The Forbidden Godly Beast

Chapter 11: The Black-Lotus Valley and the Wealth of Immortals

The wind howling through the floating peaks of the Ascendant Realm was crisp, carrying the thick, refreshing scent of high-grade spiritual Qi. A streak of fluid darkness blurred across the jagged mountain paths, moving with such terrifying speed that it left afterimages in the golden mist. Shaktivel sat low on the back of the condensed Primordial Void Sovereign, his violet eyes locked onto the massive chasm opening up ahead.

This was the Black-Lotus Valley.

The valley was a massive, natural bowl surrounded by towering, purple-tinted stone cliffs that natural spiritual energy had carved over thousands of years. Deep within the valley, fields of dark, glowing herbs stretched out like a sea of midnight velvet, but the true treasure lay at the very center—a heavily fortified stone fortress carved directly into the mountain core, pulsing with the defensive arrays of the High Heavens Sect. This fortress was the outer region's primary resource vault, storing millions of raw spirit stones collected from the lower mortal worlds.

Shaktivel patted the sleek, leopard-sized shadow beast beneath him. "The outer guards are thin. They think the sect's name alone is enough to keep people away."

“They are soft, contractor,” the Primordial Void Sovereign growled softly, its throat vibrating with dark purple sparks. “I can smell the dense clusters of spirit stones inside that mountain. The purity... it is twenty times higher than anything we ate in that trash empire. If I swallow that vault, the fifth seal will shatter instantly.”

"Then we don't leave a single stone behind," Shaktivel cold-smiled.

He didn't plan on sneaking in. Stealth was for the weak; a true sovereign took what he wanted by absolute force. With a thought, Shaktivel released a fraction of his Seventh Layer Divine Foundation pressure. The air around them warped as they leaped from the cliffside, crashing directly onto the paved courtyard of the fortress gates.

BOOM!

The heavy impact shattered the polished stone floor, sending dust and debris flying. Within seconds, the alarms inside the fortress shrieked. Dozens of outer disciples clad in pristine white robes rushed out of the barracks, their silver swords drawn, their faces twisted in absolute disbelief as they saw a single young man standing calmly in their restricted zone.

"Who dares trespass into the Black-Lotus Treasury?!" a booming voice echoed from the upper balcony of the fortress.

A middle-aged man with sharp features and a long mustache stepped forward, floating down to the courtyard with the help of a wind-riding spell. His cultivation base was at the Ninth Layer of the Foundation Establishment Stage—Mortal Grade. He was Elder Roger, the warden assigned to protect the outer vault. He scanned Shaktivel, his brow furrowing as he felt the dense, high-grade violet Qi radiating from the youth.

"The Seventh Layer of Foundation?" Roger muttered, his eyes narrowing. "You aren't a disciple of our sect. Which rival faction do you belong to? The Blood-Fiend Sect? The Heavenly Sword Valley? Speak, before I execute you where you stand!"

Shaktivel didn't bother answering. He raised his right hand, his fingers curling into a loose fist as his nine Flawless pillars roared to life inside his core. "I'm just a debt collector. I'll take the spirit stones now."

"Arrogant brat!" Roger roared, his Mortal Foundation energy exploding outward. He raised a massive crimson broadsword, channeling his ultimate technique. "Solar Cleave!"

A fifty-foot-long blade of roaring, concentrated fire erupted from the broadsword, tearing through the air and melting the stones of the courtyard as it rushed toward Shaktivel. The power of a Ninth Layer Foundation expert head-on was enough to turn an ordinary cultivator into ash.

But Shaktivel’s foundation was Divine Grade. The difference in quality was like comparing steel to brittle wood.

Shaktivel stepped forward, meet the flaming blade head-on. He drove his right fist straight into the center of the roaring fire vortex, utilizing nothing but his raw physical strength and condensed spatial Qi.

BOOM!

The mountain-destroying flaming blade didn't just stop; it violently shattered into harmless golden sparks under the sheer kinetic impact of Shaktivel's punch. The shockwave bounced back, ripping the crimson broadsword directly out of Elder Roger’s hands and breaking his fingers with a sickening CRACK.

"What?! Physical negation?!" Roger gasped, stumbling back as he clutched his broken hand, his face draining of all color. "You didn't even use an artifact! What kind of monstrous technique is that?!"

"The kind that ends your life," Shaktivel said, his voice dropping to a deathly chill.

“My turn to eat, contractor!” the Primordial Void Sovereign roared mentally.

Before the surrounding outer disciples could even process their elder's defeat, the shadow beast blurred. It transformed into a massive vortex of liquid darkness, expanding across the courtyard like an inescapable wave. The dark jaws split open, and the fully powered fourth seal unleashed a massive gravitational field that locked onto every living soul in the area.

"No! Help me!" "The darkness... it's eating my Qi!"

The outer disciples screamed in pure horror as they were lifted off their feet, their bodies violently compressed into spheres of raw spiritual essence before being sucked entirely down into the shadow beast’s endless throat. Elder Roger tried to activate a defensive teleportation talisman, but the spatial rifts inside the vortex tore the talisman into useless paper before wrapping around his torso.

"You can't do this! The High Heavens Sect will find you—" Roger’s threat was cut short as the vortex snapped shut.

GULP.

Fifty elite disciples and a Ninth Layer Foundation Elder were swallowed whole in less than three breaths.

[System Notification: Host’s Beast has devoured a Ninth-Layer Foundation Cultivator and 50 Qi Condensation Cultivators.] [System Notification: The Fifth Seal is now 75% unlocked!] [System Notification: Shared energy transferring to the Host...]

A wave of dense, purified spiritual liquid flooded Shaktivel’s core. His nine Flawless pillars expanded, absorbing the essence of the elder, causing his cultivation base to violently rattle against the next barrier.

[System Notification: Cultivation Level Up! Host has reached the Eighth Layer of the Foundation Establishment Stage!]

Shaktivel opened his violet eyes, a visible shockwave of energy rippling out from his body, shattering the heavy iron doors of the resource vault behind him. He walked through the ruined entrance, stepping into a massive, cavernous hall that stretched deep into the mountain.

Inside, the sight was magnificent. Millions of high-grade spirit stones were stacked in massive, glowing pyramids, illuminating the dark cavern with a brilliant, blue light. The pure, unrefined world energy inside the vault was so thick it was literally raining down as a fine, glowing mist.

"A true feast," Shaktivel smiled, a wild, dark ambition filling his chest.

The Primordial Void Sovereign trotted into the vault, its violet fire eyes widening to the size of saucers as it looked at the mountains of wealth. Without waiting for a command, it opened its gigantic jaws, creating a massive, localized black hole right in the center of the cavern.

The mountains of spirit stones began to shake. Millions of glowing blue crystals were lifted into the air, forming a massive, continuous river of raw spiritual energy that flowed directly into the endless void of the shadow beast’s mouth.

CRUNCH. GULP. CRUNCH. GULP.

The raw energy inside the vault was being drained at an impossible speed. As the beast consumed millions of stones, its midnight crystalline armor began to split and reform, turning into a deeper, absolute black that seemed to reject the very concept of light itself. The six wings of violet fire on its back doubled in size, crackling with dark, divine spatial laws that caused the stone walls of the cavern to buckle and warp.

CRACK.