201: Chapter 201 Beast Domain Rules

"Mew!"

Tianlu held its head high, expressing dissatisfaction with Qin Ce's doubt.

It patted Qin Ce with its small paws, its tail standing straight up, and the nine-colored light on its antlers flickering. Its expression clearly said—what do you know!

Qin Ce looked at it in this state, his lips twitching.

He was the one who almost got blasted to bits by a Gold Rank attack just now, and now he was the one being doubted.

But he didn't argue.

Tianlu's intuition for luck and misfortune had never been wrong; since it said the northwest was auspicious, there must be a reason for it.

"Fine, you're the boss." Qin Ce looked at Tianlu. "So, what do we do now?"

Tianlu pointed at the ground, signaling Qin Ce to land.

After the Blue Luan landed, Tianlu jumped down from his arms, its four small paws stepping on the gravel. It glanced back at him and then walked toward the mist.

After walking a couple of steps, it looked back again and shook its head, signaling him to follow.

Qin Ce understood.

It wanted him to follow on foot, and clearly, he couldn't use the Blue Luan!

"Xiao Qing, come back."

The Blue Luan turned into a streak of silver-blue light and merged into the tattoo on his chest.

Qin Ce followed Tianlu on foot, walking toward the mist once more.

This time, there was no flying, no Wind Core, no Wind Barrier, and he didn't even use the Blue Luan's wind-element energy.

Tianlu walked ahead, the nine-colored light on its antlers flickering slightly like a small lantern swaying in the thick fog.

Its pace wasn't fast, but it was steady.

Every so often, it would stop, and the light on its antlers would grow brighter as if it were sensing something.

Qin Ce followed behind, his Nine-Star Insight fully operational as he remained alert to his surroundings.

The mist surrounded him once again.

But this time, there were no attacks.

Qin Ce could feel the aura of Vicious Beasts in the mist; some were very close, less than a hundred meters away. But they didn't move, nor did they show any hostility toward him.

It was as if he didn't exist.

Qin Ce's heart rate quickened slightly.

Tianlu continued forward.

When entering certain critical areas, it would stop and open its mouth.

There was no sound.

But Qin Ce could feel an invisible ripple spreading from Tianlu's mouth, sweeping across every inch of the surrounding space like sonar.

Heavenly Chant.

Tianlu's detection skill could discover hidden life and energy fluctuations.

Qin Ce followed behind, watching Tianlu's small body navigate through the dense fog filled with Vicious Beasts, an indescribable feeling welling up in his heart.

A Black Iron Mid-grade cub leading a human who wasn't using any Pet Beast power through a group of Vicious Beasts that were at least Silver Rank.

They weren't attacked at all.

They didn't provoke any hostility.

This was simply miraculous.

Thinking back to just now, the Blue Luan had barely entered the mist—not even a kilometer deep—before being targeted by over a dozen attacks, many of which were Gold Rank.

Yet now, Qin Ce was certain he had gone at least five kilometers deep.

But he wasn't targeted by any Vicious Beast.

Qin Ce couldn't help but whisper, "Tianlu, what's going on?"

Tianlu glanced back at him, the nine-colored light on its antlers flickering as it let out a soft "mew."

Its expression seemed to say—just follow me, why ask so much.

Qin Ce helplessly shut his mouth.

They continued walking.

Five kilometers.

Ten kilometers.

Tianlu's pace grew faster, and the light on its antlers grew brighter.

It no longer stopped to sense every few steps as it had before; instead, it had a clear direction, as if drawn by something toward a specific location.

Qin Ce followed behind as the terrain beneath his feet changed from gravel slopes to grassland, and from grassland to forest paths.

The surrounding mist grew thicker, and the vegetation became denser.

There was an indescribable scent in the air—not decay or fermentation, but something fresher, like a mountain forest after the rain.

Suddenly, Qin Ce's Nine-Star Insight captured a life aura dissipating ahead.

It wasn't dissipating slowly; it was leaking out rapidly, like air escaping a puncture.

Something had just died.

And it was quite large.

Tianlu suddenly let out a joyful cry and accelerated forward.

Its four short legs moved rapidly, its small paws making soft pattering sounds on the grass, and the nine-colored light on its antlers shone as bright as a small lantern.

Qin Ce followed closely behind.

Passing through a patch of low shrubs and rounding a corner of a cliff wall.

The view suddenly opened up.

A small valley appeared before him.

The valley wasn't large, surrounded by low hills, with a flat meadow in the center. The meadow was filled with flowers of various colors—red, white, purple—swaying gracefully in the mist.

On the North side of the valley, a small waterfall cascaded down the cliff. The flow wasn't large but was crystal clear, falling into a pool below and creating fine spray. The pool wasn't big, only about a dozen square meters, but the water was so clear that the pebbles and swimming fish at the bottom were visible.

Standing at the valley entrance, Qin Ce was stunned by the scenery.

After walking across the wasteland around the Space-Time Rift for so long, he had never seen a place like this.

The flowers were vibrant, the water was still, and the air was filled with a faint floral scent and moisture, like a paradise hidden deep within the world of Vicious Beasts.

But Qin Ce's gaze was soon drawn to something else.

By the pool, on a large rock, a Giant Python was coiled.

No, not coiled, but lying there.

The Giant Python's body was as thick as an adult's waist and at least fifteen meters long. It was covered in dark green scales that shimmered with a cold luster in the mist.

Most striking was its head—a pair of massive horns grew from its frontal bone, like two curved swords pointing toward the sky.

But now, these horns were broken.

The left horn was snapped in the middle, the right horn was tilted to one side, and there were obvious cracks at the base of the horns.

The Giant Python's head lolled at the edge of the rock, its body hanging limp, half on the stone and half on the ground.

Its eyes were open, but the pupils were dilated and lifeless.

There were bloodstains on the ground that hadn't completely dried, spreading from beneath the python's head, trickling through the cracks in the rock, and pooling into a dark red puddle on the grass.

It had died not long ago.

Tianlu rushed up, its small paws stepping on the blood with soft pattering sounds. It ran to the Giant Python's head, nudged the scales with its own head, then looked back at Qin Ce and let out an urgent cry.

"Mew!"

It patted the Giant Python's head with its small paws and pointed its antlers at the center of the python's forehead—where the crystal core was located.

Qin Ce stepped forward.

Without asking questions, he raised his hand. The Blue Luan's wind energy condensed at his fingertips, and a silver-white Wind Blade shot out, precisely cutting into the Giant Python's forehead.

The scales were sliced open, the flesh parted, revealing the fist-sized crystal core inside.

The crystal core was entirely dark green, with a faint silver light swirling inside, emitting intense energy fluctuations.

Silver Rank.

And it wasn't an ordinary Silver Rank; it was at least Silver High Grade, possibly even touching the threshold of the Silver Rank Peak.

Qin Ce reached out and removed the crystal core from the Giant Python's head.

The crystal core felt warm in his hand, and he could feel the massive energy within it flowing slowly.

Tianlu cried out again, patted Qin Ce's hand with its paw, and pointed its antlers at his finger.

Qin Ce understood.

He bit his fingertip, squeezed out a drop of fresh blood, and let it fall onto the crystal core.

The blood didn't merge into the surface of the crystal core. Qin Ce was confused and looked at Tianlu!

But Tianlu nodded in satisfaction, then turned and walked toward the center of the valley.

Qin Ce followed behind.

Tianlu stopped at a flat spot in the center of the valley, lowered its head, and began to dig.

Its small paws dug rapidly, sending dirt and gravel flying behind it.

It dug with great effort, stopping every few strokes to catch its breath before continuing.

Qin Ce squatted nearby, watching it dig.

He didn't help.

Tianlu had signaled for him to keep the crystal core and the blood on it steady.

After digging for about fifteen minutes, it had reached a depth of nearly a meter.

Tianlu's claws suddenly hit something hard, making a crisp "clack."

It stopped and cleared away the surrounding dirt with its paws, revealing what lay beneath.

It was a Stone Platform.

It was entirely translucent green, like high-quality jade, with a surface as smooth as a mirror, devoid of any patterns or carvings.

But Qin Ce could tell at a glance that it was extraordinary.

The mist around the Stone Platform—the energy mist overflowing from the Space-Time Rift and carrying the aura of another world—was slowly flowing toward the platform.

It wasn't being blown by the wind; it was being absorbed.

The Stone Platform was like a sponge, silently swallowing the mist wandering in the air.

Tianlu jumped onto the Stone Platform, patted the surface with its paw, then looked back at Qin Ce and let out a whine.

It signaled Qin Ce to place the crystal core with his blood on the Stone Platform.

Qin Ce stepped forward, leaned over, and placed the crystal core right in the center of the Stone Platform.

The moment the crystal core touched the platform...

Hum!

The Stone Platform jolted violently.

A milky-white liquid, like liquid moonlight, gushed out from inside the Stone Platform, enveloping the crystal core.

The liquid was thick and sticky, like melted wax or glue before it sets.

It wrapped around the crystal core, flowing slowly and penetrating every grain and crack of the core.

The extremely hard crystal core actually began to dissolve under the envelopment of this liquid.

It wasn't shattering; it was melting.

Like an ice cube dropped into hot water, it grew smaller and smaller from the edges until it vanished.

The energy inside the crystal core was released during the melting process, mixing with the milky-white liquid to become a thicker, richer slurry shimmering with a faint silver light.

Qin Ce's drop of blood was also swept up in it.

It swam slowly through the slurry like a small red fish navigating a milky-white ocean.

And then—

The slurry began to contract.

All the liquid, along with the melting crystal core, Qin Ce's blood, and the energy released from the core, was entirely reabsorbed by the Stone Platform.

Like a video playing in reverse, the liquid receded from the surface of the crystal core and flowed back into the Stone Platform.

When the last drop of liquid disappeared, a miniature Rune appeared on the surface of the Stone Platform.

The Rune wasn't large, about the size of a palm, carved right in the center of the platform. Its lines were complex and its patterns exquisite, resembling both a blooming flower and a rotating star.

The color of the Rune was pale gold, standing out strikingly against the green surface of the Stone Platform.

Hum!

The Stone Platform vibrated again.

This time, the vibration didn't come from the Stone Platform itself, but from within Qin Ce.

A cool energy surged from the Stone Platform, traveling from the soles of Qin Ce's feet, along his Meridians, all the way up to his mind.

In that instant, Qin Ce's mind became incredibly clear.

The faint sense of haziness and sluggishness he had felt under the shroud of the Space-Time Rift's mist vanished completely, as if wiped away by an invisible hand.

He could see every corner of the valley—not with his eyes, but through perception.

The flowers, the rocks, the clear pool, the waterfall—every detail was as clear in his perception as if viewed through a magnifying glass.

More miraculously, he could "see" the mist now.

Not seeing white fog with his eyes, but capturing the flow trajectories of the mist through perception. They seeped from the cracks in the cliff, rose from the fissures in the ground, and condensed from the air, only to be slowly absorbed by the Stone Platform.

Everything was under his control.

Then, an ethereal connection emerged.

Qin Ce felt that he had established a certain connection with a specific area of the land.

It wasn't a contract or control, but a more primitive, instinctive connection.

Like a wild beast urinating to mark its territory, and then being able to smell its own scent.

Deep in his consciousness, the outline of an area emerged.

It wasn't large.

Extending outward from the center of the valley, it covered an area about the size of several football fields. Centered on the Stone Platform, it spread in all directions with boundaries that were blurry yet definitely present.

Was this the concept of a Territory?

The Giant Python had been the master of this Territory while it was alive!

In Qin Ce's mind, every boundary line of the Territory surfaced—where the cliff was, where the stream flowed, where the steep slopes and gentle slopes were.

He even feel a slight difference between the concentration of mist at the edge of the Territory and the concentration within it.

And all of this had been achieved through that Silver Rank crystal core.

Qin Ce took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.

He closed his eyes and tried to extend his perception outward.

Beyond the Territory, even more information flooded in.

Friendly.

Coming from the northeast, a gentle, well-meaning sensation, like neighbors nodding to each other.

Covetous.

Coming from the West, a greedy, predatory feeling, as if someone were staring at his Territory, waiting for him to show a weakness.

Hatred.

Coming from the South, a strong, murderous sensation, as if a mortal enemy were not far away.

Indifference.

Coming from the North, a cold, unconcerned feeling, like "your business has nothing to do with me, and mine has nothing to do with you."

Four sensations, four directions.

Qin Ce opened his eyes and looked around.

He understood.

These were the relationships the Giant Python had with the surrounding territories while it was alive.

The friendly one might have cooperated with the python or shared a common enemy.

The covetous one had been waiting for the python to show a weakness so it could annex its land.

The hateful one had been in conflict with the python and might even be its killer.

The indifferent one had no interaction with the python, minding its own business.

Qin Ce's gaze fell upon the Giant Python's corpse.

The horns on its head were broken, its head lolled to one side, and there were no obvious fatal wounds on its body.

It might have been attacked on the head by a stronger Vicious Beast, shattering its brain tissue. Or it might have been heavily injured in a battle with another lord and died of its wounds after fleeing back to its Territory.

Qin Ce shook his head, ceasing his speculation.

Then, he suddenly thought of something and began to look around.

The valley wasn't large, but the terrain was complex.

The entrance was narrow, the interior was wide, and it was surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.

He recalled the route he had taken to enter.

Passing through the shrubs, rounding the corner of the cliff, and entering the valley.

Then, the route he had taken in his mind began to overlap with the boundary lines of the Territory in his consciousness.

Qin Ce's eyes suddenly widened.

The route Tianlu had led him on was entirely along the boundary lines between two territories.

It wasn't walking within anyone's Territory, but in the gap between two territories.

No wonder it hadn't provoked any attacks from Vicious Beasts.

He was walking on the boundary line, belonging to no side and encroaching on no side.

It was like walking on a small path between the walls of two houses; as long as you didn't climb the walls, no one would bother you.

Qin Ce looked down at Tianlu.

Tianlu was squatting by the Stone Platform, using its small paws to groom its fur that had been messed up while digging, the nine-colored light on its antlers flickering softly.

Its expression and posture clearly said—see, didn't I say the northwest was auspicious?

Qin Ce's lips twitched.

This wasn't the first time he had been shocked by Tianlu.

But the miraculous nature of this little creature allowed him to rediscover it every single time.

...