Chapter 271 - 264: Deeper, Tentacles

Chapter 271: Chapter 264: Deeper, Tentacles

Qu Chengyuan and his group were following Jiang Zuo’s trio with a Spirit Beast that excelled at tracking.

Under the enhancement of the Beast God Tree, the Spirit Beast’s tracking skills became astonishingly powerful.

It was impossible to lose their trail, even from a great distance.

"Is the path these people are taking exactly the same as the one that other group took?"

After tracking them for a while, the group grew suspicious.

"It’s been identical so far, but we’ve only just entered the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Land. It doesn’t prove anything yet."

"But if we follow for a bit longer and it’s still the same, then we can be pretty much certain!" one of them said.

The terrain of the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land changed roughly every five years. After entering the outer perimeter, the initial paths were all quite similar.

But as one ventured deeper, the number of diverging paths would increase.

At this point, there would be many choices.

However, after passing a few of these forks, the path ahead would become fixed, and almost no one dared to stray onto other side paths.

If, by that point, the path the trio was taking still hadn’t changed, they could confirm their suspicions.

However, Qu Chengyuan and his group all had a strong feeling that the path taken by the three people they were tracking was very likely identical to the path taken by that group from over a year ago!

This spurred them on, and they tracked with even greater focus.

It meant that this time, they might encounter an unprecedented opportunity.

「Meanwhile.」

Jiang Zuo, Jie Qiu, and Xie Xiuyue finally encountered a Demon Beast blocking their path.

Even in the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Land, the weakest Demon Beasts to appear were Tier 3.

But for a mere Tier 3 Demon Beast, there was no need to go around.

In fact, there was one principle when exploring a place like the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land: as long as there was a path, you must never take a detour.

Straying from your destination was a light consequence of taking a detour; more often than not, you would simply vanish down an unknown path.

Before coming here, the three of them had bought the latest map from a merchant.

As long as they followed the marked path, they would be relatively safe until they reached the map’s end.

But if they strayed onto an unmarked path, anything could happen, even in the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Land.

"ROAR!"

A Tier 3 boar-like Demon Beast blocked the path ahead. Great Black was the first to charge, letting out a Roar as it pounced.

In fact, over the past year, Jiang Zuo had deliberately cultivated several Tier 2 and Tier 3 Fire Magic spells and transferred them to Great Black to make its performance more outstanding.

However, Great Black still preferred to fight up close.

Especially when it was just a Tier 3 wild boar.

Seeing Great Black spring into action, Huahua’s eyes lit up, and it dashed forward as well.

With two Tier 4 Spirit Beasts ganging up on a single Tier 3 Demon Beast, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

In just a few moves, the Tier 3 wild boar was torn to shreds by Great Black and Huahua.

Jie Qiu had also summoned a Fire Fox with a mid-stage Tier 4 Cultivation. However, this Fire Fox was highly intelligent and gave off a cold, aloof impression, completely looking down on Great Black and Huahua, two other Tier 4 Spirit Beasts.

As Great Black and Huahua pounced into battle, it remained unmoved, merely watching coldly from the sidelines.

Jiang Zuo said nothing about it.

In truth, the Fire Fox’s behavior was typical for a High Tier Spirit Beast; obedient ones like Great Black and Xiaoqing were the anomaly.

If Spirit Beasts were so easy to raise, everyone in the Cultivation Realm would have been scrambling to get one long ago.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, what do you think of that Tier 3 Demon Beast’s strength?"

Jie Qiu asked Jiang Zuo, gazing at the wild boar’s corpse.

"Very strong. Without a Spirit Beast, even a Three Flowers Realm Cultivator would have to expend great effort to kill a Tier 3 Demon Beast like that."

Jiang Zuo remarked.

The wild boar was Tier 3, but its stats had skyrocketed under the enhancement of the Beast God Tree.

With their own Cultivation suppressed, even a Cultivator a full tier higher would not find it easy to kill one.

"That’s right. A Three Flowers Realm Cultivator with a limited arsenal of techniques might not even be able to defeat a Tier 3 Demon Beast."

"And this is just in the outermost region. They say the deeper you go, the stronger the Demon Beasts become, and the more severely Cultivators are suppressed."

"I have no idea where this Beast God Tree came from to create such an inconceivable Forbidden Land in the Cultivation Realm."

Jie Qiu lamented.

Listening from the side, Xie Xiuyue couldn’t help but gain a deeper understanding of the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land.

The three of them continued onward.

After that first encounter, the number of Demon Beasts on the path gradually increased.

However, they were mostly Tier 3 Demon Beasts, and even though their numbers were increasing, they were still swiftly killed by Great Black and Huahua working together.

Great Black, in particular, was a true terror. Its combat prowess, enhanced by the Beast God Tree, was simply astonishing.

After witnessing Great Black’s performance, the arrogant Fire Fox’s gaze began to change.

Jie Qiu and Xie Xiuyue were even more astonished.

Great Black was, after all, nothing more than a black dog, not some rare Spirit Beast with a noble bloodline.

Take Huahua, for example. It was also a Tier 4 Spirit Beast, but its performance was a far cry from Great Black’s.

A Spirit Beast’s combat power was fundamentally determined by its bloodline. That inheritance was more important than anything.

But the combat power Great Black displayed left Jie Qiu and Xie Xiuyue utterly bewildered.

The two of them couldn’t help but wonder if Great Black was actually the descendant of some rare Spirit Beast.

But sensing this might be a major secret, neither of them felt it was appropriate to ask Jiang Zuo directly.

Great Black essentially handled all the Demon Beast killing.

Jiang Zuo simply followed behind, collecting the corpses of the slain Demon Beasts one by one.

He needed vast quantities of Demon Beast Flesh and Blood to cultivate his Primordial Flesh and Blood, and the beasts from the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land could not be obtained anywhere else.

Since he had the opportunity, he was naturally going to stock up as much as possible.

"Senior Sister, haven’t many Cultivators explored these paths before? Why are there still so many Demon Beasts?"

Xie Xiuyue couldn’t help but ask after they had killed a number of Tier 3 Demon Beasts.

"They’re impossible to wipe out. Under the enhancement of the Beast God Tree, the Demon Beasts in the Forbidden Land grow incredibly fast."

"It’s said that a realm that would take a Demon Beast in the outside world decades or even a century to reach only takes a few years to achieve inside the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land."

"This is also why there’s a large number of Tier 4 and higher Demon Beasts within the Forbidden Land."

Jie Qiu explained, shaking her head.

The Demon Beasts in the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land were truly impossible to wipe out.

In the outside world, finding a Tier 4 Demon Beast took time, even if one traveled to the territory of the Demon Race.

As for Tier 5 Demon Emperors, each one was the lord of its own territory.

But within the Beast God Tree’s domain, the Demon Beasts started at Tier 3.

A little deeper in, one would encounter large numbers of Tier 4 Demon Beasts.

And if you dared to truly enter the heart of the Forbidden Land, you would encounter vast numbers of Tier 5 Demon Beasts.

In the centermost region, it was said there were even entire packs of Tier 6 Demon Venerables.

This was unimaginable in the outside world.

"That terrifying? No wonder they say going deep into the Forbidden Land is a one-way trip!"

Xie Xiuyue was dumbfounded. The mere thought of such a scenario was enough to make one despair.

"However, the Demon Beasts of the Forbidden Land are vastly different from those in the outside world."

"A Tier 4 Demon Beast from the Forbidden Land is much stronger than a Tier 4 from the outside."

"But when it comes to a fight, a Tier 5 Demon Emperor from here is actually easier to deal with than one from the outside."

"That’s because the Demon Emperors in the Forbidden Land, even those at Tier 5 or even the Tier 6 Demon Venerables, are said to lack high intelligence. They still act purely on instinct."

Jie Qiu added.

But that was only the case for a single Tier 5 Demon Beast.

In truth, Jie Qiu knew that the Tier 5 Demon Beasts in the Forbidden Land had another major difference from those in the outside world.

They were highly likely to move together in groups.

Encountering that would be utterly hopeless.

Jiang Zuo listened quietly to their conversation. He had already learned all of this information before he came to the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land.

In fact, one of the reasons he’d come to the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land was specifically for the numerous Tier 5 Demon Beasts here.

Trying to find ten portions of Tier 5 Demon Beast Essence Blood in the territory of the Demon Race was far too difficult.

He might manage to get two or three portions, but any more than that and he would inevitably alert a Tier 6 Demon Venerable.

At that point, he would probably lose his life.

But the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land was different; getting ten portions of Tier 5 Demon Beast Essence Blood here wouldn’t be difficult.

The only problem was the inherent danger of the Forbidden Land itself.

However, as long as he didn’t go too deep, Jiang Zuo believed the danger was manageable.

If he really ran into danger, he could always just retreat.

Back when he was outside the valley, Jiang Zuo’s understanding of the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land had gradually deepened.

After learning about the Beast God Tree’s various astonishing abilities, Jiang Zuo had become interested in the tree itself.

’If this thing were used to raise Pet Beasts, it would be an absolute game-changer.’

Jiang Zuo even entertained the thought of digging it up and moving it into his Pet Beast Spirit Garden.

However, after entering the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Land and seeing the Beast God Tree—so massive it pierced the heavens and blotted out the sun—Jiang Zuo knew that idea was completely unrealistic.

Even if he became as powerful as a Manifestation Realm expert in the future, it would be impossible to uproot the Beast God Tree.

The trio continued deeper into the Forbidden Land.

「One day later.」

The beasts that appeared before them were no longer Tier 3 Demon Beasts, but Tier 4.

The combat power of the Tier 4 Demon Beasts was drastically higher, but Great Black could still hold an edge over them.

Huahua’s combat prowess, however, was gradually falling far behind.

Under Jie Qiu’s command, the Fire Fox also joined the battle.

Ultimately, the first two Tier 4 Black Wolves they encountered were killed by the three Tier 4 Spirit Beasts.

Jiang Zuo was just about to collect the two Black Wolf corpses.

But at that very moment, root-like tentacles shot out from the ground and dragged both corpses away into the earth.

Jiang Zuo, Jie Qiu, and Xie Xiuyue were all given a huge shock.

"Senior Sister, what was that?"

Xie Xiuyue asked, alarmed and uncertain.

Although the tentacles had shown no intention of attacking them, the three of them had no idea what they were.

"I don’t know. It seems to be something new? Fellow Daoist Gu, what do you think?"

Jie Qiu was also completely in the dark, so she turned to Jiang Zuo.

"I’m afraid... those are the roots of the Beast God Tree!"

Jiang Zuo said, looking up toward the distant Beast God Tree that filled the sky.

This was his first time in the Forbidden Land and his first time seeing the Beast God Tree.

But at this moment, he vaguely sensed that this Beast God Tree was somehow different from the one he had heard about.

「At the same time.」

Qu Chengyuan and his group witnessed this scene through their Spirit Beast.

"Those have to be the roots of the Beast God Tree, no doubt about it. I never thought its roots would have already spread this far into the outer region!"

Qu Chengyuan and his group were utterly shocked by this scene.