Unceasing Growth

With Willow Deity as his safety net, Shi Yi had nothing to fear.

Mountain Treasure, was it?

He would just take it!

To that end, Shi Yi temporarily changed his route. After leaving Stone Village, he did not head east, toward the rising sun.

The Great Wilderness lay in the north of the Wild Domain. The entire north was the Great Wilderness, the habitat of Pure-Blooded Lifeforms and Ancient Descendants. Humans here were merely blood food.

The east and west were occupied by the Stone Kingdom and Fire Kingdom respectively. The Stone Kingdom lay to the east, the Fire Kingdom to the west, while the south was controlled by powerful vicious beast factions such as Demon Spirit Lake.

And this was only the Wild Domain.

The Eight Regions of the Lower Realm—Heaven, Earth, Mystery, Yellow, Universe, Cosmos, Flood, and Wilderness. The Wild Domain where Shi Yi was located ranked at the very bottom and was not considered important among the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm.

Deep within the Great Wilderness of the Wild Domain.

Within a towering mountain, a white pillar of light stretched from heaven to earth. Inside the pillar was a black sphere covered in densely packed, strange runes.

This sphere was the so-called Mountain Treasure, but it was not the only Mountain Treasure. Every few decades or centuries, strange treasures would inexplicably emerge from the depths of the Great Wilderness.

The reason was simple.

The Eight Regions of the Lower Realm were not merely an ordinary lower realm.

They themselves were part of the Nine Heavens Ten Earths of the Upper Realm.

Yet due to the special nature of the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm, they did not belong to the Nine Heavens Ten Earths. The Eight Regions of the Lower Realm were Small Worlds forged by Ancient Great Powers with supreme divine abilities, modeled after the Nine Heavens Ten Earths of the Upper Realm.

The Eight Regions of the Lower Realm concealed too many secrets and too many opportunities. Even deities from the Upper Realm often forcibly descended to seize opportunities. Thus, the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm were not lower realms in the ordinary sense.

In an ordinary lower realm, even a blade of grass from the Upper Realm would be an unimaginable supreme treasure.

Yet some opportunities and peerless geniuses of the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm could make even the Upper Realm green with envy.

On a mountain range seven million li from the Mountain Treasure stood a man and a woman. The man looked very young, around eleven or twelve, while the woman appeared to be around thirty.

"Mentor, now that you've come with me, what will happen to Stone Village?"

"I left behind an array in Stone Village. As long as they do not step outside the village, it makes no difference whether I am there or not."

"Mentor, does this count as me running away with you?"

"I do not belong to anyone. They worship me, and I protect them. I am not Stone Village's private property."

"Do you belong to me?"

"Do not entertain such improper thoughts. I am only your mentor."

Clearly.

This man and woman were Willow Deity and Shi Yi, preparing to seize the Mountain Treasure deep within the Great Wilderness.

Normally.

Willow Deity would not have accompanied Shi Yi. She wanted him to grow on his own and become capable of standing alone. But Shi Yi was too thick-skinned. He held her little hand and pestered her for a long time, eventually successfully coaxing her out of Stone Village.

However, Willow Deity had made things clear to Shi Yi beforehand.

Unless he faced a crisis where death was certain and both body and Dao would perish.

Otherwise.

She absolutely would not help him.

She would only watch as Shi Yi got beaten up.

Willow Deity's intentions were simple.

He should not imagine that having her with him meant he could do whatever he pleased in the Great Wilderness. At most, she would remain by his side as a spectator while continuing her research and sorting through the various powers mixed together within the Ten Celestial Passages.

"I understand, Mentor." Shi Yi curled his lip.

So what if she's my mentor?

Does she think being my mentor can erase my desires?

No chance. Can't I defy my mentor and betray my ancestors?

"It is good that you understand, Shi Yi. You are my disciple. From today onward, you must cultivate not only the Original True Understanding, but also my secret art. From now on, you must not slack off in the slightest."

Willow Deity sat on Shi Yi's shoulder, one arm propped against his head. Her fair, delicate jade feet dangled before his chest, and a faint fragrance wafted from her body.

From afar.

Shi Yi looked like a mount, a humanoid mount, while she was his master.

Fortunately.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Willow Deity had cast a special secret art upon herself. Others could neither see nor touch her, so Shi Yi did not have to worry about being seen and mocked.

"What secret art?" Shi Yi asked.

At eleven, he was well developed. Though he could not be called tall and powerfully built, he was young and strong. His shoulders were not broad, but they were more than enough for Willow Deity to sit on.

"This is a secret art I created myself. It has no name, only four words: Unceasing Growth. If you insist on giving it a name, you may call it the Willow Deity Method."

Willow Deity gently tapped Shi Yi between the brows, and profound, intricate runic truths instantly appeared.

She did not impart the complete Willow Deity Method, only the portion suitable for Shi Yi's current realm. The complete Willow Deity Method was far beyond what Shi Yi could learn now.

"The Willow Deity Method—Unceasing Growth. With this secret art, as long as I'm not killed in an instant, dying will be difficult!"

Shi Yi stopped and carefully sensed the Willow Deity Method emerging in his mind, especially that power of Unceasing Growth. It felt as if even dying would be difficult for him.

As a Double Pupil User, an Innate Saint, gifted with innate wisdom.

Shi Yi did not find learning Treasure Techniques and cultivation methods as difficult as others did. As long as he understood the runes within a Treasure Technique, he could imitate it and use it.

In other words, as long as Shi Yi wished it, any Treasure Technique in the world could be used in a passable manner after he saw it once, provided he understood it.

Of course, the power of a Treasure Technique used this way could not be guaranteed.

After all, understanding it and barely being able to use it were entirely different from mastering it.

"Comprehend this secret art properly. The Mountain Treasure will not be easy to obtain. What lies ahead may be an unbroken series of brutal battles."

After saying this, Willow Deity, who had been sitting on Shi Yi's shoulder, turned into imperceptible motes of light and entered the Ten Celestial Passages hidden deep within Shi Yi's brow, continuing her research into his strange Ten Celestial Passages.

Over the next few days, Willow Deity did not emerge. She only occasionally accompanied Shi Yi for meals and conversation. Most of her time was spent seriously studying Shi Yi's Ten Celestial Passages.

Shi Yi walked alone through the depths of the Great Wilderness, drawing ever closer to the place where the Mountain Treasure would emerge. He could sense that a raging storm was brewing there.

Unlike two years ago.

When Willow Deity had sent Shi Yi out to train, he had needed to fight bloody battles all along the way, killing the vicious beasts that wanted to eat him.

Now, he did not need to lift a hand. With the Crimson Feather atop his head, he could roam unhindered through the Great Wilderness.

Thus, Shi Yi encountered no trouble along the way. Most vicious beasts would retreat on their own after sensing the aura of the Crimson Feather.

But this did not mean Shi Yi could obtain the Mountain Treasure without any obstacles. Beneath the calm surface lay a terror that made even him tremble with fear.

It was not that Shi Yi did not know Little Red Bird. He did. Little Red Bird was one of the Four Ferocious Beasts of the Great Wilderness.

Little Red Bird was the Vermilion Bird. The existence behind that Golden Great Claw was undoubtedly Zhu Yan.

The four great vicious beasts of the Great Wilderness were the Vermilion Bird, Zhu Yan, the Heaven Swallowing Sparrow, and Qiongqi. These four were the true rulers of this Great Wilderness.

Among them, the Vermilion Bird and Zhu Yan did not dislike humans, while the Heaven Swallowing Sparrow and Qiongqi loathed humans and often attacked the Tribal Clans of the Great Wilderness.

Whenever the Heaven Swallowing Sparrow and Qiongqi attacked a Tribal Clan.

At least ten million people would be devoured by them as blood food.

They did not do it to fill their stomachs, nor to cultivate. For vicious beasts at their level, no amount of ordinary people would be of use to them. They killed purely for slaughter's sake.

Now that the Vermilion Bird and Zhu Yan had left the Great Wilderness, the Heaven Swallowing Sparrow and Qiongqi still lurked within its depths, waiting for prey. No one dared ignore these two great vicious beasts.