"Elder Xiong Fei, aren't you going a little too far? Our Deer-Chasing Academy was clearly here first..."
Seeing that chubby fellow swoop in to recruit him,
the War Goddess could no longer keep her composure.
She had happened to encounter Shi Xiu in the Void God Realm today.
The War Goddess had already intended to use every trick at her disposal to win him over.
Yet someone had appeared halfway through to snatch him away.
And he was an elder of the Heaven Mending Pavilion, no less?
Wasn't this going too far?
But Shi Xiu, standing opposite them, paid neither of them any attention.
That allowed the War Goddess to breathe a sigh of relief.
She also offered him a token of the Deer-Chasing Academy.
Before leaving, she even winked vigorously at the boy.
Ah!
How am I supposed to choose?
That War Goddess from the Deer-Chasing Academy is clearly after my heavenly Dao treasure body.
But the Heaven Mending Pavilion seems to have taken a fancy to Shi Xiu's aptitude.
He had originally wanted to keep exploring the Void God Realm.
But with the Supreme Bone in hand, and fearing that more factions would set their sights on him,
Shi Xiu could only grit his teeth and leave.
Soon, however, a rumor spread through the outside world.
Shi Yi had been outdone by someone in the Void God Realm.
He had been so furious that his chest felt tight, and upon returning, he had gone into seclusion and refused to see anyone.
In truth, these people knew only half the story.
How could Shi Yi be so small-minded?
The real reason was that an unknown force had forcibly dug the Supreme Bone out of his body.
His vitality had been gravely damaged, leaving him bedridden.
When Shi Xiu returned to his body, the Willow Deity immediately sensed something amiss.
Although the system had stored the Supreme Bone in an unknown virtual space,
that virtual space still followed Shi Yi.
As an Immortal King who had lived since ages long past,
the Willow Deity was still far from recovering that former peak.
But that powerful intuition remained.
It was just that this elder sister seemed somewhat uncertain.
So she could only ask in a probing tone.
"Shi Xiu, why did you come out of the Void God Realm so soon?"
"Thank you for guarding me, Sister Willow Deity. I struck it rich this time!"
"Sister? What trouble have you stirred up, you little rascal?"
"Haha, do you really have so little faith in me, Sister Willow Deity?"
As his words fell,
a Supreme Bone shining with an incomparably brilliant golden light appeared before the Willow Deity.
Its golden ripples even spread across all of Stone Village.
They drew the Village Chief over, curiosity in his eyes.
"This... this is a Supreme Bone? The Void God Realm shouldn't offer a reward like this!"
The Willow Deity seemed unable to process it.
When Shi Xiu had called her "sister" just now, she had already felt something was off.
Now, seeing him produce the Supreme Bone,
even this former Immortal King froze.
"Hehe, this is the very Supreme Bone that was stolen from Shi Hao back then. I took it back!"
"What? You encountered Shi Yi..."
Only after a long while did the Willow Deity recover.
In fact, this mighty being had sensed it from the beginning, but had scarcely dared to believe it.
"Willow Deity, do you have a way to put the Supreme Bone back into my little brother Hao?"
"You... you seized this Supreme Bone for Shi Hao?"
"What else would I do with it?"
His question left the Willow Deity even more astonished.
It even made the Village Chief beside them drop straight to his knees, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Little One can be saved! Heaven has finally opened its eyes!"
There had always been a knot in the Village Chief's heart.
He hoped Shi Hao could be restored to his former state.
Then his parents would not have sent him back all those years ago in vain.
Even in Stone Village, only a handful of people knew that Shi Hao's Supreme Bone had been dug out.
What made this all the more precious was
the truly noble character of Shi Xiu standing before them.
Having obtained such a treasure, he had not hidden it away for himself.
Instead, his thoughts had been entirely on Shi Hao.
Had he not feared holding back this young man's future,
the old Village Chief would have wanted to give him his own position!
"That will depend on Shi Hao's physical condition. I'll find a way to summon him back sooner!"
After her astonishment, the Willow Deity finally began to regain her composure.
Transplanting the Supreme Bone's marrow was much like performing surgery.
The sooner it was done, the higher the chances of success.
She believed Shi Hao himself should already have sensed it by now.
In an old courtyard of the Stone King's Manor,
an elderly servant was embracing Shi Hao, both of them weeping bitterly.
The servant kept calling him "young master."
Beside them stood a sickly child who also called Shi Hao "big brother."
They were the only family Shi Hao had found on this trip.
Since the Rain Clan had been wiped out by an unknown force,
he had encountered no obstacles along the way.
It had gone far more smoothly than he had imagined.
But just as the three of them were overcome with emotion at their reunion,
Shi Hao suddenly clutched his chest.
A faint golden light flickered there.
"Big brother, what's wrong?"
"Young master, are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I think... I think I can sense my Supreme Bone!"
"Could Shi Yi be here? But their Rain Clan has already been wiped out by a mighty being. They can't stir up any waves now!"
"I think I can sense the Willow Deity calling me. Come back to Stone Village with me, both of you!"
It was an inexplicable kind of perception.
At that moment, Shi Hao's heart flew home like an arrow.
The grandfather and grandchild before him had nowhere else to go, so naturally, they were willing to follow.
Days passed in this way.
By the time Shi Hao's presence reappeared near Stone Village,
Shi Xiu had already broken through to four grotto-heavens.
Just as he was about to continue cultivating in seclusion,
the Willow Deity's branch playfully patted his little head.
"Little One is back. As his big brother, you should be the one to tell him the good news!"
"I'm back! Grandpa Village Chief, let me introduce these two to you!"
"Hahaha, it's good to have you back. Your big brother Shi Xiu has prepared a surprise gift for you. Come!"
"Is it the Supreme Bone?"
As the Supreme Bone's original owner,
Shi Hao had actually sensed it before reaching the village.
A certain part of his body was cheering and leaping with joy.
And the Supreme Bone the Willow Deity had set aside was resonating with him as well.
At least sixty percent of this treasure's power had been suppressed while it was with Shi Yi.
But if it could return to its original owner's body, the result would be extraordinary!
"You little brat, so you already sensed it! I was planning to surprise you."
"Big Brother Shi Xiu, how did you get it back for me?"
"From Shi Yi..."
At this point,
Shi Xiu made a digging gesture.
Shi Hao's gaze immediately froze.
"Hahaha, no wonder I kept hearing along the way that Shi Yi had fallen ill!"
Although the two were cousins,
ever since his Supreme Bone had been dug out,
they had long since become enemies.
Hearing that Shi Yi had met such an end,
the boy could not have been happier!
"All right, stop chatting for now. Little One, come with me. I'll help you put the Supreme Bone back as soon as..."
Seeing the two brothers chatting endlessly at the village entrance,
the Willow Deity urged them on in exasperation.
After all, the sooner this was done, the better.
Although the Supreme Bone was a part of Shi Hao,
it had still been tainted with Shi Yi's aura over all these years.
After returning to its original body, it would need some time to be nurtured.
Still, she believed that once the two had fused,
Little One before her would become a true young supreme.
Meanwhile, Shi Yi, who had been barely clinging to life, seemed to sense something as well.
Perhaps it was the blood connection between the two cousins, or perhaps it was the Supreme Bone at work.
Dragging his wounded, ailing body,
he gazed east with hatred written across his face.
"Shi Hao, to think you've taken back the Supreme Bone. Sooner or later, the two of us will settle this score..."
After he said those words,
his double pupils suddenly contracted.
Wave after wave of strange light flowed from his eyes.
Those were not tears, but seemingly some kind of inconceivable energy.
Faintly, even the heavens and earth here trembled in response.
And just then,
a fairy descended outside Demon Spirit Lake.
It was none other than Yue Chan, the Saintess of the Heaven Mending Sect!
Before you continue