213: Chapter 213 Shifting the Blame East

"How to perform this act well?"

Qin Ce smiled slightly, his heart full of confidence.

He deliberately controlled the speed of the Phoenix, not too fast and not too slow, just enough for the Vicious Beast behind him to chase but not catch up.

Like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey, visible, unreachable, yet always just a little bit away.

Every territory passed along the way, regardless of whether the lord was Gold Rank or Silver Rank, as long as it poked its head out, it was met with a Wind Blade.

Not strong, not fatal, but painful enough and humiliating enough.

Those attacked Vicious Beasts were stunned at first, then furious, and then joined the chase.

The hunting team grew like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger.

Qin Ce knew exactly what he was doing.

After the previous submission of the Silver Moon Fox and Shadow Leopard, he had grasped an important rule of this Vicious Beast world—Vicious Beast territories are not isolated individuals, but a network of subordinate relationships.

Attacking any Vicious Beast would provoke the hatred of all Vicious Beasts associated with it.

The submissive would fight for the lord, neighbors would fight for allies, and there was a clear obligation relationship between superiors and subordinates.

This was the reason why Beast Tamers from Wind Ridge City never dared to go deep into this area to hunt.

It wasn't that they couldn't beat them; it was that they couldn't afford to provoke them.

You hit one, a group comes; you hit a group, a whole area comes.

In the end, all the Vicious Beasts in the entire area would treat you as a public enemy.

This was exactly what Qin Ce wanted.

He didn't want the hatred of one specific Vicious Beast; he wanted the hatred of all Vicious Beasts in the entire area.

Let them chase him, let them hate him, let them pour all their fury onto him.

Then, he would pass this fury on to Wang Zhuo.

The Phoenix flew in front, and Tianlu was also making trouble in Qin Ce's arms.

Every certain distance, Tianlu would shoot a Lumeng rune backward.

The rune was small, only palm-sized, drawing a faint nine-colored trail in the mist, landing precisely on the few Vicious Beasts that were chasing the tightest.

Vicious Beasts below Gold Rank didn't react much after being hit by Lumeng, just a slight pause in their movements, then they continued to chase.

But their eyes would change, from anger to irritability, from irritability to madness.

The control effect of Lumeng on them was minimal, but the third stage of Lumeng, "Cursed by Misfortune," invisibly magnified their negative emotions. Furthermore, as they ran, they would suddenly slip, be tripped by a companion while chasing, or inexplicably lose their breath even though they were about to catch up.

These small accidents accumulated, causing their rage to burn hotter and hotter.

As for those Gold Rank Vicious Beasts, Lumeng had no control effect on them at all.

The runes landing on them didn't even cause a momentary pause.

But in their hearts, an inexplicable, indescribable feeling of discomfort welled up.

It wasn't pain, it wasn't itching, but a more mysterious feeling, like something pressing on their chests.

Tianlu's Lumeng had no physical effect on Gold Rank Vicious Beasts, but it had an effect on Luck.

Those Gold Rank Vicious Beasts didn't know what "Luck" was, but they could feel that the little thief riding the bird in front was becoming more and more annoying.

Qin Ce looked back at the Vicious Beasts that were chasing closer and in greater numbers, and his mouth curled up slightly.

Just then, several blurry figures appeared in his sight.

Since becoming the lord of this area, the mist's influence on his vision had been greatly reduced.

Originally he could only see things within a thousand meters, but now he could see several thousand meters. Those blurry figures became even clearer in the vision of Nine-Star Insight.

Silver-Patterned Peacock. Iron-Feathered Vulture. Thunder Eagle. Wind Falcon.

Wang Zhuo and his team.

Qin Ce could see them, but Wang Zhuo could not see Qin Ce.

The mist's influence on their vision still existed; they were still groping in the mist, tracking Qin Ce's position based on the key map.

A sharp light flashed in Qin Ce's eyes.

It was about to begin.

"Little Qing, side position, no-man's land, cast Shadow Sight."

The Phoenix flapped its wings, its body shifted slightly, aiming at an empty wasteland on the left.

Then behind the Phoenix, Phoenix Flow condensed—seventeen, eighteen, nineteen.

The silver-white energy ribbons rolled like tides behind it, each one condensed to the extreme.

Then, all the Phoenix Flow poured into the Phoenix's body.

A Wind Blade, one person tall, shot out from the Phoenix's mouth.

The Wind Blade was huge, but condensed to the extreme. But the scene that followed left Qin Ce stunned.

The color of that Wind Blade changed; it changed the moment it was cast.

Its color was not the silver-white of Silver Rank, nor the gold of Gold Rank, but a nearly transparent, almost invisible blurry shadow.

If it weren't for the feedback of Nine-Star Insight, he would have even doubted whether the Phoenix had shot this Wind Blade.

Shadow Sight underwent a qualitative change during the transition from Silver Rank to Gold Rank.

Qin Ce took a deep breath, Nine-Star Insight running at full power.

[Skill]: Shadow Sight (Transcendent Rank)

[Current Rank]: Gold Rank

[Effect]:

1. Releases a nearly invisible Wind Blade, which can absorb surrounding wind elements during flight to conjure a "Mirror Shadow" identical to the caster's main body. The Mirror Shadow possesses physical interference and energy deception effects.

2. The caster can swap spatial positions with the Mirror Shadow by consuming Mental Energy within the skill's effective duration.

3. Effective duration: five minutes. Effective distance: two kilometers.

4. If used in combination with Wind Core, the duration of Shadow Sight can be further extended, and the Mirror Shadow can be fixed at the location of the Wind Core.

Qin Ce's eyes lit up.

The memory of previous battles emerged in his mind.

When the Phoenix upgraded from black iron rank to Bronze Rank, Qin Ce knew that the Phoenix's skills would undergo transformative changes after the Rank energy increased.

When Shadow Sight was at Black Iron, it could only release one strike, and the distance did not exceed five hundred meters, and the time did not exceed fifteen seconds.

And when it reached Bronze Rank, the time of Shadow Sight had already exceeded twenty-five seconds.

Now the Phoenix was already Silver Rank, but it released a Gold Rank energy Shadow Sight.

And the Gold Rank Shadow Sight had an effective duration stretched from less than half a minute to five minutes.

The effective distance expanded from less than one kilometer to two kilometers.

More importantly—if used in combination with Wind Core, not only could the duration of Shadow Sight be further extended, but the Mirror Shadow could also be fixed at the location of the Wind Core.

Qin Ce's eyes lit up.

Five minutes. Two kilometers. Fixable.

This was no longer a skill; this was a strategic mobility tool.

He didn't have time to think.

Wang Zhuo was in front, and the Vicious Beasts behind were still chasing.

He ordered directly, and a silver-white Wind Core floated out from between the Phoenix's feathers, precisely tracking and landing on that nearly invisible Shadow Sight Wind Blade.

The Wind Core fused with the Wind Blade, and the Mirror Shadow of Shadow Sight flew into the distance with the Wind Core.

A translucent Wind Blade, just as it was about to change into the shadow of Qin Ce and the Phoenix, suddenly returned to the form of a Wind Blade under the blessing of the Wind Core, and flew into the distance, becoming even more invisible.

After this, Qin Ce did not stop.

He ordered the Phoenix to release a second Wind Core, shooting straight at the position in front of Wang Zhuo's team, letting the Wind Core ambush there in advance.

The Wind Core drew a silver-white trajectory in the mist and hung there, about one kilometer away from Wang Zhuo and the others.

The Wind Core was not activated, just silently floating, like an inconspicuous little light spot.

After doing all this, Qin Ce patted the Phoenix's neck, preparing to issue a shouting command to the Phoenix through the soul contract.

Tianlu in his arms suddenly nudged his chest with its antlers.

"Mew."

A consciousness was transmitted from the soul contract.

Tianlu preemptively said.

"Let me do it, let me do it. Phoenix sister's chirping can only be understood by most flying pets. That "submit" taunt before was because of using the authority of the lord's pressure, so most Vicious Beasts could understand it was asking them to submit, not because Phoenix sister's chirping itself made them understand the meaning."

"But I am different! I have Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom, my shouting can clearly express Boss's meaning, regardless of whether the other party is a flying pet or a ground beast, whether it is a mammal or a reptile, whether it is Gold Rank or black iron rank!"

Qin Ce was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"Okay, you do it."

Tianlu stood up from his arms, its little claws clutching Qin Ce's collar, standing on the Phoenix's neck.

It raised its head, the nine-colored light on its antlers shone brightly, and a flash of cunning light flickered in its golden eyes.

"Say it, Boss, how do you want me to taunt them?" Tianlu's consciousness carried an eagerness to try.

Qin Ce tapped Tianlu's little head.

"Taunting them would be too fake. This time, shout directly at Wang Zhuo's side." He paused, lowered his voice, "Just say—these Gold Rank stupid beasts have all been brought to you, the crystal cores needed by the family head are absolutely enough, after killing them all, skinning and deboning them, we can make a big profit!"

Tianlu rolled its eyes, its little head turned a few times, and it understood.

Taunting these Vicious Beasts was not the goal at all.

Making these Vicious Beasts believe that Qin Ce and Wang Zhuo were in the same group through words was the foundation.

The core was to transfer the hatred of the Vicious Beasts, not to increase the hatred of the Vicious Beasts. Now the hatred of the Vicious Beasts was already enough; how to mislead the Vicious Beasts was the key!

Understanding this, Tianlu knew what to do.

Tianlu walked out of Qin Ce's arms, took two steps forward, and arrived at the Phoenix's neck to stand firm.

It raised its head, the nine-colored light on its antlers shone brightly, and its little chest was puffed out high.

Then it didn't start roaring directly.

Instead, it released a skill.

Heavenly Chant!

But this Heavenly Chant was completely different from before.

Previous Heavenly Chants were silent sound waves spreading to the surroundings, detecting hidden life and energy fluctuations like sonar.

And this time, Heavenly Chant carried a distinct sound.

A unique, highly penetrating beast roar.

However, the spreading speed of Heavenly Chant was obviously not as fast as sound.

Tianlu's voice was faster, and its penetrating power was also very strong, like an invisible needle, piercing into the ears of every Vicious Beast.

Whether it was flying in the sky, running on the ground, or squatting on a tree, they heard it clearly.

The content Tianlu shouted, after the processing of Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom, became like this—

"Brothers in front, get ready, follow orders to attack! I have already brought these stupid Vicious Beasts to you! Skin and debone them and kill them, and you can complete the order given by the family head! The flesh and blood on them can also be sold for money, allowing us to make a big profit!"

However, the Vicious Beasts that heard these voices did not have any reaction.

They were still chasing, still roaring, still angry.

Not a single Vicious Beast looked in the direction of Wang Zhuo, not a single Vicious Beast's eyes changed.

Qin Ce's heart skipped a beat.

They couldn't understand?

Tianlu was right; different races indeed could not understand the sounds of other races.

But didn't Tianlu just say that its voice could be understood by other animals?

Could it be that it was like the Phoenix's chirping, also unable to be understood by most beasts?

Until the ripples of Heavenly Chant spread over all the Vicious Beasts.

The sound, following the ripples of Heavenly Chant, spread into the perception of every Vicious Beast.

The hunting Vicious Beast pack went quiet for a moment.

The actions of all Vicious Beasts appeared to have a brief pause. Their eyes changed from anger to confusion, from confusion to shock, from shock to hatred.

Heavenly Chant is a skill.

It is not an ordinary call; it carries the power of Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom, forming a special ripple capable of transmitting information across racial boundaries.

That ripple was silent, spreading from Tianlu's antlers to the surroundings, sweeping across the wasteland like water ripples, sweeping across the mist, sweeping across the body of every Vicious Beast.

Wherever the ripple passed, the sounds that were originally just "heard" turned into "understood" meanings.

At this moment, the gazes of all Vicious Beasts crossed Qin Ce's figure, looking at those figures that appeared in the distance.

Eleven Gold Rank Pet Beasts. Eleven Gold Rank Beast Tamers. Eleven auras that did not belong to this land.

So that was it.

No wonder this little thief riding the bird dared to run rampant in their territory.

So he was not alone.

He had people behind him.

He and those people were in the same group.

He lured them out so that those people could kill them.

To take their crystal cores, peel their skin, pull their tendons, and sell their meat.

They had been schemed against!

"Roar—!!!"

The first roar exploded. Not anger, but a declaration of war.

"Awoo—!!!"

The second sound. The elephant cry carried grief and indignation and the humiliation of being deceived.

"Hiss—!!!"

The third sound. The two heads of the Two-headed Monster roared simultaneously, four eyes blood-red, dragging a deep groove on the ground with their mace.

Dozens of Gold Rank Vicious Beast roars exploded in the mist simultaneously. Not the sporadic, individual fighting roars from before, but neat, unified, and purposeful war cries.

Their eyes turned red.

Not the red of anger, but the red of killing intent.

And in the distance, Wang Zhuo finally saw Qin Ce at this moment.

In the mist, a silver-blue figure broke through the fog.

The Phoenix, Qin Ce.

The distance was less than one kilometer.

Wang Zhuo's brows furrowed.

Qin Ce was flying straight toward them, his speed neither fast nor slow.

This was not normal. A person being hunted should not actively approach the hunters.

Unless he was sure he could counter-kill.

Then he heard the beast roars.

Not one, not two, but—dozens.

Coming from the mist behind Qin Ce, getting closer and louder.

Wang Zhuo's face changed.

He finally saw the things in the mist behind Qin Ce.

Gold Rank Vicious Beasts.

A large group.

Dense, overwhelming, pouring out from the mist.

Some were running wildly on the ground, some were flying in the air, some were jumping on the treetops.

Their eyes were all red, and they were all staring in his direction.

Wang Zhuo's mind went blank at this instant.

...