The Forbidden Godly Beast

Chapter 4: The Treasure Hunt and the Enemy’s Reunion

The golden pillar of light sliced through the midnight sky like a divine sword, illuminating the ancient, twisted canopy of the Forbidden Forest. For miles around, the raw, oppressive pressure of a maturing heavenly treasure caused the wild beasts to scatter in fear. But for human cultivators, that light was a beacon of ultimate greed.

Shaktivel rode on the back of the Greater Shadow Fiend, his dark hair whipping in the wind as the massive beast leaped across rocky chasms and fallen trees with terrifying ease. With every leap, the ground beneath them cracked, a testament to the raw, Gold-Rank power pulsing through his companion’s new form.

"The light is getting closer," Shaktivel said, his voice laced with a cold calmness. Thanks to his Seventh Layer Qi Condensation cultivation, his vision was so sharp that he could see the individual glowing pollen particles drifting from the rare herbs deep within the forest core.

“Many small ants have already gathered around the sugar, Shaktivel,” the shadow beast growled, its violet fire eyes reflecting the distant golden glow. “I can smell the scent of blood, gold, and arrogant pride. It makes my stomach growl with anticipation.”

"Let them fight each other first," Shaktivel cold-smiled. "We will be the fishermen waiting for the fish to tire themselves out."

Within minutes, they reached the edge of a massive, bowl-shaped crater. In the center of the crater, floating three feet above a pool of bubbling, glowing liquid, was a beautiful, lotus-like flower made of pure, crystalline gold. It was the Heavenly Starlight Lotus, a rare spirit herb capable of allowing a cultivator to directly break through the mortal realms into the Foundation Establishment stage.

But Shaktivel’s attention wasn't on the lotus. It was on the group of people surrounding it.

Dozens of elite disciples from the capital's top clans were already engaged in a brutal battle against the crater's guardian—a massive, Silver-Rank Tier 9 Stone-Hide Python. The snake was as thick as a castle pillar, its scales made of solid rock, crushing disciples and shields with a single sweep of its massive tail.

And leading the assault, barking orders with absolute arrogance, was none other than Prince Kael.

Kael was floating slightly above the ground, riding the gales created by his four-winged Gold-Rank Falcon. His golden robes were stained with the blood of his fallen comrades, but his face held nothing but manic excitement. "Push forward, you useless slaves! Protect me while I deliver the killing blow! That lotus belongs to the royal family!"

“Ah, the bird,” the shadow beast whispered inside Shaktivel’s mind, its obsidian teeth grinding together. “The one that kicked me when I was small. Can I eat it now, contractor?”

"Not yet," Shaktivel murmured, his eyes locking onto Kael. "Let him think he has won first. The higher a man climbs, the harder he falls. Let’s watch the show."

Down in the crater, the Stone-Hide Python roared, a sound that sent tremors through the earth. It unleashed a breath of toxic, gray petrification mist, instantly turning three elite disciples into solid stone statues before shattering them into dust. The remaining disciples began to panic, their formations breaking.

"Cowards!" Kael screamed. He tapped into his Fourth Layer Qi Condensation energy, channeling it into a high-grade silver spear. "Golden Falcon! Unleash the Wind Blade!"

The four-winged bird let out a sharp screech, its wings creating massive, razor-sharp tornadoes of wind that sliced into the python’s rock-hard skin. The python hissed in agony as blood poured from the deep gashes. Seizing the opportunity, Kael dove down like a shooting star, driving his silver spear straight through the python’s giant eye and into its brain.

The massive Stone-Hide Python shivered violently before crashing to the ground, dead.

The surviving disciples erupted in cheers, gasping for breath. "Prince Kael is a genius!" "The future emperor of the Surya Empire!"

Kael landed gracefully on the python’s corpse, pulling his spear out with a proud smirk. He looked at the Heavenly Starlight Lotus floating just a few feet away. "With this, I will reach the Foundation Establishment realm before I turn twenty. No one in the history of the empire can match my talent."

"Is that so?"

A cold, mocking voice echoed from the top of the crater, cutting through the cheers like a frozen blade.

Kael’s smile froze. The disciples instantly turned around, drawing their weapons. From the thick shadows of the forest edge, a massive, terrifying creature stepped into the golden light. It was a beast made of midnight scales and gold spikes, its violet eyes burning with the authority of a supreme predator.

And sitting calmly on its back, his arms crossed over his chest, was a young man with flawless skin, sharp features, and eyes that held the depth of the endless void.

"Shaktivel?" Kael gasped, his eyes widening in absolute shock. He stumbled back a step on the python’s slippery corpse. "You... how are you still alive? And what is that... that monster?"

"You called him a corpse this morning, remember?" Shaktivel said, his voice calm as he floated down from the shadow beast’s back, landing lightly on the crater slope. With every step he took toward the center, the air pressure inside the crater dropped. The weak disciples began to tremble, their knees shaking under an immense, invisible weight.

"This is impossible!" Kael screamed, his face twisting in rage and confusion. "You were a cripple! A defective piece of trash! How are you releasing such pressure? Guards! Kill him! Kill this traitor!"

Five elite disciples, all at the Second and Third Layers of Qi Condensation, charged up the slope toward Shaktivel, their swords gleaming with elemental fire and ice.

"Ants," Shaktivel whispered.

He didn't even draw a weapon. He simply waved his right hand. A massive wave of dark purple Qi exploded from his palm, forming a solid wall of kinetic force.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The five disciples didn't even manage to scream. The moment Shaktivel’s Seventh Layer Qi hit them, their armor shattered, their bones turned to dust, and they were sent flying backward, crashing into the stone walls of the crater, instantly dead.

The entire crater fell into a dead, suffocating silence.

Kael’s face drained of all color. He was an elite cultivator, and he could clearly feel the level of energy Shaktivel had just displayed. "The... Seventh Layer? You reached the Seventh Layer of Qi Condensation in twelve hours?! That's impossible! You must be using a demonic illusion!"

"Illusion?" Shaktivel laughed, a dark, dangerous sound that echoed like thunder. "Come down from your high horse, Kael, and feel the reality of my fist."

"Don't mock me!" Kael roared, his arrogance overriding his fear. "Golden Falcon, shred him to pieces!"

The four-winged Gold-Rank bird screeched and dove from the sky, its wings expanding as it unleashed a barrage of a hundred wind blades capable of cutting through iron walls.

But before the blades could even reach Shaktivel, a massive shadow blotted out the light. The Greater Shadow Fiend appeared in front of Shaktivel like a wall of absolute darkness. It opened its massive jaws, and that terrifying, endless black vortex erupted once again.

The hundred wind blades were instantly sucked into the void, dissolving into nothingness. The Golden Falcon tried to fly back up in panic, but the gravitational pull of the vortex locked onto its feathers.

“Your wings belong to me now, little bird,” the shadow beast growled.

With a horrifying crunch, the four-winged falcon’s body was compressed into a ball of raw spiritual meat and pulled directly down into the shadow beast’s throat.

Gulp.

"NO! MY BEAST!" Kael screamed, clutching his head as the soul-bond between him and his beast was violently ripped apart. He fell to his knees on the python's corpse, vomiting a mouthful of blood as his core suffered a massive backlash.

[System Notification: Host’s Beast has devoured a Gold-Rank Tier 1 Beast.] [System Notification: The Third Seal is vibrating... 50% unlocked.] [System Notification: Shared energy transferring to the Host...]

Shaktivel closed his eyes as his Seventh Layer cultivation began to expand, hovering dangerously close to the Eighth Layer. He opened his violet-tinted eyes and looked down at the trembling prince.

Slowly, Shaktivel walked up to Kael, his boots splashing in the blood of the python. He reached out and grabbed Kael by his golden hair, forcing him to look up into his cold, merciless face.

"This morning, you kicked my beast. You called me a beggar. You told me I belong in the gutters," Shaktivel whispered, his grip tightening until Kael’s scalp began to bleed. "Tell me, Prince Kael... who belongs in the gutters now?"

"Please..." Kael whimpered, tears of blood and fear mixing on his pale face. "My father... the Emperor... he will give you anything. Wealth, titles... just spare my life!"

"Your father took my family’s life," Shaktivel cold-smiled, his eyes burning with an ancient vendetta. "I will take his empire. And I will start... with you."

With a sudden movement, Shaktivel didn't kill Kael. Instead, he slammed his fist directly into Kael’s lower stomach—straight into his dantian.

CRACK.

A loud sound of shattering glass echoed inside Kael’s body. His cultivation sea was completely destroyed. His spiritual energy leaked out into the air like smoke, leaving him a broken, crippled mortal who could never cultivate again for the rest of his life.

Kael let out a silent, agonized scream before fainting from the sheer pain.

Shaktivel threw the limp prince to the ground like a piece of garbage. He turned his gaze to the floating Heavenly Starlight Lotus. With a wave of his hand, the golden flower flew into his palm, its pure energy radiating against his skin.

"With this," Shaktivel smiled, looking at his massive shadow companion, "we will break your third seal, and I will reach the Ninth Layer. The capital won't know what hit them."

But just as he placed the lotus into his storage pouch, the ground beneath the crater began to sink. A deep, ancient roar—far louder and more terrifying than the python or the wolves—echoed from the very depths of the earth. The golden light of the lotus had awakened the true lord of the Forbidden Forest.