Chapter 62: Venturing Deep into the Qinling Mountains – Shackled Realm Beasts, Is That All?

Within the mountains, the terrain was treacherous, immense trees soared skyward. Wild grasses as tall as a man, vines thick as water urns, leaves big enough to cover vehicles—all combined to paint a scene reminiscent of a world from millions of years ago.

Thud, thud, thud!

An enormous beast, taller than a two-story building, appeared. It was a roe deer, charging swiftly, snapping vines in its path. Its strength was immense, causing the earth to quake ever so slightly, and its speed was like lightning. For ordinary people, or even awakened ones, a collision would mean nothing but a spray of blood.

Boom!

Just then, a figure suddenly descended from the sky. With a simple step, the giant roe deer let out a mournful cry; its spine shattered, its body split open, and it collapsed to the ground.

“So this is the Qinling Mountains. Even a random beast encountered here is at least fifth-tier in the Initial Realm. Sadly, it’s still too weak, unable to withstand much. It seems I must venture deeper,” the figure said. It was Lu Yuan, who gazed at the fallen beast’s corpse and shook his head.

He had entered the Qinling Mountains two days ago, advancing ever deeper. The beasts he first encountered weren’t particularly strong—mostly first or second-tier in the Initial Realm. But as he pressed on, things changed; nearly all beasts were fifth-tier or higher. Yet, for him, they were still too weak, easily killed without employing any special technique.

Lu Yuan didn’t hesitate, continuing to forge ahead at incredible speed, covering hundreds of meters with each stride. He wasn’t wandering aimlessly; he had a goal, moving northward. According to his memory, what he sought lay in that direction. Moreover, the beast he intended to make his mount was immensely powerful—estimated to be at the Shackles Realm. Such a creature wouldn’t linger at the outskirts; only by delving deeper might he encounter it.

Beasts evolved faster than humans, especially those with potent bloodlines, which, once awakened, became terrifying—reason defied logic. Thus, at this stage, humanity mostly relied on passive defense against beasts, erecting super cities rather than confronting them head-on. Few dared venture into famous mountains and rivers seeking beasts; it was considered suicide.

Yet for Lu Yuan, things were different. Alone, he traversed the perilous Qinling Mountains. Along the way, he encountered many beasts: black spiders larger than trucks, whose silk was tougher than steel cables; red-haired apes, both strong and swift, hurling multi-ton boulders as if they were pebbles, leaving craters more powerful than artillery shells.

There were wild bulls, white wolves, and other formidable beasts, some even at the Awakening Realm. To outsiders, these beasts were overwhelmingly powerful, but none could withstand even a single strike from Lu Yuan. They were dispatched in moments.

Throughout, he relied solely on his physical prowess—his divine powers, the Grand Luo Sword Embryo, and the Blood Qi Pagoda were unnecessary. It was a one-sided slaughter.

During these battles, Lu Yuan noticed a peculiarity: Qinling’s beasts seemed unusually aggressive, often appearing in large packs and recklessly charging at him.

“Director Zheng once mentioned that anomalous beast behavior was detected in Qinling. Is this what he meant?” Lu Yuan pondered, tearing apart a bull at the Awakening Realm and gazing at the heaps of beast corpses nearby.

He understood that some powerful beasts possessed intelligence equal to humans. They were bloodthirsty and strong, with wild instincts. Hostile toward humanity, they sometimes formed beast tides to assault cities. Shuntian, Shanghai, and other cities had suffered attacks; Chang’an City was not exempt.

Could this be the situation now, making the beasts so irritable?

Lu Yuan mused as he pushed deeper. Soon, he halted, eyes fixed in a certain direction. A surge of heat swept toward him, carrying a ferocious aura—terrifying indeed.

A Shackles Realm beast?

At this, Lu Yuan’s eyes brightened, as if he had discovered something valuable.

Consuming beast flesh and blood provided evolutionary energy, akin to spiritual qi. But his own strength was now so great that ordinary beasts no longer sufficed; only those at the Shackles Realm met his needs.

He licked his lips and dashed forward without hesitation.

After all, during his time in Qinling, Lu Yuan hadn’t eaten anything.

Chang’an City.

Zhendan Academy’s conference room.

Director Zheng, Commander Xu of the Defense Forces, several vice directors—nearly all the city’s prominent figures were present. Additionally, five or six elderly men in white robes sat among them. Despite their age, each had a ruddy complexion. They dressed simply, but their aura was formidable, all belonging to the Awakening Realm. Officially assigned, they were elite combatants, here to help address Chang’an’s crisis, now attending as observers.

“Everyone’s here. Xiao Liu, you may begin,” Commander Xu said, checking the attendance sheet and glancing at the young officer beside him.

“Yes, sir.” Xiao Liu stood, bowed slightly to the assembly, then moved to the front and activated the projector.

Words appeared: “On the Defense and Situation Regarding Chang’an City’s Response to the Beast Tide.”

Since detecting beast unrest in Qinling two days prior, they had been making arrangements. This meeting aimed to finalize the plan, as no one knew when the beast tide would arrive.

According to Xiao Liu, beasts were gathering, summoned by beast kings. Beast kings were true sovereigns, their power at least at the Shackles Realm—immensely strong. Through special technology, the military could temporarily detect these fearsome beast kings, so long as interference or concealment by those beings didn’t occur.

“We predict the beast tide will arrive in about ten days. During this period, we must establish sufficient defensive fortifications, or there will be serious trouble,” the young officer explained.

“Qinling today is not as it was in the old era. It stretches for thousands of miles, with countless beasts. There are more than a hundred beast kings,” he continued.

At this, many faces changed dramatically—over a hundred beast kings. Among humans, that would be akin to a hundred Shackles Realm individuals. If they all attacked, how could they be stopped?

“Rest assured, these hundred beast kings are spread over a vast area, each with its own territory,” Commander Xu clarified.

“We estimate only about ten will lead the beast tide to attack,” he added, directing attention to another screen.

On it, many small red dots appeared; ten of the largest were in Qinling, closest to Chang’an.

Since the onset of the mutation, officials had acted decisively, forecasting that beasts would be humanity’s greatest enemy. Most resources and attention were devoted to this, exploring famous mountains and rivers, sacrificing many lives. Yet valuable information was gained—where powerful beast kings resided, when cities would be threatened. They even risked taking photographs for better understanding and planning.

The authorities foresaw the real danger: not internal strife, but the extinction of humanity and the bloodline of Huaxia.

After Commander Xu’s explanation, the attendees relaxed slightly. Yet even so, ten beast kings was terrifying.

“The beast tide is summoned by beast kings. Our task is to block them, and if possible, kill them; then the tide will pose no threat,” Commander Xu stated.

Chang’an’s Defense Forces had clearly done much, targeting the core issue.

Everyone was in agreement, though their brows remained furrowed.

Next, Xiao Liu introduced the beast kings, displaying a blurry photo: a creature like a leopard or tiger, colossal in size. Its body was enveloped in flames, exuding formidable might. It had awakened a special bloodline, wielding fire powerful enough to melt metal and stone, named the Tiger-Leopard King.

He pointed to a large red dot on the screen—Tiger-Leopard King, surrounded by its territory. And this was only the first beast king; nine others followed, though not all had photographic records—some were known only by reputation.

Without exception, each beast king was immensely powerful, some terrestrial, some aerial. If there were only one, perhaps the assembly would not be so worried. But there were ten—this was far more dangerous than any previous beast tide known to them.

Other countries had suffered massive losses from beast attacks, with countless civilians perishing.

Was it now China’s turn?

“The Shackles Realm is too strong, especially for beasts, who are inherently superior to humans.”

“To fight them, only thermal weapons and missiles will do—otherwise, we’re no match.”

“But with our current firepower, we can hardly kill ten beast kings,” someone remarked, their mood heavy.

They understood that simple firepower coverage was insufficient. Moreover, beast kings were intelligent, unlikely to stand still for attack.

Finally, someone suggested reporting directly and deploying thermonuclear weapons for annihilation; otherwise, defending Chang’an would be nearly impossible and would require a terrible price.

But this was opposed. Thermonuclear weapons were humanity’s last resort; deploying them lightly would enrage the beasts, precipitating a catastrophic war.

Other countries had considered this, using only conventional heavy thermal weapons, unless absolutely necessary.

At this, silence fell. The situation was truly arduous. Even the white-robed elders felt that the first beast king alone was beyond their ability to withstand, the gap too great. They could only cooperate with thermal weapons and mobilize all available forces in the city, without certainty of success.

The pressure was immense. “Beast king”—those words were weighty.

Director Zheng could find nothing to say, gazing at the red dot representing Tiger-Leopard King.

Suddenly, his expression changed dramatically. “Look—the beast king’s life signal seems to be fading.”

All heads lifted and eyes widened—just as he said, the large red dot flickered uncertainly. This was a specialized detection method, representing vitality; now it was unstable.

Could the instruments be malfunctioning? Or had something killed the Tiger-Leopard King?

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

While the assembly was shocked and puzzled, in the Qinling Mountains, a clearing bore the marks of a fearsome battle. Within a kilometer, mighty trees and vines had been reduced to ash. Ravines crisscrossed the area, and in places, magma flowed—formed from melted stone. Beast corpses lay scattered, clearly caught in the conflict.

The beast king that had brought so much pressure to Chang’an’s leaders—the Tiger-Leopard King—now lay on the ground, its body severed, blood pouring, pitifully tragic. Its flames had disappeared, and it was barely alive. Despair filled its eyes.

“So this is the mighty Shackles Realm beast? Is that all?” said a voice, appearing before the Tiger-Leopard King.

It was Lu Yuan, standing amidst the clearing, dissatisfaction written on his face.

The heat wave he sensed earlier had emanated from this beast king, so he tracked it down, leading to the fierce battle. He had expected the opponent to be powerful, given its menacing appearance. Yet, within ten minutes, it ended like this—and he hadn’t even exerted himself fully.

“Well then, for my stomach’s sake, rest in peace,” Lu Yuan said, shaking his head. Without further ado, he stomped down, shattering the beast’s skull and extinguishing its life.

He drew out the Grand Luo Sword Embryo, extracted the most vital flesh and blood, and began roasting it over a fire.

Soon, the aroma of meat wafted through the air. No seasoning, no preparation—yet it was so tempting.

“Excellent,” Lu Yuan said after a bite, thoroughly satisfied. He could feel power surging into him, nourishing his entire body.

Though this beast king wasn’t particularly strong, its meat was a delightful surprise—better than the previous Wolf King.

“I must be deep within Qinling now. After that commotion, ordinary beasts won’t dare approach, but other beast kings of the same level might be drawn here,” he mused, eating and pondering.

There were countless beasts in Qinling, but not many at the Shackles Realm. Each beast king had its own territory; now one was slain, others of the same rank would surely take notice.

Of course, Lu Yuan hadn’t come here to hunt beasts, but to find the flying beast he deemed a suitable mount. Unfortunately, Qinling’s vastness made the search exceedingly difficult.

He sighed—would he have to rely on his own two feet? Impossible; it was too far, a waste of time. He needed a guide.

Lu Yuan considered his options.

Just then, he sensed a stronger aura erupt behind him.

A voice followed.

“Human!”

“You killed my kin. You must die!”

(End of chapter)