40: Chapter 40: The Greatest Tide of Spiritual Energy, Humans Enter.
The largest Aura Tide location.
The explosion just now blasted a massive crater several hundred meters wide into the ground. In the center was a crack a hundred meters long, from which a vast amount of aura surged forth, shooting straight into the sky, accompanied by a large pile of Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
After being ejected from the ground, they scattered everywhere like falling flower petals.
The Mutated Creatures gathered here scrambled for them, fighting fiercely and causing countless casualties. The spirit stones continued to spray out incessantly, showing no signs of stopping.
The aura shooting into the sky turned into spiritual rain that poured down, nourishing the earth and the forest. All things were revived; Mutated Creatures grew more numerous, plants grew wantonly and developed intelligence, and the forest became even more lush.
At the same time, Bai Xuan arrived at the scene. Looking at the sight before him, his eyes revealed shock:
"I didn't expect this Aura Tide to be so... massive."
It seemed he had misjudged. This Aura Tide was over a hundred times stronger than the previous one. If the second Aura Tide was already like this, wouldn't they become even more terrifying in the future?
I absolutely cannot slack off! I must maintain a leading, crushing advantage at all times!
This was Bai Xuan's current thought. His body expanded, his wingspan reaching twenty-two meters, and with lightning speed, he flew toward the crack of the Aura Tide.
[Frost Wing Blade] [Death Pressure]
His sharp wings ruthlessly slaughtered the Mutated Creatures near the crack. Before long, Bai Xuan had killed several hundred Mutated Creatures; corpses littered the field, and blood flowed like a river.
He released his Death Pressure to its maximum, exerting a powerful deterrent effect on the Mutated Creatures within a hundred-meter radius!
They trembled with fear and instinctively backed away. Facing a terrifying Mutated Creature like Bai Xuan, they felt nothing but dread.
Cold air diffused, covering the ground with a layer of frost.
The closer one was to the Aura Tide, the more massive the level increase.
Some with excellent talent advanced directly from the first stage of Tier 1 to Tier 2.
Advancements from sub-tier to Tier 1, and Tier 1 to Tier 2, became more and more frequent.
Meanwhile, Bai Xuan's level rose to Tier 2, Stage 9. His aura surged, and his terrifying pressure made the Mutated Creatures within a hundred meters struggle to breathe.
"Back off, or don't blame me for being ruthless."
Bai Xuan's tone was cold; this was not a negotiation, but a command.
He forcefully suppressed those Mutated Creatures that wanted to approach.
Those Mutated Creatures snapped out of it and retreated one after another, not daring to approach again, their eyes showing fear and resentment.
Naturally, they were indignant, but there was nothing they could do. Bai Xuan was too strong; they were simply no match for him.
"You can only take thirty percent; leave the rest for us."
"Well said. If you dare to monopolize everything, we won't just stand by and watch. You probably don't want to fight all of us alone, either."
"What on earth did he grow up eating to be so powerful?!"
"Looking at this strength, he should be about to advance to Tier 3."
"Friend, we have a common enemy, and that is humanity. For the sake of the big picture, we should share these resources. If we become stronger, we can deal with the humans together, can't we?"
"Exactly, there is strength in numbers. I hope our friend thinks carefully before answering."
Those Tier 2 Mutated Creatures began their persuasion.
"That's acceptable. You all back off. Once I've taken enough, the rest will be yours. If you disagree, we can fight."
Bai Xuan nodded slightly, his tone no longer quite as cold.
"Fine, I hope you are as good as your word."
They couldn't beat Bai Xuan; going up against him would only result in being slaughtered.
With the arrival of the great era, they cherished their lives but were also willing to risk them, depending on the situation.
Bai Xuan shrank his body and flew into the crack. The massive aura buffeted him, making him sway slightly, accompanied by many Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Low-Grade Spirit Stones were not Bai Xuan's goal; the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones within the crack were his target. However, he would conveniently collect any Low-Grade Spirit Stones that flew in front of him.
Bai Xuan swallowed all the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in the crack into his stomach.
Suddenly, a piece of aura emitting five-colored light surged out from the deepest part, rushing out of the crack at extreme speed toward the sky.
This spirit stone was only the size of a palm, yet it contained terrifying aura.
When the Mutated Creatures outside saw this spirit stone, their eyes lit up. A large crowd of flying Mutated Creatures flew toward it, fighting and scrambling to snatch it.
From the crack, a light blue figure emerged and shot into the sky, taking the spirit stone first. This figure was indeed Bai Xuan. He activated the Eye of Appraisal:
[High-Grade Spirit Stone, devouring it grants 10,000 evolution points.]
"Good stuff." Bai Xuan swallowed it into his stomach.
Seeing the spirit stone swallowed by Bai Xuan, the flying Mutated Creatures charged at him frantically in a dense, dark mass.
They couldn't resist the temptation of that spirit stone and had completely lost their sanity. Even knowing they couldn't beat Bai Xuan, they still charged at him to kill.
Bai Xuan released his pressure, which dealt physical damage. Those below Tier 1, Stage 7 were directly knocked unconscious, their eyes rolling back and foam at their mouths as they fell to the ground, only to be eaten by other Mutated Creatures.
Those below Tier 2 were greatly affected but still desperately charged at Bai Xuan, while the Tier 2 Mutated Creatures were even more ferocious.
Seeing this, Bai Xuan began fighting them directly—or rather, it was a slaughter. Blood splattered and flesh flew as corpses continuously fell to the ground.
Bai Xuan held the upper hand from start to finish; it didn't matter how many beasts came. He released his divine sense and pressure to the maximum. If another High-Grade Spirit Stone appeared, he would be able to strike immediately and claim it.
During this time, he had to stay in the middle of the Aura Tide to ensure he could get it first.
Suddenly, hundreds of rocket-propelled grenades roared into the beast swarm. *Boom! Rumble!* Countless Mutated Creatures were blown to pieces. Those that could survive the rockets... were all Mutated Creatures above Tier 1, Stage 7.
This also signified that humanity had entered the fray!
Tanks, like steel behemoths, ruthlessly crushed Mutated Creatures as they entered the battlefield and continued to advance.
Military trucks behind them, equipped with dense arrays of launch tubes, fired round after round of countless rockets toward the beast tide.
The Soldiers' reloading speed was crisp and efficient; the rockets were exhausted in a short while.
However, they had also eliminated half of the Mutated Creatures.
Rockets cleared the way with concentrated firepower.
Then armored vehicles, tanks, and so on entered the scene, advancing steadily.
Heavy machine guns, heavy cannons, rockets, shells, rifles, and more.
They ruthlessly harvested the lives of the Mutated Creatures. The weapons this time were even more ferocious than before, acting like a literal meat grinder. They had killed so many Mutated Creatures shortly after entering the fray.
Ten helicopters appeared in the sky, their gun barrels almost glowing red from firing. Their superior firepower dealt devastating blows to both ground and aerial Mutated Creatures.
However, there were more than just these few Mutated Creatures. Those who couldn't squeeze in before could now enter the battlefield by stepping over the corpses, arriving in an endless stream, having lost their sanity and fearing neither death nor life.
This was going to be a difficult and bloody war of attrition for resources.
"Truly terrifying," Bai Xuan remarked as he watched the scene unfold.
...