Chapter 503 - 431: Peak of Opening Spirit Veins, the 9-Tailed Fox of the 8 Great Dominators

After learning from Wild Ape about the existence of a higher tier of power, Jiang Qiu didn’t make things difficult for him. He headed straight for the next region: the core territory of the Golden Eagle True Dominator.

A True Dominator’s core territory was typically surrounded by numerous Great Dominators or Xiaobas. This meant that to see a True Dominator, one would inevitably have to pass through the lands of other Great Dominators.

After all, those who dared to remain near a True Dominator were generally experts. They could even be considered the True Dominator’s trusted subordinates. The power of a True Dominator was practically irresistible, and they might even bestow some unimaginable boons from time to time!

Indeed, a True Dominator would bestow benefits upon the Great Dominators in their territory. This was a way of luring them in and securing their loyalty, rather than relying on brute force alone.

Furthermore, could the place a True Dominator chose for their core territory—their own dwelling—be an ordinary place? Could it be a place with no advantages whatsoever?

Of course not. A Xiaoba, a being like Wild Ape, had already chosen a residence with both a water source and richer Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm than ordinary areas. The Great Dominators, a tier higher and even more formidable, had long since seized places where the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm was densest. Occasionally, coveted fruits would even grow in such places.

Indeed, the Great Dominators had long occupied the best lands in this region, allowing them to easily access even richer Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm—something all other creatures envied. After all, those fruits truly contained Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm. It was said that if a creature that had not yet undergone Opening Spirit Veins ate one, their Spirit Veins might open on the spot.

Of course, Spirit Fruits capable of such a feat were not numerous and were certainly guarded personally by the Great Dominators. And as far as Wild Ape knew, all Dominators offered tribute to the True Dominator above them.

In this Golden Eagle’s territory, the Eight Great Dominators each guarded a number of Spirit Fruits. Whenever the Spirit Fruits ripened, they would present them to the True Dominator in exchange for their own security.

Naturally, if any of them grew greedy and decided not to give the Spirit Fruits to the True Dominator—or ate most of them and lied about the yield—it was practically a death sentence. There was once a Great Dominator who was devoured whole by the Golden Eagle True Dominator for turning in too few Spirit Fruits.

Whether any other Great Dominators had tried to short their tribute since then, Wild Ape had no idea. He wasn’t qualified to know, nor did he have any clue just how many Spirit Fruits the Great Dominators were supposed to offer.

A Xiaoba of his level might seem like one of the strongest experts in this vast territory, a top-tier powerhouse. But compared to the Great Dominators near the True Dominator’s core territory, he was like a pheasant meeting a phoenix—utterly outclassed.

It wasn’t impossible for Spirit Fruits to grow in his territory. In fact, there were some fruits that contained a hint of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm, but they were nothing as miraculous as the special harvests of the Great Dominators.

However, such meager resources were not enough to advance his Cultivation. He would probably remain at this level for the rest of his life, with no further chance for a breakthrough.

One had to understand that most regions of the Primitive Ancient Forest were already claimed. Take the True Dominator, for instance. The range he actually commanded was immense. While there might only be eight Great Dominators, beneath them were countless Xiaobas!

The thought that he was merely one of countless Xiaobas made Wild Ape’s attitude even more humble. He had seen a glimpse of the wider world and knew just how insignificant he was. Thus, he answered all of Jiang Qiu’s questions honestly and with the utmost respect.

Jiang Qiu was quite satisfied with this. He abandoned the idea of putting him through Refinement and decisively led Xiong Batian toward the next territory. "Let’s go and meet these so-called Great Dominators."

Indeed, Jiang Qiu was already considering making a move on the Great Dominators. It wasn’t necessarily for their flesh and blood, as he had no benchmark for his current strength. He wasn’t sure if the Great Dominators were in a Realm beyond the Spirit Control Realm, or how far they had progressed beyond it.

The information he had was too limited. At first, he’d thought a Dominator was an incredibly powerful being, yet he had crippled Wild Ape with a single punch. The creature had posed no real threat.

Furthermore, based on Xiong Batian’s own knowledge, the concept of the Spirit Control Realm had come up. Perhaps a Dominator was simply a being at the Spirit Control Realm, and that was the extent of it.

But now he had discovered that a Dominator like Wild Ape was merely a Xiaoba—one among tens of thousands. In the outer regions of the Primitive Ancient Forest alone, under the command of the Golden Eagle True Dominator, there were thousands, even tens of thousands of Xiaobas.

Wild Ape himself had said that he hadn’t actually seen that many other Xiaobas, but the truth was predictable. Back when Xiong Batian’s former leader, a Dominator, was brutally killed by Demons, it barely caused a ripple. That alone showed how little a Xiaoba was truly worth.

Perhaps within its own small region, a Xiaoba was the undisputed king, known to all. But from the perspective of higher beings, it was nothing more than a creature at the Spirit Control Realm that got a little lucky and managed to claim a piece of land.

Jiang Qiu had reason to suspect that the Great Dominators Wild Ape spoke of had surpassed the Spirit Control Realm by a major tier. Otherwise, they wouldn’t exert such immense pressure that a mere eight of them could strike fear into the hearts of tens of thousands of Xiaobas, quelling any thought of rebellion.