186: "Beast Tide"

Deep within the Tian Yuan Forbidden Land, in the circular valley.

Over a thousand Immortal Beasts remained prostrate on the ground, the fear brought by that terrifying pressure from before not yet fully dissipated.

The air was thick with unease and anxiety.

"That person has been inside for so long... and there hasn't been a single sound."

A True Immortal Realm Immortal Beast, shaped like a cheetah with bone spikes on its back, whispered with a trembling voice, "The Aura of that intruder... is too terrifying! Our Lord still has old injuries..."

Beside it, a giant turtle covered in a rocky shell spoke in a muffled, pessimistic tone: "It's uncertain... Our Lord is likely... facing more bad luck than good. Once that person comes out, it will be our turn..."

These words were like a stone thrown into water; panic spread rapidly through the beast pack.

Many Immortal Beasts let out sorrowful low cries, and some even began to "settle their final affairs."

"My Lord... may you have a safe journey! We will follow shortly to accompany you!" a blunt rhinoceros Immortal Beast cried out with a sob.

Amidst this gloom and mourning, the space at the entrance of the deep cave in the center of the valley fluctuated slightly.

Two figures appeared out of thin air.

They were Lin Chen and Profound Limitless.

The True Immortal Realm Immortal Beast that looked like an Azure Dragon, seemingly the leader of the pack, shouted angrily: "You... you! What have you done to my Lord!"

Before Lin Chen could speak, a silver-white figure appeared with a "shoo" sound.

The beasts: "!!!"

The sorrowful mourning came to an abrupt halt.

The eyes of all the Immortal Beasts widened instantly, staring fixedly at the silver-white figure as if they had seen a ghost.

"Lord... My Lord?!" the rock turtle exclaimed in shock, "You... you're not dead?!"

Hearing this, Xiao Bai's face immediately darkened.

"What? Do you really wish for this beast to perish?!"

"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare! Your subordinate absolutely wouldn't dare!" The giant turtle was so scared it instantly retracted its head and limbs into its shell, leaving only its muffled voice to drift out.

The other Immortal Beasts also reacted, quickly lowering their heads, not daring to look directly.

Xiao Bai snorted coldly, stepped forward a few paces, and announced loudly: "Listen up, everyone! I am announcing something!"

It raised a front paw and pointed at Lin Chen, who stood beside it with hands behind his back and a calm expression: "This person is my Lord! From now on, he is also your Lord!"

"The Lord's command is the command of Heaven!"

"Whoever dares to disobey, do not blame this beast for showing no mercy!"

The beasts were stunned.

Submitted?

Their powerful and proud Lord, who had ruled over them for countless ages, had actually... submitted to this human?

But... the Lord had admitted it personally... After a brief, dead silence, a chorus of voices, uneven at first but eventually merging into one, rang out from the beast pack: "We... pay our respects to the Lord!"

The voices echoed in the valley, carrying awe and obedience.

Lin Chen's gaze swept over the dense mass of beasts below. His Cave Heaven True Eye instantly saw through their strength levels.

Over thirty in the True Immortal Realm, more than two hundred in the Heavenly Immortal Realm, and over a thousand in the Earth Immortal Stage.

Although their Bloodlines were mixed and couldn't compare to the Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf, it was still a considerable force.

"Not bad."

Lin Chen nodded slightly, his mind racing. "Taking them back and assigning one to each Sect Elder as a mount or a mountain-protecting Spirit Beast would be quite good."

"The Sect's strength would also increase by a large margin."

He was just about to call Xiao Bai to prepare the Realm Teleportation Array to return to the Sect, but Xiao Bai spoke first.

"Lord, please wait a moment, there is one more thing."

Xiao Bai turned around and faced the prostrate beast pack, displaying the Aura of a generational overlord. "Listen up!"

"Move out immediately! Find every decent immortal herb, spiritual material, crystal ore, and treasure within this Forbidden Ground... no matter which corner it's hidden in, find them all, collect them, and offer them to the Lord!"

"Also, for those human Cultivators who have snuck into the outer areas, 'invite' them to hand over everything they've scavenged!"

"Tell them that this is my Lord's land, and all harvests belong to the Lord! If anyone refuses..."

Xiao Bai grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth glinting with a cold light.

"Yes! We obey the Lord's command!" the beast pack responded in unison.

In the next moment, the depths of the entire Tian Yuan Forbidden Land seemed to explode into activity!

Over a thousand Immortal Beasts scattered with a roar, like a swarm of locusts passing through.

Digging, scratching, sniffing... wherever they went, anything with a hint of Spiritual Qi fluctuations—whether it was a thousand-year-old blood ginseng hidden in a rock crevice, a rare mineral vein buried deep underground, or even ancient skeletons and strange crystals—was all unearthed roughly but efficiently.

In the outer regions, those Cultivators who were cautiously exploring, wary of each other or even fighting over small gains, soon encountered the "Beast Tide."

"Roar—!"

"Hand over all the harvests on your person! This is my Lord's land!"

"What?! You're being unreasonable!"

"Reason? Might is reason! Are you handing it over or not?"

"...Handing it over! We'll hand it over!"

For a time, the Tian Yuan Forbidden Land was in chaos, with beast roars and human voices mixing in a lively scene.

Lin Chen watched this bustling "moving house" scene and then looked at Xiao Bai beside him, who stood with its head held high and a face full of "sharing the Lord's burdens." His mouth twitched slightly.

This wolf... really knew how to handle things.

"Good job." He patted Xiao Bai's head.

Xiao Bai immediately narrowed its eyes, its tail wagging even more vigorously.

Soon, a small mountain piled with various Heaven And Earth Treasures appeared before Lin Chen, its treasure-light reaching the sky and its Spiritual Qi overwhelming.

Among them were many things that even he found somewhat interesting.

Meanwhile, in the outer reaches of the Tian Yuan Forbidden Land, in a desolate valley filled with jagged rocks.

Ye Feng and Lu Zhiming walked side by side, followed by several Inner Sect Disciples with sharp Auras.

The group was alert, their movements swift, as they carefully explored this area.

Lu Zhiming's brow furrowed slightly, his pace slowing as he whispered, "I always feel like something isn't right. My heart is racing, as if something is about to happen."

Ye Feng looked around. In the dim light, the twisted rocks looked like crouching giant beasts.

He nodded, his expression solemn. "It is strange. Those few roars and the pressure from the depths earlier... were too frightening."

"And that inexplicable vibration; it felt like some terrifying existence was disturbed."

"This is a Forbidden Ground, after all. We should be careful."

The two of them were Inner Sect Disciples Lin Chen had taken in early on, and they were now both Core Disciples.

Ye Feng possessed the Extreme Yang Immortal Body, and Lu Zhiming was an Emperor's Reincarnation. Their talent and Heart-Nature were top-tier, and their cultivation had long since surpassed their peers. However, in this mysterious Tian Yuan Forbidden Land, they still dared not be the slightest bit careless.

"Two Senior Brothers! Look over there!"

A sharp-eyed Disciple suddenly pointed to a spot below a cliff ahead and whispered.

Everyone followed the gaze and saw over a dozen Cultivators in various clothing being surrounded by seven or eight large, fierce-looking Immortal Beasts.

The Immortal Beasts were of various forms—some like tigers, some like oxen—but without exception, they all radiated a pressure of at least the Peak Earth Immortal Stage, and the three leading ones had even reached the Heavenly Immortal level!

The surrounded Cultivators were pale. One of them, with a long face, was tremblingly handing over a Spiritual Plant shimmering with starlight and a bag of Immortal Crystals: "Spare... spare our lives! The things are all yours! Just let us go!"

An Immortal Beast shaped like a giant lizard and covered in bone armor extended a claw, snatched the plant and the bag, and swept its crimson eyes over the group, speaking in a raspy human voice:

"Consider yourselves sensible! Listen up, everything in this Forbidden Ground now belongs to my Lord!"

"You intruders, hand over everything on you—anything valuable or with Spiritual Qi!"

"If you dare to hide anything, we'll eat you as a snack!"