Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye ignored the white-robed youth’s furious roars, flying straight ahead at top speed. After flying for several thousand miles, he finally could no longer hear the sharp cries of the Fire Crows. Only then did Zhaang Ye sigh in relief, slowly descending onto a volcano to tend to his injuries.

When the white-robed youth had unleashed that heaven-shattering palm strike, even the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi had been stirred. Zhaang Ye had taken the blow head-on, and his internal organs were immediately and severely injured. What was worse, the youth’s Profound Ice Qi had surged into Zhaang Ye’s Meridians. This Profound Ice Qi was incredibly potent; in just an instant, it had frozen his Meridians and body solid.

Fortunately, Zhaang Ye’s body was exceptionally tough, and he possessed both Ancient Dragon Power and Ancient Elephant Power. Otherwise, he never would have been able to escape the youth’s pursuit after being injured.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Zhaang Ye came to the edge of a lava pool and swallowed several Elixirs in one go. He then began circulating his Cultivation Technique to expel the Profound Ice Qi from his body. The Profound Ice Qi had almost completely frozen his True Qi, but Zhaang Ye still had his Ancient Dragon Power and Ancient Elephant Power. It only took him three days to completely devour the Profound Ice Qi inside him.

For the next nine days, Zhaang Ye circulated his True Qi to slowly repair his internal organs. By the end of it, his internal injuries were fully healed, and he had made a complete recovery. Despite the considerable pain of being injured and then recovering, his Cultivation had also improved slightly.

Surveying the endless volcanoes, a thought suddenly crossed Zhaang Ye’s mind. ’Since I’m already in the core of the Ten Thousand Volcanoes, I might as well search for the legendary site of the Phoenix Nirvana. That’s right, the legendary Ancient Space Array is also supposed to be within the Ten Thousand Volcanoes. If I can find just one of them, this trip will have been well worth it.’

Having made up his mind, Zhaang Ye spent the following days slowly searching the area while consulting his map.

The core of the Ten Thousand Volcanoes had an astonishing number of volcanoes, every single one an actively erupting one. The crimson lava, black volcanic ash, thick poisonous smoke, and terrifyingly high temperatures made it difficult for even Zhaang Ye to adapt. In this environment, he had to constantly release his True Qi to form a thin True Qi Wall to block the dreadful heat. At the same time, he had to hold his breath and breathe bit by bit through his skin, lest the ubiquitous poisonous smoke invade his body.

In such conditions, True Qi was consumed at every moment. Even a master at the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Layer couldn’t last long here. Fortunately, Zhaang Ye possessed two kinds of power: True Qi and Dragon Elephant Power. By circulating them alternately, he was able to endure.

After searching for half a month, Zhaang Ye fixed his gaze on an immense volcano. This volcano was two hundred thousand zhang high and covered a radius of thousands of miles. Its crimson body jutted up from the ground, looking like a blood-red pillar connecting to the heavens from a distance, a sight that shook one’s Heart Spirit.

Having confirmed the location, Zhaang Ye no longer hesitated and began walking step by step toward the massive volcano.

Upon entering the core of the Ten Thousand Volcanoes, Zhaang Ye became extremely cautious. He knew that an Ancient Space Array possessed unimaginable power, capable of sealing the heavens and the earth. If he were to fly through the air and accidentally run into a Spatial Array, he would be torn to shreds.

Walking on the ground step by step was more troublesome, but it was much safer.

Zhaang Ye walked for three days, covering just a little over sixty miles. On the fourth day, he suddenly heard a familiar sound—CAW! CAW! CAW!

With the cawing, over a hundred Fire Crows suddenly flew out from a lava pool ahead. These Fire Crows were as large as millstones, with wingspans of over a zhang, and their bodies were wreathed in raging flames. The moment they saw Zhaang Ye, the flock of Fire Crows began to caw as they charged at him.

If there had been thousands or tens of thousands of Fire Crows, Zhaang Ye would have immediately turned and fled to save his own skin. But a mere hundred-odd Fire Crows were nothing he was concerned about. He waited until they were within ten zhang of him before he unleashed his Mountain-Breaking Slash, striking out with his blade.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

These charging Fire Crows were equivalent to Martial Arts Eighth Layer masters, and their flames were exceptionally powerful. But Zhaang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash was incredibly mighty. When he struck, a Tornado and Devouring Power surged forth. Before the Fire Crows could even get close, they were slain one by one.

CAW CAW CAW—

Zhaang Ye struck again and again, quickly slaying dozens of Fire Crows. Just as the flock was about to be wiped out, a loud, piercing cry erupted from the lava pool. A massive Fire Crow with a wingspan of two to three zhang suddenly flew out, shooting toward Zhaang Ye like a meteor.

’Hm? This Fire Crow is equivalent to a master at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Ninth Layer!’ Zhaang Ye was slightly alarmed. He suddenly thrust out his palm, and an immense force struck the Fire Crow squarely. With a strange cry, the massive bird was instantly killed.

CAW! When the large Fire Crow was killed by Zhaang Ye, the remaining ones let out a strange cry and fled with a great clamor.

Zhaang Ye didn’t give chase and continued forward. But he had only walked a few hundred zhang when the cawing sound returned from above. A blood-red cloud pressed down on him! It turned out the Fire Crows that had fled had called for a large number of reinforcements to get their revenge!

This flock contained at least a thousand Fire Crows. Even for someone as bold and skilled as Zhaang Ye, facing such a massive swarm made his expression change. Before the Fire Crows swooped down, he quickly scanned his surroundings, then punched a nearby stone wall, creating a hole several zhang deep, and hid inside.

He had just hidden in the hole when the Fire Crows’ attack arrived. One by one, the birds dove at Zhaang Ye like meteors from beyond the heavens, wreathed in raging flames. The sheer momentum was like a volcanic eruption, igniting the air for miles around!

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Zhaang Ye held his ground firmly at the entrance of the cave, methodically slaying the diving Fire Crows with slash after slash. Although there were many of them, their individual strength wasn’t that great. He killed as many as came at him. Soon, the ground was densely littered with their corpses.

After a full day and night, Zhaang Ye had killed most of the flock. Seeing they could do nothing to him, the remaining Fire Crows circled in the air for a while before flying away resentfully.

Having to simultaneously resist the high temperatures and poisonous smoke while fighting the Fire Crows was taking its toll. Even with his abundant True Qi and powerful body, Zhaang Ye found it hard to bear. Seeing the Fire Crows leave, he reached out, grabbed one of their corpses, tore it open, and drank the blood from within.

Fire Crows grew up in volcanoes, but they still had a small amount of blood in their bodies. The blood had a metallic taste and was extremely unpleasant to drink. But Zhaang Ye couldn’t be picky now. To quickly recover his stamina, he had to drink it down, no matter how awful it tasted.

This volcano was over two hundred thousand zhang tall, and he had encountered so many Fire Crows after traveling just over sixty miles. Zhaang Ye felt this journey would be anything but easy. Just as he expected, in the days that followed, he spent nearly every moment in battle. Every day, thousands of Fire Crows would attack him. The most dangerous encounter involved ten thousand Fire Crows appearing at once, swarming him like a suffocating blanket. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Zhaang Ye took out the mysterious Blade Tip and unleashed his Dragon Elephant Power, finally scaring the flock away.

Within the Ten Thousand Volcanoes, crimson lava flowed endlessly, making it impossible to distinguish day from night. Zhaang Ye lost track of time and forgot about rest, spending his days in constant battle and travel. The repeated life-or-death struggles brought about a huge Transformation in his disposition. He became much leaner, and his gaze grew as sharp as a blade, filled with a chilling killing intent. Every muscle and bone in his body seemed to have been forged from metal, brimming with explosive power that could be unleashed with earth-shattering force at any moment.

As his physical form changed, Zhaang Ye’s True Qi and Combat Skills also grew more formidable through the constant battles. Honed by one fight after another, his True Qi was slowly improving and was now extremely close to the Martial Arts Ninth Layer Middle Stage. Even his Dragon Elephant Skill showed faint signs of a breakthrough. With a period of quiet Cultivation, he would very likely break through to the Mid-stage Sixth Layer.

His greatest progress, however, was in his Combat Skill: Mountain-Breaking Slash. Through repeated tempering, this technique had actually absorbed thirty-five percent of the Space Storm’s Realm. Its power was now far greater than before. He could kill a Fire Crow equivalent to the Martial Arts Ninth Layer Middle Stage with a single slash. Even against a Fire Crow on par with the Late-stage Martial Arts Ninth Layer, Zhaang Ye could finish it within five slashes. His strength had increased by a huge margin.

On this day, Zhaang Ye killed a Fire Snake that was dozens of zhang long and crossed a huge platform. At that moment, he sensed something unusual up ahead. Alarmed, he looked up toward the volcano’s peak. There, on the summit about thirty miles away, stood an ancient black stone tablet.

The black stone tablet looked as if it were naturally formed. It was a thousand zhang tall, and upon it were carved five grim, massive words: ”Seal Heaven, Lock Earth, Suppression of the Void.” A vast, primordial aura of the ancient Wilderness washed over him from a distance. Just a single glance made him feel as if he had been transported to the ancient Wilderness, where a grim air of slaughter descended upon him. An indescribably great power left Zhaang Ye completely stunned.

After staring blankly for a long while, Zhaang Ye finally came to his senses. A look of joy appeared in his eyes. ’Seal Heaven, Lock Earth, Suppression of the Void! It seems this black stone tablet marks the location of the Ancient Space Array! I hope this Ancient Space Array can open up a Small Space within the Boundary Stone!’ (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)