Foundation Establishment**.
The one harvesting the herb—
**Mid Foundation Establishment**.
His golden pupils thinned slightly.
Stronger prey.
Better evolution points.
But humans were different from beasts.
Smarter.
More cautious.
He would need to strike carefully.
High above the clearing—
The invisible lizard began circling slowly.
Waiting.
Studying their movements.
And deciding which one would die first.
---
High above the clearing, the invisible storm dragon finished his silent circle.
The three cultivators remained unaware.
The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator was still crouched beside the glowing spirit herb, carefully loosening the soil around its roots.
The other two stood nearby, occasionally glancing around but clearly more concerned with the herb than with any real danger.
Their mistake.
The lizard's golden eyes locked onto the kneeling cultivator.
*Mid stage first.*
The strongest one.
Remove him—
And the others would be easy.
Lightning quietly gathered along the black spike at the end of his tail. Wind currents wrapped tightly around his small body, compressing the air until not even the leaves below stirred.
The kneeling cultivator finally freed the herb.
He smiled slightly.
"Got it—"
The air above him **split**.
The invisible dragon dropped like a falling needle.
The cultivator's instincts screamed a warning.
His head jerked upward—
But the attack had already arrived.
**CRACK!**
The lightning-charged tail spike drove down through the back of his neck, piercing straight through the base of his skull.
Electricity exploded inside his body.
His eyes widened in shock.
A choked gasp escaped his throat as lightning surged through his nerves and spine.
The spirit herb slipped from his hand.
For a single second—
Everything froze.
Then the two other cultivators shouted in alarm.
"Elder Gu!"
"What—?!"
The invisible dragon's form flickered into view as the lightning illuminated the clearing.
The mid-stage cultivator's body collapsed forward, lifeless before it even touched the ground.
The lizard landed lightly beside the corpse.
Golden eyes glowing.
Lightning crawling across his scales.
The two remaining cultivators stumbled backward in horror.
"What… what is that thing?!"
"A demon beast?!"
The storm dragon said nothing.
His gaze shifted slowly toward them.
Predatory.
Cold.
The wind around the clearing began to move again.
And both cultivators realized the same terrifying truth—
They had just watched their strongest companion die in a single strike.
And now—
The monster was looking at them next.
---
For a single heartbeat, the clearing remained frozen.
The body of the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator collapsed onto the ground with a dull thud, blood slowly spreading across the rocks.
The two remaining cultivators stared in horror.
Their minds struggled to process what had just happened.
*Elder Gu…*
*He… he was mid-stage Foundation Establishment…*
*Killed in one instant?*
Panic surged through them.
*We need to—*
The thought never finished.
The lizard's tail flicked.
A sharp crack of thunder split the clearing.
From the black scales at the end of his tail, several **compressed lightning shards** shot forward like spears, tearing through the air with terrifying speed.
The attack rained down upon them.
"WATCH OUT—!"
One of the cultivators barely managed to raise a defensive talisman.
A shimmering barrier flashed into existence around his body.
But the other—
He wasn't fast enough.
**BOOM!**
Lightning tore through his chest.
His scream cut short as the strike ripped straight through him, burning flesh and bone alike. His body was thrown backward, collapsing lifelessly against a rock.
Dead before he hit the ground.
The second cultivator's barrier shattered under the impact of another lightning shard.
**CRACK!**
The defensive shield exploded into fragments of light.
The cultivator coughed blood as the shockwave hurled him backward.
His chest plate cracked.
His arms trembled from the impact.
But he was still alive.
And in that instant—
He didn't hesitate.
Spiritual energy surged through his legs.
"Wind Escape Step!"
His body blurred as the movement technique activated.
The cultivator shot backward like a gust of wind, retreating into the forest with desperate speed.
Leaves scattered as he fled between the trees.
The lizard stood in the clearing, golden eyes glowing as he watched the fleeing figure disappear deeper into the forest.
He didn't immediately pursue.
Lightning slowly faded from his tail.
Around him, two corpses lay still.
The spirit herb glowed faintly beside them.
The forest fell quiet again.
But far away—
The fleeing cultivator was already running for his life.
And the storm dragon's glowing eyes followed the direction of his escape.