- Something very dangerous is happening! We have to get out of here! - Kai shouted through his teeth.
As he knelt down, he felt an incredible pressure on himself. It seemed as if the air itself had become incredibly heavy! But realising that this was not an ordinary situation, Kai unleashed all his strength, trying to get up!
All his muscles were incredibly tense, so much so that his whole body began to tremble! Overcoming this pressure, Kai stood up and began to take slow steps, moving towards the exit of the Shadowlands.
'Fuck it! We need to get out!' - Kai thought in shock.
Until now, he had never felt this kind of energy pressure before. The array that led to the Astral Grad was also terrifying. But the sensation of it was a little different... What Kai was experiencing at this second was a suppression provoked by another being!
- Doom! Doom! - Loud sounds continued to come from afar!
Kai had the feeling that he was playing a race against death. Earlier, he was running from the duo, now he was running from an unknown creature. Except at this moment, the suppression was so strong that Kai couldn't even use the Shadow Mark Dance. To do so, he had to concentrate and create the mark itself in space.
But under the pressure of this creature, it was as if the space itself was becoming unstable. The Shadow Mark didn't have time to form, as it instantly collapsed. This was the first time something like this had happened! Previously, Kai had not realised that the environment itself could hinder the use of techniques.
Kai pondered whether or not he should use the Torture King Mode. If he made the wrong decision, it would cost him his life. In the current situation, you couldn't know which option would prove to be the salvation.
'Damn it, it's not worth it yet! If I can't break free, from the effects of this field... I'm going to die!' - Frantically assessing the situation, Kai finally made up his mind.
He continued to move forward... But every step was incredibly difficult for him! It seemed to him that his body had turned into steel! The most dangerous thing was that the rhythm of Kai's steps was roughly the same as the creature's! Except that the distance of the steps themselves were not comparable!
'What should I do?!' - Kai exclaimed in shock.
At that moment, he thought that the best option would be to seek shelter! If he couldn't escape, then he should hide! Kai didn't hesitate, but instantly stopped. Starting to move somewhere now was also a bad option. One must prepare a hiding place where he was standing now!
Realising this, Kai instantly crouched down and energy flared up on his fingers. He frantically started drawing a concealment array. Although it was difficult to make an array under this pressure. Still, this wasn't a Shadow Mark that had to be created in one go.
It was easier with the array, Kai just needed to slowly finish it! And it really didn't take him much time. With the sound of footsteps that shook the entire neighbourhood, Kai completed the final element and the array instantly started working.
While inside it, Kai began to search his spatial rings. He was looking for something else... Anything that could help create a shelter now was worth its weight in gold!
- Yes! This artefact should work! - Shouted Kai and pulled out a small gold coloured sheet from the ring.
Kai instantly bit his finger and poured his blood on it. And then immediately put it on his forehead. After that, without taking his fingers off, he poured some of his energy into the leaf.
- Shhhh... - There was the sound of burning paper, and the sheet vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.
It was one of the items that Artefact Masters create. It was a very good item for hiding one's presence and cost a decent amount of money. The good thing was that while Kai was in the Library, he had had time to read a wide variety of books. It helped him better orient himself to the situation.
'Hopefully this will be enough... Fortunately, I had at least one of these...' - Carefully wiping the sweat from his forehead, Kai sat lurking.
It was an item he had picked up from one of the slain masters in the Shadowlands. There were other interesting things in that poor bastard's ring, but not very useful to Kai. Even back then, Kai thought the guy must have been an Artefact Master.
It was also one of the main crafting professions. Except that at some points, Mastering Artefacts was even more difficult than Alchemy and Arrays. To create some items, Artefact Masters would seek the help of other craftsmen. For example, Array Craftsmanship was also used for this Concealment Artefact.
Usually, Artefact Masters spent almost all of their time developing their craft. Because of this, they were generally weaker than other martial arts masters.
When Kai had read about this in the library, he was a little surprised. Elder Ovian had said that the current Patriarch was an Artefact Master. That didn't clash with the information about their lagging combat power.....
But at this moment, Kai didn't care about any of those things! He watched as a huge silhouette began to appear in the distance! It was simply colossal in size!
'What the hu... How...' - Even in his mind, Kai couldn't find the right words to describe his emotions....
A figure that was about two hundred metres tall appeared in front of his gaze! It was a huge, grey turtle! Except that its entire shell was covered with sharp spikes. And its very face seemed very formidable! Its appearance alone was frightening!
'Shit! What kind of beast is that?! Is it the one emanating this power?!' - Shouted Kai in his mind.
He felt that the closer this enormous thing came, the harder it was for him to withstand the pressure. It didn't take a genius to connect two obvious facts!
'What stage is this turtle at! If all this pressure is concentrated in one place... For example, on me... It will be enough to instantly take my life!' - In horror, Kai realised.
At this moment, he began to take the situation even more seriously!
'Damn... I don't know if you exist. But Shuo said you do! If you exist, please help me!' - At this moment, Kai even remembered Shuo's stories about God, 'Fuck! What the fuck am I thinking?! What the fuck am I thinking?! We have to find a way out by any means necessary!' - Kai cursed at himself.
This kind of behaviour wasn't typical for him, but the sight of this giant beast, threw Kai off balance for a second. The pressure of this turtle was truly terrifying!
- Doom! Doom! Dum! - The footsteps kept going on and on.
Kai frantically watched the beast getting closer. Its footsteps seemed slow, but in reality, it instantly crossed vast distances! The closer it got, the more enormous it seemed!
'Unbelievable... What's it doing in the Shadowlands?' - Kai dumbfoundedly asked himself, 'Right... They said it was better not to go to the centre at all...' - Reasoning, Kai gave the answer to his question on his own.
When he had been told about the Shadowlands, it was said that only the Elders travelled to the centre itself. Though Kai had heeded that information and had no intention of travelling any further. But now, it seemed that he had taken it too lightly.
'Damn... I don't seem to realise the power level of the masters at all... If it's safe for the Elders to enter the very core of the Shadowlands... Could Elder Brood or Caius really create a similar pressure?' - As if in a trance, Kai thought.
It was one thing to hear the stories of an old man who said he could vaporise an entire lake. It was another to see something like that in reality.....
Although this turtle hadn't demonstrated something so incredible. But her very pressure was already breaking the patterns in Kai's mind.
While Kai was thinking about it, the giant beast suddenly stopped.....
Watching it, Kai was instantly wary! He didn't know what to expect or how events would unfold... All he was thinking about right now was his concealment! Kai even held his breath, trying not to utter even a sound!
The giant turtle stopped about half a kilometre away from Kai. But even so, he could clearly make out its body. It was too big!
'Why did it stop?' - Looking at the animal thought Kai.
It seemed that it wasn't just Kai who was preoccupied with such a thing, but all the animals that lived in the area... Everyone was hoping that the beast didn't come for them....
At that moment... The jaws of the beast slowly opened....
- 'Kraak...' There was a sound as if stones were being ground in a huge millstone, 'Who... Made... This... Mess...' Slowly and jerkily, incredibly loud and bassy words sounded.
'What the fuck! Is she talking?!' - Kai exclaimed in utter shock!
He was so dumbfounded that he almost jumped up sitting down. It was only his sense of self-preservation that held him back. If he wasn't in any danger, he would be screaming in amazement right now! Kai had read about this kind of thing, but now he was in the Shadow Sect! This wasn't the Wild Beast Steppe, there shouldn't be beasts this strong here!
- Hhmr... - There was another lingering sound... It seemed like the turtle was sighing in thought. Except her voice was so bassy that any sound would eventually turn into growling vibrations.
At this moment, Kai could feel every beat of his heart. From this tension, even his brain began to throb!
'The turtle isn't happy with the mess! Bitch! I'm the one who caused it!' - Screamed Kai in his mind.
He didn't want to believe it, but it was his actions that provoked this creature! He had literally forced this turtle to put its business aside and go to the outside of the mountain! If it spots him, Kai will be finished! Moreover, he would be lucky if it happened instantly!
'Most likely, this turtle is the ruler of this mountain region... And in the past few months, I have impressively reduced the number of his subjects!' - Realising what he had done, Kai thought.
Kai didn't think that his reaping might provoke someone along the lines of this giant beast. He didn't think anyone would care about this region at all. After all, it was only the middle perimeter of the Shadowlands.
- Doom! Dum! - Suddenly, earth-shaking footsteps sounded again!
The turtle itself seemed to be puzzled by what was happening... After taking a slight look around, it began to move eastwards along the mountain range.
This was the route Kai was taking! He was constantly moving from east by west!
'Please go away!' - Shouted Kai in his mind.
If this turtle really continued its movement... As soon as it got far enough away, Kai would tear like lightning towards the exit of the Shadow Cornerlands!
- Doom! Dum! - The sounds of footsteps continued, getting farther away with each successive time....
She was really leaving! She didn't notice Kai! At this second, he was incredibly happy! Kai didn't want to stay here, not even for an extra minute!
As soon as the turtle moved far enough away and the energy pressure started to subside, he immediately stood up and ran towards the exit of the Shadowlands!
- To hell with it! I'll think about everything later! We have to get out of here fast! - Shouted Kai, speeding up his pace!
Author's Note: Hi everyone!) I think that if you've read up to chapter 215, then you should have given me a grade) But I don't know if you haven't done it yet. I will ask you to rate my work to rank it higher)