212: Chapter 212 Surrounded by Beasts

The Qingluan sped through the thin mist.

Nine Wind Cores rotated slowly around it, continuously absorbing wind-element energy from the air to prepare for the upcoming consecutive bursts.

Qin Ce looked down at the terrain below, comparing it with the marked locations in his memory.

Almost there.

The first target was less than two kilometers ahead.

It was the territory of a Gold Rank Bovine Vicious Beast.

Qin Ce saw it at a single glance.

The bull was as large as a small mountain, its entire body covered in dark green scales, with two horns pointing toward the sky, their tips glinting with a metallic chill.

It lay on a giant rock like a statue, motionless.

But as Qin Ce approached, even before he entered its territory, it stood up.

Qin Ce hadn't even seen its eyes yet when he felt a scorching gaze.

The bovine creature had already risen from the rock and walked to the edge of its territory, staring at him with predatory eyes.

There was no anger or killing intent in its dark yellow eyes, only a pure warning.

One more step, and you die.

It was different from other Vicious Beasts.

Perhaps because it had warned Qin Ce before, it simply didn't want him entering its territory.

Qin Ce didn't rush forward recklessly either.

He had the Qingluan hover on the boundary line of the territory—that invisible divide only a lord could perceive.

The bovine creature stood inside the line, while he stood outside. They stared at each other across the line for three seconds.

Then, Qin Ce moved.

Not forward, not backward, but ordering the Qingluan to attack.

Behind the Qingluan, thirteen silver-white Phoenix Flows were already poised for action.

The moment Qin Ce gave the order, the thirteen Phoenix Flows surged into the Qingluan's body simultaneously.

The Qingluan's wings suddenly lit up as silver-white light spread from the base of its feathers to the tips, condensing, compressing, and then exploding at the wingtips.

A silver-white Wind Blade shot out from the Qingluan's wingtip, its edges shimmering with a faint golden light as it carved a straight path through the thin mist, heading straight for the bovine creature's face.

A Gold Rank attack.

It wasn't a probe or a warning; it was a genuine, full-power Gold Rank attack.

The bovine creature's dark yellow eyes widened abruptly.

It didn't dodge, nor did it even retreat.

It simply lowered its head, aiming its sky-pointing horns at the Wind Blade.

A dark green light glowed on the horns as they collided with the Wind Blade.

Boom—!

The Wind Blade exploded, turning into countless fine silver fragments that splattered in all directions.

A shallow white mark was carved into the horns, and the bovine creature's head was jerked back by the impact.

It wasn't injured, but it was infuriated.

"Moo—!!!"

A low, thunderous bellow erupted from its throat, causing the surrounding mist to churn.

Its front hooves pawed the ground twice, sending gravel flying and carving two deep grooves into the earth.

It lowered its head, horns aimed at Qin Ce, preparing to charge.

But by this time, Qin Ce was already long gone.

The moment the Wind Blade was fired, the Qingluan flapped its wings and flew off in another direction.

The silver-blue figure traced an arc through the thin mist, moving so fast that it had already flown hundreds of meters before the bovine creature could even start its charge.

The bovine creature chased for a few steps but couldn't keep up.

Standing at the edge of its territory, it watched the silver-blue figure grow more distant and let out an angry, unwilling roar.

The roar echoed through the thin mist, carrying very, very far.

Qin Ce didn't look back.

"Next one."

The second territory was less than five kilometers from the first.

It was an elephant.

Its entire body was like jade, white to the point of being nearly transparent, glowing with a gentle luster in the thin mist.

Its body was a size larger than the bovine creature's, with four legs like pillars; the ground trembled slightly with every step it took.

Mammoth Jade Elephant.

Gold Rank.

One look was enough to tell its defense was extremely high.

Before Qin Ce even got close, the jade elephant let out a long trumpet.

The sound wasn't a warning but an expulsion—leave this place, or I won't be polite.

Qin Ce didn't leave.

The Phoenix Flows behind the Qingluan condensed once more.

Thirteen of them, just like before.

A silver-white Wind Blade formed at the Qingluan's wingtip, its edges glowing with a faint golden light.

But this time, the target of the Wind Blade wasn't the jade elephant.

The jade elephant was too large and its defense too high.

The Qingluan's Gold Rank Wind Blade would leave a white mark at most; it couldn't break its defense.

Qin Ce had never intended to attack it from the start.

The target of the Wind Blade was the massive ancient tree in the center of the jade elephant's territory.

The ancient tree was about thirty meters tall, its canopy like a massive lid, with lush branches and leaves.

The trunk was so thick it would take seven or eight people to encircle it, its bark dark brown and filled with gullies and cracks.

Over a dozen golden pears hung from the branches, each as large as a washbasin, glowing enticingly in the thin mist.

Qin Ce didn't know what those pears were, but he knew they had to be valuable.

For a Gold Rank jade elephant to guard the tree, the value of those pears was self-evident.

The Wind Blade trailed a silver-white wake and struck the trunk of the ancient tree with precision.

Puchi—!

The Wind Blade sliced into the trunk, cutting halfway through.

Golden sap gushed from the cut, flowing down the bark and dripping onto the ground with a "sizzle."

The ancient tree shook violently, and over a dozen golden pears fell from the branches, smashing to pieces on the ground.

The jade elephant's eyes turned red instantly.

It let out a shrill, heart-wrenching trumpet, its four pillar-like legs kicking off the ground as it charged toward Qin Ce.

Its speed didn't seem fast, but every step shook the earth, and cracks spread across the ground beneath its feet.

Qin Ce didn't wait for it.

The Qingluan flapped its wings and flew toward the next territory.

The jade elephant chased him out of its territory for nearly a kilometer before stopping.

Standing on the wasteland, it watched the direction where the silver-blue figure had disappeared, letting out one angry trumpet after another.

There was no threat in those sounds, only grief.

The third territory was a swamp.

The swamp wasn't large, spanning only a few hundred meters, but the mist was thicker than elsewhere.

The water surface was grayish-black, covered with a layer of dark green duckweed; occasionally, bubbles rose from the bottom, bursting and releasing a pungent stench.

Before Qin Ce even got close, he felt a dangerous aura.

Nine-Star Insight told him that there was a lifeform deep in the swamp with a very strong energy, stronger than both the bovine creature and the jade elephant.

He had the Qingluan hover at the edge of the swamp, not entering recklessly.

Then, a Two-headed Monster rose from the swamp.

Its size was smaller than Qin Ce had expected, only a bit over two meters tall, but its body was sturdy. Its arms were covered in dark green scales, and while its fingers were short and thick, its nails were long, like five curved daggers.

Most striking were its two heads—the left head had red eyes, and the right head had blue eyes.

Both heads stared at Qin Ce simultaneously, their four eyes filled with vigilance and hostility.

The Two-headed Monster didn't issue a warning, roar, or make any redundant moves.

It simply bent down, picked up a millstone-sized rock from the edge of the swamp, and then—

Threw it.

The rock whistled through the air as it was hurled at Qin Ce.

It wasn't fast, but the power was immense.

The rock spun through the air, carrying the stench of foul mud.

The Qingluan tilted its body slightly, and the rock flew past its wing, landing on the ground in the distance and smashing a shallow pit.

Qin Ce didn't counterattack.

The Phoenix Flows behind the Qingluan had already accumulated to sixteen.

Silver-white energy streamers rolled behind it, each condensed to the extreme.

Qin Ce waited for the Two-headed Monster to pick up a second rock before ordering an attack.

Not at the Two-headed Monster, but at the mud pit beside it.

A silver-white Wind Blade shot from the Qingluan's wingtip, slicing precisely into the center of the mud pit.

The mud pit exploded, and black mud was flung into the air by the Wind Blade like a black rainstorm, drenching the Two-headed Monster head-to-toe.

Both heads of the Two-headed Monster let out angry roars simultaneously.

It shook its heads, trying to shake off the mud on its face, but the more it shook, the more it spread.

Mud plastered its eyes, nose, and mouth shut.

The red eye on the left managed to squint open a crack through the mud, while the blue eye on the right was completely covered.

It opened its mouth to curse, but mud surged in.

It let out a series of dry heaves, bending over with one hand on its knee and the other frantically wiping its mouth.

By the time it finally cleared the mud from its face and opened its eyes, Qin Ce had already flown far away.

The Two-headed Monster roared, bent down to pick up a thick Spiked club from the edge of the swamp—who knows where it got it—and dragged the club, sprinting after Qin Ce with its sturdy legs.

Its speed wasn't fast, but every step was resolute, carrying a ruthless determination not to stop until it caught him.

Qin Ce looked back, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

This was the first one to actively start chasing him.

With this one, more Vicious Beasts would start the chase later!

So, he had to continue.

Qin Ce had the Qingluan turn toward the fourth territory.

But he hadn't flown even two kilometers when he stopped.

In the thin mist ahead, three Gold Rank Vicious Beasts stood side by side, blocking his path.

On the left was a pitch-black leopard, a size larger than a Shadow Leopard, its eyes glowing emerald green like two ghost fires in the thin mist.

In the middle was a grayish-white giant wolf, nearly two meters tall at the shoulder, covered in coarse bristles, with saliva dripping from its mouth.

On the right was a dark red fox; it was the smallest but had the strongest aura, with six or seven tails swaying gently in the thin mist.

Three Gold Rank Vicious Beasts.

They hadn't just come from their respective territories; they had met up in advance to actively intercept him.

Qin Ce's brow furrowed slightly.

The intelligence of these Vicious Beasts was higher than he had anticipated.

They weren't fighting individually; they knew how to communicate, collaborate, and set up defenses in advance.

He didn't attack this time; Vicious Beasts that took the initiative to move wouldn't need to be provoked to follow.

The Qingluan flapped its wings and flew in another direction.

The three Vicious Beasts chased for a while and didn't catch up, but they didn't stop in their tracks either.

Instead, they spread out in different directions, forming an encirclement formation to surround Qin Ce.

They were herding Qin Ce, narrowing his range of activity.

But seeing this, Qin Ce's expression didn't change at all; there was even a hint of a smile.

He wasn't afraid of the Vicious Beasts targeting him; he was afraid of them ignoring him!

He flew over the fifth territory, the sixth, and the seventh.

At the edge of every territory, there were Vicious Beasts waiting for him.

Some were alone, some in pairs, and some had met up beforehand to intercept him like the previous three.

They weren't staying in their respective territories; they were all taking the initiative to attack, even disturbing some Vicious Beasts that didn't want to get involved.

Their numbers grew larger and larger, like a defensive line composed of Gold Rank Vicious Beasts.

Qin Ce made a round through these Vicious Beasts' territories, causing more and more of them to be stirred into action.

Their anger was being constantly stoked.

But it wasn't enough.

This anger hadn't made them lose their rationality yet!

Qin Ce took a deep breath and made a decision.

"Xiao Qing," he patted the Qingluan's neck, "taunt all the Vicious Beasts in this area for me."

The Qingluan raised its head and let out a clear, highly penetrating cry.

It wasn't an ordinary cry, but one filled with deliberate, arrogant, and provocative intent.

The sound spread through the thin mist, carrying very, very far.

Qin Ce couldn't understand bird language, but he knew what the Qingluan was saying.

The Qingluan's soul contract told him.

Its cry echoed words he had once said.

All the Vicious Beasts present are trash; he is now the king of this area.

Everyone, come to him, kneel in submission, and acknowledge him as master.

In the thin mist, there was a moment of dead silence.

Then—

"Roar—!!!"

An angry beast roar exploded from the northwest.

It was the voice of the bovine creature Qin Ce had heard before.

Its roar was louder, deeper, and more furious than before.

"Awoo—!!!"

The second came from the west. The jade elephant. Its trumpet was no longer mournful, but had become a furious declaration of war.

"Hiss—!!!"

The third came from the southwest. The Two-headed Monster. Its hiss was mixed with the sound of the Spiked club dragging across the ground.

The fourth, the fifth, the sixth—

Dozens of Gold Rank Vicious Beasts' roars exploded simultaneously from all directions in the thin mist.

Every roar was louder, closer, and angrier than the last. They weren't just making a show of force; they were responding—responding to the Qingluan's provocation.

The roars of the dozen or so Gold Rank Vicious Beasts Qin Ce had heard before were all among them.

And there were even more roars from Gold Rank Vicious Beasts he hadn't heard, hadn't marked, and which were hidden in deeper territories.

Dozens of Gold Rank auras surged in simultaneously from different directions, distances, and positions.

Qin Ce closed his eyes, activating Nine-Star Insight to its full capacity.

In his vision, the auras of those Gold Rank Vicious Beasts were like dark red stars, moving rapidly—not wandering aimlessly, but converging on his position with direction and rhythm.

They had left their territories. All of them had begun their pursuit of Qin Ce.

Qin Ce opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into a cold arc.

"It's done."

He patted the Qingluan's neck, and it flapped its wings, flying in another direction.

Not to escape, but to lead the way.

He was going to take these furious Gold Rank Vicious Beasts to see Wang Zhuo.

This was the gift he was bringing to Wang Zhuo.

Wang Zhuo had already moved out of his territory perception range.

But judging from the pursuit over the past few hours, Wang Zhuo and his group had been constantly adjusting their direction, locking onto his position.

Therefore, as long as he flew toward the territory, he would inevitably run into Wang Zhuo.

Now, the only question was...

Whether he could put on a good enough performance before the two sides met.

To make Wang Zhuo believe those Vicious Beasts were his helpers.

To make those Vicious Beasts believe Wang Zhuo was the backing for Qin Ce's side.

Then, at the moment both sides met...

To make both sides believe the other was with their opponent.

This was not going to be easy!

...