Overlord of the Wilderness

At the highest point of Rising Sun Peak stood a sizable palace. Its outer walls were covered in ancient mountain vines, their dense growth decorating the entire palace in a sea of green. Amidst this verdant expanse, vibrant flowers bloomed in the sunlight. The gentle breeze carried their sweet fragrance, and rich Heaven and Earth Essence Qi washed over the body. It was truly a paradise on earth.

This palace was the main hall of Rising Sun Peak, named Chaoyang Hall. Chaoyang Hall directly faced the sun and had served as the place of Cultivation for all past Peak Masters of Rising Sun Peak.

In the main hall of the palace, Zhaang Ye sat imposingly on the main seat. Below him knelt three large men.

Zhaang Ye sized up the three men, a hint of coldness in his eyes.

On Rising Sun Peak, there were four Medicine Slaves left behind by the previous Peak Master, Galaxy. These four Medicine Slaves were in charge of the peak’s flowers, grasses, trees, and vines, respectively. The Medicine Slave in charge of flowers was named Boss Hua; the one for grasses was named Cao the Second; the one for trees was Mu the Third. Finally, the one in charge of vines was Teng the Fourth.

The four Medicine Slaves had been cultivating on Rising Sun Peak for twenty years, and their Cultivation had long since reached the Half-step True Dao Realm. Among them, Cao the Second’s Innate True Qi had reached ninety-eight percent, bringing him very close to the True Dao. The most powerful of them, Boss Hua, had long since reached ninety-nine percent Innate True Qi and was now in seclusion, attempting to break through to the True Dao Realm.

With Boss Hua in secluded Cultivation, the ones now kneeling before Zhaang Ye were Cao the Second, Mu the Third, and Teng the Fourth. After entering Rising Sun Peak, Zhaang Ye had immediately summoned Cao the Second and Teng the Fourth, but unexpectedly, the two of them only sauntered into the palace half a day later. This secretly infuriated Zhaang Ye. He called the three of them forward and gave them a harsh reprimand.

After a few words of reprimand, Zhaang Ye said slowly, ”Since I am the new master of this peak, you will obey my commands absolutely from now on. If I discover any of you feigning compliance or making excuses to obstruct my orders, I will not spare you! Do you understand?”

Cao the Second, Mu the Third, and Teng the Fourth felt the immense aura emanating from Zhaang Ye. They shuddered in unison and replied, ”Understood!”

Zhaang Ye waved a hand and said, ”For the past twenty years, you have managed the flowers, grasses, trees, and vines on this peak. Later, I want you to compile a report on the management and harvest of Rising Sun Peak’s flora. I will inspect it when I have time. Alright, you may go now.”

Cao the Second, Mu the Third, and Teng the Fourth stood up and silently walked out of the palace.

Zhaang Ye glanced at the three of them and sneered inwardly. ’I was injured quite badly in my fight with Mo Luo. I need to seize this time to heal my injuries, then quickly break through to the True Dao Realm. These slaves are definitely not subservient to me in their hearts. Once I reach the True Dao Realm, I’ll deal with all of them at once.’

Although the strength of Cao the Second, Mu the Third, and Teng the Fourth was decent, Zhaang Ye was still confident he could subdue them. The one he was truly wary of was Boss Hua, who was currently in seclusion.

When Zhaang Ye had passed by the small palace where Boss Hua was in seclusion, he had sensed a vast aura coalescing within. This aura was even more terrifying than Mo Luo’s. Even with his current strength, Zhaang Ye felt constrained and completely ill at ease in its presence.

Judging from this immense aura, Boss Hua’s Cultivation was infinitely close to the True Dao, and his combat strength was no weaker than Mo Luo’s. In his injured state, Zhaang Ye was not confident he could defeat Boss Hua.

Therefore, Zhaang Ye decided to let these Medicine Slaves off the hook for now. He planned to deal with them all at once after he cultivated to the True Dao Realm.

WHOOSH!

Zhaang Ye flicked his sleeve, and a gentle force surged out, slowly closing the great doors of Chaoyang Palace. He went to a jade bed, sat down cross-legged, and began silently circulating the Celestial River Righteous Qi within his body. The three types of Ancient Power inside him transformed, strand by strand, into Celestial River Righteous Qi, and the aura around him grew stronger and stronger.

Zhaang Ye had already refined ninety-seven percent of the Ancient Power in his body. As long as he completely refined the rest, he could rely on his pure Celestial River Righteous Qi to enter the True Dao Realm and become a Daoist Master.

The power of Celestial River Righteous Qi was far superior to ordinary Innate True Qi. Zhaang Ye estimated that if he could smoothly enter the True Dao Realm, his combat strength would definitely be greater than that of an ordinary True Dao First Layer expert. At that point, he would no longer have to be wary of the four Medicine Slaves.

「Outside the palace.」

As soon as Cao the Second, Mu the Third, and Teng the Fourth stepped out of the palace, their expressions turned grim, and a venomous look flickered in their eyes.

Mu the Third’s fists clenched with a CRACKING sound. He said menacingly, ”This Zhaang guy is too damn arrogant! The moment he arrives at Rising Sun Peak, he just reprimands us. He doesn’t even treat us like human beings!”

Teng the Fourth, on the other hand, had a worried expression. ”That Zhaang guy wants to inspect the records for the management and harvest of the flora. What are we going to do? For the past ten-plus years, we’ve used all the Spirit Elixirs on Rising Sun Peak for our own Cultivation. If he investigates, we’re all screwed!”

Hearing Teng the Fourth’s words, the expressions of both Cao the Second and Mu the Third changed slightly. After the previous Peak Master of Rising Sun Peak, Galaxy, disappeared, they had started acting as the masters of the peak themselves, using all the various Spirit Elixirs they cultivated for their own purposes. Now, they had no Spirit Elixirs to show for it!

Under these circumstances, Zhaang Ye only needed to do a cursory inspection for their theft of the Spirit Elixirs to be exposed. When that happened, Zhaang Ye would definitely not let them go!

Cao the Second pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, ”No need to panic! Let’s go find Boss Hua. As early as three years ago, his Cultivation was already infinitely close to the True Dao, and he could break through at any moment. As long as Boss Hua enters the True Dao Realm, no matter how arrogant Zhaang Ye is, he won’t be able to do anything to us. On the contrary, when the time comes, we can knock him down a peg and show him what we’re made of.”

Mu the Third and Teng the Fourth’s eyes lit up. Mu the Third gave a sinister laugh and said, ”In the Barbaric World, the strong are respected! If Boss Hua becomes a Daoist Master, even Zhaang Ye won’t be able to touch us! GAGA, when Boss Hua enters the True Dao Realm, we can humiliate Zhaang Ye viciously, then follow the Boss and leave Rising Sun Peak!”

The three exchanged a look, then simultaneously executed their Body Techniques and quickly arrived outside a small palace. This small palace was built on the eastern side of Rising Sun Peak, its gates facing the rising sun. Cultivating while seated inside would offer a perfect view of the magnificent sunrise.

Arriving outside the palace, Cao the Second took a shallow breath and said in a low voice, ”Boss Hua, the three of us have something to ask of you. We request an audience.”

An almost tangible aura emanated from the palace. Then, a voice came from inside, saying, ”I already know why you’ve come. Come in.”

The three walked cautiously into the palace. In its depths, they saw a scrawny man sitting cross-legged, silently cultivating. Around his body, dense Essence Qi, so thick it was almost tangible, slowly poured into him. With this infusion of Essence Qi, the scrawny man’s Cultivation was rising bit by bit.

This unassuming, scrawny man was none other than the leader of Rising Sun Peak’s four Medicine Slaves, the Flower Slave, Boss Hua.

Boss Hua glanced at them indifferently. His gaze was so substantial it made their hearts leap. Retracting his gaze, he said slowly, ”Galaxy has been missing for eighteen years. Just now, I sensed a stranger passing by outside the palace. Does our Rising Sun Peak have a new master?”

Cao the Second nodded respectfully and said, ”That is correct! This new kid is named Zhaang Ye. He’s extremely arrogant and doesn’t give us any respect. First, he reprimanded us, and now he’s preparing to inspect the management and harvest records of the flora. After thinking it over, we realized our only option was to come find you, Boss Hua.”

Boss Hua was silent for a moment before speaking indifferently, ”You don’t need to worry. I have already touched the threshold of the True Dao and have a sixty percent certainty of breaking through. If all goes smoothly, I will be able to enter the True Dao Realm within six months. At that point, even if Zhaang Ye is the master of the peak, he won’t be able to do anything to us. Alright, return to your duties now. I must continue my Cultivation.”

Cao the Second, Mu the Third, and Teng the Fourth respectfully bowed to Boss Hua, then cautiously exited the palace. Standing outside, the three of them burst into laughter.

Cao the Second chuckled slyly. ”Since the Boss is so confident about reaching the True Dao, I have nothing to worry about. There’s no way I’m letting that Zhaang guy get his hands on the Spirit Elixirs we’ve worked so hard to cultivate!

”Heh heh, the Celestial Star Spirit Grass I’ve been cultivating has ripened. I’m going to go right now, harvest all nine stalks of Celestial Star Spirit Grass, and then slowly eat them all, heh heh heh heh.”

Mu the Third let out a strange GAGA laugh. ”Exactly! The Purple Thunder Spirit Tree I’ve been cultivating bore a fruit three years ago. It’s about to ripen now. GAGA, I’m going to quickly pick that fruit and use it for my Cultivation. A Purple Thunder Spirit Fruit is a Ninth Grade Spirit Fruit. Using it for Cultivation should increase my Cultivation level by quite a bit!”

Teng the Fourth nodded as well. ”Heh heh, the Ink Leaf Spirit Vine I cultivated produced two Ink Leaf Spirit Fruits two years ago. They aren’t fully ripe yet, but I can’t be bothered with that now. I’m going to go pick them right away. I hope these two Spirit Fruits can raise my Cultivation a little!”

The three let out a long laugh in unison, then executed their respective Body Techniques and headed toward their Spirit Fields.

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