Getting a warning signal from that long distance represented one fact that the danger ahead of Ulf was immense.
Just one or two strong monsters would not cause violent shivering of spiritual energy. Though, hundreds of them gathered from every corner of the forest could attain such a feat easily.
In front of Ulf, the core power of the southern forest was presented. There were all kinds of beasts: various types of bears, wolves, big wild cats, etc.
Among them were the species Ulf had never seen in this world till that moment. For example, the large cat resembled the mountain lion very well, but with much bigger proportions. It had a dazzling golden heir, with black lines around its eyes and mouth. Ulf could study these beasts without problem because all other beasts were avoiding it.
Other than predatory beasts, there were also giant versions of other animals from the earth, bison, moose, and deer. Coming here, naturally meant that all of them had the capability to at least be on par with the predators in their surroundings.
Ulf was interested in the group of huge wild boars, with their thick, dirty and utterly dark wool. Usually, from his memory of watching some documentaries, every wild boar had quite a foolish, navy and playful expression. However, these wild boars, with truck-like large bodies and abnormally long tusks, made them look like armoured fighting vehicles.
Ulf couldn't measure the exact grades of these beasts, because they were very far from him. Additionally, sensing one beast's aura was already a very hard task. When such many wild, strong creatures were assembled, his spiritual energy was like a blind man without a sense of direction. When the powerful auras reached Ulf, at that point they were so mixed that it was equal to looking for a needle in a bottle of hay.
Nevertheless, Ulf was sure that all of them were middle-grade beasts or higher.
Without exception, every beast carried the pride of being the powerhouse of the whole forest. Looking at their prideful, cunning, wary, defensive actions, Ulf was sure that these creatures had well-developed consciousness. Maybe they weren't as clever as the humans, but the changes brought by the appearance of qi gave them unlimited potential.
The display of strength of the most peaceful forest was enough to give a rough idea of how terrifying other places could be.
However, alongside these facts, Ulf was concerned about the current following events. A huge change in the flow of qi, a Weird, giant tornado(?) on top of Howling mountains, sudden migration of countless wild creatures, and finally, the gathering of the powerful beasts in front of the reason for these changes.
'Everything should be connected, but in the end, adds even more bizarreness to this whole situation.'
What could force almost all animals and most of the beasts to abandon their home forest and lure the pillar powers of the forest into one place? As the peak of the middle mountain was covered by a very dense fog, getting answers from direct observation was impossible. So, Ulf had only one way, watching each step of the numerous 'companions' in front of him.
Maybe these beasts weren't scared to the point of leaving the forest, but they still had a hint of fear in their eyes. It showed that they weren't just moving according to their instincts.
Their carefulness wasn't only due to the other beasts. When Ulf got as close as possible in order to observe, but not to be noticed, he found few things about the beasts.
The beasts were trying to hide it, but Ulf found out that most of the beasts were very hesitant. Each time the enormous quality of raw qi was drawn toward the peak, their body was shaking little.
'Fear, wariness of something dangerous, but greediness, desire and thirstiness for something very beneficial for them'
It was so easy to read them because their actions looked so human. And Ulf's experience with the humans was so diverse.
'I think, every one of them knows it's very dangerous to stay here, but it seems there are factors for them that outweigh these risks.'
Together with the scary beasts around, time passed and just like that Ulf stayed for two days in the central part of the southern forest.
During this time, the quality of qi had enlarged and the size of the unmovable tornado on the middle mountain had increased. Ulf discovered that at nighttime it was emitting a light blue glow. It reminded him of many barely visible streams of qi he had seen on the way.
"The endpoint is already very close."
Understanding this fact was easy, as the beasts became very active too.
The earthquakes became more permanent and stronger. The small cracks appeared on the ground and many trees were uprooted.
Whatever attracted these beasts here, below the howling mountains, would cause massive destruction. That was why Ulf didn't dare to try to trespass the beasts in front of him and get close to the highest mountain of the forest.
He decided to spend the night in the central part of the southern forest. If such a statically worsening situation remained the same, Ulf would no longer put himself in a more hazardous place, which he wouldn't be able to handle properly.
However, soon everything changed so drastically, that all his plans became useless.
Even if it was night, an enormous qi creation was shining up there. Then suddenly, it started rotating much faster, emitting vivid light, so even moonlight was overshadowed. The whole valley was freed from the shackles of darkness.
It was such a breathtaking sight, that it would leave anyone in a daze.
Nevertheless, the changes didn't stop there.
Boom... Boom... Boom...
'Oh no, it's the earthquake... And stronger than any others before!'
The tremor was so intense that the ground started spitting apart and huge cracks were forming all over the valley. Almost all the trees broke down or fell. Ulf had to use enhancement of the eyes and leave his spot.
Unlike other quakes, this one still was active after several minutes and instead of weakening, it was gaining more power.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion overlapped everything in the surroundings. Ulf looked around and guessed the sound didn't come from the ground.
'If not here, then...' Ulf realized something and looked up.
The peak of the highest mountain of the southern forest was split into countless pieces. The explosion was so strong that the tornado created from qi was dispelled right away.
Ulf had never heard of it, but the fact already proved that it was a volcano in the southern forest.