Hol leaped through the crevice. "Aren't you going to look for your spider?"

"It will follow me."

Nicole was a Soul she summoned. As soon as she moved far enough away, it would automatically return to her side.

Both of them were incredibly fast when running for their lives, darting out of the cave in a flash, their soles nearly catching fire from the speed.

The rapidly rising pond water had already reached the level of the cave floor. The moment they dashed out, the murky, black water surged forward, spilling out of the cave.

But the cave entrance was too small, and the water inside was rising too quickly to flow out in time. It could only keep accumulating inside the sinkhole and the cave until the fragile stone walls could no longer withstand the pressure. When they burst, the floodwaters would come gushing out, submerging the entire forest.

"Run! We have to warn Theodore immediately!"

Luo Wei and Hol ran for their lives, sprinting halfway down the path before bumping into Theodore, who was carrying a burlap sack and drenched like a drowned rat.

"Where have you two been? I was just about to look for you," Theodore said, proudly holding up the sack. "Guess how much Purple Dew Grass I picked? Over thirty stalks!"

"Enough chatter, run!" Luo Wei gasped for breath. "Floodwater is coming!"

"Floodwater? Here? There's no river around here."

Hol grabbed Theodore's arm and dragged him uphill. "Run first, explanations later."

"Hurry up!" Luo Wei shouted.

This was a nightmare. The rain was coming down harder and harder, stinging her face and obscuring the path ahead.

The three of them scrambled up the mountain, slipping and stumbling. They had just reached halfway up when a deafening roar echoed behind them. Turning back, they saw a fifty-meter-tall stone mountain on the opposite side collapse with a thunderous crash. Soil and trees slid down like quicksand, the grayish-white mountain splitting into chunks that toppled into the lush forest below.

The floodwaters pouring out of the sinkhole surged like a ferocious beast, wreaking havoc in the valley, engulfing everything in its path, and isolating the green hill where Luo Wei and the others were stranded, turning it into an island.

Rain poured down in torrents as the three of them took shelter under a rocky overhang on the mountain.

Theodore stared at the devastation below, dumbfounded. "No way... How can a rainstorm flood a mountain?"

"It's not because of the rain," Luo Wei said grimly. "It's groundwater backflow."

Hol wore a pensive expression. "There must be a giant beast under that pond. The movement of the beast is causing the water to surge."

Luo Wei couldn't help but laugh. For someone as smart as Hol, he could be surprisingly superstitious.

She decided to educate him. "There's no giant beast underground. This is just a natural phenomenon. It could be high water pressure from an upper water level forcing groundwater to backflow, or an underground river disrupted by an earthquake, causing the water to gush out. It has nothing to do with beasts."

Theodore looked astonished. "Luo Wei, you're so knowledgeable!"

Luo Wei waved it off. "You're too kind."

Hol, on the other hand, looked puzzled. "Is that true? Could I have been mistaken?"

Luo Wei nodded. "Many places have legends about giant beasts stirring underground, but they're just the human imagination trying to rationalize their fear of natural forces. The real explanation lies in geological activity. If you're interested, you could study—"

"Boom—"

Before she could finish her sentence, a deafening rumble erupted in the distance. The ground beneath them began to shake violently, and a massive crack snaked its way from the collapsed sinkhole toward them. The hair-raising sound of the earth splitting apart echoed around them.

The raging floodwaters poured into the widening crevice, sending yellowish mist spraying twenty to thirty meters into the air. From within the crack, a row of sharp, spire-like peaks slowly emerged.

The peaks rose higher and higher, resembling bamboo shoots breaking through the earth. Their thick bases shattered the surrounding ground, causing the cracks to widen and lengthen. Even the mountain where the three of them were hiding began to tremble, the deep rumble of splitting rock echoing from below.

This time, Luo Wei was the one left speechless.

"What... What is that?" she asked, her voice trembling.

As the spires grew taller, Luo Wei finally realized they weren't peaks at all—they were the spiked tail of a colossal beast.

Someone, please tell her this wasn't real.

There really was a giant beast underground!

"It's a Behemoth! The prehistoric beast said to devour a thousand mountains in one bite!" Theodore's voice cracked as he stared in terror at the massive tail swaying within the crevice.

With a single swing of its tail, two nearby peaks crumbled instantly, their slopes flattened into plains.

Hol's voice was hoarse. "We're standing on the tailbone of the Behemoth. This mountain is about to collapse. What do we do?"

Even an immortal lich could fear destruction.

If the Behemoth stepped on him, it would crush him into dust. He hadn't even fully matured yet—dying now would mean leaving no legacy behind.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Theodore was panicking, spinning in circles. Though he was a giant spirit, his true form was no bigger than a single toe of the Behemoth. If he got crushed into the ground, his life would end in this flower-like youth.

Luo Wei glanced at the two of them, then silently took off her outer coat, revealing an undershirt with two slits in the back.

She had anticipated needing her wings on this trip. To avoid tearing her clothes every time she transformed, she had prepared several shirts like this.

With a "whoosh," two pure white feathered wings unfurled from her back. Her long black hair turned silver, each strand shimmering like frost, until her hair was as white as snow.

Theodore and Hol turned their heads at the sound. When they saw Luo Wei's transformation, their pupils dilated instantly.

Holy wings, snow-white hair, and a soft glow emanating from her body—she seemed to be veiled in a layer of white gauze, making her appear ethereal and untouchable.

She looked like an angel from the heavens, not someone who belonged in this filthy, muddy world.

Theodore and Hol suddenly understood what it meant to be "blinded by beauty." Their friend—someone from a cursed, abandoned race like them—turned out to be an angel. How ironic.

If it were anyone else, they might have felt awe or reverence at this sight. But not them. They felt despair. They didn't want to bask in an angel's holy light.

"If you're not afraid, I can fly you out of here," Luo Wei said seriously.

She had never tried carrying two people at once, but human potential was limitless. How would she know if she could do it unless she tried?

If it really didn't work, she could always call upon the God of Souls. Surely the deity wouldn't abandon such an excellent follower.

"Hurry up! Grab my arms! If we waste any more time, this mountain will collapse!"

Theodore and Hol exchanged complex looks.

"You don't have to save us," Theodore said. "You have a better chance of escaping alone."

Hol lowered his gaze. "I'm a lich. I'm not truly alive. You don't need to save me."

"Are you two out of your minds?!" Luo Wei snapped.

Seeing them hesitate, she grabbed their arms in frustration. Ignoring their protests, she flapped her wings and lifted them into the air.

The two boys were ridiculously heavy. Luo Wei felt like she was carrying a ton of iron in each hand. Gritting her teeth, she poured every ounce of strength into her wings, her back muscles screaming in protest.

"Hold onto my arms! I can't carry you like this!"
"""