"I have no objections. I won't be able to form a physical body and become his Dao companion anytime soon anyway!"
Willow Deity agreed to Huo Ling'er's request without a second thought.
The two women seemed to exchange a look.
It was a special signal shared between women.
Outsiders would have a hard time understanding it.
"Thank you, madam, and thank you, Prince Consort!"
Once her scheme succeeded, Huo Ling'er beamed with delight.
The Fire Emperor had indeed said he wanted to recruit a prince consort.
But he had never specified exactly when.
That left plenty of room to maneuver.
Besides, Huo Ling'er only needed to make sure she stayed with the prince consort before her.
Then they could go register at the Heaven Mending Pavilion together.
But as soon as Shi Hao heard they could join a major sect,
he cried and clamored to go along too.
He even wanted to bring his little brothers with him.
The boy had a one-track mind.
Willow Deity had previously told him to stick close to a certain someone whenever possible.
Then, whenever that person feasted on fine food and drink, he would never be left without a share.
Hadn't that advice come true?
Even his Supreme Bone had been snatched back for him.
What more was there to say?
From now on, he would surely follow him through life and death!
As for the Heaven Mending Pavilion,
although two more people had arrived than expected,
as long as Shi Xiu was willing to join, everything else was negotiable.
They even arranged for the boy to cultivate directly under Elder Xiong Fei.
He could become an inner disciple.
After all, he bore the distinction of having defeated the young supreme, Shi Yi.
If a young man like him was properly nurtured,
he would surely become a pillar of the Heaven Mending Pavilion.
What Shi Xiu had not expected, however, was that news of his arrival at the Heaven Mending Pavilion would spread so quickly.
The person responsible was none other than Yu Feng, the survivor of the Rain Clan.
In terms of seniority,
this fellow even ranked as a senior disciple.
But he was clearly the sort with a crooked heart!
Once the news went out, however,
it immediately set off a series of butterfly effects.
At Immortal Mountain, among the Celestial Human Race.
"No wonder our people have been wandering around Stone Village and meeting nothing but barbarians!"
Immortal Mountain had originally shared deep ties with the Shi family.
Shi Hao's mother had once been their saintess.
But the struggle over the Supreme Bone back then had gone far too far.
And so they had severed contact.
This time, in hopes of encountering Shi Xiu,
Immortal Mountain had sent many young women to wander around Stone Village.
They hoped to devise all sorts of excuses to meet the bearer of the heavenly Dao treasure body.
They had never expected to arrive a step too late.
He was already at the Heaven Mending Pavilion.
Two factions from the Upper Realm were equally shocked.
One was represented by Fairy Yuechan of the Heaven Mending Sect.
Since Shi Yi's confidence had been shattered,
the Heaven Mending Sect had already set its sights on the bearer of the heavenly Dao treasure body.
On the one hand, they hoped their saintess could become the boy's Dao companion.
On the other, the Heaven Mending Sect also hoped to recruit him as a final disciple.
Although the Heaven Mending Pavilion and the Heaven Mending Sect had long since lost contact,
the saintess still wanted to make use of that connection.
"Sect Master, elders, please rest assured. I will send my secondary self, Qinglian, to settle this matter!"
As the Heaven Mending Sect's saintess,
Yue Chan's strength was beyond question.
This woman had already become powerful enough to use an avatar.
Of course, this avatar was still far inferior to those of the Ruthless Great Emperor back in the day.
But in both beauty and figure, Qinglian was no less impressive than Yue Chan's original self.
Moreover, this woman had independent thoughts and a temper of her own.
She could essentially be considered a complete person.
Elsewhere,
the powerful figure who had previously wiped out the Rain Clan
was now reprimanding their granddaughter.
"You little girl! We went to such lengths to send your incarnation to the Great Wilderness, yet you..."
Who would have imagined that the enchantress known as the heir to the Heavenly Fox Clan
could descend to the mortal world in the guise of a human woman?
Yet the little lass had treated it as a rare chance to have fun.
She had not put any effort into searching for the bearer of the heavenly Dao treasure body.
Let alone becoming his Dao companion.
"Ancestor, I heard that princess of the Fire Clan is about to marry him. I don't like..."
"We don't care what methods you use. A person isn't limited to just one Dao companion. In any case, secure the bearer of the heavenly Dao treasure body as soon as possible!"
"Hmph!"
Perhaps it was that single decree from the Fire Emperor
that had stirred towering waves across both worlds.
Some families could no longer restrain themselves and began finding ways to lower their female disciples' cultivation.
Even if they had to change their faces, they would go and make themselves familiar to that boy.
There were no warm-up matches; the competition went straight into a white-hot frenzy.
It was said that even saintesses from the families of great emperors and quasi-immortal emperors were repeatedly cutting down their own cultivation.
All so they could descend to the lower realm and find a man named Shi Xiu.
It was not because he was particularly handsome.
The main reason was still the heavenly Dao treasure body.
After all, this constitution was said to appear only once in several million years.
And two could never coexist in the same era.
Scarcity created value.
If Shi Xiu knew how valuable he was, he might even want to sell himself!
And now, the Heaven Mending Pavilion seemed to be cradling the boy in its arms like a precious treasure.
Even Shi Hao, who had tagged along, was feasting on fine food and drink.
Regardless of whether it complied with the rules,
Elder Xiong Fei enthusiastically brought the newcomers before the Heaven Mending Pavilion's sacrificial spirit.
It was an ancient vine on its last legs.
All sorts of Dao Fruit gourds hung from it.
This sacrificial spirit was said to have an extraordinary background as well.
But it had now reached the end of its natural lifespan, which was deeply worrying.
This was also the crucial reason the Heaven Mending Pavilion was racking its brains to recruit outstanding young disciples.
It was not that they craved grandeur and glory.
Rather, they wanted to save their sacrificial spirit.
According to legend, only the Ageless Spring in the Hundred Broken Mountains might allow the Divine Vine to hold on.
But entry into the Hundred Broken Mountains came with strict cultivation restrictions.
They therefore had to find young people whose cultivation ranks were not too high and send them inside to temper themselves.
At the same time, those youths would help the Heaven Mending Pavilion find a way to prolong the sacrificial spirit's life.
In fact, countless eyes throughout the Great Wilderness were already watching this place.
Once this Divine Vine fell, that could very well be the day the Heaven Mending Pavilion was destroyed.
Thus, when Elder Xiong Fei happened to learn of Shi Xiu's abilities through the Void Dust Sword,
he was determined to invite this young supreme back, even if he had to swallow his pride.
His goal was the Hundred Broken Mountains.
Of course, for the bearer of a certain heavenly Dao treasure body himself, gaining experience in such a place would be wonderful too.
Not only could his strength improve dramatically, he could also obtain all kinds of treasures.
It was said that quite a few of today's supreme experts had enjoyed fortuitous encounters in the Hundred Broken Mountains in their youth.
Judging by a certain someone's previous luck, he surely would not return empty-handed either.
And Shi Hao had now become that certain someone's little follower.
Wherever Shi Xiu went, the brat was sure to follow him all the way.
After all, he had already gained far too many benefits. This was the true path to success!
"I sense tremendous karma surrounding this young man. Perhaps he can change everything!"
When the Divine Vine began sensing Shi Xiu's aura,
it quickly realized that the boy was no ordinary person.
The aura of that heavenly Dao treasure body carried the supreme karma of the Divine Realm and the Immortal Realm.
Even the Divine Vine let out an incredulous exclamation.
The young man before it looked utterly unremarkable.
Yet he could actually commune with the power of the entire heavens.
Even the distant Foreign Races seemed able to find a resonance with their origins within this boy.
If this power was used properly,
this young man's future achievements would be immeasurable.
Moreover, the Divine Vine instinctively believed that the young man before it would be its savior!
Before you continue