Kidnapping, Eight-Nine Heavenly Art

"But, but the Mountain Treasure is, after all, mine..."

Unable to reason his way out of this, Zhu Yan's expression shifted through a myriad of colors before he finally resigned himself to his fate. "Fine, I'll count this as my loss, but can you at least tell me what the true mystery of the Mountain Treasure is?"

After all, he had battled the Qiongqi and other great vicious beasts for months; if he were to die, he wanted to die knowing the truth.

"No rush. We shall discuss the Mountain Treasure later."

Shi Hao first swept a glance over Zhu Yan, and just as the beast's fur began to stand on end, he offered a cryptic smile. "My Stone Village is currently lacking a guardian beast. I wonder if you might be interested..."

"Absolutely not. That is impossible."

Before the words had even faded, Zhu Yan interrupted Shi Hao quite rudely.

It was one thing for this detestable human brat to intercept his Mountain Treasure, but to invite him to act as a watchdog for some pathetic village? It was pure delusion!

"Although the Sacrificial Spirit saved me, if you intend to use that as leverage to force me to stay, that is far too overbearing. I can gift the village a supreme precious technique instead."

Perhaps out of caution toward the Willow Deity standing nearby, Zhu Yan offered a weak explanation.

"Oh? Then have you ever heard of the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art?"

Shi Hao was not disappointed; he began to lure Zhu Yan step by step.

"The Eight-Nine Heavenly Art? How do you know of this ancient heavenly art? If you can find the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art for me, what would it matter if I stayed in Stone Village for all eternity?"

Zhu Yan's expression changed, his smile turning exceptionally fawning.

Strictly speaking, whether it was Three Heads and Six Arms, Seventy-Two Transformations, or Law of Heaven and Earth, all these divine abilities and precious techniques were derived from the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art.

The Eight-Nine Heavenly Art contained the methods to master a multitude of precious techniques and divine abilities, but it leaned more heavily toward the unique combat styles of the Primordial Divine Ape lineage—a legendary, world-renowned ancient scripture of war.

Legend had it that in the Primordial Era, an ancestor of the Zhu Yan, a God King, had achieved true transcendence and attained the status of a so-called Immortal by cultivating this ancient heavenly art, thereby laying the foundation for an eternal legacy.

If he could obtain this technique, what need would he have for the Mountain Treasure? Not to mention restoring the glorious majesty of his ancestral emperors, he would at least be able to ignite his divine fire and become a God King of his generation.

To attain the Dao of the Supreme—the time was now!

"I do not possess the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art naturally, but I do know where it can be found. How about this? We shall set a twenty-year pact. You serve Stone Village for twenty years, and after twenty years, I will gift you a complete version of the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art."

Shi Hao spoke unhurriedly.

"Twenty years? That is not impossible, but how can I be certain you truly know the whereabouts of the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art?"

Zhu Yan agreed to Shi Hao's terms without a second thought.

For a pure-blooded creature with a long lifespan, a mere twenty years was but a flick of a finger—no more than the time it took to take a nap; it would not interfere with any important matters.

"That is not my concern. Believe it or not, it is up to you."

Shi Hao spread his hands and turned to walk away.

"But, but..."

Watching Little Shi walk away, Zhu Yan was so anxious he began scratching his head and ears.

Should he believe his words?

If he believed him, there was no proof, and he might waste twenty years of his life for nothing.

If he didn't, he might lose the chance for the ultimate transformation that potentially awaited him.

No, with this mysterious Sacrificial Spirit present, the human brat's words were highly likely to be true.

As long as he could obtain his lineage's supreme ancient heavenly art, what was twenty years of his life to gamble for such an ethereal opportunity?!!

In the end, it was the sacred, overwhelming power of the Willow Deity that temporarily convinced Zhu Yan.

"Wait! I accept that agreement."

Just as Shi Hao took his seventh step, a weak voice came from behind him.

"I am Shi Hao. Welcome to Stone Village."

Shi Hao turned back, a smile of absolute certainty on his lips, and gripped Zhu Yan's golden beast claw firmly.

In the Eight Regions of the lower realm, the name of the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art was unknown to all, let alone its specific location. Even Zhu Yan had only learned a tiny fragment of information from his bloodline inheritance after stepping into the Venerable realm.

Shi Hao was his only hope of obtaining the Eight-Nine Heavenly Art; he wasn't afraid that the beast would refuse.

Looking at Shi Hao, who had him completely under his thumb, Zhu Yan forced a smile that looked worse than crying. Ancestral Emperor above, had he been swindled?

"Very well. Now, let us explore the mysteries of the Mountain Treasure."

Shi Hao flipped his palm, and a crystalline bone block in the shape of a six-sided cube appeared.

Zhu Yan's eyes flared with intense light at the sight, but in the end, he dared not make a move.

"Hm? Its material..."

As the soft murmur fell, the Willow Deity moved.

The Mountain Treasure was pulled away by a strand of order energy, and immediately after, another crystalline heavenly bone flew out from one of Shi Hao's caves, reflecting the brilliance of the Mountain Treasure.

"The material is identical to the first volume of the Original True Interpretation, and since the middle volume is suspected to be hidden in the lower realm, there is a high probability that the Transcendence Chapter is hidden within this heavenly bone."

"This six-sided configuration is a common sealing method of the Supreme Hall; it requires six types of divine abilities to be activated simultaneously to unlock it. The Six Paths of Reincarnation Heavenly Art would be the best to drive it."

"Could the true inheritance of the Supreme Hall be hidden within this?"

"Rumor has it that the middle volume of the Original True Interpretation is held by the Supreme Hall, and now it seems highly likely. Let me think—after that True Immortal from the Supreme Hall fell in battle, the war weapon he crafted also fell into the lower realm. Yes, that must be it..."

"Although the Transcendence Chapter is of no use to me, it can still serve as a reference."

Chains of order wrapped around the Mountain Treasure, and countless divine runes surged like a tidal wave along the tender green willow branches, illuminating thousands of patterns. Holy light bloomed, and ancient gods roared.

In the end, everything went dark simultaneously.

"Hmm? It seems a part is missing..."

A sigh of lingering interest fell, and the divine chains temporarily loosened their grip on the Mountain Treasure.

Shi Hao watched silently as the Willow Deity analyzed the composition of the Mountain Treasure, not daring to make a sound.

He knew that the other part of the Transcendence Chapter was hidden within that Black Ancient Tripod, one of the three true artifacts of the Shi Clan's ancestral land.

In the original story, it was the Zhu Yan and the Vermilion Bird who wielded the Black Ancient Tripod to face the gods of the lower realm; only after the black tripod was shattered was the White Bone Tripod beneath it revealed, containing a portion of the Transcendence Chapter.

But as a mere cultivator in the Cave Heaven Realm, he couldn't even see through the reality of a true artifact, so how could he know there was another layer of sealing beneath it?

To speak of it now would be too suspicious.

It would be better to wait until he retrieved the Myriad Spirit Chart in the future to complete the Divine Guidance of the upper volume of the Original True Interpretation, then use the mysterious connection between the upper and middle volumes as an excuse to expose the trickery within the Black Ancient Tripod.

The Zhu Yan also watched the Willow Deity's movements in silence.

The supreme divine power displayed in every gesture made this ancient fierce beast swallow hard, secretly thinking that it was fortunate he hadn't acted on impulse to seize the Mountain Treasure earlier.

Otherwise, he feared he wouldn't even know how he died.

"Mm, I am merely conducting some interesting little experiments. Do not be anxious; I shall open this Mountain Treasure for you now."

Perhaps sensing the unease of the human and the beast, the Willow Deity smiled apologetically and raised a hand, unleashing six supreme arts.

The True Hou roared, the Golden Winged Roc spread its wings, the Yinglong soared, the Pixiu shed blood, the Zhujian... the six flawless arts acted upon the surface of the Mountain Treasure instantly, causing divine radiance to roar.

"Tsk, this sealing technique is indeed the handiwork of the Supreme Hall, but I have no need for something like the Six Paths of Reincarnation Heavenly Art."

With a soft click, one side of the crystalline, six-faced bone block quietly cracked open.