Chapter 10: The Wuling Gorge (Part 1)

Guo Shier looked at the message talisman and was stunned. He said, “Ezekiel and Beauty!” These two humanoid monsters had left ahead to explore as early as they were at Yingbei Manor. Unexpectedly, they sent a distress message so soon after.
“The Wuling Gorge!”
Qi Wu Zhen asked, “Jiang Hua, where is the Wuling Gorge?”
Jiang Hua replied, “The Wuling Gorge? To get there, one must enter the Chaos Continent. It’s located west of the Fengtai Continent. From here, it will take at least half a month to reach. Um, I remember someone having the coordinate of that place’s portal. I don’t have it here. Wait a couple of days, and I can find that coordinate.”
After thanking him, Li Ran said, “Can we find that coordinate quickly? Two days is too long.”
Even by the time they reached the Star Sacrifice, the team was on the verge of disbanding. Yet if any member of the team was attacked, the others would fight back fiercely. Since leaving the Spellcraft World, they had stayed close together. Even though there were minor conflicts and disharmony among them, no one would stand by idly if someone was in danger.
Jiang Hua said, “I have a coordinate near the Wuling Gorge, but it will still take nearly two days to get there.”
Both methods took about the same amount of time, and those two days couldn’t be skipped. Li Ran pondered for a moment before saying, “Let’s use this coordinate. We’ll find our way there ourselves!” Despite his seemingly casual demeanor, he was actually very protective. He would never sit idly by if his own people were bullied.
Jiang Hua nodded and handed the jade talisman with the coordinate to Li Ran. He also gave them a map, saying, “This is a map to the Wuling Gorge. Well, you can use Jiang City as a portal transit point.” This involved some risk—if Li Ran and his group encountered a powerful enemy, opening the portal to return might attract even stronger foes.
Li Ran and the others understood this and thanked him repeatedly. Jiang Hua was very helpful and sincere toward them. After exchanging message talismans, Li Ran didn’t delay. He immediately opened the portal and said, “Let’s go!” The group entered through the portal and vanished into the air in an instant.
……
Ezekiel and Beauty had arrived in the Fengtai Continent earlier than Li Ran and the others. They ventured deeper into the land. Neither of them was interested in materials; they were both advanced mutated spellbeasts. What interested them were various beasts. However, the wild or exotic beasts here were small in size and far weaker than them. For their standards, these beasts could only serve as snacks—barely enough to satisfy their hunger.

A few months later, the two were nearly across the Fengtai Continent. There, they encountered many powerful exotic beasts, much larger in size than before, which delighted them. They revealed their true forms and began hunting these beasts, not only to satisfy their hunger but also to gather food.

After traveling through the small worlds, their food reserves had dwindled significantly. Without more food, they would go hungry.

Since joining Li Ran’s team, the Ezeks had learned many human habits and preferred not to reveal their true forms unless they had to hunt large exotic beasts. Since there were few such beasts here, they waited until they reached the edge of the Fengtai Continent before showing their true forms and hunting. They discovered a huge prey—over a kilometer long, a massive giant snake.

The snake’s diameter was over ten meters, and its enormous body wrapped around half a mountain as it moved through the dense forest, creating a terrifying presence. It immediately caught Ezek’s attention. Without hesitation, the two revealed their true forms—both with bodies over two kilometers long—they attacked the snake’s head and tail simultaneously, causing a tremendous massacre.

Since entering the Sacrificial Stars, their strength had greatly increased. The giant snake was no match for them, especially with their true forms, whose massive sizes gave them an advantage. In moments, the snake was torn into pieces, which the two devoured and collected.

Ezek said, “Meili, take a break. I feel that if we keep going in this direction, we’ll encounter many prey.” He had reverted to his human form, with a bit of blood at the corner of his mouth.

Meili reached out to wipe the blood from his mouth and said smilingly, “It’s been so hard to get full once. I hope we can find more prey.”

Ezek scratched his head and said, “I feel there must be good prey ahead.”

Meili replied, “Sigh, we should follow the team… I don’t know why, but I feel uneasy.”

Ezek pouted and said, “Can’t you forget that damn good-looking jerk? If he weren’t part of the team, I would have eaten him already! My wife… he dared touch her…” Actually, he knew it was his wife who seduced him, but he was still upset and couldn’t help complaining.

Meili slapped him on the head and said, “Shut up! I’ve been following you all this time—why are you still talking nonsense?”

Ezek thought about it and smiled innocently, showing he was satisfied.

The two rested for half a day before continuing their flight. In less than a day, they encountered another large exotic beast. These beasts here were different from those they had seen in the Spellworld—they lacked runes but were still extremely powerful. This one had a strange appearance, its body covered in bone tumors, measuring over 800 meters in length, shaped like a cow, with a thick tail. Its two horns on its head were dozens of meters long, and even the dense forests couldn’t conceal its massive frame.

Ezek sat on a giant tree, staring at the beast. Saliva flowing, he said, “I can sense the power within it—such a strong vitality! It must be incredibly nourishing!”

Beauty asked, “Hmm, a fine prey. Should you go or shall I?”

Ezek replied, “You don’t need to get involved. Hehe, I’ll take care of this!” He stood up, transformed into a streak of light, and charged forward. Before the beast could react, he revealed his true form in midair. He didn’t want to attack in human form, as its power would be too weak; only by showing his true form could he maximize his strength.

In an instant, a giant, abnormally large exotic beast appeared in the sky, over 2,000 meters long. The beast frantically tried to escape, the overwhelming pressure nearly crushing it. It didn’t even have time to notice Ezek descending from the sky or launch an attack; instead, it let out a thunderous roar.

Ezek’s massive body crashed down. The beast had only managed to run a few hundred meters when Ezek swung his thick claws, slapping it hard. One swipe sent blood spraying from the beast, and then Ezek bit its neck and shook it violently. The beast let out a pained scream as it was flung aside, a piece of flesh torn off its neck.

Boom! Boom!

With two powerful kicks from its thick hind legs, Ezek lunged forward. Before the beast could land, it was sent flying again by Ezek’s attack. Two consecutive strikes left the beast dizzy—there was no comparison between them in terms of strength. The beast only wanted to run, but it couldn’t escape Ezek’s relentless attacks.

It had no chance to resist either, as it had been in a passive position from the start and completely stunned. Ezek’s attacks were incredibly fierce; once he started fighting, he wouldn’t give his opponent any chance, especially since the opponent was much weaker. In moments, he bit the beast’s throat and shook it wildly.

Beauty flew over and punched the monster in the abdomen, then plunged her arm inside. Her hand transformed into a giant claw, tearing out the monster’s heart with force. Blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly dyeing her bright red. She giggled and bit down on the scorching heart.

The monster died instantly from such a blow. Ezekiel had already eaten his fill, so he casually stored the monster in his space before transforming back. Beauty took a few bites of the heart before putting it in her own space, planning to eat it again when she was hungry.

Ezekiel suddenly raised his head and saw a flash of light, revealing a human figure. He shouted, “Who are you?”

It was a gloomy-looking old man. He sniffed the air and then spotted Beauty covered in blood. He cried out, “Did you kill my spirit beast?”

Ezekiel replied coldly, “What spirit beast of yours? Who are you anyway?”

The old man said, “I’m from the Beast Tamer Clan, Meller! Huh… you… are a spirit beast that can take human form?” Greed flashed in his eyes. Of course, a spirit beast that could transform was a rare treasure for any Beast Tamer Clan member; capturing one would greatly boost their strength.

Ezekiel flew into a rage. He didn’t want to admit he was an animal—he considered himself human, and he had never heard of anything called a spirit beast. Even if he wasn’t human, he was still a noble Aberrant Spirit Beast, a high-tier one at that, and he had his dignity.

“Old man, what do you want?”

Meller showed his rotten teeth and sneered, “Since you killed my spirit beast, then… you make good spirits beasts for me!”

These words enraged not only Ezekiel but also Beauty. To dare to treat them as pets was utterly outrageous—no, it was outrageous for an animal. Without saying a word, Beauty charged forward like a cannonball, shooting straight at Meller.

Meller instantly teleported away. He waved his hands, and a green glow shot out. In an instant, a hundred-meter-tall giant ape appeared, with golden fur and a ferocious face. With a roar, the ape lunged at Beauty.

Meili is an extremely violent woman who doesn’t hesitate at all—she charges straight into the giant ape’s arms, her arms turning into massive claws that slam into the ape’s chest with a loud crash. Even without revealing her true form, she possesses terrifying strength by nature. As her claws hit the ape’s chest, crackling sounds were heard, and the ape was sent flying backward by her strikes.
Mayer’s eyes were almost popping out in shock. After all, his spirit beast had received specialized training, and according to their beast-rider clan’s classification, it was a level seven spirit beast. Yet it couldn’t even block a single strike from the opponent. Panicked, he immediately sent out a red distress signal and fled frantically into the distance. He knew that staying there any longer would mean certain death for him.