Darkness.
...
Ling Hua's eyelids slowly fluttered open.
His vision was blurred.
A violent ache pounded relentlessly inside his skull.
"..."
He stared blankly at the ceiling.
*Where...*
*Where am I...?*
Fragments of memory slowly resurfaced.
The nightmare.
The endless white world.
The tiny white-scaled creature.
His memories...
His pupils suddenly contracted.
His gaze snapped downward.
Hovering directly above his chest—
was the tiny white-scaled lizard.
Golden eyes calmly met his own.
Ling Hua's entire body instantly stiffened.
He didn't dare move.
He didn't dare breathe too loudly.
Between the two of them—
a black jade token floated silently in the air.
Its smooth surface was engraved with strange crimson markings that pulsed with a faint, eerie glow.
Lizarius observed it in silence.
His golden eyes pierced straight through the artifact.
*This is the tool concealing the dark energy.*
The veil of black qi surrounding the jade became completely transparent beneath his gaze.
Nothing remained hidden from him.
Then—
his attention shifted.
Beyond the concealment...
A faint blue thread extended from the deepest part of the jade.
It stretched endlessly into the distance.
Far beyond Lotus City.
Far beyond the horizon.
Lizarius watched it quietly.
*A connection.*
The thread pulsed with a steady rhythm.
As though it were linked to another identical artifact somewhere far away.
*A communication tool...*
A brief silence followed.
*Or perhaps...*
*A tracking device.*
The distinction no longer mattered.
Whichever purpose it served—
it would lead him to the same destination.
His golden gaze slowly shifted back toward Ling Hua.
The young man remained completely frozen beneath him.
Every trace of composure had vanished.
Only naked fear remained upon his face.
The room fell into absolute silence.
Then—
Lizarius moved.
A storage ring hovered before him.
His tiny body suddenly expanded.
One meter.
Three.
Five.
Within a single breath—
a colossal white-scaled lizard filled nearly the entire room.
The walls trembled.
The ceiling groaned beneath his overwhelming presence.
Ling Hua's eyes widened until they nearly burst from their sockets.
His mouth opened.
"No—"
A massive white maw descended.
CRUNCH.
Silence.
For a brief moment—
nothing moved.
When the enormous jaws lifted—
nothing remained of Ling Hua.
Only a small stain of fresh blood marked the floor.
The enormous body rapidly shrank once more.
Five meters.
Three.
One.
Until—
the familiar tiny white-scaled lizard hovered quietly within the now-empty room.
The black jade token rested securely between his claws.
Without sparing the room another glance—
his body gradually faded from sight.
Complete invisibility enveloped him once more.
Whoosh.
He shot through the open window like a silent arrow.
The cool night wind rushed past him.
Lotus City rapidly receded into the distance.
High above the sleeping world—
the invisible lizard flew without the slightest hesitation.
His golden eyes remained fixed upon the faint blue thread stretching endlessly across the night sky.
Following it.
Toward whoever waited at the other end.
The night remained silent.
Moonlight bathed mountains, forests, and winding rivers below in a pale silver glow.
Far beneath him—
the world slept peacefully.
Only a single invisible figure crossed the heavens.
No sound accompanied his flight.
No fluctuation of spiritual energy escaped from his body.
Even the wind seemed unable to sense his passing.
Only the faint blue thread, visible solely through his golden eyes, guided his path.
It stretched onward without end.
Lizarius followed it without hesitation.
Minutes gradually passed.
Lotus City had long since disappeared beyond the horizon.
The landscape below slowly began to change.
Dense forests gradually gave way to towering mountain ranges.
Jagged peaks pierced through the clouds like countless ancient blades.
Massive primordial trees blanketed the valleys between them.
The farther he traveled—
the fewer traces of ordinary human civilization remained.
Villages disappeared.
Roads became increasingly scarce.
Only the occasional presence of wandering cultivators could still be found.
Lizarius paid none of it the slightest attention.
His gaze never strayed from the blue thread.
...
An hour and a half passed.
Then nearly two.
Lizarius gradually slowed.
His golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
*...Closer.*
The blue thread had become noticeably brighter.
Its fluctuations had also grown significantly stronger.
Whoosh.
He descended from the clouds.
His invisible body slipped soundlessly between enormous ancient trees.
The forest below was unnaturally silent.
No birds sang.
No insects chirped.
Even the wind itself seemed reluctant to enter this place.
The blue thread continued leading deeper into the forest.
Several minutes later—
the endless sea of trees abruptly came to an end.
Before him—
stood a mountain.
Its rocky surface appeared completely ordinary.
Ancient vines clung to weathered stone.
Patches of emerald moss covered its uneven surface.
At first glance—
nothing distinguished it from the countless mountains surrounding it.
Yet—
Lizarius simply stared.
His golden eyes effortlessly pierced through the illusion.
Layer after layer of formations immediately revealed themselves.
Concealment formations.
Detection formations.
Warning formations.
Killing formations.
Defensive formations.
Each one overlapped another with astonishing precision.
They intertwined perfectly.
Supporting one another without the slightest flaw.
Behind those countless formations—
the mountain itself did not exist.
Hidden beneath the immense illusion...
was an enormous fortress carved directly into the heart of the mountain.
Countless cultivators moved throughout its vast halls and corridors.
Some wore black robes.
Others crimson.
Dark spiritual energy lingered everywhere.
It seeped from the buildings.
From the stone beneath them.
From the mountain itself.
From nearly every cultivator within.
The entire fortress felt oppressive.
As though the air itself had been tainted.
Lizarius observed everything in silence.
His golden eyes slowly swept across the concealed fortress.
*...So.*
*I've followed the thread into demonic territory.*
His gaze settled once more upon the faint blue connection.
It extended deep into the innermost region of the hidden sect.
*A sect.*
*It seems the one connected to the jade token resides here.*
His gaze continued moving across the hidden mountain.
Formation after formation revealed itself beneath his eyes.
Concealment.
Detection.
Warning.
Killing.
Defensive.
Every layer had been arranged with extraordinary precision.
Each formation interlocked seamlessly with the next.
Together, they created a barrier that completely isolated the sect from the outside world.
Lizarius remained expressionless.
*A sect of this scale...*
*Almost certainly possesses Nascent Soul cultivators.*
He paused.
*I have no intention of confronting one.*
There was no need.
His objective had never changed.
*Reach the individual connected to the other end of this thread.*
*Nothing more.*
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
The surrounding formations continued operating exactly as intended.
Not the slightest fluctuation suggested they had detected his presence.
*...Interesting.*
*Even now...*
*There is no reaction.*
*A Nascent Soul cultivator can no longer perceive me while I remain concealed.*
The observation was quietly noted.
Then immediately set aside.
His attention slowly shifted toward the immense barrier surrounding the hidden sect.
Rather than approaching it directly—
he began circling the perimeter.
Silently.
Patiently.
Several minutes passed.
His golden eyes carefully examined every formation node.
Every spiritual vein.
Every junction.
Every current.
Every fluctuation.
Nothing escaped his perception.
Nothing was overlooked.
Finally—
he came to a stop.
"...Found it."
Before him—
one seemingly insignificant section of the barrier shimmered almost imperceptibly.
To any ordinary cultivator—
it was completely indistinguishable from every other part of the formation.
To Lizarius—
it was where dozens of formation currents briefly converged before separating once more.
It was not a flaw.
Nor was it damaged.
It was simply...
the point under the least strain.
*A weak point.*
His golden gaze lingered upon it.
He quietly observed the rhythm of the formation.
One complete cycle.
Then another.
Countless streams of spiritual energy continued flowing in flawless harmony.
When the next cycle aligned—
Lizarius finally moved.
Without releasing the slightest trace of spiritual energy—
his tiny invisible body slowly drifted toward the barrier.
The instant he reached its surface—
he extended a single tiny claw.
Its tip gently touched the shimmering formation.
Soft ripples spread outward in complete silence.
The barrier resisted.
Only for an instant.
Then—
his claw slowly pushed forward.
The formation bent inward.
Like the undisturbed surface of a tranquil lake yielding beneath a fingertip.
No alarms sounded.
No warning formation reacted.
No killing formation awakened.
No defensive mechanism responded.
His tiny body followed after the claw.
Gradually.
Patiently.
Carefully.
He slipped through the weakest point of the barrier while disturbing as little of the surrounding formation as possible.
A single heartbeat later—
the ripples disappeared.
The barrier returned to perfect stillness.
As though nothing had ever passed through it.
Inside the hidden sect—
an invisible white-scaled lizard silently continued following the faint blue thread.
Deeper.
And deeper still.
Toward the very heart of the demonic stronghold.