Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Even though the spiritual energy within Terras Forest grew richer the deeper into the forest he went, Yang Ling was unwilling to delve too deeply into the forest for safety’s sake. He chose a small valley near the Spider Valley with enough spiritual energy to train.
According to the memories of the Unicorn, there were many high level Magical Beasts roaming deep within the forest, and danger filled every corner. Yang Ling did not dare to be careless, since even the Unicorn had to be cautious in such places. He might be able to escape or achieve a minor victory if he encountered a high level Magical Beast using his massive Magical Beast army, but exhausting his resources at this point in time would definitely be asking for death. The gain would not outweigh the loss, even if he were lucky enough to tame a high level Magical Beast.
Retrieving over two hundred Essence Crystals from within his Space Ring, Yang Ling set up a simple Maze Formation at the entrance of the valley, then summoned his entire Magical Beast army to protect him.
At his command, the Withered Tree Warriors quickly turned into large trees, blockading the narrow entrance of the valley in case some Magical Beast passing by charged in after picking up Yang Ling’s scent.
The Evil Eyes took up formation in the middle of the valley and were in charge of mid to long range attacks. The Tarantula King led its army to set up spider webs as traps all around the valley, then they quickly dug into the ground and to lay in ambush. They were in charge of low altitude defense and close-range combat.
The Horned Bee Beasts were split into five teams. One team was sent to patrol outside the valley, while the other four put up a strong defense within the valley at all four points of the compass. They were in charge of high altitude defense, aerial attacks, and long-range ambushes. As for the level eight Magical Beast, the Unicorn, it was tasked to stay by Yang Ling’s side and defend him.
The valley was easy to defend, but hard to attack. With the simple yet practical Maze Formation, coupled with the Magical Beast army ready to attack, Yang Ling believed that he would be able to hold off even a high level Magical Beast. Even if he were to fail, he could instruct the Magical Beast army to defend his back while he escaped with the speedy Unicorn.
After sitting cross-legged, Yang Ling took in a deep breath and slowly circulated the Wizard Power within his body as he recited the mysterious psychic mantra. Slowly, the thick spiritual energy entered his body. The trees surrounding him also released bolts of green life force.
Recently, the elf elder had been trying his best to procure Water from the Spring of Life, but he had only managed to gather two bottles. Because he understood how valuable and precious the Water from the Spring of Life was, Yang Ling was reluctant to use it casually. Yang Ling planned to rely on the Magical Beast Blood Orbs rather than the Water from the Spring of Life to aid in his continual advancement.
Unlike the Water from the Spring of Life, the effects of the Magical Beast Blood Orbs were far from ideal, but they had the advantage of availability. He could not only purchase a large number of them from the troops and hunters, he could also instruct his Magical Beast army or guards to hunt Magical Beasts for him.
He had sufficient Magical Beast Blood Orbs, but the power they offered was tiny compared to the green life force being released by the trees. Terras Forest spanned tens of thousands of miles, and there were countless thousand-year-old ancient trees, much less hundred-year-old ones. As long as he trained within Terras Forest for a few days, he would be able to absorb a large amount of green life force.
Even though he had not fully understood the mysteries of the green life force, Yang Ling believed that absorbing a large amount of that energy would definitely be beneficial to him. It could hasten the speed of his training, allow him to recover the Wizard Power he exhausted quickly, and even help him heal if he got injured. Even more miraculously, it seemed as though the mysterious space containing the Wizard’s Pagoda became even bigger when his green life force got richer.
The space that contained the Wizard’s Pagoda was where his Magical Beast army resided. Without this mysterious space, he would be unable to summon his Magical Beasts to aid him in battle no matter how many he tamed or how powerful the beasts he tamed were. Yang Ling knew that without this mysterious space, he was basically a sergeant that did not hold any authority.
Under the effects of the psychic spell, the amount of green life force released by the trees around Yang Ling became greater. Slowly, a pale green fog formed within the valley, gradually becoming thicker.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Yang Ling felt his mind clear. Massive amounts of spiritual energy and green life force entered his body. The fog-like green energy welled into his body through all of his pores.
As the massive amount of spiritual energy entered his body, it was converted into a raging, blood red Wizard Power. Everywhere it passed, his muscles expanded dramatically, then suddenly contracted before expanding again, forming a cycle. At the same time, the refreshing green energy followed up quickly, slowly repairing the nerves and vessels damaged by his Wizard Power.
As the green mist in the valley got thicker, the green energy within Yang Ling’s body became richer. If it had been a small twisting stream at the start, it was now a raging river. Other than repairing the nerves and vessels damaged by the Wizard Power, the excess green energy started gathering at the center of his brow where the Wizard’s Pagoda was located, condensing as it accumulated…
Just as Yang Ling felt as though his brain would explode from the condensing green energy, the pagoda-shaped mark between his brows suddenly jumped in excitement, its temperature rising rapidly. It quickly turned as hot as a blacksmith’s brand. Following that, without giving him time to react, the pulsing green energy within the valley coursed into the mysterious space containing the Wizard’s Pagoda through the pagoda shaped mark between his brows.
Originally, the green fog would expand within the valley until it reached the valley’s borders, then flow over them and out into the rest of the forest. But just as the green mist started to ooze out of the valley, it rapidly coursed into the area between Yang Ling’s eyebrows. It was as if a raging flood had met a giant drain port or a bottomless hole.
Slowly, the green mist in the valley became thinner and thinner. Even the ten-story-tall trees were no longer releasing the green life energy, much less the field grass that could be seen anywhere. At the same time, the once rich spiritual energy in the surroundings also dissipated.
Sometime later, Yang Ling slowly woke up after a bolt of cold air laced with snowflakes blew past.
The Wizard Power and the life force in his body were clearly separated, one red and the other green, forming two completely different streams, flowing in opposite directions within the same circulation channels. Even more miraculously, Yang Ling could sense every movement within a hundred-step-radius from himself even with his eyes closed, as if the trees around him had become his eyes and ears.
Fifty steps away, a group of foraging ants had come across a few caterpillars that fell from a tree and were swarming forward, dragging their struggling prey back to their nest. Outside the valley, a herd of migrating Twin-horned Deers were speedily moving to the foot of the mountain where the sea level was lower, leaving behind strings of footprints in the snow-covered plains. Further away, a few shrubs were swaying amongst the cold wind. Withered leaves were falling one by one…
After opening his eyes to observe his surroundings, Yang Ling clenched his teeth. He closed his eyes and leaped toward a nearby tree, jumping from tree to tree using just his instincts. Even though his eyes were closed, he could naturally and successfully find the best spot to plant his foot each time. He felt a natural sense of familiarity with any location that included trees, as if he had lived there since he was young.
Eyes given by the tree spirits? Could this be a powerful mystery that a Tree Shepherd possesses within the forest?
Yang Ling had a thought after discovering this new ability. He sat cross-legged on the ground and dragged his consciousness into the space that harbored the Wizard’s Pagoda. Indeed, this mysterious space was now several times larger than it had been the last time he visited. In fact, it seemed that even the Wizard’s Pagoda had become larger. The pictures of tigers, panthers, and even the clawed golden dragons had become even clearer.
There was an instant when Yang Ling seemed to hear the faint roar of a dragon, as if the lifelike dragon on the pagoda was about to fly out.
