That was right. In the six months Shi Hao had spent cultivating outside, he had already opened twelve Grotto-Heavens.
The more he cultivated, the more panicked Little Shi became. He had even begun deliberately slowing his cultivation. If he kept opening Grotto-Heavens without limit, wouldn't that mean he could never enter Spirit Transformation?
Willow Deity above, that was truly terrifying!
Wait, speaking of Willow Deity, where was she?
Gazing at the twelve Grotto-Heavens, which drew every eye in the sky, and at Little Shi, who waited for his reply with eager anticipation, this Supreme Giant fell into an uncanny silence.
Hello, I'm Willow Deity, and I'm freaking out right now!
"You really are sick. Seriously sick."
After a brief silence, Willow Deity spoke hoarsely.
"What? Willow Deity, is there still hope for me?!"
Shi Hao was instantly aghast.
"It's fine. Whether you have ten Grotto-Heavens or twelve makes little difference to you. With your astonishing foundation, you can enter Spirit Transformation whenever you wish."
"As for what to do with the twelve Grotto-Heavens?"
"I've heard that in the ancient past, a young Supreme Being opened ten Grotto-Heavens and planned to take a different path, fusing them into one and evolving a Unique Heaven Cave. Though he ultimately failed, it was still a path worth learning from."
Once Willow Deity had sorted out her thoughts, the words flowed more and more smoothly.
"Fusing the twelve Grotto-Heavens into one and evolving a Unique Heaven Cave... That does sound like a good idea."
Seeing Little Shi nod thoughtfully, Willow Deity felt a secret wave of relief for some reason. Still outwardly composed, she said, "Go on. It's time to celebrate."
The joy of welcoming visitors from the outside world gradually faded, but new troubles soon arrived.
Dust clouds rose along the distant horizon as a group of bandits mounted on fierce beasts charged toward them, surrounding the only village within a thousand miles.
"You savages of the wilderness, get out here and kneel before us!"
"Hand over five hundred pounds of black gold, and send all your able-bodied men with us into the mountains to search for the Supreme Divine Treasury."
Two riders wielding sharp blades pushed through the crowd and shouted sternly.
The Stone Village experts reacted swiftly, rushing to the entrance from every direction. Holding various treasures that gleamed with precious light, they coldly sized up the unwelcome guests.
The strange reaction from Stone Village made the bandit who had shouted falter. They had probably run into a tough opponent. He immediately turned his gaze toward the leader behind him.
"You lowly peasants dare resist? Lord Sacrificial Spirit, please take action!"
The leader urged his fierce beast forward, gave a sinister laugh, and recited an incantation.
"Rumble!"
At the same time, the ground trembled.
A Golden Pangolin as massive as a mountain of flesh ambled out. Golden mist rose around its body, while its Divine Radiance remained hidden within. It was clearly a powerful Sacrificial Spirit, its presence enough to inspire awe.
"The Supreme Divine Treasury? I can't believe that mysterious faction is still clinging to what happened back then. They've actually found their way here."
The old patriarch hurried over at the news and frowned, but showed little concern.
Back then, he and more than a dozen companions from the village had gone out to gain experience, only to stumble upon the legendary emergence of the Supreme Divine Treasury. Everyone had died except him.
One of the powerful factions that had fought over the treasury had sent out hunting parties to search for its whereabouts, killing everyone who knew about the events back then.
He never expected that decades later, a hunting party would find its way here.
"A Spirit Transformation Sacrificial Spirit, two Cave Heaven Realm leaders, and a bunch of Blood Moving Realm rabble. Old Patriarch, wait here a moment. I'll take care of them."
Shi Jian'an, a lord of the Ancient Kingdom, glanced at the bandits outside the village, who had no idea what they were getting into, and sneered. A black battle halberd, wreathed in murderous energy, silently appeared.
"I didn't expect Little Western Heaven, all the way over in Hong Region, to reach this far and strike across regions. Little Western Heaven is a branch of the Western Sect in the Upper Realm. It seems the Western Sect hasn't given up searching for the true inheritance of the Supreme Hall either."
Shi Hao watched it all thoughtfully. He happened to hear the old Shi Jian'an asking to fight and said with a smile, "Great-grandfather, you've only just arrived. How could I let you be the one to fight?"
"Hey, Little Fatty, I'm talking to you. You've been shamelessly lounging around in our village for so long. Time to do some work. Just look how fat you've gotten!"
As he spoke, he gave the Golden Furball by his feet a disdainful kick.
That's right. The mysterious creature, fattened into a ball, was Zhu Yan.
Ever since Zhu Yan had settled down in Stone Village, life had grown more and more comfortable.
For cultivation, it could choose from more than twenty flawless precious arts of pure-blooded creatures.
For daily life, Stone Village's children brought delicious fierce-beast meat right to its mouth, while someone took care of bathing it, grooming its fur, and picking off its bugs...
Over the past two years, Zhu Yan had grown fatter and fatter, and there was no stopping it. Even if the village tried to drive it away now, Zhu Yan definitely wouldn't leave.
Just think, was the life it had lived before even fit for a beast?
Drinking morning dew at dawn and eating wild fruit in the evening—just thinking about it was enough to make it despair!
"None of your business! I'm not going. Can't you see I'm absorbing the essence of heaven and earth? The Sun God Essence is most active at this hour, and it's especially sweet."
The Golden Fatball, now with a double chin, mumbled as it lazily rolled over beneath the warm, gentle sunlight, revealing its fat belly.
Mm, time to keep enjoying the sun.
"Absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, huh? Fine. Starting tomorrow, I'll cut your after-meal fruits and vegetables in half. No, forget that—I'll cut them entirely."
Shi Hao folded his arms and sneered.
"Hey, hey, Little Shi, you've got it all wrong. I'm a brick in Stone Village's wall—I'll go wherever I'm needed. We're family, so why talk like strangers?"
The Golden Fatball suddenly sprang to its feet, nimble in a way that didn't match its build, rolling up from the ground like a carp leaping from water.
"Get moving. I'm giving you ten breaths."
Someone impatiently urged it on, even giving it another kick.
"Humans these days are so hard to handle!"
The Golden Furball muttered under its breath, then said irritably, "Fine, fine. I know."
With that, it shot into the sky like a streak of golden lightning.
"This is..."
Shi Jian'an, who had yet to identify the Golden Furball's true form, looked at the old man beside him in confusion.
"Stone Village's number-one battle beast, and its guardian divine beast."
Old Patriarch Shi Yunfeng stood ramrod straight as he introduced it in a voice like a tolling bell.
"But wasn't the number-one battle beast of the Ancestral Land that adult Ancient Relic, the Array Formation King Azure Heaven Roc? That ancient relic is even stronger than the two of us."
Now Shi Jian'an was even more confused.
"That was before. Just watch, Brother Jian'an. You'll understand soon enough."
The old patriarch gave a mysterious smile and said no more.
"Hey! You scoundrels, are you looking to die? How dare you disturb my Stone Village!"
Outside the village, the ridiculously fat Golden Furball stood with one hand on its hip, pointing at more than a hundred bandits with a broken tree branch it had picked up somewhere.
After a brief silence, the bandits burst into wild laughter.
"I thought these lowly peasants had some amazing trump card. Turns out it's just a wild monkey so fat it can barely move. Is this supposed to be funny?"
The scar-faced leader struggled to suppress his laughter, then leaned down and asked, "Hey, fat monkey, can you do a somersault? Give your grandpa a show and flip one right here."
"Damn it, I forgot to transform!"
The Golden Fatball froze, then looked down at its round belly and finally realized why it had embarrassed itself. It immediately shouted fiercely, "Law of Heaven and Earth!"
"ROAR!!!"
The next moment, a roar that shook the heavens and earth rang out.
Dazzling Golden Divine Radiance illuminated the world for thousands of miles, accompanied by the thunder of divine sounds.
As the boundless radiance faded, the phantom of a golden creature appeared, towering between heaven and earth. Its head reached into the clouds, its feet stood upon the ground, and it stretched across the world like a mountain range.
"Who was it just now that wanted me to do a somersault?"
The mighty golden creature held the Heaven-Piercing Iron Rod in its hand. It opened its gaping maw, revealing a row of gleaming white fangs, and spoke in a voice gentle beyond measure.
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