Chapter 334: Movements of All Parties, Return to the Earth Immortal Realm!

One year later, at a corner on the outskirts of the Primitive Ancient Forest.

From within the tall, dense forest, a sudden massive whoosh of wind rang out, making the slender branches and leaves tremble ceaselessly.

"Gawk~coo—"

A huge shadow swept past from below, startling the beasts of the forest into cowering low in fear.

Not long after, this enormous shadow landed on a giant tree near a steep mountain peak.

It was a towering ancient tree, taller by a good measure than every other old tree in the entire forest—verdant and upright, as if about to pierce straight into the heavens.

Looking closely, atop that lofty canopy sat a scattering of wooden houses, large and small, dense and sparse; people came and went, and from time to time two or three young children chased each other past in play, appearing exceptionally lively and full of vitality.

As the enormous shadow descended at the edge of the canopy, drawing closer for a look, one discovered it was actually a powerful creature, its entire body a riot of colors, resembling a pterosaur.

A "person" wrapped in a yellow-brown beast-hide garment leapt down from this creature; the moment he dismounted, he ran toward the center of the canopy.

Along the way, people greeted him from time to time. This "person"—Gu Ying—merely nodded, pressing on without pause toward the largest wooden house.

……

"Gu, you're back?"

"Did this trip turn up anything unusual?"

Hearing the creak from outside the house, within that wooden cabin, an exceedingly aged figure slowly turned around.

It was an old man draped in a beast-hide cloak, wearing some sort of animal skull on his head, his face smeared with various dyes—mysterious and brimming with a primitive air.

The most striking feature was his exceptionally bright golden-orange eyes, as if they could see straight through a person's heart.

He held a bone bowl stained with blood, muttering mysteriously as he questioned the young man.

The young man was not at all surprised by the old man's appearance—he was the eldest of their clan, and the only Witch who could communicate with the "Spirit."

Without looking up, he said: "Witch, a tremendous upheaval has occurred in the Forbidden Forest."

"What?"

Hearing this, the old man was somewhat startled; he raised his eyes to look, and the bone bowl in his hands—still mixing and stirring medicinal herbs—trembled for a moment.

Gu Ying paid it no heed and continued: "Yes. On today's outing, Mei Ying and I discovered that a tremendous upheaval has occurred among the Ancient Wild Species on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. The former Six-legged Wolf Beast pack and that White-eyed Wild Species have vanished without a trace."

"Not only that, the nest of that Red-scaled Savage Dragon (Tyrannosaurus Rex) is also completely empty. The Horned Crocodile by the stream, as well as the two Banzhu to the southwest—the Fire-horned Rhinoceros and the Two-headed Eagle—and the Sharp-toothed Beast and Swift Shadow Dragon to the northeast, have all vanished without a trace!"

By the end, even this young man was filled with shock.

After all, anyone who suddenly discovered that the Banzhu Ancient Wild Species—those who had occupied the surroundings of their tribe's habitat for who knows how long—had all abruptly vanished would panic inside, wondering whether some tremendous upheaval unknown to them had occurred.

"Is that so…" The Witch's expression grew graver and graver as he listened. Finally, he slowly set down the bone bowl in his hands, came to the young man's side, gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and asked: "Did you find any lingering traces? When did it first begin?"

"One year ago!" Gu Ying replied.

"Have other Ancient Wild Species moved in to occupy the territories of those former Banzhu?"

"None."

Hearing this, the Witch asked no more. He straightened up, leaned on a wooden staff carved with strange patterns, and gazed into the distance, his expression complex. After a long while, he finally uttered: "The heavens are likely about to change greatly."

Change—indeed, great change was coming.

In the jungle, all things live; at every moment, death occurs. Every creature has its own ecological niche. They die, they are reborn—life and death go on, eternal and everlasting.

This is the eternal, unchanging law of the biological cycle.

Yet now, the Ancient Wild Species that stood at the apex of the ecological niche in that region have all vanished together, leaving that position empty.

If it had merely been left vacant, that would be fine—it would simply be the natural succession of an ecological-niche Banzhu. Some aged and weakened Ancient Wild Species would inevitably be replaced by younger, stronger ones; nothing worth vigilance or attention.

But what has now appeared is this: no new Wild Species have emerged to occupy the missing positions!

The Banzhu's position has remained vacant all this time!

Such an abnormal situation means either that an even more powerful, invincible outsider has appeared in this region, or that some terrifying "King" is about to be born!

Most importantly, the Witch recalled that it was also one year ago that terrifying beings passed through the Forbidden Forest—those powerful creatures emanating an inexplicable aura that made all beasts lie dormant, not daring to make a sound.

And the Spirit God that their clan had been tending to had also departed, and had yet to return.

Could it be that some upheaval has occurred deep within the Forbidden Forest?

Troubled times indeed…

Gu Ying did not reply, and the Witch paid it no mind. After pondering for a while, he instructed: "Gu, from today onward, dispatch a small squad to keep constant watch over any abnormal changes in the Forbidden Forest. The moment anything unusual occurs, remember to report it."

There was another sentence the Witch did not speak aloud: 'The moment traces of a King's birth are discovered, they must be erased at the fastest possible speed. This is the Spirit God's territory—one mountain cannot house two tigers…'

He did not say it because the Spirit God was absent! The moment it was mentioned, it would cause panic among the clan.

If the Spirit God were here, with its aura pervading, no outsider would dare approach at all.

"Also, from today onward, regarding the trade with the Sand People across the Desert—after today, loosen things up a bit. Stockpile more Spiritual Beast Blood, Spirit Viscera, Runic True Bone…I have great need of them. Those scattered Sand People are still of some use. I recall you have a friend over in…"

"Sand Castle." Gu Ying supplied at the right moment.

"Right, Sand Castle. If necessary, you can have them rally the Desert's forces."

"Yes."

"Go. I need to have a proper communication with the Spirit God…"

At the end, the Witch waved his hand, only then allowing the young man to withdraw.

Gu Ying rose to his feet, and the dappled light finally revealed his true appearance: emerald-green skin all over, strange and beautiful patterns painted in various dyes, golden feline vertical pupils, a humanoid form with beast-like ears and a tail.

Their clan was no ordinary human race, but a tribe of "Forest People" who had dwelled for generations within the Primitive Ancient Forest—a branch of the greater wilderness humanity.

……

Meanwhile, within the Primitive Ancient Forest.

Inside a cave.

Baichuan, whose body had already grown to fifteen meters in size, watched his Gold Finger panel with a slight tremor.

'Name: Baichuan'

'Energy: 300000'

【Core: Environment Assimilation (Locked)】

……

After a full year, he had finally accumulated a complete three hundred thousand units of energy!

It truly was no easy feat. To reach this goal, heaven alone knows just how many wild species he slaughtered. It could be said that with him at the center, wherever one looked in any direction, the wild species had been wiped clean by him.

Only through such wanton slaughter and devouring did he finally manage to save it up!

Three hundred thousand!

The great momentum is achieved!

Baichuan affirmed this in such a way.

He did not hesitate. The little squirrel he had cultivated, now somewhat divine and wondrous, was waiting for him outside. Food supplies had long been fully stocked, and the surrounding dangers had been thoroughly cleared.

Everything was ready.

Thinking this, Baichuan slowly closed his eyes and silently began the journey of strengthening his LV5-level ability.

After this, having once again acquired part of the essence of a Planet Overlord, he would no longer need to be so cautious and could act freely.

As thoughts flashed through his mind, his body, which had been gently rising and falling with Baichuan's breathing, gradually slowed its rhythm and sank into slumber.

Drop by drop, liquids representing vast amounts of energy, as well as special and wondrous substances, began to continuously generate and gather, then grow ever thicker.

One day… two days… five days…

Time began to slowly pass, and above the Forbidden Forest in the outside world, a large number of colorfully patterned beasts resembling wyverns—Phantom Beasts—suddenly appeared.

These were the Phantom Knights of the Forest People race. With the Ancient Forest King, a Tier 2 peak Phantom Beast, coordinating with Forest People also at Tier 2, they would dare to clash even with Tier 3 wild beasts.

Moreover, the Phantom Knights themselves excelled at group combat.

These exaggeratedly numerous Phantom Knights continuously flew around the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Spirit Land, patrolling for any sign of disturbance.

Yet not the slightest anomaly ever appeared.

"That shouldn't be, that shouldn't be…"

In the ancestral land of the Forest People, the shaman's repeated attempts at communication never received an effective divine command, only increasingly urgent meaningless divine intents.

……

Desert Land, Sand Castle.

This was a small fortress located within a crevice of the Black Stone Mountains in the Desert.

Though the Desert is heartless, making survival difficult for all living things, it has also given birth to some special terrain.

A stretch of pitch-black, unusually hard continuous wild mountains, and the rolling lava underground fire within the crevices of those mountains.

The presence of the lava underground fire made the nights in the Desert no longer bone-chillingly cold. At the same time, the emergence of the utmost yang underground fire between heaven and earth also resisted the erosion of the Grey Mist to a certain extent, coupled with the unique special minerals and local products.

Therefore, within this stretch of Black Mountain and the crevices of the mountain bodies, fortresses and small stockades of various sizes survived, with all manner of forces mixed together in a chaotic jumble.

Nowadays, Zhou Yun and his younger sister Zhou Xiaoxiao lived here.

Among them, Sand Castle was merely a second-rate force.

"Mao Mao, where are you?"

On a bright, sunny day, Zhou Yun, who had just finished tempering his body, leaned against the railing and watched the children below enthusiastically sweating it out. He couldn't help but feel a touch of melancholy as he muttered to himself.

Thanks to Mao Mao, he had now become the outstanding youth of the present generation in Sand Castle. Even across the entire Black Mountain Range, he was among the very top of the young elites. Yet he could not bring himself to feel happy about it.

So what if the younger generation was outstanding? In that terrifying encounter from the past, facing the great might of the Lord of the Desert, the Camel Dragon, weren't they as fragile as mere toddlers?

This was the first time he had felt so powerless, able only to watch helplessly as the kin he cherished scrambled in flight under the Camel Dragon's pursuit, while he could only stand by and watch.

Mao Mao, the Grey Mist, Big Brother You, the Camel Dragon—like one mountain after another pressing down on his heart. He was still not strong enough!

He needed to become stronger, so that he could find his Mao Mao again. Even though Uncle Shan and the others had, to varying degrees, hinted to him that Mao Mao might no longer be around.

But he did not think so. How could such a mysterious and powerful Mao Mao simply be gone? What a joke! It must be waiting for him in some corner of the world!

Thinking this, Zhou Yun couldn't help but clench his fists.

Just then, a lively commotion suddenly arose from below.

A group of little rascals still wearing crotch-cloths stopped their play and curiously gathered around to watch.

"Gah~ Coo—"

Suddenly, a clear, commanding beast cry rang out, startling the little rascals into a mix of panic and delight.

【What manner of powerful Fierce Beast's aura is this again?】

Even Zhou Yun couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end. He carefully recalled the Beast Chapter of the Great Wilderness Record he had read, yet could not find any matching creature.

Before long, from the direction of the commotion, a hearty laugh rang out.

It was that Shan.

"The identity of this visitor is no ordinary matter." Seeing Uncle Shan treat the guest with such ceremony, Zhou Yun thought as much, and immediately walked over as well.

"Little Yun, you've come too?" Shan turned at the sound, laughed, and introduced him: "This is my old friend, Gu Ying. A powerful expert from the noble Forest People race of the Primitive Mountain Range on the edge of the Desert!"

"Gu, this is the number one young man of our Sand Castle today, Zhou Yun!"

"Not at all," the somewhat taciturn Gu Ying said modestly, nodding his head, clearly having no intention of engaging with these Sand People. He was of the noble Forest People race, and a Phantom Knight among them at that.

If not for the fact that during his advanced studies in the East Territory in the past, he had met Shan—whose status was also rather distinguished—he would never have had the chance to interact with these Sand People.

The only one here he acknowledged was Shan. The other Sand People were nothing more than passing clouds.

After some pleasantries, Shan also got straight to the point and asked his purpose for coming.

"I wonder, Gu, what brings you here this time?"

"My clan wishes to conduct a major transaction with the Black Mountain Range…"

……

Time continued to move forward, with various parties making different moves.

In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

And on this day, Baichuan, in his slumbering posture, that half-asleep, half-awake consciousness, finally rejoiced, and his entire body trembled along with it.

Because, the LV5 planet-level ability had finally allowed him to successfully create it!

Unlike the previous liquid-form potions, this was a solid mysterious jade that, once generated, appeared directly within his body!

At this moment, a fist-sized special treasure jade radiating a faint mysterious glow slowly materialized within Baichuan's consciousness, mind, and body, and within that crystalline treasure jade, the shadow of a mysterious beast roaring and raging faintly appeared!

Only the final step of fusion remained!

The next moment, with a single thought from Baichuan, that treasure jade, newly born, suddenly stirred and began merging with his flesh and blood as well as his metallic body.

At the same time, the outside world.

The instant Baichuan began fusing, the entire Primitive Mountain Range abruptly darkened.

The sky changed drastically; rolling dark clouds gathered from nowhere, and a startling thunderclap suddenly rang out.

"Boom boom boom..."

From the moment this sound arose, thunder roared mightily, and an invisible, vast, awe-inspiring aura began to emerge from the slumbering giant tiger, instantly sweeping past the concealed cave and wantonly battering the void, like rolling ocean waves, each layer more ferocious and terrifying than the last.

In the blink of an eye, the bright and sunny weather transformed into a scene of doom—dense dark clouds, howling gales, ancient trees trembling!

Amid flashes of lightning, an indistinct, mysterious beast shadow seemed to slowly take form; it stood on four hooves upon the void, with a pair of long horns, resembling neither tiger nor dragon, in a posture of raising its head to gaze at the heavens, as if about to roar and astonish the world!

(End of this chapter)