Overlord of the Wilderness

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BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Not long after the Fourth Hall Master left, the second wave of Barbaric Beasts arrived. There were nine in this wave, and each one possessed the combat strength of an expert at the Early-stage True Dao Third Layer.

An ordinary expert of the True Dao Third Layer wouldn’t have dared to face so many Barbaric Beasts alone. But Zhaang Ye, relying on his elusive Wind Realm, felt no fear. He took on the second wave of Barbaric Beasts all by himself.

Zhaang Ye’s fighting style was one of surprise attacks. He relied on his elusive Wind Realm to stealthily approach a Barbaric Beast before lashing out at its vitals. Powered by his Celestial River Righteous Qi, the Punishment Whip’s attacks were even more formidable than a full-force strike from a Late-stage True Dao Third Layer expert. Even the tough-hided Barbaric Beasts couldn’t withstand a single blow. Zhaang Ye cracked his whip fifteen times in succession, instantly killing five of the beasts.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The four remaining Barbaric Beasts had combat strength comparable to the Mid-stage True Dao Third Layer. After being struck by Zhaang Ye’s whip, a savage aura erupted from them, and all four self-destructed. The immense power unleashed by their detonation shook the very land for hundreds of miles.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

Zhaang Ye had expended over half of his Celestial River Righteous Qi to deliver those fifteen lashes, and his combat effectiveness had plummeted. Caught in the beasts’ self-destruction, even with his comprehension of the Wind Realm, he was still hit by the shockwave. He instantly spat out several mouthfuls of blood as the skin all over his body was rent by countless cracks. He was a truly gruesome sight.

’The power of a Barbaric Beast’s self-destruction is terrifying!’

Zhaang Ye looked down at his wounds, a flicker of lingering fear on his face. When those four Barbaric Beasts detonated, he knew that if he had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, he would have been blown to smithereens.

After a quick check of his injuries, Zhaang Ye hurried back to the battlefield and extracted the Inner Cores from the five dead beasts. With the cores secured, he gazed at the mountain of carcasses, then took out his Mysterious Blade Tip. He systematically carved off the valuable materials from each beast and stored them in his Little World.

Besides their valuable Inner Cores, a Barbaric Beast’s horns, scales, hide, and sinew were all extremely useful materials that could be sold for a considerable sum. The Fourth Hall Master of the Wei Kingdom True Hall possessed only a pitifully small Space Bag, so even when they killed Barbaric Beasts, he couldn’t take these materials with him. Zhaang Ye’s Little World, however, was a thousand zhang in circumference. It could easily hold over a hundred Barbaric Beasts, so storing some Barbaric Beast Materials was child’s play.

”Master, this is some excellent stuff,” the Fire Spirit commented, watching batch after batch of Barbaric Beast Materials get tossed into the Little World.

Zhaang Ye chuckled. ”This should be exchangeable for a few Essence Stones. To keep the Little World running smoothly, I’m going to have to scavenge like mad. I won’t let anything valuable get away.”

The Fire Spirit floated out of the Little World and looked at the mountain of corpses on the ground. It said excitedly, ”The flesh and blood of these Barbaric Beasts contain immense Essence Power! Master, you can throw them into the Little World and let their bodies merge with it. That would save you a lot of Essence Stones.”

”Oh? That’s possible?” Zhaang Ye was both shocked and delighted. ’The most plentiful thing near this spatial fissure in the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range is Barbaric Beasts. If their flesh and blood can be used in place of Essence Stones, nothing could be better!’

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s doubtful expression, the Fire Spirit said proudly, ”Absolutely! I was formed from the blood of an Ancient Phoenix and inherited many Secret Techniques from the Phoenix Race. There’s one Secret Technique that can rapidly decompose the corpses of Barbaric and Spirit Beasts, making the soil of a Little World incredibly fertile. Even though my strength is low right now, I can just barely manage to perform it!”

Zhaang Ye was overjoyed. ”Excellent, excellent! With this Secret Technique, I’ll be able to save a fortune in Essence Stones. I’ll move the flesh and blood of these beasts into the Little World right now!”

True to his word, Zhaang Ye began to quickly move chunks of Barbaric Beast flesh into the Small Space. The Fire Spirit watched the piles of flesh and blood, then abruptly transformed into an azure sun. Strange rays of light shone down upon the carnage. Under the light’s irradiation, the beast flesh slowly decomposed, and the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi within the Little World gradually grew richer.

”Yes!”

Watching the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi in his Little World slowly grow denser, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but let out a triumphant roar.

After moving most of the flesh into the Small Space, Zhaang Ye left a small portion behind to continue attracting more Barbaric Beasts for him to slaughter.

...

While Zhaang Ye was slaughtering the beasts, the Fourth Hall Master was sitting cross-legged atop a small hill hundreds of miles away, silently recuperating. Hearing the four colossal booms from the distance, the Fourth Hall Master couldn’t help but shudder. He laughed and muttered a curse, ”That brat, Zhaang Ye, actually forced four Barbaric Beasts to self-destruct! His combat power is just too monstrous!”

After his laughing curse, a look of delight appeared on the Fourth Hall Master’s face.

’Zhaang Ye’s combat power is so immense,’ he thought. ’With his help, not only can I clear out the Barbaric Beasts quickly, but I can also obtain a good number of Barbaric Beast Cores. With those cores and the time to cultivate, my hopes of breaking through to the Late-stage True Dao Third Layer are very high.’

At this thought, the Fourth Hall Master seized the opportunity to continue restoring his Innate True Qi.

However, he had only been cultivating for thirty minutes when the strange howls of Barbaric Beasts once again echoed from the distance. Apparently, the scent of blood from the slaughtered beasts had attracted a third wave.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just as the Fourth Hall Master was feeling secretly aghast, several agonized shrieks from the beasts reached him from afar. The shrieks were followed by several more deafening booms. It was clear that Zhaang Ye had forced more beasts to self-destruct. The ground for hundreds of miles around was shaken so violently that fissures spiderwebbed across it. Even with the Fourth Hall Master’s exceptional focus, he couldn’t possibly cultivate peacefully under such an onslaught.

Fortunately, it seemed Zhaang Ye’s Celestial River Righteous Qi was nearly depleted. For the next several hours, the only sounds for hundreds of miles were the howling of Barbaric Beasts and the frenzied noise of them feeding. This finally gave the Fourth Hall Master a relatively calm environment to properly restore his Innate True Qi.

But the Fourth Hall Master’s peaceful cultivation was shattered again five hours later. A new round of bloodcurdling screams from the Barbaric Beasts echoed from hundreds of miles away. It was impossible to know what terrifying thing the massive, tough-hided beasts had encountered, but they let out inhuman cries, like young maidens being brutally tormented.

CHIRP! CHIRP!

GRUMBLE! RUMBLE!

CROAK! CROAK! CROAK!

The utterly tragic sounds carried over, one after another. Even with the Fourth Hall Master’s composure, hearing such miserable and bizarre noises made his scalp tingle.

’That brat Zhaang Ye... I have no idea what kind of methods he’s using to make the Barbaric Beasts scream so miserably!’ the Fourth Hall Master couldn’t help but wonder, his curiosity reaching its peak.

For the next several hours, agonizing screams constantly drifted from the distance. There was no telling how many Barbaric Beasts Zhaang Ye had killed. The entire region for hundreds of miles around was saturated with the thick stench of blood, which in turn attracted even more beasts. The sounds of fighting, of flesh being torn, of detonations, and of wretched screams were simply incessant.

Twelve hours later, the Fourth Hall Master finally restored his Innate True Qi completely. He sped forward, rushing to the battlefield in one breath, and when he arrived, he gasped in shock.

Before him, the ground for several miles was covered in a flowing layer of Barbaric Beast blood. Corpses and severed limbs were strewn everywhere. Red blood, white brain matter, green sinews, and purple eyeballs... A single glance was enough to make one feel they had arrived in the Asura Realm. Even with the Fourth Hall Master’s vast experience, the sight made his scalp crawl.

Zhaang Ye was crouched amidst the carnage, hacking open a beast’s corpse with powerful strokes to retrieve its Inner Core and other materials, his own body drenched in blood. Sensing his master’s arrival, he spoke without looking up. ”Master, you’ve recovered your Innate True Qi! Perfect timing. I just killed another batch of beasts. Can you help me take out their Inner Cores?”

The Fourth Hall Master surveyed the surroundings and said with a wry smile, ”Zhaang Ye, just how many of these things did you kill? I think you’ve scared every Barbaric Beast for a hundred miles. They don’t even dare to come here anymore!”

Zhaang Ye chuckled. ”Probably over fifty. Master, this place is fantastic! The Barbaric Beasts just keep serving themselves up on a platter. It’s a perfect place to train!”

”A perfect place to train?” The Fourth Hall Master couldn’t help but give another wry smile. ’Near this spatial fissure, all sorts of terrifying Barbaric Beasts emerge endlessly, and there’s a severe lack of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi for cultivation. An ordinary True Dao Expert who comes here can’t make any progress in their Cultivation because they can’t absorb any Heaven and Earth Essence Qi.’

’Furthermore, Barbaric Beast Cores are incredibly difficult to obtain. That’s why, after several hundred years of cultivation, my own Cultivation has remained stuck, unable to break through to the Late-stage True Dao Third Layer. Only someone like Zhaang Ye, with his monstrous combat power and equally formidable physical strength, could thrive here like a fish in water and actually think this is a good place.’

The Fourth Hall Master knew the next wave of beasts would arrive soon. He drew a long, gleaming blade and quickly got to work, helping Zhaang Ye extract the Inner Cores from the carcasses.

The Fourth Hall Master extracted a total of ten Barbaric Beast Cores. He handed them to Zhaang Ye, but Zhaang Ye waved them away. ”Master, there are plenty of Barbaric Beasts, and plenty of Inner Cores. We’ll continue working together, and we’ll have another batch of cores soon. Please, take these ten cores as a gift from your disciple.”

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s magnanimous air, the Fourth Hall Master was struck speechless for a moment before breaking into a laugh. A heroic spirit welled up inside him, and he declared loudly, ”Excellent! Excellent! Let’s continue slaughtering these beasts and gathering their cores!” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)