Across the wasteland, chaos reigned. Corpses of Living Beings lay scattered everywhere, while several hundred creatures of various forms were surrounded by over a thousand Soul-Rending Wolves that resembled jackals but had tails covered in bone spikes.
These creatures clearly were not races skilled in battle. Some resembled elk, some looked like enormous pangolins, and some were plants that had undergone Transformation.
They had formed a crude defensive circle and were barely holding on, desperately resisting the wolves' assault.
"They're small tribes from the Spirit Hoof Tribe, Stone Armor Tribe, and Red Flower Wood Spirit Tribe." Qing Luo recognized them at once.
"They must have been ambushed by the Soul-Rending Wolves at their original settlement and fled here. Elder, should we save them?" Shi Yue could not bear to leave them alone, but there were too many wolves. If they acted rashly, they would suffer considerable losses as well. He turned to seek Elder Xuan Yue's opinion.
"Lin Yan, what do you think?" Elder Xuan Yue hesitated as well. Even ants could kill an elephant; although he was a Mysterious Immortal, he could not guarantee that the team would avoid casualties. And because Lin Yan had performed so brilliantly these past days, everyone had come to see him as the Patrol Team's strategist. Thus, Elder Xuan Yue consulted him before every major decision.
Lin Yan had already used the Mini Ecology Simulator to instantly imprint the terrain, energy flow, and distribution of Living Beings within a thousand miles into his mind. He had already formed a plan for the coming attack, so the moment Elder Xuan Yue spoke, he had an answer.
"Of course we should save them. One of our Patrol Team's duties is to save the dying and heal the wounded. But there are too many wolves and too few of us, so we can't confront them head-on.
The saying goes, capture the ringleader before the rest. Elder Xuan Yue, look at those larger Soul-Rending Wolves at the back of the pack. They should be some of the wolf pack's leaders. The one in the middle should be the Wolf King.
We'll send people to circle around behind the wolves and strike them with a thunderous strike, killing the Wolf King and those lesser leaders if possible. The rest will make a show of force and create a huge commotion. Without their Wolf King and leaders directing them, the wolves will surely fall into disarray—leaderless wolves, that is. The remaining pack will inevitably flee in all directions. Then we can pursue and kill them from behind. We'll definitely win a great victory."
Elder Xuan Yue pondered briefly before making the decision. "Good. We'll do as you say. Golden Feather, take the others and spread out. Once we make our move, create a big disturbance, but don't charge in recklessly. Wait until the wolves flee in all directions before pursuing them. Shi Yue, Yan Feng, Lin Yan, Mo Xuan, Ao Ye—you'll come with me around the back of the wolf pack."
Once the assignments were made, Elder Xuan Yue and the others wasted no time. They each activated their divine abilities and began moving.
Lin Yan grabbed Mo Xuan and Ao Ye, preparing to take them underground with him. His Earth Vein Travel technique could carry others along with him, though not too many at once.
Before long, the three had silently reached the rear of the wolf pack. According to what Lin Yan had discovered through the simulator, several wolf leaders were crouched directly above them. At the same time, Elder Xuan Yue had brought Shi Yue and Yan Feng to a spot not far behind the Wolf King.
The instant Lin Yan's group burst from the earth, several wolf leaders noticed them. But before they could react, the small mountain formed by the Earth Spirit Seal crashed down upon them. The Primal Chaos Plate continuously released spirit and malevolent qi, shaping it into the phantom of enormous scissors that viciously sheared toward the wolf leaders.
Mo Xuan and Ao Ye naturally refused to fall behind. One on the left and one on the right, one unleashed Qilin Steps on Heaven while the other released the dazzling Dragon Pearl, attacking the wolf pack. The unprepared wolf leaders were soon left bloodied and badly wounded by the onslaught.
At that moment, Elder Xuan Yue's group revealed themselves and charged at the Wolf King, whose cultivation was the highest. Caught off guard, the Wolf King, also a Mysterious Immortal, had one foreleg severed by Elder Xuan Yue's Fang Tian Hua Ji. Pressing his advantage without mercy, Elder Xuan Yue swung his Fang Tian Hua Ji again, intending to kill the Wolf King.
The Wolf King was, after all, as strong as a Mysterious Immortal. Even after losing a leg, it still fought Elder Xuan Yue fiercely. Yet the remaining wolf leaders were quickly slaughtered by Lin Yan's group and the arriving Shi Yue and Yan Feng. Seeing its side suffer devastating losses and facing a Mysterious Immortal expert, the Wolf King sacrificed another foreleg and transformed into a streak of flowing light as it fled, abandoning even the rest of the wolf pack.
The battle that followed unfolded exactly as Lin Yan had expected. The Wolf King fled, the wolf leaders were all slain, and the wolf pack immediately descended into chaos.
On a nearby hillside, dust rose into the sky and thunderous shouts filled the air. It was obvious that a large force was approaching. The remaining wolves no longer dared attack the several hundred Spirit Beast Living Beings and began to flee in all directions.
Elder Xuan Yue went after the Wolf King, while Captain Shi Yue led the others to hunt down the fleeing wolves. That left only Lin Yan to lead Qing Luo and several support-type Warriors in treating the injured Living Beings.
An elderly Spirit Hoof Tribe member who appeared to be a leader, with broken antlers and wounds all over his body, tremblingly approached Lin Yan. Without another word, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed. "Thank you... thank you, noble ones, for saving our lives..."
Lin Yan hurriedly said, "There is no need for such courtesy. Eliminating vicious beasts and protecting Living Beings is our duty." The old deer reminded Lin Yan of Deer King White Horn back home. White Horn had also once been hunted by vicious beasts before Lin Yan saved him.
Tears streamed down the old man's face. "You noble ones are compassionate... but... but our home has been destroyed, and more than half of our clan members are dead or injured... This Weeping Blood Wasteland is filled with Malevolent Qi, and vicious beasts run rampant. We... we have nowhere left to go..." His words drew sorrowful cries from the survivors behind him.
Looking at these frightened and helpless Living Beings, Lin Yan had an idea. "Elder, thirty thousand miles from here, there is a demon beast nest we recently cleared out. We made some improvements to it, and it should serve as a temporary place to stay. Why don't you go there and take shelter for now?"
"Good, good! Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, benefactor!" Upon learning that they would have a place to stay, the old deer eagerly agreed and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
When Elder Xuan Yue, Shi Yue, and the others returned, Lin Yan explained his idea. Neither of them objected. It was merely a small effort. Besides, after several major battles, the Patrol Team also wanted to find a place to rest and recuperate for a while.
When they escorted the three surviving small tribes to the little valley called Warm Jade Valley, everyone was stunned.
"Th-this... is this really the valley we visited before?" Vice-Captain Yan Feng asked uncertainly, rubbing his tiger head as he looked at his companions.
"I think... it is?" his companion answered uncertainly as he stared at the scene within the valley.
The surviving tribes were fine, since they had never seen what Warm Jade Valley looked like before. But the members of the Patrol Team had. This had originally been the lair of a vicious beast, with Malevolent Qi filling the valley and not a blade of grass growing anywhere.
After they killed the vicious beast, Lin Yan had improved the environment here. By the time they left, the valley had only been slightly better than the outside world, barely suitable for habitation.
Yet only a short time had passed, and the environment had changed enormously. The Malevolent Qi had vanished without a trace, Spirit Qi began to fill the air, earth qi rose from the ground, the valley had turned green, and the spirit stream that had once run dry now flowed again with spirit water rich in Spirit Qi.
When the Living Beings of the three surviving tribes saw this sight, each of them was overwhelmed with joy. They had not held much hope for the temporary refuge Lin Yan had mentioned, yet they had never expected the environment here to be even better than that of their former settlements.
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