He didn't take another step forward, and every now and then he would look around warily, as if he was ready to run away at any moment.

At this moment, large sections of sunlight shone through the sparse leaves onto the middle-aged man. His previously shaky hands and feet seemed to show some signs of recovery, and the man took a deep breath.

Cold sweat poured uncontrollably from his forehead.

"I've heard from the village elders that the Giant Tree Forest is so vast that it's hard to reach the border. Not only are there many monsters roaming around, but they are also quite intelligent. Some cleverly set traps to wait for their prey, while others draw boundaries and guard their own territory. Could it be that we've just escaped the jaws of pigs only to fall into the den of beasts?"

A shrill scream from the tusked wild boar pulled the middle-aged man, who was still secretly regretting his actions, back to reality. He felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively ran towards the cave halfway up the mountain.

But then, behind the long-tusked boar that was waiting for its prey to return, a strange beast suddenly appeared. This beast resembled a tiger but was not a tiger. It had strong limbs, sharp and long claws, and its whole body was covered with thick barbs.

What's most amazing is that it has a pair of palm-sized fleshy wings on its back, and its eerie yellow eyes emit a faint glow.

Its body was only half the size of a tusked boar, but its aura was by no means weak. This beast stared with great interest at the tusked boar in front of it, which was somehow unable to move.

Despite the tusked wild boar's powerful body charging wildly left and right, it seemed as if it were trapped in an invisible bowl.

No matter how hard the tusked boar tried, it couldn't break through the small patch of ground beneath its feet, and blood began to seep from multiple places on its body, clearly indicating that it had been seriously injured.

The mysterious beast glanced at the dying wild boar before it, then looked at the strong man running at full speed in the distance.

Compared to the several hundred-pound tusked wild boar in front of it, the strong, running man seemed to interest it more. It watched as the strong man rushed into the dark cave halfway up the mountain and disappeared into the cave entrance.

Just as the mysterious beast was about to chase after the cave entrance where the strong man had fled, it suddenly stopped and turned to look behind it.

The eerie yellow eyes seemed to be deep in thought. Then it turned to face the tusked wild boar behind it. Its fleshy wings on its back began to flap slowly, and the heart-wrenching screams came to an abrupt end.

With a loud "bang," the massive head of the tusked wild boar exploded instantly, its long, rock-like tusks turning to dust like crushed chalk.

Along with the shattered head mixed with blood, it was swallowed whole by the mysterious monster like a long rainbow.

Then, pushing off the ground with its four paws, it leaped several times and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest. The forest returned to peace, except for the uncongealed traces of blood around it, which recorded what had happened here.

Not long after, a whooshing sound came from the air, and then an elder walked out from the place where the mysterious monster had appeared.

Her steps were even, neither hurried nor slow, quite steady. The wide purple robe completely covered her, obscuring her face, while the strange, twisted black pattern on the front stood out conspicuously.

The man in purple robes looked around at the headless body of the tusked boar and muttered to himself:

"Trying to mask your own scent with the smell of blood? You haven't disappointed me at all; you're increasingly exceeding my expectations!"

After speaking, the man in purple robes raised his head and looked at the hill not far away, saying to himself:

"There's something strange about this place. If I didn't have important business to attend to, I would definitely go and investigate. Those people behind us seem to be coming over. But we should focus on our business!"

Without any visible movement from the purple-robed man, he vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Not even the slightest trace was left on the ground, as if the person had never been there at all, which was extremely eerie.

Meanwhile, the strong man ran wildly to the cave halfway up the mountain. Without thinking, he plunged into the cave. The light screen around his hands and feet had appeared again, making his running speed exceptionally fast.

However, after entering the cave and running not far, the entire space felt unusually oppressive, as if an invisible giant hand was constantly squeezing this small space.

The light barrier around the strong man's hands and feet only lasted a moment before collapsing and disappearing. He was about to continue condensing the light barrier, but he discovered that there seemed to be no photons available to him.

They were truly caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, with pursuers behind them, and could easily lose their lives.

Ahead lay unknown dangers; whether one faced danger or not, it was all the same. The strong man had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue forward. Without the support of the light barrier around his hands and feet, his progress slowed considerably.

Inside the pitch-black cave, all you could feel was the uneven, potholed path beneath your feet, and every now and then you'd step on partially decomposed bones.

The entire cramped space was filled with the strange smell of rotting corpses. I don't know how long I walked, but I came to a relatively open and flat platform.

Having walked in the dark for a long time, the strong man's eyes had gradually adapted to the pitch-black environment.

Only then could one barely make out the surroundings, and what came into view was a scene of desolation.

Everywhere was littered with sand and rocks, and the rotting carcasses of wild animals. This relatively spacious platform had clearly been used by wild animals as a natural habitat.

The strong man looked around and realized that he had reached the end of the road and there was no other way out, so he could only turn back the way he came.

I couldn't help but give a bitter laugh: "I never expected to stumble into a dead end by accident. It seems like fate is against me!"

The muscular man took a deep breath, preparing to shout to vent his emotions, when he heard a faint, moderate breathing sound beside him.

To make sure he hadn't misheard, the muscular man held his breath and listened intently. The faint, almost imperceptible breath was indeed right next to his ear.

Fortunately, the strong man was a cultivator, with sharp ears and eyes, and his hearing was much better than that of ordinary people.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!