Star Dou Great Forest, inner reaches of the Mixed Zone,
Giant trees over a hundred meters tall blotted out the sky and sun, and the air was thick with a murderous chill. A ten-thousand-year Pterosaur with a forty-meter body span flapped its wings and roared in the sky. A hundred meters underground, within the rock strata, a dragon-headed rat beast used steel-like claws to slice through stone and dig tunnels forward. Thousand-year soul beasts that could dominate an area in the outer regions were nothing more than prey here—prey without the slightest ability to resist.
Xia Yan held a fluffy Cloud Cluster Ground Rat in his arms as he sat on a branch that nearly reached the clouds.
"Chirp, chirp..."
The Cloud Cluster Ground Rat in his arms watched its surroundings with watery eyes, pressing tightly against Xia Yan's chest.
Its large ears trembled lightly as it gathered the scents around it.
It did not like the smell here. It really did not...
Xia Yan conjured a blood-red ginseng root out of thin air and handed it over.
"Chirp!!"
The Cloud Cluster Ground Rat's black gemstone-like eyes instantly lit up. Its tiny paws immediately reached out to take it, clutching it to its chest and constantly sniffing the red ginseng's fragrance. Finally, unable to endure any longer,
it opened its mouth and took a bite.
"Chirp chirp... Chirp!!"
Delicious, delicious... So delicious!
Xia Yan stroked its fluffy little head. After raising them for so long, he could finally get close to them. This was the eldest rat, the largest of the rat family, and the first to trust him.
Xia Yan had used a total of fifty-seven dried fish, eleven blood ginseng roots, and an unknown amount of delicious fruit before finally winning over the rat family.
"Alright, go back."