That roar from the forbidden back mountain was unlike the cry of any ordinary beast. It contained an ancient and terrifying pressure, as if a demon god from the primordial wilderness was announcing its awakening.
The roar transformed into an invisible shockwave that instantly swept across the entire Sky Profound Sect.
In an instant, the sect was thrown into chaos. Countless inner and outer sect disciples who were cultivating felt their minds tremble and their qi and blood surge under this terrifying pressure. Those with weaker cultivation levels simply saw darkness and collapsed on the spot. All the guardian spirit beasts on the various peaks, whether they were proud immortal cranes or fierce stone lions, were now prostrated on the ground, trembling and whining.
On each peak, streaks of light shot into the sky. The elders and peak lords, who were usually elusive, now rushed out of their caves with solemn expressions, all looking towards the forbidden back mountain with horror and disbelief.
"It's... it's the Blackwater Profound Serpent suppressed under the 'Dragon-Locking Pool'! How could it awaken at this time?" a white-haired elder exclaimed in shock.
"This aura... it's more than ten times stronger than what was recorded in the sect's archives five hundred years ago! I fear it has used the earth's vein of cold qi to silently break through to the Yao King realm!" another peak lord gasped, his eyes filled with apprehension.
"A Yao King! That's a terrifying existence comparable to our sect's Nascent Soul stage grand elders! Why would it suddenly go berserk? Has the seal weakened?"
"Quick! Go and request the grand elders in seclusion! Activate the sect-protecting grand array! We must not let this beast escape the forbidden grounds and wreak havoc on the sect!"
Commands, shouts of alarm, and the hum of magical treasures rose and fell. The entire Sky Profound Sect was plunged into an unprecedented state of chaos and tension. Countless disciples only saw streaks of light crisscrossing the sky and heard the long ringing of alarm bells, completely unaware of the terrifying event that was unfolding.
However, at the epicenter of this storm, Lesser Peak strangely maintained a dead silence that was completely different from the outside world.
The moment the roar sounded, Lin Fan had already activated all available concealment and defensive arrays to their maximum. Layer after layer of invisible light screens enveloped the small peak, reducing its aura and presence in the world to the absolute minimum.
Yue Qingqian's face was pale with fright. She followed closely behind Lin Fan, her small hand tightly gripping the corner of his robe, not even daring to breathe loudly. Although she didn't know what the source of the roar was, the trembling that came from the depths of her soul made her understand clearly that an extremely terrifying existence, far beyond her imagination, was rapidly approaching them.
Lin Fan's expression was still extremely grim, but his eyes, after the initial shock, had become unusually cold and calm. The more dangerous the situation, the faster his brain worked.
While rapidly taking out handfuls of array flags and disks from his storage pouch and driving them into the ground to reinforce the defensive arrays in the courtyard, he frantically calculated his countermeasures.
"Damn it, this is definitely the work of the Heavenly Dao! Knowing that ordinary troubles can't handle me, it directly sends a King-level Boss?"
"The Blackwater Profound Serpent in the Dragon-Locking Pool, according to the sect's records, is an ancient variant, born with the ability to control cold poison. Five hundred years ago, it caused a bloody storm in the Southern Domain and was personally suppressed by our sect's previous Sect Master. At that time, it was already at the Great Perfection stage of the Golden Core realm. After being suppressed for five hundred years, not only did it not die, but it broke through to the Yao King realm... It's definitely here for this damn rotten fruit!"
He quickly analyzed the pros and cons: "Fighting is definitely out of the question. Once I make a move, the energy fluctuations will surely attract the attention of those old geezers in the sect. Then, I won't have killed the serpent, but I will have exposed myself, which would be even more troublesome. The best way is to make it retreat out of fear, or... to make it shut up forever."
At this thought, Lin Fan glanced at the Nine-Orifice Exquisite Fruit, which was still emitting its tempting fragrance, and an unprecedented look of heartache and determination flashed in his eyes.
He took out a jade box made from ten-thousand-year-old cold jade from his storage pouch, carefully placed the fruit inside, temporarily isolating most of the fragrance from spreading. Then, he turned and said to Yue Qingqian in an unquestionable tone, "Junior Sister, hide in tunnel number seventeen immediately! Remember, no matter what happens outside, no matter what you hear, you are absolutely not allowed to come out!"
"But Senior Brother, you..." Yue Qingqian's face was full of worry; she didn't want to escape alone.
"I'll be fine." Lin Fan waved his hand, his tone calm but his eyes unusually firm. "Remember the first lesson I taught you: staying alive is the most important thing. Go!"
Urged by Lin Fan, although Yue Qingqian was extremely reluctant, she obediently crawled into the most complex escape tunnel she had spent half a month digging.
After settling his junior sister, Lin Fan took a deep breath, slowly raised his head, and looked towards the forbidden back mountain.
In just a few breaths, a foul, pungent, fierce wind swept over, causing the trees on Lesser Peak to sway wildly, almost uprooting them. The sky darkened at a visible rate, and a massive shadow, thicker than dark clouds, completely enveloped the small peak.
A black giant serpent, over a hundred yards long and as thick as a water barrel, appeared in the sky above Lesser Peak, riding on rolling black clouds. It had a ferocious single horn on its head, a pair of fleshy wings on its broad back, and its entire body was covered in cold, black scales that glinted with a metallic luster. A pair of crimson serpentine eyes, larger than palace lanterns, stared intently at the small courtyard below, filled with five hundred years of suppressed greed, violence, and fanaticism.
The terrifying pressure of a Yao King, like a tangible ten-thousand-foot mountain mixed with bone-chilling cold qi, pressed down hard on Lesser Peak!
The defensive arrays that Lin Fan had set up, which in the eyes of outer sect disciples were already top-tier and capable of withstanding attacks from Foundation Establishment cultivators, emitted creaking sounds under this world-destroying pressure. The layers of array light screens flickered violently, their light wavering, as if they would shatter completely in the next second.