Chapter 551 Rapid Growth, Suspected Intelligent Creatures

Faint morning light pierced the thin mist permeating the forest, leaving a pale azure glow drifting through the air.

A patch of lush shrubs rustled violently as a massive head slowly rose from the ferns.

It was a giant, bizarre-looking sheep beast.

Unlike its weak kin raised by intelligent creatures in pastures, its appearance was exceptionally wild and primitive.

Standing nearly two meters at the shoulder and covered in thick brown-gray wool, it looked from afar like a massive boulder resting in the forest. Its cold, rectangular pupils gazed down at seemingly fierce predators from an imposing height.

But its most unique feature was the pair of giant horns atop its head, which spiraled upward from both sides of its jawbone before curving inward.

Thick, sturdy vines of a strange grayish-green hue crawled over the rough, heavily grooved surface of the horns.

As if forming a symbiotic relationship, the vines extended downward deep into the wool, dotted with tender white buds the size of fingernails, while their tops split into fine tendrils that drooped beside the giant sheep's ears.

Vine-Horned Sheep, a rare sheep species that usually inhabited forests and hilly environments.

Its most recognizable feature was that pair of giant curved horns entwined with vines.

After special processing, the vines on these horns could be added to several purification potions used to dispel curses, greatly enhancing their efficacy. Because of this, they always fetched a good price on the market.

Outside of the mating season, Vine-Horned Sheep usually traveled alone. Although their temperament was relatively docile, their massive size—standing taller at the shoulder than an average person's head—and those sturdy curved horns, capable of sending a heavily armored adventurer flying after a charged sprint, meant that few ordinary predators dared to provoke these herbivores.

Right now, this adult male Vine-Horned Sheep was leisurely pacing through the woods.

"Snort—"

It let out a snort, and the white mist exhaling from its nostrils churned before gradually fading.

Occasionally, it lowered its head, curling its broad tongue around some unknown tender leaves nearby. With a shake of its head and a swift tug, it pulled the most tender leaves and stems from the top of the plant into its mouth to chew.

Eating, resting, excreting—just like the thousands of mornings it had experienced in its life, there was nothing special about right now.

Rustle—

A moist morning breeze swept through the woods, and the swaying tree canopies rustled as they rubbed together.

As cold air rushed into its nostrils with a breath, the Vine-Horned Sheep suddenly stopped chewing.

It seemed to have caught the distinct bloody stench of a predator.

But before it could even react, the predator—having noticed its prey's alertness—launched its long-awaited ambush, seizing the perfect moment when the Vine-Horned Sheep was startled but had not yet moved.

"Howl!"

A high-pitched wolf howl was accompanied by a fierce gale whipped up by high-speed movement.

But it didn't come from the bushes where forest predators usually lay in ambush.

Instead—it came from above!

Driven by survival instincts, the Vine-Horned Sheep jerked its head up.

Reflected in its pupils was a ferocious wolf formed of pitch-black energy, a pouncing silhouette wrapped in that dark aura, and a pair of cold, emotionless golden wolf eyes.

"Thud!"

It was the muffled sound of flesh colliding.

Plummeting from the canopy at high speed, the ensuing gust pressed down on the meadow and shrubs below.

Squelch—

Blood splattered!

Carried by momentum, the sharp wolf claws beneath those slender limbs instantly pierced the Vine-Horned Sheep's thick wool and tough skin, leaving a deep gash on the back of its neck.

Even though the attacker wasn't even half the size of its prey, the tremendous impact of the fall nearly crushed the giant sheep, forcing its four legs to buckle and drop to its knees.

It instinctively shook its neck with all its might, trying to throw off the black-furred wolf beast on its back.

But just as it exerted force, it felt an indescribable, bizarre power suddenly spread from the wound on its back.

Its center of gravity spun entirely out of control.

It felt as if the ground beneath its hooves was no longer solid soil, but a swaying ship on rolling ocean waves.

Stumbling, the massive body crashed down uncontrollably, falling into a state of complete "imbalance."

Naturally, the attacker wouldn't waste this precious opportunity.

Taking advantage of the moment the Vine-Horned Sheep fell, the little black wolf crouched on its back leaped up, smoothly landing on the prey's front shoulder.

Its freely moving sharp claws raised at an angle.

Gathering power, it struck down.

"Slash! Slash! Slash!"

Constrained by its wolf body, the physical exertion looked a bit awkward.

But that didn't stop three consecutive crescent-shaped claw streaks from tearing into the exact same spot with absolute precision.

"Bleat—"

The Vine-Horned Sheep's four legs twitched and struggled as it let out a miserable bleat.

In stark contrast was the deep wound on the side of its neck, which was spewing warm blood like a fountain, revealing the pale vertebrae inside.

Knowing the target was doomed, the black wolf didn't stay put, avoiding any unnecessary injuries from the beast's dying thrash.

Instead, with an airy grace unseen in ordinary wolves, it leaped easily onto a nearby oak tree. Digging its sharp claws into the bark, it scrambled up on all fours and effortlessly darted onto a branch in the canopy.

It nonchalantly licked the bits of flesh and blood off its claws, showing none of the rashness and impatience typical of beasts after a successful hunt.

Only when the Vine-Horned Sheep in the grass below breathed its last did Xia Nan finally jump down from the tree.

His slender limbs and the soft pads on his paws were natural shock absorbers, and combined with the constant fall damage reduction from [Tidal Stabilization], he felt no pain whatsoever upon landing.

With a few strides, he stepped onto the Vine-Horned Sheep's body.

Biting down, he tore a chunk of tender mutton from near the wound and swallowed it. He kept his focus sharp, staying alert to any potential dangers from the surrounding forest.

More than half a month had passed since he absorbed the life energy left behind by that dwarf from the Raging Tide Warband.

Just as he had guessed, the beasts that the adventurers possessed inside the Secret Realm grew countless times faster than their ordinary kin.

He benefited from abundant natural resources, ample nutrition provided by a stable pack, and his ability to sneak out alone for extra meals like this once he had grown a bit.

In just over ten days, while the other wolf cubs in his litter were still chewing on regurgitated meat scraps from the adult coyotes, Xia Nan had already grown to a nearly mature adolescent stage.

And as he developed, the Temple Nightwalker Wolf subspecies bloodline inside him had completely replaced his original Woodland Coyote species identity.

Although he was nominally an immature "adolescent wolf," in terms of sheer size, Xia Nan was several sizes larger than the pack's coyote alpha.

It was somewhat awkward to think about.

The coyotes instinctively fed the cubs within their pack. Even when Xia Nan displayed an appetite and growth rate far exceeding the other pups in the litter, they didn't show any odd behavior, continuously supplying him with meat.

But just a few days ago, when his size truly surpassed that of the pack's alpha...

Both the alpha and the wolf mother began to show obvious signs of rejection toward him.

Xia Nan, of course, understood why.

They were, after all, just wild animals acting on instinct. Even though he hadn't been born for long, once his body grew large enough, he was viewed as an adult individual that needed to be kicked out of the pack.

And right now, with his gradually maturing body, he had the ability to move freely enough through the primeval forest on his own to leave the pack.

But before doing so, perhaps as a way to repay the coyotes for feeding him these past many days...

Xia Nan planned to clear out the dangerous creatures around their territory as best he could, while also providing a few extra meals for himself and his cheap siblings back at the den.

The dead Vine-Horned Sheep in front of him was one of his achievements from the past two days.

After all, given the coyotes' size, it was difficult for them to pose a threat to such a large herbivore.

And this seemingly docile herbivore held a natural hostility toward predators, especially their young. Furthermore, its habitat was very close to their den.

Xia Nan had previously seen the wolf pack bark and howl many times to scare off Vine-Horned Sheep that accidentally wandered into their territory.

Leaving it around was always a risk, so he had found a chance to eliminate it.

Beyond that, over all these days, Xia Nan had also made more discoveries regarding the Secret Realm itself.

First, the flow of time.

Thanks to the real-world human perspective he could observe by focusing his mind...

Xia Nan keenly observed that the flow of time within the Secret Realm was significantly faster than in reality.

From his wolf cub stage to his current adolescent wolf phase—more than ten days and nights—not even a full day-night cycle had passed in the real world.

The ocean waves, the trees, the crowd on the beach, and even that dwarf adventurer—who had lost his blue glow and fallen back to the ground after Xia Nan killed him in the Secret Realm—were all frozen in place.

This made Xia Nan feel a bit disappointed, yet also slightly relieved.

On one hand, Stodd Island, which was affected by the ritual, was after all the venue for the Lunar Tide Banquet.

Since the banquet was about to be held, those who were invited or just wanted to join the fun had basically all arrived on the island.

However, there were bound to be people arriving late due to various circumstances.

If enough time passed, there was a chance a late-arriving adventurer might notice the anomalies on the island and report them to the Governor's Mansion or some other powerful organization.

The crowd forced into the Secret Realm would then receive rescue.

With real-world time flowing so slowly right now, the probability of that happening was vastly reduced.

But on the other hand, he was glad the ritual wouldn't be interrupted anytime soon.

After all, he was currently banking on this ritual to drastically increase his combat technique proficiency.

He had finally gotten an opportunity to use the [Dream Weaving Corridor] for free without consuming any energy, and he didn't want to waste it.

Next was the map scope of the Secret Realm.

He didn't know if it was because he was right at the edge of the light barrier covering the island when he was sucked into the ritual, or if it was just a coincidence.

A few days ago, while Xia Nan was trying to familiarize himself with the surrounding forest and searching for nearby dangerous creatures...

He unexpectedly found an infinitely stretching "invisible wall" to the southeast of the den.

He could still move, but the air in the area beyond the wall felt as if it had been filled with cement. The further out he went, the stronger the resistance became. Moreover, only he was affected; the other ordinary creatures in the Secret Realm faced no such restrictions.

Last night, prompted by a certain hunch, he went to check it again.

The result was exactly as he expected—the position of the invisible wall had shrunk inward by a short distance compared to when he first discovered it.

And this meant that his free roaming area was shrinking!

At this thought, an indescribable, bizarre glint flashed through Xia Nan's golden wolf eyes.

One hundred adventurers pulled into a Secret Realm, an evolutionary mechanic that encouraged slaughter, and an active area that continuously shrank over time...

A strong sense of deja vu washed over him.

But regardless, what was clear right now was that as the active space gradually contracted, the encounter rate between adventurers scattered across the map would steadily increase.

Under these circumstances, conflict and battle would naturally ensue.

And as long as any adventurer personally killed another participant and absorbed their residual life energy, they would discover the mechanics of this ritual.

If he wanted to maximize his combat technique proficiency through killing, he clearly needed to hurry.

Otherwise, as time went on, the number of adventurers remaining on the field would dwindle, and each survivor's threat level would multiply geometrically alongside the evolution of their life state.

But the crux of the problem now was: how was he supposed to find these one hundred adventurers scattered everywhere on the map?

Pondering this while eating, he soon found himself half-full.

To drag prey up into branches and avoid ground predators, the Temple Nightwalker Wolf subspecies in the Night Fog Forest had evolved tremendous bite force and neck strength. This allowed Xia Nan to clamp down on the Vine-Horned Sheep's hoof and drag its corpse, despite being less than half its size.

It didn't take him long to drag it back to the clearing near the wolf den.

He planned to give the wolf mother and the other wolf cubs an extra meal.

To his surprise, when Xia Nan returned to the den, the five adult coyotes responsible for hunting—who weren't supposed to return until sunset—were already back in their territory.

Not only had they failed to bring back any prey as usual, but every single one of them was injured. The air was filled with the squelching sounds of tongues licking wounds and the low whimpers of the coyotes.

He could see that the coyote alpha was heavily wounded. A massive gash slanted down from its side shoulder across its entire chest, and it staggered with every step.

He dragged the massive Vine-Horned Sheep corpse into the clearing in front of the den, leaving it as rations for the pack over the next few days while they recovered and couldn't hunt.

Xia Nan stepped forward, wanting to check on the alpha's injuries.

The alpha instinctively thought he was trying to seize the position of leader while it was injured and bared its teeth with a hiss. It wasn't until Xia Nan gave it a firm but gentle swat on the head that it subconsciously retracted its bared fangs.

His gaze smoothly swept over the wound on the coyote alpha's chest.

'It's not a beast's scratch.'

Instead, it looked more like a wound caused by a weapon crafted by some intelligent creature.

'Intelligent creatures—'

A human-like look of contemplation flashed across Xia Nan's furry face.