Meanwhile the Azure Thundergryph, like an indifferent god, continued to fly above the sea of ants, uncaring of their panic, for what it cared about was something else entirely.
In its mesmerizing and immense bestial azure eyes, usually so calm, there was now an enraged and furious glint as it rapidly scanned the sea of ants below, and it was clear that it was in search of something until—
It sensed it, and its terrifying gaze locked onto a small puddle of silver liquid streaked with purple thunder, a liquid that was seeping into the ground and tainting what had once been so beautiful.
ROAARRRRR!!!
Seeing this scene, the Azure Thundergryph saw red and its anger erupted outward in a terrifying roar that made some Body Forging Realm cultivators who were too 'near' explode in a shower of flesh and blood.
BOOOMMMM!
Seeing how these 'weak ants' had dared to rob it of its precious Thunder Vein Dew and then waste it by letting it seep into the ground, the Azure Thundergryph's fury only grew fiercer with every passing second.
At that moment it was so enraged that it no longer 'thought' about how the best course of action to minimize its loss would be to absorb the contaminated Thunder Vein Dew—for even though it had mixed with the earth it still preserved some of its properties—but no…
At that moment it didn't care about any of that, it simply wanted to annihilate the ants that dared to rob it!
Bzzz-Krraack!
The mouth of the Azure Thundergryph parted, revealing rows of deadly sharp teeth, but at this moment those terrifying fangs weren't the 'main attraction,' for within its maw arcs of beautiful yet deadly azure lightning began to materialize.
Bzzzzzz-Krrrraaaack!
The azure lightning lashed violently inside its mouth as if the heavens themselves had been trapped within, and with each passing moment the glow grew brighter, louder, more powerful and… more deadly, until the air itself trembled under the weight of the gathering storm.
Vrrrmmmmmmm…
The world seemed to dim as the arcs of azure thunder condensed into a single searing azure light that began to take the shape of a thunder beam of immense power.
Thud.
"Heaven help us…"
Some of the cultivators below fell to their knees while others stayed frozen in place, their eyes locked upward at the forming thunder beam, their hearts pounding as they realized death was descending and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Then, with a thunderous roar that split the heavens, the beast unleashed its wrath.
BZZZZZZZ–KRRRAAAAAAKKKK!!!
A beam of condensed lightning surged downward like a pillar of heavenly punishment and collided with the ground with annihilating force.
All in its path, whether stone, earth, air, weak cultivators at the 1st layer of the Body Forging Realm or the strongest at the 8th layer of the Spiritual Foundation Realm, all shared the same fate—instant vaporization!
No matter their strength, before the azure thunder of the Azure Thundergryph it was all the same, like ants trying to fight a natural disaster, they were entirely powerless as the terrifying thunder annihilated them!
"NOOOooo—"
Screams resounded just before unlucky cultivators were vaporized, as the Azure Thundergryph, with rage in its heart, did not stop after the initial impact of its terrifying thunder beam.
No, this thunder beam wasn't a one-shot strike, it was a terrifying continuous one, so whenever the Thundergryph turned its head a torrent of azure lightning followed, and with it the 'ants' below were instantly killed.
"Elder, Grand Elder, Sect Master—please, anybody, help me!" Cries for help from rogue cultivators, Inner Disciples, Outer Elders, even Inner Elders resounded, but unfortunately… once more they stayed unanswered.
"The hell with this Ancient Ruins!"
At that moment a pretty female rogue cultivator, who had watched numerous cultivators stronger than her be annihilated while their cries for help went unanswered, felt something inside of her break.
'I can't die, I can't die, I won't die here!' These thoughts circled endlessly in her head as she fled, her body surging forward with a Movement Technique, moving faster and faster and faster.
She pushed herself far beyond her limits, her meridians strained and beginning to crack while her organs suffered damage, but she didn't care.
The only thing on her mind was escaping this pandemonium!
Fwish.
As she cut through the air at insane speed she threw a glance backward, and what she saw brought her a rush of relief—the Azure Thundergryph was ignoring her, its devastating attacks focused on another part of the expedition.
'I'll live,' the thought flashed through her mind, flooding her chest with relief, and soon enough she reached the edge of the massive expedition group but then—
Boom.
"ARGGGH!!"
A pained groan escaped the beauty's mouth as she collided at high speed with something that sent her flying backward.
Uncaring of the pain, fear blazing far stronger, she instantly rose and was about to continue her flight, but at that instant she caught sight of what had blocked her path—
"No…"
Stretching before her, extending as far as the eye could see, seemingly infinite, was a nearly transparent Qi-powered barrier, and this was the 'thing' she had slammed into earlier.
BOOM.
Her full-power punch, backed by her 1st layer Spiritual Foundation Realm cultivation, landed squarely on the barrier, but except for a faint ripple that spread outward and dissipated without leaving any trace, nothing else happened.
"No no no no, this isn't possible…" she crazily murmured to herself as she drew her spear and unleashed her wind-attributed Spear Arts against the barrier, desperately trying to pierce her way through.
Wind Spear Art: 3rd Form – Fury of the Wind!
Each of her strikes was as useless as the first, and with every thrust she grew more desperate, more frantic, more terrified, while her muttering grew louder and even more crazed.
And as this continued she threw a terrified glance backward, dreading to see the Azure Thundergryph's death beam nearing her position—but what she saw was worse, and it… broke her!
"HahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!!" What began as a small laugh twisted into a loud, broken, crazed one as small tears rolled down her cheeks.
"So they never intended to let us live…it was a trap! HAHAHAHAAHAH!" she howled to herself, the despair and breakdown in her voice so intense that it could have softened even a hardened killer's heart.
But what did she see to cause such an intense reaction?
It was simple really—what she saw was the Ancient Ruins, the very reason she and countless others were here, vanish before her eyes as if it had been nothing more than a mirage, nothing more than an illusion.
At that instant she understood: the barrier that kept them contained, the Ancient Ruins that acted as bait, and the Azure Thundergryph's presence…
They weren't here to explore any 'Ancient Ruins,' no, they were here to serve as the Azure Thundergryph's food, and the barrier was there to ensure that nobody escaped…
"I should have seen it, hahah, hic, I…sob…should…have…sob…seen...it," she laughed and cried to herself as her knees hit the ground, her fists powerlessly hammering the Qi barrier.
Crackles.
At that instant the beautiful rogue cultivator felt her hair rise upward as the sound of thunder crackled in her ears, and when she threw a glance backward she saw the azure thunder beam racing toward her position.
Drip.
A final tear struck the ground before the beautiful cultivator was engulfed by the terrifying azure beam, reduced to nothing more than… nothing!
And this was only a microcosm of the entire 'death zone,' with every cultivator gradually realizing the reality and understanding that they were already dead…
***
Meanwhile, as the Azure Thundergryph was massacring and venting its anger on the poor cultivators…
Thousands of kilometers away stood a jagged mountain that looked as though it had been struck by thunder countless times, to the point that an electric aura permeated not only the air but the mountain itself.
Situated just beside this unique mountain was the recognizable Crimson Pyrogryph, the colossal demonic beast standing at attention with its agitated gaze scanning the surroundings.
Its tense, battle-ready body was positioned right next to a small crevasse carved into the jagged mountain.
Inside this crevasse rested a small pool of silver liquid streaked with purple thunder—the unmistakable Thunder Vein Dew!
And if the Crimson Pyrogryph's current position and the way its attention was fixed on the Heavenly Wonder were to be believed, it was clear that it was guarding this treasure, ready to protect it at any moment against thieves…
Unfortunately for it, the Crimson Pyrogryph's senses weren't precise enough, and so it wasn't able to detect the thieves who already had their gaze locked on both him and the Thunder Vein Dew.
Standing in a hidden location tens of kilometers away, further cloaked by a Stealth Cultivation Technique, there was a small group from the Flame Sovereign Sect.
This group consisted of the Grand Elder at the 8th layer of the Core Formation Realm, along with the two Core Elders at the 6th layer and one at the 5th.
The power of this small group of only four was through the roof, and from their vantage point these powerhouses coldly observed the alert Crimson Pyrogryph as they waited for something.
"Good!" the Grand Elder suddenly smiled, drawing the others' attention, who with their eyes asked the question, "Is it time?"
The Grand Elder nodded, "The Sect Master succeeded, the Azure Thundergryph took the bait and is currently occupied by the baits existence, it is venting it's anger on them!"
Smiles spread across the visages of the other Core Elders at this good news, and one of them, the old man at the 6th layer of the Core Formation Realm, spoke, "I'll tell the Young Master and Colt team to be ready to act."
The others nodded and waited a couple of seconds until the Core Elder gave his confirmation and declared, "The Young Master and Colt team are ready to act, now it's up to us old coots to make our move."
"Remember, follow the plan to the letter!" repeated the Grand Elder before, without further ado, the group of four old cultivators vanished without the slightest sound of disturbance in the air.
Twitch.
The Crimson Pyrogryph's ruby-like ears twitched as it sensed something approaching at the same instant its instincts screamed danger!
Fwooooshhh!
Instantly the colossal demonic beast reacted as ruby flames erupted across its hill-sized body, forming an armor of fire that not only protected it but also empowered all of its flame-based attacks while bolstering its physical might!
And it was proven to be a wise decision the very next instant as screams rang out.
"Infernal Burst!"
"Piercing Fang Thrust!"
"Earth-Crushing Smash!"
"Triple Moonshot!"
Four powerful Cultivation Techniques struck the Crimson Pyrogryph from all sides, and coupled with the suddenness of the assault, it had no chance to evade.
BOOOM!!
The ruby flames covering the Crimson Pyrogryph's body suddenly flared an instant before impact, allowing it to greatly mitigate the force of the incoming techniques, but unfortunately—
It wasn't enough, and the attacks tore through its flame barrier, rending its flesh.
ROAAARRRRR!!!!
What escaped the Crimson Pyrogryph was as much a pained as an angered roar as he felt wounds tear across his body, and while for his massive size and the vitality that came with it the damage wasn't much, it was still enough to thoroughly enrage him!
ROAAR–Fwoosssh.
With another roar the Crimson Pyrogryph's immense ruby-colored wings spread open and with a single flap he took flight.
His bestial gaze locked onto the nearest 5th layer Core Formation Elder, and with that single flap of his majestic wings he was instantly before him, paw falling like a mountain that threatened to crush the puny human.
Even with a 'mountain' crashing down toward him, the Core Elder's expression remained calm—there was even the faintest hint of a sneer.
His Qi erupted and propelled him backward, but not with enough speed to fully escape the demonic beast's attack, or at least that was how it appeared until—
Author Note:
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———
Damn, first half of the chapter was pretty brutal for the poor cultivators, imagine being stuck in a death zone with a kaiju like beat like the Azure Thundergryph, especially how not at all happy it is…
Understanding that death is coming and being able to do nothing…them breaking down is understandable.
As for the second half we see a little more of the plan and what is happening.
I think it was visible(maybe not, I don't know) but I tried to make it so the cultivators are actually intelligent and aren't just able to scream, "Courting Death!!!", "How Dare You!" and things like that but make them intelligent old men who have plenty of experience and concocted a logical plan, something which is pretty much a miracle in a cultivation novel…
———
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— End of Chapter —