Fortunately, this monster has limited intelligence and doesn't know how to dodge; otherwise, it might have been Lin Yang who was beaten and forced to run away with his head in his hands.
"These monsters are practically half-chaotic beings. Moreover, they seem to have just been born. Their intelligence level is extremely low, and they act solely on instinct. Yet, despite this, their combat strength is extremely formidable. Even ordinary third-tier experts might not be their match," Lin Yang said with a grim expression.
He truly hadn't expected to suddenly encounter these things. Logically, there shouldn't be any living creatures among them, so what were these monsters all about?
"I have a vague impression of winged dragons, but I can't quite place them. I have no related memories. Oh well, I'll look into it after we get out."
As he spoke, Lin Yang took out a magical artifact from his Qiankun bag. It has to be said that the gods back then gave him quite a lot of treasures.
Not only are they diverse in variety, but their uses are also bizarre and varied. Like now, Lin Yang searched and searched, and finally found a circle. It's also commonly known as a beast-taming circle; its function is self-evident from the name.
Lin Yang didn't know the exact origins of this circle. In any case, controlling a peak third-tier monster was definitely within his capabilities.
With a thought, he emitted beams of light. When the light shone on the monster, a series of violent roars echoed in his ears. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Lin Yang was playing with a beast.
After an unknown amount of time, the monster finally stopped struggling and calmed down. Then, a bright orange beast-taming ring appeared above its head.
It looked almost exactly the same as the Beast Taming Ring that Lin Yang was holding. Then, a beam of light entered Lin Yang's mind.
"This is the mother circle, and those are the child circles. All the child circles are controlled by the mother circle. Moreover, as the number of child circles increases, which means the number of demonic beasts they control increases, the level of the mother circle will also increase. At most, it can be upgraded to the sixth rank."
"What a treasure! What a treasure! With this, we can completely control these monsters in the cave. Isn't this a qualified Daoist army?" Lin Yang said happily.
Dao soldiers are also part of the foundation of various families, sects, and academies in the main world. Some Dao soldiers are trained by humans through various secret methods and countless rare medicines.
From a certain perspective, the Imperial Guards could be considered a type of Taoist army. Similarly, Dong Zhuo's Flying Bear Army, Gao Shun's Trapped Camp, and Liu Bei's White-Eared Army could all be considered Taoist armies.
In addition, Taoist cultivators often train various exceptionally talented demonic beasts, using various secret techniques to create demonic beast versions of Taoist soldiers. The most famous of these are probably the shrimp soldiers and crab generals of the dragon race.
Moreover, if we capture more of the monsters like the one in front of Lin Yang and tame them with the Beast Taming Ring, they can be considered a qualified Dao Soldier.
In addition, there are magical artifact-type Daoist weapons. That is to say, these Daoist weapons look like humans or demons, but in essence, they are magical artifacts. They are made using many materials and special techniques.
The most famous of these are probably the Yellow Turban Warriors. They look like people, but in essence, they are just magical artifacts or treasures. As long as you master how to use them, even a novice Taoist can use them.
"Very strong. In terms of strength, he's already at the peak of the third tier, and he's also exceptionally talented. If it weren't for the limitations imposed by the cave itself, I definitely wouldn't be his match." Feeling the many pieces of information coming through his mind, Lin Yang said with some relief.
Time passed by unnoticed, and Lin Yang was having a great time searching for these monsters who had intellectual disabilities but were extremely powerful.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yang finally discovered the source of all these strange changes—a gigantic skeleton, hundreds of feet long, lying on the ground.
Even from a great distance, Lin Yang could see wisps of chaotic energy being subconsciously absorbed by the skeleton, then broken down into strands of essence. These essences then continuously transformed into black eggshells.
These eggshells vary in size, and it's clear that these monsters emerged from them.
At the same time, there was a clear knife mark on the spine of the skeleton. It was imbued with an incomparably powerful knife intent, filled with destructive intent. Moreover, this knife intent resonated with the knife energy spreading in the void, forming a continuous and unbroken chain.
"This... it survived the chaos without decay, and even after death, it can automatically absorb the chaotic energy, transform it into essence, and nurture offspring. This must be a sixth-level Body Refinement expert, right? This must be what is called indestructible! Moreover, judging from the appearance, this must be the deceased River God of the Yangtze River?" Lin Yang asked curiously, looking at the token in his hand.
Holding the token, Lin Yang clearly sensed the information of the entire cave, including its origin, its former owner, and a series of other details.
It turns out that this grotto-heaven is the inherited grotto-heaven of the Yangtze River gods throughout the ages. It is precisely because of the continuous construction by generations of river gods that it has become the vast expanse it is today.
Moreover, this place used to be a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains, brimming with spiritual energy. However, things changed after the River God perished more than 10,000 years ago.
When the River God fell, not only did he die, but Xiang Yu's remaining sword energy also shattered the entire cave. Then, chaotic energy surged back, destroying the accumulation of countless River Gods over millions of years.
All spirit stones, magical artifacts, and even gold and silver treasures were destroyed in an instant when the chaotic energy surged back.
Looking at the images transmitted by the token in his mind, Lin Yang felt heartbroken! How much money must that have cost? A grotto-heaven that had accumulated over millions of years had become a desolate wasteland overnight.
"Once I refine this token, I can truly control this grotto-heaven. Then, I can simply use the sphere to block the broken parts. I can also change the location of the grotto-heaven's exit. Then, I can come and go freely! However, there's no rush. It's not too late to go out when the Jiangdong matter is over."
Although we were trapped here for several months due to various reasons, the gains were substantial. Putting aside everything else, this unclaimed grotto-heaven alone is enough to make all the powerful families in the world envious.
Furthermore, with over a hundred monsters beside him, Lin Yang felt much more at ease even when he slept, compared to before!
Finally, there are the hundreds of marks. It must be said that many people left behind their legacy before they died.
Even those who didn't leave behind any legacy have still left their memories. When the time comes, after some sorting and digestion, the foundation of the Wu Kingdom will be strengthened once again.
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Chapter 65: The Westward Expansion
While Lin Yang was hiding in the cave, refining the cave's core, the outside world, or rather, Jiangdong, was already in an uproar.
With the daily news coming from the Great Han Daily, the wandering knights have entered a state of frenzy.
Some people discovered spirit stone mines, some discovered rare and precious materials, and some even claimed to have discovered the relics of Xiang Yu.
Even the population of the Wu Kingdom is growing at a visible rate. It has now successfully exceeded 100,000 people.
Many large families even sent a number of their illegitimate sons, along with a hundred or so servants and over a thousand tenants, to work in gold, silver, or copper mines, forming one mine, one family, or one small village.
In addition, many ordinary people also transformed themselves into citizens of Wu. Even the people of Kuaiji Commandery, families with two or more sons, basically took this opportunity to split up their households, sending one son to join Wu, and then the whole family would mine together to make money.
It can be said that after this, as long as Lin Yang becomes powerful and uses a combination of kindness and force, eventually he will have hundreds of thousands of people. Even a million people won't be far off!
Moreover, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that many local tycoons are only concerned with mining, but they have not registered with the government, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
This is interesting. Theoretically speaking, if Lin Yang wanted to, he could forcibly relocate them to the Wu Kingdom anytime, anywhere. The population would definitely exceed one million.
A population of one million is already considered a small county town. Starting from a county is a huge leap compared to those chosen ones who have to start as village chiefs.
"This so-called westward expansion is truly ingenious. It seems like a great loss to sacrifice the benefits of mountains, rivers, and vegetation, but in return, it has gained at least hundreds of thousands of people, a near-perfect reputation, and countless habitable places." Looking at the statistics in his hand, Guo Jia couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci sighed and said, "Yes, and at the same time, many evil spirits and monsters that were harmful to the people were also eliminated. You know, in the past, it was very troublesome to wipe out these monsters."