The roar of a tiger echoed through the mountains, its deafening sound like rolling thunder, or a torrent of water surging and crashing forward. The noise caused everyone to change color, and it was coming from the very spot where they had been resting just moments ago.
Bǎng Bó and Zhāng Zǐlíng exchanged glances, both knowing that Liú Yúnzhì and Lì Chángqīng were finished. They were trapped in the tiger's den by an adult tiger that had just returned, and there was no chance they would survive, especially since this tiger was a mother fiercely protecting her cubs.
The others' faces paled, realizing that after barely escaping the ancient forbidden land, they had almost encountered a large predator. Who knows what dangers they might face as they continued forward? Now, reflecting on it, despite the terrifying night in the forbidden land, at least the daylight didn't bring as many threats.
"Surviving the crocodile patriarch, braving countless dangers, crossing the desolate universe, and finally reaching a world teeming with life, only to die here—it's a pity, and truly not worth it," said Zhōu Yì, gazing at the mountain forest two to three miles ahead.
The tiger's roar was likely due to the deaths of Liú Yúnzhì and Lì Chángqīng. The thought of it sent chills down everyone's spine. A gruesome image involuntarily flashed in their minds: the fierce tiger tearing apart three bodies, its claws and sharp, white fangs dripping with blood as it devoured flesh. Just imagining such a scene made them feel a cold shiver down their spines.
"Run!"
They could not afford to stay here. The fierce tiger had claimed this territory. As they ran another four or five miles, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"This forest is so eerily quiet. Could it be that we've returned to the ancient forbidden land?"
Towering ancient trees blocked the sky, and the primal mountain forest was deathly silent. No birds chirped, no beasts howled, and there were no bees or butterflies fluttering about. It was as if all animals had suddenly vanished.
The direction was correct, but everyone felt something was wrong and began to move more cautiously.
After walking about two kilometers, the towering trees gradually thinned, and a more open area appeared before them—a vast, solid, and rocky mountain terrain, as hard as marble beneath their feet. Not a single blade of grass grew here, just massive boulders scattered across the land.
"What's that ahead? It looks like... a giant black lake," someone pointed out.
The sight before them startled everyone. The enormous lake lay ahead, dark and still, like a chunk of iron, with no ripples. Its color was the most shocking—pitch-black, like ink, unnaturally dark and unsettling.
"Now I understand, there really is such a thing as evil water. This black lake feels so unnatural. I've never seen water this dark," someone muttered in horror.
The lake exuded a sense of death, and there were no signs of life. The surrounding land, too, seemed barren, devoid of even weeds. This was clearly a zone of death.
"I think... I think I hear something," a female classmate said, her voice trembling, her face pale.
At that moment, everyone else heard it too—an eerie, low sound that seemed almost like painful groaning.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, a loud, sharp sound echoed, like something hard had shattered.
"Over there... look over there!" Lǚ Yīyī pointed, her face drained of color, indicating a massive boulder several meters long lying across the shore of the black lake.
It seemed as though something was lying behind the rock, its massive body barely visible. Its tough skin looked like black metal, cold and hard, with a dark golden sheen.
"What is that thing?!" Everyone was struck dumb.
"Forget it, just get out of here!"
The black lake was a sure sign of something dangerous. Something that lived here could not be good.
"Crack!"
Another loud sound, and the low, tortured roar seemed to intensify. It was as though the creature was struggling, then it suddenly moved, smashing the massive rock with a loud bang.
The giant boulder—over seven or eight meters tall and ten meters long—was sent flying into the black lake, causing a surge of black waves.
Only then did the group finally get a clear look at the beast. It wasn't as large as they had expected, only about three meters long and less than 1.5 meters high. But its power was terrifying. Despite its small size, it was strong enough to flip a massive boulder into the lake. Such strength was astonishing.
"What is that thing?!" Everyone was frozen in disbelief.
They had never seen a creature like this. It had no fur and no scales, and its body was as dark as molten iron. Its surface had a metallic sheen. It had nine sharp horns on its head, glowing with an ominous dark light. Its wide mouth was filled with knife-like fangs, its gaze cold and savage, radiating a fierce aura of death.
This was an utterly unknown and terrifying beast—its mere presence sent waves of dread through the onlookers.
"It looks like... it's shedding its skin..." someone said in disbelief.
A large gash was opening on the beast's back, revealing a new layer of its body beneath, even darker and shinier, like black gold.
"It's like a cicada shedding its shell," someone murmured, astonished. "If it weren't for this shedding process, we wouldn't want to imagine what could happen."
The sheer power of this creature was beyond comprehension. It could effortlessly send a massive boulder flying, and the thought of what it could do when fully grown was too terrifying to even consider.
Fortunately, the group managed to escape, moving quickly around the black lake. The low, tortured roars faded into the distance as they walked on.
After crossing a low mountain, the towering peak ahead became clearer. The buildings there were vast, stretching endlessly like palaces that had fallen from the heavens.
"I feel... warm all of a sudden," one female classmate said, looking embarrassed.
"I feel it too," another replied.
At that moment, everyone realized something was wrong. Their skin was turning a deep, crimson red, almost as though they were burning from the inside out. It wasn't the heat of the weather—it was something happening to their bodies. They felt their flesh searing, as if they were being cooked alive.
"I... I can't stand it... it hurts so much!" One female classmate collapsed to the ground, crying out in agony. "It feels like my blood and flesh are drying up!"
Soon, the second, third, and others followed, their skin turning red, and blood oozing from their pores. They writhed on the ground in pain, screaming.
"What is happening to us?!" The group realized the severity of the situation. No one could stay standing; everyone collapsed in agony.
"Ah..." someone screamed, rolling on the ground in torment.
This was an unimaginable torment. It felt as though they were being slowly dismembered, as if they were living through the cruelest punishment imaginable.
"I don't want to die..." someone cried out in panic.
They struggled, wept, and screamed in agony, their sanity beginning to unravel as the pain overwhelmed them.
Eventually, everyone passed out, unable to bear the pain any longer.
Time passed—how long, no one knew. Finally, the mountain became quiet, the cries of pain fading away.
Two hours later, Yè Fán, lying in the grass, was the first to wake up. The sky was a clear blue, and birds chirped in the distance. He sat up quickly, feeling no pain, full of energy, as if he could rip apart a saber-tooth tiger with his bare hands.
But then he noticed something strange. His clothes were too large, loose and ill-fitting. As he pulled his hands from the wide sleeves, he was shocked to see his hands—small, delicate, and youthful, almost as if they belonged to an eleven or twelve-year-old child.
He stood up quickly, astonished. His body had shrunk. He looked like a boy, not an adult anymore.
Not far away, Bǎng Bó stirred awake, rubbing his bleary eyes. When he saw Yè Fán standing there, he was initially confused. "Who's this little brat? Wait... why are you wearing Yè Fán's clothes?!"
His shock grew as he realized, "My clothes... they're too big. No, my body... I've shrunk!" He stared at Yè Fán, his voice trembling. "You... you're Yè Fán?"
He quickly realized that his voice sounded much younger now, like a child's.
The two stared at each other, dazed and confused, seeing that they both had transformed into young versions of themselves.
"We've... reversed in age," Yè Fán said in disbelief, trying to make sense of what had happened.
"How is this even possible?!" Bǎng Bó yelled, still unable to process it.
"Let's go see what happened to the others."
The two headed up the mountain. They had rolled down quite a distance, but the terrain here was gentle, and there were plenty of trees to slow their descent. They couldn't have been in much danger.
Reaching the top, they froze, shocked at the sight before them. Bǎng Bó yelled, "Who are these ancient old men and women?!"
Dozens of bodies lay sprawled across the ground. Their skin was wrinkled and aged, looking like they were at least seventy or eighty. Yet,