Overlord of the Wilderness

The distance between Zhaang Ye and Ba Xiongfei was a mere dozen or so li, a gap that could be crossed in the blink of an eye. Seeing that Ba Xiongfei refused to move, Zhaang Ye’s heart turned cold. “You’re asking to die!” he said icily.

VMM!

Zhaang Ye’s figure suddenly vanished.

The Flower King was in hot pursuit from behind. Zhaang Ye had to kill Ba Xiongfei to escape him. To end the fight quickly, Zhaang Ye unleashed his Cloud-Breaking Slash for the third time.

When Ba Xiongfei saw Zhaang Ye’s figure vanish, he subconsciously raised his guard, releasing a thick layer of Protective Gang Qi. His reaction was fast, but Zhaang Ye’s Cloud-Breaking Slash was faster. The moment Ba Xiongfei’s Protective Gang Qi appeared, Zhaang Ye’s Broken Wave Saber had already arrived.

KRSSSHHH!

Moving at an inconceivable speed, the Broken Wave Saber shattered Ba Xiongfei’s Protective Gang Qi and slashed into his upper body.

Ba Xiongfei never imagined Zhaang Ye could unleash such an earth-shattering saber technique. He only managed to fully react as the Broken Wave Saber struck his body.

ROAR!

A brilliant golden light erupted from Ba Xiongfei’s body, which began to exude a metallic aura. In an instant, his flesh and blood body hardened, becoming ten times tougher than ordinary steel!

The Golden Realm—Defense!

In that split second between life and death, Ba Xiongfei frantically erupted with power. He unleashed the full might of his Golden Realm, hoping his formidable physical body could withstand Zhaang Ye’s heaven-shaking slash!

PFFT!

Ba Xiongfei’s efforts were doomed to fail. Infused with Celestial River Righteous Qi, the Broken Wave Saber was simply unstoppable. The combination of its sharp edge and terrifying speed gave it a destructive power far beyond Ba Xiongfei’s imagination. With a soft sound, the blade swept through his body, brutally slicing him in two.

Ba Xiongfei stared at the blood trickling down from between his eyebrows, his eyes filled with deep regret. His Cultivation had reached the True Dao Sixth Layer. Although he hadn’t yet consolidated it, his Golden Realm brought his combat strength close to that of a True Dao Seventh Layer expert.

If he had been more cautious, even Zhaang Ye’s Cloud-Breaking Slash might not have been enough to defeat him. But he had just advanced to the True Dao Sixth Layer and was overconfident. In his carelessness, he was sliced in two before he could even display his true, earth-shattering power.

“I… regret this so much…”

Ba Xiongfei muttered his last words as his body slowly split in two, spraying blood everywhere.

Zhaang Ye sneered. “Ba Xiongfei, you brought this on yourself. Rest in peace.”

SWOOSH!

Zhaang Ye casually snatched Ba Xiongfei’s Storage Pouch. Seeing the Flower King approaching in the distance, Zhaang Ye, with a cold expression, kicked Ba Xiongfei’s corpse toward him.

Zhaang Ye had now used his Cloud-Breaking Slash three times today; his trump cards were spent. He couldn’t dare let the Flower King get within ten li of him. After kicking the corpse away, Zhaang Ye immediately pushed his Wind Realm to its limit and fled at full speed.

SPLAT!

The Flower King flew over at high speed and, with a wave of his hand, blasted Ba Xiongfei’s corpse into a bloody mist. But in that single moment, Zhaang Ye had already accelerated, flying farther and farther away.

The Flower King couldn’t catch up and could only watch as the Water Origin got further and further away. He stared murderously at Zhaang Ye’s retreating figure and roared, “Zhaang Ye, is it? I’ll remember you! You won’t leave the Sword Monarch Ruins alive! You’re a dead man!”

A contemptuous laugh echoed back from the distance.

The Flower King viciously threw a punch into the air, his eyes radiating a thick, malevolent aura. After a long moment, a thought suddenly struck him, and his eyes lit up. He muttered, ‘Since a Water Origin appeared in these Sword Monarch Ruins, it’s very likely there are other Origins as well. This area is lush with trees, so it must be the Land of Wood. There’s a good chance a Wood Origin is hidden here!’

At this thought, the Flower King’s figure flickered and shot off into the depths of the forest.

Over two thousand li away, Zhaang Ye finally let out a long sigh of relief after confirming he wasn’t being followed. He slowed down and landed atop a towering, ancient tree.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

With a few waves of his arm, Zhaang Ye carved out a hollow in the great tree in the blink of an eye. He then slipped inside and completely concealed his aura.

Zhaang Ye gave a wry smile and said, “Fire Spirit, what was all that about? How did you manage to provoke Shui Daimai and the Flower King?”

The Fire Spirit giggled, staring at a lake in the Little World. “Come on out, little one!”

As the Fire Spirit spoke, the surface of the small lake began to bulge. A fist-sized ball of black water emerged from it.

The black water ball seemed to be very afraid of the Fire Spirit. After emerging, it moved sluggishly, taking a long time to reluctantly float over to the Fire Spirit’s side.

SWOOSH!

The Fire Spirit snatched the black water ball out of the air and tossed it to Zhaang Ye, saying excitedly, “Master, this little one is the reason those two experts were chasing me. Heh heh, this is the Water Origin! With it, this Little World will become even more real, more perfect!”

As it spoke, the Fire Spirit stared excitedly at the Water Origin. Suddenly finding itself in a strange environment and being stared at so intensely, the Water Origin got scared and began to wail like a crying baby.

Zhaang Ye held the Water Origin in his hand and felt an incredibly dense Spiritual Qi slowly seeping into his palm. A comfortable sensation spread through his entire body, and he gained a sliver of new insight into his Water Realm.

“Wonderful! Just wonderful!”

Zhaang Ye looked at the Water Origin and said with a wide smile, “With the Water Origin, my Little World will become even more perfect! Don’t be alarmed, little one. As long as you behave, I won’t hurt you.”

Zhaang Ye had already comprehended the Water Realm, and his body carried an aura of water. Held in his hand, the Water Origin didn’t reject him, but it just kept wailing.

The Fire Spirit spoke up from the side, “Master, this little one has only just gained consciousness; it doesn’t know how to speak yet. If you want to understand its meaning, you’ll have to form a Soul Contract with it.”

Zhaang Ye nodded, immediately drawing a drop of his blood to form a Soul Contract with the Water Origin. The moment the contract was complete, Zhaang Ye instantly felt a gentle, cool soul—the soul of the Water Origin itself.

By sensing the Water Origin’s soul, Zhaang Ye’s comprehension of the Water Realm deepened considerably in an instant. With a bit more time, his Water Realm could reach the stage of Minor Achievement.

Zhaang Ye stroked the Water Origin and chuckled. “Little one, since you’re conscious now, I’ll give you a name. From this day forward, your name will be Water Spirit.”

After naming it, Zhaang Ye called out, “Gold Spirit, come here.”

At Zhaang Ye’s call, a long streak of white light emerged from a piece of Profound Iron—it was the Gold Spirit. In the Five Elements, Gold begets Water. The Water Origin felt a natural affinity for the Gold Spirit, and upon seeing it emerge, the Water Origin grew excited and flew toward the Gold Spirit, bouncing like a ball.

Watching the Gold Spirit and Water Spirit play together, the Fire Spirit said excitedly, “Master, among the Five Elements, I belong to fire, so you can consider me the Fire Origin. Now, the Little World has the Fire Origin, Gold Origin, and Water Origin. We’re only missing the Wood Origin and the Earth Origin. Once you find them, this Little World will be flawless and can begin to slowly grow!”

Zhaang Ye’s heart stirred. “The place I’m in right now is the Land of Wood. The Wood Origin is likely hidden inside. Can you find it?”

The Fire Spirit replied, “I can’t, but the Water Spirit can!”

Zhaang Ye’s heart leaped with joy. “Tell me, how can we find the Wood Origin?”

The Fire Spirit explained, “The Five Elements can both generate and overcome one another; they share a kind of energetic resonance. Just like how our little Water Spirit has a natural affinity for the Gold Spirit. In the Five Elements, Water begets Wood. So, the Water Spirit has a natural sense for the Wood Origin. As long as you take it with you, you’ll be able to find it!”

Understanding dawned on Zhaang Ye after hearing the Fire Spirit’s explanation. He thought for a moment and said, “I just used the Cloud-Breaking Slash three times, and most of my Celestial River Righteous Qi is depleted. For safety’s sake, I’ll replenish it first. Once my Celestial River Righteous Qi is restored, we’ll set off immediately into the Land of Wood to find the Wood Origin!”

Zhaang Ye took out a Top-grade Essence Stone and began to absorb the Essence Qi within it. To speed up the process, he also swallowed several Elixirs, and the Celestial River Righteous Qi in his body began to recover rapidly.

Six hours later, Zhaang Ye had fully recovered his strength. His Celestial River Righteous Qi had even improved slightly, circulating more smoothly and with greater purity.

The Fire Spirit giggled. “Master, you’re only a hair’s breadth away from the Late Stage of True Dao Fourth Layer. If you could get a Seventh Grade Spirit Elixir or Spirit Fruit, breaking through would be no problem at all.”

Zhaang Ye shook his head. “My Cultivation is already improving very quickly. But others are improving even faster. People like Taishu Gang and Ba Xiongfei reached the Realm of True Dao Sixth Layer in just a dozen days or so. It’s truly terrifying.”

The Fire Spirit said, “They improve so quickly because their foundations are deeper than yours. Take the nine young titans of the Purple Spirit Domain, for example. They’ve been in Cultivation for decades at least, far longer than you. Besides, their Cultivation was already approaching the True Dao Sixth Layer. In a place like the Sword Monarch Ruins, which is so rich in Primordial Qi, breaking through to the True Dao Sixth Layer is hardly surprising.”

At this, the Fire Spirit added a warning, “Master, your opponents have deep foundations. After entering the Sword Monarch Ruins, their Cultivation and combat strength will improve extremely quickly. You must be careful when you encounter them in the future. If you can’t win, flee immediately. In any case, your Wind Realm has already reached Minor Achievement, so no one can catch you.”

Zhaang Ye nodded. With a flicker, his figure shot out of the tree hollow, heading at full speed toward the depths of the Land of Wood.