Overlord of the Wilderness

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Breaking through to the True Dao Third Layer required not just the right Realm, but also immense power. The Celestial River Righteous Qi within Zhaang Ye surged forth, and this vast power erupted from his body, violently slamming into the walls of the cave dwelling. Under the impact of the Celestial River Righteous Qi, the entire dwelling began to shake, and large chunks of rock fell like raindrops!

CRACK!

The power of the Celestial River Righteous Qi was immense. Under its assault, the fragmented Ancient Array the Fire Spirit had set up outside immediately began to emit strange noises!

SWOOSH!

Seeing that the fragmented Ancient Array was about to be destroyed, the Fire Spirit suddenly flew out from the Little World. With a slight flicker of its will, several hundred Essence Stones flew up and settled into the Array. As the Essence Stones fell into place, the fragmented Array was temporarily stabilized, and the strange noises ceased.

A quarter of an hour later, an immense aura rose from Zhaang Ye’s body. Following this aura, a flower suddenly appeared above Zhaang Ye’s head. On this flower, the third petal had already formed and was halfway open. As soon as the third petal fully bloomed, Zhaang Ye would enter the True Dao Third Layer!

BOOM!

The moment the flower appeared, a vast power surged out, instantly destroying the Array. Sensing this surge of energy, the Essence Qi from a thousand-li radius began to flood madly toward Zhaang Ye, pouring ceaselessly into his body!

The frenzied influx of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi immediately caught someone’s attention. A hundred li away from Zhaang Ye’s cave dwelling, a middle-aged man in white suddenly appeared, a look of both shock and delight on his face.

The middle-aged man in white clenched his fists and growled, ”Junior, you’re finally coming out! This time, you’re dead. Let’s see where you run to!”

In order to successfully kill Zhaang Ye, the middle-aged man in white had cast aside everything else and waited here for a full eleven months. The days of waiting were not easy. Several times, he had been ready to blast the valley to pieces and force Zhaang Ye out. But considering Zhaang Ye’s formidable Body Technique, he had ultimately restrained himself, silently awaiting his target’s appearance.

His patience paid off. After waiting for eleven months, Zhaang Ye was finally about to emerge. That Alien Life was about to fall into his hands, and the day he would advance to the True Dao Fifth Layer was just around the corner!

The middle-aged man in white rose to his feet and headed straight for Zhaang Ye’s cave dwelling. His perception was exceptionally sharp; he knew Zhaang Ye was in the middle of a breakthrough, and he intended to strike and kill him during the process!

The middle-aged man’s Cultivation was profound. In just two or three steps, he crossed over a hundred li and appeared outside Zhaang Ye’s cave dwelling, his eyes fixed intently on the entrance.

’This brat really did set up an Array outside his dwelling! No wonder I couldn’t find him no matter how much I searched! Heh heh, this time, I’ll see how you die!’

A hint of killing intent flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes. He raised his palm, and a perfectly round Innate True Qi Ball suddenly appeared in his hand, spinning with a low rumble.

”Go!”

The Innate True Qi Ball transformed into a phantom image and shot toward the cave dwelling. This Innate True Qi Ball contained fifty percent of the middle-aged man’s power. The moment it entered the dwelling, it would automatically detonate, and the entire cliff would be blown to smithereens!

”An enemy!”

The moment the middle-aged man in white attacked, both Zhaang Ye and the Fire Spirit sensed immense danger. The Fire Spirit shot out from the Little World with a SWOOSH, appearing above Zhaang Ye’s head.

Over the past eleven months, the Fire Spirit’s strength had also increased rapidly. Its body had become more and more similar to a human’s. Its aura had also grown more terrifying, and even Zhaang Ye didn’t dare to carelessly touch the flames it produced.

The Fire Spirit said to Zhaang Ye, ”Master, the newcomer’s strength has reached the Late Stage of True Dao Fourth Layer. He’s incredibly powerful. Fortunately, my own strength has also improved greatly recently. Give me the Punishment Whip, and I can hold him off for a while!”

At that moment, Zhaang Ye was using the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi to open the third petal. Hearing the Fire Spirit’s request, he quickly replied in his mind, ”Good. The Punishment Whip is yours. Possess it immediately and tie up our opponent. You only need to hold him for a little while, and I’ll be able to advance to the True Dao Third Layer.”

WHOOSH!

At Zhaang Ye’s command, the Punishment Whip shot out from the Little World. The Fire Spirit gave a cry of assent and possessed the Punishment Whip like a flash of lightning. Under the Fire Spirit’s control, the Punishment Whip rapidly expanded until it was as thick as a water bucket, then swept out heavily as if it had a life of its own!

BOOM!

The Innate True Qi Ball launched by the middle-aged man in white was still dozens of zhang from the cave dwelling when the Punishment Whip struck it dead-on, causing it to explode violently.

”Hm?”

The middle-aged man’s gaze fixed on the Punishment Whip. His perception was extremely sharp; with a single glance, he identified the Punishment Whip as an Ancient True Artifact. But what caught his attention most was the Fire Spirit possessing it.

”Hahaha! It’s actually an alien creature born from flame! You little thing, you actually dared to come out! Don’t you know that you’re the one I’ve been looking for?” Seeing the Fire Spirit, the middle-aged man in white let out a long laugh as one of his hands suddenly shot out to grab it.

The middle-aged man’s strength was truly terrifying to the extreme. A casual grab carried an overwhelming momentum. His palm was clearly not large, yet in an instant, it had locked onto the thousand-zhang area around it. Under this grab, the entire thousand-zhang radius was within his control—there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!

Faced with such a terrifying attack, the Fire Spirit was completely unafraid. It was a life form that had lived for tens of thousands of years and had once possessed unparalleled power. Although it had now lost most of its strength, its perception and Spiritual Sense remained. The Fire Spirit might fear a Celestial Tribulation, but it had no fear of a human expert.

CRACK!

Under the Fire Spirit’s control, the Punishment Whip suddenly transformed into a Fire Phoenix dancing in the void. The Fire Phoenix flashed through the void, abruptly appearing beside the middle-aged man in white and coiling straight toward him!

”Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens!”

This was an Ancient Combat Skill that the Fire Spirit had comprehended from the Phoenix’s legacy. Once this Ancient Combat Skill was unleashed, flames danced within a thousand-zhang radius. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but azure fire.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The middle-aged man in white was far stronger than the Fire Spirit. But when the Fire Spirit combined with the Punishment Whip, the flames it produced were exceptionally terrifying, capable of easily igniting the very air. No matter how powerful the middle-aged man was, he didn’t dare let such flames touch him. Faced with the Fire Spirit’s fearsome attack, he had no choice but to use his Body Technique to swiftly evade.

Inside the cave dwelling, Zhaang Ye breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Fire Spirit had the middle-aged man in white firmly entangled. However, Zhaang Ye knew in his heart that this situation couldn’t last for long. The middle-aged man’s Cultivation was extremely high. Although he was temporarily suppressed by the Fire Spirit, once he became familiar with its Combat Skills, he would definitely find a way to counterattack.

Therefore, Zhaang Ye had to make the third petal bloom and break through to the True Dao Third Layer as quickly as possible.

WHIRRRR!

Zhaang Ye frantically absorbed the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. The Essence Qi from a thousand-li radius surged toward him like a mad tide. In the span of a few blinks, layers of dense Essence Qi had condensed around Zhaang Ye’s body. The extremely concentrated Essence Qi transformed into a liquid that was visible to the naked eye and tangible to the touch.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

Zhaang Ye absorbed it all frantically. A ceaseless stream of Essence Qi poured into his Meridians. Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation soared, and the aura around him grew increasingly fearsome.

The middle-aged man in white noticed Zhaang Ye’s condition, and his expression changed at once. He knew that the Cultivation Technique Zhaang Ye practiced was incredibly tyrannical. If he allowed Zhaang Ye to enter the Realm of True Dao Third Layer, his combat power would increase immensely. At that point, if Zhaang Ye and the Fire Spirit joined forces, even with his formidable strength, he would be forced to retreat!

SWOOSH!

The middle-aged man in white reached out and took out a black Long Sword. The sword looked ancient and unadorned, but its blade contained an incomparably terrifying aura. It was clearly no ordinary item.

With the sword in hand, the middle-aged man’s combat power instantly surged. He slashed his Long Sword, and hundreds of pitch-black Sword Gangs locked onto a several-li radius, forcefully knocking the Fire Spirit away. The middle-aged man pointed his Long Sword at the Fire Spirit and roared, ”Fire Spirit, I’ll give you one chance. Obediently acknowledge me as your master and submit to me! Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to use thunderous methods to grievously injure you and then take you away by force!”

The Fire Spirit remained silent, directing the Punishment Whip to continue its assault on the middle-aged man in white.

The middle-aged man in white sneered. The Long Sword in his hand stirred up a thousand layers of Gang Qi. Wave after wave of Sword Gang penetrated the Fire Spirit’s flames and struck the Punishment Whip fiercely. In an instant, the Fire Spirit’s situation became extremely perilous.

Zhaang Ye sensed the Fire Spirit’s danger. In his desperation, an idea suddenly came to him. With a flicker of his will, Zhaang Ye took out three hundred thousand Low-grade Essence Stones from his Little World, then sent his Celestial River Righteous Qi rolling ruthlessly over them!

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

The three hundred thousand Essence Stones were ruthlessly crushed by the Celestial River Righteous Qi, instantly exploding and releasing a massive amount of Essence Qi. This immense surge of Essence Qi flooded the entire cave dwelling like a series of waves. It was as if the dwelling had been submerged underwater, filled entirely with liquid-like Essence Qi!

Immersed in the dense Essence Qi, Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation began to skyrocket. In just a few blinks of an eye, the Three Flowers above his head emitted a dazzling azure light, and the third petal rapidly unfurled!

The True Dao Third Layer was finally achieved!

BOOM!

At almost the same instant, the Fire Spirit was struck viciously by the middle-aged man’s sword. It and the Punishment Whip were sent flying over ten thousand zhang, almost dissipating completely.

The middle-aged man in white was about to press his advantage and capture the Fire Spirit. Just then, Zhaang Ye’s eyes snapped open, and he bellowed, ”Old bastard, today is the day you die!”

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