Deities: Rulers of Nature

Ji Xuan looked on with satisfaction as the community bustled with activity once again.

He just bestowed upon them knowledge of architecture and construction, but that was only incidental; the main purpose was to activate the extraordinary seeds of the other three leaders.

Those who can condense extraordinary seeds at such times are all snake people with great talent, worthy of His intervention.

Moreover, with the addition of three more snake people who can mobilize energy, the settlement's safety has improved considerably.

The next day, Qinglu came to Qianyan Mountain alone again. This time, he wanted to get a few ten-meter-long Qingxi Stone Pillars.

Yesterday, after receiving the knowledge bestowed upon him by Ji Xuan, Qingdao kept writing and drawing on the ground, and gradually a clear idea began to form in his mind.

Their settlement is not yet capable of building a temple, but at least they can make the altar more complete.

Seido plans to erect two more ten-meter-high stone pillars in front of the altar. One pillar will be carved with a natural oak tree and a scene of the nature god showing mercy to the Shioyama settlement, while the other pillar will be carved with the history of the Shioyama settlement.

This way, when the clan members pray, they will feel a greater sense of belonging.

The task of quarrying a complete ten-meter-long stone pillar proved to be much more difficult than Qinglu had anticipated.

He needed to dig a deep enough cave first, and then peel away the stone pillars little by little.

It wasn't until nearly noon that Qinglu finally managed to dig out the four complete Qingxi Stone Pillars.

As I walked out of the cave, I straightened my back and shook my slightly numb arms, sweat trickling down my body.

Today is a rare good day. The sky is azure, and the sunlight, reflected off the snow, gives the illusion of being scorched.

Qinglu planned to rest for a while before returning to the settlement to have someone transport the stone pillar back.

Out of habit, Qinglu used her True Eyes to scan her surroundings and see if she had missed anything.

Unexpectedly, a splash of green entered his field of vision, and that green was so glaring against the gray of varying shades.

Qinglu's heart sank suddenly. Gray represents the mortal rank, black represents the black iron rank, and the meaning of cyan is self-evident: it represents the bronze rank.

Unexpectedly, there was a bronze-level wild beast on Thousand Rock Mountain.

Exiting the real view, Qinglv looked in that direction, but all she could see were rocks and snow; she couldn't see anything else.

Upon activating the Eye of Truth once more, the cyan figure was leisurely walking down Thousand Rock Mountain, heading directly towards the Xishan settlement.

The green area was located between the greenery and the settlement. Without hesitation, he turned and hid in the cave, trying to stay close to the cold rock wall, suppressing his aura, and even making his breathing soft.

Before long, heavy footsteps approached from afar.

Green peeked out and finally got a clear look at the wild beast.

It is a brown rock tiger.

【Brown Rock Wild Tiger】

[Rank: Bronze]

[Skill: Stone Skin]

[Information: Viviparous, reproducing every two years, with 1-2 offspring per litter. Adults reach 7 meters in length (including tail) and 2 meters in shoulder height. A apex predator in the Qingling Mountains, it feeds on virtually all living things. It is ferocious and possesses extremely strong defenses.]

It was a whole size larger than the ordinary Brown Rock Tiger, and its shoulder height alone was taller than that of the Green Tiger. Its whole body was covered with short, dark brown fur.

The most conspicuous feature is its shoulder, where there are two translucent, rock-like protruding bone spurs.

"That's it!"

His green pupils contracted; he recognized the wild beast.

Aoki and Aomori had previously described the Brown Rock Wild Tiger they encountered, and its characteristics matched those of this one perfectly.

This wild beast attacked Aoki's hunting party and left a hideous wound on Aoki's left arm.

If Aoki and his group hadn't hidden in the pile of rocks, and if the Brown Rock Tiger hadn't been distracted by the Short-legged Musk Deer, Aoki's hunting party might have been wiped out.

I thought it had left, but I never expected it to come to Thousand Rock Mountain, so close to their settlement.

If this bronze-tier brown rock tiger were allowed to rush into their settlement, the consequences would be unimaginable; they absolutely could not let it pass.

The green tiger extended its claws and covered them with the power of blood and qi. It was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the brown rock tiger to relax.

But Qinglu soon realized something was wrong. The brown rock tiger sniffed the air and then locked its gaze on the cave where he was hiding.

Now that she had been discovered, Qinglu decided to stop hiding and slipped out.

The Brown Rock Tiger let out a deep roar. It recognized the Green One, not as a human, but as the species itself.

He had encountered them before while hunting; they weren't very strong and didn't yield much meat.

But it's better than nothing, at least it'll fill my stomach.

The Brown Rock Tiger pounced suddenly, its massive body creating a gust of wind.

Green was prepared. With a powerful flick of its tail, it slid several meters to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"boom!"

With a thud, the Brown Rock Tiger's claws landed on the ground, leaving several deep cracks in the Azure Tide Stone.

Pebbles flew everywhere, hitting Qinglu as if she were being punched.

Without hesitation, Qinglu turned around and attacked the moment the Brown Rock Tiger landed, grabbing at its side with his right claw, which was covered with the power of blood and qi.

With a ripping sound.

Five bloody marks appeared on the fur of the Brown Rock Wild Tiger, and red blood slowly seeped out.

The attack was effective, but Qinglu was not happy, because this injury was like a minor scraping to the Brown Rock Wild Tiger.

[Stone Skin Technique: Absorbs the energy emitted by Saturn and gathers it throughout the skin, making it as hard as rock.]

Previously, they could only avoid the Brown Rock Tiger, because their sharp claws couldn't even leave a white mark on its fur.

I thought the balance of power would have shifted, but I didn't expect such a large gap to still exist.

However, Qinglu was not discouraged. Even if it was just scraping, he would slowly wear down the Brown Rock Wild Tiger.

Mobilizing its qi and blood to attach to its tail, Qinglv began to move rapidly around the Brown Rock Wild Tiger, constantly maneuvering and looking for an opportunity to attack by utilizing the intricate terrain of Thousand Rock Mountain.

Although the Brown Rock Tiger's attacks were fierce, its massive size and the Stone Skin Technique made its body a hindrance to some extent.

Its repeated pounces, bites, and tail swings can cause considerable damage to the surrounding environment, but its somewhat clumsy movements still give Qinglv a chance to dodge.

Whenever it had the chance, Green would leave scars on the body of the Brown Rock Wild Tiger.

Sometimes, the attacks landed in the same spot several times, making the wound on the Brown Rock Tiger's waist and abdomen deeper and deeper. But Green's behavior completely enraged the beast.

The Brown Rock Tiger let out a deafening roar. In the green eyes, the color of its fur began to lighten, and at the same time, the bone spur on its shoulder grew an inch longer.

After that, the Brown Rock Tiger's speed suddenly increased, and its attacks became more agile.

Qinglu hadn't anticipated this and could only instinctively dodge, but she was still a step too late.

With a soft "pfft".

The tiger's sharp claws sliced ​​across the green tail, and blood gushed out immediately, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone.

The intense pain caused Qinglu's body to stiffen abruptly, and the injury to its tail also affected its speed.

The brown rock tiger seized the opportunity and pounced again, its blood-red maw opening wide to reveal its sharp teeth, and a strong, fishy stench filled its green nasal cavity.

Qinglu didn't want to hide anymore. He decided to take a gamble; either he succeeded, or he would die in the tiger's mouth.

Having figured this out, Qinglu's eyes sharpened as he stared intently at the movements of the Brown Rock Wild Tiger. At the same time, he mobilized his spiritual power, condensing a compressed white ball of light in his palm.

It is the art of light!