Chapter 245: Lord of Land Mountain

Yao Shou Shijie

"Looks like I can go run another trip to the snow plains soon."

Yunhe lay on the sunbathing platform, muttering to himself.

Wanting to understand the Yao Shou Shijie better, Yunhe felt it necessary to try contacting those Fourth Level demon beasts that had fully opened their spiritual wisdom and survived the heavenly tribulation of transformation.

He is now curious whether the Yao Shou Shijie he inhabits is the same one that once invaded the cultivation world.

Of course, he wouldn't blindly rush straight to face those Fourth Level demon beasts; that would be no different from seeking death.

He plans to use the Mysterious Beast Intercept Immortal Strategy's Mysterious Beast Phantom Body secret technique to transform into the form of a thunder beast, joining under a Fourth Level demon beast's command under another identity, or perhaps this approach would have a higher chance of success.

Given his current understanding and use of the Mysterious Beast Phantom Body, early Fourth Level demon beasts should not be able to see through it; this had been tested on the Land Mountain Turtle.

However, to be safe, he still did not act rashly.

Only after his Cultivator Body could control the Nascent Soul to refine corpses did he finally have some confidence to contact Fourth Level demon beasts.

"But it needs careful planning; one can't just rush over and expect to join their ranks."

Boom—!!

Suddenly.

As Yunhe rubbed his chin in thought, a huge roar suddenly came from afar, followed immediately by a slight tremor of the ground.

Many bird-type demon beasts flapped their wings and took off, while the diligently working demon beasts also stopped their actions and looked toward the source of the commotion.

Huh?

Yunhe couldn't help but frown and stand up; his powerful Demon Sense spread out, easily covering the entire ground of Huanhu Dao, and he quickly located the source of the commotion.

After confirming the source of the disturbance, a hint of anger appeared in Yunhe's previously calm eyes.

Instantly, an extremely overbearing earth-colored aura surged from his body, flashing briefly before disappearing from the sunbathing platform.

But when he reappeared, he had already arrived at the edge of Huanhu Dao's territory.

This place originally had lush vegetation and abundant trees; because Yunhe had ordered the demon beasts of Huanhu Dao not to damage the environment at will, the island's interior, aside from the few plots reclaimed as spirit fields, maintained a fairly good ecological environment for future development.

But now, the ground is littered with wreckage.

Shattered soil layers, blackened ground, wood burned to charcoal still burning with sparks, and the rising stench of burnt material had already permeated the surrounding air.

And most striking of all were several Huanhu Dao demon beasts lying on the ground, clinging to life.

Seeing this, even though Yunhe's mental state and cultivation were decent, anger welled up in his heart.

Bang! Bang!

Not far away, the sounds of a fight also came.

Looking up, one could see a panting snow-white little fox, its body brimming with demonic power, its snowy fur stained with a layer of black mist, its bright eyes gleaming sharply.

Facing it, a large-bodied mouse continuously exhaled hot air from its nose, seemingly affected by the fox's illusion technique, constantly releasing flames around.

This is an early Third Level Earth Fire Rat, its strength clearly superior to the fox's; the fox can only temporarily entangle it because the rat does not know how to counter illusions.

But judging by its posture, as the heat waves surge, it will soon use brute force to completely shatter the fox's illusions.

Whoo—whoo—whoo—

The little fox clenched its teeth, panting, staring fixedly at the mouse as big as an ox, showing no intention to retreat.

Because it knew that as soon as there was any movement here, Yunhe would quickly come over.

And indeed, that was exactly the case.

Just as it felt its vision slightly blur, a towering figure suddenly appeared before it.

The flames spewed by the Earth Fire Rat were completely blocked by that figure; the intense heat instantly faded, leaving only a faint coolness.

Whoo—whoo!!

Seeing Yunhe, the little fox's eyes suddenly brightened and it cried out in surprise.

Meanwhile, the Earth Fire Rat, upon seeing Yunhe suddenly appear, also startled.

Soon it realized that this suddenly appearing black giant turtle was the master of Huanhu Dao, the turtle known as 'Gratitude and Grievance Erased'.

Feeling Yunhe's aura, the Earth Fire Rat shuddered, raised its neck, and cried out in alarm.

Squeak—bang!!

However, before it could finish its cry, its vision blurred and the raging flames surrounding it seemed illusory.

The next second.

It only felt an extremely terrifying force coming from above its head; that terrifying power directly slammed it from the surface underground.

Boom—rumble!!

The Earth Fire Rat was still experiencing this 'earth escape' method for the first time; instinctively it wanted to resist, but found that no matter how hard it struggled, the claw pressing on its head was as unmoving as metal.

Yunhe stepped on the Earth Fire Rat, but his gaze did not fall on it; instead, he lifted his head and looked toward the dense woods nearby.

Oh—!!

A roar like a dragon and turtle burst forth, its deafening sound containing thunder within its defense; the terrifying sound wave rolled up vast amounts of dust and withered branches and leaves, snapping many twigs and trees.

And as Yunhe's voice rang out, a voice no less formidable followed.

Moo—!!

In the woods, a huge ox slowly emerged, its body clad in deep brown armor resembling rock layers, a pair of crescent-like horns strikingly visible, its legs stepping steadily, emerging step by step, accompanied by a slight 'thump-thump-thump' tremor of the ground.

Late Third Level demon beast, Earth Steel Ox!

A pair of bell-sized bull eyes fixed on Yunhe, their fighting spirit openly surging.

Beside the ox followed a fox several times smaller, its fur like sharp stone cones, also gazing at Yunhe; its cunning eyes indicated its intelligence was quite high.

Mid Third Level demon beast, Rock Spur Fox!

Plus the Earth Fire Rat currently under Yunhe's foot.

In an instant, three Third Level demon beasts appeared!

"Wuwuwu!!"

When the little fox behind Yunhe saw the earth steel wild ox and the rock‑spine fox, its heart jolted, its fur bristled, and it darted to Yunhe's front; facing two Third Level demon beasts, it bared its teeth and claws without hesitation.

To be honest.

Yunhe was also surprised.

He thought that a mere early Third Level earth fire mouse shouldn't dare to provoke him, and the mouse's roar just now confirmed that.

He just didn't expect that three Third Level demon beasts had come this time.

You should know.

Establishing a subordinate relationship among Third Level demon beasts is still rather difficult; they mostly occupy their own territories, and at most an early Third Level demon beast, when facing a mid‑to‑late Third Level demon beast, might concede and relinquish its ground.

But this time, a demon beast from each of the early, middle, and late Third Level each appeared.

Yunhe quickly realized the crux of the matter.

Probably, none of these three demon beasts is the true master.

Sure enough, a voice soon rang in his mind.

"Great Turtle, by my lord's command, accept the Huanhu Dao territory. You may choose to submit to my lord, and the land will remain yours thereafter, provided you now hand over ninety percent of the spiritual plants and spiritual fruits on Huanhu Dao, and thereafter surrender seventy percent every ten years, and all will be well."

The voice came from the rock‑spine fox.

Obviously, as a fox‑type demon beast, its spiritual intelligence is not low.

Master?

Yunhe narrowed his eyes.

The only thing that could make these Third Level demon beasts recognize a master is one possibility—Fourth Level demon beast!

Has a Fourth Level demon beast claimed the Huanhu Dao territory into its domain?

Hearing this, Yunhe's heart sank.

Only he knows what this Huanhu Dao territory means to him.

It is not only the place he has cultivated for over a hundred years, encompassing almost all his accumulation over that time; whether the spiritual fields on Huanhu Dao or the newly opened medicinal fields, all are vital.

If he loses the Huanhu Dao territory, not only would his Demon Beast Body suffer a great loss, but his Cultivator Body would also lose the supply of Golden Ear Grass, cutting off the Spiritual Spike Pill; this would undoubtedly greatly hinder the Cultivation Base progress of his Cultivator Body, while the Demon Beast Body's cultivation largely depends on the Cultivator Body's assistance.

"Of course, you may also refuse to submit; then you either leave or you will die here," the rock‑spine fox threatened without concealment.

"Squeak squeak squeak!!!"

The earth fire mouse at Yunhe's feet struggled again, evidently relying on the 'master' behind it, and its fear of Yunhe was much reduced.

"Great Turtle, loosen your grip!"

At this moment, the earth steel wild ox beside them let out a deep, resonant bellow that rang in Yunhe's ears.

Yunhe glanced at the struggling mouse on the ground, raised his paw, but did not release the earth fire mouse; instead he pulled the little fox behind him.

He retorted, "Who is your 'master'?"

His response made the earth steel wild ox and the rock‑spine fox frown; the rock‑spine fox glanced at the continuously struggling earth fire mouse on the ground, pondered briefly, and then said:

"My lord—Lord Lu Shan!"

Lord Lu Shan?

Yunhe was stunned for a moment, then gradually recovered and said with some surprise:

"Lu Shan Gui?"

"How daring! To call my lord by name!" Hearing this title, the rock‑spine fox nearly leapt up.

It really is Lu Shan Gui!

That was truly something Yunhe hadn't anticipated.

He still vividly remembered the scene when Lu Shan Gui endured the Form‑Transformation Thunder Tribulation.

At that time, although Lu Shan Gui barely survived the Form‑Transformation Thunder Tribulation, he was gravely wounded, and because of Yunhe's interference, a covetous Third Level demon beast besieged him; he ultimately survived, but his injuries were inevitably more severe.

Although a considerable time had passed since Lu Shan Gui's tribulation, judging by the injuries he sustained, without rare heavenly materials he could not have fully recovered in such a short span.

Nevertheless, after successfully transforming post‑tribulation, Lu Shan Gui, like other Fourth Level demon beasts, would vigorously partition territories and gather subordinates and resources.

He simply hadn't expected Lu Shan Gui to incorporate his Huanhu Dao into his domain.

In fact, upon reflection, there were no other Fourth Level demon beasts occupying the tens of thousands of miles around Huanhu Dao, which indeed suited Lu Shan Gui's newly breached Fourth Level status.

Now he has sent three Third Level demon beasts to claim the territory.

Not only have they injured his own subordinates, but now they also threaten

To be honest.

If it were another Fourth Level demon beast, Yunhe would certainly still feel some fear, but the opponent turned out to be the self‑titled 'Lord Lu Shan' Lu Shan Gui.

"Its injuries cannot fully heal, and it is still newly entered the Fourth Level; its abilities, spells, and demonic weapons are all at their weakest."

Yunhe knows he cannot submit to Lu Shan Gui.

On one hand, he has never entertained the idea of bowing to other demon beasts; on the other, as both are turtles, Lu Shan Gui's bloodline is far inferior to his, and once it discovers the many powerful turtle lineages he possesses, it would unquestionably devour him.

Thus there are only two options: run or fight.

Before, Yunhe thought he only had the running route, but now

there really is a chance to fight!

Can't say.

A still‑wounded Lu Shan Gui might indeed not dare to act against a Nascent Soul corpse‑refining.

"Release your claws now! You still have time to consider, otherwise," the rock‑spine fox narrowed its slanted eyes, flashing a dangerous light.

Boom!!!

But the response was the earth fire mouse's sudden halt in struggling, and its head exploding like a watermelon.

This sudden scene caused both the rock-spike fox and the earth-steel savage bull to involuntarily widen their eyes, full of disbelief.

Nobody expected that what they got would be such an answer.

Although they had long heard that the great turtle of Huanhu Dao was formidable, they therefore sent the Earth Fire Rat over, partly to show strength, partly to lure Yunhe out; the early‑third‑stage Earth Fire Rat was originally not looked upon by them, but this does not mean the Earth Fire Rat died—they could simply explain things when they went back, ah.

Wuuu!!

Only the little fox, upon seeing this satisfying scene, clenched its paws and exchanged excitedly.

King!!

King! We're here!

King!.

At the same time, the demon beasts of Huanhu Dao arrived late, in a leisurely manner.

But seeing their united front against a common enemy, it was clear they had also prepared for battle.

And the one with the greatest momentum was the Kun Earth Silkworm rolling along the ground, with the little Azure Phoenix Qingyao perched on its shell.

However, before they could even feel it, Yunhe, who had crushed the Earth Fire Rat, had already rushed out first.

Since they weren't that afraid of the Land Mountain Turtle, there was nothing to hesitate about.

Yunhe's Demon Sense, in an extremely fierce posture, pierced the Rock Thorn Fox's Demon Sense without hesitation, nearly pinning it in place; before the Earth Steel Ox beside it could react, Yunhe slammed a heavy punch into the Rock Thorn Fox's body.

Moving Mountain!

Bang!!

The Rock Thorn Fox's hair, sharp as a rock drill, was ground to powder by a force as unstoppable as splitting bamboo when it touched the claw covered in black scales.

Its very body was then slammed away like a cannonball.

As fellow mid‑third‑stage demon beasts, the Rock Thorn Fox hardly had any ability to fight back against Yunhe!

If nothing unexpected happens, the child will be able to leave the hospital tomorrow.

(End of chapter)