With a piercing roar, the flames instantly grew from small to large, spreading from a single torch to engulf the entire mountain of corpses, turning all the bodies into an altar, blazing fiercely.

The scorching and terrifying fire reddened the surrounding air and soil; everything curled up in the intense heat. Then, from deep within the flames, all sorts of horrifying screams suddenly erupted.

Strands of green light exploded with a bang, the crackling sounds like bubbles bursting, and the sharp, anguished screams continued without end, adding even more horror to this dreadful scene.

Brian Cooper showed no expression at all, his gaze cold as ice, watching the entire time with a frosty stare.

Unnoticed, night had already fallen.

※※※

As night descended, the vast inner ring beneath the sacred mountain was also plunged into darkness. Yet somewhere on this land, the towering flames stood out strikingly against the night.

The raging fire burned, as the corpses gradually turned to ashes in the flames, and the terrifying, bizarre insect eggs burst and vanished in their frenzied writhing, Brian Cooper finally let out a long breath.

He turned around and walked back the way he had come.

This place was not suitable for lingering, especially on a night like this. At the moment, the best plan Brian Cooper could think of was to leave here quickly, spend the night at the Thirteenth Jade Pavilion, and then leave this dangerous land as soon as possible to return to the Holy City of the human race, to find the Council of Elders and report what had happened here.

The forest at night looked deep and unfathomable. Before entering, Brian Cooper hesitated for a moment, but soon, he made up his mind and walked toward the path through the woods. No matter what, he could not stay in this burned place any longer.

But just as he stepped into the forest, a piercing, mournful screech suddenly rang out, as if from high in the night sky or from the distant earth.

That sound shattered all the peace of the night. Brian Cooper shuddered and looked back.

In the depths of the night, a huge, dark shadow came speeding from afar. The aura, the terrifying and ferocious posture—Brian Cooper recognized at a glance that this was the murderer who had killed everyone.

It was the same terrifying and savage beast that had slaughtered Brian Cooper's ninety-seven companions!

Brian Cooper turned and ran, using every ounce of his strength, desperately sprinting along the forest path. No matter what, he had to get away from here—the farther, the better!

The terrifying, shrill howl was growing rapidly louder, and even the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. The source was obvious, and the beast's speed was astonishing. In no time, it had reached the land outside the Jade Pavilion.

All it saw was a sea of blazing flames, the soaring fire having destroyed everything—corpses and insect eggs alike, nothing was spared.

The beast froze in place, seemingly unable to believe its eyes. It stared at the flames for a long while, then suddenly threw back its head and howled at the dark sky.

The wind and clouds changed, the earth trembled!

It was heart-wrenching.

Fleeing for his life, Brian Cooper also heard that earth-shattering, mournful wail. He did not look back, running for his life while gasping for breath, but on his face, at the corner of his mouth, there was a hint of a smile.

The smile was a bit cold, but between his clenched teeth there was also a trace of satisfaction.

※※※

In the darkness, he ran with all his might, trying to get as far away from that place as possible. After that mournful howl, there was silence for quite a while, as if the giant beast was lost in grief.

Brian Cooper felt a secret joy in his heart, and ahead, a faint light was beginning to shine through—he was about to break out of the forest.

But just then, he suddenly heard a roar from far behind him, followed by a violent tremor of the earth, as if a giant's foot had stomped down.

Brian Cooper stumbled, his heart jolting in shock. Looking back through the dense branches and leaves, he vaguely saw a huge black shadow charging after him with a wild, violent momentum. Wherever it passed, nothing could stop it—not even the thick forest, which was smashed aside as the beast forced its way through.

Brian Cooper was terrified, his whole body turning cold. Even from such a distance, he had no idea how that terrifying beast could so accurately find its "enemy" and pursue him so ferociously.

But now was clearly not the time to ponder this. At the beast's speed, it would not take long to catch up to him.

He ran desperately forward, and in the blink of an eye had reached the edge of the forest. Ahead was the road to the Thirteenth Jade Pavilion. During the day, he and his now-dead companions had walked this way to the Fourteenth Jade Pavilion.

In this dark night, on this land of the inner ring, after all that had happened in recent days, the only thing Brian Cooper could be sure of was that the Jade Pavilion still seemed to be the one place on this land where he could absolutely hide from the beast.