Little Red Bird?

"Get lost!" someone shouted.

"So domineering. I don't believe your Yi Gege will only ever have you as his woman. Just wait until he abandons you."

Before he could finish speaking.

The three thousand strands of thick, waist-length black hair behind Hu Niu began to dance in the air. Her gaze remained calm as she stared at the youth before her, who was about the same age and height as her.

"Would he dare?!"

Hu Niu looked up at Shi Yi in the sky. Deep within her pupils, a complicated look utterly unsuited to her age flashed by—three parts killing intent and seven parts resentment.

But soon.

Hu Niu's eyes returned to their original innocent bewilderment. When she looked at Shi Yi again, only pure dependence remained.

"I was just saying. Your Yi Gege wouldn't be that kind of person."

An inexplicable fear rose in the youth's heart, and his legs could not help trembling. He felt as though Hu Niu were a Humanoid Beast, capable of devouring him completely at any moment.

And by devouring completely, it meant exactly that—eating a person alive and leaving nothing behind. There was no ambiguous meaning whatsoever.

Elsewhere.

Shi Yi had no idea what the boys and girls of Stone Village were saying about him in private. His nine great Cavern Heavens erupted with dazzling radiance, like nine nuclear bombs on the verge of exploding.

At that critical moment, the ninth Dao sound rang out.

The Dao sound seeped in like silent rain; only Shi Yi himself could hear it.

This was a Dao sound formed when he used his Double Pupils to analyze the memories of his soul from his previous life, then fused them with the runes of the Original True Understanding. It rang out in the depths of his soul.

"The Nine Palaces: Qian Palace, Kan Palace, Gen Palace, Zhen Palace, Middle Palace, Xun Palace, Li Palace, Kun Palace, Dui Palace."

"The first palace, Kan, lies north; the second palace, Kun, lies southwest; the third palace, Zhen, lies east; the fourth palace, Xun, lies southeast; the fifth palace lies at the center; the sixth palace, Qian, lies west; the seventh palace, Dui, lies northwest; the eighth palace, Gen, lies northeast; the ninth palace, Li, lies south."

As the ninth Dao sound rang out, the nine great Cavern Heavens behind Shi Yi continued to release brilliant light, yet they seemed to enter a state of balance.

The endless light and heat settled down.

After being tempered by the Daoist True Words, all nine great Cavern Heavens had risen by more than a single level. Even the powers of yin and yang, the Five Elements, and the Eight Trigrams had begun to gestate within them.

But Shi Yi did not want any of that.

What he wanted was to open ten Cavern Heavens.

"Chaos gave birth to Taiji, Taiji gave birth to the Two Forms, the Two Forms gave birth to the Three Powers, the Three Powers gave birth to the Four Symbols, the Four Symbols gave birth to the Five Elements, the Five Elements gave birth to the Six Harmonies, the Six Harmonies gave birth to the Seven Stars, the Seven Stars gave birth to the Eight Trigrams, and the Eight Trigrams gave birth to the Nine Palaces."

Shi Yi beckoned, and the nine great Cavern Heavens behind him abruptly began spinning at high speed. With the Innate Eight Trigrams Formation beneath his feet assisting them, they seemed to transform into a giant Taotie maw, endlessly devouring everything around them.

"Let all return to the ten directions!"

"Ten Cavern Heavens, open!"

Crack.

A crisp sound came from the void. The Tenth Celestial Passage, which had always been both illusory and real, seemed as though a tremendous force had shattered glass.

It emerged from the world within the mirror and entered reality.

Unlike the Young Supremes with Ten Celestial Passages who had once appeared in the Nine Heavens Ten Earths, whose ten Celestial Passages were arranged in sequence to form a circle.

Shi Yi's Tenth Celestial Passage was an independent Celestial Passage, located at the center of the circle formed by the Nine Celestial Passages. It was even larger than all nine combined.

From afar.

Nine normally sized Celestial Passages revolved around the enormous Celestial Passage at the center of the circle. The terrifying power they radiated invisibly could erase Celestial Passage Realm cultivators of the same level.

Invincible within the same realm—nothing more than that.

In fact, this was no longer merely invincibility within the same realm. It was slaughter within the same realm. Ordinary Celestial Passage Realm cultivators were like tofu, while Shi Yi's extraordinary Ten Celestial Passages were like forged alloy.

They would shatter at the slightest touch.

"Such a strange obsession actually succeeded?" The Willow Deity's beautiful eyes shifted slightly.

That was right.

She had already kept her promise and transformed into a human Law Body. However, to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, she had cast a small secret art upon herself.

The sole purpose of that secret art was to conceal her existence.

From then on.

Unless someone was a powerhouse on her level, or she chose to reveal herself, only Shi Yi could see her and touch her human Law Body.

It would be too exaggerated to call the Willow Deity Shi Yi's personal forbidden possession.

But he was indeed the only one who could see and touch her.

And furthermore.

This time, the Willow Deity had completely transformed into a human Law Body. There was no longer any hollow willow wood, that half-human incarnation and half-true-body form.

The charred giant Willow Tree at the center of Stone Village had been moved there from elsewhere through the laws she wielded.

The Willow Deity's thoughts were simple.

Since Shi Yi liked looking at her human Law Body so much that he had even developed an obsession just to get close to her, then he could serve her every day from now on.

And this serving was meant literally. Although Shi Yi had successfully advanced to Ten Celestial Passages and even evolved Ten Celestial Passages that appeared similar on the surface but were fundamentally different within.

The Willow Deity would not be moved by that, much less fall in love with a brat like Shi Yi. That was something that could never happen, except perhaps in mindless novels.

Even though someone as weak-willed in Dao heart as Shi Yi had done something that made her view him in a new light, she had seen far too many prodigies in her life. Shi Yi had merely managed to catch her eye.

Therefore.

Serving truly meant serving—he would be responsible for looking after her daily needs.

After all, Shi Yi insisted on a human Law Body. If she were a Willow Tree, she would not need anyone to attend to her.

To the east of Stone Village, beside a small stream, two people sat side by side.

The stream babbled gently. Its clear waters revealed the bottom and rippled with blue-green light. Under the breeze, it flowed leisurely onward like a soft ribbon winding through the woods, its graceful bearing as picturesque as a poem.

"Willow Deity, it has been five years. I want to go back and take a look."

Though he had won the Willow Deity's promise and could touch her human Law Body, Shi Yi had no improper thoughts. He merely leaned simply against the Willow Deity's shoulder.

"If you want to return, then return. With your current strength, as long as you do not deliberately provoke those forbidden existences in the Great Wilderness, you can basically travel unimpeded."

The Willow Deity sat on the grass beside the stream, her pair of flawless jade feet completely submerged in the water.

She lifted her skirt, having simply not worn shoes. Her smooth, supple little feet were as lustrous as jade; their arches were sleek, their soles rosy, looking elastic, smooth, and tender.

Her five toes were neatly pressed together. Her big toe was full and round, while the other four were delicate and pretty. The gaps between them were fine and soft, round and adorable enough to make one want to cradle them and take a few bites.

"But I don't know the way. The Great Wilderness spans hundreds of millions of miles. What if I take a wrong turn?" Shi Yi asked helplessly.

"Travel east, and you will head toward the Stone Kingdom. Travel west, and you will head toward the Fire Kingdom," the Willow Deity said softly.

"Willow Deity, I—"

Shi Yi wanted to say more, but the Willow Deity covered his mouth.

"Shi Yi, since you have proven yourself and I have fulfilled my promise, from now on, you are my disciple." The Willow Deity's tone allowed no dispute.

"I won't become—"

Shi Yi tried to struggle, but the slender jade hand covering the corner of his mouth was so heavy. Even after summoning his Ten Celestial Passages, he still could not move the Willow Deity's little hand.

"Shi Yi, your Tenth Celestial Passage is very different from normal Ten Celestial Passages. As your teacher, I must inspect the problem with this Tenth Celestial Passage for you."

After saying that.

Regardless of whether Shi Yi agreed, the Willow Deity transformed into a ray of light and entered the Tenth Celestial Passage, which shone like the midday sun, leaving Shi Yi alone and utterly bewildered in the wind.

"Forcibly taking a disciple?"

Shi Yi fell backward and looked helplessly up at the sky, where he saw a Little Red Bird.

No!

Little Red Bird?