The forest felt different after the battle.
Where once wild Gu stirred freely, now silence followed Shen Yu’s steps. Leaves no longer rustled with hidden movement. Even insects avoided his path.
It was not fear alone.
It was instinct.
Predators recognized something greater had entered their territory.
Shen Yu stood beside the ruined clearing, staring at the faint dust that had once been the Stone Shell Beetle. Warmth still lingered in his meridians, strengthening his body little by little.
Too fast.
Growth like this was dangerous.
The Emotion Reflection Gu pulsed softly within his dantian, cooling the restless hunger that threatened to rise again.
“…Control,” he murmured to himself.
Without it, he would become exactly what others feared.
A faint ripple passed through the air.
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
Someone was watching.
Not nearby — above.
The sensation vanished almost immediately, subtle enough that most cultivators would ignore it. But after awakening the Devouring Presence, his instincts had sharpened beyond normal perception.
He said nothing and began walking deeper into the valley.
If someone observed him, he would give them nothing more to see.
High in the clouds, Elder Han exhaled slowly.
“He noticed,” the inner sect envoy said with interest.
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Between them floated a transparent mirror Gu displaying Shen Yu’s figure below.
“His perception exceeds Rank One standards,” Elder Han replied. “If he continues growing unchecked, the outer sect cannot contain him.”
The envoy’s smile deepened.
“That is precisely why we shouldn’t contain him.”
Elder Han glanced sideways. “You intend to recruit him?”
“Perhaps,” the envoy said. “Or perhaps… test whether he survives attention from those above me.”
His gaze turned distant.
“In the sect, talent attracts protection. Monsters attract hunters.”
Back in the forest, Shen Yu discovered something unusual.
A region where no Gu aura existed at all.
The trees were twisted, bark blackened as though drained of life. Even spiritual energy thinned into emptiness.
At the center stood a cracked stone altar half-buried in roots.
The moment Shen Yu stepped closer, the Devouring Presence reacted violently.
Not hunger.
Warning.
He stopped instantly.
From beneath the altar came a faint scratching sound.
Slow.
Patient.
Alive.
The ground split slightly.
A thin black worm emerged, its body matte and lightless, as if swallowing surrounding brightness. Unlike other Gu, it emitted no aura.
Absence itself.
Shen Yu felt cold sweat form on his back.
This Gu did not submit.
It stared at him.
And for the first time since awakening, the Devouring Presence hesitated.
The black worm tilted its head.
Then—
A pulse spread outward.
The Emotion Reflection Gu trembled violently inside Shen Yu, nearly losing stability.
Emotion drained from him instantly, leaving only emptiness.
Danger.
Real danger.
Shen Yu stepped back.
The worm did not chase.
Instead, it retreated slowly into the cracked altar, disappearing into darkness.
The forest’s qi returned gradually, as if released from suffocation.
Shen Yu’s breathing grew heavy.
“…What was that?”
Even the Devouring Presence remained quiet, unusually cautious.
For the first time, Shen Yu realized something unsettling.
Not all Gu were prey.
Some… might be rivals.
Elsewhere in the hunting grounds, Luo Sen collapsed near a temporary camp, face pale and shaking.
Outer disciples gathered around him.
“He’s a monster,” Luo Sen muttered repeatedly. “He eats Gu… they obey him… I almost died…”
His words spread like wildfire.
Fear traveled faster than truth.
By nightfall, nearly every disciple in the valley had heard the rumor.
A new name began circulating in whispers.
Gu Devourer.
As night descended, Shen Yu sat beneath a tree, eyes closed in meditation.
Inside his dantian, silver light from the Emotion Reflection Gu rotated slowly.
Beyond it lay the vast unseen darkness — the Devouring Presence, quiet but awake.
For the first time, Shen Yu spoke inwardly.
“…What are you?”
No answer came.
Only a faint sensation.
Not hunger.
Not malice.
Expectation.
Far beneath the hunting valley, deep under layers of stone older than the sect itself, ancient formations flickered weakly.
A sealed chamber trembled.
And something imprisoned within slowly opened one eye.
To be continued…
