"Roar!" The rhinoceros beast leader finally moved. It let out a thunderous roar and shot toward Zhou Yuan like lightning. The black horn atop its head carried howling winds as it aimed straight for Zhou Yuan's throat. This strike was incredibly fast and terrifyingly powerful, warping the surrounding space. Clearly, it contained the full strength of its life.
Zhou Yuan did not turn around, as though he had eyes in the back of his head. Within his awareness, every contraction of the rhinoceros beast leader's muscles and every flow of energy was clearly visible. He could even see the path along which earth-element energy gathered on its horn.
He merely shifted slightly to the side and perfectly avoided the fatal strike. Even the airflow from the horn failed to brush the corner of his clothes.
"Zhenkong Slash!" Zhou Yuan's voice rang out again as the Zhenkong Blade slashed down with terrifying force. There was nothing flashy about this strike, yet it struck with perfect precision at the joint between the rhinoceros beast leader's horn and skull—the weakest point of its defenses.
Blade energy erupted instantly. The rhinoceros beast leader's horn was severed directly, and its massive body staggered back several steps involuntarily. It had clearly suffered a severe wound.
Zhou Yuan had already ridden the airflow created by the retreating rhinoceros beast leader and drifted out of the herd's encirclement like a fleeting swan. He stood atop a huge boulder several hundred meters away, straight as a pine, his aura calm and undisturbed, as though the thrilling battle just now had merely been a stroll.
The surrounding rhinoceros beasts charged frantically at the boulder, yet none could come within three meters of Zhou Yuan. His domain had long since spread out, pressing down on every rhinoceros beast. Every movement of the beasts fell within his predictions, and he avoided every attack in the most effortless manner possible.
Every slash struck a weak point on the rhinoceros beasts. Zhou Yuan fought alone against hundreds of Domain Lord-level rhinoceros beasts as though no one stood in his way. Not only did he successfully seize the Purple Heart Fruit, he did not even allow the beasts' attacks to touch the corner of his clothes.
A short while later, Zhou Yuan successfully killed all several hundred rhinoceros beasts. After storing every beast in the World Ring, he said to Beibei, "Beibei, plant the Purple Heart Fruit in the World Ring. Use as many Universe Crystals as you want."
After inspecting the surrounding battlefield and finding no valuable resources left behind, Zhou Yuan flew directly into the sky and continued patrolling the entire planet.
After spending more than half a month, Zhou Yuan finally finished surveying the entire planet. He also wiped out five more beast hordes, each a large herd containing hundreds of Domain Lord-level beasts. He obtained five varieties of E-rank natural treasures, worth a total of several hundred trillion Universe Coins.
"Beibei, head to another supergiant planet." Zhou Yuan stood in the spacecraft's control room and directed Beibei to operate the ship.
"Yes, Master. There is too much interstellar dust in this region, so we cannot travel through the Dark Universe. It will take approximately seven months," Beibei said after checking the surrounding environment.
The core region was unlike the Shattered Star Belt on the outskirts. Interstellar dust was everywhere, limiting the spacecraft's acceleration and preventing it from reaching light speed. It could only travel at sublight speed. Naturally, traveling from one supergiant planet to another required much more time.
This time, Zhou Yuan did not enter the core chamber to cultivate in seclusion. Even in space, ferocious beasts occasionally appeared within the core region. Zhou Yuan had only brought a few spacecraft with him, and he did not want them destroyed while he was in seclusion. Otherwise, when it came time to leave the secret realm, he would have to fly out himself.
Thus, Zhou Yuan continuously searched for treasures, occasionally entering seclusion to cultivate whenever inspiration struck. In this manner, he spent three years roaming the planetary region on the outskirts of the Sixth Continent in the Yunyan Secret Realm. Over those three years, Zhou Yuan searched more than ten supergiant planets, yet he never encountered a World Lord-level ferocious beast.
Half of those dozen-plus planets had already been searched by others and contained nothing worthwhile. However, every planet that had not been searched yielded gains. In total, he obtained more than thirty varieties of World Lord-level treasures, worth nearly a million trillion Universe Coins.
"Master, a ferocious beast is approaching!" Beibei's warning suddenly rang out.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan quickly opened the hatch and flew out of the spacecraft. He casually stored the ship away and drew the Zhenkong Blade. A black giant beast several kilometers long flew out from beside a planet to his left front. It had a horn on its head, scales several meters across covering its entire body, thick limbs, and a slender tail. Faint azure secret patterns could be seen upon its scales.
"Third-stage World Lord. Perfect—I can test the ultimate move I just created." Zhou Yuan judged from the beast's aura that it was a third-stage World Lord. It was precisely the target he had sought for so long. Zhou Yuan returned to his two-hundred-meter true form, while the Zhenkong Blade likewise expanded into a massive blade over a hundred meters long.
As Zhou Yuan stared at the ferocious beast, it noticed him as well.
"Roar!" The ferocious beast let out an enraged roar mixed with a mental assault. Even in the vacuum of space, it could be heard. It then charged straight at Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan swung his blade and met it head-on. Man and beast collided at sublight speed.
"Bang!"
The Zhenkong Blade struck the giant beast's horn. Zhou Yuan spun and streaked past along the direction from which the beast had come, while the beast shot toward the space behind him.
Zhou Yuan's gaze sharpened. He could clearly sense that this third-stage World Lord ferocious beast was far stronger than any opponent he had encountered before.
Although his comprehension of the Earth Origin Law and Space Origin Law was greater, the beast itself possessed greater strength and speed. Taken together, they were evenly matched. It would probably not be easy to end this battle quickly.
"Interesting. It seems this battle will be quite exciting." A faint smile appeared on Zhou Yuan's lips as he swung the Zhenkong Blade again. Earth-element secret patterns and spatial secret patterns lit up simultaneously across the blade, releasing a terrifying pressure.
Sensing Zhou Yuan's attack, the ferocious beast abruptly turned. The horn atop its head howled through space as it stabbed toward Zhou Yuan's chest. This strike was incredibly fast and terrifyingly powerful, slightly warping the surrounding space. Clearly, it contained the full strength of its life.
"Zhenkong Slash!" Zhou Yuan's voice remained calm, but the Zhenkong Blade had already swept out with a howling gale. This was an ultimate move he had created by combining the heaviness and suppressive intent of the Earth Origin Law with the sealing intent within the Space Origin Law.
The instant the blade swung out, the earthen-yellow Earth Origin Law and the silver Space Origin Law erupted simultaneously, forming an immense law domain that completely sealed the surrounding space.
The ferocious beast clearly had not expected Zhou Yuan to suddenly unleash such terrifying power. It was already too late to evade. It found its body firmly suppressed by an invisible force, making movement extraordinarily difficult, as though it had fallen into a swamp.
"Roar!" The ferocious beast let out an angry bellow and fully activated the Wind Origin Law within its body, trying to break free from Zhou Yuan's seal. Its thick limbs were immensely powerful, clearly containing terrifying strength. It suddenly raised a forehoof and stomped down toward Zhou Yuan's chest. Its huge body pressed down like a small mountain, carrying terrifying force.
Zhou Yuan did not choose to dodge. Instead, he swung the Zhenkong Blade again to meet it head-on. His Zhenkong Slash could not only seal space, but also suppress an opponent's power. No matter how strong the beast was, it could not easily break through his seal.
"Zhenkong Slash!" Zhou Yuan's voice rang out once more. With a howling gale, the Zhenkong Blade sent out another wave of blade energy containing the power of two laws. This strike was incredibly fast and terrifyingly powerful, warping the surrounding space. Clearly, it contained all his strength.
Sensing Zhou Yuan's attack, the ferocious beast abruptly turned. The horn atop its head stabbed toward Zhou Yuan's chest again. This strike was even faster and more terrifyingly powerful, slightly warping the surrounding space. Clearly, it was one of its killing moves.