The mountain path was quite easy, avoiding any stray Demonic Beasts, and ascending from the opposite side of the horde.

*Rooaaaar!!!*

But halfway through their climb they heard a thunderous roar resounding from the opposite side with a powerful presence along with thousands of terrified howls of the horde as the tremor of their steps intensified.

“…! Is it… the predator you talked about?”

One of the Core Disciples asked Wu Long, all of them widening their eyes while Xue Bing and Hua Ziyan turned a concentrated look to the peak of the mountain they were climbing.

“Mm, I expected we would meet it by the time we had to go back”

“But…”

“Haha, don’t worry, this one’s not as problematic to deal with as the previous one. As I said, I was prepared to encounter it so you don’t need to worry.

The only genuinely unexpected factor in this whole trip was that alchemist, which I would ask you to keep a secret as I already told you before”

He chuckled, reassuring them.

There was an expectation to possibly meet a Profound Grade beast halfway through their exploration, so the spider still technically was accounted for in his estimations, even though he did not count on disturbing a beast they could avoid.

“Although… there’s only one…”

“You expected more?!”

Another disciple expressed the question they all had when they heard his words.

“Haha, you’ll see”

Wu Long led the group to the natural stone platform to the side of the passage that they observed the horde from before, and they could see a 3-meter tall beast in the distance, ripping into the much more giant body of a 9-th tier beast, sucking in its blood and devouring its core as well as the crystal-like protrusions before leaving its lifeless body to attack the next one.

“That is…!?”

“Mm, the same species. To be precise that is one of the parents which brought about this entire horde”

Wu Long nodded to the astonished gasps of the disciples around as they saw that the Profound Grade beast was of the same species as the others.

“Eh? But…”

“Haha, yes, not all Demonic Beasts reproduce physiologically?but some species do.

And this particular one evolves by cannibalism, which made their speed of reproduction exceptional.

They likely let the offspring to devour one another to grow into a massive horde of powerful beasts in a cycle of a decade, and then devour every single higher-tier one before breeding more offspring and going into hibernation.

Their cycle of devouring just happened to coincide with the passage opening to the Winter Forest… or is related in an unknown way”

Wu Long explained to the slightly confused looks of the ladies around them.

“So… there is a female one somewhere around?”

“No, that is the female. The male seems to be late to the table…”

Wu Long narrowed his eyes at the beast which was still oblivious to their presence.

The horde became frantic, pushing and clawing to get to the passage, trampling on the fallen ones and crushing them to death while trying to approach the lake which still made ripples from the higher-tier beasts.

The sun has already appeared from the other horizon, slowly moving toward the edge of the world above.

“I guess it is a good idea to hunt it first while the male is away.

Remember that the night will fall on the three continents faster than here, so the beasts would soon gain access to the other side again.

While I want to be able to finish the fight with the beast quickly, I have to make preparations in case something unexpected happens like the male showing up.

I will set up a formation which will allow you to handle beasts of higher tiers, and protect you in case of dangers, so you should clean up the remaining higher-tier beasts as they would decimate our allies there otherwise

You need to become the Guardians of that passage”

Wu Long turned to the ladies who first widened their eyes, but then nodded as they gulped.

He took out a separate Spatial Ring from within his robes, and as soon as he put it on, talismans started pouring from it, flying high into the sky in a huge stream.

The Profound Grade beast froze, looking in the direction of the mountain, but only seeing talismans. It’s four eyes narrowed, but it continued to hunt down its offspring the next moment.

Array rings started appearing in the sky above the lake, one above the other, as array circles appeared in five directions around, all facing the center.

“Indomitable Bastion Guardian Formation”

Wu Long made hand seals and a large formation circle soon covered the entire sky above the mountain, the complex patterns in it growing by the second, with some smaller formation circles appearing on the sides in specific spots.

“Wu Long… your Spiritual Qi…”

Hua Ziyan widened her eyes as she did not feel that much Spiritual Qi consumption despite the size and palpable power that could be felt in the giant formation.

“I am using the lake as a focus point, and using the terrain’s natural energy flows to construct the formation, so it is not as taxing, or should I say to make it possible at all since I don’t have nearly enough Spiritual Qi to create this formation otherwise.

This is why I was confident in dealing with the beasts which birthed this horde no matter my condition as long as it happened here”

He lightly explained, talismans flying to each of the ladies around so they could receive the blessings and protection of the formation above.

“As long as you are under the formation circle, the effects will be active, but it would only give you a leg up by enhancing your attacks and Protective Qi, you still have to fight with everything you got, and only take on a beast two tiers higher than what you could without the formation, don’t get the sudden strengthening get to your head.

Remember that there are people who can handle the lower-tier beasts on the other side of the passage so you only need to concentrate on the 6th tier and higher”

He turned to the Core Disciples, making it clear that it was only a boost and would not carry them far beyond their own capabilities, and only turned his gaze away when he saw acknowledgement in each of their eyes.

“I would have to trouble you two to deal with the 8th and 9th- .

tier beasts”

He then wryly smiled at Hua Ziyan and Xue Bing who were the only ones capable of doing so even under the influence of the strengthening formation.

“Leave it to me and fight with no worry”

“Understood, I will exert my utmost effort, Daoist Wu”

He smiled at the two as the sun started to go up further toward the edge of the world above their heads, its broken up surface growing darker visible to their eyes as the light hid behind its own curvature.

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