Although the giant lizard is huge, its 15-point dexterity allowed it to move quickly even when it was traveling at a slow speed.
Luo Yuan made markings on trees every time they passed a hill as the topography of the area was too complicated. They had occasionally gone in circles as it was easy to get lost in the forest, especially if they do not check their map properly.
The giant lizard entered a valley at around 1 p.m. There were cliffs on the both sides of the valley surrounded by strange rocks. The valley was very deep and they realized the ground was uneven.
The weather there was very humid and a thick fog surrounded the area even in the afternoon. There was a big bush of giant leaves and there were many gaps between the leaves.
"Look, Brother Luo! Is that footprint?" Huo Dong suddenly asked in a shocked voice.
Luo Yuan quickly looked where Huo Dong was pointing at and his expression changed immediately. He saw a couple of giant marks on the ground which were about two meters in width. It was just about 10 meters in front of them. The giant pits were about a meter deep and the patterns around them looked like claws. Obviously, it was footprint!
Luo Yuan quickly instructed the giant lizard to stop. He looked extremely tensed as even the marine mutated beasts which he had seen before did not possess such big footprints. Even the footprints of the giant lizard were much smaller.
He could not imagine how big the creature could be. Everyone looked pale and panic.
"Should we try to avoid this area?" Huang Jiahui suddenly asked.
Luo Yuan shook his head and replied, "This area is full of hills, we have no idea how long it will take if we detour." The giant lizard could not climb on the steep slopes of the hills, that is one of its limitations. Normal slopes were still fine but anything above 45 degrees and it could not do anything.
"We actually don't have to be too worried. For a beast of this size, even the giant lizard will seem like a small cat to it. We will be fine as long as we manage to escape carefully." Luo Yuan pondered and said.
"Luo Yuan, I think we better not take the risk. We would rather walk a few days longer than have to encounter such dangers." Huang Jiahui tried to convince him after she glanced again at the footprints. She even gulped some saliva as the enormous footprints were too scary to her. She could imagine the actual size of the mutated beast and predicted that the giant lizard might die if it gets stepped on by the gigantic beast.
Luo Yuan looked at the rest and realized they were all nervous. It was apparent that Huang Jiahui was not the only one who wanted to take a detour. Most of them had been frightened by the giant footprints. Luo Yuan wanted to speak but hesitated as he felt he has overlooked something.
"There is an order in the food chain of nature. Everything is linked together in a perfect pyramid. If the gigantic beast is a carnivore, most of the animals nearby would have been eaten by now." Luo Yuan pondered.
He suddenly raised his head and looked at the tree above the nearest footprints. It seemed that his assumption was right! Most of the crowns of the trees within 100 meters of them were gone. Apparently, it was an herbivore! Luo Yuan quickly told them about his discovery and everyone immediately felt relieved. Herbivores are usually less aggressive than carnivores. They normally do not attack if they are not provoked.
Despite his discovery, Luo Yuan instructed the giant lizard to avoid the footprints so that they do not bump into the gigantic beast. It was certainly dangerous if they came near to it even if it was docile.
After walking for about 10 minutes, Luo Yuan realized the ground was vibrating at a certain frequency. It was a slight vibration at the beginning but soon it started getting more vigorous. The giant lizard could be seen puffing out of frustration while the giant gorilla kept very quiet and followed behind the group.
The leaves were swaying back and forth from the strong wind blowing through the valley and they could hear branches snapping. The sound kept getting stronger.
After a few minutes, a shadow as big as a hill walked towards them. They could not see it clearly as the trees were blocking their view. However, they saw four legs which were as big as the cement abutments of a bridge walking slowly towards them. The slow pace refers to the relative speed of its movements, though it was already a lot faster than the giant lizard due to the size of its body.
There were no scales on the surface of its legs. Its skin was rough and there was a thick layer of dead skin that could be seen. Luo Yuan did some analysis and predicted that it would be quite difficult for his Zhanmadao to make any significant impact on its legs.
By peeping through the gaps between the leaves, he found that the gigantic beast was about 10 meters tall! It was like a tower with more than 10 floors and it shocked many of them. It was only about a kilometer away from them at that moment but it just left and disappeared. The only thing that could be heard was the wind. Everyone was stunned for a moment and then continued their journey again. They finally got out from the valley at around 3 pm. There was a sunken pit in front of them right at the exit and they continued to walk for another three hours until the sky was getting dark.
"Let's spend a night here!" Luo Yuan looked around and told the giant lizard to stop.
The trees in the surrounding were of the same species with numerous aerial roots hanging from its branches. It looked like numerous pythons hanging upside down. The lush leaves from the trees had blocked the sunset and they felt like it was already night time.
Luo Yuan was the first one to jump off the lizard's back. He used the Zhanmadao to cut some of the aerial roots and after that the place immediately looked spacious.
"I feel this place is scary!" Wang Xiaguang remarked as she jumped down right after Luo Yuan. She looked around and felt very uncomfortable.
"I feel the same." Wang Shishi said as she kicked the big roots under her feet. They could not see any soil under the big roots that crossed over each other. Besides that, there were no bushes or shrubs below the trees.
"Luo Yuan, is this place dangerous?" Huang Jiahui asked.
"Don't scare yourselves unnecessarily. However, it's better to pay more attention at night." Luo Yuan frowned and said.
He could not explain to them that he felt someone watching them ever since they arrived. The feeling was not clear but it felt almost omnipresent. He was tensed and nervous but he could find anything.
He looked at the sky and decided not to leave at that moment. Perhaps it was just a psychological effect.