When Earth Awakened, I Became a Sword Saintess

Chapter 160 : The Zheng

160: The Zheng

Yuyin felt a malevolent aura of blood and killing, so chilling it seemed to pierce her very soul. Her clothes were soaked through. She dared not take another look, immediately hiding behind the giant tree. She suppressed her panting, but could not stop the violent heaving of her chest.

It was terrifying. She had only sensed it at this distance, but she had never encountered such a fearsome alien beast. It was far more powerful than the alien tribesman chasing her from the mountain! And this giant shadow was estimated to be dozens of meters long.

Yuyin suppressed her own aura, not releasing a single bit of Primordial Energy. There were pursuers at the foot of the mountain, and she had nowhere to run. Her only choice was to avoid being discovered. Besides, at this distance, Yuyin felt she couldn't escape.

The giant figure made no attempt to conceal its aura, releasing it domineeringly. This was its territory, its domain.

The giant figure continued to stride forward. Just as it was about to pass by the tree where Yuyin was hiding and head down the mountain, it stopped.

At this moment, Yuyin's heart pounded wildly. This is bad... Have I been discovered? But she was confident she had completely suppressed her Primordial Energy.

The giant figure let out a low roar and continued down the mountain.

Yuyin, pressed against the tree trunk, breathed a sigh of relief.

A moment later, she cautiously peeked from behind the great tree in the direction the giant figure had gone...

Boom!

In an instant, a fierce wind gusted. The hundred-meter-tall ancient trees shook violently. A giant shadow, blotting out half the sky, pounced toward her.

Yuyin was horrified. It was too fast! And its agility was unbelievable. In the blink of an eye, the giant figure had leaped around to Yuyin's side of the tree. The girl in white beneath the tree was completely exposed to the giant figure's gaze.

It was thirty to forty meters long and over a dozen meters tall, resembling an enormous leopard, but it had five long, swaying lion-like tails. Its massive head, the size of a house, had a single horn with complex, mysterious patterns on top. The white, whisker-like tendrils on its sides made one feel as if their body would lose control just by looking at them. At the center of its golden eyes, a ghostly green light glinted. The patterns on this giant alien beast's fur were like spots, yet also like ancient patterns containing the laws of some profound mystery.

At this moment, Yuyin was pressed against the tree trunk, unable to move.

She didn't know why, but she recalled a lesson from a closed course that had mentioned this type of alien beast. Because its territory was near the Two Realms Gate, it had been spotted from a great distance by a powerful expert. A giant, leopard-shaped alien beast with five tails and a single horn. The king of this great mountain, a place that not even professional Source Martial Practitioners would dare to approach, let alone enter for training. The Zheng.

This Zheng was not only powerful but also incredibly fast, agile, and cunning. It had clearly discovered Yuyin long ago.

What should she do? Flee? At this point, fleeing was almost certain death.

Fight? It was completely impossible!

Yuyin couldn't even withstand a single one of its claws.

Now, knowing it was impossible, her only choice was to fight back with all her might and then try to escape. Yuyin made a desperate decision. In this dire situation, she was not paralyzed by fear. She was waiting for an opportunity, to see if the beast would let its guard down. Although the chance of success was nearly zero, it was the only card she had to play.

Was she really going to die here today... Yuyin's chest heaved violently. Even though she had decided on a final, desperate struggle, she could not suppress her trembling.

Time passed, second by second.

But the giant Zheng did not immediately attack Yuyin. Its claws, teeth, tail, and perhaps even some other demonic arts could end her life in an instant, but it just stared at her with a ferocious gaze, revealing a hint of suspicion.

The Zheng's massive mouth, large enough to swallow several people in one bite, opened slightly, letting out a low growl. Having reached such a level of cultivation, this king of the mountain had developed a certain intelligence. Its growl carried a fluctuation of a Source Spirit, much like a simple Spirit Word: "Heavenly Silkworm Silk? Noble."

Heavenly Silkworm Silk? Yuyin could make out some of the meaning from the fluctuation of the Source Spirit in the beast's growl. What was Heavenly Silkworm Silk? Was it referring to her dress?

The huge, ferocious head leaned toward Yuyin without any reservation, making her tremble and not daring to move. It tilted its head in confusion, blinking. "This woman, noble, weak, beautiful, and alluring."

What... what did it mean by "alluring"? A hint of displeasure rose in Yuyin's heart.

However, she now had a general idea of why she had been discovered. Scent. She could hide behind the tree and suppress her Primordial Energy, but she couldn't stop the scent of her femininity from wafting out. An alien beast with this level of cultivation would have an extremely keen sense of smell.

The Zheng, with a thousand years of cultivation, was now truly puzzled. It had intended to eat this woman who had dared to violate its territory, but the dress made of Heavenly Silkworm Silk gave it pause. It had achieved its current territory and level of cultivation not only through ferocity but also through caution. A person wearing clothes of Heavenly Silkwork Silk must be of extremely high status. But she was also so weak, easy to kill, and her Primordial Energy was so abundant and alluring.

Could this woman be from some powerful, noble faction? If he ate her, what if the powerful force behind her came for revenge?

In the end, the Zheng could not make a decision.

And so the two of them remained at a stalemate. The Zheng didn't mind, but Yuyin was reaching her limit.

She thought to herself, this beast doesn't seem to want to eat me. Its growls carry simple Spirit Words. Can I communicate with it?

It was better than sitting here waiting to die. What if it changed its mind?

"I... I was being chased and fled in here by mistake. I have offended you. I... I apologize. I... I'll leave now. I'll leave right now."

Yuyin gave a very elegant, slight bow to the Zheng as an apology. After all, it wasn't right for her to intrude on someone else's territory. But even in this life-or-death situation, facing this terrifying, powerful alien beast, Yuyin only offered a small bow.

As she spoke, Yuyin pressed against the tree trunk and gently slid to one side, intending to leave naturally...

Yuyin had not taken more than a few steps when a giant claw gently slapped down, blocking her path. Yuyin, unless she was insane, would not try to jump over the claw. That would be a provocation and would enrage it.

"I can't go this way? Then... I'll go that way." Yuyin revealed a helpless smile, trembling as she walked gently to the other side.

Clang! Another claw blocked the path on the other side.

"Is... is it toying with me?" A surge of anger rose in Yuyin's heart, but she suppressed it. How dare she show it?

"Beautiful," the Zheng growled.

"Praising my beauty? Then it probably won't eat me, right?" Yuyin thought to herself.

"Woman, beautiful, dance, appreciate," the Zheng growled.

"Huh?"

Yuyin understood what the Zheng was saying. It wanted her to dance for it? And if the dance wasn't good, it would eat her?

Although Yuyin had memories of dance in her body, she had never practiced it. She hadn't had the time to take the Ling Dance Department as an elective. What should she do?

"Dance," the Zheng continued.

If this went on, it would likely become impatient.

Although she had never practiced, Yuyin's mind calmed down at this moment. She thought of herself, a helpless woman who had come from The Other Side, carried by evil spirits, with the Ghost King designating her as his bride. And now, she had fallen to this...

Even if she couldn't dance, a feeling welled up from Yuyin's heart.

The Two Realms Gate, the Other Shore Flower, the journey into the Prison Abyss... was there truly no escape?

It was as if Yuyin no longer paid any mind to the alien beast. This was not a dance to please, but her own expression of doubt toward fate, a release of her inner state. Here, in the mountain, beneath the ancient tree, she unfurled her long sleeves. Her white dress spun as she began to dance gracefully...

The dance was beautiful, yet it revealed a deep sorrow.

"Beautiful... wonderful..." The alien beast watched, seemingly captivated by Yuyin's dance. It stared, entranced, as if its cruel heart was being cleansed.

Gradually, the beast lay down and closed its eyes.

Although Yuyin was lost in her dance, she noticed this. She danced for a little while longer, then stopped. Seeing that the beast seemed to be snoring, she began to leave, quietly, ever so quietly.

But suddenly, the beast's eyes snapped open.

The beast leaped into the air, and with a great gust of wind, landed right in front of Yuyin, blocking her path. This time, its eyes were even more ferocious.

"Dance, good, but... hungry..." The beast stared at Yuyin, also conflicted.

"This is bad. I can't let this drag on. The longer this takes, the hungrier this wretched beast will get. In the end, its appetite will overcome its desire for entertainment!" Yuyin sensed the approaching danger.

"King Zheng," Yuyin called out, her voice carrying a mix of seriousness and a touch of feminine softness.

The Zheng's ears perked up, and its five tails swayed unconsciously. It seemed pleased with this title.

Seeing this, Yuyin continued, "In this great mountain, there are so many alien beasts and wild animals. If King Zheng is hungry, why not hunt and eat them?"

The Zheng's eyes fixed on Yuyin, revealing a trace of desire, but then it showed displeasure again. It growled, "People at the foot of the mountain will run. Cannot leave territory."

"I will go and lure them here," Yuyin said without hesitation.

"You?" The Zheng looked at Yuyin with suspicion, snorting heavily. "Trustworthy?"

"Those people want to kill me. The area around this mountain is full of people who want to kill me. That's why I was driven to desperation and ran here. If I escape, I will definitely be caught and killed by them, or even... humiliated and violated... So, I will definitely come back. I... I have nowhere else to run!" Yuyin said, mostly telling the truth.

"Whimper..." The Zheng narrowed its eyes, the light of intelligence swirling within them. After a moment of thought, it said, "You, just said, someone was chasing you. You, dance beautifully. I like it. Let's see who dares to kill you!"

"You, go and lure them here." The Zheng parted its terrifying maw, its rough, large tongue licking its lips.

"King Zheng, I must trouble you to go and ambush them at the foot of the mountain," Yuyin said.

"Why go to the foot of the mountain?" The Zheng seemed a bit impatient, revealing the innate laziness of a wild beast at its core.

"They don't dare to enter your territory, so you can't eat them. You need to hide your aura and lie in wait."

"Whimper... makes sense." The Zheng nodded in understanding.

In the mountains, a White Ape hid among the giant trees. It peeked its head out and saw an unbelievable pair: a fairy-like beauty in white, leading an incomparably ferocious and massive alien beast, descending the mountain.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

At this moment, the Lingdu Source Martial Academy training team, in their frantic sprint, was already approaching the Two Realms Gate.

"Look, it's the Two Realms Gate!"

The Student Council team burst out of the mountain forest and could already see the Two Realms Gate a few kilometers away, on the other side of the river.

However, the pursuers from behind had already caught up to the central formation. At this moment, Jiang Xue, along with Hua Yuanjing, Lianyue, Yuwen Wenhong, Wang Xuezhang, and others who had returned to help, were preparing to make a final stand against these enemies.

Just then, from within the Two Realms Gate, which was nestled between the mountains, several figures flew out.