203: Chapter 203 A Great Treasure

Puchi, puchi, puchi—

The sound of Wind Blades slicing into flesh was as dense as raindrops hitting leaves.

Grayish-blue bristles were sliced off, dark red blood splashed, and shrill screams rose and fell one after another.

Bronze Rank Green Fangs were as fragile as paper before the Chaotic Wind Sea.

After this wave of wind sea, the entire army was annihilated!

In the end, only those seven Silver Rank Green Fangs remained standing.

The bristles on their bodies had been shaved off by a layer, their skin was covered in fine wounds, and dark red blood flowed down the wounds, dripping onto the grass with a faint "patter" sound.

But their bones were not broken, their internal organs were not injured, and their combat power remained.

However, the look in their eyes had changed.

The previous excitement of "the advantage is mine" had completely vanished.

In its place was fear.

The Green Fang King stood among the seven Silver Rank Green Fangs, his blood-colored eyes fixed on the Blue Phoenix in the sky.

It finally knew what kind of hard wall it had kicked.

This was not a weak human and a black iron rank young beast.

This was a Medium Grade Silver Rank blue bird capable of releasing over-the-top area-of-effect skills, a human swordsman who could use Wind Cores to shuttle through the battlefield like a ghost, and a young beast with extremely precise control skills despite its low Rank.

With the three of them cooperating, their combat power didn't just add up; it multiplied.

A low whimper came from the Green Fang King's throat.

It was hesitating.

Fight? It couldn't win.

Retreat? Where to?

It had coveted this valley for so long; the Giant Python was dead, and the successor was a human—this was its best chance.

If it retreated now, there would never be another chance.

Just then, a silver-white figure rushed out from a Wind Core.

Not from the side, but from the front.

Qin Ce rushed out from a Wind Core directly in front of the Green Fang King, his body carving an arc through the air as he charged straight at the king.

The Green Fang King's blood-colored eyes suddenly widened.

It saw the war saber in Qin Ce's hand—on the blade, silver-white wind energy was frantically condensing, compressing, and expanding, turning into a massive, person-sized silver-white Wind Blade.

That Wind Blade wasn't shot from the Blue Phoenix's mouth; it was slashed from Qin Ce's saber.

The Blue Phoenix's Phoenix Flow surged into Qin Ce's body, and Qin Ce compressed that energy to the extreme, attaching it to the blade's edge.

A person-sized, extremely condensed silver-white Wind Blade shot out from the blade's edge.

The distance was too close.

The Green Fang King had no time to dodge.

It could only instinctively raise its claws to protect its head.

But the Wind Blade was too big, too fast, and too sharp.

Puchi.

The Wind Blade sliced through the Green Fang King's claws and its skull, entering from the top of the head and exiting from the lower jaw.

The Green Fang King's body suddenly stiffened.

In its blood-colored eyes, the final traces of daze and unwillingness remained.

Then, its head split into two from the middle.

Dark red blood and grayish-white brain matter gushed out, splashing onto the grass and Qin Ce's boots.

The Green Fang King's massive body crashed to the ground.

The remaining six Silver Rank Green Fangs let out a terrified shriek the moment they saw the Green Fang King fall.

They turned and fled.

They scattered in all directions.

Some went west, some north, some east, and some even south.

But could they escape?

Qin Ce's figure disappeared into a Wind Core once again.

The next moment, he appeared beside a Silver Rank Green Fang fleeing to the west.

The war saber slashed down.

Puchi.

That Green Fang's head flew off, and its body ran for a dozen more steps before crashing to the ground.

Qin Ce disappeared again.

And appeared beside another Green Fang.

Puchi.

Another head flew up.

The Blue Phoenix caught up with a Green Fang fleeing north in the air, its wing-tip Wind Blade slicing through its spine.

Tianlu crouched on the Blue Phoenix's back, attacking a Silver Rank Green Fang trying to dive into the bushes with a Lumeng rune. Although it failed to restrain it, it pointed out the direction for the Blue Phoenix, which then killed it with a claw.

In less than two minutes.

All six Silver Rank Green Fangs were dead.

On the battlefield, besides Qin Ce and the Blue Phoenix, no other Green Fang remained standing.

Over a hundred corpses lay on the grass; grayish-blue bristles, dark red blood, broken fangs, and shattered internal organs mixed together like a gruesome oil painting.

A thick smell of blood filled the air, mixed with the scent of gunpowder and scorched matter, lingering in the mist for a long time.

Qin Ce stood in the center of the battlefield, the silver-white light on his war saber slowly fading. His breathing was calm, his heartbeat steady, and his gaze indifferent.

His military uniform was covered in Green Fang blood, as was his face, dripping down from his chin.

But he didn't wipe it.

He looked down at his hands.

His fingers were trembling slightly—not from fear, but from excitement.

This way of fighting by shuttling between Wind Cores was stronger than he had imagined. The speed and flexibility made him almost invincible at the Silver Rank level.

The Blue Phoenix landed from the air, its silver-blue feathers stained with a few drops of blood, but it was uninjured.

Tianlu jumped off the Blue Phoenix's back, its four short legs moving fast as it ran toward the Green Fang King's corpse.

It ran to the Green Fang King's head, pried open the shattered skull with its small claws, and pulled out a fist-sized crystal core.

The crystal core was grayish-blue all over, with faint blood-colored patterns flowing inside, emitting strong energy fluctuations.

High Grade Silver.

Holding the crystal core in its mouth, Tianlu ran to Qin Ce's feet, patted his calf with a small claw, and let out a short cry.

“Miwu!”

Then it turned and ran toward the west.

After a few steps, it looked back, signaling Qin Ce to follow.

Qin Ce was stunned for a moment, then understood.

To the west was the territory of the Green Fang pack.

Tianlu wanted him to go there.

Qin Ce did not hesitate.

“Xiaoqing, follow.”

The Blue Phoenix flapped its wings and flew low, following behind Tianlu.

Qin Ce ran on foot, wind energy wrapping around his legs, covering several meters with every step.

Passing through a low thicket, crossing a dried-up stream, and climbing a hill that wasn't very high.

The hill wasn't large, but the terrain was unique—flat at the top and steep on all sides, like an inverted bowl.

In the middle of the hill was a massive karst cave.

The cave entrance was about five meters wide and three meters high, pitch black inside with no visible depth. But Qin Ce could feel rich energy fluctuations deep within—identical to the energy fluctuations from the stone platform in the valley.

Tianlu rushed into the karst cave without hesitation.

Qin Ce and the Blue Phoenix followed behind.

The cave was very deep, growing wider as they went in. The walls were covered in stalactites, some hanging down and others growing up, looking like pale bones in the darkness.

After walking about two hundred meters, an open space appeared ahead.

At the end of the karst cave was a natural domed hall.

The dome was high, at least a dozen meters, with small cracks through which faint skylight filtered in from the mist.

In the center of the hall, the ground was unremarkable, no different from the surrounding rocks.

But Tianlu walked straight to that patch of ground and stopped. It scratched the ground a couple of times with its small claws, then looked back at Qin Ce and let out a whimper.

Qin Ce walked over.

When Tianlu's claws stepped on that patch of ground, it lit up.

It wasn't the kind of brightness like the stone platform where liquid surged from within, but a more restrained, faint glow that seemed to seep out from inside the rock.

The light outlined a rune on the ground.

It was exactly the same as the rune on the stone platform in the valley—palm-sized, with complex lines and exquisite patterns, like a blooming flower or a rotating star.

The Green Fang territory rune.

Tianlu crouched beside the rune, patted the ground with its small claws, and then looked up at Qin Ce. It handed the crystal core it was holding to Qin Ce and touched his hand with its antlers.

Qin Ce sensed Tianlu's meaning through the Soul Bond, and his eyes lit up slightly.

Tianlu's meaning was: communicate with your territory, use the control that combines your own Bloodline, territory, and cloud energy, and use the energy of the crystal core in your hand to assimilate the rune before you.

Qin Ce took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking deep into his mind.

The outline of that territory was as clear as a painting in his consciousness.

The valley's boundaries, the layout of the cliffs, the location of the pond, the site of the stone platform—every part was in his perception, like a part of his body.

He reached out and pressed the Green Fang King's crystal core onto the rune on the ground.

The moment the crystal core touched the rune—

Buzz!

A familiar power surged from the ground beneath Qin Ce's feet, traveling up through his Meridians and connecting with the perception of the territory in his mind.

Qin Ce could feel the crystal core in his hand being devoured by the rune. It wasn't melting, but being absorbed—just as the stone platform in the valley absorbed crystal cores, a milky-white, liquid-moonlight-like substance gushed from the rune, enveloping the crystal core and drawing its energy out bit by bit.

The crystal core was shrinking.

The grayish-blue shell was thinning, the blood-colored patterns inside were fading, and the High Grade Silver energy fluctuations were weakening.

At the same time, the outline of the territory in Qin Ce's mind was expanding outward.

It wasn't a slow expansion, but like ripples on water, spreading out from the valley in circles.

To the west.

Cliffs, streams, thickets, the dried-up riverbed, that hill, that karst cave—one piece of land after another was incorporated into the territory's perception.

When the last wisp of energy was drawn away by the rune, the crystal core turned into a handful of grayish-white powder and slipped through Qin Ce's fingertips.

The rune on the ground had changed.

What was originally the Green Fang territory rune was now exactly the same as the rune on the stone platform in the valley. The lines, patterns, and shape were identical.

Qin Ce felt his will descend upon this karst cave.

This hill, this cave, this land beneath his feet—from now on, it was his.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the rune on the ground that had become his territorial sovereignty, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into an arc.

The territory had expanded.

It wasn't a slow, natural expansion, but a leap-forward expansion achieved by defeating a lord, devouring a crystal core, and assimilating a rune.

To the west, the hill and karst cave were incorporated into his domain.

The area was nearly double what it was before.

Qin Ce closed his eyes and re-perceived the boundaries of his territory.

This newly incorporated area was connected to the valley via a narrow corridor—the route he had just walked: the thicket, the dried-up stream, and the low hill.

On both sides of the corridor were the boundaries of other territories.

Qin Ce could feel emotions coming from other territories beyond those boundary lines.

They were exactly the same as those from the valley side.

Qin Ce opened his eyes, a trace of thought flashing through them.

The rules of this world were more complete than he had imagined.

Territories could be devoured, expanded, and strengthened.

Starting from a small valley, swallowing up surrounding territories, expanding step by step, and growing stronger step by step.

Qin Ce's gaze turned toward the west.

There were even more territories and stronger lords there.

If he could continue swallowing them up all the way, he could easily encounter the territory of a Gold Rank Vicious Beast.

When that time came, he would be able to hunt Gold Rank Vicious Beasts.

Qin Ce took a deep breath, suppressing the heat in his heart.

He turned and looked back in the direction he came from—the valley was still there, the stone platform was still there, and the territory was still there.

But he was no longer just the master of a single valley.

He had a second base, a second piece of land, and a second rune.

A thought suddenly flashed through Qin Ce's mind.

This Space-Time Rift Vicious Beast area located northwest of Fengling City was enormous.

It connected at least five cities—Fengling City, Lianxing City to the north, Tieyuan City to the northwest, Cangwu City to the west, and Linjiang City to the southwest.

The five cities surrounded this Vicious Beast area in an irregular ring.

But because of the existence of this Vicious Beast area, the logistics between the five cities were extremely underdeveloped.

Despite being right next to each other on the map, for goods to be transported from one city to another, they had to go around the outskirts of the Vicious Beast area, traveling hundreds or even thousands of extra miles.

This resulted in high costs, long times, and great risks for communication between them.

But what if—Qin Ce's gaze deepened—what if he could open a trade route through this Vicious Beast area?

Not bypassing the Vicious Beast area, but passing through it.

Using territories as a foundation and territorial sovereignty as a guarantee, opening a passage belonging to humans in the world of Vicious Beasts.

Every territory would be a relay station.

Every rune would be a coordinate.

As long as he could swallow all the territories along this line, he could open a direct passage from Fengling City to the other four cities.

Logistics costs would be reduced by seventy percent, and transport time would be shortened by eighty percent.

By then, he would no longer be just the master of a valley or the lord of a territory.

He would be the pioneer of the Five-City Trade Route and the controller of the logistics hub spanning the Vicious Beast area.

His influence would no longer be limited to Fengling City but would radiate across all five cities.

Qin Ce's breathing quickened slightly.

He stood there, looking at the glowing rune on the ground, the map from Fengling City to the four cities becoming increasingly clear in his mind.

How was this a dangerous place?

This was clearly a Treasure Trove waiting to be developed.

The corners of Qin Ce's mouth slowly curled into an arc.

He crouched down and reached out to stroke Tianlu's head.

Tianlu was crouching beside the rune, having a great time playing with the pile of grayish-white powder the crystal core had turned into.

Qin Ce looked at it and said softly, “Tianlu, you've really outdone yourself this time!”

Tianlu looked up at him and let out a soft “miwu.”

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