The appearance of a monster approximately three meters tall sent shivers down everyone's spines.
A sense of unprecedented despair filled their hearts.
Especially Murong Qing.
He knew all too well the terror of this monster.
Despite possessing the strength of the peak of the Soul Devouring realm, even he was no match for it.
"Brother, I figured you might not have eaten enough, so I specifically found some snacks for you," Chen Nan grinned upon seeing the monster appear.
He was grateful for the monster's timely arrival.
Otherwise, he might have met his demise here today.
Murong Qing seemed to recall something and furiously questioned, "Was Elder Ji Tian eaten by this beast?"
"Insolence!" Chen Nan roared, "All beings are equal. It is my Brother Hu, how can you refer to it as a beast? Do you believe my Brother Hu will devour you right now?"
Murong Qing's face darkened.
He hadn't expected a collusion between a human and a beast.
"Roar!"
Without any warning,
the monster let out a low growl.
The disciples of the Mountain Worship Sect scattered in fear.
The timid ones even collapsed onto the ground.
Murong Qing held his long sword, his eyes coldly fixed on the monster, "While the strength of this beast is formidable, if we, the disciples of the Mountain Worship Sect, unite, we can still defeat it!"
"If our Mountain Worship Sect can slay this beast today,"
"our reputation will undoubtedly spread throughout the Underworld!"
"We will even become a top-tier supreme sect!"
"All disciples, heed my command, attack this beast with all your might!"
Following Murong Qing's impassioned, brainwashing speech,
the disciples of the Mountain Worship Sect clenched their swords tightly.
Over a hundred disciples charged at the monster from all directions.
Roar!
The monster let out a deep roar.
It casually raised its qilin-like foot.
and slapped at the approaching disciples from a distance.
Its claw struck the void,
instantly sending over a dozen Mountain Worship Sect disciples flying.
Then, with a flick of its tail,
the disciples behind it were also swept away.
In less than ten seconds,
all hundred disciples of the Mountain Worship Sect lay defeated on the ground.
Seeing its ferocity,
Chen Nan felt a surge of fear.
Fortunately, he possessed the Spatial Domain; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived last night.
"Huh? The Sect Master of the Mountain Worship Sect has fled with his daughter?" Chen Nan exclaimed in surprise, completely unaware of the escape of Murong Qing and his daughter, Murong Lan.
"He used his disciples to stall for time while he and his daughter seized the opportunity to escape."
"Such tactics are truly despicable."
Chen Nan developed a strong aversion to Murong Qing.
Even though they were in dire straits with the monster's appearance,
and might have been preoccupied with their own survival,
it would have been better to let their disciples flee individually.
That way, at least some might have escaped alive.
Instead, he had not only prevented his disciples from escaping but had also ordered them to attack simultaneously.
And he, during this time,
had fled with his daughter.
Such methods were unworthy of being human.
Before Chen Nan could react,
the strangely-shaped monster let out a low growl towards him.
Several storage bags flew out.
These were the belongings of Ji Tian and the others.
Chen Nan seemed to understand its intention and cautiously asked, "Are you asking me to find pills to heal my injuries inside?"
The monster nodded, then began its 'snack time.'
Chen Nan opened the dozen storage bags.
Aside from Ji Tian's bag, which contained a few pills for healing injuries,
the remaining bags held only some silver fragments and spare clothes.
He pocketed the silver and then took two pills, swallowing them.
Normally, he wouldn't have paid attention to such low-grade pills.
But the circumstances were different now.
Injured as he was, he couldn't be too picky about having a few pills.
------
"Father, can we truly not kill that fellow?" Tens of miles away, in a quiet valley, Murong Lan clenched her fists, her face full of anger.
Her anger was not just because the disciples of the Mountain Worship Sect were killed,
but because they had failed to kill Chen Nan.
Murong Qing gritted his teeth and said, "That fellow colluded with that beast and slaughtered over a hundred of our Mountain Worship Sect disciples. How can I let him go?"
"If he dies, how can we justify the deaths of our innocent disciples?"
"If he doesn't die, where is the justice in heaven?"
Murong Lan's face was filled with unwillingness, "But that beast is too strong, we simply cannot defeat it!"
Upon hearing this,
Murong Qing's face revealed helplessness and anger.
Let alone being only at the peak of the Soul Devouring realm,
even if he reached the Body Seizing realm, he might not be able to kill that monster.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, and then said, "Even if we cannot kill that beast, we can use others to help us kill it."
Murong Lan was taken aback, then her eyes sparkled with intelligence, "Father, you intend to unite with other factions to encircle and destroy that beast?"
Murong Qing nodded slightly, "The reappearance of the Fire God Sect ruins has already attracted the attention of various forces."
"These forces are now arriving at Black Mountain one after another."
"Among them are not a few super forces."
"Even factions like Hundred Flower Valley have sent their experts."
"As long as we find them,"
"and inform them that a human and that beast are colluding to harm the humans who entered the mountain,"
"the strong individuals from those factions will surely join forces to encircle and destroy that beast."
"At that time, both the beast and that human,"
"will have nowhere to bury their bones!"
------
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, it was early morning.
The world was silent.
Chen Nan also stopped his cultivation.
His injuries had already healed.
His strength had returned to its peak.
The moment he opened his eyes,
the monster came into view.
It was lying five meters in front of Chen Nan, asleep.
Even in its sleep,
its massive tiger head exuded a powerful aura of a beast and a fierce spirit.
Because even now, Chen Nan had no idea what this monster's origin was.
Seeing that the monster had fallen asleep,
Chen Nan had the thought of escaping.
In his current condition,
he could leave this place instantly.
But he ultimately abandoned the idea.
This monster had not eaten him while he was cultivating, which indicated it likely had no malicious intent towards him.
If he were to escape while it was asleep,
such behavior would surely be impolite.
It might even anger the creature.
To put it another way,
even if he did escape,
but...
it had already memorized his scent.
Could he truly escape?
Unless he used the Spatial Domain and fled back to Tongcheng overnight.
Perhaps then he could evade its pursuit.
But hadn't he come to Black Mountain precisely to seek opportunities?
He was unwilling to return to Tongcheng without finding any fortune.
He abandoned the thought of escaping.
He silently took out the communication token of the Heaven-Defying Cult.
and described the physical characteristics of the monster to others.
Although he didn't know the monster's origin,
he believed that
the people of the Heaven-Defying Cult could provide him with the answers he sought.