[Detected that the Host has earned Heavenly Dao merit points +5000. The system grants an additional reward of Heavenly Dao merit points +2000. The Host has gained one opportunity to shape a merit golden body and may select the body part personally or allow the system to select at random. Notice: due to the Host's low merit points, only an item two feet long can be created. Please choose carefully...]
The system notifications kept ringing out, echoing through Di Xin's mind.
"Boxer shorts!"
Di Xin chose without the slightest hesitation, without even blinking.
Who was he kidding? What could possibly matter more than his little brother?!
Even if Heartfire Blaze's demonic din had temporarily robbed his little brother of its power, he could shortchange anyone else, but never it!
Hum...
As soon as Di Xin made his choice, he felt streams of Heavenly Dao merit surge beneath his dantian. Then, amid his flesh and blood, they slowly assembled into a thin pair of... boxer shorts... the kind that let the breeze chill his backside and protected only the front...
"They might be a little ugly, but whatever the case, my little brother is much safer now! And my soul seems to have changed, too."
Di Xin glanced down in satisfaction. Though speechless, he felt rather pleased with himself. He also sensed that his soul seemed to have undergone a sublimation, becoming light and ethereal. It also seemed restless, constantly stirring as though about to fly out of his body.
Without a doubt, this was a sign that his soul had been nourished by Heavenly Dao merit and, after his cultivation broke through to the third level of the Essence Refining into Qi Realm, his primordial spirit was nearing completion as he approached the Qi Refining into Spirit Realm!
Once his primordial spirit leaped out through his seven orifices, it would mean he had successfully entered the Qi Refining into Spirit Realm!
[Detected that the Host's cultivation has risen to the third level of the Essence Refining into Qi Realm. Negative emotion points required for the Host to reach the first level of the Qi Refining into Spirit Realm: +50000. Current accumulated total: +15527...]
When Di Xin glanced at the system's backend, his heart, still warm from receiving Heavenly Dao merit, instantly turned chilly, as though someone had dumped a basin of cold water over his head.
Fuck! Compared to the negative emotion points needed for his previous breakthrough, this was practically a flying leap!
Where was he supposed to get the remaining thirty-five thousand negative emotion points?! Even if he grabbed Bi Gan and plucked him mercilessly until his skin came off, he couldn't squeeze out that much, could he?!
"Moo... moo... moo..."
Just then, the Five-Colored Divine Ox raced up to him, dragging the Curved-Blade Plow. The ox gave him a wild yet affectionate series of nudges with its huge head, then even stuck out its warm, broad tongue and licked his hand, its eyes brimming with undisguised delight and eagerness to please.
Clearly, receiving Heavenly Dao merit had brought the Five-Colored Divine Ox tremendous benefits, leaving the ox unable to contain its emotions.
[Negative emotion points from Huang Feihu: +999...]
Almost at that same instant, Di Xin caught a large figure flashing across the system's backend. He glanced at Huang Feihu and immediately saw that this renowned King of Wucheng was staring at him with bloodshot eyes. That gaze held anger, hatred, and, above all, undisguised envy.
Could this Five-Colored Divine Ox have never licked Huang Feihu before?
Was Feihu full of affection, while the colored ox remained unmoved?!
"Good ox, good ox..." Seeing this, Di Xin rolled his eyes thoughtfully, scratched the Five-Colored Divine Ox's head, then looked at Huang Feihu with a beaming smile. "King of Wucheng, who would have thought your ox's tongue would feel so silky? And after a lick, my skin even looks a little translucent. What a divine ox, what a divine ox..."
[Negative emotion points from Huang Feihu: +2999. Accumulated total: +19525...]
The instant those words fell, a fresh figure streaked across the system's backend, even setting a new record for Di Xin's largest single gain since obtaining the system.
"Hiss..."
Di Xin's eyes shone with excitement. At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for Huang Feihu. The man had painstakingly raised this ox for so long, yet had never even gotten a lick. How much of a failure did he have to be?!
The future mortal world had dog simps, and the Primordial World's Investiture of the Gods had ox simps. The way of simping had an unbroken lineage!
"Good ox! Keep plowing!"
Seeing Huang Feihu's eyes turn dull and lifeless as he stood frozen like a wooden chicken, his heart seemingly reduced to cold ashes without a ripple, Di Xin patted the Five-Colored Divine Ox's rump and spoke with a chuckle.
"Moo..."
The Five-Colored Divine Ox gave Di Xin a bashful moo, then dragged the Curved-Blade Plow back into the fields, racing swiftly to and fro.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but as the Five-Colored Divine Ox cast that glance, Di Xin saw two faint lights flicker in Huang Feihu's ash-dead eyes. Unfortunately, they lasted only an instant before going out.
The Five-Colored Divine Ox was obedient and good-natured, keeping its head down and working hard. After receiving the blessing of Heavenly Dao merit, the ox could ride clouds and race through the air, and it dragged the Curved-Blade Plow so quickly that it was practically flying.
Whenever Di Xin cheered for the ox, it raised its head and mooed loudly, working with fiery enthusiasm, its little tail swishing back and forth and sweat pouring over its body.
Huang Feihu's eyes grew dimmer and dimmer, his face grayer and grayer, as though someone had extinguished the flame of his life with a basin of foot-washing water.
Meanwhile, somewhere remote and unknowable in the Central Divine Continent, amid swirling clouds blazing like fire, two elderly men and a middle-aged man stood before a pool at the entrance to a village that resembled a hidden paradise beyond the world.
Yet what appeared within the pool was not water, but the scene of Di Xin cheering on the Five-Colored Divine Ox, soil flying everywhere as fertile fields began to take shape.
"What do you two fellow Daoists think?!"
Watching this scene, the middle-aged man in yellow robes cupped his hands toward the two elders, one in red robes and the other in blue-green, and asked.
The middle-aged man's voice was calm and warm, yet behind that warmth lay a weighty authority, as though his mouth held the laws of Heaven.
These three were none other than the Three Sovereigns of Fire Cloud Cave: Shennong, Fuxi, and Human Emperor Xuanyuan!
The yellow-robed middle-aged man, whose friendly tone nevertheless carried the authority of Heaven's laws, was Human Emperor Xuanyuan himself!
At his words, Shennong and Fuxi exchanged a glance, then looked again at Di Xin in the pool. After a brief silence, Shennong waved his hand, scattering the image, and shook his head. "Let's watch a little longer... a little longer..."
Human Emperor Xuanyuan's brows immediately furrowed slightly. He stepped forward as though wanting to say something, but in the end, he merely sighed softly and said nothing more.
"Moo... moo... moo..."
Meanwhile, the Five-Colored Divine Ox finished reclaiming all two thousand mu of wasteland in one sustained effort. After waiting a while and seeing no Heavenly Dao merit descend, the ox ran to Di Xin's side with its tail swaying, its large eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation.
"There's none this time. I'll come find you again next time."
Looking at the Five-Colored Divine Ox, whose entire body was now covered in glistening beads of sweat, Di Xin couldn't help feeling touched. He patted the ox's head and spoke gently.
Feihu was a bad tiger, but this ox was a good ox!
No wonder Feihu could simp a hundred times without moving the divine ox's heart.
"Moo, moo, moo..." Though somewhat disappointed, the Five-Colored Divine Ox didn't dwell on it. The ox licked Di Xin's fingers, glanced at Huang Feihu, then flicked its little tail and slipped behind Di Xin instead of returning to Huang Feihu.
Clearly, the ox had become addicted to Heavenly Dao merit and wanted to follow Di Xin to see whether it could mooch a few more merit points, emulating that elder of its kind who followed Laozi.
[Negative emotion points from Huang Feihu: +2999...]
"Five-Colored, you..."
At this sight, Huang Feihu's already dim eyes grew even dimmer, as though turning to dead ashes. He murmured, his voice a plaintive lament.
"Moo, moo, moo..."
The Five-Colored Divine Ox tilted its head and mooed three times at Huang Feihu, its bewildered gaze seeming to ask:
Who are you? Who are you calling? What do you want?
[Negative emotion points from Huang Feihu: +3999. Accumulated total: +22525...]
"Pfft..."
Hearing this, Huang Feihu felt as though someone had swung a massive hammer straight into his chest. As he once again broke Di Xin's record for the largest single gain of negative emotion points, his face turned paper-white, drained of every trace of blood. His body toppled backward, and blood sprayed from his mouth!
An ox he'd raised for so many years had been poached away, just like that?!
It seemed that not only dog simps but ox simps, too, met miserable ends. Simp to the bitter end, and you were left with nothing!
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