At that moment, the flames beneath the enormous Black Gold Cauldron finally died out.
The medicinal liquid had nearly run dry. The broth, which had been boiling before, was now clear as water. The little body had absorbed every last bit of its essence.
"Splash!"
Water rippled.
A small figure leaped out of the cauldron and landed steadily on the ground.
It was Little Shi Hao.
After being tempered by the Three Lights Divine Water and the Nirvana of his Supreme Bone, the little fellow looked completely different.
His skin was translucent, like the finest white jade, with a faint glow shimmering beneath it.
His once-frail little body had grown much sturdier. He still looked like a toddler, but his vitality was like the rising sun, so vigorous it was almost hard to look at.
"Hoo—"
Little Shi Hao let out a long breath.
The breath held together without dispersing, shooting three feet like a sharp arrow and hissing through the air.
Late Blood Moving Realm!
Even without deliberately testing him, everyone from Stone Village could sense the terrifying strength contained in the child's body.
"Little Dot, how do you feel?"
Shi Linhu came over and asked with concern.
Little Shi Hao blinked his big eyes and clenched his little fists, feeling the seemingly inexhaustible strength within him.
"I feel a lot stronger."
He looked around, then fixed his gaze on the Black Gold Cauldron that had just boiled him.
This cauldron had been left behind by Stone Village's ancestors. It weighed tens of thousands of pounds, and ordinarily it took several strong men working together just to budge it.
Little Shi Hao toddled over.
He didn't use any special stance. He simply reached out with his chubby little hands and grabbed one of the cauldron's legs.
"Up!"
He gave a soft, childish shout.
There was no flashy movement, nor did he struggle with a flushed face.
"Rumble!"
Just like that, he lifted the incredibly heavy Black Gold Cauldron over his head with ease.
He even supported the bottom of the cauldron with one hand and spun around twice, as if playing with a slightly oversized toy.
"Hehe, it's so light."
Little Shi Hao grinned, showing a row of tiny, white teeth.
"Clang!"
He casually tossed the cauldron onto the ground. The earth trembled, and dust flew everywhere.
The entire crowd fell silent.
Shi Linhu's jaw nearly hit the ground.
Shi Yunfeng was so excited that he even pulled out a few of his own beard hairs.
"T-that thing weighs at least thirty or forty thousand pounds, doesn't it?"
"He lifted it with one arm? And so easily?"
"What kind of monster has our village produced?"
The villagers were astonished. Although they had already seen Ye Xuan's freakish abilities and were somewhat prepared, that was Ye Xuan—the Willow Deity's disciple, a figure as immortal as a god.
But Little Dot was a child they had watched grow up!
Just yesterday he was still drinking milk, and today he could lift a cauldron with one hand?
The contrast was simply too great.
"Big Brother Ye Xuan!"
Little Shi Hao ignored the shocked looks around him. He patted the dust from his hands and darted over to Ye Xuan like a happy little bird.
"Thank you, Big Brother!"
The little fellow tilted his head back, eyes shining with admiration and gratitude.
Though he was young, he understood perfectly well.
If Ye Xuan hadn't given him that miraculous drop of "sweet water," he would have had to endure the torment of his old injury for a long time. He certainly wouldn't have had so much strength now.
Ye Xuan looked at the adorable little bundle before him and smiled warmly.
He reached out and ruffled the little fellow's fluffy head.
It felt really nice.
"Don't mention it."
Ye Xuan spoke with a hint of affection in his voice.
"I'm your big brother, after all."
"Since you've accepted me as your big brother, whether you're here in the Great Wilderness or out in the world, I'll always have your back."
"If anyone dares to bully you, I'll beat them up for you."
He meant every word.
The future Desolate Heaven Emperor would be invincible, but the path he walked to get there had been far too arduous.
Since Ye Xuan was here, he would naturally help his little brother weather some of the storms.
"Mm!"
Little Shi Hao nodded firmly, his heart warm.
Aside from the village chief, no one had ever treated him so well.
"By the way."
Ye Xuan changed the subject and looked at Little Shi Hao's chest.
Though it was hidden beneath his clothes, Ye Xuan could still sense a dormant, exalted aura emanating from it.
"Your Supreme Bone has recovered. How does it feel now?"
That was what Ye Xuan cared about most.
The Nirvana of the Supreme Bone was sure to give birth to a new treasure technique.
In the original story, the Supreme Bone that Shi Hao gained after his Nirvana gave birth to an unparalleled divine ability involving the domain of time—the Cycle!
Ye Xuan wondered whether the Supreme Bone, catalyzed by the Three Lights Divine Water, would be any different.
Hearing Ye Xuan's question, Little Shi Hao scratched the back of his head, looking confused.
"How does it feel?"
He lowered his head and pulled open his collar to take a look.
"It doesn't seem to feel any different."
"My chest feels warm, and..."
Little Shi Hao knitted his brows, trying hard to find the right words.
"When I close my eyes, I can see lots of shiny runes moving on that bone."
"They keep turning around, like they're telling a story, but I can't really understand it yet."
It was normal that he couldn't understand them.
After all, he had only just entered the Blood Moving Realm, and his understanding of runes was still at the most basic level.
The original runes on the Supreme Bone were far too profound. They were the embodiment of the Great Dao.
"Runes..."
Ye Xuan's eyes lit up slightly, and a powerful urge to investigate rose in his heart.
That was the Cycle Treasure Technique.
A moment could span ten thousand years; time itself could be stripped away.
Among the many treasure techniques in Perfect World, this was absolutely one of the most heaven-defying, ranking among the very best.
If he could learn it, wouldn't he have another trump card in the Primordial Wilderness?
With that thought, Ye Xuan didn't hesitate.
"Little Dot."
Ye Xuan crouched down until he was eye level with Little Shi Hao.
"Could you let Big Brother take a look at those runes?"
"I'd like to study your Supreme Bone."
That was only because it was Ye Xuan. If anyone else had asked to see the Supreme Bone, Shi Yunfeng would probably have hit them with his cane.
It was Shi Hao's greatest secret, and his greatest trump card.
But Little Shi Hao had no reservations about Ye Xuan.
"Sure!"
He agreed readily.
Without the slightest hesitation, Little Shi Hao pulled open the collar of his animal-hide shirt, exposing the newly formed skin on his chest.
Beneath his tender skin,
a gleaming white bone radiated a soft divine light.
It was only the size of a fingernail, but the patterns upon it were extraordinarily intricate.
Countless runes flowed across its surface, as if they contained the truths of the birth and death of the stars and the universe.
"So this is the Supreme Bone after its Nirvana."
Ye Xuan held his breath, his gaze growing immensely solemn.
"Double Pupils, open!"
He gave a silent command.
Ye Xuan's eyes changed in an instant.
His once-clear black-and-white eyes vanished, replaced by two overlapping Chaos Pupils.
Gray mist churned in his eye sockets, and two beams of tangible light fell directly upon Little Shi Hao's chest.
Boom!
In the vision of his Double Pupils,
the world changed.
The tiny bone seemed to expand countless times in Ye Xuan's eyes.
The runes that had once been obscure and incomprehensible now broke down into clear, distinct Law Lines.
Ye Xuan saw it.
He saw a great river flowing across the surface of the bone.
It wasn't water. It was the years, the passage of time.
At one end of the river was a lively baby; at the other lay a withered skeleton, old and frail.
Life and death alternated in that instant.
Time flowed on, and the years turned.
This was—the Cycle!
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