Chapter 130 – Rakshasa Super Evolution

Night, inside the Cultivation Chamber.

Mu Yuan held two Soul Crystals in his hand. While cultivating, his thoughts drifted—one part of his mind browsed the forums while another opened the territory panel.

「Tianyuan Territory」

「Rank: One」

「Details: Omitted.」

「Upgrade Conditions:

「① Number of residents greater than or equal to 1,000; number of talents greater than 10.」

「② Possess more than 500 units of troops, including at least 5 Rank One troops.」(√)

「③ Possess more than 100 units of Miracle Buildings, including at least 3 Rare-grade buildings.」(√)

「④ Regional Security Index >= 60%.」(√)

「⑤ Territory Morale Index >= 60%.」(√)

「Upgrade Cost: Soul Crystals × 20」

The conditions for upgrading from a Rank One territory to Rank Two were not particularly high.

For ordinary Lords, the most difficult condition was the third one. Relying solely on exploration and monster drops, it might take a year or more to gather enough.

However, Lords could exchange for them on the Taixuan Platform or obtain them from “backers” or “financial supporters.” With time, even slower-paced Lords could upgrade their territories within half a year.

“For me, the shortfall lies in the most basic and easiest condition to fulfill—the number of residents.”

Currently, Tianyuan Territory had 339 residents and 6 talents.

Aside from the blacksmith Li Erniu, the others were only ordinary N-card level talents.

The gap in numbers was significant. The refugees attracted by the Guiding Beacon were relatively numerous only in the first three days; afterward, only a dozen or so arrived each day.

With time, he could eventually gather enough in another month or a month and a half.

But he wanted to speed things up.

“Top-tier second-generation heirs could use certain methods to attract refugees from other territories.” They could bring in those who had just been drawn by the Guiding Beacon but had not yet been formally registered or recorded as residents of that territory.

To do this, money alone wasn’t enough; connections were also required.

For an ordinary Lord like him, it seemed the only options were:

“Acquire more Guiding Beacons; find special structures like refugee camps; locate settlements of ordinary people in the wilderness regions.”

Mu Yuan took out the Guiding Compass and infused it with a trace of energy to activate it.

Immediately, the ancient and worn compass glowed with a circle of light, as if it had been restored to its former glory. The needle on the compass lit up with a faint golden radiance, buzzing and swinging continuously before finally pointing steadily in a specific direction.

…

Underground region, outside the ancient, dilapidated yet still majestic black Ancient City, in one of the tribes—the Spider-Woman Tribe.

The tribe was primarily composed of spider-type monsters and enslaved many other types of creatures, including goblins, Gnolls, kobolds, humans, and more.

At the very top of the tribe’s pyramid were the Spider-Women, numbering only a few dozen.

They had human-like, alluring upper bodies, but their lower halves were terrifying spider abdomens with black patterns and sharp, blade-like spider legs.

At that moment,

they were driving a group of slave laborers, clanging and banging as they constructed a grand structure in the center of the tribe.

It was the tribal totem.

However, the totem did not resemble a spider or a Spider-Woman. Instead, it was a lifelike, seemingly alive giant serpent.Suddenly, it opened its massive maw, its serpentine body launching from the totem pole and swallowing several slave laborers in one gulp before retracting back into the colossal pillar. It leisurely emitted a hoarse, deep voice.

“Worship my Lord, the great Serpent God Your Majesty, and you shall receive gifts.”

“Go forth, conquer the surrounding Tribes, and locate the Tianyuan Territories one by one, especially…”

The leading spider-woman’s eyes glowed faintly crimson. After a moment of silence, she pressed her spider legs against the ground and bowed.

“Yes.”

…

Compared to the turbulent upheavals in the Netherworld, the area around Tianyuan Territory remained calm and peaceful.

Early the next morning, the Dolai squad set out from the territory with the ‘Guiding Compass’.

The squad members included:

Hero Dolai;

Camera bird Asun;

Red Robe, Rakshasa, and a group of assisting wraiths, all attached to Asun’s claws in the form of soul pearls within a black, hollow claw ring.

The squad was quite elite.

This was because Mu Yuan considered that the journey to find special structures might be quite distant—a round trip might not be completed in a single day—and venturing deep into the Wilderness would entail many dangers.

No matter how strong Dolai was, one-on-one combat was always inferior to ganging up on enemies.

Within twenty kilometers of Tianyuan Territory, powerful monsters were almost nonexistent, allowing Dolai’s squad to travel unhindered. However, upon reaching thirty to forty kilometers deep, the danger level rose sharply.

Below lay a dense forest drifting with wisps of white mist.

Higher up in the sky, the white mist grew thicker, constantly brushing against their cheeks. If they flew even higher, monsters became sparse, but occasionally, massive shadows could be glimpsed fleeting deep within the clouds.

A faint, hair-raising aura permeated the air.

Asun immediately chickened out, not daring to test their luck by flying higher.

Dolai, on the other hand, had intended to traverse the forest area all along, occasionally hunting some wild game… no, mapping the wild terrain.

Yes, that’s exactly what it was doing.

…

“Boom—”

A massive, scorching Fireball shot forth from Dolai’s versatile staff, exploding into a dazzling blaze amidst the forest and completely enveloping the enormous stone golem, whose body was covered in vines and moss, leaving only a vague, huge shadow visible.

Dolai didn’t continue attacking. Seizing the opportunity as flames surged, it signaled Asun to make a quick escape.

“Otherwise, continuing to fight might attract more and stronger monsters. The wilderness is fraught with perils like this, requiring constant vigilance.”

Dolai spoke with utmost seriousness.

It was repeating the words Lord had been whispering in its ear moments before.

Their flying speed had slowed considerably, using the wind’s power to stay alert to any movement around them, continuing to fly low in the direction indicated by the pointer with a ‘silent’ approach.

“The Dolai squad has already ventured dozens of kilometers into the Wilderness.”

“The good news is, the compass isn’t pointing toward a ‘Blessed Shrine.’ The bad news is that special structures seem quite scarce. Could it be that we’d have to go hundreds of kilometers deep to find one?”

If that were the case, he’d have to suspend the search plan.

The current Tianyuan Territory wasn’t capable of delving into the wilderness yet.

Traveling several hundred li south was feasible, but Mu Yuan speculated that special structures discovered and occupied by other Lords also fell under the ‘owned’ category and wouldn’t be indicated by the compass.

The direction guided by the compass couldn’t be canceled and restarted; his vision could only follow the Dolai squad as they navigated through one thrilling encounter after another.

Suddenly, the faint golden light pillar on the pointer began to flicker with a “ding-dong, ding-dong” sound.

“Are, are we there?”Dolai’s little head swiveled left and right before it finally used a gust of wind to part the dense grass, revealing the object guided by the golden beam—a statue buried in the undergrowth that appeared ancient yet radiated a faint divine aura.

「Prompt: You have discovered the special structure ‘Statue of Bounty.’」

——

「Statue of Bounty: This is a statue of the goddess who governs the earth and bounty. Visiting the statue grants the ‘Bounty Blessing,’ providing the territory with a ‘Crop Growth Speed +50%’ buff for the next month.」

「Note: Only a Lord or Hero may visit the statue.」

“Guji?”

“Mhm.”

Dolai extended its pale finger and lightly touched the statue. Instantly, the divine aura of bounty burst forth before it. It seemed to see an endless expanse of golden wheat fields, a majestic and indescribable goddess of bounty, and also witnessed…

The sky filled with crimson clouds, golden rain falling, and the heavens and earth mourning.

When it came back to its senses, the Statue of Bounty, enveloped in the glow of divine aura, vanished with a whoosh, as if it had never existed.

The ‘Guiding Compass’ in its hand also dimmed, its usage count now showing ‘(2/3).’

Dolai continued to use it.

The pointer whirred rapidly before firmly pointing in another direction.

“Let’s go!”

Three hours later, Dolai and the others found the second special structure.

This location was much more conspicuous than the Statue of Bounty, and a group of monsters lurked nearby. Fortunately, they weren’t too strong. Dolai, along with one historian, one bird, and a few wraiths, managed to discreetly eliminate the monsters after some effort.

「Prompt: You have discovered the special structure ‘Pit of Evil Spirits.’ Visiting this structure grants the ‘Power of Evil Spirits’ buff, enhancing the attack and destructive capabilities of troops. This buff lasts for one week.」

The enhancement from this second structure wasn’t significant.

It was better than nothing.

“After all, not all special structures are treasure troves. Some are purely useless. It’s not bad that we didn’t find any of those.”

Mu Yuan took out the map and marked the location of the Pit of Evil Spirits.

It was about a hundred kilometers away from the territory.

Traveling over a hundred kilometers for such a weak buff… wasn’t really worth it.

At that moment, Rakshasa, with his blue face and fangs, suddenly grew restless.

His intuition told him he should move forward.

“Then go ahead.”

Mu Yuan said.

Rakshasa had his own unique traits—a distinctive appearance and a powerful aura.

He strode forward directly.

Instead of standing at the edge and merely touching or visiting the structure, he plunged entirely into the massive pit filled with visible brownish-red evil Qi.

The next moment, the entire Pit of Evil Spirits began to boil, like a pot of bubbling brownish-red water, steaming as Rakshasa submerged into it, sinking so deep that not even a ghostly shadow could be seen.

“Could he have actually sunk?”

A troop’s intuition isn’t infallible.

The Eternal World is full of various opportunities and unexpected events.

Just as Mu Yuan thought this, the entire Evil Pool Pit seemed to drain from the bottom like an unplugged pond. The boiling ‘evil water’ converged toward the center, forming a visible vortex.

“Wow~ oh”

The onlookers gasped in amazement.

Before their eyes, the countless strands of evil Qi in the pit thinned out at a visible rate, revealing Rakshasa standing upright at the bottom of the pit, eyes closed and body robust.It gained tremendous enhancement through an Opportunity!

“Rakshasa Rank has increased to Tier 1 Level 5.”

“Rakshasa Rank has increased to Tier 1 Level 6.”

“Notification: Your troop ‘Rakshasa’ has absorbed a large amount of evil spirits, awakening the skill ‘Evil Spirit Solidification'”

“Notification: Your troop ‘Rakshasa’ meets special conditions, undergoing mutation evolution…”

Within the pit, brownish-red patterns crept up Rakshasa’s body.

His Qi surged continuously, yet his expression showed some pain.

(End of Chapter)