Tempering

It sounded like air leaking from a balloon.

The Demon Ape, whose aura had been surging as he prepared to unleash a devastating blow, suddenly stiffened.

The terrifying ball of red light gathered at his chest burst like a punctured abscess, instantly falling into chaos and exploding.

Backlash!

"Pfft-"

The Demon Ape threw back his head and spat out a mouthful of black blood. The clinging gravity field instantly dissipated.

"Beautifully done!"

Shi Hou felt the pressure ease, and the savage gleam in his eyes intensified.

Without the slightest hesitation, the black pot in his hands swept through the air, leaving a dark afterimage.

He turned its mouth toward the Demon Ape's blood-spurting chest.

"Absorb!"

A terrifying suction erupted from the mouth of the pot.

It was aimed at that still violently beating-heart!

"Squelch!"

Shi Hou made a blade of his right hand, pressing his five fingers together. A layer of dark radiance covered them as he plunged them straight into the wound in the Demon Ape's chest.

An immense force of 1.2 million jin erupted, forcibly tearing apart his tough muscle fibers.

Rip out the heart!

Shi Hou tore out a heart the size of a washbasin, still beating powerfully.

Blood splashed all over him, making his dark face look even more ferocious.

"Heart's blood, secured."

With a flick of his wrist, Shi Hou tossed the heart straight into the black pot on his back.

"Boom."

Deprived of his heart, the Demon Ape's enormous body finally crashed to the ground, sending dust billowing into the sky.

His single eye remained wide open even in death, unable to close in peace.

A mighty overlord had survived Suanni's lightning, only to die at the hands of chili powder and a black pot.

The valley instantly fell silent.

Only ragged panting remained.

Shi Hao plopped onto the ground, his little face deathly pale as he gulped for breath. That last strike had exhausted all the lightning power he had only just accumulated within his body.

"Oink..."

Behind a distant rock, Kang poked out his pig head. Only after confirming that the terrifying monster was truly dead did he trot over.

He circled the Demon Ape's corpse twice, seemingly wanting to take a bite, but the pungent, outrageously spicy smell made him sneeze three times in a row.

"Don't rush to eat."

With a sweep of his large hand, Shi Hou stored the Demon Ape's entire corpse in the black pot's space as well. Although they only needed the heart's blood as a medicinal catalyst, none of this precious meat could go to waste. This was a Primordial Remnant; taking it back to the village would be enough to give everyone another boost.

"That's only half."

Shi Hou looked southeast.

Another big fellow was waiting there.

"The Li Fire Bull Demon."

Shi Hao climbed off the ground and patted the dirt from his backside. The exhaustion in his eyes vanished, replaced by an even more excited gleam.

"I heard bull demon meat is chewier, especially the tendons in its hooves."

"That bull will be harder to handle than this ape."

Shi Hou pulled two strips of dried meat from his robe, tossed one to Shi Hao, and stuffed the other into his own mouth. "That fellow has thick hide and tough flesh, and he's an expert at playing with fire," he said indistinctly. "Our chili powder might not work."

"Might not work?"

Chewing his dried meat, Shi Hao blinked his big eyes, then suddenly pulled a stone jar from his robe.

The moment the jar appeared, the temperature around them seemed to drop several degrees.

Shi Hou stared. "What's that?"

"I found it last time in that Sacrificial Spirit's lair in Bei Village."

Shi Hao chuckled, smiling like a little fox. "That Old Vulture was a nasty piece of work. This is the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Pool Water he collected. I tasted a mouthful, and my tongue stayed numb for ages."

Shi Hou looked at the jar trailing white vapor, then at Shi Hao's innocent face.

Was this kid planning to treat that fire-wielding bull demon to a double serving of ice and fire?

"You little rascal..."

Shi Hou couldn't help giving him a thumbs-up. "If anyone calls you a supreme being in the future, I'll be the first to object. You're clearly a born sneaky bastard."

"What's a sneaky bastard? Is that really powerful?"

"Powerful. Even more powerful than a supreme being."

Shi Hou hoisted Kang onto his shoulder, then he and Shi Hao leaped onto the Green-Scaled Eagle as he spiraled down from high above.

"Let's go! Next stop!"

"Remember to save that bull's gallstone for me first. It clears internal heat!"

"Got it. It's all yours!"

The wind howled.

One human, one eagle, and one pig sped toward the other end of the Great Wilderness.

Meanwhile, deep within the scorched Deadwood Forest, a crimson demon bull with one broken horn was irritably snorting sparks, completely unaware that the two most unscrupulous "cooks" in the Great Wilderness were coming for him with a menu in hand.

Heat rolled through the Deadwood Forest.

The ground beneath their feet had cracked into a spiderweb, with occasional bursts of pungent sulfurous smoke rising from the fissures.

"At this temperature, we could grill on an iron plate without even lighting a fire."

Shi Hou crouched behind a scorching rock and touched the ground, feeling a burning sensation in his fingertips.

"Over there."

Shi Hao lay beside him, his little finger pointing toward a scorched mound a hundred meters ahead.

An enormous bull lay there.

His whole body was crimson, his skin like rock formed from cooled magma, covered in dark red cracks.

One of his horns was broken, and golden-red magma blood still dripped from the stump, sizzling as it struck the ground.

The Li Fire Bull Demon was in even worse shape than the Demon Ape. Half his body had been charred by Suanni's lightning, and he was giving off an appetizing aroma of roasted meat.

"Is he sleeping?" Shi Hao slurped back his drool.

"He's gathering fire."

Shi Hou narrowed his eyes.

The bull demon was rhythmically drawing in and releasing the surrounding fire essence. With every breath, the air around his body warped a little more.

He was using the underground fire to heal his wounds.

"Same as always."

Shi Hou tightened the black pot on his back and gave Shi Hao a meaningful look. "I'll stoke the fire from the front. You'll help him 'cool off.'"

Cradling the stone jar that streamed cold vapor, Shi Hao nodded obediently, his big eyes brimming with excitement. "Got it. Expansion with heat, contraction with cold. You taught me that, Skinny Monkey."

"Go!"

There was no more pointless talk.

Shi Hou pushed off with both feet.

"Boom!"

The rock shattered.

Like a black cannonball, carrying a black pot larger than himself, he charged straight toward that crimson mountain of flesh with unstoppable momentum.

No sneaking. No probing.

Just a headlong charge!

"Dinner time!!"

His roar exploded through the silent Deadwood Forest.

The Li Fire Bull Demon, still healing his wounds, snapped his eyes open.

His enormous bull eyes were filled with red veins and savage killing intent.

He recognized this human!

On Suanni's battlefield, this pot-carrying ant had taken advantage of the chaos in the thunder sea to steal his most precious True Horn!

"Roar-!!!"

Enemies meeting face-to-face saw nothing but red.

The Li Fire Bull Demon let out an earth-shaking roar. Without even needing to rise and gather strength, he kicked with all four hooves, his enormous body becoming a crimson streak of fire as he charged straight at Shi Hou.

His red coat instantly erupted into blazing flames, turning him into a true fire bull!

Both were moving at extreme speed.

In the blink of an eye, they collided.

"Clang-!!!"

The deafening crash was even more terrifying than the earlier thunder.

Sound waves swept outward, instantly pulverizing every dead tree within dozens of meters.

Shi Hou held his lunging stance, bracing the pot, his feet plowing deep into the ground as he slid backward twenty meters.

The bottom of the black pot had been heated red-hot and hissed furiously.

The Li Fire Bull Demon was also driven several steps backward by the recoil. Two thick pillars of flame shot from his nostrils, and a flash of shock passed through his eyes.

How could this human... be so strong?!

Strength born of 1.2 million jin of blood and vitality was no joke.

"What strength!"

Shi Hou shook his numb arms and grinned at the glowing red bottom of the pot.

"Now that's some proper heat!"

"Again!"

Rather than retreating, Shi Hou advanced, swinging the reddened black pot as he launched another charge.

The Li Fire Bull Demon was utterly enraged.

He was an overlord of the Great Wilderness, an ancestor in the art of playing with fire. When had a mere "ingredient" ever dared provoke him like this?

"Moo!!"

The bull demon raised his head and bellowed, a jet of golden flame erupting from his broken horn.

The surrounding temperature abruptly soared.

The earth began to melt, turning into a magma swamp.

He would use the ultimate heat to melt this human who courted death, along with his battered pot, into molten iron!

Flames towered into the sky, completely engulfing Shi Hou.