Mystic Eyes: My Eyes Steal the Laws of Cultivation Chapter 355: Five-Horned Lava Lizard

Kyrian and his companions maintained a defensive stance, their gazes fixed upon the direction indicated. Weapons were drawn, vibrant Qi blazing around them like miniature suns of conflict. The already oppressively hot air seemed to thicken, saturated with an anticipation that gathered like storm clouds.

Silence reigned, broken only by the distant whisper of the wind carrying hot embers and the growing tremor beneath their feet. This quiet was not one of peace, but of taut anticipation – the hush preceding a tempest.

The Elder’s brow furrowed as the vibrations intensified underfoot. The earth began to shake with increasing urgency, as if some immense entity were displacing itself beneath the surface, its slow movement belying its colossal scale.

Pan Zheng moved closer to the Elder, his voice a low, urgent murmur. "Elder, perhaps we should withdraw. If they flee so desperately, a truly formidable power must be pursuing them. This tremor… it portends ill."

A chorus of murmurs from the disciples underscored his concern, their nervous gazes darting amongst the group. Some clutched their weapons with unsteady hands, while others took deep, steadying breaths.

The Elder, however, crossed his arms, a look of ingrained arrogance on his face. "No. We shall hold our ground. I will confront whatever approaches." His declaration was firm, laced with an unshakeable pride.

"Even if it is a fearsome beast, I doubt we could defeat it by fighting together. This is still the intermediate region, after all. Nothing here is truly invincible."

Despite these confident words, apprehension was plain on the faces of the other cultivators. They exchanged worried glances, seeking solace in their shared predicament.

Only Kyrian’s preternatural composure offered a sliver of reassurance to some. He stood unmoving, a statue of frost amidst the volcanic inferno, his eyes like snowflakes fixed upon the distant horizon.

He showed no tremor, no sweat, no quickening of his breath.

He simply observed.

They waited.

...

Three minutes later, the first desperate cries sliced through the air from afar.

These were not cries of pain, but of primal human terror – the raw sound of individuals fleeing an inescapable doom.

Five minutes passed, and the tremors grew so violent that several disciples lost their footing, stumbling against each other for support. Small stones danced from the ground as if the very earth was wracked by fever. Cracks splintered open in the volcanic soil, some venting plumes of superheated steam.

Kyrian’s focus sharpened as he took in the scene. Indeed, something substantial was moving underground, directly behind the ten approaching cultivators.

He could now sense its presence: a dense Kì, a mass so concentrated it seemed like a second sun buried beneath the earth, obliterating the ground in its wake. Curiously, the creature did not appear to be directly assaulting the fugitives, but merely pursuing them relentlessly.

This struck Kyrian as peculiar. Typically, such powerful beasts would attack without hesitation, tearing into their prey with savage ferocity. Why the mere pursuit? He filed the question away for later consideration, perhaps to be answered imminently.

The screams drew nearer.

At last, the ten cultivators burst into view, entering the sightline of Kyrian’s group.

They ran with the desperation of the doomed, their garments torn and scorched in multiple places. Sweat, ash, and blood caked their faces. Some wounds appeared fresh, others already cauterized by the intense heat. It was a testament to their resilience that they were still upright.

A flicker of hope crossed their faces for a fleeting second as they glimpsed the group ahead.

Before the Elder could utter a word to inquire about their plight, the fugitives’ brief relief transformed into renewed panic.

"RUN!" one of them shrieked, his voice raw from exertion. "RUN NOW! IT'S A FIVE-HORNED LAVA LIZARD!" another bellowed, gesticulating wildly. "QUICK! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

They surged through Kyrian’s formation like a whirlwind, not slackening their pace. A few shoved cultivators caught in a frozen state of fear. No one protested; the urgency was palpable.

In that precise instant, the Elder, clad in his scarlet robes, visibly blanched. His face, once a mask of arrogance and pride, turned ashen white. Raw terror consumed his features, obliterating any hint of the confidence he had exuded moments before.

Without a word, he fled in the same direction as the fleeing ten, unleashing the full speed of a 4th stage Core Formation cultivator. He abandoned the group he led without a backward glance.

The disciples faltered for less than a heartbeat.

Then, they followed his lead.

A wave of collective panic swept over them. They bolted as if pursued by death itself, and perhaps they were. Each cultivator poured forth their maximum Qi, transforming into fleeting streaks of flame that vanished in the opposite direction.

The beast’s name was a harbinger of doom.

Pan Zheng alone hesitated.

He paused momentarily, his gaze shifting to Kyrian, who remained utterly still in his previous position. The young man's chilling eyes glinted within the crimson gloom, his countenance as placid as if he were merely observing a simple vista.

"KYRIAN! RUN! NOW!" Pan Zheng bellowed, his voice laced with palpable terror and urgency.

"It's a beast imbued with dragon blood! We stand no chance!"

Kyrian remained unmoved, offering no response. His focus was fixed solely on the approaching peril.

Fear seized Pan Zheng. Without awaiting a reply, he spun around and fled alongside the others, his footsteps pounding the volcanic terrain with frantic force. A single backward glance conveyed his anguish, a silent plea etched in his eyes.

Then, he vanished into the swirling, ash-laden mist.

...

Kyrian did not budge.

Now isolated, he closed his eyes for a fleeting second, drawing a deep breath. The heated air filled his lungs, yet his ice energy served as a shield against any discomfort. Upon reopening his eyes, his snowflake-shaped pupils blazed with an intensified radiance.

A formidable ice intent radiated from his person, unfurling in every direction like a silent tide. He channeled a substantial quantity of Qi, far exceeding his previous usage throughout the exploration, and directed it into the ground before him.

The sound of ice crystallizing resonated like fractured bells.

The earth ahead of him instantly became encased in frost. Not merely the rugged, irregular surface, but also the layers beneath, solidified into a massive expanse of ice stretching for dozens of meters in a fan-like shape. This formed a translucent, glittering bulwark that defied the volcano's infernal heat.

The intense cold ascended from the ground, colliding with the hot, humid atmosphere. Enormous plumes of white vapor materialized instantly, spiraling upwards in turbulent columns, akin to a dense wall of clouds.

Kyrian's objective was to compel the beast to reveal itself.

And his strategy succeeded perfectly.

A deafening roar erupted from beneath the earth's surface.

The sheer power of the sound caused the surrounding rocks to vibrate and fracture. Fragments of stone detached from nearby formations, plummeting to the ground with sharp cracks. The earth convulsed violently, and the ice Kyrian had conjured trembled, fissures appearing across its pristine surface.

Then, the creature ascended.