This time, the conquest of the Four Sacred Trees Forest was somewhat fortuitous, and Qian Ye was temporarily unable to expand further. He could only slow down and consolidate his territory.
Not to mention, the Four Sacred Trees Forest was quite distant from the “Gate,” more than a thousand kilometers away. Even if a cargo convoy traveled non-stop, it would still take a full day to reach. Therefore, establishing an advanced base here would only consume even more time.
However, without a well-constructed base and defensive system, it would be impossible to annihilate the monster armies, making the discovery of any more forests useless. Without eliminating the monster armies first, it would be nearly impossible to defeat the Six-Armed beings. If the Six-Armed were not eradicated, the forest would continue to produce monsters endlessly.
But building the base wouldn’t be smooth either. The clearing operation in the Four Sacred Trees Forest was more difficult than before, with small groups of monsters appearing frequently. Qian Ye had personally scouted twice but still couldn’t fully understand the distribution of the monsters. In the end, he could only use the most cumbersome method of waiting and annihilating them one by one, which would take a long time to completely eliminate the monsters in this area.
During the construction of the base, Qian Ye continued to explore and discovered two more Three Sacred Trees Forests in the directions ahead and to the sides.
Qian Ye thought for a moment; the rear was not yet cleared, so he didn’t plan to open up another battlefield. He did not stop, but instead, skirted around the Three Sacred Trees Forests, wanting to see the situation further ahead.
However, problems arose. When Qian Ye had only walked less than two hundred kilometers and faintly saw the outline of another forest, he suddenly felt dizzy. A sense of pressure poured in from all directions, as if the entire world was against him. More dangerously, his sense of direction was becoming blurry, and he could hardly remember the direction of the Gate.
This was no small matter. The new world was still boundless, with no visible end. Once he lost the Gate, he might be utterly lost here.
Qian Ye decisively stopped and turned around, running back along the path before his mind became completely muddled.
Strangely, as soon as he crossed the unconquered Three Sacred Trees Forest, Qian Ye felt his mind clear. He distinctly felt that the force suppressing his consciousness was being driven out by another. These two forces, though originating from the same source, had very different effects. One suppressed, while the other supported and amplified Qian Ye’s awareness.
At the point where he stood, the supporting force was much stronger than the suppressing one.
He traced the source and found that this force came from the Sacred Trees Forests. The supportive part originated from the Four Sacred Trees Forest, while the suppressing part came from the Three Sacred Trees Forest in front of him.
The power of the Sacred Trees Forests was proportional to the number of Sacred Trees, but not linearly. Whether in terms of monster armies or area, including the confrontation Qian Ye felt now, the Four Sacred Trees Forest was at least twice as powerful as the Three Sacred Trees Forest.
Before, Qian Ye had never felt the power of the Sacred Trees so clearly. Now, he felt it but was even more puzzled. Why would the Four Sacred Trees Forest support him, an outsider? Was it because he had entered the central nest? Or perhaps after slaying the Six-Armed General, he had gained its authority within the Sacred Trees Forest?
These questions could not be answered by any of Qian Ye’s past experiences. The only thing he could trust was his own perception and attempt to derive new rules from it.
Regardless, the fact was that to continue exploring, these two Sacred Trees Forests on the way must be conquered. Otherwise, it would be impossible to advance further. Even Qian Ye’s will would be suppressed, let alone others.
Originally, Qian Ye did not plan to immediately open a new battlefield for the sake of steady progress. But since the Three Trees Forest had become an obstacle, he had no choice but to fight.
With the experience from the Four Sacred Trees Forest, Qian Ye did not rush back to the base. He adjusted his equipment and planned to sneak in to check the state inside.
If the Six-Armed being was still asleep, he wouldn’t mind dealing with it. After advancing to the Duke Realm, the power of Qian Ye’s Primordial Spear had slightly increased, and the color of the light feathers had deepened. Two shots of the Primordial Spear might not kill a Grand Duke-level Six-Armed General, but they would certainly hurt a Six-Armed commander in the Three Sacred Trees Forest.
But as soon as he entered the forest, Qian Ye sensed something was off.
Infiltration was not going smoothly. The forest was teeming with wandering monsters. As he pushed from the edge toward the center, the density of the monsters did not exceed the range of the Three Sacred Trees, but their movements were different.
They were not wandering aimlessly. After a brief observation, Qian Ye noticed that the patrols were systematic, covering all areas without any blind spots, periodically crisscrossing the entire region.
Moreover, there was a particularly perceptive type of monster that lay motionless in the shadows of the treetops, surveilling everything with four all-seeing eyes.
Aren’t these like sentinels? Qian Ye cursed inwardly. If not for his true vision, extraordinary sight, and extreme caution, he would have been exposed long ago. Still, seeing such intelligent behavior from the monsters was unsettling.
Fortunately, the monsters’ perception had not improved, and they did not detect the intruder. Both patrols and sentinels were in a relaxed state, and any slight gap provided Qian Ye the opportunity to penetrate the defenses and sneak into the forest’s center.
At the center, three Sacred Trees thrived. Their positions were peculiar, not forming a neat triangle. Qian Ye glanced and saw a small sapling, half a person’s height, on the ground. A Sacred Tree sapling! This was even more precious than a complete Sacred Tree, invaluable for studying the Sacred Trees Forest.
Qian Ye’s gaze shifted from the sapling to the island in the lake, and he was taken aback. The throne on the island was empty, and a stone table nearby had the Six-Armed Commander working on several pieces of ore.
Using his six hands, the Commander quickly fused the ores, stretching and shaping them into armor plates.
Qian Ye, having encountered the Six-Armed General in the Four Sacred Trees Forest, recognized the plates as identical to the general’s armor. It seemed this forest was evolving from Three Sacred Trees to Four, and the Commander was also advancing, evident from the armor he was preparing.
The Commander, awake and advancing, posed a tricky challenge. Qian Ye decided to risk an attack, to see if a sleeping Six-Armed being and an awake one behaved differently.
Perhaps due to his background in the Netherworld, in single-commander battles, Qian Ye preferred a decapitation strategy over a human-wave tactic. He was willing to take risks to gain battlefield advantages and improve offensive efficiency rather than overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers.
The Commander, satisfied with the armor, placed it on his shoulder, and it began to meld with his flesh. Suddenly, he heard a soft click and turned to see a dark object stuck to one of the Sacred Trees. Two more flew to the other trees and adhered to them.
Before he could understand what they were, he felt a terrifying surge of origin power within them! The Commander roared, but his roar was drowned by the explosions of the origin grenades.
The three Sacred Trees shuddered, and leaves fell like rain. The Commander, sensing the pain of the trees, trembled involuntarily.
Though the grenades were powerful, the trees were robust, and only small chunks were blasted off. However, one grenade flew towards the young Sacred Tree, and another towards the throne.
The Commander, despite his speed, could not intercept both. In a flash, he grabbed one, and it exploded in his hand, but he only staggered, showcasing his incredible physical strength.
As he turned to intercept the other, another roar escaped him as an origin bullet hit the throne, shattering it instantly. This bullet was far more powerful than the grenades.
The Commander’s eyes turned blood-red, and he lunged at Qian Ye’s hiding spot, but Qian Ye vanished just as a massive fist descended. The punch landed, causing a massive wave that felled trees and created a giant pit.
Surprised, the Commander felt immense danger and saw Qian Ye hovering above, his wings unfurled with four black light feathers at the tips.
Qian Ye flapped his wings, and two black light feathers pierced the Commander’s body!
The forest erupted with the Commander’s roar as roots burst from the ground, enveloping him. This was unprecedented, but Qian Ye reacted swiftly, raining down more grenades. The roots, unlike the trees, were not as resilient and were blasted apart. The Commander screamed in agony as if the roots were part of him.
Despite this, the roots continued to emerge, dragging the Commander deeper. Sensing this, Qian Ye threw the remaining grenades, causing a violent explosion. The Commander’s cries echoed, and the roots and soil flew everywhere, revealing a tunnel leading to the core.
Unexpectedly, the Commander did not fight to the death. Qian Ye, however, was determined to weaken the monsters’ external attacks. He flashed to the island, drew Dongyue, and plunged it into the throne’s base, causing cracks to spread across the island.
The entire forest trembled, and the Commander’s roars echoed through the layers. Qian Ye moved quickly, collecting the fragments of the throne and fleeing the forest.
Though he had seemingly crippled the Commander, Qian Ye sensed that the battle was far from over.
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