Is He a Scientist or A Hunter?
In the depths of a dark and ominous cavern, a chorus of howls and shrieks from various beasts could be heard echoing, accompanied by a chilling cackle that could only belong to a demon.
Xie Ling exhaled a long sigh of contentment, savoring the freedom to conduct his experiments without any restrictions. "There's nothing quite like it," he muttered, taking in a deep breath. "The laboratory where I was imprisoned was very constraining, but it did grant me ample time to gain mastery over my ability. Especially after my second laboratory awakening, containing it proved too much to bear, and thus, I had to temporarily cripple myself."
As the clamor of the creatures grew louder, Xie was abruptly jolted out of his thoughts. With a sharp, shrill whistle, he silenced their cries for help, bringing an abrupt end to their commotion.
Seating himself comfortably, he began to meditate, controlling his ability to sense the life force that filled the world around him. Beyond the creatures and Gu that scurried and slithered through the land, he felt the faint but steady pulse of life emanating from the trees that surrounded his cave.
As he delved deeper into his meditative state, he extended his awareness to encompass the entire mountain range. To his surprise, he detected a potent life force emanating from the bedrock beneath his feet. This discovery was not entirely unexpected, as he had suspected that this mountain range teeming with life, would hide many strong beasts. Still, the sheer power of this thing's life force was stronger than anything else he's felt before.
he continued to peer deeper into the darkness and silence that pervaded the mountain's depths, he found that the aura was not emanating from a beast, but from that of an enormous Gu, easily dwarfing everything else in the vicinity.
Its body was covered in thick, hair-like strands that resembled solid stone, yet also possessed a fluidity that allowed them to bend and sway in the mountain's breath. Beneath this hair, the Gu's body was smooth and milky-colored, reminiscent of a sanded pebble.
The hairs extended up and down, enveloping the entire mountain range in their tangled web. As he observed the Gu more closely, he realized that it was feeding off of long vein-like structures that ran along the base of the mountain, drawing nourishment from the very earth itself.
Despite its immense size and formidable appearance, the Gu seemed strangely serene, almost meditative. As he watched, a smile slowly spread across his face, "If I could get my hands on this experi... magnificent Gu, the number of things I could stud... learn from it would be usefu... insightful."
Sighing, he lamented. "Digging down to that Gu would take years, let alone the likely risk of it attacking intruders. As such, I will have to leave it. . . for the future."
He then turned his attention to contemplating his next experiment when suddenly he felt the sensation of someone watching him, but unlike the other times, this sensation felt more like he was being studied, not just simply being watched.
He promptly expanded his senses, scouring the surroundings for any hint of movement or existence. Yet, after combing through every inch, he found nothing peculiar. It was as though the observer, whoever or whatever they were, remained invisible from his view.
With his lips curving into a wry smile, he spoke to himself, "If they want to play hide-and-seek, then I'm more than happy to accommodate."
⸻
A few kilometers away from Xie Ling's cave, Hai Yi had been intently observing every move made by the new gu master to have recently joined their mountain range when suddenly, the air around her target began to twist and contort, and before Hai Yi could even make sense of what was happening, the target disappeared from her sight. Bewildered, Hai Yi muttered to herself, "What the hell just happened? Where did he go?"