"I'll trade! I'll trade! I'll trade, all right?"
The moment the God-Striking Stone saw his reaction, it panicked and hurriedly made its position clear.
"A wise choice."
Shi Hao smiled, then paused before saying, "However, of the three supreme techniques, you can only choose one. So, what's your answer?"
"Only one, only one..."
The God-Striking Stone groaned in anguish, its gaze shifting back and forth among the three supreme beings as it muttered to itself.
"I choose the Grass Sword Art of the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass!"
A moment later, its voice rang out, firm and resolute.
"Have you thought it through?"
"Of course."
"Among the Ten Archaic Evils, the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass represents the ultimate in sharpness, while my God-Striking Stone clan represents the ultimate in solidity. We embody two completely opposite extremes. I want to see which is truly stronger: the sharpest spear or the strongest shield."
The God-Striking Stone wore a solemn expression, displaying a rare seriousness.
"Then I can tell you the answer right now: there is no strongest technique, only the strongest cultivator."
Shi Hao chuckled, and the God-Striking Stone's expression immediately fell.
"Then, as you wish."
As his hand clenched, the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass rooted in the Void instantly broke apart, transforming into a silver sword aura that tore through the Void and shot toward the God-Striking Stone.
The God-Striking Stone suppressed its excitement and did its utmost to receive this peerless technique.
Watching the God-Striking Stone receive its inheritance, Shi Hao suddenly laughed with delight.
Imagine a God-Striking Stone, famed throughout history for its impenetrable hardness, suddenly unleashing a peerless sword art of the utmost ferocity in the middle of battle. Just picturing it was exhilarating—absolutely awesome.
Truly, an unexpected strike!
"This is my clan's inheritance, the God-Striking Stone Art that shakes the present and dazzles the ages."
Faint wisps of divine radiance seeped from the God-Striking Stone's body and all flowed into Shi Hao's palm.
"Excellent. Let's go into the garden with me. Once this trial is over, I'll take you out of this little world. How could a descendant of one of the Ten Fiends waste away here?"
Shi Hao smiled and placed the God-Striking Stone on his head, where it nestled among a lock of his hair.
"Many thanks, Brother Dao!"
The God-Striking Stone was so delighted that it flipped head over heels. It had spent who knew how many years in the Baiduan Mountain Secret Realm, and had long since grown tired of it.
A man, a beast, and a stone entered the garden once more.
This was an ancient medicinal field that stretched as far as the eye could see. Medicinal herbs grew in patches, with several ten-thousand-year-old herbs scattered among them. Billowing waves of medicinal fragrance washed over them.
The spiritual energy was so dense it had nearly liquefied, forming a faint golden cloud that drifted through the air. Even a light sniff sent brilliant, rosy clouds surging toward them like an ocean.
It poured through their mouths and noses, streaming into Shi Hao and the others.
"Mine, mine, it's all mine!"
Shi Hao's body glowed. His Treasure Body circulated on its own, drawing in the golden spiritual mist and refining it into the divine apertures throughout his body. His eyes shone even brighter.
"Brother Dao, are you thinking about how to pack up the whole Spirit Herb Garden and take it with you?"
A smooth strand of jet-black hair fluttered in the wind. It was the God-Striking Stone speaking.
"Exactly. This place and I are fated."
Shi Hao gave a light cough and replied with complete seriousness.
"Every living being who comes here says that."
The God-Striking Stone grumbled inwardly, but smiled and said, "Brother Dao, I have a way."
It had long had its eye on the other two Ten Fiends Precious Techniques in Shi Hao's hands. It was laying the groundwork now so it could ask for them later.
At this point, the God-Striking Stone deliberately paused.
But it waited and waited, and Shi Hao still didn't ask for its help. With no other choice, the God-Striking Stone cursed inwardly and continued:
"The Hundred Herb Garden is an ancient medicinal field planted by the sages of old themselves. It's controlled by a formation hub. As long as we control the central hub, we can shrink this ancient medicinal field into a tiny mustard seed, then store it in a spatial artifact and take it away."
"I've spent the past few centuries figuring out most of the Hundred Herb Garden's formation hub. Give me at most a quarter of an hour, and I'll have it completely under control."
"Wonderful. Then please make the trip, Brother Batian."
Shi Hao's eyes lit up at its words. It was like having someone bring him a pillow just as he was about to fall asleep.
The God-Striking Stone was instantly annoyed.
Renaming it was one thing. Giving it the surname Shi was fine, too. But naming it Batian was unbearable. Why not call it Ritiantian while he was at it?!
"Ahem, Brother Dao, please wait a moment."
The God-Striking Stone didn't have the nerve to voice its dissatisfaction, so it took the opportunity to turn into a streak of white light and dart into the depths of the Sacred Garden.
"At the same time, a thunderous roar rolled over them."
"Lowly human genius, hurry up and come gather herbs!"
A towering humanoid creature stood before them, with a pair of Flood Dragon Horns thrusting up from its head. Golden fur covered its body, and murderous aura poured off it, chilling the soul.
From a distance, it gleamed like a Golden Sun.
A Golden Beast, one of the servants who lived atop the Primordial Divine Mountains and attended pure-blooded ferocious beasts.
Powerful beings had bestowed terrifying bloodlines or techniques upon them, making them astonishingly strong. They called themselves Divine Servants who walked the world—the great servants of the gods.
"Master, that's a powerful Golden Beast. There must be a terrifying pure-blooded being active nearby. Please be extremely careful."
The Golden Lion spoke with a grave expression.
Though the Golden Lion called itself an Ancient Relic whose strength was infinitely close to that of a pure-blooded being, the chasm between Ancient Relics and pure-blooded beings was no easy thing to cross.
Perhaps it would take a hundred years. Perhaps it would never happen in this lifetime.
"Who cares whether it's pure-blooded or a Divine Servant? If it dares touch my Spirit Herb Garden, I'll butcher it and use it as fertilizer."
Seeing someone reach for what was already in his pocket, Shi Hao couldn't just stand by. He immediately urged the Golden Lion beneath him forward.
"Boy, you know what's good for you. Take this Nine-Headed Lion and hurry into the medicinal field to gather herbs for my young master. Ten each, and you can leave as soon as you're done."
The Golden Beast, whose strength rivaled a human marquis, nodded approvingly and tossed down two bamboo baskets, urging Shi Hao and his companion to get moving.
In the two rows of garden plots behind it, more than a dozen humanoid creatures transformed from Ancient Relics were bent over gathering herbs. Most had likely been forcibly captured by this extremely powerful Golden Beast as well.
"I hear you call yourself a Divine Servant. Is your master a god?"
Shi Hao sat cross-legged on the Golden Lion's back and didn't even glance at the bamboo baskets.
"Human, are you tired of living?"
The Golden Beast's roar boomed like thunder as it glared at Shi Hao.
The pure-blooded beings atop the Primordial Divine Mountains were terrifying, but they weren't actual gods. They were merely the descendants of gods. That was where the name Primordial Divine Mountains came from: they were the gods' dwelling places, sacred lands.
"So it's not a god? Then die!"
Shi Hao abruptly stood up. The bone in his chest glowed, and the chant of gods and Buddhas seemed to ring out. A blinding divine beam shot from his chest and streaked straight toward the Golden Beast.
"The Supreme Bone? You were born a Supreme—"
The Golden Beast was horrified, its expression twisting with terror.
The Supreme Bone of one born a Supreme was heaven's gift. It never expected it could bypass the mysterious restrictions of this place and unleash a supreme technique without being affected.
"ROAR!!!"
The Golden Beast fought the urge to turn and flee, then let out an enraged roar.
"Buzz!"
Blinding divine radiance surged from its body, covering the sky. Runes interwove as its form became a resplendent sun that guarded it, desperately resisting the terrifying divine beam.
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