Bashan

A giant tree came crashing down toward the mountainside, sweeping Shi Lan into its path.

Shi Lan raised a hand and unleashed a blast of fist energy, snapping the tree in half. Then she furrowed her brow and looked at the huge black shadow barreling after Tian Bai, shoving aside mountains and toppling trees as it came.

Tian Bai bounded up to Shi Lan in a few quick strides, then knelt before her, panting heavily.

"Your Majesty."

Golden Rainbow hovered quietly beside Shi Lan, utterly still.

After watching the black bear for a couple of seconds, Shi Lan turned to Tian Bai and waited for an explanation.

The aura emanating from this black bear was even more terrifying than that of a perfected Earth Fiend Realm beast. It had clearly reached the Heavenly Astral Realm, and its strength was no small matter.

But against Golden Rainbow, it should have had no chance of survival. Why had Tian Bai led it here?

When the black bear spotted Shi Lan standing at the mouth of a cave halfway up the mountain, it panicked instinctively and hurriedly tried to stop. But its massive body had too much momentum, and its panic threw it off balance. It slammed headfirst into the mountainside.

"Boom—"

Countless rocks came tumbling down the cliff, and the entire mountain shuddered violently.

"Your Majesty, this black bear is..." Tian Bai caught its breath, then quickly explained how everything had happened.

Earth Fiend Realm beasts each had their own territory, or hunting grounds, ranging from a few hundred to over a thousand miles across. Clashes between them were relatively uncommon.

But after Shi Lan ordered the hunting of Earth Fiend Realm beasts, they began dying in droves across the surrounding tens of thousands of miles over the next few months.

Once