The disciples were paralyzed, unsure of how to react to such power.
'Could the ones responsible for this be on the same level as our masters?'
That thought crossed everyone's mind, sending a chill down their spines.
The tremor ceased, and for a moment, silence took over the place. The youths remained motionless, not knowing what to do.
Some time later, they began whispering among themselves.
"What do we do now?" Du Jiang asked Yan Rui, apprehensive.
"Wait. All we can do is meditate and recover some of our essence. We don't stand a chance against that… whatever they are, not in our current state," Rui murmured.
Irritated by the situation, Liang Wei spoke up:
"Just wait? And who's to say they're not preparing something against us right now?"
"Do you have a better suggestion?" Rui replied, his soft voice masking his irritation in the darkness.
Wei fell silent, powerless.
Several hours passed. The disciples meditated the entire time and managed to recover part of their energy. However, with no food, exhaustion still lingered. Hunger was beginning to gnaw at them.
Thanks to the cultivators of the Serene Lake Sect, at least their thirst could be quenched. Though creating water in such a dry place consumed a lot of energy, they did their best. Even so, the burden of supporting the others was beginning to weigh on the Water cultivators, worsening their moods.
"Well? Any progress?" Yan Rui asked Shan Luong and his group.
Though no one could see anything, the effort of the Earth cultivators was evident in their groans.
Their faces were tense, fists clenched and raised, surrounded by an orange energy, trembling from the strain.
"No," Luong panted, giving up. "This entire area is saturated with an extremely powerful Earth essence. I can barely move the dust on the ground. It's a whole different level of control from ours!"
'Useless!' Rui thought, frustrated, gnawing on his fingernail while trying to come up with a solution.
Three of them were unconscious, and three others could barely use their powers. The situation was critical.
With no other options, Rui decided to try talking to their captors.
"Do you know who we are? Each of us belongs to a noble family from the city of Zaguhan. Mine, for example, owns several diamond mines! I can reward you handsomely if you let us go!" he said, confident in his own status.
Noises began echoing above them — it sounded like doors opening and closing repeatedly. Yan imagined they were laughing at him.
"We couldn't care less about what your kind possesses. Your worthless treasures and profane gods mean nothing before Mother Earth."
Yan Rui was confused.
They weren't human?
'Then what are they? Some kind of intelligent monster?'
The thought seemed absurd.
"Zaguhan is one of the most powerful cities beyond the eastern border! Do you have any idea what will happen when our families find out what you're doing?" Shan Luong shouted, furious.
"That's right! Our masters and the entire sect won't forgive you! They'll make you wish for death!" Tu Zhen joined him, reinforcing the threat.
They believed that would be enough to scare their captors.
However, the response was nothing like what they expected.
The ground beneath their feet rose like a wave of living earth. Everyone who was standing began to be crushed.
"Humans! Have you forgotten who our protector is? We are not afraid of you!"
Air was forced out of their lungs. They could feel their ribs on the verge of cracking. Despair took hold.
Is this the end?
"Stop this! What did my father tell you?"
The new voice was completely different from the others. Gentle, sweet, almost as pleasant to the ear as the voices of the Water cultivators.
"SAINT!" the other voices cried out in panic.
"Please forgive us for our insolence!"
The earth crushing them suddenly gave way, releasing the disciples.
The shock of still being alive was only surpassed by the possible identity of the new figure.
Was a Saint really there?
***
Tristan ran as fast as he could, without looking back. He could hear the sound of dozens of heavy footsteps pounding the ground behind him.
He headed toward the narrowest crevice he had noticed during his escape. He dove into it. The larger beasts wouldn't be able to follow him there.
Crash.
Something slammed hard against the entrance of the crevice. Tristan turned to see what was happening. A gigantic ram was ramming its head against the rock, trying to get in.
Tristan felt a brief sense of relief.
'Try as much as you want, you'll never be able to follow me in here.'
But then, leaping over the ram, he saw six hairless monkeys enter the crevice.
Tristan stayed calm. He reminded himself that they probably couldn't use magic.
It would be difficult, but he believed he could handle it.
However, more began to appear behind the first ones.
One, two, three, four...
Now there were ten.
And from what he remembered, many more could still show up.
The situation was getting dangerously complicated.
Tristan channeled the essence of Light through his body, increasing his speed several times over. The monkeys were fast—much faster than an ordinary human—but they would never catch a cultivator of Light.
At least not while he still had essence.
***
Tristan ran for several minutes without stopping. He now found himself on a plain. His body was exhausted. His essence, nearly depleted. His speed was starting to return to normal.
He wondered if the beasts had given up the chase.
Maybe that sorcerer would finally leave him alone.
He turned to check. And there they were—hundreds of meters away—the primates were still chasing him.
'Damn persistent bastards.'
And to make things worse, a snow-leopard and the same gigantic ram could also be seen in the distance. They were much farther back, but they were fast. They'd catch up soon.
'How are they still keeping up with me?'
His concealment magic, which had saved him before, now seemed ineffective against them.
Tristan turned his gaze forward, searching for a path, a hiding spot—any place that could give him an advantage, if he had to fight for his life.
His eyes, shrouded in darkness, scanned the terrain ahead.
'There!'
He spotted a ravine. It wasn't narrow enough to stop the larger beasts from entering, but it might make it harder for them to move.
It had a strange shape—it resembled a crescent moon—but there was no time to dwell on that now.
Tristan was panting, and his steps were growing slower. His body was soaked in sweat as he entered the ravine.
It stretched for nearly a kilometer. He advanced a few hundred meters before realizing that the beasts had entered as well.
He stopped and sat on a rock, breathing heavily.
As he had predicted, the ram and the feline arrived first. But their large bodies struggled to move through the uneven terrain.
Tristan thought for a few seconds.
He drew his sword and got ready. Then he sat back down and began to breathe deeply, trying to gather as much essence as possible. Meditating for such a short time would only give him a few drops—but it was better than nothing.
After a few seconds, he heard hurried footsteps echoing through the ravine walls. The pounding against the ground grew closer and closer.
The primates were coming.
And they could move there with ease.