Chapter 598 - The Forgotten Shepherdians
“That person just now came from the borders of the Law Realm and is from a forgotten tribe. They call themselves Shepherdians.”
Lionheart Emperor Oro’s words surprised Xia Fei. “Shepherdians?”
“That’s right. Except that what they herd aren’t sheep but humans, Lionhearts, and other sapient lifeforms.”
Xia Fei was somewhat confused. To treat sapient lifeforms as livestock? This was such a strange and frightening matter. Everyone knew that the reason why a Shepherdian would rear sheep was all so they could eat them. Could this forgotten tribes treat sapient lifeforms as food, then? Did they eat humans?
In the blink of an eye, Xia Fei arrived at a canyon, which was several thousand miles wide. Thick fog carpeted the bottom of this canyon, and strange sporadic cries could be heard coming from below. A wooden cable bridge was the only way to cross this chasm, and due to the Law of Miniaturization, Xia Fei’s figure was truly miniature, which made this bridge appear extraordinarily wide.
*Whoosh*
Xia Fei ran across the bridge, his October Flying Snow flashing, severing the bridge as he passed. The entire bridge fell into the canyon below, and it was quite a long while before Xia Fei heard the sound of the bridge crashing down.
He located a banana tree among the vegetation for him to hide in. Xia Fei’s eyes were trained on the opposite side of the canyon, hoping that the Shepherdian would not chase after him.
‘Best to inform Busey about this,’ Xia Fei said to himself.
He finally took out the terminal. Unfortunately, the screen of this communication device was completely blank. Xia Fei did not give up, however, so he sifted through the spoils he collected and took all the other terminals. He was dumbfounded when he realized that all the other terminals were also not working!
Turning his hand over, Xia Fei took out his toolbox and pried open the casing of a terminal. All he saw was the electronic circuit board overgrown with green plants, which looked very much like seaweed. Their thin branches grew deep into the chip. It would be a miracle if such a machine could still be used, and even Xia Fei had no way of repairing it.
“There’s plenty of polysilicon inside the terminal. That green algae you see specifically seeks the polysilicon as its food, so it isn’t just the terminal alone. Every electronic device that has this material will have been spoiled by now. This is the typical action Shepherdians take. Looks like this has already been premeditated,” Lionheart Emperor Oro rumbled.
Xia Fei gritted his teeth. He was roughly 30,000 kilometers away from Busey’s position, so if Xia Fei dashed at his top speed, it would take him twenty minutes to arrive. The conundrum here was that Xia Fei had no idea just how many Shepherdians were around, and he would be in deep trouble if he ran into one along the way.
“Aside from cultivation, there’s another ruthless method that anyone can rely on to gain law powers here in the Law Realm, and that is by eating your opponents,” Oro said in a serious tone. “A normal warrior will be very impressive if they comprehend two or three special abilities or laws, but a Shepherdian can gain dozens or even hundreds of law powers just by eating!”
Xia Fei was flabbergasted. Dozens of law powers? That’s far too shocking. So there was also a method to obtain power by swallowing the opponent. It was just such extreme savagery!
“Law of Food Chain. Shepherdians are all practitioners of the Law of Food Chain, and it’s considered to be a dark blood law, long having been prohibited in the Law Realm. That is why their entire tribe was chased out of the Law Realm, driving them to live at the edge of known space with other expelled tribes, known as the Exiles.
“Though the Law of Food Chain was very sinister, it has a fatal weakness: It is very difficult for its practitioner to specialize in anything. The more sapient lifeforms that they devour, the more laws and techniques they will come to possess. However, due to the myriad of laws they grasp, there’s no way for them to achieve a higher level in any of them. Because there’s ultimately a limit to the space within the seventh brain region, unless they manage to have it 100% open, it won’t take long for them to reach maximum capacity.
The only solution is for them to be selective in their food. So if a Shepherdian intends to become a high-level Law of Matter Adept, They must keep consuming experts of the said law, improving themselves in such a way. Who knows how many Law of Matter Adepts that Shepherdian you just ran into devoured before he attained his current cultivation level?”
Xia Fei pursed his lips. This Law of Food Chain sure lived up to its name. Its practitioners were able to consume sapient lifeforms, as well as the techniques they possessed, as sustenance, possibly even becoming selective with their diet! Such a horrendous method of cultivation was truly unheard of!
...
The situation developed much faster than what Xia Fei imagined. In just a handful of minutes, that Shepherdian from before had already arrived on the opposite side of the canyon, his two eyes staring coldly at the copse of woods Xia Fei was hiding in. It was as if he knew that Xia Fei had made it across.
Half his face was deathly white, while the other was in a shade of gloomy grey, and that made the face of this Shepherdian look extremely strange.
There was still blood flowing at the corner of his lips, and that was of course not his own blood but rather the traces left behind after eating his enemy!
Any monster imaginable would hardly be as frightening as this Shepherdian. His appearance had also brought the entire wood to an eerie silence.
“He already finished eating that red-faced candidate, most likely obtaining an ability the latter possessed. Now, his target is you!” Lionheart Emperor Oro said in a deep voice.
Objectively speaking, Oro had no wish for Xia Fei to be in any danger. That was because his chance of rebirth relied entirely on him, but the only part of him that he could move freely was his lips, so there was no way he could lend any actual assistance to Xia Fei.
The corner of the Shepherdian’s lips curled up as his eyes stared at Xia Fei, who was on the other side of the valley.
All of a sudden, he began to gather speed as he leaped across that fathomless canyon!
*Rumble*
A rock from the side of the cliff extended out, forming a narrow stone bridge for him to cross.
The Law of Matter!
It was obviously impossible for a mere canyon to stop this Shepherdian!
He was quick and his target was true. Perhaps it was because he had sensed that Xia Fei had the law of Primal Chaos in him, it enticed his desire to consume, which would explain his single-minded intent to take a bite out of Xia Fei.
The problem was deciding whether he should run or fight, and Xia Fei made his decision in 0.01 second.
Xia Fei was well aware that, several minutes ago, this Shepherdian had frightened his opponent and had actually set up traps along their route of escape, killing two expert Law Sovereigns in one go. This showed that he not only wielded power but also means and methods to execute.
If there was not just one Shepherdian on this strange planet, then there was a high possibility that fleeing would have him falling into another’s trap. After all, reality had already proven that these diabolical zombies were capable of using the Law of Matter silently and motionlessly. They would not give their prey any chance to prepare themselves!
The best course of action now was to do the exact opposite!
Just as this Shepherdian was in the middle of crossing the canyon with his stone bridge, Xia Fei suddenly dashed out from the wood and lunged at the Shepherdian at high speed!
*Whoosh*
Xia Fei came rushing out and was high in the air following a beautiful leap!
“Dragonscale Hectoslasher!”
*Zing zing zing*
A hundred and eight circular blades were instantly unleashed!
The Shepherdian could use the Law of Matter to create his stone bridge, so Xia Fei would use his psychokinesis to create a bridge of flying knives!
The tip of his feet lightly tapped on the flying daggers as Xia Fei closed in another dozen more meters, approaching the Shepherdian as if he were skipping on water. His right hand clutched Blood Crystal, while he readied his Falling Leaf of Autumn’s Demise powered by Law of Primal Chaos. Without a doubt, this was Xia Fei’s standard attack—a concerted one!
This Shepherdian clearly did not expect Xia Fei to take the initiative. The Law of Matter required matter as a foundation, and there was not much matter he could manipulate while in mid-air. That was the consideration Xia Fei had taken into account when he went for the head-on confrontation.
The Shepherdian thrust both his arms forward, and a semi-circular ice blade formed before his palms and shot forth like a bolt of lightning and soundlessly like a white rainbow sweeping across the entire canyon!
There were water molecules in the air!
Though there was not much matter to be manipulated while in mid-air, the very air itself still had water molecules! That was enough for a high-level Law of Matter Adept to use!
Arching his eyebrow, Xia Fei shoved his two hands forward to match!
“Chain Traversal!”
It was a duel between an ice blade and tornadoes!
historical
Seven tornadoes instantly shattered that single ice blade!
The very air vibrated intensely. The two completely different attacks cancelled each other out due to the added Law of Primal Chaos, so the first exchange was a draw!
“Crafty Approach!”
His Dragonscale Hectoslasher, which was originally flying in a straight line, suddenly dispersed at varying heights and at uneven distances as if it had been placed at random.
Xia Fei used these randomly distributed blades as points of support and began dancing a display of speed and magnificence, his figure appearing left and right, completely without a trace.
Dodge! Spin! Rise! Shift! Disengage! Lunge! Leap! Approach! Sidestep! Reverse!
Xia Fei was demonstrating the Crafty Approach that he had spent a lot of his life practicing incisively and vividly.
This was in mid-air, after all, and with just these flying daggers as points. It was shockingly difficult!
Xia Fei’s flitting figure dazzled the Shepardian. The probing attacks he executed through the combination of his Crafty Approach, speed ability, and psychokinesis was breathtaking!
“Chance!”
Xia Fei noticed that the Shepardian was temporarily stupefied, so he launched an attack in one move!
Originally on his left, Xia Fei’s figure blurred as he appeared behind the Shepherdian. He stabbed the Shepherdian with this blood-red triangular dagger!
“Sly Thrust!”
It appeared illusory, but it actually contained great strength!
A sharp edge pierced through the air!
*Shing*
*Plop plop plop plop plop!*
It was as if the back of the Shepherdian had grown eyes, for the moisture in the air rapidly condensed and raised a wall of ice, which separated Xia Fei from himself!
A Law of Matter expert would have peculiarly fierce control, able to form over a dozen ice walls in the blink of an eye, making it impossible for Xia Fei’s Blood Crystal to penetrate so many layers of defense.
*Kaboom*
Just as the Sherpherdian was slightly pleased with himself, two huge fists struck him right in mid-air!
Actually, these were not fists but rather the concentrated mass of Peacock Blue!
The Mystical Immemorial Armament Peacock Blue, with its beyond abnormal resilience. When extended, it could capture enemies, but balled up, it could become a huge hammer!
*Bang bang*
The consecutive two blows struck the Shepherdian’s head, and his attention was once more dazzled by Xia Fei’s flitting figure as he was drawn away by the deadly strike from Blood Crystal. He, thus, failed to notice that there was still Peacock Blue’s attack to fend off!
The stone bridge below his feet crumbled! The Sherpherdian lost his balance and went falling deep into the canyon below!
“Success!” Xia Fei celebrated inwardly.
“Die!”
Exerting strength to both his legs, Xia Fei came plummeting from the sky like a bullet. Blood Crystal was stretched before him, while Peacock Blue’s two grass blades formed Xia Fei’s wings!
The Shepherdian’s figure was still plummeting, and Xia Fei followed suit, diving right into the canyon!
Using the force of gravity, Xia Fei intended to pierce the Shepherdian with his Blood Crystal. Just from Blood Crystal’s unique ability alone, if a lifeform got stabbed by it, the blade would cause them to lose their blood essence and die!
“Don’t think only you can consume others! My Blood Crystal can do it, too!” Xia Fei bellowed.
The falling Shepherdian seemed to be knocked out, not at all reacting. His body was rigid and straight as he fell, and Xia Fei was ecstatic. This situation was going much smoother than he expected!
His body crashed into the ground as they reached the bottom of the canyon!
*Crunch*
Xia Fei followed through! The tip of his dagger plunged into bone, burrowing deep into the latter’s heart!
*Kaboom*
The impact of the fall was great, and the very ground created a pit of more than a dozen meters in diameter.
Xia Fei’s face abruptly turned pale.
Driving his blade into the body of his target was a very familiar sensation, but this stab very evidently failed to harm the latter in the least bit as if what he had just pierced were rocks!
“Careful! This is the Law of Substitution, a high-tier derivative of the Law of Matter!” Lionheart Emperor Oro said severely as the fog crept around them.