Chapter 160: The Savage Valley?

The lizard's jaw dropped wide open, its already enormous mouth stretching even further in sheer, overwhelming shock.

Even though the resting gale he had exhaled earlier was not his full capability, nor did it represent his utmost strength, that did not mean his power was trivial, nor did it render the complete pulverization of his attack insignificant.

After all, that was the resting gale!

The resting gale, the wind of eternal rest—whether human, beast, tree, or stone, anything touched by it was inevitably ground down into fine powder.

Because it inherently embodied rest and death, it had always been the resting gale that reduced everything else to dust; when had anyone ever witnessed a mortal being able to crush the gale itself into powder?

How much time, effort, and sacrifice had the lizard expended to master this breath of the resting gale? Why had he ultimately agreed to become the guardian beast of this Wildman Valley?

Was it not for the tyrannical dominance of the resting gale? Was he not driven by its terrifying might?

He had never imagined that anyone could so effortlessly shatter the resting gale into powder.

He had once considered that someone might break his resting gale, for there were simply far too many formidable figures in this world!

Yet he had never once dreamed that someone could pulverize the gale itself. The sheer destructive power of the resting gale was obvious enough, to say nothing of the microscopic nature of its existence.

The resting gale was composed of countless wind particles, cultivated and assembled grain by grain by the lizard himself. Each wind particle was finer than the finest sand, yet their combined might was sufficient to blow an entire mountain into dust.

With so many wind particles ultimately combining to form the resting gale, the lizard had once proudly believed that, aside from a select few individuals on this entire island, he was supreme—and that supremacy rested entirely upon his gale!

What could possibly be finer and smaller than a wind particle?

Before this moment, the lizard had never even considered how such a thing could possibly exist.

Yet right now, the lizard was pondering this very question with utmost seriousness!

"Me? Am I not food?" Hearing the lizard's question, Song Hai shifted his gaze away from the surrounding space. The space, which had grown chaotic and plunged into darkness due to the sudden dissipation of the tornado, did not calm down as the gale vanished; instead, it grew even more disordered, debris swirling aimlessly through the air. Song Hai turned his eyes toward the lizard with a playful smirk.

"You... you must be joking!"

Breaking the resting gale, dispersing the resting gale, and shattering the resting gale—the levels of might represented by these three feats were vastly different. If it had merely been the first two, the lizard might still have entertained some thoughts, but since Song Hai had achieved the third, the lizard had completely lost any will to resist.

If the resting gale could be shattered so easily, wouldn't shattering him be even simpler? He certainly didn't believe he was tougher than the resting gale!

Although the resting gale he had exhaled earlier was not his full strength, judging by the casual manner in which Song Hai had made his move, had Song Hai used his full strength either?

Hearing Song Hai's voice, the lizard, already stripped of all his bravado, trembled violently. Sheer terror caused his answering voice to crack into a hoarse croak: "How... how could you possibly be food?"

"Oh?"

A single, soft utterance made the lizard's heart lurch continuously. All four limbs suddenly collapsed against the ground, his body rolling over to expose his pale, soft underbelly, eyes tightly shut. The immense disparity in power robbed the lizard of even the slightest courage to put up a desperate fight.

Song Hai stared fixedly at the lizard for a long moment. Amidst the beast's mounting anxiety, Song Hai slowly spoke: "Get up!"

Upon hearing this, as if granted a royal pardon, the lizard trembled as he cautiously righted himself. Only when all four legs were planted firmly on the ground once more did he suddenly realize that his legs had turned somewhat jelly-like.

Yet the lizard felt no shame whatsoever. He harbored no self-reproach for cowering to such an extent, utterly devoid of the courage to even attempt resistance!

The lizard was by no means a creature of unyielding spine. If he truly possessed such backbone, he would not be lingering here as the mere warden of Wildman Valley!

"Bring—forget it!"

Glancing at the lizard, Song Hai had originally intended to have him introduce the local conditions. On second thought, however, he abandoned the idea. Ever since his arrival, his spiritual consciousness had been actively probing the surroundings, and at that moment, it began feeding certain fragments of information back to him.

Absorbing the data relayed by his consciousness, Song Hai tilted his head, sensing a faint, intermittent, fragile yet resolute peculiar aura drifting from a distant place. A surge of curiosity ignited within him, instantly overpowering any desire to understand the territory he currently inhabited.

Without another word, Song Hai strode rapidly in the direction from which the peculiar aura emanated, his pace steadily quickening.

The lizard remained rooted to the spot, anxiously awaiting orders from the man before him. The instant Song Hai uttered his very first syllable, the beast had concentrated fully, hanging on every subsequent word, prepared to divine the unspoken command the moment it was given, execute it instantly, and leave a favorable impression!

However, contrary to his intense concentration, the expected command never came. Instead, the lizard watched as Song Hai walked—no, ran—straight toward a specific direction!

Staring at Song Hai's retreating back and the direction he was heading, the lizard froze for a moment before sudden realization dawned, his expression contorting with an agonizing sense of internal conflict.

"Wildman Valley... why is he heading straight for Wildman Valley?!"

The lizard stood frozen, watching with a heavy heart as Song Hai's figure strode rapidly toward the forbidden territory he was charged with guarding. Depression weighed heavily on him. He wanted to stop him; after all, his duty was to guard Wildman Valley and prevent anyone from entering, a task he had always performed flawlessly!

Every single person who had ever accidentally wandered here had ended up in his belly, passed through the cycle of digestion, and been expelled, perfectly fulfilling his obligations. Not a single soul—not even a fly—had ever gotten inside!

Yet now, he hesitated. Because the person walking toward Wildman Valley was Song Hai. The agonizing dilemma was that he couldn't beat him. If he were to force the issue, the most probable outcome was that after completing the cycle of digestion, he would be expelled from the man's body!

On the other hand, if the lizard failed to perform his duty, the curse deeply embedded within his flesh would instantly trigger the moment Song Hai stepped into Wildman Valley. While it might not kill him outright, being left half-dead was entirely unavoidable!

The lizard wrestled with his thoughts for a long while, his mind oscillating endlessly between death and a living torment. Should he choose a swift death, or endure this agonizing torture?

After much deliberation, the lizard still could not bring himself to a decision. Death he did not want, but as for the torture... the agony... the lizard's face twisted until his features were nearly scrunched into a single knot!

"Tell me... why on earth are you so terrifying? Why did you pick Wildman Valley without even a moment's hesitation?"

With a complex and painful gaze fixed on Song Hai, the lizard felt a suffocating wave of gloom and suppressed grievance pressing down on his chest until he could barely breathe!

He simply dared not obstruct Song Hai's path... yet he did not wish to die either...

"Sigh..."

At last, the lizard let out a lingering, mournful sigh. Pain it would be, then; at least it was only a one-time ordeal... as long as he stayed alive... that was all that mattered!