Just as I attach the last piece of wood to the makeshift treehouse I’ve created in this emergent tree; the darkness gets to where even I need to be cautious of anything that can catch me by surprise in the dark.

Of course, I could have kept going and tried to rush towards the flower during the night, but I’d be putting myself at heavy risk of being ambushed by any number of things.

The building that I created is simple. I actually built it into the tree to maintain the stability, while reinforcing the outside bark with additional layers of wood, in case I get attacked.

Even being near the top of this tree, it reaches the size of a large one-bedroom apartment.

The plan is to collect all the materials here, and establish some big creatures (or the tree itself) as defense. But I’ll be doing that after I collect the main ingredient.

There were some creatures around the area, but I essentially drove them away using my teaming contract.

In fact, just as it was getting to a near finished state, my taming contract even reached some spirit beasts. Not yet to the level of a Qi condensation cultivator, but more in the sense of having intelligence and strength of a body cultivator. With all the natural abilities of a beast, of course.

As expected, they accepted the avoidance contract as well.

Feeling a bit comforted by this, I shut away the entire building so I’m essentially barricaded inside.

While I’m in here, my plan is to use my scan in two different ways. The first and most important way is there to have a combat scan. I will watch the area within a kilometer of me. In coordination with my taming avoidance contract, I hope to negate any threats before they become a problem.

The second scan will be a long-range probing scan, similar to what I did to gain deals in the city. However, in this case I’m looking for rare materials I could either sell, use, or could be of benefit to me in the future.

Obviously, this includes the flower.

Using the scan over the entire night will lessen its load on me and allow me to dive deeper into things that might be difficult or even hidden from view.

With this foolproof setup, made with a past the night with no disturbances.

Or so I thought…

All the way to the middle of the night, higher strength creatures were probing and trying to determine the scent of the delicious meat nearby. Luckily, the benefits of the avoidance contract were enough to dissuade them.

All except for one.

A shadow moves quickly in and out of my range. Over the course of the next hour, it doesn’t accept the contract but seemingly plays around with the range and limit of it.

Going in a circle, it is not until the end of that hour that I realize what it’s been doing. It’s been triangulating my position, as I am what is at the center of this circle.

From little I can see, its strength should be in the middle of the Qi Condensation Realm.

I send out a stronger, more beneficial contract to it. It ignores it.

As it gets closer and closer, I keep raising the level of the contract. When it finally reaches halfway to my position, I decided to stop trying with the taming contract.

I get up from my meditative position and ready myself for a fight.

This thing isn’t here for benefits. It’s already intelligent, but doesn’t care about those things.

It’s here to hunt.

Refocusing my scan on the current situation, I look at my new foe.

Leaping nimbly upward from tree to tree, it carefully watches for any changes in movement while still following the scent it picked up to get here.

Of course, that’s what it used to find me. If normal people and Gong can smell my pheromones, how could a spirit beast not?

My scan shows its full form approaching.

As a Panther that is 5 times the size of 1 from my world, it stalks me. As it moves through the dark, it blends in. it’s not only because of its black fur, but because of some special ability it is using with its cultivation.

Spirit beasts utilize Qi in a similar, but different, way than humans. In the beginning stages, it manifests in special abilities, durability, strength, or many other things. As it approaches the foundation establishment realm, they use it in somewhat traditional but different ways. Connecting directly to the Qi in their bodies.

To rank a spirit beast is to only consider the level of cultivation that it has. However, it should always be considered that its actual strength will be far above a cultivator of the same rank.

But there’s something that bothers me about it. Something that that’s even stranger than what I’ve seen.

It’s anxious.

Despite being a strong predator.

Despite having cultivation.

Actually, now that I think about it, it makes sense.

Out here, there are no defined roles. At any time, the predator could become the prey. Even by engaging in this hunt, it’s taking a risk.

Even more so, when it was being directly contacted through unknown means. Not only that, but every other creature decided to go away.

Which raises the question, why is it still hunting me?

Its search ends at the tree I’m in.

Luckily, I had the forethought to make the outside look as normal as possible.

Well. Except for the 9 feet open space of cleared leaves.

It probes the bark with its sizeable claw. Bigger than my hand.

It goes in like butter.

It goes all the way in, all the way to its paw. Fortunately for me, I layered the wood and reinforced it. It doesn’t get close to the inside at that length.

But then it takes a swipe. It knows I’m here. It’s just how deep it has to go.

And then another swipe.

I make my escape plan.

Based on how fast it moved, it might keep up with me at my normal speed.

Scary to think about, but it is both a spirit beast and has a greater effective cultivation level than I do.

If I really pushed my body, I could probably break away. But what happens if it does so, as well? It might be close.

I would win in a direct fight.

Probably.

Actually, no. It has more fighting experience than I do. Even with my scan, I might not make it.

Before I can think of anything else, I can see a splinter fly out of the wall and hit the ground. It’s breaking through.

It’s almost pitch black in here, and I have to assume that it can see in the dark. With my scan, I should be able to keep track of it, despite that its main strength is to blend in with the shadow.

It will be its speed and maneuverability in such a small space that will cause me the most trouble.

I also realized at that moment that I don’t have a weapon.

My eyes dart to the knife I’d used earlier, but quickly move away as I could see that it would break on the Panther’s skin.

I throw my bag in the corner, and hurriedly run to the escape route on the opposite side I had made into the walls. Using a hidden latch, I bust open one wall and almost immediately after, I can hear the scratching on the other wall end.

It’s coming.

Just as I throw myself down towards the ground, I can see the shadow had passed by me. Right where my neck was a moment ago.

My body bullets down at high speeds and I’m betting on the fact that the creature has to jump down several trees to get down, while I’ll just heal myself from the impact.

Even with the blood pumping through my veins and shivering down my back, a strange feeling is overcoming me.

I know how I can fight back.