"B-big brother, you, those..."
At the sight of over a hundred spirit treasures flying around Shi Xiu, filling the mountains and plains,
the Nine-Headed Lion and all his followers were dumbfounded.
Normally, each person could obtain no more than two of these treasures.
And even that required being a genius among geniuses!
Yet almost every treasure in sight was flying toward this fellow.
Each one was wildly excited, too.
Some even rang out with clear, crisp sounds in the air.
It was as though they were calling out to their new master.
"Pick me! Master, pick me!"
Such a scene might not appear even once in ten thousand years!
Some of the ferocious beasts nearby had cut down their own cultivation and had actually lived for quite a few years.
Realization immediately dawned on them.
"I know! He has a treasure-gathering basin physique!"
"Could this boy possess the legendary Heavenly Dao Treasure Body?"
"I told you before, a treasure body like that appears only once in hundreds of millions of years. It can connect with tremendous fortune!"
"Say, can that little girl in your family take human form? Hurry and call her over..."
Ordinarily, when something like this happened during a treasure hunt,
most ferocious beasts would have seethed with resentment.
Even if they could not attack here, they would certainly snatch the treasures once they got outside.
But once these old fellows stepped forward,
the way everyone looked at Shi Xiu changed at once.
News of the Heavenly Dao Treasure Body had not spread widely among the human race.
That was mainly because those Great Emperors had suppressed it.
They had also laid down rules for competing over it.
But among ferocious beasts, this story had long been known to old and young alike.
One old Flood Dragon had even begun using a secret art to summon Dragon Girl, who had entered with him.
For the old fellow knew
that if he could make one of his descendants the Dao companion of this human,
their Flood Dragon lineage would definitely be able to evolve into Five-Clawed Golden Dragons in the future!
This was an opportunity bestowed by heaven.
The Heavenly Dao Treasure Body was far more precious than these ordinary spirit treasures.
"Tch, old dragon, your great-granddaughter still has a pair of horns on her head. You think that young fellow would fancy her?"
The speaker was a Nine-Tailed Fox.
This fellow had originally cultivated for a thousand years.
He could be considered an ancestor-level figure.
But for this opportunity, he had forcibly reduced his cultivation to three hundred years.
"Old fox, what are you getting at?"
"When it comes to beauties, who has our Heavenly Fox Clan ever feared? If my granddaughter came over, hehe, this young fellow would..."
"Are you looking to die, fox?"
Just as the two old fellows were about to come to blows,
a creature resembling a pangolin hurried over to mediate.
"Old dragon, don't be rash! The Heavenly Fox Clan has the Heaven Severing Sect backing them!"
"What? The Heaven Severing Sect? The one always opposing the Heaven Mending Sect?"
"Exactly!"
Shi Xiu probably never would have dreamed
that while he was putting these magical treasures away one by one,
a large crowd of ferocious beasts nearby was watching him with peculiar looks in their eyes.
Those looks held neither hatred nor greed, much less envy.
Instead, they held appreciation.
The sort of appreciation a mother-in-law had for her son-in-law, finding him more pleasing the longer she looked!
These pureblood ferocious beasts were not to be underestimated.
Some of the families behind them even had Heavenly Gods!
Those were mighty figures from the Upper Realm's three thousand Dao provinces.
In truth, the rules Ruthless Great Emperor and the others had established last time
could not restrain every faction.
The Primordial Ferocious Beasts, for instance, could not care less about the agreements humans made.
And sure enough,
thanks to the old Heavenly Fox's report, the Heavenly Fox Saintess of the Heaven Severing Sect received the news.
Although this woman could not come directly to the Hundred Broken Mountains,
she manifested a Spirit Avatar.
By lowering its cultivation, she brought it into this small world as well.
As the Heaven Severing Sect's Heavenly Fox Successor,
that woman had no interest in the meager opportunities within the Hundred Broken Mountains.
Originally, she had merely taken the form of an innocent, carefree Demoness and wandered around this world.
But once she received definite news of Shi Xiu, the Demoness could no longer sit still.
"You little rascal, big sister is coming!"
Originally, the Demoness had not intended to meet Shi Xiu so soon.
But according to the information she received through the Heaven Severing Sect,
Shi Xiu already had quite a few rivals gathered around him.
There was the Fire Kingdom Princess's marriage agreement, the token from the Saintess of Immortal Mountain, and the attention of Yue Chan from the Heaven Mending Sect.
If she did not act now, the Demoness had no idea how far back in line she would end up.
In any case, as long as she did not violate the Hundred Broken Mountains' rules,
the Demoness's strength stood at the very ceiling of this small world.
Of course!
Shi Xiu had absolutely no inkling that an entirely new destiny was about to unfold before him.
He did not even glance at the strange looks those ferocious beasts were giving him from afar.
He had his own matters to handle.
For instance, the Nine-Headed Lion and his followers.
At that moment, they were gazing pitifully at the living treasure-gathering basin before them.
Their big brother was simply too heaven-defying.
Wherever he went,
all the spirit treasures there flew out and lined up for him to collect.
That meant any people or ferocious beasts who came with him would basically harvest not a single grain!
"Big brother, could you leave a few spirit treasures for us brothers? Look..."
Shi Xiu glanced at the Nine-Headed Lion's pitiful expression.
He looked just like a forlorn little tabby cat.
So Shi Xiu reined in his aura as much as possible.
Then he waved a hand at the spirit treasures before him.
The treasures, which had been in that strange state, slowly calmed down.
Then each went off to find a new master.
The treasure-gathering basin could gather or release at any time.
The choice lay with Shi Xiu.
Besides, he had already spent quite some time here since entering.
Weird Grandpa's voice was urging him on again from deep within his mind.
"My sword lies at the Treasure-Splitting Cliff!"
How interesting!
Just what great divine abilities did this old man possess?
He could actually direct things from so far away.
It seemed the strength of this former Pavilion Master of the Heaven Mending Pavilion was certainly not to be underestimated.
He had originally been the next successor to the Heaven Mending Sect, but unfortunately, he had been too attached to the mortal world.
A Heavenly Prodigy of the human race had thus fallen for no clear reason.
Even his treasured sword had been lost here.
If Shi Xiu, the one destined to meet him, had not appeared, who knew how much longer the old gentleman would have had to wait?
Everything seemed to have its allotted fate.
"Huff!"
But just as Shi Xiu temporarily bade farewell to the Nine-Headed Lion and headed alone toward the Treasure-Splitting Cliff,
he heard a familiar panting sound behind him.
It was the Little White Tiger who had fled earlier. Seeing that it was safe now, he had emerged again.
He was actually taking the same path as Shi Xiu.
"Hehe, you're a sly little fellow, too. When we get outside, let's make sure we meet!"
As he spoke,
a certain someone's eyes remained fixed on the Little Tiger's two paws.
They were fluffy and rather cute.
But they should taste pretty good, too!
After sensing his gaze,
the Little White Tiger was so frightened that he ducked straight behind a small rock nearby.
Low growls kept spilling from his mouth.
"Y-you'd better not try anything! Fighting isn't allowed in here, or you'll..."
As he spoke,
something resembling a phoenix shot straight into the sky.
It, too, seemed to be the manifestation of a magical treasure.
It was a Fire Phoenix!
This magical treasure brimmed with fire energy.
It seemed to have spotted Shi Xiu, the possessor of the Heavenly Dao Treasure Body, as well.
It wanted to fly over and cozy up to him.
But just as it was halfway there,
spirals of golden energy suddenly appeared in the sky, one after another.
They actually swept away the magical treasure shaped like a Fire Phoenix.
What was that?
It looked like a little pagoda gleaming with golden light!
Wait, I think I've seen that thing in the animation!
Wasn't that the one the Desolate Heaven Emperor wore on his head...
At the sight, Shi Xiu immediately charged forward!
That Little Pagoda was a fine treasure.
And yet this fellow had not taken the initiative to acknowledge Shi Xiu as its master.
What did that mean?
It meant it could think independently!
Before you continue