Can Xiaotian Devour Soul Bones to Grow? A Third Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff!

A trace of dissatisfaction appeared on Yang Jian's face.

"Too much energy was dissipated. This Soul Bone, which was close to ten thousand years old, only gave it less than a hundred years of cultivation."

Unlike Yang Jian's dissatisfaction, Yang Wudi was completely exhilarated.

Devouring Soul Bones to increase cultivation!

What did that mean?

It meant that as long as there were enough Soul Bones, this Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's growth period could be shortened without limit!

While other Soul Beasts needed hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years to grow, with enough Soul Bones, it might only need a few decades or even less!

By then, it would not only become his grandson Yang Jian's right-hand man, but might even surpass him and become the Breaking Clan's strongest fighting force!

But before long, the excitement in Yang Wudi's eyes was replaced by worry.

Because he had thought of a fatal problem: the scarcity of Soul Bones.

According to his grandson, a Soul Bone close to ten thousand years old had given Xiaotian less than a hundred years of cultivation.

That meant that, without considering how cultivation became harder to improve at higher levels, raising Xiaotian's cultivation to a thousand years would require ten Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones.

Not even considering making it a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, simply raising it into a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would require a full hundred Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones.

A hundred Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones...

Yang Wudi fell completely silent.

He knew very well just how rare Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones were. Setting aside anything else, he was a Soul Douluo who had lived for over sixty years, yet he did not possess a single Soul Bone.

Even the Clear Sky Sect, once the foremost of the Upper Three Sects, had only three Soul Bones in the entire sect. And they were inherited Soul Bones, passed down to the next generation only after the previous generation died.

Therefore, a hundred Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones were beyond even the value of selling off the entire Breaking Clan. And even if they really had the money, there might not be that many Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones available.

Lowering his head, Yang Wudi met the gaze of the little golden-furred bundle tilting its head at him. After a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed.

Yet there was a hint of self-mockery in his smile.

"If only the golden fur on you, little fellow, were really made of gold."

He reached out and gently tapped Xiaotian on the head.

"Then we could produce and consume it ourselves. It seems feeding you Soul Bones won't work after all. The Breaking Clan can't afford a gold-eating beast like you."

"Roar?"

Xiaotian did not understand what he was saying. It merely rubbed its head against his finger and let out a puzzled cry.

"Grandpa, is our Breaking Clan short on money?"

Yang Wudi turned to look at his grandson.

"We have some surplus, but not much."

"Our Breaking Clan earns a decent income each year through our medicine-refining arts, but in recent years, we've also had to support Old White Bird's clan from time to time. You know the situation of their Speed Clan. Every member of the clan has that proud temperament, yet they lack the means to support themselves. Their avenues for making money are even narrower than ours."

"The clan's liquid funds can barely cover three or four Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones. Any more than that, and the family won't be able to bear it."

He paused. Perhaps afraid of putting too much pressure on Yang Jian, he added,

"But Jian'er needn't worry. The Breaking Clan's medicine-refining arts are unmatched in the world, and we make money quite quickly. In some time, the clan may have enough money to raise this little fellow."

Yang Jian nodded but said nothing more.

However, he remembered this matter.

The Breaking Clan had a little surplus, the Speed Clan lacked money, and the Strength Clan and Defense Clan were about the same.

These affiliated sects of the Clear Sky Sect had all been having a difficult time these past years.

If he could solve the problem of money...

A vague idea began to form in his mind.

But the time was not right yet. He would have to return to the clan, learn more about the situation, and then discuss it properly with his grandfather.

Before long, the rabbit was done roasting.

Golden oil sizzled from its skin, and its fragrance filled the entire cave.

"Roar!"

Xiaotian's nose twitched, and it immediately perked up.

Its four stubby legs bounced it toward the campfire. It stared eagerly at the roasted rabbit, drool nearly spilling from its mouth.

Yang Jian tore off a small piece of rabbit meat, blew on it, and handed it over.

Xiaotian snatched it in one bite, chewed twice, and swallowed it. Then it continued looking at him eagerly.

"You little glutton."

Yang Wudi laughed as he scolded it, then tore off another piece and handed it over.

The two men and one beast shared a roasted rabbit. Yang Jian and Yang Wudi each ate most of it, while Xiaotian received a small portion.

Even after finishing, the little thing licked its lips with lingering hunger and nudged Yang Jian's hand with its head, as if asking whether there was any more.

Yang Jian patted its head.

"No more. Time to go."

After a simple cleanup, the two men and one beast began their journey home.

Xiaotian was too small. After walking only a few steps, it began to pant.

Yang Jian simply held it in his arms and let it lie across his forearm.

The little thing was obedient enough. It curled into a ball, and before long, its breathing became steady as it fell asleep.

After stopping and starting along the way, it took nearly three days for Yang Jian and his grandfather to finally leave the Star Dou Great Forest.

When the vast primeval forest that blotted out the sky was finally left behind and long-missed sunlight fell unobstructed over him, Yang Jian stopped. Listening to the sounds around him, he let out a soft breath.

The bustling pedestrians, the faint outline of a distant town—everything stood in sharp contrast to the quiet darkness of the forest.

He suddenly felt as though a lifetime had passed.

"Let's go, Jian'er."

Yang Wudi's voice came from ahead.

Yang Jian gathered his thoughts and followed.

After finding the Breaking Clan's coachman in the city, the two boarded the carriage. To the leisurely rhythm of hoofbeats, they soon left the town behind.

At the same time.

Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, in that ruined valley.

A massive golden figure appeared at the entrance to the valley.

It was a golden beast as large as an elephant.

Its body was covered in brilliant golden fur that gleamed dazzlingly beneath the sunlight.

The black ghost-face markings on its head rose and fell faintly with its breathing.

It held a huge bear in its mouth.

The bear was covered in dark golden fur. Most eye-catching were its pair of enormous foreclaws, each nearly half the length of its body.

The claw tips dragged across the solid ground, easily leaving behind savage, terrifying gouges.

A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—and a Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear at that!

This creature, known as the Earth Ripper and capable of rivaling a Title Douluo after ten thousand years, had now become a corpse held in the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's mouth, clearly reduced to its prey!

The golden beast entered the valley.

In a familiar flash, it realized the place had already changed beyond recognition. Its wife, who would always come to greet it, was nowhere to be seen.

It froze for a moment, then flung aside the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear in its mouth and charged straight into the cave.

All it saw was emptiness. Its wife and the newborn cubs had all vanished without a trace.

Humanlike panic flashed through the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's eyes. It rushed out of the cave and began searching every inch of the valley.