Chapter 267

Vast great mountains, stretching for ten thousand li.

This place is the territory occupied by the Land Mountain Turtle, the "Lord of the Land Mountain's" ten-thousand-li great mountain!

And here, the distance from Yunhe's black great turtle's occupied Huanhu Dao is also only ten thousand li.

Such a distance, for a Fourth Level beast, can already be considered neighboring, a "neighbor."

Using the "Mysterious Beast Phantom Form," he transformed into a bear covered in purple fur, and Yunhe silently arrived at the edge of the ten-thousand-li great mountain.

As he approached.

He could clearly feel that this originally ownerless land, after the Land Mountain Turtle took residence, gradually became orderly.

Of course.

At this moment, the "order" here still differs considerably from the snowy plains Yunhe once visited.

After all, beasts' nature is inherently lax; even with a Fourth Level beast leading them to gradually become orderly, it cannot happen overnight.

Yunhe placed the final middle-grade Spirit Stone, patted his claws, and with a "hum," all the formations activated.

Soon Yunhe began busying himself in this mountain valley.

"Ah—finally finished setting it up."

This "Eight Yun Follow Heart Formation" is still the formation recorded in the "Yun Formation Dao Law" that Yunhe acquired at the auction in Yunzhong City of the Yunwai Realm; previously he lacked the ability to set it up, but now there's no problem.

"Finally, set up a set of 'Eight Yun Follow Heart Formation' to leave myself an escape route."

Meanwhile, the Land Mountain Turtle first expanded its scale and then slowly established rules, which naturally would be troublesome.

Because at the place where the disturbance erupted, Yunhe "saw" several beasts originating from the snowy plains.

His idea is simple.

How to say it—he is now a middle-grade Third Stage formation master, and the formation abilities he commands are something beasts lack; if not properly utilized, it would be a waste of his own capabilities.

These formations are not one-time use; after they're expended, dismantling them and re-establishing them on Huanhu Dao works just as well.

"If I don't get involved in such matters, I'd be considered not understanding things."

This let Yunhe understand why the Land Mountain Turtle has been slow to appear.

Unlike Yunhe, who set the rules from the start, making later integration of beasts much easier.

Looking at the mountain valley now as solid as a golden soup, he nodded satisfiedly.

He also did not directly intervene in the place where the disturbance erupted, but came to a secluded mountain valley.

"Next, let's give this Lord Land Mountain some surprises."

But after recognizing the conflict between the ten-thousand-li great mountain and the snowy plains, he understood that the Land Mountain Turtle would not easily act; without a Fourth Level beast, dealing with some Third Stage beasts, Yunhe remains confident there's no problem.

The emergence of a new Fourth Level beast has already affected the region's pattern, and the Land Mountain Turtle's appearance seems to have also drawn the attention of the Fourth Level beasts originally occupying some areas.

Yunhe first set the rules, then gradually increased the scale, so everything proceeds naturally.

Moreover, although after passing the tribulation of transforming into human form the Land Mountain Turtle's awakened intelligence is already on par with humans, the accumulation of knowledge still needs time; to fully manage the ten-thousand-li great mountain, it also requires more time for trial and error, which is a learning process.

More importantly.

"Looks like occupying this new territory seems much more troublesome than I expected, Lord Land Mountain." Yunhe couldn't help but let out a low laugh.

Many Third Stage beasts are willing to submit to a Fourth Level beast, but many are also unwilling.

"With the 'Sumeru Thousand Illusion Formation' as the outermost concealment, as long as it's not a Fourth Level beast present, merely a Demon Sense sweep passing over won't detect it."

"This place is not bad."

"Pair it with a thunder beast and add another middle-grade Third Stage 'Formless Lightning Descending Formation'."

Fortunately, Yunhe now has ample materials on his person, having consecutively slain several Late Jie Dan cultivators, including Su Wanning, a personal disciple of a Yuan Ying elder, and Lu Tianbing, Lu Xinnian, such family elders, allowing him to freely consume materials.

"Then use the 'Minor Five Elements Mutual Generation Formation' and the 'Minor Five Elements Inverted Formation' as the overall core, combining entrapment and attack."

Looking at the surrounding dense jungle and the mountain valley's murmuring stream, Yunhe nodded to himself.

In his spreading Demon Sense, he detected a place where battle was erupting.

"No wonder this old turtle hasn't come to cause trouble for my Huanhu Dao; it turns out its own troubles are not small either."

After all, beasts living in the snowy plains and those active in the ten-thousand-li great mountain still differ considerably.

Then he patted his storage bag, took out materials one by one, and directly began setting up formations here!

With so many sets of middle-grade and upper-grade Third Stage formations, gathering illusion, entrapment, attack, generation and other functions, it can be said that Yunhe has employed all the formations he can currently use to the utmost.

Of course.

Setting up so many formations is not easy either; wanting multiple formations to mesh without conflict is even more extremely difficult.

Yunhe laughed as he jumped down from a towering ancient tree, his movement light and causing no disturbance.

With so many Third Stage formations assisting, Yunhe feels that even if a dog were staked here, ordinary Third Stage beasts entering would be doomed to die.

The Land Mountain Turtle that suddenly appeared and occupied this place is, to some extent, overly hasty, and Yunhe is not the sole resister.

At the same time, it also requires consuming a large amount of materials.

Isn't the Land Mountain Turtle here to cause trouble for his Huanhu Dao? If he can't handle the Land Mountain Turtle, could he not handle its subordinates?

Originally, his conduct might not have been this bold.

Moreover.

Furthermore, the possibility of conflict with the ten-thousand-li great mountain is not limited to the snowy plains; the master of the continuous volcanic region tens of thousands of li away is also not too far from the ten-thousand-li great mountain.

He also happens to need the interior of Third Stage beasts.

No, more precisely, it's the inner elixir of late-stage Third Stage beasts.

So he will start with the subordinates of the Land Mountain Turtle.

Thereafter, Yunhe grabbed a large handful of "Breeding Pills," causing a medicinal fragrance full of attraction for beasts to drift toward the ten-thousand-li great mountain.

Soon, beasts followed the fragrance and entered the "Heavenly Net Earthly Trap" that Yunhe had set up.

As for Second-tier Beasts, there's no need to say—once they enter, they won't even see Yunhe's face before surely dying.

Third Level demon beasts are not many either; early Third Level demon beasts, if they don't see Yunhe, will likewise be slain by the formation, while mid Third Level demon beasts can see Yunhe, but by the time they see him they have already lost much of their combat power.

As for late Third Level demon beasts, there aren't many among Lu Shan Gui's subordinates either.

However, Yunhe doesn't mind; no matter how many demon beasts come, he accepts them all, and the surplus flesh he doesn't need makes decent feed for the demon beasts of Huanhu Dao, while Third Level demon beasts can also be stored in the Nine Curves Gourd to become nourishment for strengthening Yunhe's fleshly body.

And as more and more demon beasts fell into this mountain ravine, it finally drew the attention of Lu Shan Gui.

In the depths of the Vast Mountain lies a cave dwelling.

An old man wearing a brownish-yellow robe, short and stooped, had a grim expression.

"Are you sure which side's demon beasts are missing? Is it the blind bear of the Snowfield, or the minions of the volcano's snot worm?"

This short, seemingly frail old man is none other than Lu Shan Gui, who calls himself the Land Mountain Lord.

However, he doesn't look very good right now.

Originally suffering heavy injuries from the Shape Transformation Tribulation, he was then besieged by a group of Third Level demon beasts, worsening his wounds; after barely recovering some, he was just about to gather subordinates to collect resources for himself, but this drew the attention of the Snowfield and Volcano factions.

Facing this, Lu Shan Gui, who had successfully broken through to the Fourth Level, naturally would not accept it.

He directly engaged in a great battle with the Snowfield's Fourth Level demon beasts.

Although he ended up at a disadvantage, relying on his formidable defense he only suffered a minor setback.

But then he fought the Volcano's Fourth Level demon beasts as well.

The Snowfield's Fourth Level demon beasts are strength-oriented, which happens to be something he counters.

However, the Volcano's Fourth Level demon beast is highly skilled with fire, nearly roasting him outright while he was shrunken into his shell.

After yet another injury, Lu Shan Gui became compliant.

The turtle stayed hidden in the Vast Mountain and never emerged again.

Relying on the Vast Mountain's endless ridges and its own traits and abilities, it had no fear of fleeing or hiding from those two Snowfield and Volcano fellows.

Yet it also completely lost the initiative.

The Snowfield and Volcano's harassment arrived, and it submitted.

How is it that another fellow has shown up and is wantonly slaughtering the demon beasts of its Vast Mountain?

"My lord, Pan Li Yin went with people to check," said an earth ferret covered in brown fur that still looked somewhat cute.

"How is it?" Lu Shan Gui asked.

"He hasn't returned yet."

On the other side, an extremely obese earth rat that even looked somewhat bloated answered with its mouth full.

Lu Shan Gui had only just broken through to the Fourth Level not long ago; he doesn't have many late Third Level demon beasts under his command, and the earth ferret and earth rat here count as two, with Pan Li Yin mentioned earlier also being one.

Originally there was also a Ground Steel Savage Ox, but after going out once to help it recruit subordinates, it never returned, the outcome being obvious.

This is also one of the reasons it cannot contend with the Snowfield and Volcano.

Its foundation is still lacking, so it can only rely on geographical advantage to hold its own against them.

As for saying,

Why do the Snowfield and Volcano tacitly join forces to deal with it?

One reason is that it is a latecomer, making it easy to bully.

On the other hand, it is because

Lu Shan Gui gradually made his way to a throne in this cave, lightly rubbing a crystal-clear, earth-yellow gem on the armrest; this is also the main reason the Snowfield and Volcano deal with him.

This pearl is the fundamental basis for his breakthrough to the Fourth Level and his hope to advance further; it is his 'opportunity'!

"How long has he been gone?" Lu Shan Gui asked, furrowing his brow.

"Probably about two days?" the earth ferret sat on the ground, grabbing a plump spiritual fruit and taking a bite.

Two days?

Lu Shan Gui's face darkened, and a bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart.

From here to that mountain gully, with Pan Li Yin's ability, a round trip wouldn't even need two days!

The thought went thus.

Lu Shan Gui seized the gem on the throne, and after his figure flickered slightly, he vanished from this place, leaving behind a sentence.

"Earth ferret, go again to the stubborn stone in the Chaotic Stone Forest; if it still doesn't know its place, destroy it! Earth rat, release all your kin—I need to know at all times all information about our Vast Mountain and the surrounding thousand-li radius; stop being reluctant to spend, and if you please this lord, you may consume the gem for three days!"

Upon hearing this, the earth ferret and earth rat exchanged a glance.

They chose to submit to Lu Shan Gui, first because of his Fourth Level strength, and second because of the gem he holds.

Otherwise,

To speak frankly,

Their intelligence is not low either; given the Vast Mountain's unfavorable situation, if they truly wanted to flee, Lu Shan Gui would have no chance to chase them down.

Of course, after choosing to submit, the demon beasts no longer have many thoughts; whatever Lu Shan Gui orders them to do, they do.

"Yes!"

After the two demon beasts answered, they each went off to act.

Lu Shan Gui then swiftly shuttled through the earth, his target set on that mountain gully.

He actually wanted to see just who was fishing in troubled waters.

Could it be the fellows from the Rotten Wood Forest?

Lu Shan Gui's expression turned icy.

Don't really push it to desperation; if pushed, it would simply abandon holding this place, and then nobody would have a good time.

(End of chapter)