The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 33: Elixirs and Demon Beasts

“What’s going on?” Zhou Tianci stepped out of his tent. Qi Shan reported to him, “Squad Leader, ferocious beasts are attacking the camp!” Zhou Tianci couldn’t help but frown. “Didn’t we just slay over 100,000 beasts?” Chen Xiangrong gave a wry smile. “Squad Leader, the beast tide has now reached its final stage. Countless beasts near Shepan Mountain will be charging toward the valley. The mountain passes to the north are still manageable, but the southern passes are likely to face a constant threat from the beasts at any moment.” Zhou Tianci looked at the dense sea of beastly eyes surrounding them on all sides and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly; it seemed he wouldn’t have a moment’s rest for some time. “This is also an opportunity,” Zhou Tianci thought to himself. “Although I don’t have time to carefully comprehend the Law of Power, I can absorb the spiritual energy and life force of these beasts. For me right now, even the most powerful beasts pose no real threat, but when you add up tens or even hundreds of millions of them, that’s a substantial amount…” This time, Zhou Tianci did not form a military formation; instead, he joined forces with Gu Dali, Lei Dong, and the three Li brothers to slay the beasts. With him and Gu Dali—both Xiantian cultivators—even the largest numbers of beasts posed no threat to Lei Dong and the three Li brothers. Whenever he encountered a top-tier beast, Zhou Tianci would seize the opportunity to devour it. The proportion of top-tier beasts here was very high; among the more than 20,000 beasts Zhou Tianci had slain, as many as 10,000 were on par with Late Post-Heaven or Peak Post-Heaven cultivators, which provided him with a considerable amount of energy. “It’s a pity I can’t devour beasts to strengthen myself like I used to,” Zhou Tianci said, feeling a bit disappointed as he sensed the changes within himself. Before the Seed of the Tree of Eternal Creation had cracked open, all the energy Zhou Tianci devoured was channeled into his own body. However, after the sapling of the Tree of Eternal Creation had formed, nearly all the devoured energy was intercepted by the sapling, leaving Zhou Tianci with an amount so negligible it was almost nothing. The slaughter lasted the entire night, and by dawn, the surviving beasts had finally retreated. Looking around, he saw piles of beast carcasses everywhere, and the ground was stained a dark red. “Phew… phew… phew…” Li Ping gasped heavily. “This is the first time in my life I’ve seen so many ferocious beasts!” Innate-level experts are protected by True Qi, which is inexhaustible and quickly replenishes any energy expended. However, acquired martial artists have limited reserves and recover slowly, requiring ample rest. “Sir, Commander Sun had these Blood Qi Pills sent over.” Qi Shan handed a box to Zhou Tianci. Blood Qi Pills are elixirs that help Postnatal martial artists restore their strength; Zhou Tianci had used them before. As far as Zhou Tianci knew, these pills were exclusively used by the military of the Great State of Yu and were extremely precious—they were only distributed to certain units during major battles. Zhou Tianci understood that this was a gesture of goodwill from Sun Chong, so naturally, he saw no reason to refuse. He took the box and counted the pills—there were 500 in total. “Qi Shan, distribute these 200 Blood Qi Pills to the brothers. Also, you and the other four squad leaders will each receive three. I’ll keep the rest for now and distribute them as needed,” Zhou Tianci said. “Yes, sir.” After Qi Shan left, Zhou Tianci gave Lei Dong and the three Li brothers five Vitality Pills each; as his trusted confidants, they naturally received special treatment. “The military really is different,” Gu Dali thought with a pang of envy. “These Vitality Pills sell for at least one Black Gold Coin each on the open market, yet those ordinary soldiers get one each.” “One Black Gold Coin?” Zhou Tianci took out a Vitality Pill and examined it, finding it hard to believe. When he was a squad leader, his monthly pay was only five Gold Coins—equivalent to half a Black Gold Coin. “Brother Gu, are these Vitality Pills really that precious?” “Not exactly precious,” Gu Dali shook his head. “Some have analyzed it—Vitality Pills are made from ordinary herbs, not even spiritual herbs, and cost less than one gold coin to produce. But since the military holds the formula, they can sell them however they please… There are countless merchant guilds in the Great State of Yu, but I doubt many can rival the military.” “From what you’re saying, does the military have many highly profitable ventures?” Zhou Tianci asked again. Gu Dali replied, “I’m not sure about that. But I’ve heard that in the Great State of Yu, the wealth accumulated by the military exceeds even that of the royal family. If you ask which army is the richest, it’s undoubtedly the Northwest Legion of the City of Tears and Blood. Not to mention the grasslands—just look at the Wild Forest: how many treasures are there? Those treasures are brought to the City of Tears and Blood, and at least one-tenth of them end up in the hands of the Northwest Legion.” Upon hearing this, Zhou Tianci was deeply intrigued. What Gu Dali said made sense—in a world where strength reigns supreme, a military with formidable power would naturally command corresponding resources. After centuries of accumulation, the Northwest Legion’s treasury was likely piled high as mountains. “If I could absorb the treasures from the Northwest Legion’s treasury, the Tree of Eternal Creation should grow significantly.” As this thought crossed Zhou Tianci’s mind, he continued, “If I could take control of the Northwest Legion—and by extension, the City of Tears and Blood—and have them gather treasures for the Tree of Eternal Creation to absorb, its growth would certainly be far faster than if I were to go it alone…” Zhou Tianci’s mindset was slowly shifting. He had previously intended to leave the Northwest Legion, but now, he planned to seize control of it. As for whether he would succeed, Zhou Tianci had no doubts. In his previous life, such a thought would never have crossed his mind; when it came to political maneuvering, Zhou Tianci knew he was no match for those old foxes. But in this world, things were much simpler: as long as he was powerful enough, any resistance would be futile. “The strongest fighter in the Northwest Legion won’t exceed the Xiantian realm. As long as I break through to the mid-Xiantian realm, I’ll be able to sweep through the entire Northwest Legion.” While Zhou Tianci was pondering his future path, the three Li brothers had already skinned, deboned, and thoroughly cleaned a three-eyed bear over one zhang tall. Lei Dong wasn’t idle either; he was busy building a fire. Working together, the four of them had fresh roasted bear meat served up in the space of a quarter of an hour. “Sir, Lord Gu, please help yourselves,” Li Tie said, rubbing his hands together. “Three-eyed bear is a rare delicacy. Before coming to the Barbarian Wilderness, I’d only eaten it once. Ever since then, I’ve been longing for it. This time, though, there are more three-eyed bears than one could ever imagine.” Gu Dali grabbed a piece of meat and took a big bite: “As far as flavor goes, the three-eyed bear ranks among the top of the beasts, but compared to innate demon beasts, it falls far short.” “Lord Gu, have you eaten demon beasts before?” Lei Dong asked in surprise. “Of course!” Gu Dali replied with a touch of pride. Zhou Tianci asked skeptically, “Brother Gu, I’ve heard that demon beasts are stronger than Innate martial artists. You wouldn’t stand a chance against one, would you?” Gu Dali blushed slightly: “Of course, I didn’t kill them myself. Three years ago, Yan Chenggong, the City Lord of Yongan City, hosted a demon beast banquet, and I was invited.” “What kind of demon beast?” Li Ping’s large head leaned in. “The River-Churning Primordial Alligator!” Gu Dali said slowly. “Never heard of it…” Lei Dong and the three Li brothers looked completely bewildered. Gu Dali rolled his eyes. “I forgot you guys are all so unworldly… The River-Churning Primordial Alligator isn’t just any demon beast. Once it matures, it reaches the early Innate Realm, and upon reaching adulthood, it reaches the mid-Innate Realm. This demon beast dwells in deep waters and has extremely strong defenses; even divine weapons struggle to pierce its carapace, so it’s extremely difficult to capture.” Zhou Tianci was also listening with great interest; he was fascinated by the strange and wondrous beasts and demon beasts of this world. “Brother Gu, is the Fanjing Yuantao large in size?” Zhou Tianci asked. “Of course it is!” Gu Dali exclaimed. “Whether it’s a ferocious beast or a demon beast, generally speaking, the stronger it is, the larger it is. There are exceptions, but they’re rare. The largest among the ferocious beasts is the Purple-striped Python—it’s known as the mightiest of them all, with a body length of 20 zhang! It’s said that some have even seen Purple-striped Pythons over 30 zhang long—truly unbelievable!” “Wow…” Lei Dong and the Li brothers exclaimed in astonishment. Zhou Tianci also found it hard to believe. Over 30 zhang was nearly 100 meters—what a colossal creature that must be! He had previously thought the Water-Splitting Python at the Wanhai Pavilion was large enough, but he never imagined that compared to the Purple-Striped Python, the Water-Splitting Python was merely a small fry. “The Purple-striped Python is an extremely rare and ferocious beast. Legend has it that once it breaks through to the Posthuman Realm, it transforms into a Purple Lightning Dragon—an incredibly powerful Innate Demon Beast!” Gu Dali, intent on showing off his knowledge, rattled off everything he knew. “If a Post-Heaven Purple-striped Python is this big, just how huge must a Pre-Heaven demon beast be?” Lei Dong couldn’t even begin to imagine it. “How big?” Gu Dali paused for a moment. “That River-Turning Primordial Alligator that Yan Chenggong served at his banquet—its skeleton alone was over 50 zhang long, and a complete River-Turning Primordial Alligator would be at least 70 zhang!” “That’s as big as a small mountain!” Li Ping rubbed his large head. “An innate demon beast could crush us just with its sheer size!” Zhou Tianci was speechless at the thought of a demon beast over 200 meters long. No wonder demon beasts were so much stronger than Innate-level experts—that size alone was terrifying enough. Besides, with a body like that, just how powerful must their physical constitution be? “I wonder what would happen if I were to encounter a demon beast…” Zhou Tianci gripped the Qianjun Sword in his hand tightly, pondering the question. Zhou Tianci and his men hadn’t rested for long before the next wave of beasts began charging the positions. This wave was larger than last night’s, and their combat prowess was even greater. Fortunately, Sun Chong and his men had arrived early and had already constructed defensive fortifications; with the support of powerful bows and crossbows, the defending troops showed no signs of breaking ranks. However, casualties among the troops were beginning to mount. Zhou Tianci’s unit was holding up well—with him and Gu Dali providing cover, they’d suffered only about 30 casualties last night—but the other three legions were taking much heavier losses. “Judging by the situation, the three legions have suffered at least 300 casualties,” Zhou Tianci estimated. After discarding his twin axes, Gu Dali had switched to a long halberd. He followed the philosophy of “brute force over skill,” employing wide, sweeping movements that were well-suited for clearing out ferocious beasts. “This is just the beginning,” Gu Dali sneered. He had no fondness for the Northwest Legion. “At this rate, by the time the beast tide ends, at least two-thirds of them will be dead!”