Overlord of the Wilderness

After searching the skinny man, Zhaang Ye went on to search the other five. They had quite a few miscellaneous items on them. Besides several large packs of medicinal herbs and a few Golden Tickets, Zhaang Ye was surprised to find a Qi Gathering Pill on each of three of the men.

”Heh! I got a total of eight Qi Gathering Pills from this battle. Adding the two I had before, I now have ten Qi Gathering Pills! With these, the time it’ll take me to advance to the Peak of Martial Arts Second Layer will be greatly shortened!” Zhaang Ye pumped his arm in excitement and quickly tucked the Elixirs away.

After stowing the Qi Gathering Pills and packing up the medicinal herbs, Zhaang Ye was about to leave when he discovered that the cunning Mammoth hadn’t left yet. It was pacing back and forth just outside the woods. Seeing Zhaang Ye emerge, a hint of delight showed in its eyes, and it gave him a soft cry.

Zhaang Ye stared at it and said, ”Hm? What do you want?”

The Mammoth looked at Zhaang Ye, lifted a massive foreleg, and pointed into the distance. Then, it curled its long trunk toward Zhaang Ye, as if gesturing for him to follow.

”Hm?” Zhaang Ye thought for a moment and said, ”You want me to follow you?”

The Mammoth rumbled softly twice, a hint of happiness appearing in its eyes.

’Damn, this Mammoth really does want me to follow it! What on earth is it up to?’ Zhaang Ye thought, then said aloud, ”If I follow you, is it for something good? If it is, nod your head.”

After Zhaang Ye finished speaking, the Mammoth actually nodded its head.

”Alright, alright.” His curiosity piqued, Zhaang Ye said, ”I’ll follow you. I want to see what a big guy like you is planning!”

And so, with the Mammoth leading the way, Zhaang Ye, carrying a large pack of medicinal herbs on his back, followed it closely as it plunged into the dense forest.

The Mammoth seemed clumsy, but it moved with incredible speed. In just two or three hours, it had led Zhaang Ye dozens of miles through the dense forest, arriving outside a valley shrouded in mist and clouds.

This small, mist-shrouded valley looked ordinary, but when the thick-bodied, powerful Mammoth reached its entrance, it seemed to fear something. It slowed its pace considerably, taking two steps, sniffing the air with its long trunk, and then continuing on.

After walking for more than an hour inside the valley, the mist and clouds suddenly cleared. Zhaang Ye could finally see the scenery within. At the far end of the valley was a pool several acres in size. On the cliff beside the pool grew a red tree, thick as an arm, bearing five palm-sized blue flowers.

The red tree and its blue flowers were a striking sight.

Zhaang Ye had been gathering herbs alone in the mountains since he was very young and knew a great deal about the medicinal plants around Three Rivers Town. He identified the red tree with its blue flowers at a single glance. ’Jade Blue Flower. Sky-blue in color, five blossoms in number. It’s one of the main ingredients for the Essence Pill. When consumed by beasts, it can unlock their intelligence and enhance their power. This is a rare Mutated Medicine...’

The medicinal ingredients of the Barbaric World were divided into six grades: Ordinary Medicine, Aged Medicine, Mutated Medicine, Spirit Elixir, Aged Elixir, and the legendary Immortal Elixir. This Jade Blue Flower was a Mutated Medicine and was extremely valuable.

Seeing the five Jade Blue Flowers, Zhaang Ye’s heart pounded. The Jade Blue Flower was a rare medicine; a single blossom was worth over three thousand taels of Gold. If he could get his hands on all five, it would be an incredible windfall.

Zhaang Ye turned to the Mammoth and said, ”Big guy, you didn’t bring me here because you want to pick those flowers, did you?”

The Mammoth nodded, then shook its head. Just as Zhaang Ye was about to ask another question, he suddenly heard a SPLASH from the pool. Following the sound, a massive snake, as thick as a water bucket, slowly emerged from the water.

Staring at the massive snake—over ten meters long and covered in a black-and-white pattern—Zhaang Ye felt a chill in his heart. He glared at the Mammoth and said, ”You didn’t bring me here to deal with this snake, did you?”

The Mammoth nodded happily.

Zhaang Ye looked speechlessly at the seemingly simple and honest Mammoth and cursed, ”And here I thought this was for something good! You bastard, you just brought me here to be your free muscle! This snake is covered in scales; I doubt even my blade could cut them. And look at its colors—it’s obviously highly venomous! A single drop of its venom could be fatal. Fighting a creature like this is pure suicide!”

After his tirade, Zhaang Ye was about to leave when his eyes fell upon the five blue flowers on the cliff again. ’This Jade Blue Flower is incredibly valuable,’ he mused. ’If I just walk away now, I’ll never get an opportunity like this again... Hmm, it’s not like there’s no chance of killing this snake. If the Mammoth acts as the main force and ties it up in a fight, I could strike from the side. There’s a decent chance of success...’

Having made up his mind, Zhaang Ye explained his idea to the Mammoth.

The Mammoth nodded readily.

”Good,” Zhaang Ye said. ”Since we’re cooperating, let’s discuss how to split the five flowers. Hmm, there are five flowers on this tree. I’ll take three, you take two. How does that sound?”

Zhaang Ye had expected the Mammoth to disagree with this split. To his surprise, the creature seemed perfectly satisfied with his proposal, nodding as soon as Zhaang Ye had finished speaking.

With the terms agreed upon, the Mammoth immediately launched its attack. It slammed a heavy leg onto the ground, and the entire valley trembled from the force of the stomp.

Following the stomp, the Mammoth’s enormous body charged forward, rushing straight toward the great snake as if to trample it to death with a single step.

The great snake was no easy foe. Seeing the charging Mammoth, it opened its maw, and a stream of thick, black gas instantly billowed out. In a moment, a foul, nauseating stench filled the entire valley.

Affected by the nauseating gas, the Mammoth’s movements clearly slowed for a beat. The great snake seized the opportunity; its ten-meter-plus body shot forward and coiled around the Mammoth, its gaping mouth looking for a chance to bite down.

The great snake gained the upper hand with its poison gas, but the Mammoth’s hide was thick and its flesh tough; even the snake couldn’t bite through. For a moment, the snake and the mammoth were locked in a stalemate.

Seeing the two beasts at a standstill, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but think, ’Perfect chance!’ He began to slowly sneak toward them.

When the great snake had first spat its poison, Zhaang Ye had been dozens of meters away and hadn’t felt the gas’s potency. Now, as he slowly drew closer, he realized that even though he was holding his breath, the poison was still seeping in through the pores of his skin. In just a short while, he could feel the flow of his True Qi becoming sluggish and his entire body growing weak. He was horrified.

’Damn it, I have to end this fast! If I stay here for a few more minutes, I’ll be poisoned to death!’ Having made his decision, Zhaang Ye no longer concealed his presence. He shot forward in a single bound, raised his blade, and sent a cold flash of light sweeping toward the great snake’s midsection.

The great snake’s scales were just as he had thought—incredibly hard. His blade struck them and was deflected, unable to cut through at all. Zhaang Ye wasn’t discouraged. While the snake was entangled with the Mammoth, he unleashed another ten strikes in the blink of an eye.

DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING... CRACK!

On the final strike, a piece of Snake Scale fell off.

The great snake’s defense relied on its scales. With one of its Snake Scales gone, its life was in immediate danger. The snake could no longer afford to be entangled with the Mammoth. It twisted its body, trying to break free, while spewing out mouthful after mouthful of poison gas in an attempt to kill the Mammoth. But the Mammoth was massive and strong, with an abundant Life Power; though the poison was potent, it couldn’t kill it instantly. With the poison proving ineffective for the time being, the Mammoth, relying on its superior strength, pinned the snake’s tail with its four feet, using its enormous body to press the great snake firmly to the ground, immobilizing it.

SLICE SLICE SLICE SLICE SLICE—!

Zhaang Ye’s Life Power was far weaker than the Mammoth’s. The continuous clouds of poison gas spewed by the snake sapped his strength, and he didn’t even dare to open his eyes. With the desperation of a final, all-out gamble, Zhaang Ye unleashed ten consecutive strikes. Each strike dislodged a piece of Snake Scale. By the ninth strike, all the scales in that spot were gone. Without the protection of its scales, the great snake could not withstand Zhaang Ye’s tenth blow. A flash of blade light, and the bucket-thick body of the snake was instantly severed in two.