54: Chapter 40 Disappearance (4k merged) _3 54: Chapter 40 Disappearance (4k merged) _3 At this moment, he stood at the center of the massive cyclone sweeping across the land like a natural disaster, calm yet most dangerous—the

Eye of the storm.

Instinctively, he turned his body, stepping lightly forward.

Buzz—

Without any warning, extremely abruptly.

The space around Xia Nan suddenly twisted and blurred for a moment.

The next second, his body vanished into the mist.

…

“Xia Nan?

Xia Nan?”

From the deep, dark silence of the dense forest, a voice called out in a subdued tone.

Hai’an crouched low, carefully threading his way between the trees.

Beside him was his ever-present shadow-like guard, Wood.

Unlike their first encounter’s bright cleanliness, the two now appeared somewhat disheveled.

Not only were their bodies covered in grass seeds and leaf fragments, but even their hair was matted with sweat.

Silver-gray eyes emitted a faint glow in the darkness as Hai’an carefully searched for his companion.

The dark vision from his Elf bloodline allowed him to see clearly as if in daylight even in dim environments, capturing everything within sixty feet.

No discovery.

Wood remained silent but was equally executing his efforts.

Maintaining vigilance while meticulously searching for details in the surrounding woodland with his rich experience.

One possessed “Ranger” related battle skills, with a bloodline akin to “Nature’s Favorite” Elf flowing through him;

The other naturally excelled in concealment, existing as a “Wanderer” active in the shadows.

Just avoiding the sight of the Petrified Lizard allowed them to escape its perception easily.

Thus, they could seize the opportunity when the Petrified Lizard was inattentive, launching a surprise to rescue Xia Nan from its claws.

Then made a big detour, trailing the disturbance here all the way.

“Young master, here!”

Wood seemed to have discovered something, crouching to alert the nearby Half Elf.

They saw a series of footprints imprinted in the soft, moist meadow before them.

As if pursued by something behind, and exhausted, the prints were short and dense, with some broken plant roots and stems nearby.

Curiously, the footprint owner seemed to have vanished suddenly, causing the continuous footprints to abruptly end on some ground.

Half Elf Hai’an suddenly looked up, eyes scanning and catching in the lush canopy.

“Young master, we are already in the depths of Mist Forest, we…”

Wood showed hesitation, reminding from the side.

Upon hearing, Hai’an’s expression remained unchanged.

He glanced at the vaguely dimming sky overhead and then looked down at the abruptly ended footprint.

Speaking slowly yet firmly:

“We’ll search for another two hours, if there’s still no discovery…

we’ll withdraw to the outskirts temporarily.”

“Okay.”

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

“Boom!”

The coarsely textured gray-green scales crashed fiercely against the tree trunk.

The thick brown bark, capable of withstanding blade and axe, was pierced through instantly, tearing the wood fibers, revealing its tender interior.

The Basilisk, the Petrified Lizard, was venting its pent-up rage on the innocent oak tree.

Mud splattered.

The massive root system deep in the soil was suddenly upheaved, including half of the fractured trunk under the demon’s seemingly steel-crushing force.

It roared, a ghostly green light flickering incessantly in its eyes.

The scales on top of its skull and the surrounding brown crystalline bone spur showed faint scorch marks on their surface.

The Petrified Lizard could sense the dispersing human scent far ahead in the dense forest.

Clearly knowing that such weak creatures were, by no means, its match.

Having barely survived the “Petrification Gaze” invasion by chance, they could easily fall prey to a casual swipe or bite.

Yet even so, the Petrified Lizard made no move to continue the hunt.

It only lingered at the increasingly dense architecture’s periphery, vainly and powerlessly wreaking havoc in the surrounding shrubs and bushes.

As if there was an invisible boundary line between it and those architectural ruins.

Not daring to step even a foot across.

Until finally toppling dozens of towering trees to the ground, turning numerous disturbed creatures in the forest into cold stone statues.

The Petrified Lizard hesitated, with human-like doubt and caution, glancing at the direction where Xia Nan disappeared.

It turned around.

Dragging its cumbersome body, vanishing into the mist and depths of the dense forest.