Nature Reserve

After extensive analysis, Yang Yu had already thought of a safe place to hide.

He had also worked out the entire route there.

They could hide there for at least ten days to half a month without being discovered!

After half a month, of course, they would have to find another safe hiding place.

In the barren mountains on the outskirts of Shangjing City, two camouflaged, indistinct figures raced across a stretch of desolate rock, barely visible even beneath the blazing midday sun.

They kept moving, using shrubs and scattered trees for cover along the way.

The two figures were Yang Yu and Zhao Zixuan.

They were heading southeast.

More than forty li from the cave where they had previously hidden lay the safe location Yang Yu had selected.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Yang Yu and Zhao Zixuan sped along one behind the other and soon reached their destination.

They swiftly went from full speed to a complete stop.

“This is it.” Yang Yu stood atop a low hill covered in shrubs, his gaze settling on the valley ahead.

A small swamp lay within that valley.

People rarely ventured here.

Outside Shangjing City lay a vast wildlife nature reserve, covering more than thirty-seven thousand square kilometers... and the swamp before them was an animal graveyard within that reserve!

Many aging wild animals came here when they sensed that death was near.

Looking out across the swamp, Yang Yu saw heaps of exposed white bones.

He also spotted scavengers and crocodiles with their eyes and nostrils poking above the water!

The wildlife nature reserve was a paradise for wild animals... but forbidden territory for ordinary people. The large predators that frequently roamed the reserve could easily take their lives.

As a cultivator, Yang Yu naturally had no fear of such dangers.

Few people came here, which meant no countless ordinary eyes watching him, and no endless surveillance equipment... for Yang Yu, it was the ideal hiding place.

Even if his whereabouts were exposed later, he could simply slip deeper into the reserve's more desolate reaches to find another hiding place.

The Ghost Infant Sect's chances of finding him quickly would plummet!

This place met all of Yang Yu's needs, giving him enough time to cultivate at his own pace... until his current Fate Soul power reached the peak of Earth Rank!

There was another advantage to hiding here.

This was a paradise for living creatures, home not only to vast numbers of rare wild animals, but also to many rare insects and venomous creatures!

For Yang Yu, who wielded Life Energy, such a rich expanse was the perfect place to develop his strength.

During this time, he could make it his hunting ground... capturing all manner of unusual insects and venomous creatures to test with his Life Energy.

With a little luck, he might even produce creatures more powerful than the Giant Mantis Beast.

"Master, are we going to live in seclusion here from now on?"

“The surroundings are quite safe, and there are so many wild animals available for us to hunt and experiment on whenever we like. Aside from the rough living conditions, which can't compare with the city, it's a pretty good place.” Zhao Zixuan had already silently killed a wild rabbit nearby. She now held the dripping rabbit in one hand, its blood striking a small patch of grayish-yellow dust and sending up wisps of dust.

She smiled playfully at Yang Yu and raised the rabbit in her hand.

"Tonight's dinner."

"I've never eaten wild game I caught myself before."

“You work fast.” Yang Yu smiled and shook his head. “All right, enough fooling around. We'll stay here for two or three months at most. Once I've finished cultivating, we'll go back and settle things with the Ghost Infant Sect.”

"Clean the rabbit properly, and bury the pelt deep. Don't leave any traces."

After speaking, Yang Yu took a small bag from inside his clothes.

He tossed it straight to Zhao Zixuan.

"There's some high-energy food in here. This is our real dinner."

"One rabbit will only give us a little taste of something different."

"You're an Earth Rank expert now. Ordinary food like this can't replenish the enormous amount of energy your body needs every day."

Zhao Zixuan stuck out his tongue. "Master, I was only saying."

Yang Yu nodded and turned his attention away from her.

He waved his hand!

Whoosh!

The air beside Yang Yu rippled, and his life-soul space opened wide!

A group of Giant Mantis Beasts with powerful auras immediately appeared on the barren ground.

By now, almost every Giant Mantis Beast had grown considerably stronger. Even the weakest had advanced to a level approaching Earth Rank.

Seven of them had fully entered Earth Rank, making them strong enough to contend with ordinary Earth Rank experts.

Those seven loosely surrounded a Giant Mantis King whose aura was exceptionally powerful, whose carapace bore vicious spikes, and whose genes had mutated.

That Giant Mantis King was the one Zhao Zixuan had named Number One.

The battle against the Ghost Infant Sect's raiding force had greatly increased the strength of every Giant Mantis Beast under Yang Yu's command!

"Giant Mantis King Number One, clear out the surrounding area."

"Before sunset, I don't want to see any living creatures besides us within a thousand meters."

"Once you've killed them, devour their flesh and clean everything up." Yang Yu gave his orders to the Giant Mantis Beasts, then added after a moment's thought, "While you're clearing the area, choose a suitable spot and dig an underground dwelling."

Since he would be living here for a while, Yang Yu naturally didn't want other creatures interrupting his cultivation.

Although he wasn't afraid of the "dangers" posed by living among these wild animals, he would still find it annoying if some foolish creature came to bother him every few days.

In that case, he might as well clear them all out at once and let the Giant Mantis Beasts leave their powerful scent behind, marking this place as their territory... that would solve the problem once and for all.

As for digging underground?

That was naturally for them to live in.

Out in this wilderness, an underground dwelling would offer the best concealment.

Once they went inside, they could cover the entrance with dead leaves, dry branches, and other debris. With that camouflage in this desolate, rarely visited place, they could hide without anyone being the wiser.

After Yang Yu gave his orders, Giant Mantis King Number One let out a hiss.

Hiss—

The next moment, every Giant Mantis Beast under its command sprang into action.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Swift as the wind, the Giant Mantis Beasts became the keenest hunting hounds, finding every creature hiding within a radius of over a thousand meters, then killing and devouring them one by one!

They were like a sharp blade.

Like tigers among sheep, they easily slaughtered every creature in the surrounding area.

By the time night fell and a campfire burned in the wilderness, a brand-new underground dwelling had been dug in a small grove not far from Yang Yu.

The dwelling consisted of a hall covering over a thousand square meters, two bedrooms, and a laboratory.

Inside, the Giant Mantis Beasts had also infused the walls with their internal energy to reinforce them, compressing the soil into something akin to reinforced concrete.

It was more than sturdy enough, with no need to worry about a collapse.

"I'll rest tonight."

"Tomorrow, I'll start seriously cultivating my Fate Soul power. If I practice the second movement of the Hundredfold Soul-Tempering Score at maximum intensity... two months will be enough to complete it."

Biting into a rabbit leg Zhao Zixuan had roasted, Yang Yu looked into the distant night.

From here, Shangjing City's brilliant lights had dwindled to a faint glimmer, like a single star shining in the darkness.

In this wilderness, nearly every trace of civilization seemed to have vanished.

Only a tiny spark remained.

The burning campfire illuminated Yang Yu's face, revealing a hint of ferocity in his expression.

"Ghost Infant Sect."

"The day I return will be the day your sect is wiped out!"

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