Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 45 Warcraft Riot

It was nighttime when they emerged from the cave, and the two found a hollow in the branches of a giant tree to live in.

"This collar is so beautiful! I wonder how it was made! I never imagined that such a small collar could render such a powerful magical beast powerless!"

Xinlan curiously played with the necklace in her hand.

The necklace, shimmering with a deep blue metallic luster, was not as hard as one might imagine, but rather as supple as tanned beef tendon.

The unfolded collar was actually an exceptionally exquisite soft whip. Upon closer inspection, the gems on the whip did not appear to be inlaid, but rather formed a single piece. Each gem seemed to grow out of the whip itself, and each gem seemed to contain immense, unknown energy.

The entire whip is about five feet nine inches long. The neck collar is the handle of the whip, which is carved from a single piece of translucent green jade and decorated with colorful silk threads.

Clearly, this collar was originally a soft whip, and a weapon used by a female mystic who loved beauty.

"Being able to absorb so much fire, water, and earth elemental energy, as well as a small amount of metal elemental energy, without exhibiting any spiritual power attribute, this item is definitely extraordinary!"

Mo Yuming took the soft whip from Xinlan and tried to wield it a few times.

He sensed that the soft whip seemed to contain a kind of life consciousness. When he swung and played with it, the whip in his hand seemed to be somewhat unwilling, or as if it was resisting him.

Mo Yuming tried to input some spiritual power, but found that the more he used spiritual power to control it, the greater the resistance from the soft whip became.

When he increased his power to 50%, he felt that he could barely control himself.

Mo Yuming had no choice but to give up on further exploration.

"I never imagined this whip could be sentient! Lanmei, try using your spiritual power to control it and see if it resists you."

Mo Yuming returned the soft whip to Xinlan and said.

"I've tried it before. I didn't resist it, but my spiritual power seemed unable to support its movements. Every time I used my spiritual power, it felt like a stone sinking into the mud, and I felt extremely tired."

"Using this as a weapon is not as comfortable as using an ordinary soft whip," Xinlan said, gently stroking the soft whip.

"You're finding it difficult now because your spiritual power isn't strong enough. Once you can easily control it, its power will be unleashed! With its assistance, it will be like adding wings to a tiger!"

Mo Yuming was quite certain that this soft whip was of extraordinary origin and was definitely a divine weapon.

"I don't know how this soft whip got onto the head of that monster. It's hard to imagine how high the level of Xuan Gong cultivation is of the person who could so easily put the soft whip on the head of that monster and make it unable to break free."

Is it the legendary ninth level of the Heavenly Rank, or even higher? I can't even imagine!

"It is impossible to guess how high the cultivation level of the original owner of this soft whip was, but the magic power level of that magical beast should be below the ninth level of the Heavenly Rank. Legend has it that the ninth level of the Heavenly Rank is the ultimate form of a magical beast. A magical beast of the ninth level of the Heavenly Rank can transform into human form and can communicate with humans using language."

That magical beast clearly hadn't reached the level of human transformation yet.

Xinlan thought for a moment and then said.

"Grandpa Dugu's profound skill is already at the sixth level of the Heaven Rank, but compared to the power of that demonic beast, it's like heaven and earth! Fortunately, that demonic beast didn't come out of its cave to eat people, otherwise Yishi Valley would have been deserted long ago!"

Mo Yuming shook his head and said.

“That’s right, I’ve never heard of such a powerful magical beast in Yishi Valley. Otherwise, even if this magical beast doesn’t eat us, just its frequent outings would scare us to death!”

Xinlan is still somewhat shaken.

"There are many powerful magical beasts over in the mangrove forest. I wonder how powerful they are? If there are such powerful magical beasts among them, then living in this Yishi Valley is really not very safe!"

Mo Yuming looked up into the distance.

"Grandpa Dugu and the others went in and saw that although there were many powerful magical beasts, they could still fight against them."

According to Grandpa Dugu, most of the magical beasts there are below level seven, with very few at level eight. Furthermore, the higher-level beasts are quite aloof; they rarely attack unless provoked. Therefore, as long as you don't go near the mangrove forest, Yi Shi Valley should be relatively safe.

……

After leaving the cave, the two continued their exploration in the Rimu Valley.

Mo Yuming rarely had a moment of free time, so he naturally wouldn't let it slip by. Although he had experienced danger in the cave, it didn't dampen his spirits.

Xinlan trusted Mo Yuming completely, feeling that as long as she stayed by Mo Yuming's side, she wouldn't have to worry about anything unexpected.

Especially now that her cultivation level had improved significantly, her confidence soared. And so, the two continued their exploration along the cliff face. When they grew tired, they would find a large tree and rest on its massive branches.

When hungry, they eat the braised meat and dry rations in their storage bags; when thirsty, they find a spring. At night, they find a tree hollow, cut a branch to seal the entrance, and line the hollow with furry animal hides, creating a comfortable little nest.

The thrilling adventure made the two lose track of time and how far they had gone.

They were bound to encounter various monsters along the way, but fortunately, the two were alert enough.

Moreover, as time went on, the two gained more combat experience and their teamwork became closer, managing to survive several close battles without serious incident.

At dawn that day, the two woke up from their sleep, ready to embark on another adventure. But as soon as they crawled out of the tree hole, they saw Shi Potian standing outside, staring at them with wide eyes.

"Grandpa Shi, what brings you here!..."

Xinlan quickly stepped forward to greet her.

"Yu Ming! It was your terrible idea, wasn't it!"

Shi Potian said, puffing out his beard and glaring.

"Grandpa Shi, what are you saying? Yu Ming didn't do anything!"

Mo Yuming pretended not to understand Shi Potian's words.

"You little brat, still playing dumb with me! If it weren't for Old Man Dugu saying there was a situation in the mangrove forest and urgently needing me to call you two back, I would have really wanted to beat you up right here first! How dare you try to scheme against me!"

Shi Potian deliberately put on a stern face and reprimanded him.

"What happened at the mangrove forest?"

The two asked in unison.

"Old Man Dugu said that the magical beasts over there are causing some disturbance, and there might be a problem. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, so let's head back first. It's not safe here!"

As Shi Potian spoke, he grabbed the two men's hands without further ado and headed out of Ruimu Valley.

A hundred or so people had already gathered in the gathering hall of Yishi Valley, all sitting there with serious expressions.

Li Mubai and Dugu Xian sat together and talked in hushed tones.

After seeing that Shi Potian had brought the two back, he stood up and solemnly addressed everyone:

"I called everyone over in a hurry because I have something very important to tell you."

Just last night, the magical beasts in the mangrove forest of Ruimu Valley were in turmoil. Even the Black Demon Dragon King, a magical beast king who had been asleep for hundreds of years and whose strength was equivalent to the seventh level of the Heavenly Rank, had awakened.

Brother Dugu and I went to investigate, but we couldn't figure it out either. Since this is a matter of life and death for everyone, we dared not make a decision on our own, so we called everyone together to discuss how to proceed.

Li Mubai paused for a moment and then continued:

"Just in case, I have sent eight people, namely Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning, and three, four, six, and one, in pairs to four different areas to scout out the situation in the mangrove forest. In addition, eight people, namely one, two, five, seven, nine, and Gusheng, Shusheng, and Shuisheng, have gone to other places in Xianghe Valley and Yishi Valley to check if anything else has happened. I believe news will come back soon."

Then Li Mubai and Dugu Xian recounted their observations and experiences in detail, and shared their own views and opinions.

Although everyone in the hall had survived life-or-death ordeals and had long since come to terms with life and death, it didn't mean they were all willing to sit and wait to die.

But after all, they spent decades, or even a hundred or two hundred years, peacefully in the valley.

This suddenly caused a huge commotion, and it was a matter of life and death. It was like a drop of cold water being poured into a pot of seemingly calm hot oil, causing it to explode instantly.

Everyone started making a ruckus, some rubbing their hands together in anticipation, some panicked, some elated, some sighing—all sorts of expressions were on their faces.

Everyone was whispering and exchanging their thoughts and opinions, inadvertently neglecting the two children.

No one paid any attention to Mo Yuming and Xinlan, leaving the two little kids standing around.

Having just encountered a more advanced magical beast, the sheer number of magical beasts in the mangrove forest significantly diminished their excitement.

He wanted to tell everyone what had happened a few days ago, but seeing that no one took them seriously, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Mo Yuming gave Xinlan a wink and tried to slip away.

This kind of confrontation with Warcraft is a matter for the old men; it's not their place to interfere right now.

Therefore, Mo Yuming had a clear idea that his primary task now was to figure out how to leave this valley and go out into the world.

But as soon as the two stepped out of the party hall, they were blocked by an old man named Hesheng, who led four other old men named Chun, Xia, Qiu, and Dong.

It turns out that while Li Mubai was arranging for the second generation of people in the canyon to scout out the situation, he also specially arranged for five people to keep an eye on the two of them.

He Sheng is the oldest among the second generation of people in the canyon. His Xuan Gong cultivation has reached the peak of the third level of the Heaven Rank, making him one of the few people in the canyon with a cultivation level of the third level of the Heaven Rank or above.

Although his profound martial arts skills were astonishing, like all second-generation members of the Valley, he had never seen the outside world in his entire life. His thoughts were as simple as a clear stream.

Mo Yuming and his companion had no choice but to return to the hall under the control of the five men.

Meanwhile, those who were checking the situation in Xianghe Valley and Yishi Valley had sent back news: there were no unusual phenomena in these places.

Those who went to Xianghe Valley also brought back four Homo sapiens with the same strength as those at the third level of the Heavenly Rank to help them.

Although the seventy or eighty old men in the canyon all had cultivation levels above the ninth level of the Earth Rank, only a little over half of them had actually broken through to the Heaven Rank. Even among the twenty-one second-generation descendants of the valley who were born and raised there, seven had not yet advanced to the Heaven Rank.

Only eight people were at or above the third level of the Heavenly Rank.

This does not mean that these people are of poor quality. According to the standards of Xuan Gong cultivation, most of them should be considered outstanding.

Because 99% of cultivators of profound arts can only break through the Heavenly Rank when they are around 200 years old, and most of them are under 200 years old, many are only around 100 years old, and some, like Mo Wen, Zhang the Blacksmith, and Huang Rongrong, are not even 100 years old.

Reaching this level of cultivation is already quite impressive. If compared to those on the mainland, they would be among the top talents.

Although the disturbance is currently only occurring among the magical beasts in the mangrove forest, once these unruly beasts leave the mangrove forest and enter the central part of the Rimu Valley, they will pose a significant threat to the population.

Therefore, everyone had to be on high alert in case of unforeseen circumstances.

With the assistance of four Celestial-Rank Homo sapiens, the combat power of the humans in the valley has been greatly increased.

Just as everyone's discussion was reaching a fever pitch, news came from the mangrove forest.

The first to bring back the news was lightning, known for its speed, followed by wind and rain, and finally thunder. The four of them brought back roughly the same message: the magical beasts in the mangrove forest were in turmoil, the entire depths of the dense forest were in chaos, and many low-level magical beasts were fleeing in panic.

Although the magical beasts with strength above the Heavenly Rank did not show any intention of fleeing, they all issued warning howls within their own territories.

This indicates that a creature capable of threatening them has emerged in the mangroves, or that some other major natural disaster or anomaly is about to occur.

Because the high-level magical beasts were in a state of extreme alertness, the people who were checking dared not get too close, for fear of disturbing them.

They dared not cross their territory to check the central area.

Therefore, it is impossible to see what exactly happened in the central area.

Rain, who was mainly responsible for keeping an eye on avian magical beasts, reported that while the avian magical beasts were also somewhat agitated, they were not as panicked as the land and reptile magical beasts.

Even the most discerning listener could faintly hear a long howl, seemingly emanating from the distant central region. But that was a forbidden area for humans, and it was also mixed with the cries of various magical beasts, so they couldn't be certain.

Although the faint human voice was never confirmed, it still sent a powerful shockwave through everyone present. Various speculations subsequently emerged like mushrooms after rain.

Some believe it was the cry of a level nine celestial-rank magical beast in its human form, while others believe it was the desperate cry of someone who had fallen into the central area of ​​the magical beast and had no hope of survival.

Some people believe that Xinlan's father is still alive and that the voice came from him. However, most people think it was just the cry of an ordinary magical beast, albeit one that sounds very similar to a human voice, and that they were mistaken.

However, speculation is speculation, and there's no point in taking the unknown too seriously, so the dispute was quickly resolved after only a few words.

The monsters were about to leave the mangrove forest, and Dugu Xian and Li Mubai led everyone to the canyon area where the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice and the Slope of Doom were located, as planned.

This is the most treacherous place in the entire canyon, with not only icy pools and hot springs, but also natural barriers such as the Fiery Cloud Cave, which no magical beast dares to approach.

Most importantly, this place is the narrowest part of the entire canyon, making it the easiest to protect.

According to the plan, all participants were divided into three groups, forming teams of three to four people each, based on their respective physical strengths and complementary abilities, with each team capable of both offense and defense.

The main objective of this operation was to prevent the monsters from entering Yishi Valley, not to fight them head-on.

Moreover, the number of magical beasts in Ruimu Valley is so large that it is impossible for the few dozen people in Yishi Valley to kill them all.

Putting aside how powerful the monsters are, even if all the monsters stood there and let these people kill them as live targets, they would probably be exhausted to death.

So everyone had agreed beforehand that, depending on the situation, it would be best to prevent the monsters from entering Yishi Valley; if that wasn't possible, they would adopt a self-preservation principle and not fight the monsters head-on.

Life safety is the most important thing. If we can't protect Yishi Valley, so be it. At worst, we can all retreat to Xianghe Valley, hide in the territory of the white apes, and cooperate with our ancient partners again to resist the monsters.

According to the agreed-upon decision, magical beasts with a magic power level below level six, as well as those that are relatively docile and do not actively attack humans, will be let go.

Because level six magical beasts are equivalent to level eight or nine of the Earth Rank in humans, and have not yet reached the level of the initial stage of the Heaven Rank, while most of the old men in the valley have profound cultivation levels above level nine of the Earth Rank, they do not pose much of a threat to the people in the valley.

Moreover, these magical beasts account for more than 90% of the total number of magical beasts, and fighting them is simply a thankless and exhausting task.

Therefore, as long as we prevent ferocious and warlike magical beasts of level seven or above from leaving Ruimu Valley, our goal will be achieved.

We can expend some effort later to drive those monsters back to Ruimu Valley.

Shortly after everyone was ready, a cacophony of roars erupted from the woods ahead, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

A cloud of yellow dust billowed up at the visible horizon.

In an instant, dust filled the sky, like dark clouds rolling in before a storm.

Amidst the billowing dust that blotted out the sky, the sounds of explosions from the collision of various magical forces constantly emanated, drowning out the roars of the magical beasts and the wails of those being trampled to death.

The sounds of trees breaking and tearing, sand and stones flying and colliding, thousands of hooves galloping, and mournful cries and roars mingled together, creating a sound even more earth-shattering, awe-inspiring, and soul-stirring than a thousand thunderclaps.