96: Chapter 96 Barbarian King's Treasure

"Ugh..."

The Vulture Clan Chief's face still bore a look of incredulous horror.

His body slowly split apart on both sides, turning into two pieces of blood-drenched flesh.

"The Clan Chief is dead! The Clan Chief has been killed!"

Seeing this, the barbarian soldiers of the Vulture Tribe had their psychological defenses completely shatter; they threw down their weapons and fled in all directions.

Wulu cleaved the Vulture Clan Chief with his axe, without the slightest pause.

He pointed his blood-stained battle axe at the next target—the command flag of the Black Tooth Tribe Clan Chief!

"Brothers! Follow me and kill! Take the dog head of that old Black Tooth dog!"

"Kill—!!!"

Under the leadership of Wulu, this god of slaughter, the morale of the revenge coalition reached its Peak!

They were like a red-hot steel blade, fiercely stabbing into the heart of the already chaotic barbarian army!

The once arrogant Hundred Barbarian Coalition finally met its final, destructive end at this moment.

The entire battlefield was no longer a war, but a one-sided chase, slaughter, and assimilation.

Three days and three nights of bloody fighting, three days and three nights of frantic pursuit and assimilation, finally brought this massive battle, which involved tens of thousands of people, to a bloody end.

When the last die-hard of the Black Tooth Tribe attempting to resist was beheaded by a knight of the Wind Cavalry Battalion, and the scorching hot head rolled in the muddy blood, the entire plains of Linhuang County finally welcomed the first trace of tranquility after the grim reaper's feast.

But this tranquility was built upon a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

The earth had been thoroughly stained dark red by blood, and the air was filled with a thick, pungent odor of rust and decay that could not be dissipated, making one want to vomit.

Countless corpses were piled layer upon layer across the land, attracting swarms of crows to circle at low altitude, emitting hoarse and greedy caws.

This "Linhuang Great Victory," which would be recorded in the history books of Panshi Stockade by future generations, had results so glorious that they even exceeded the boldest estimates of Gao Feng himself.

The Panshi Army had inflicted nearly ten thousand casualties on the enemy head-on with fewer than two thousand of their own casualties!

And the internal strife among the barbarians, ignited from within by Wulu, caused over five thousand casualties!

In the end, there were over thirty thousand barbarian soldiers who knelt and surrendered, and the rescued and assimilated elderly, weak, women, and children from various tribes exceeded fifty thousand!

The captured cattle, sheep, warhorses, armor, grain, and supplies were piled as high as mountains, countless in number.

Panshi Stockade, in the most incredible and unreasonable way, had swallowed a behemoth far exceeding its own size in one gulp!

But because of this, it had completely solved all development Bottlenecks for the next few years!

Linhuang City, City Defense Office.

The huge meeting hall had already been cleaned, all bloodstains washed away, and all damage repaired.

There was not the slightest laughter or cheer of a victory banquet here; the atmosphere was solemn and dignified, filled with the oppressive feeling unique to the transfer of power.

Dozens of huge tallow torches illuminated the entire hall as if it were daylight, and the majestic banner of Panshi Stockade with its black background and stone patterns hung on the walls.

Gao Feng sat upright on the main seat, which was carved from a single piece of black iron wood and symbolized supreme power.

He had changed into a dark black casual outfit and was not wearing armor, but the terrifying Aura that had been honed in the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, as steady as a deep pool and as towering as a mountain, was more majestic than any sturdy armor or sharp blade.

His deep eyes were calmly watching the sturdy figure kneeling on one knee in the center of the hall.

It was Wulu.

At this moment, Wulu had already washed away the blood and filth from his body and changed into a clean black fur vest, revealing the bronze-colored muscles beneath that looked as if they were cast from steel.

The fierce Evil Qi on him, which had been like an unsheathed blade, had been completely restrained the moment he stepped into this hall, leaving only the purest reverence and submission.

In his hands, he respectfully held a large, lime-cured head that still stared with eyes wide open in death.

The facial features on the head were twisted, filled with terror and unwillingness; it was the head of the Black Tooth Tribe Clan Chief, the last of the three major tribes to be beheaded.

"My Lord!"

Wulu's voice was low and full of power, like repressed thunder, clearly echoing in the empty hall.

He no longer addressed Gao Feng as "Benefactor"; this change in title represented a complete shift in his mindset.

"Longduota's tyranny has been removed! The heads of the two thieves, Black Tooth and the Vulture Clan Chief, are both here!"

"I, Wulu, on behalf of all the three thousand seven hundred barbarian warriors and twelve thousand tribespeople who survived this uprising, offer you our highest respect and our most loyal submission!"

As he spoke, he raised the head high above his head, and then, slammed his forehead heavily against the cold, hard bluestone floor, making a dull "thud" sound!

"We are willing to serve you as our Lord forever! From now on, through mountains of blades and seas of fire, we will not refuse even death!"

Behind him stood more than a dozen leaders of small and medium-sized tribes who were equally fierce in Aura and had survived the internal strife.

Watching Wulu's actions, they did not hesitate in the slightest. After exchanging glances, they all knelt on one knee in unison, placed their weapons horizontally in front of their chests, and bowed their once-proud heads.

"We are willing to serve Lord Gao Feng as our Lord forever! We await your commands and will have no second thoughts!"

Their voices merged into a torrent, surging within the hall.

They knew better than anyone that their own tribes had also suffered heavy casualties and great damage to their vitality in this internal strife.

The current Southern Wilderness border was no longer a place where small fry like them could continue to survive.

Attaching themselves to a true powerhouse and following a victorious lion was their only way to survive on this cruel land.

And the man before them, who had destroyed the entire Hundred Barbarian Coalition with his own strength, was undoubtedly the thickest and most reliable towering tree they could find!

Gao Feng slowly stood up. He did not immediately go to help Wulu up, but walked down the steps with steady strides.

His sharp gaze slowly swept over every barbarian man present, taking in the reverence, longing, and a trace of hidden uneasiness on their faces.

Finally, his footsteps stopped in front of Wulu.

He reached out his hand and personally helped up this Barbarian Young Lord who had achieved such immortal feats for him.

"Wulu, you have done well."

His voice contained a trace of heartfelt approval and gentleness, instantly dispelling the heavy atmosphere in the hall, "You are not my slaves, and you are not my war spoils. From the moment you chose to lay down your weapons and fight side by side with me, you became my allies, my brothers."

He turned around and looked around at the tribal leaders who were still kneeling on the ground. His voice became loud and full of penetration, every word clearly striking their hearts.

"I, Gao Feng, hereby swear and promise!"

"From now on, as long as you genuinely submit, my Panshi Stockade will treat everyone equally! The land that the Qian people can get, you will also get! The children of the Qian people can enter school to study, and your children can too!"

"You will no longer be 'barbarians' who are bullied and treated like blades of grass! You will be just like all the people of my Panshi Stockade, upright masters of this land!"

These words exploded like rolling spring thunder in the hearts of all the barbarian men present!

Masters! They could also be masters!

They no longer needed to look at others' expressions, no longer needed to worry about where their next meal would come from, and no longer needed to fear that their wives and children would be bought and sold as slaves at will!

This respect, this promise, made them feel more blood-boiling and grateful than any gold or silver treasure!

"I announce!"

Gao Feng seized this Opportunity, raised Wulu's sturdy arm high, and announced loudly to everyone with unquestionable majesty:

"From this day forward, I appoint Wulu as the 'Green Wolf General' of my Panshi Stockade! Bestowed with the title of 'Green Wolf Marquis'! You will command all surrendered barbarian troops and form the 'Panshi Barbarian Legion,' with military pay and treatment equal to that of my main Panshi Army!"

"Thank you, My Lord!"

Wulu could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart. He broke free from Gao Feng's hand and knelt on one knee again. This time, his movements were full of strength and determination, and his fierce eyes were completely filled with fanatical loyalty.

"Thank you, My Lord!!!"

The other tribal leaders also followed suit and shouted, their voices filled with fanaticism and an unprecedented sense of belonging.

Gao Feng looked at the dense crowd of surrendered barbarian generals kneeling before him, and his heart was filled with heroic spirit.

He knew that from this moment on, these unruly eagles of the Southern Wilderness had been completely subdued under his wings by his use of both grace and might.

After subduing Wulu and the surrendered Southern Wilderness soldiers, Gao Feng did not immediately return to the City Defense Office in Linhuang City, which had already become the center of power.

He handed over the subsequent matters of pacifying the surrendered soldiers and reorganizing the troops entirely to Liu Chengfeng and Du Wei.

As for himself, he took Big Fool and more than a dozen of his most loyal personal guards and walked straight to the core of the battlefield, which had long since turned into ruins but still exuded a heart-palpitating Aura—Longduota's royal tent.

He knew in his heart that the end of a glorious victory often meant the beginning of another huge harvest.

Longduota, this formidable overlord who had ruled the Southern Wilderness for nearly twenty years, the wealth and secrets he had accumulated were the most tempting and crucial spoils of this war.

The royal tent had long been completely torn apart by two terrifying forces during the previous Peak duel, turning into a mess of ruins.

Huge animal bone pillars were collapsed in disarray, the luxurious fur carpets were burned black and curled, and the air was filled with a strange smell mixed with blood and char.

Gao Feng's gaze, like the sharpest hawk, slowly swept over the ruins, not letting go of any corner.

His perception, far exceeding that of ordinary people, could clearly capture the faint Auras under the ruins, which were faint but filled with majestic energy.

"Dig!"

Gao Feng pointed to the center of the royal tent, the area pressed by Longduota's corpse, and ordered in a deep voice.

Big Fool excitedly replied, "Alright!" He threw away the giant hammer in his hand and, using his palms, which were harder and larger than iron shovels, began to dig frantically like a giant bear digging soil.

Shortly after, upon lifting several layers of charred carpet soaked in blood and broken wooden planks, a black object that looked completely out of place in the surrounding environment appeared before everyone.

It was a huge secret box, crafted entirely from an unknown, heavy black material.

The surface of the box was as smooth as a mirror, without any keyholes or gaps, as if it were a naturally formed whole, exuding an ancient and heavy Aura.

Gao Feng signaled Big Fool to step back, then walked forward himself, reached out, and gently stroked the cold body of the box.

The sensation upon touching it was incredibly heavy, weighing at least several thousand catties! With Gao Feng's current strength, he even felt a bit of strain lifting it with one hand.

This wooden box itself was an extraordinary treasure!

He observed it carefully for a moment and finally discovered an extremely hidden groove at the bottom of the box, resembling the pupil of a Ba Snake.

Gao Feng's heart stirred; he recalled the scene of Longduota before his death, as well as the secrets regarding Totem Power he had learned from various intelligence reports.

He no longer hesitated, cut his fingertip, and precisely dripped a drop of blood, containing his domineering and peerless crimson-gold Qi blood, into the groove.

"Hum—!" A low hum, as if coming from the ancient past, suddenly rang out from within the secret box!

That drop of golden blood, like a spark falling into boiling oil, was instantly absorbed by the groove!

Immediately after, on the mirror-smooth surface of the secret box, blood-red Ba Snake totem patterns, filled with a savage and mysterious Aura, slowly lit up like living creatures, emitting an eerie light!

"Click..." A slight sound of a mechanism triggering rang out, and the lid of the seemingly seamless secret box rose silently and slowly upward.

A Bloodline pressure, even purer and more majestic than when Longduota had performed his "Totem Manifestation," filled with an ancient, savage Aura, erupted from within the box!

The dozen or so personal guards present instantly turned pale, feeling as if an invisible mountain was pressing down heavily on them; even breathing became difficult, and they couldn't help but retreat repeatedly.

Even Big Fool felt that suppression originating from the depths of his Bloodline, emitting an uneasy low growl from his throat, and subconsciously clenched his fists.

Only Gao Feng, in the face of that terrifying pressure, remained calm, and a glint of excitement, as if meeting a worthy opponent, even flashed in his eyes!

The crimson-gold Qi blood within his body seemed to have been provoked as well, and it began to surge uncontrollably, emitting a dull roar like a raging river!

Two equally domineering Auras were silently colliding and clashing above the small ruin.

Gao Feng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the boiling Qi blood in his body, and cast his gaze into the box.

With just one look, even with his rock-solid will, his pupils couldn't help but shrink violently, and his breathing even paused for a beat!

Inside the box, there was no gold, no silver, and no jewelry. There were only three things.

But each one was enough to drive any Martial Artist in the world crazy!

The first was an ancient scroll recorded on a piece of snake skin that was extremely soft yet unusually tough, appearing a faint blood-red color.

On the scroll, recorded in ancient Barbarian hieroglyphs—full of power and wildness, which Gao Feng had never seen before—was a top-tier Body Refining Cultivation Technique that could be called shocking to the world!

"Barbarian God Ba Snake Transformation"!

Although Gao Feng did not know the ancient Barbarian script, when his gaze fell upon those characters, a vast and complex torrent of information poured directly into his mind!

It was a pure form of spiritual imprint Legacy that transcended language and text!

In an instant, the cultivation methods, circulation routes, and various profound visualization diagrams for this Cultivation Technique were clearly presented in his mind, as if he had received a sudden enlightenment.

This Cultivation Technique pointed directly to the Bloodline Origin! Through visualization and Qi blood guidance, it could actually transform the practitioner's own Bloodline towards the Bloodline of the terrifying ancient behemoth—the Ba Snake!

When cultivated to Minor Achievement, one's Physical Body could become as hard as fine steel, with strength capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, allowing one to step into the Fifth Stage "Marrow Refining Realm"!

When cultivated to Major Achievement, the Physical Body could transform into a "Totem True Body," possessing terrifying power capable of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth; with every gesture, one could invoke the power of heaven and earth, comparable to a legendary Sixth Stage "Organ Refining Realm" Great Grandmaster!

Furthermore, at the end of the Cultivation Technique, it was vaguely mentioned that if one could find the legendary "Dragon Blood" as a catalyst and combine the Ba Snake Bloodline with the True Dragon Bloodline to undergo the final transformation, it might even be possible to catch a glimpse of the legendary Seventh Stage of martial arts, the supreme mystery of "Blood Replacement Rebirth"!

"Fifth Stage... Sixth Stage... even... higher!"

Even for Gao Feng, a monstrous wave surged in his heart at this moment!

Joy! Uncontrollable ecstasy instantly rushed to his heart!

The subsequent Cultivation Technique he had been desperately searching for, which would allow him to break through the Fourth Stage Bottleneck, had appeared before him in the most incredible way!

This was simply a divine technique tailored for him!

However, just as he was overwhelmed by this huge surprise and prepared to carefully study every detail in the spiritual imprint.

A cold warning, full of destructive and insane Aura, suddenly came from the deepest part of that torrent of information!

Gao Feng's expression changed instantly; that ecstasy was instantly cooled as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head.

He saw it...

He saw the most fatal and terrifying flaw of this Cultivation Technique hidden within the spiritual imprint!

Bloodline conflict!

This "Barbarian God Ba Snake Transformation" was domineering and peerless, and its prerequisites for cultivation were equally extremely harsh!

The practitioner must possess a trace of extremely thin yet incomparably pure "Ancient True Dragon or its subspecies Bloodline" as a catalyst for harmony and guidance!

Only in this way could one maintain the stability of one's own consciousness and Bloodline under the washing of that violent Ba Snake Bloodline Power.

If someone with an incompatible Bloodline forced themselves to Cultivate it, in the Early Stages, their strength would indeed skyrocket due to the mutation of their Bloodline, progressing by leaps and bounds.

But as the cultivation deepened, that Ba Snake Bloodline Power that did not belong to the individual would, like the most vicious curse, turn around and devour the practitioner's own Bloodline and consciousness!

The final result was only one—the Bloodline would completely collapse, the Physical Body would mutate, the consciousness would be extinguished, and one would become a bloodthirsty monster without a Soul that only knew how to kill and devour!

And Longduota had clearly embarked on this path of no return.

Perhaps by chance, he had fused a trace of essence blood from an exotic beast carrying Dragon Clan Bloodline, which allowed him to luckily break through to the half-step Fifth Stage.

But precisely because of this, his consciousness had long been eroded by that violent Ba Snake Bloodline, becoming increasingly brutal and increasingly insane.

Even that final "Blood Sacrifice" was his last struggle to forcibly suppress the Bloodline Power within him that was about to go out of control!

"So... so close..." Gao Feng's back was instantly soaked in a layer of cold sweat.

If he had even a shred of greed just now and had tried to circulate the cultivation route within that spiritual imprint.

He would probably have already suffered Qi Deviation by now, beyond redemption!

How was this any kind of divine technique? It was clearly a deadly poison wrapped in honey!

This made this top-tier Cultivation Technique, which was right within his reach, temporarily become a mirage that he could see but not touch.

It also made the thought in Gao Feng's heart—which had slightly relaxed because he had obtained the Cultivation Technique—to find an orthodox high-level Cultivation Technique become incomparably strong once again!

He forcibly suppressed the lingering fear and disappointment in his heart and cast his gaze toward the second item in the secret box.

It was a blood-colored crystal, the size of a fist, crystalline and transparent throughout, like a ruby, emitting an eerie light.

Inside the crystal, it seemed as if magma was slowly flowing, and one could even see it pulsating rhythmically like a heart.

"ba snake totem heart!"

Information about this item also instantly poured into Gao Feng's mind.

This item was the tribal sacred object that the Ten Thousand Snake Valley Tribe had passed down for thousands of years!

It was the Totem Core, condensed from the most core drop of heart blood essence of that ancient Ba Snake, after passing through thousands of years of time and absorbing the Blood Sacrifice power of countless tribesmen!

It contained the purest and most vast Ba Snake Origin power!

Wearing this item to Cultivate "Barbarian God Ba Snake Transformation" could not only achieve twice the result with half the effort but also allow the practitioner to sense a trace of the Bloodline Divine Ability belonging to the ancient Vicious Beast in advance!

But at the same time, it would also greatly accelerate that terrifying Bloodline backlash!

However, setting aside the Cultivation Technique, this "ba snake totem heart" itself was also a rare treasure in the world.

Gao Feng could clearly feel the majestic energy contained within it, full of life and destructive Aura.

What made him even more shocked was that when he held this crystal, he could faintly feel the positions of all snake-like creatures within a radius of several miles, as well as their weak emotional fluctuations!

This was actually a terrifying treasure that could allow him to gain the ability to control snake-like Yao Beasts!

"Good stuff!" Light shone in Gao Feng's eyes once again.

Although it could not be used for cultivation for the time being, this treasure itself was enough to become one of his powerful trump cards!

He carefully tucked away the "Barbarian God Ba Snake Transformation" and the "ba snake totem heart" close to his body, and finally cast his gaze upon the last two items in the secret box.

They were a blade and a piece of armor.

The blade was a giant battle blade with an extremely exaggerated design, full of savage and bloody beauty.

The blade body was seven feet long and nearly a palm wide, presenting a chilling bone-white color throughout, with its surface covered in naturally formed, strange patterns resembling Dragon scales.

The edge of the blade was also covered with jagged barbs and blood grooves, making one shudder just by looking at it.