Chapter 499 - 429: Great Territory, Dominator, Spirit Control Realm

Xiong Batian was fast. Riding him, Jiang Qiu quickly left the large territory they were in before. Of course, they didn’t know exactly how far they had traveled, only that the territory they remembered was no longer beneath them.

Indeed, they had no idea where they were. It was only when Xiong Batian began to find the surrounding creatures unfamiliar that he realized with a start he had carried Jiang Qiu out of their previous vast territory.

Of course, this distance was not enough to take them out of the Primitive Ancient Forest. In fact, looking up, they could only see an endless canopy of branches obscuring the Celestial Secret. Everything was covered by the crowns of the Primitive Ancient Forest’s trees. They hadn’t left the forest at all; it even felt as if they hadn’t moved from their original spot.

There was nothing to be done. The Primitive Ancient Forest was simply too vast. There wasn’t even a tall mountain range nearby, so they couldn’t climb to a high vantage point for a better view. Or rather, their line of sight couldn’t possibly penetrate the overlapping layers of ancient trees. Even if there were mountains outside or nearby, they wouldn’t be able to see them. They could only rely on the word of local creatures to get a rough idea of where they were.

However, they encountered very few Great Demons who had Opened their Spirit Veins along the way—almost none. Among them, even fewer knew of Tai Lake. Most only had a vague impression. They were all old natives who never set foot in other lands. How would they know what Tai Lake was, or what a Tai Python was?

Only that giant wolf fellow had been a fast runner. He had traveled to many places in his youth, which was how he learned of the legends of Tai Lake and knew of the Dominators in many areas. Of course, it was a pity he had already become nourishment for Xiong Batian.

In truth, he wasn’t of much value anymore anyway. After all, he had already told Jiang Qiu everything he knew, and he didn’t know the way himself. How could he possibly have led Jiang Qiu to Tai Lake?

So, they could only feel their way forward.

Fortunately, there was plenty of food along the way. It seemed the Primitive Ancient Forest never lacked for living creatures. Every area teemed with them, heaps and heaps of ordinary beings, seemingly endless. From this massive population, a cluster of creatures would evolve to gain Spiritual Awakening, each occupying a small territory of its own. Then, one of these spiritually awakened creatures would discover the method for Opening Spirit Veins, subsequently uniting a large area of smaller territories to become a Great Demon of the region.

Above that was the regional Dominator, to whom all Great Demons who had Opened their Spirit Veins would submit. The Dominator of the previous region was dead, which was why they hadn’t encountered one. But now, having stepped into a new territory, Jiang Qiu seemed to have heard that a Dominator existed here.

"Are you sure there’s a Dominator here?" Jiang Qiu grabbed a spiritually awakened rabbit by its ears and lifted it. "What are his specific features? His defining traits?"

Generally speaking, a regional Dominator should be very distinctive. In other words, even if two of them were tigers that had Opened their Spirit Veins, one would surely have white fur and the other yellow. They almost always had such differences. In fact, according to Xiong Batian, the previous Dominator even had two tails.

This was an expert above the Opening Spirit Veins stage—the Spirit Control Realm!

It was just like that Fierce Tiger Great Demon from before. He was already in the Late-stage Spiritual Vein Opening and knew very well what he was pursuing. Because he had truly witnessed a Dominator Level expert and had clearly seen the process of utilizing Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm, his heart had surged with excitement.

Of course, the main reason was that he was already able to sense Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm at that time, which allowed him to perceive the mysteries of its utilization and have something of an epiphany.

Moreover, he was constantly trying to transform the various types of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm he had absorbed into his body for external use. He just hadn’t succeeded before he was eaten by Jiang Qiu and Xiong Batian.

Then there was Xiong Batian. He himself had also seen a Dominator with his own eyes. He even witnessed the process of that Dominator being surrounded and killed by Demons. That scene was the definition of brutal.

Unfortunately, at that time, he was just a weakling who had only achieved Spiritual Awakening. He had no idea what the scenery was like beyond the Opening Spirit Veins stage. Therefore, even after witnessing such a battle between experts, he made no progress at all. Instead, his fear of Demons only deepened.

One’s perspective determines one’s limits; this saying is true. It was only after following Jiang Qiu that Xiong Batian gradually came to understand what Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm was, and what its application entailed. Of course, he was completely incapable of it right now. He still couldn’t get a clear handle on the so-called Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm and could only continue to practice the breathing method.

However, the two had also feasted well along the way in the Primitive Ancient Forest. Xiong Batian ate the meat of Great Demons who had Opened their Spirit Veins for practically every meal. His progress was incredibly fast. After just a few days, he had already reached the Middle Stage of Spiritual Vein Opening and was even faintly on the verge of breaking into the late stage!

The so-called early, middle, and late stages actually referred more to one’s understanding of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm than to the strength of one’s physical body. But because Jiang Qiu had taught him the breathing method—the Cultivation Technique—his understanding of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm was naturally growing stronger and stronger. There was no doubt about that.

His progress was at a Divine Speed, inseparable from the Basic Cultivation Technique Jiang Qiu had casually bestowed upon him. Just this basic rhythm for breathing had completely changed his perception of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm.

If this Cultivation Technique were ever to get out, countless spiritually awakened creatures would fall into the ensuing turmoil of fighting over it. It would inevitably send shockwaves through a great territory.

The so-called great territory referred to a territory presided over by a Dominator. This was a term Jiang Qiu had summarized, calling the vast region where Xiong Batian previously lived a great territory. He had a rough measure for it in his mind: ’A great territory is quite large, about the size of a city district.’