239: This is unfair!! This is a foul.

And finally, the Black Tortoise—

It was beyond everyone's expectations!

Its massive body remained completely still, its tortoise-snake combined form coiled in place, eyes half-closed, two long streams of white Qi spraying from its nostrils.

It... was actually lying there, sound asleep!

With each inhale and exhale, the earth trembled, the rock layers hummed, as if the entire forest rose and fell with its breathing.

It had no intention of giving chase, as if this great escape had nothing to do with it; it was merely here to... take a nap.

The Blood Vine King, hidden ten thousand meters underground, suddenly felt waves of dull, terrifying Spiritual Qi fluctuations from above, like ancient war drums, striking his Divine Soul again and again!

"Boom... boom... boom..."

His entire body stiffened, and his heart almost stopped beating!

"Damn it! Could it be... I've been discovered?!"

He was terrified, almost ready to burst out of the ground and flee—

But then he reconsidered, feeling something was off:

"No! If it really discovered me, why wouldn't it just break through the ground and swat me dead with one claw? Why is it just... breathing?"

He suppressed his fear and carefully sensed the rhythm of the fluctuations—

Inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale... as regular as the tides, like the operation of the Heavenly Dao.

"It... isn't searching for me."

The Blood Vine King suddenly realized, cold sweat pouring down:

"It... is just above me... sleeping?!"

He almost laughed out loud but clamped his mouth shut.

Who would have thought?

The most composed of the Four Great Divine Beasts, the Black Tortoise, was actually the laziest one!

It didn't chase, didn't kill, didn't investigate; it just lay there, like a volcano!

And he, of all places, was hidden ten thousand meters directly beneath it!

The Blood Vine King huddled in the darkness, both relieved and terrified.

He had gambled on the right direction, but hadn't expected—

The safest place was also the closest to death.

If the Black Tortoise merely rolled over, or struck out in its sleep, he would be doomed.

He could only pray:

"Sleep longer... sleep even longer..."

Soon, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The White Tiger had already caught up to the Ape King.

The Ape King, confident in his unparalleled speed, ran wildly, weaving through the dense forest, crushing rocks, and finally hiding in an extremely secluded cave—the entrance covered by vines, Spiritual Qi turbulent, making it difficult for even Divine Sense to penetrate.

He curled up in the deepest part, holding his breath, his heart pounding with joy: "As long as I endure for two hours, I'll survive!"

But he forgot—

The White Tiger didn't rely on Divine Sense; it relied on its hunting instincts.

The faint footprints, the residual Demonic Qi in the air, the ground tremors caused by a heartbeat... in front of the White Tiger, they were like torches in the dark, perfectly clear.

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening roar, mountains crumbled and earth split!

The White Tiger struck out with a claw, and the entire cave instantly collapsed, rocks flying like rain, vines turning to dust!

Before the Ape King could even react, he was forcibly dragged out of the ruins by an irresistible force, lifted into mid-air like a puppy!

"No—!! Don't kill me!!" The Ape King roared in terror, flailing his limbs, his Golden Core trembling violently, "You and I are both beasts, connected by Bloodline! You should hunt those humans; why do you want to kill me?! We... we should be kin!!"

The White Tiger's golden vertical pupils looked down coldly, two streams of white Qi spraying from its nostrils, its voice deep as thunder, carrying supreme majesty and extreme disgust:

"Silence! You lowly demon, how dare you compare your filthy Bloodline to my noble White Tiger Divine Beast?

I am one of the Four Symbols, guarding the west, wielding the power of slaughter, a god bestowed by the Heavenly Dao!

And you—

Are merely a wild dog barely surviving in the mountains, a low-grade demon that hasn't even reached Body Integration in its transformation!

How dare you call yourself 'kin'?!"

Before the words finished, the White Tiger's massive claw suddenly clenched—

"Crack!"

The Ape King didn't even let out a scream; his head instantly exploded, his Golden Core shattered inch by inch, his Divine Soul annihilated, and blood rained down on the ruins!

His corpse was flung out like a rag, smashing into the pile of rubble, devoid of life.

Dead silence.

The entire forest seemed to freeze because of that single claw.

Just then, a cold, mechanical voice echoed without warning in everyone's ears—

The Yao Race faction, Ape King has fallen.

Current survivors: 11 people.

Wan Yuan, who was fleeing, trembled all over, almost stopping in his tracks;

Madam Shuang, hidden in the ice mist, held her breath;

Hui Ming chanted Buddhist scriptures underground, cold sweat streaming down.

In less than an incense stick's time... people were already dying!

The Ape King, in the Early Golden Core Stage, was instantly killed without any power to resist.

Who would be next?

Wan Yuan possessed a special Demonic Transformation Divine Ability, transforming into a tiny, pitch-black snake no thicker than a pinky finger, glowing faintly, its scales almost indistinguishable from the mud.

He silently burrowed into an underground crevice, stealthily descending.

Before long, he sensed hot magma fluctuations from below.

"Good opportunity!"

He slid along the geothermic fissure and soon discovered a semi-molten lava rock—a special Ore formed under high temperatures in the earth's core, capable of isolating Spiritual Qi leakage and perfectly attuned to the magma environment.

Wan Yuan didn't hesitate, burrowing into the rock and controlling it to slowly sink to the bottom of the bubbling magma lake.

At the bottom of the lake was a natural depression, perfectly matching the shape of the lava rock.

He gently twisted, and the rock fit perfectly, seamlessly, without a trace of Spiritual Qi leaking out.

"It's done."

Wan Yuan held his breath within the rock, a cold sneer in his heart: "In this geothermic furnace, my Spiritual Qi resonates with the magma, my aura vibrates with the heat flow... Even if a Divine Beast were to come, without Divine Sense scanning, it would absolutely not be able to find me!"

This hiding place was truly flawless.

At the same time, Fox King Qian Huan had also completed her exquisite disguise.

Her true form was a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, most skilled in illusionary arts.

At this moment, she had transformed into an ancient tree; its bark texture, the swaying of its branches and leaves, and even the extension of its roots were all identical to the surrounding forest.

She simulated all her aura, Spiritual Qi, and heartbeat to that of a century-old tree, standing still in the forest, merging with countless other trees.

The White Tiger arrived, its golden vertical pupils sweeping the surroundings, its nostrils twitching, fully tracking the traces of Demonic Qi left by the fleeing Ape King.

It passed less than three steps from the "ancient tree" that Qian Huan had transformed into, without stopping, not even sparing a glance.

Qian Huan, hidden within the tree trunk, felt her heart almost leap out of her chest, her fox body beneath the bark taut as a bow.

"Don't look at me... don't look at me..."

The White Tiger gradually moved away, eventually disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

"Hehe..."

A suppressed chuckle emanated from the heart of the tree.

"Excellent... it worked!"

Qian Huan almost cheered aloud, "Indeed, these Divine Beasts, though powerful, are nothing but fools! With their Divine Sense sealed, they can only rely on their senses to search... and what I'm best at is deceiving the senses!"

She was smug in her heart: "As long as I last another hour, I'll be the winner!"

But before she could fully relax—

"Boom—!!!"

The sky suddenly darkened!

A torrent of Azure Dragon breath poured down from high above, like a celestial river emptying, sweeping across the entire forest!

The Azure Dragon coiled above the clouds, its eyes cold, its Dragon mouth open, performing an indiscriminate, wide-area clear-out!

Wherever it passed, ancient trees turned to ash, rocks melted, the earth cracked, and flames swept in all directions like a tsunami!

"No—!!"

Qian Huan suddenly realized, her tree body instantly disintegrated, she tried to break free, but it was too late!

The Dragon breath had already arrived, the high temperature instantly penetrated her disguise, incinerating her spirit body!

She roared to the sky, her voice shrill and desperate:

"This isn't fair!! This is cheating!! Such indiscriminate, large-scale attacks? How are people supposed to hide?!"

Her cries were drowned out in the roar of the flames, her figure turning into a ball of burning fox fire, extinguishing in an instant.

Responding to her was only the cold, emotionless mechanical voice, once again resounding in the ears of all survivors:

The Yao Race faction, Fox King Qian Huan has fallen.

Current survivors: 10 people.