At the moment the monstrous bird devoured the giant eagle, the beast tide was already less than three miles away from Ji Xia.
Ji Xia focused his mind and suddenly surged toward the direction of the beast tide!
On one side was the boundless sea of beasts, and on the other, a lone young man—this stark contrast was truly magnificent.
Anyone who observed from afar would surely be astonished at Ji Xia's daring, and perhaps curse him as a fool. But in Ji Xia's heart, his mind was as clear as a mirror. He understood that compared to the speed of the beast horde, his own pace was slow, and sooner or later, he would be overtaken and trampled.
Thus, he made a decisive choice—he would become part of the beast tide. Only in this way could he possibly find a slim chance of survival!
Ji Xia ran at full speed, closing the distance between himself and the beast horde, closer and closer!
Finally, the distance between him and the horde was less than thirty feet. The earth trembled violently, air ripples surged, and deafening roars filled the air—every sensation reminded Ji Xia that death was drawing near!
With a loud shout, Ji Xia condensed his spiritual essence without releasing it, and the overwhelming spiritual power of the Great Snow Mountain surged out. The Sui Xing Lord's Dharma form continuously provided spiritual essence. As he ran, Ji Xia bent his knees and leaped with all his might!
The ground beneath his feet was deeply stamped with two massive holes, and Ji Xia shot upward like an arrow released from a bow.
His pack could no longer withstand the pressure, and it fell into the beast horde, with some of the food and water being crushed by the stampede of the beasts!
Ahead, he saw the colorful giant cat, and like a curved line, he landed directly on its back.
Just as he was about to land, a massive, grotesque mosquito-like beast suddenly appeared from the distance. It seemed like a long-awaited feast after a long journey and flew straight toward Ji Xia.
Ji Xia cursed inwardly, and with a slight movement of his mind, a silver-white light flew out from the void. It carried rich spiritual essence and shot upward like a rainbow. The sword light flashed and cut the approaching giant mosquito in half!
Green, foul-smelling mosquito blood gushed out from the severed body. Ji Xia dodged as much as he could, but a few drops of blood landed on his left arm, instantly burning two large holes in his fine clothes.
As the blood was about to fall on his arm, Ji Xia quickly used spiritual essence to cover his entire left arm. The mosquito blood burned into the spiritual essence, making a screeching sound as it turned into black smoke and disappeared.
Ji Xia didn't have time to feel relieved. He narrowly avoided a burst of beastly essence from a creature below and another giant flying lion's blood-soaked maw, landing steadily on the giant cat's back.
He pressed himself down on the giant cat's back, feeling a moment of relief: "If these beasts weren't so focused on running, I'm sure any of the front-line creatures in this beast tide would have killed me with one bite."
Naturally, the beasts at the front of the tide were the strongest, or else they would have been trampled by those behind them.
Just as Ji Xia was privately relieved, the giant cat beneath him suddenly stopped running, and its neck twisted grotesquely, elongating like a python. It coiled in midair, then the cat's head twisted back, looking down at Ji Xia with a cold, ominous gaze.
The blue eyes within the multi-colored fur suddenly gleamed with strange light.
Ji Xia's hair stood on end as if a primordial beast's killing intent had locked onto him, and his entire body felt as if it were frozen, unable to move an inch. Even the spiritual essence from the Great Snow Mountain couldn't break free, still surging but unable to flow out!
The two eyes of the cat stared at him with cold indifference, as if it were looking at an insignificant dead thing.
At that moment, a distant rumble sounded, followed by an intense beam of light. A floating island appeared within the radiance, its treasure-like glow radiating, standing majestically in the air before the beast tide.
The giant cat turned its head to look at the glowing floating island, gradually halting its running.
Ji Xia looked around, and all the beasts stopped in their tracks. Their eyes were filled with a peculiar emotion.
Was that... fervor?
All the beasts showed an inexplicable frenzy in their eyes. They howled, roared, and slowly prostrated themselves, bowing their heads toward the floating island!
The giant cat was no different. Its neck returned to its normal length, and it, along with all the beasts, lowered its head to the ground in worship.
Ji Xia stood frozen in shock at the bizarre sight.
This beast tide—was it truly running, charging, just to worship this mysterious floating island?
"They don't dare to approach the floating island?" Ji Xia wondered, looking at the beasts prostrating themselves. They remained still, head bowed.
Seizing the opportunity, Ji Xia stood up and jumped down, running toward the floating island without looking back.
The beasts continued their worship, seemingly oblivious to Ji Xia!
The floating island was still glowing intensely, and Ji Xia, running within the light, drew closer and closer.
As Ji Xia reached within a hundred yards of the island, the light suddenly vanished in an unusual way. Standing before him was a massive island, many miles wide, with jagged mountains and dense vegetation—just like any normal island.
Countless thick vines, as large as ancient trees, descended from the floating island and reached all the way down to the desert below.
Apart from the island floating in the air, there was nothing else unusual about it.
Ji Xia stopped, contemplating, "Should I go up?"
He looked around at the beasts, who were either kneeling or prostrating. They seemed lifeless, their eyes filled with fervor, but their bodies unmoving, all fixated on the floating island.
"This floating island is too strange. Who knows what dangers lie atop? It might be best not to go up."
Ji Xia looked around at the beasts. He thought to himself, "Since they're all focused on worshiping the floating island, I should be able to pass through them without issue."
From the distant beast horde, a vine-like tree demon suddenly emerged from beneath the desert, followed by a huge insect-like beast with countless eyes. The beast was still watching the floating island, but flames burst from its body, and it instantly turned the tree demon to ashes!
Ji Xia froze for a moment, muttering, "Is this the defensive ability of certain beasts?"
He took a deep breath and made up his mind: "If that's the case, I'll go up to the floating island. If something changes, at least I won't be swallowed by the beasts."
With that thought, Ji Xia moved forward, stepping onto the thick vines that extended from the floating island.
These vines were as thick as trees that would require ten people to encircle, and as Ji Xia walked, they didn't shake at all, feeling as if he were walking on a wide road.
These vines were scattered around the floating island, creating a spectacular sight.
Ji Xia gathered his spiritual essence and walked along the vines for a long time. Looking back, he could see countless beasts lying on the ground, their spiritual essence radiating, exuding immense power.
From several miles away, Ji Xia could sense the powerful auras of the beasts. He felt as though a few of them were like sharp blades, piercing toward his body.
Feeling the tremendous pressure, Ji Xia couldn't help but think: "Such powerful beasts—if they can even transform, why are they all rushing to worship this strange floating island? What secrets lie hidden there?"
He steadied his mind and continued walking toward the island. With no way to retreat, he thought that perhaps uncovering the island's secrets was better than being devoured by the beast horde.