The giant claw looked as if it had been cast from gold, blotting out the entire sky as it rose into the air!

Lin Xun’s entire body went cold. What the hell was that?

However, the giant golden claw disappeared a moment later. The golden light vanished, the sky returned to its original blue and the ground stopped shaking.

It had been far too sudden. Lin Xun could not fathom why such an astonishing scene had suddenly occurred.

Only after regaining his composure did Lin Xun steer the scaled horse forward. However, he was now even more cautious than before.

The Three Thousand Great Mountains was full of immeasurable dangers as expected. He had already encountered such a frightening scene less than a thousand miles from Feiyun Village. Lin Xun guessed that it was likely some kind of unimaginable savage beast.

After a dozen miles, he found the mountain’s remains. Numerous rocks were scattered about, and they ranged from ten thousand pounds to several tens of thousands of pounds.

The surrounding area was horrifying. The ground had been scorched black and not even a single blade of grass remained. It was a huge contrast to the lush mountain forest some distance away.

One side was abundant with life and flourishing flora, while the other contained only the aura of death and destruction. There was basically nothing here, making the place appear eerie and desolate.

Lin Xun recalled that the giant golden claw had risen from somewhere around here. However, he could not ascertain exactly where it had come from.

After reaching this location, the scaled horse began to grow restless again. Its legs nervously trembled as if it was about to crumple to the ground.

Lin Xun’s heart also began to beat faster as the hairs on his body stood on end. He did not dare to stay a moment longer and immediately began to return from the path he had come from, before carefully making a detour around the area.

After creating a distance of more than ten miles, Lin Xun’s throbbing heart finally calmed down. The scaled horse also returned to its docile and composed self.

“How bizarre.” Lin Xun could not come up with an explanation despite mulling over it for a long time. In the end, he shook his head and continued on his journey.

Night began to approach as a river appeared within his sights. Water raged ferociously in the vast river as it rushed through the mountains.

The setting sun dyed its waters orange like burning blood, creating a spectacular sight.

Lin Xun dismounted and walked to the river bank where he found a safe spot near some rocks. He planned to rest for the night and set off again the next morning. 

He caught two fish from the river, started a bonfire, and began to prepare dinner for himself. The scaled horse was already lazily lying beside the bonfire, snoring in its sleep.

The atmosphere was exceptionally silent.

Meanwhile, a dozen miles from Lin Xun’s location, a group was rushing through the area. They were led by a young man in embroidered clothes, who had narrow eyes, an aquiline nose, and a sinister aura.

There were roughly ten experts following him, each one an extraordinary individual. The most prominent among them was an elder in gray clothes. Although he looked shriveled and thin, purple lightning flowed in his eyes and his aura felt oppressive to the extreme like an abyss or a prison.

However, the elder’s face was somewhat pale, and there was a glaring, horrifying wound on his shoulder. His flesh was mangled, revealing the white bone within.

Although the wound was not bleeding, wisps of golden light burned within it, making recovery impossible.

“Haha, it’s mostly thanks to Elder Xing Teng that we managed to steal the supreme treasure from that animal. When we return, I will definitely tell father to reward you properly!”

The young master suddenly laughed gleefully, sounding very pleased and excited.

“Young master praises me too highly, this old man does not dare to accept.”

The elder in gray forced a smile. From his waxy pale face, the golden flames burning the wound on his shoulder, and his tightly knit brows, anyone could see that he was clearly suppressing the pain.

The young man asked in concern, “Elder Xing Teng, is your injury really okay?”

“Although the mythic freckle’s true flame is incomparably vicious, I am confident of erasing its power given some time. However, it also causes me to be incapable of flight for the time being and I am ashamed to have delayed my young master’s journey as a result.”

The elder in gray, Xing Teng, was extremely respectful and deferential towards the young man. 

“Some delay is no matter. What’s more, we’ll likely be found by that animal if we fly. If it pursues us, there will only be endless trouble.”

The young man suddenly recalled something and smiled in a pleased manner again, “Elder Xing Teng, do you think this supreme treasure is the treasure mentioned by the stargazing platform’s master?”

Xing Teng thought for a moment and replied, “Young master, the supreme treasure’s origins are fishy and it likely did not belong to that animal. From what I can deduce, you might be correct.”

The young man laughed, “Regardless, this treasure affair has drawn numerous powerful individuals from the Forbidden City, and it could even be called a gathering storm that has drawn the world’s attention. But since we’re the ones who succeeded in obtaining the treasure, all of them are fated to have wasted their time and effort!”

Xing Teng frowned and reminded, “Young master please watch your words. No one else can ever know of this or others might begin to have certain unsavory thoughts.”

The young man nodded repeatedly, “Right, right. Elder Xing Teng is extremely correct.”

Iciness suddenly flashed in his eyes as he looked over at his other followers, “Have all of you heard what Elder Xing Teng said? No one shall speak of this matter. If I find that it has been leaked, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

The followers hurriedly acknowledged.

A vast river soon appeared in their sights.

Xing Teng suddenly suggested, “Young master, it’s getting late. Shall we rest here and set off again tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.” The young man agreed after some thought. Xing Teng’s cultivation was the highest in their group and he possessed Spirit Sea level fighting power. However, he had received substantial injuries today and since he suggested resting, there was naturally no way the young master could object.

“Young master, there seems to be someone else here!” One of the followers pointed towards the opposite bank of the river, where they could see a bonfire far away.

A tense atmosphere immediately enveloped the group. Those who dared to travel in the Three Thousand Great Mountains were definitely no ordinary people.

Moreover, there were currently many powerful individuals in the Great Three Thousand Mountains. The situation did not bode well in the off chance they encountered any of these individuals.

Xing Teng’s eyes scanned the opposite bank, instantly finding several hints that led him to nonchalantly declare, “Don’t panic everyone, it’s only a True Martial fourth layer youngster.”

“Oh, then let’s go over and take a look.” The young man immediately relaxed and led the group across the river using qigong.

Sure enough, it was exactly as Xing Teng had said. They found a thirteen-year-old youngster dressed in a worn hemp garment. Although he looked clean and tidy, he appeared beggarly in the group’s eyes.

The youngster was naturally Lin Xun, who had also just sensed the other party. When he saw them approach, he could not help but feel shocked and alarmed.

If he was not wrong, nearly everyone in the entire party had Spirit Dipper stage cultivation. Wisps of spirit dipper qi diffused from their bodies, showing that they were genuine Spirit Dipper experts.

Moreover, there was an old man in gray who gave off an even more terrifying aura!

Such a group appearing in the desolate mountains immediately put Lin Xun on full alert.

“Heh, it’s a little native of the Great Thousand Great Mountains.” The young man chuckled in amusement after doing a quick scan of Lin Xun. Disdain appeared on the young man’s face as he waved his hand, “Little fellow, we’re going to rest here for a while. If you have nothing to say then get lost at once. This young master is feeling good today so I shall not make your life difficult.”

The young man’s followers laughed.

The elder frowned but ultimately said nothing. There was no need to be overly concerned over a mere kid.

“Tha…thank you everyone,” stammered Lin Xun with a terrified appearance. He quickly pulled the scaled horse with him and fled.

His fearful appearance made the young man and his group roar with laughter again.

“He truly is a country bumpkin that has never seen much of the world. A single sentence from the young master has made him flee in fear. Hahaha.” One of the followers immediately took the chance to flatter the young man, causing him to laugh as well. “At least he was smart and knew he would suffer if he didn’t leave. Although…he really is too cowardly.”

“No matter how courageous he is, he can only wag his tail and hide when he sees our young master.” The flattery made the young man chuckle gleefully.

Only Xing Teng continued to frown, although there was nothing he could do about this. Their young master was the pampered eldest son of the southwest district city governor, Liu Wudiao. However, the young master was extremely domineering and even Xing Teng did not dare to say too much.

No one noticed that the anxiously fleeing Lin Xun suddenly stopped a dozen miles away and climbed onto a big tree. His eyes glimmered like cold stars as they were cast towards the riverbank.

There was no longer any fear on Lin Xun’s now cold and calculating face as his fingers grasped a giant bone-white bow.

Lin Xun might have seemed to have fled in terror after being humiliated and chased away, but he was actually furious inside.

However, he had no choice. Compared to the group, his current cultivation was really nothing to look at. If he chose to go against them, it would only be akin to smashing an egg into a rock and he would likely lose his life for nothing.

“How unfair…” mumbled Lin Xun. He understood that there was most likely no chance to teach those people a lesson even if he camped here. However, he could not bring himself to just swallow this humiliation and leave.

The land and sky in the distance suddenly shook as a dazzling flash of gold soared into the sky, arcing through the darkness.

It was the sky-covering claw he had seen previously!

Lin Xun’s eyes immediately shone as a strange smile rose from the corners of his lips. The claw seemed to have appeared at the riverbank!

Misfortune was going to befall those fellows!

Lin Xun nearly laughed out loud. The heavens were watching after all.

He swiftly jumped off the tree and approached the riverbank like a gust of wind.

Lin Xun wanted to see what was going to happen to those guys. At the same time, he was also curious to find out what kind of terrifying creature the giant claw belonged to.

He soon came to a stop once again as shock flooded his face.

Lin Xun finally saw an incomparably enormous golden beast swooping down from the darkness like a mountain. Golden light flared around it, illuminating the entire area!