"What? You-ah, no!"
By the time the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow realized that the attack coming behind the first was the true killing move,
it was already too late.
As a Primordial Ferocious Beast, this creature had a discerning eye.
That seemingly ferocious Six Paths Reincarnation Divine Ability had merely been a feint.
It had served as cover for the devastating move that followed.
Who could have imagined that a human boy would possess such a terrifying technique?
"That's... one of the Ten Fiends'..."
Far away, the Vermilion Bird watching the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow intently seemed to recognize the precious technique's origins as well.
Disbelief was written all over its face.
This was not the most complete version of the Grass Character Sword Art.
But it still had no business appearing in the lower realm.
Could this human before me be...?
At the sight,
the Vermilion Bird abandoned all thoughts of fighting for the Mountain Treasure.
It struggled straight up from the ground.
Flapping its wings, it desperately tried to take flight like a lone barnyard chicken.
It fled toward the Fire Kingdom as though its life depended on it.
The Qiongqi battling the other ferocious beasts seemed to have witnessed this terrifying scene too.
Disregarding its injuries, it tucked its tail between its legs and tried to flee.
The golden Zhu Yan was also wounded all over, but it had seized the Mountain Treasure.
It could not get away just yet.
The remaining ferocious beasts surrounded it, three layers deep within and three layers deep without.
Its view was therefore obstructed.
It had not clearly seen the peril the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow now faced.
It merely thought that the big, stupid bird's cries sounded especially miserable today!
"Roar!"
Letting out a furious roar that shook the heavens,
the Zhu Yan tucked the treasure into its fur, then struck left and right to clear away the beasts around it.
Meanwhile, the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow had reached the most critical moment of its life.
Knowing it was futile, the creature still thrust out its razor-sharp talons.
It wanted to pit its flesh and blood against the Grass Character Sword Art!
You think you can withstand it?
Slash!
A flash of light-green!
Blood burst across the sky.
Then countless gray flames scattered with the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's feathers.
Whether the great bird had suffered a mortal wound was unclear.
But both of its enormous legs had been cleanly severed.
They fell to the ground, smashing out two enormous craters.
How could this happen?
The Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow had lived for who knew how many years.
Never since its rise had it suffered such grievous injuries!
Once its two legs were separated from its body,
the enormous Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow crashed straight into a small mountain.
It seemed to disappear beneath the shattered rocks and rubble.
"Hahaha! So you can't take much of a beating either!"
Though he had expended a tremendous amount of stamina,
and felt dizzy all over,
Shi Xiu forced himself to walk toward the fallen Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow.
He was already an arrow at the end of its flight.
There was no way he could unleash the same attack a second time.
He might not even be able to wield the Eight Fiend Sword.
But his vicious gaze and ill-intentioned tone
frightened the enormous beast buried beneath the rubble beyond all control.
"Boy, don't come any closer! Get away!"
Suffering the tremendous pain coursing through its body,
the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's eyes brimmed with terror.
In its eyes, Shi Xiu was now a terrifying humanoid beast.
He was its destined nemesis!
As it struggled desperately, propping up its body with its wings,
the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow silently recited a forbidden incantation.
"With my manifested body, with my true blood, I borrow..."
It seemed to be a power like the final flare of life before death.
The great bird suddenly turned transparent.
It was as though its primordial spirit had left its body.
At the same time, its body began burning incessantly, as though it were sacrificing its true body and precious blood in exchange for some power.
Not good! It's going to launch a dying counterattack!
No, not a counterattack-it wants to escape!
The great bird kept its eyes fixed on the sky, not daring to look at Shi Xiu beside it.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Ah! Cough, cough!"
Startled by that blustering shout,
the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow seemed to spit out even its core true qi.
Then, with a strange cry, its entire body shot toward the sky like a missile.
It rapidly fled into the distance.
But this escape had come at the cost of burning all its strength.
Even if it managed to escape with its life,
it would likely take eighty to a hundred years to recover.
Only two enormous bird legs remained on the ground, giving off wave after wave of meaty fragrance.
When the Grass Character Sword Art had severed them, the legs had already begun to cook.
With a little cumin sprinkled on top-tsk, tsk-what a delicacy they would be!
The Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow had escaped.
But the two roasted drumsticks it left behind could more than make up for Shi Xiu's earlier losses.
Having witnessed this human's terror firsthand,
the surrounding ferocious beasts no longer dared approach the area.
So no one would disturb his meal.
Though he had no seasonings,
the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's legs were already roasted crisp outside and tender within.
They gave off an irresistible aroma.
Throwing all caution to the wind,
Shi Xiu stepped up and took a bite.
Not only could they fill his stomach, but they could also swiftly replenish his depleted stamina.
And by the time he finished both bird legs, he had unwittingly opened three grotto-heavens.
The two remaining leg bones were extremely hard and would make fine weapons for self-defense.
Unfortunately, Shi Xiu lacked the craftsmanship.
He could only put them into his storage pouch.
Once all that was done,
the distant battle for the Mountain Treasure seemed to be gradually drawing to a close.
The Zhu Yan appeared to have blasted apart a mountain, and the collapsing boulders buried every ferocious beast present.
Even the Zhu Yan itself had been gravely wounded and forced to revert to its original form.
Looking at the devastation before him,
Shi Xiu could not help shaking his head.
Thanks to his overbearing check-in system,
he had long since plundered every treasure inside the Mountain Treasure.
Even if someone obtained it, it would be completely empty.
For such a thing, so many ferocious beasts had lost their lives.
Still, the brothers Shi Xiu and Shi Hao seemed to have emerged as the greatest beneficiaries.
One had obtained the Suanni Precious Technique.
The other had tasted the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's delicious meat.
Both had made tremendous leaps in strength.
Just as Shi Xiu was about to retrace his steps,
a small beast's pained cries seemed to drift from a gap in the rubble beside his feet.
He casually moved the large rocks aside.
A little golden monkey lay on the ground.
It looked rather adorable.
But the little monkey seemed to have suffered a severe loss of vitality.
It looked listless and weak.
"Aha, interesting! You're fluffy and pretty cute. I'll call you Furball!"
As someone who had transmigrated,
he had a certain fondness for furry animals like this.
Besides, those legendary experts all seemed to keep some sort of animal.
Xiao Yan kept a snake, and Lin Dong kept a tiger.
Surely keeping a golden monkey isn't too much!
But just as Shi Xiu was about to carry Furball away,
a fiery-red carriage suddenly appeared in the sky.
A lovely female voice drifted down from it.
"Wait! Would you trade the Zhu Yan you're holding?"
What's going on?
Zhu Yan?
Furball?
You've got to be kidding!
Whose little girl is this?
She actually mistook this little monkey for a Zhu Yan!
Just where do those two look alike?
In a hurry to return to Stone Village,
Shi Xiu did not even turn his head or spare the girl a glance.
He simply replied,
"No deal. Stay out of my way, little brat!"
"You! Who are you calling a little brat? I-this princess is the Fire Kingdom's..."
This was Huo Ling'er.
The princess of the Fire Kingdom.
Throughout the earlier battle, Huo Ling'er had been under the Vermilion Bird's protection.
Moreover, the Fire Emperor had not sent her here to seize the treasure.
He had wanted to try his luck.
Could his daughter attract that legendary Heavenly Dao Treasure Body?
The facts suggested that she probably could not.
These two seemed to clash...
Before you continue