Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the corpse, which had been burned to a charred husk.

The power of a True Dao Third Layer expert was far beyond what Zhaang Ye had imagined. Without the Fire Spirit’s intervention, he could have defeated Jiangqian Mountain at best, but killing him would have been utterly impossible.

The flames emanating from the Fire Spirit had also weakened, a clear sign that it had paid a considerable price. The Fire Spirit had already sacrificed the vast majority of its power, leaving behind only a single, essential wisp of flame. Although this wisp was incredibly potent, it was ultimately too faint. After exerting itself to kill Jiangqian Mountain, it had been wounded as well.

The Fire Spirit wobbled over and said, ”I need to return to the Small Space and use that Phoenix Tree Branch to recover. Just call me if you need anything.”

The Phoenix Tree Branch that Zhaang Ye had taken from the Little World contained a rich supply of Ancient Phoenix Power. The Fire Spirit was formed from Phoenix Blood, making this Ancient Phoenix Power extremely beneficial to it. Using the branch to heal its injuries was the perfect solution.

After the Fire Spirit slipped into the Small Space, Zhaang Ye’s Spiritual Sense swept over Jiangqian Mountain’s corpse. In an instant, he located a dark gray pouch on the body—it was Jiangqian Mountain’s Storage Pouch.

Zhaang Ye’s eyes lit up as he looked at the Storage Bag. Jiangqian Mountain’s Cultivation had reached the Realm of True Dao Third Layer, making him a renowned expert in the region. ’An expert of his caliber and status must have collected a great many treasures.’

WHOOSH!

Zhaang Ye gave a slight wave of his hand, and the Storage Pouch flew into his grasp. He felt a faint Spiritual Brand on it; Jiangqian Mountain had clearly refined it, meaning only he could open it. For Zhaang Ye to use the Storage Bag, he would first have to erase that Spiritual Brand and then refine the bag for himself.

Spiritual Brands varied in strength. If this had been a brand left behind by an Ancient powerhouse, Zhaang Ye would have been completely unable to erase it. Fortunately, Jiangqian Mountain’s Spiritual Brand wasn’t particularly powerful. Zhaang Ye spent just over ten breaths of time to successfully wipe it away and leave his own in its place.

When Zhaang Ye’s Spiritual Sense entered the Storage Bag, his eyes immediately lit up.

The space inside this Storage Bag was quite large, a cube measuring ten zhang on each side. Neatly arranged within were over four hundred thousand Low-grade Essence Stones, more than a hundred bottles of Elixirs, and three Barbaric Beast Cores.

The Storage Bag also contained two strange yellow Talismans, a Cultivation Secret Manual titled *Profound Ice True Technique*, and a small pile of assorted trinkets. Among these items, a pale cyan stone slab, about the size of two palms, particularly caught Zhaang Ye’s interest.

WHOOSH!

With a mere thought, Zhaang Ye willed the pale cyan stone slab to fly out of the pouch and into his hand. A mysterious and unfathomable aura instantly emanated from it.

”Excellent! It really is a World Stone!”

Zhaang Ye sized up the World Stone in his hand, his heart filled with joy. Although this World Stone was just a fragment, it was still larger than the first one he had obtained. ’With a piece like this,’ he thought, ’my Small Space is sure to grow even larger.’

Zhaang Ye tossed the World Stone fragment into his Small Space and asked the Fire Spirit, ”With this piece, how much larger can my Small Space get?”

The Fire Spirit examined it carefully before replying, ”That’s a bit difficult to estimate. If I’m not mistaken, it should be able to expand the radius of your Small Space fivefold. In other words, your Small Space will have a radius of two hundred and fifty zhang.”

”A radius of two hundred and fifty zhang... that’s excellent.” A smile spread across Zhaang Ye’s face. Once the Small Space expanded to that size, its storage capacity would increase by more than a hundredfold.

Zhaang Ye was extremely satisfied with this figure. After all, even a powerful expert like Jiangqian Mountain had a Storage Bag with a space of only ten zhang cubed, which was nothing compared to Zhaang Ye’s Small Space. Zhaang Ye estimated that even the storage bags used by Sect Elder Level figures probably didn’t have a radius of two hundred fifty zhang.

Only after transferring the Essence Stones, Elixirs, and other items into his Small Space did Zhaang Ye notice a wave of discomfort spreading through his body. It turned out that Jiangqian Mountain’s Profound Ice Qi was incredibly pervasive. Despite his tough physique, Zhaang Ye had been seriously injured in the fight.

With a resigned sigh, Zhaang Ye sat down cross-legged and began to expel the Profound Ice Qi from his body. Jiangqian Mountain’s Profound Ice Qi was bizarre, unpredictable, and exceedingly potent. Even Zhaang Ye’s incredibly powerful Celestial River Righteous Qi couldn’t purge it instantly. A full day passed before he finally managed to completely drive the invading Profound Ice Qi out of his system.

Having purged the Profound Ice Qi, Zhaang Ye stood up, intending to leave.

As he flew into the sky, Zhaang Ye glanced back at the vast, snowy landscape. A thought suddenly struck him. ’Jiangqian Mountain had clearly found a World Stone fragment, yet he didn’t leave. It seems likely there are other fragments within this thousand-li radius. That must be why he stayed!’

He grew excited at the thought. He called out to the Fire Spirit, ”Fire Spirit, there are probably more World Stone fragments within this thousand-li radius. Pause your healing for a moment and help me search.”

The Fire Spirit was an extraordinary entity. Formed from Phoenix Blood and with a body born of a volcano, its Spiritual Sense was incredibly powerful. Even having lost the vast majority of its strength, the Fire Spirit’s Spiritual Sense still far surpassed Zhaang Ye’s. A World Stone fragment buried a thousand zhang underground could not escape its detection.

Hearing Zhaang Ye’s request, the Fire Spirit said, ”Alright. To be honest, I also suspected there might be other fragments in this thousand-li area. Jiangqian Mountain expended immense effort to freeze this several-hundred-li radius into a world of ice and snow. That was actually a method of searching. He likely detected other World Stone fragments, which is why he was putting in so much effort.”

Zhaang Ye and the Fire Spirit began to meticulously search the thousand-li area.

The search indeed yielded results. On the second day, the Fire Spirit discovered a second World Stone fragment at a depth of over one thousand five hundred zhang. This piece was only half the size of a palm; without the Fire Spirit’s help, even an expert at the True Dao Fifth Layer, or perhaps even the Sixth Layer, would have been unable to find it.

On the third day, Zhaang Ye expanded the search area and was rewarded again. He discovered a palm-sized World Stone at a depth of over two hundred zhang.

All in all, Zhaang Ye had now obtained a total of three World Stone fragments from the Python Marsh. According to the Fire Spirit’s estimate, these three fragments were enough to form a Small Space with a radius of a thousand zhang. If all went well, they could even form a miniature world, one where things could be grown.

Overjoyed at finding two more World Stone fragments in succession, Zhaang Ye expanded the search radius to two thousand li. However, despite his efforts, he couldn’t find a single additional piece.

Zhaang Ye shook his head. He knew the remaining World Stone fragments had likely been swallowed by a Space Storm. He abandoned the search and headed for the Ten Thousand Volcanoes.

Many wondrous powers existed in the Barbaric World, but among them, only the Power of Space could create new space. To expand his Little World, Zhaang Ye had no choice but to return once more to the Ten Thousand Volcanoes and enter the Spatial Array there.

「Five days later.」

With a loud RUMBLE, the Fire Spirit successfully borrowed the power of the Spatial Array, expanding Zhaang Ye’s Small Space to a radius of over one thousand zhang.

Inside the Small Space, Zhaang Ye surveyed his surroundings with satisfaction. ”Excellent! The Small Space has finally reached a radius of one thousand and eight zhang. Fire Spirit, can it form a miniature world now?”

The Fire Spirit surveyed the Small Space, exceptionally excited. Having crafted this space with its own hands, it felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Hearing Zhaang Ye’s question, it replied without hesitation, ”One thousand and eight zhang is enough to form the very smallest of worlds. Let’s go outside. First, we’ll find some soil and water to bring in, and then I’ll see if I can get this Little World to run in a self-sustaining cycle.”

Zhaang Ye left the Ten Thousand Volcanoes. Finding a plain, he moved a plot of earth dozens of zhang wide into the Little World. Then, he went to a small river and diverted some of its water inside as well.

Upon entering the Little World, he saw that the Fire Spirit had transformed into a small, cyan sun. It hung high in the sky, emitting rays of cyan light that illuminated the entire world.

Zhaang Ye watched with rapt attention.

Under the Fire Spirit’s light, the water on the ground slowly evaporated, forming faint clouds. The clouds grew denser and thicker until, finally, it began to rain. Standing on the patch of earth, Zhaang Ye could feel a vibrant life force surging from the ground beneath his feet as the green grass slowly began to grow.

At that moment, the Fire Spirit’s voice rang out. ”Master, the Little World has just formed. It has no Heaven and Earth Essence Qi of its own, nor can it absorb Essence Qi from the outside world. If you want the Little World to thrive with life and for Spirit Elixirs to grow quickly, you have to use Essence Stones. I’m about to use some of yours!”

Zhaang Ye asked, ”How many?”

The Fire Spirit replied, ”Let’s start with two hundred thousand.”

Zhaang Ye felt a pang in his heart, but he gritted his teeth and said, ”Fine. Use them!”

The words had barely left his mouth when the Essence Stones piled in the Small Space began to shatter one after another. As they burst apart, a rich Essence Qi flooded the Little World, stirring up gusts of wind. Zhaang Ye felt the green grass at his feet begin to grow with astonishing speed, far faster than normal!

The Fire Spirit’s voice rang out again. ”It’s done. The Little World is now operational. Within this world, I can create sunlight and rain, sunrise and sunset, Wind Rises and Clouds Move—all part of a complete cycle. However, two hundred thousand Essence Stones will only be enough to keep it barely running. If you want to plant things like Spirit Elixirs, you’ll have to continuously feed it more Essence Stones.”

-----(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)