Chapter 35

"Today is a good day, Old Wolf is treating us to chicken......"

The off-key howl came from Xiao Hai's mouth, and the song was truly unbearable. Little Sparrow, who had been circling above Xiao Hai's head, could no longer tolerate the noise and quickly flew off in the direction of the primeval forest with a flurry of flaps.

Xiao Qi frowned. He had somewhat gotten used to it. What could he do with an owner who was tone-deaf but liked to howl for no reason?

Xiao Hai was indeed lacking in musical talent. However, his mood was still quite good. He had caught the robber and successfully cleared his name. Especially......hehe, now Yin Yunuo must be looking for him with that five thousand yuan, but where could she find him?

The policewoman was actually quite nice. Even though she probably didn't have enough money for food in her pocket, she still let him eat.

Unfortunately, he couldn't stay here for long. The most important thing was to accelerate the growth of the Dragon Spirit Pearl as soon as possible.

This time, he was only entering the primeval forest to retrieve his travel backpack. He didn't need to go deeper or fight any fierce beasts. However, Xiao Hai knew that in the depths of the forest, there must be many rare species that humans had yet to discover.

This was a magical forest. Even the Thylacoleo, which was believed to be extinct, had appeared. Who knew if there were other similar species?

There was also the Thylacoleo's herb garden, which was full of good things. But it was inconvenient to access. If only he could move it to Xi'nan City. Unfortunately, he didn't have the ability to do so yet.

Suddenly, an idea struck Xiao Hai: a farm!

Yes, why not start a farm? Not only could he grow those rare herbs, but more importantly, he could raise animals. Who was Xiao Hai? Someone who could command animals. If he started a farm, he would have a significant advantage over others!

For example, wild chickens and rabbits were very popular in the market. Xiao Hai could breed them in large numbers on the farm. As for security? If he was in a good mood, he could even have the wolf pack guard them!

Who would dare to steal with a few wolves watching over a group of wild chickens and rabbits? Where could the chickens and rabbits run? Of course, the wolves might steal for themselves......but that was a different story. Thinking about it, it was probably not a good idea to have wolves near the city.

However, the idea of starting a farm had taken root in Xiao Hai's mind......

While lost in thought, he entered the primeval forest. A few snakes, responsible for guarding his backpack, slithered over and greeted their "Snake King."

The backpack was intact. With the snakes guarding it, who would dare to approach?

Xiao Hai dismissed the snakes and sparrows, found a secluded spot, opened his backpack, and took out the few pieces of high-quality jade he had brought from the Prince's treasure. He sat down and placed the jade on his dantian.

The spiritual energy in the jade was far superior to that of ordinary jade. In Xiao Hai's view, the spiritual energy accumulated over a hundred years in the jade would certainly help him release the Snake Queen's essence.

As soon as the jade touched his dantian, the spiritual energy was completely absorbed by the Dragon Spirit Pearl within seconds, leaving not a trace. However, what surprised Xiao Hai was that despite the large amount of spiritual energy entering, it did not help in releasing the Snake Queen's essence at all. Instead, it was all stored by the Dragon Spirit Pearl.

What was going on?

Xiao Hai refused to believe it and tried again with two more pieces of jade, but the result was the same. The Dragon Spirit Pearl greedily absorbed the spiritual energy but refused to release any. At this moment, the Dragon Spirit Pearl was like a large safe filled with countless treasures, placed right in front of him, but he had no key to open it!

The Dragon Spirit Pearl was now gathering the Snake Queen's essence and the spiritual energy from the hundred-year-old jade. Once released, the power would be so strong that it would likely break through the Du Meridian instantly, reaching the second level of the Dragon Spirit Pearl.

Xiao Hai was getting anxious. He had thought that the power of the jade would help him achieve this, but it seemed that was not the case.

Xiao Hai dared not try again and stood up, feeling lost.

What was the key to unlocking the power of the Dragon Spirit Pearl?

"Great King, Great King!"

While Xiao Hai was deep in thought, a sparrow flew over: "Bad news, a huge rhinoceros has suddenly appeared outside the Thylacoleo's cave and is trying to charge in!"

Xiao Hai, still thinking about the key, replied absentmindedly: "What's there to worry about with just one rhinoceros? Let the Thylacoleo drive it away."

"Great King, that rhinoceros seems to be mad. The Thylacoleo can't defeat it and has even been injured by it, along with two wolf scouts!"

Xiao Hai was shocked. The Thylacoleo couldn't defeat it? What kind of rhinoceros?

In Xiao Hai's mind, rhinoceroses were large, ugly, and timid, not harming people. A mad rhinoceros? There was only one possibility: it was injured or in trouble, making it extremely aggressive, even lions and tigers wouldn't dare to face it head-on.

But that was for ordinary lions and tigers. What about the Thylacoleo? An ancient beast that could easily defeat three lions, and it had a pack of wolves to help. What kind of animal could it not handle?

Then he thought, the Thylacoleo's essence had been drained by him, leaving it severely weakened. Before its essence was fully restored, its power was less than half of what it used to be. That might be why it couldn't handle a rhinoceros.

How dare this happen? He had just become the Great King and had a group of strong allies, and now an animal dared to challenge him? If the rhinoceros charged into the Thylacoleo's cave, the herb garden would be destroyed.

With that thought, Xiao Hai wasted no time and sprinted off......

......

Xiao Hai's judgment was correct. After its essence was drained, the Thylacoleo's strength was greatly reduced. Although it had recovered somewhat over the past few days, it was far from its former self.

Just then, a large rhinoceros had invaded its territory and was trying to charge into the Thylacoleo's cave. A few wolf scouts tried to block it, but they were no match. One was gored and another was trampled.

The Thylacoleo, hearing the news, rushed over. Seeing its subordinates injured, it was enraged and tried to eat the rhinoceros. However, it quickly realized that things were not as simple as it thought.

The rhinoceros's strength was unexpectedly powerful. Not only that, it seemed to be completely mad. It didn't dodge or evade the Thylacoleo's attacks but charged head-on, using its horn to stab fiercely.

The horn was the rhinoceros's most powerful weapon. If it hit, even the Thylacoleo couldn't withstand it. After a long struggle, with the help of the wolves, the rhinoceros was injured, but several more wolves were also hurt. They still couldn't defeat the rhinoceros.

In the sky, the sparrow army was circling, trying to help. But the small sparrows couldn't cause even the slightest damage to the rhinoceros.

At that moment, a figure ran over, and the sparrow army cheered: "The Great King is here, the Great King is here!"

The Thylacoleo, in the midst of the battle, was both happy and ashamed. The Great King's arrival meant that no matter how strong the animal, it was no match for the Great King. It was ashamed that, as a general appointed by the Great King, it couldn't even handle a rhinoceros.

Xiao Hai, upon arriving at the battlefield, didn't rush into the fight immediately. Instead, he carefully observed the rhinoceros.

Good grief, this rhinoceros was nearly three meters long, about 1.5 meters tall, and must weigh over a ton. Its skin was hard and black, with a deep grayish-purple color and small, rivet-like nodules. It had wide folds at the shoulders, neck, and joints, making it look like it was wearing armor. The Thylacoleo's attacks on its body were ineffective due to this "armor."

Its weapon, the horn on its nose, was thick, short, and incredibly hard. Any animal it stabbed would either die or be severely injured.

A Great One-horned Rhinoceros! Seeing the horn, Xiao Hai immediately recognized it.

Damn, it was a Great One-horned Rhinoceros, also known as the Chinese Rhinoceros. This rhinoceros was usually gentle, but when injured or sensing danger, it would become extremely aggressive. It was said that in ancient times, an emperor wanted the horn of a Great One-horned Rhinoceros and sent many soldiers to capture one. Despite being attacked with swords, spears, and arrows, the rhinoceros killed or injured over a hundred soldiers before it was finally killed.

However......However......In the Tang Dynasty, the Great One-horned Rhinoceros was found in Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and even Qinghai. By the Ming Dynasty, it was only found in Yunnan and Guizhou, and by the Qing Dynasty, only in Yunnan.

By the early 20th century, the Great One-horned Rhinoceros was completely extinct!

This was due to the extremely high environmental requirements of the rhinoceros, especially the Great One-horned Rhinoceros. The climate gradually becoming colder was a significant factor. Rhinoceroses prefer warm climates. Around 500 BC, the climate in the area north of the Yellow River became significantly colder, causing the rhinoceros population to migrate south. By the Tang Dynasty, the area north of the Yellow River was no longer suitable for rhinoceroses.

During the Tang Zhenyuan period, a Great One-horned Rhinoceros was captured and sent to the imperial palace. That winter, due to a snowfall, the rhinoceros froze to death in the Chang'an imperial zoo.

Population pressure was also a significant factor. As the human population grew, they burned forests and marshes, cultivated hills and lakeshores, permanently destroying the rhinoceros's habitat and occupying its living space.

Under the combined effects of climate and population pressure, the Great One-horned Rhinoceros's living space was permanently destroyed, leading to its regional extinction. The maximum human population pressure the Great One-horned Rhinoceros could tolerate was only four people per square kilometer.

Regardless, the Great One-horned Rhinoceros eventually went extinct.

But here, in this magical forest, a living Great One-horned Rhinoceros was right in front of Xiao Hai!