Shi Hou raised his arm.
His dark skin gleamed with a cold, hard matte sheen in the sunlight, without a single visible marking.
He rubbed it with his fingertips.
The surface felt rough, like a piece of polished pig iron.
The willow branch hung motionless in the air.
"Your flesh is rejecting the essence of heaven and earth, yet forcibly locking the rune fragments you consumed inside your skin."
The Willow Deity's voice was soft, but everyone present heard it clearly.
"Ordinary cultivators draw energy into their bodies and inscribe bone text. You are... imprisoning runes in your flesh."
Shi Hou lowered his hand.
He looked toward Shi Linhu, who was cleaning the Ancestral Artifact nearby.
Shi Linhu held the white wolf bone they had seized from Bei Feng. A faint red glow flickered across its surface.
"Uncle Linhu."
Shi Hou called out.
Shi Linhu looked up, tucked the wolf bone into his belt, and walked over.
"What is it?"
"Hit me."
Shi Hou pointed at his chest.
Shi Linhu froze, stopped walking, and looked Shi Hou up and down.
"Skinny Monkey, are you all right? Did that Old Vulture's poison fry your brains?"
"Give it a try."
Shi Hou spread his feet into a horse stance and patted his chest, producing dull thumps.
"Use that bone. Hit hard."
Shi Linhu frowned and looked toward the old chief, Shi Yunfeng.
Shi Yunfeng gripped his cane, studied Shi Hou for a moment, and nodded slightly.
"Be careful. Don't hurt the boy."
Shi Linhu nodded and drew the wolf bone from his belt.
He took a deep breath. His arm muscles bulged as radiant light surged from his palm into the wolf bone.
Hum.
The wolf bone trembled, and the savage phantom of the Old Vulture appeared again. Though less solid than when Bei Feng had summoned it, it still carried a chilling murderous aura.
"Here I come!"
Shi Linhu shouted and swung the wolf bone.
A blood-red streak of light shot forth, hurtling straight toward Shi Hou's chest.
The surrounding villagers instinctively held their breath.
Shi Hou did not move.
He did not even stir the blood and energy within his body.
He simply stood straight, allowing that bloody light, powerful enough to split rock, to strike him.
Pfft.
A soft sound.
There was no explosion, no surging shock wave.
The instant the blood-red light touched Shi Hou's skin, it vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
The black skin over Shi Hou's chest brightened slightly, flashing with an exceedingly obscure, dark gleam.
The bloody light disappeared.
It did not leave so much as a pale mark.
Shi Linhu remained frozen in his striking pose, his mouth slightly open. The wolf bone nearly slipped from his hand.
"This..."
Shi Linhu rubbed his eyes, walked forward, and reached out to feel Shi Hou's chest.
Warm and hard.
"You didn't feel anything?"
Shi Hou shook his head.
"Tickled a little."
He looked down at his hands and clenched his fingers tight.
The air cracked in his palm.
He had shrugged off the Old Vulture's poisonous mist earlier for more than just having thick skin.
This layer of skin acted as insulation.
Runes or Treasure Art—anything that struck his body would have its power forcibly diminished by this bizarre black skin, or even devoured outright.
A mage's bane.
Shi Hou grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
This path is wild.
"Put everything away."
Shi Yunfeng broke the silence.
The old chief walked over to the mountain of spoils.
The Suanni's corpse had shrunk, but it was still enormous.
Beside it lay a severed arm from the Demon Ape and a broken horn from the Li Fire Bull Demon.
There were also dozens of bundles seized from the various factions.
"The Suanni's primordial treasure bone and that bull horn go into the ancestral hall."
Shi Yunfeng pointed with his cane. "These are the key to comprehending Treasure Art. The village children and the Hunting Team must take turns studying them."
"As for this flesh..."
Shi Yunfeng looked at Shi Hou, then at the enormous black pot on his back.
"Skinny Monkey, you'll look after it."
"These bodies are Great Medicine. Only in your pot can their medicinal properties be brought out to the fullest."
Shi Hou walked over.
With one hand, he grabbed the Demon Ape's arm, which weighed several thousand jin, and casually tossed it behind him.
The black pot opened its mouth and swallowed it in an instant.
"Don't worry, Chief."
Shi Hou patted the pot's side. "One meal a day from now on. I guarantee everyone will eat these ancient remnants until they're sick of them."
The villagers burst into good-natured laughter.
Just then.
A scorching wave of air suddenly erupted from behind the crowd.
"So hot!"
The childish voice carried a restless agitation that could not be suppressed.
Everyone turned.
Shi Hao was climbing up from the ground.
His whole body was crimson, as though lava flowed beneath his skin. Visible white smoke rose from the top of his head.
The energy of that sacrificial spirit dao fruit was far too overbearing.
Even as a born supreme being, he had taken in more nourishment than he could handle.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.
The weeds beneath Shi Hao's feet instantly withered and yellowed, scorched to death by the heat.
He opened his eyes.
Two intricate runes seemed to spin within his pupils.
"Skinny Monkey!"
Shi Hao shouted, sweeping his gaze across the crowd before locking onto the darkest, toughest figure among them.
"I feel awful! I need to fight!"
Before his words had faded.
Thud!
Two small craters burst open in the ground.
Shi Hao vanished from where he stood.
Fast.
Twice as fast as when he had fought the Old Vulture.
An afterimage swept forward with the roar of wind and thunder, reaching Shi Hou in an instant.
"Don't go crazy!"
Shi Hou's eyelid twitched, and he instinctively crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Bam!
A small, chubby fist slammed into Shi Hou's forearm.
A ring-shaped shock wave exploded outward.
The villagers watching nearby were blown several steps back.
Shi Hou's feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground. He slid back three meters before coming to a stop.
He lowered his arms.
The black skin where the blow had landed was faintly red and a little numb.
"Your strength's gone up."
Shi Hou shook out his arms, looking at the Little One standing opposite him, smoke rising all over his body.
Shi Hao said nothing.
The energy inside him was running wild. He had to release it.
Hum.
Two azure full moons appeared in his palms.
This was no ordinary Green-Scaled Eagle Treasure Technique.
Golden arcs of lightning coiled around the moons' edges-the beginnings of the Suanni Precious Technique, which he had unconsciously fused into them.
"Slash!"
Shi Hao swept his hands forward.
The azure-gold moons hurtled out, slicing through the air with piercing shrieks.
"You're serious?"
Shi Hou frowned.
Instead of retreating, he advanced.
Facing a Treasure Art capable of cutting through metal and stone, he used no fancy moves.
It was the simplest possible charge.
Close in.
The Treasure Art reached him.
Shi Hou thrust out his right hand, his fingers hooked like claws, and grabbed straight at the rapidly spinning moon.
Clang!
The clash of metal rang through the village entrance.
Sparks flew everywhere.
That unstoppable moon was caught firmly in his black hand.
Its sharp edge scraped against his palm with a teeth-grating sound, yet could not cut through his black skin.
"Shatter!"
Shi Hou tightened his fingers.
Crack.
The moon shattered into a skyful of scattered light.
Shi Hao's eyes lit up.
Rather than alarmed, he was delighted, his little face brimming with fighting spirit.
"Again!"
The little fellow pushed off with both feet and leaped into the air.
This time, he used no Treasure Art.
He poured all his essence, energy, and spirit into every limb and bone.
Pure physical combat.
The two figures, one large and one small, collided.
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
The dull thuds of fists striking flesh came as thick and fast as a torrential downpour.
Shi Hao moved nimbly, like a little golden monkey, darting up and down around Shi Hou.
Every punch carried the force of ten thousand jun.
Shi Hou, meanwhile, was like a boulder rooted in the earth.
He barely moved, but whenever he threw a punch, Shi Hao was forced to change his move and dodge.
"Hah!"
Shi Hao seized his chance, his lower leg lashing like a whip toward Shi Hou's neck.
Shi Hou raised his left shoulder to take the blow head-on.
Thud.
Shi Hou's body swayed.
Shi Hao used the impact to spring back, landing on a massive boulder.
The boulder could not withstand the recoil and shattered into rubble with a crash.
"That feels good!"
Shi Hao shouted. The red glow around him faded a little, but the runes in his eyes shone even brighter.
He pressed his palms together.
The faint phantom of a Suanni appeared behind him.
Though indistinct, its ferocious might as a primordial remnant was unmistakably real.
"Skinny Monkey, take this!"
Shi Hao roared.
The Green-Scaled Eagle phantom threw back its head and roared at the sky, transforming into a golden torrent of lightning that engulfed Shi Hao's entire body.
He moved with the lightning.
This was a killing blow.
Shi Hou watched the golden light charging toward him, his expression turning serious.
He relaxed his taut muscles.
He drew a deep breath.
Then he reached behind his back.
"Want to go big?"
Shi Hou took down the black pot he had been carrying on his back all this time.
He held the pot in one hand.
Not to defend.
He swung his arm in a full arc, wielding the Stone Pot, which weighed several thousand jin, like a flyswatter.
Straight into that golden lightning.
He swatted.
"Off you go!"
BOOM-!!!
Before you continue