Wu Huang meditated serenely near the formation guarded by Zhong Ling. The air around him vibrated with absolute stillness until a presence interrupted the silence.
"Senior Brother, there is a change at the entrance of the secret realm," announced Shi Lan, appearing suddenly.
Wu Huang opened his eyes, revealing a flicker of surprise. "So soon? Not even a day has passed," he remarked in astonishment as he stood up. With a steady stride, he headed toward the entrance of the realm.
It took him only an instant to reach the gateway, where spatial turbulences were already beginning to churn violently. After observing the phenomenon, he ordered without taking his eyes off the front: "Summon Junior Sisters Zhong and Fan."
Shi Lan nodded and withdrew immediately. Moments later, he returned accompanied by both cultivators.
"Sister Zhong, how are our 'guests' faring?" Wu Huang asked, turning his gaze toward Zhong Ling.
"Some are still desperately trying to escape," she explained with a hint of disdain. "Others, however, have deployed protective methods and are hiding like turtles, waiting for us to deactivate the formation or biding their time for the right moment to flee."
Wu Huang nodded slightly and turned to the other young woman. "Sister Fan, has anyone else approached?"
Fan Qianxue shook her head slowly. "There are several rogue cultivators in the surroundings," she continued. "However, after witnessing the fate of those who tried to draw near, they have been paralyzed. They loiter nearby, unable to advance, yet fearful of retreating and missing out on some treasure."
Wu Huang nodded dismissively. He doubted those types would truly leave the area unless a force overwhelming enough appeared to compel them. "No matter, Master will arrive in a couple of hours anyway," he thought, his eyes fixed on the entrance.
"Now, let us see what treasure our little brother has brought back," he murmured to himself, noticing the spatial fluctuations becoming violent.
Abruptly, a silhouette emerged from the breach and hung suspended in the sky, right before the entrance of the Secret Realm.
"Is it Junior Brother?" someone managed to say.
In that instant, Wu Huang's body, those of his sisters, and every cultivator in the vicinity felt an extreme, ancestral weight. It was a pressure so devastating that it left them utterly paralyzed, as if the heavens themselves had collapsed onto their shoulders.
Wu Huang's eyes flew wide, bloodshot as he realized the worst possible scenario had materialized.
"ZHONG, ACTIVATE THE FORMATION!" he roared in desperation.
"Brother... I can't move," Zhong Ling replied with a strained voice, struggling for every breath under the invisible oppression.
Wu Huang gritted his teeth in fury. Although his sisters possessed purer foundations than his own, their cultivation level was still a step behind; if even he could barely resist the pressure of that cultivator, they stood even less of a chance.
"What the hell did that idiot find?" he cursed under his breath.
Making a superhuman effort, he mobilized his spiritual energy to the limit. With a violent movement, he extracted several formation flags and coins engraved with Taoist rhythms. He threw them with surgical precision, positioning them strategically to surround himself and his sisters.
With one last burst of life essence, he activated the mechanism. Five flags rose majestically, each escorted by three bronze coins orbiting them like miniature moons. Each banner began to release an ancestral aura, vibrating in resonance with nature.
"Five Elements Protection Formation!" Wu Huang bellowed.
Immediately, a dome of energy materialized around them. The powerful suppression, which had previously threatened to crush their bones, weakened as it clashed violently against the runes of the formation.
However, the relief was only partial. Wu Huang felt his blood begin to boil under the strain; veins bulged on his face as he fought to maintain consciousness and stabilize the barrier. The consumption of spiritual energy was massive.
"Why is it releasing such devastating pressure?" he wondered desperately.
Even a wild beast would moderate its instincts, but that human-shaped figure that had just emerged simply floated in the sky, motionless, expelling that aura constantly and ruthlessly—as if its mere presence were a curse upon existence itself.
That thing did not seem to be a sealed demonic cultivator; even an inner demon that had completely devoured its host would not behave in such an erratic manner. "Perhaps a human-shaped ancient beast?" he thought, but immediately discarded the idea—an entity of that caliber wouldn't feel so "weak" despite the pressure it exerted.
Wu Huang racked his brains trying to identify the creature, but nothing fit. Neither his current knowledge nor the memories of his past life could provide an answer; it was, quite simply, a being too unreasonable to be categorized.
"Where the hell is Su Feng?" he growled with suppressed rage. "If he were at least here, I could use him to end this once and for all."
A flash of regret crossed his mind: had he known things would spiral out of control like this, he would have stormed the secret realm himself.
If Su Feng could hear his senior brother's thoughts, he would surely cough up blood from indignation. It wasn't as if he had the slightest clue what that thing was; the entity had simply appeared out of nowhere, just as he was absorbed in inspecting the treasures.
Wu Huang glanced to the side. The formation his junior sister had built so painstakingly had shattered, unable to withstand the suppression aura of that strange entity, especially in the absence of its primary operator.
"Those idiots..." he muttered through clenched teeth.
He watched with disdain as the rogue cultivators—noticing the pressure on them was lesser due to the distance—frenetically activated their defensive and movement treasures to flee. Being further from the epicenter of the entity, they still retained the ability to move, albeit with difficulty.
However, to Wu Huang, that was a disastrous idea. In the presence of a being of such magnitude, attempting to escape so erratically only served to draw its attention. Even sinking into the depths of the earth and feigning death would have been a wiser option than turning one's back on such a monstrosity.