Having obtained the Grass Character Sword Art,
Shi Xiu's combat strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.
He could hardly wait to test it.
As long as he did not encounter a supreme-level expert,
he could fully control the force of his sword strikes.
The vicious beasts around the Great Wilderness were simply far too easy for him to kill.
But his little shadow, Shi Hao, soon discovered this secret.
The little brat had an enormous appetite.
From then on, he treated Shi Xiu as his meal ticket.
"Big Brother, I heard there's a leopard at the foot of West Mountain. It's really, really long!"
Who knew where that rascal Shi Hao had heard about it?
Apparently, though, even the village hunting party had failed to deal with that leopard.
It had even injured two of them.
That beast would be perfect for testing his sword!
"All right, we brothers will go slaughter it today!"
"Yay! I've already brought the pot!"
That little rascal ate wherever he went!
Still, following Shi Xiu around had also helped Shi Hao's cultivation advance by leaps and bounds.
His strength had already reached 89,000 jin.
He would soon reach perfection in the Blood Moving Realm.
If not for Shi Xiu's sudden rise,
this boy would have been the one the Willow Deity favored most.
But judging by the little brat's demeanor,
he did not seem to care about such things.
Having a free laborer tagging along was not bad, either.
Shi Xiu usually made the boy carry their prey. He could not let him eat for nothing.
"Golden Peng, come!"
He waved toward the sky.
A streak of golden light shot down from the clouds.
It was the Golden Peng the Ruthless Great Emperor had left him.
This mount really was dazzling.
Seeing the great bird descend,
Shi Hao muttered quietly beside him.
"Big Brother, when are we going to eat your Golden Peng, too?"
Smack!
"Ow!"
That had been the Golden Peng's wing.
It sent the little brat flying more than ten meters.
The Ruthless Great Emperor had personally enlightened the bird.
The Golden Peng understood people perfectly well!
"You little brat, keep talking nonsense, and I'll have the Golden Peng eat you first!"
Shi Xiu jumped onto the bird's back in exasperation.
He pointed toward West Mountain.
The Golden Peng beneath him immediately understood.
After circling at the village entrance, the bird seized the little brat in one claw and carried both of them away on the wind!
Soon, the golden roc delivered them to their destination.
Sure enough, they spotted the giant leopard covered in yellow fur at a glance!
Perhaps sensing the threat overhead,
the beast actually bared its fangs and growled at the Golden Peng in the sky.
Shi Hao, dangling from the bird's claw, laughed gleefully.
"Big Brother Shi Xiu, kill this thing and absorb it with your Taotie Art! You'll definitely reach perfection in the Blood Moving Realm!"
As though it understood the boy's provocation,
the leopard immediately roared.
"Raaah! Awooo!"
Shi Xiu paid it no mind.
He casually raised his right hand.
He extended his index and ring fingers, holding a blade of grass between them.
Silently reciting the formula, he formed the sword intent.
[Grass Character Sword Art, slash!]
In an instant, a streak of azure light split the sky and struck the giant leopard!
Slash!
The light moved far too fast.
Before anyone could see what had happened, the enormous leopard's head crashed to the ground.
Its body still remained standing.
At the sight,
Shi Hao's mouth fell open in an O.
This hardly seemed like the Shi Xiu he remembered.
"Golden Peng, put the boy down so he can skin it and strip the bones!"
The next moment,
the little brat was dropped like a bomb.
He still had a large pot clutched in his arms.
You little rascal, you are useful after all!
About an hour later, a rich aroma of meat wafted through the grass.
The giant leopard's blood and vital energy had already been absorbed by the Taotie Art.
Once that was done, Shi Xiu remained seated in meditation, circulating his cultivation.
Thanks to Shi Hao's appetite,
by the time Shi Xiu rose, his full strength had indeed reached 100,000 jin.
This was perfection in the Blood Moving Realm.
Shi Hao, too, seemed only a tiny step away from joining him.
The boy came from a great clan.
His aptitude certainly could not be poor.
And now Shi Hao was like a little shadow, following Shi Xiu every moment of the day.
In the village, the two were just like real brothers.
But just as they were enjoying their delicious meal,
a sudden commotion like a volcanic eruption came from nearby.
It sounded as though the entire mountain range had collapsed.
Before the brothers could react,
an enormous dark cloud suddenly drifted across the sky.
No, it was a bird as huge as a dark cloud!
It was the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow.
One of the Great Wilderness's four fierce beasts.
As the vicious bird flew past,
the feathers on the Golden Peng's neck nearly stood on end.
It was a sign of alarm.
Yet the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow clearly had not come for the Golden Peng.
The sparrow merely cast a sidelong glance at them.
Then, from midair, the bird actually spoke in human language.
"Where did this peng bird come from? I advise you not to get in my way!"
Clearly, the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow had a more important treasure to seize.
"Yaa! Wooo!"
Meanwhile, in the direction opposite the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow,
a fiery-red figure seemed to be rapidly approaching.
Was that the Vermilion Bird?
The Fire Clan's Sacrificial Spirit?
Didn't that bird live on the other side of the Great Wilderness?
Why had the Vermilion Bird come here today, too?
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Besides those two flying through the sky,
the ground was even livelier.
In the distance, sand swirled and stones flew.
It seemed every vicious beast nearby had gathered.
Among them, a large monkey covered in golden fur moved the fastest.
Like a bolt of golden lightning, the monkey darted ceaselessly through the mountains.
That had to be Zhu Yan!
At the sight before him,
Shi Xiu suddenly recalled the system notification from a few days earlier.
It had said something about the Mountain Treasure emerging early!
Could all these vicious beasts coming from every direction be after that treasure?
Seeing this scene,
Shi Xiu could not help sneering.
It seemed that his earlier check-in reward, the Grass Character Sword Art,
had triggered this great upheaval!
Under normal circumstances,
the Mountain Treasure should have been nurturing two peerless treasures.
Now, however, Shi Xiu had already obtained one of them.
That meant the Mountain Treasure's energy had matured faster as well.
But as for how much treasure remained...
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Besides these birds and beasts,
sword radiance also seemed to flash in the distance.
It looked as though some major cultivation sects had arrived, too.
That was only natural.
After all, the Mountain Treasure's early emergence was certainly an event that would shake the world.
"Golden Peng, head back to the village first. Little One and I will go take a look at the excitement!"
Shi Xiu had originally planned to ride the Golden Peng there.
But when he recalled the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's predatory gaze,
he decided against it.
Had it not been for the Mountain Treasure,
that vicious bird would probably have already attacked.
The ancient divine blood within the Golden Peng was a potent tonic.
Moreover, the Ruthless Great Emperor had personally enlightened the bird, so vicious beasts like that would certainly covet the Golden Peng.
Though somewhat reluctant to part,
the Golden Peng still obeyed his master's command.
After nodding to the two of them,
he spread his wings and soared away.
In truth, the golden roc had been scared nearly to death just now.
The Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's gaze had truly promised nothing good!
But Shi Xiu was no pushover, either.
If that vicious bird dared charge at him,
he would give the sparrow a taste of the Grass Character Sword Art unleashed at full force.
Even with only a tenth of its power, he was already invincible in the Great Wilderness.
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