Overlord of the Wilderness

Time Magic Power surged forth, altering the Law of Time around the Black Crystal.

With the combined power of the Law of Time and the Five-Colored Divine Light, Zhaang Ye’s cracking speed increased dramatically. In a mere five Hours, the Prohibition on the outside of the Black Crystal was already on the verge of collapse.

A brilliant shower of light erupted, and all the Prohibitions vanished.

The instant the Prohibition disappeared, a faint ray of light shot out from the Black Crystal, heading straight for Zhaang Ye. Zhaang Ye was already on high alert. Seeing the light approach, he drew his saber without hesitation and scattered most of it. But the ray was bizarre. Even though Zhaang Ye’s blade struck it, a single wisp still managed to burrow into his body, forming a faint, strange brand.

Zhaang Ye was stunned. He couldn’t help but curse under his breath, ’Trouble. Another brand! I haven’t even gotten rid of the brand from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans, and now I have one from the Abyssal Dwarves. Are the heavens trying to kill me?’

Zhaang Ye loathed these kinds of brands. But whether it was the one from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans or this new one from the Abyssal Dwarves, their power level was far beyond his own. As unhappy as he was, he had no way to remove them.

’With this brand on my body, the Abyssal Dwarves will track me down sooner or later. This Abyssal Rift is filled with danger, and my Spiritual Power is severely restricted. In terms of speed or combat strength, I’m no match for the Abyssal Dwarves. If they catch up to me, I’ll be in grave danger. No, I have to get out of here, fast!’ Zhaang Ye’s thoughts raced, and he was about to leave.

Suddenly, he froze.

Zhaang Ye focused on the Dwarf brand again. A moment later, his eyes lit up.

It turned out that his saber strike had dissipated most of the brand the Abyssal Dwarves left behind. The remnant that entered his body was incomplete. He wouldn’t even have to actively remove it; the brand would naturally fade away on its own in two or three years.

The brand would disappear even faster if he entered the Tower of Time.

The flow of time inside the Tower of Time was three times faster than the outside world. If he went inside, the Abyssal Dwarf brand would be gone in just one year.

However, with the Abyssal Dwarves in hot pursuit, Zhaang Ye feared he wouldn’t get a chance to enter the Tower of Time.

’Two or three years... that doesn’t sound long, but this is the Abyssal Dwarves’ home turf! The time, the place, the support—they have every advantage. I just hope I can survive.’

Zhaang Ye gave a wry smile. As he traveled, he racked his brain for a countermeasure.

Zhaang Ye was never one to simply wait for death; the greater the danger, the calmer he became. After about fifteen minutes, a resolute glint appeared in his eyes. With a single thought, a massive Warship materialized before him.

This was the Phoenix Battleship.

Zhaang Ye boarded the Battleship, took the helm, and set off in a specific direction.

Zhaang Ye’s destination was Two Realms Mountain.

The entire Abyssal Rift had been formed from the collision between a Middle World and the Profound Golden Great World. To this day, the Middle World had still not been fully absorbed by the Profound Golden Great World.

A mountain range separated the Middle World from the Profound Golden Great World. This range was the Two Realms Mountain. Its expanse was endless, and the Laws within it were utterly chaotic. Laws collided with each other at every moment, and even powerful Ancient Beasts refused to linger there. It was, without a doubt, a place of extreme peril.

Many such perilous lands often gave birth to Celestial and Earthly Treasures. But Two Realms Mountain was different. No life could survive there. Even the most desperate outlaws refused to venture inside.

Of course, there were some Cultivators, their lifespans nearing their end and desperate for a breakthrough, who would venture inside to comprehend the Laws. But very, very few ever made it out alive.

Zhaang Ye had only considered Two Realms Mountain as a last resort.

Day after day, he traveled onward.

Zhaang Ye sat cross-legged inside the Battleship, absorbing the contents of the Memory Crystal as he traveled.

As expected, the Black Crystal contained the Artifact Refining Secret Skills of the Abyssal Dwarves. Zhaang Ye was certain that once he mastered them, crafting a First-Grade Magical Treasure would be no difficult task.

After five days of nonstop travel, an acute sense of danger suddenly gripped Zhaang Ye’s heart. He looked toward the horizon and saw three massive, dark silhouettes appear silently in the distant sky.

Black Nests!

The Abyssal Dwarves were here!

All three Black Nests were in peak condition, their Attack Power immense. In comparison, Gru’s Black Nest was far inferior in both presence and size.

’Run!’

Zhaang Ye acted at once.

Each of the three Black Nests housed over a thousand Giant Cannons. A volley from all of them would be enough to flay him alive, if not kill him outright. What’s more, each Black Nest was presided over by a Nine-layered Venerable of the Law Dao. Three Black Nests meant three such Venerables—a force Zhaang Ye had no hope of contending with.

Zhaang Ye pulled out dozens of Top-grade Law Stones and slapped them into the Battleship’s power core. The Warship instantly burst into raging flames, its speed abruptly doubling!

BOOM BOOM BOOM—

The three Black Nests gave chase relentlessly, activating their Giant Cannons and firing a volley of a thousand shots as they pursued.

At such high speeds, only a dozen or so of the blasts from the Giant Cannons struck the Phoenix Battleship. But if this kept up, the situation would become dire for Zhaang Ye.

Zhaang Ye knew he was in no position to fight back. All three Black Nests were First-Grade Magical Treasures, and he was powerless against their combined assault. The only thing he could do was push the Battleship to its absolute limit.

The Black Nests were closing in.

Just then, the Fire Spirit’s voice suddenly spoke up. ”Master, let me take over. The power within my body is the Phoenix Flame, which is perfectly suited for piloting this Battleship.”

Zhaang Ye was delighted. ”Alright!”

The next moment, the Fire Spirit flew out from the Fire Spirit Realm and took control of the Battleship with its Mental Power.

BOOM!

The Phoenix Battleship erupted in a blaze of furious flames, its speed instantly increasing by seventy percent!

Seeing the Phoenix Battleship’s sudden burst of speed, a vast power surged from each of the three Black Nests—the power of a Nine-layered Venerable of the Law Dao. Clearly, the Abyssal Dwarves had seen the Battleship accelerate, and the powerhouses within their fortresses were now taking action. Infused with the power of the Venerables, the Black Nests’ speed also began to increase wildly.

”Damned Human Race Cultivator, where do you think you’re going!”

Three vast, immeasurable wills emanated from the Black Nests. The Giant Cannons of the three fortresses began to fire, their dense beams of light weaving together into a massive net that threatened to ensnare the Battleship.

The Fire Spirit expertly maneuvered the Battleship, dodging most of the attacks. The few it couldn’t evade, it had to endure head-on. The impacts affected the Battleship’s speed, slowing it down slightly.

Zhaang Ye said decisively, ”Fire Spirit, let’s work together! You control our speed, and I’ll handle the defenses.”

The Fire Spirit cried out, ”Right!”

The Fire Spirit focused its entire Heart Spirit on piloting while Zhaang Ye took control of the Battleship’s Defensive Arrays to block the incoming attacks. With this division of labor, the Battleship’s speed returned to its peak, and its Defense Power reached its maximum.

Zhaang Ye and the Fire Spirit fled for their lives as the Abyssal Dwarves gave relentless chase.

「Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Over those seven days, the Phoenix Battleship had endured countless rounds of attacks. The once-majestic Warship was now battered and broken. More than half of its Defensive Arrays were destroyed, and its Defense Power had plummeted. Fortunately, after seven days of nonstop firing, many of the Abyssal Dwarves’ Giant Cannons were also damaged, their firepower greatly reduced. This gave Zhaang Ye a much-needed chance to breathe.

But Zhaang Ye knew that the Abyssal Dwarves excelled at Artifact Refining. It wouldn’t be long before they repaired the damaged Giant Cannons. That was when the real danger would begin.

The Fire Spirit cried out, ”We’re one day from Two Realms Mountain! I hope this Battleship can hold out for one more day! Master, we need to be ready to abandon ship at a moment’s notice!”

Zhaang Ye nodded.

He seized the moment of weakened firepower to frantically repair the Arrays.

Zhaang Ye had a profound understanding of the Array Dao, so repairing the Arrays themselves was no issue. However, the Phoenix Battleship contained countless complex Arrays. Even with ten arms, Zhaang Ye could only fix a few at a time.

His desperate repairs now were little more than a stopgap measure, but it was better than nothing.

「Five Hours later.」

The three Black Nests caught up once more. This time, they unleashed their full firepower. Over three thousand beams of light lit up the Abyss, bright as day. The Phoenix Battleship was like a lone leaf in a hurricane.

After enduring for three more Hours, the Phoenix Battleship was on the verge of breaking apart.

Just then, Zhaang Ye’s eyes lit up. He shouted, ”Fire Spirit, head forward and to the left! There’s an Ancient Beast over there! That thing can hold off the Abyssal Dwarves for a while!”

The Fire Spirit acknowledged the command, and the Battleship veered left.

Soon enough, an Ancient Beast with a massive body appeared below them.

The beast’s body was a perfect sphere. It had no discernible head—or perhaps, its entire body *was* its head. Streaks of black light flickered across its surface, projecting a sense of vast, immeasurable power even from a distance. This was an Ancient Beast with combat strength comparable to a Nine-layered Venerable of the Law Dao.

With a wave of his hand, Zhaang Ye hurled something downward.

It was Gru’s Black Nest.

ROAR!

Struck by the Black Nest, the Ancient Beast let out an earth-shattering roar. A colossal amount of Magical Power billowed forth as its eyes instantly turned crimson. It fixed a deathly stare on the Abyssal Dwarves’ Black Nests. A moment later, the beast shot into the air, lunging toward the three pursuing fortresses.

Zhaang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this type of Ancient Beast wielded Magical Power, its intelligence was low. Having been struck by a Black Nest, it simply registered ’Black Nest’ as its enemy and attacked. With the beast intercepting their pursuers, Zhaang Ye’s situation became much less dire. This kind of Ancient Beast was incredibly tough; even with a thousand cannons firing at once, the Abyssal Dwarves would need some time to kill it.

And that little bit of time was exactly what Zhaang Ye needed.

Without any prompting from Zhaang Ye, the Fire Spirit pushed the Phoenix Battleship into a frantic acceleration.

One Hour later, a majestic mountain peak appeared before them—it was Two Realms Mountain.

The Phoenix Battleship plunged into Two Realms Mountain without a moment’s hesitation.

The Battleship had just vanished when the Abyssal Dwarves arrived. The three Black Nests hovered outside Two Realms Mountain for a while before finally abandoning the chase. As a subterranean race, the Abyssal Dwarves were all too aware of the dangers lurking within Two Realms Mountain. It was precisely because they knew the perils inside so well that they chose to give up.

-(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote with Recommendation Tickets or Monthly Passes at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)