Chapter 388: Chapter 101: Fourth Tier Demon Beast, Serpent of the Cold Pool!

Wang Lishan took out a map.

After drawing circles and marks on the map, he said:

"To establish a safe zone spanning a hundred miles in radius, it will take at least a year."

Lin Chen frowned slightly upon hearing this and said:

"Why so long? We’ve already advanced at least thirty miles today..."

Wang Lishan chuckled and said:

"This is just the preliminary pioneering phase, our elite force of a thousand is leading the charge."

"We need to ascertain the conditions within this hundred-mile radius and purge all discovered demon beasts..."

"But that alone is not enough!"

"We also need to clear out potential demon beasts, develop the terrain, construct high walls... This entire series of processes will take at least half a year."

"Of course, this cannot be accomplished solely by our thousand-strong troops."

"For the subsequent development, at least thirty thousand more people need to be dispatched... Spending a year on this land might bring it to completion."

Lin Chen was taken aback upon hearing this.

He suddenly remembered a special profession he had seen in Kyoto.

Pioneer!

This profession involves accompanying the army to pioneer and construct a new safe zone.

Pioneers do not require high strength, anyone above Martial Artist can participate.

But there is certainly a risk, for reports of pioneers dying have occurred.

After all, the wilderness cannot compare to Kyoto, even though the army has cleared away demon beasts, nevertheless, some unfortunate pioneers still encounter demon beasts and meet their demise.

Moreover, the probability of this is not low.

However, pioneer wages are exceptionally high, and even in the event of death, they provide a significant compensation.

Many Martial Artists from poor backgrounds choose to go outside the safe zone to take a chance.

It is said that several hundred years ago, the area of Kyoto was only half of what it is now, with a population of less than three hundred million.

Over hundreds of years and through extensive exploration by countless pioneers, Kyoto reached its current scope.

And now boasts a Capital Metropolitan Area with nearly one billion people.

However, pioneers have not appeared in several decades. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The deeper one ventures into the wilderness, the harder it is to pioneer.

Nevertheless, in the past twenty years, this situation has changed.

The emergence of cultivation resources has prompted the Great Xia Country to further develop the wilderness.

Especially, they require large tracts of land to cultivate spiritual medicine.

Hence, in twenty years, they’ve advanced over three hundred miles northward.

They’ve built five new Immortal City strongholds for the cultivation realm of Great Xia Country.

And this time, they intend to push another hundred miles northward in one go...

At this moment, Wang Lishan said:

"Pioneering a hundred miles north at once has never happened before..."

"In the past, managing to seize a few miles from the hands of demon beasts was already considered a great success."

"Because danger lurks everywhere in the wilderness, no matter how advanced the exploration equipment is, it cannot fully ascertain the demon beasts hidden therein..."

After a pause, Wang Lishan grinned and said:

"However, the situation is different now!"

"Divine Sense makes exploring the wilderness and purging demon beasts simpler..."

"This thousand-strong dispatched troop, all of them are above Grand Martial Master level in the Martial Path. Their cultivation is also above the Foundation Establishment Stage..."

"They are the elite of the Great Xia Country, ensuring the success of the pioneering."

Lin Chen nodded in agreement.

Indeed, even Martial Arts Technology finds it challenging to detect demon beasts hidden dozens of feet underground.

But Divine Sense can do it.

In some sense, Divine Sense is more advanced than Martial Arts Technology.

"Besides... we have prepared three thousand Earth Spirit Root cultivators!"

"They are tasked with constructing a wall ten feet high, one foot wide... with a total length of three hundred miles within a year."

"Once the wall is completed, dispatching the City Guard Army to watch day and night, this safe zone will be established!"

"Tsk, tsk, in the past, the mere thought of it was beyond imagination... A three hundred mile wall needed tens of thousands of people and a large team working night and day for several years..."

"But Earth Spirit Root cultivators, combined with instruments, are extraordinarily efficient."

Wang Lishan spoke at length, then patted Lin Chen’s shoulder.

His expression clearly said, child... the times have changed!

...

The night was quiet.

That night, the Martial Artist team encountered no less than ten waves of demon beast attacks.

Lin Chen had no idea where these demon beasts came from, they seemed to be omnipresent.

There were First Tier demon beasts, and even Third Tier demon beasts.

Just so, spending three days in the wilderness.

Lin Chen and the others purged two mountains, a patch of woodland, and a swamp.

More than ten Third Tier demon beasts had died by Lin Chen’s hand.

The number of demon beasts exterminated by the Martial Arts Team was over thousands.

It is hard to fathom, within a mere hundred-mile radius, demon beasts were so numerous.

Originally, Lin Chen thought that with such large-scale purging, the demon beasts should almost be cleared.

Until that day, Wang Lishan received a piece of information, then with a joyous expression, he said:

"The dominant beast of this region has been found."

Dominant beast...

Lin Chen pursed his lips, showing a look of puzzlement.

At this point, Wang Lishan explained:

"Based on thousands of years of experience, in the wilderness... every certain distance, there exists a powerful demon beast."

"This distance might be a hundred miles or several hundred miles. And this dominant beast is the absolute ruler of this region, demon beasts within a hundred miles all bow to it."

"And the strength of the dominant beast is naturally exceptionally high..."

"A Fourth Tier demon beast is the basic! Occasionally encountering a Fifth Tier Demon King is not impossible..."

Saying this, Wang Lishan smiled.

"We’re in luck, the dominant beast in this region is a Fourth Tier demon beast."

"Lin Chen, would you like to give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen felt quite tempted.

A fourth-level demon beast, equivalent to a Nascent Soul stage demon beast.

For Lin Chen, it’s a certain challenge.

But not a great threat, with Max the Martial Emperor guarding, Lin Chen’s life risk can be minimized...

Therefore, it’s a perfect opportunity for refining.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen eagerly asked:

"Where is the fourth-level demon beast now?"

Wang Lishan got up at his words, waved, and said:

"Come, I’ll take you there."

Thus, Lin Chen and the others set off again, following Wang Lishan.

They rushed westward for a full thirty miles.

Soon after, Lin Chen saw a fully-armed troop.

"Chief!" The leading Golden Core cultivator saluted.

Then said: "According to the exploration of the Enlightenment Puppet, the ruler, the fourth-level demon beast, is at a pool two miles away."

"According to the video intelligence sent before the puppet was destroyed, it should be a serpent-like beast..."

Hearing this, Lin Chen pondered, sending his divine sense towards the northwest.

Soon, he detected a cold pool two miles away.

"A fourth-level demon beast... hiding in this pool?"

Lin Chen almost thought he made a mistake.

Wang Lishan said at this time:

"Alright, thank you for your hard work... Next, you just wait here."

Saying this, Wang Lishan waved at Lin Chen and Max.

Involving fourth-level demon beasts, these Martial Spirits or Golden Core stage soldiers are no longer suitable to directly participate in the battle.

Besides Lin Chen and the others, there were more than a dozen Martial Arts Puppets to assist in guarding.

The three headed towards the cold pool...

A few breaths later, Lin Chen stood on a giant stone, looking at the cold pool tens of yards away.

This cold pool isn’t very large.

It’s roughly ten yards in circumference, calling it a pool is an overstatement... it looks more like a small pond.

"Fourth-level demon beast, often of large size... really hiding in this small pool?"

Lin Chen frowned slightly, somewhat incredulous.

"Well, let’s take a look first."

Lin Chen’s divine sense released like a tide, quickly diving into the deep pool.

One yard, ten yards, a hundred yards, three hundred yards...

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat incredulous.

This ten-yard diameter cold pool is actually so deep.

Seeing Lin Chen’s divine sense already probing a thousand meters deep yet still not seeing the beast’s trace.

He couldn’t help but wonder aloud:

"Uncle Wang, is the beast really inside this cold pool?"

Wang Lishan scratched his head and said:

"It shouldn’t be wrong, I sent three Golden Core mid-stage Martial Arts Puppets inside... they all died. Only a shadow was captured."

"The instrument shows that the beast’s life force is about the initial level of a Martial King..."

Lin Chen nodded after hearing this, thus continued to probe deeper with his divine sense.

A thousand meters, two thousand meters, three thousand meters...

Probing as deep as over three thousand meters, Lin Chen felt the scene underneath noticeably changed.

The cold pool initially narrow suddenly became vast.

"Is this... a lake?"

"An underground dark lake?"

Lin Chen blinked, soon realizing something.

Thus said:

"Uncle Wang, the fourth-level demon beast should be underground... but the cold pool is too deep. Below, there’s a large dark lake."

"We must find a way... to get the fourth-level demon beast out."

Wang Lishan nodded after hearing this, his divine sense could barely perceive the underground lake’s existence.

But far less clear than Lin Chen’s perception.

At this moment, Max beside them said:

"Use the nuclear weapon! Detonate it underground... force the fourth-level demon beast out."

"That fourth-level demon beast’s strength must be significant in the dark lake, we must drag him out to fight!"

Lin Chen and Wang Lishan exchanged looks, agreeing with this idea.

Soon, two Martial Arts Puppets carrying a 100,000-ton equivalent nuclear bomb submerged deep into the lake.

Diving all the way down...

Lin Chen, while using his divine sense to detect the position of the fourth-level demon beast, directed the Martial Arts Puppets’ descent.

Suddenly, on the shared screen of the instrument, a pair of green eyes appeared.

"Fourth-level demon beast!"

Beside him, Wang Lishan reacted without hesitation, directly triggering the nuclear weapon!

A moment later, a turbulent wave appeared on the deep lake before them.

The ground shook lightly, but soon it was still.

Over three thousand meters deep in the underground lake, the nuclear bomb’s power hardly reached the surface.

"How is it..." Wang Lishan wanted to inquire.

But Lin Chen’s expression subtly changed.

"It’s coming out soon!"

Lin Chen sensed a gigantic dark shadow rapidly surging out from the underground dark lake.

About a few breaths later, a huge, terrifying head appeared above the cold pool.

Seeing the beast’s appearance, Lin Chen paused.

"Is this... really still considered a snake?"