"That will do for tonight. We'll discuss the rest tomorrow at noon. Dismissed! Everyone leave through the side door."
After entering the great hall, Tao Ye spoke to the other elders.
The other elders had no desire to linger either. They immediately left the ancient hall through the side door at the back.
After all, none of them wanted to be entangled with Heaven Mending Pavilion's most uncanny source of ill fortune.
In the end, only the four senior elders remained in the hall, along with the two most outstanding elders of the younger generation, Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun.
While the dozen or so elders of their cohort were still in the Spirit Transformation Realm, those two had already reached the Inscription Realm. That was why they had been entrusted with overseeing something as important as recruiting disciples.
Tao Ye had gone along too, but only to hold the fort in case anything unexpected happened.
Unfortunately, thanks to that brat Shi Hao, Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun had nearly been angered so badly that their Dao hearts wavered.
"Bear Child, you've brought great trouble upon our Heaven Mending Pavilion yet again. You even drew that ill fortune onto other talented disciples. Take disciple Li Xiaoyao, for example. How innocent he was, yet now that being has set his sights on him too.
Nothing can hold its shape without rules. Now accept your punishment!
Hehehe..."
Elder Tao Ye looked at Shi Hao as he spoke.
The four old men instantly sealed off all four directions, closed in on Shi Hao, and gave his backside a thorough spanking.
Awesome!
If those four old men knew they had spanked the future Immortal Emperor Huang, they would remember this: elders, this was the pinnacle of your lives. Giving the Desolate Heaven Emperor a thrashing was something you could brag about for a lifetime.
"Ahhh-if you keep hitting me, I'll defect to Deer-Chasing Academy!"
Shi Hao knew he was in trouble. Sure enough, he should never have gotten too close to these old foxes. This time, he had definitely given himself away, exposing his identity.
The four senior elders instinctively glanced at Xiao Tian. What familiar words!
The very same routine.
Unwilling to "sit and await his doom" while being spanked, Shi Hao rose up in resistance. He struck out with his palm, colliding with one of the old men. A muffled thunderclap seemed to rumble through the hall, but protected by a Bone Text formation, the Ancient Hall did not budge.
Smack!
Just then, Xiao Tian rushed over and kicked Shi Hao in the backside. This Bear Child was so infuriating that even watching made his foot itch, and he could not help giving him a kick. The brat had left him carrying the blame for half a month, and now he had provoked the ominous Ghost Master into coming over too. Xiao Tian suspected the ghost had already set his sights on him. Wasn't that enough to anger someone to death?
"Ow! Big Brother Spendthrift, why are you hitting me too?"
Shi Hao spoke in a pitiful, aggrieved voice.
But the moment the words left his mouth, he knew he was in trouble. They had slipped out too easily.
"You're exactly the brat I'm hitting! I hid in the ancient hall, and you still managed to screw me over. I took the blame for you and spent half a month in confinement. Then you brought the ominous Ghost Master here to haunt me. Tell me, when have I ever treated you badly enough for you to do this to me?"
Xiao Tian was beating him in earnest. To ensure Shi Hao had a complete childhood, he was really giving it his all.
Once Shi Hao grew up, beating him would be harder and would hurt their relationship. Better to give him a thrashing now and discuss the rest afterward.
"I'm a spendthrift? So that's why I kept hearing that word for a while. You don't even want to call me Big Brother anymore? You're turning the heavens upside down.
You've started calling me Spendthrift instead?"
Still angry, Xiao Tian kicked his backside twice more.
"Ah! If you keep hitting me, I'll fight back!"
Shi Hao's childish rebellious streak flared up. Deep down, he still was not entirely convinced of Xiao Tian's superiority. After all, he thought he had grown up and his wings had hardened.
"Go on, then. Fight back and let your big brother see what you've learned over the years, Baby Hao."
Xiao Tian spoke lightly. As he raised his hands, he used the same amount of strength as Shi Hao. Their hands met, and with a thud, the entire hall trembled slightly. This was a collision of pure physical strength.
Neither intended to use Treasure Arts. Shi Hao employed the simplest primal hunting methods of fierce beasts and demonic birds from the Original True Explanation. Simple and direct, they turned the mundane into the miraculous as he attacked Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian was slightly surprised and took a punch to the chest. This brat had plenty of tricks. One moment he was like a True Hou, the next like a Single-Horned Golden Rhinoceros, then like a Golden-Winged Great Peng... In combat methods of this sort, Xiao Tian truly fell short of Shi Hao. Fortunately, he had not been using his full strength. He increased the strength he used little by little: one hundred and ten thousand jin, one hundred and eleven thousand jin...
In the end, with a bang, he broke ten thousand techniques with sheer strength and sent Shi Hao flying. He had only increased his strength by five thousand jin before Shi Hao could no longer withstand it.
"Not bad, Little One. Your growth really surprised me. You're impressive."
Xiao Tian stopped testing him and did not strike again. He spoke with a warm, sunny smile of gratification.
"Big Brother!"
Shi Hao climbed up from the floor, uninjured and delighted. Even though he had lost, he did not mind. Xiao Tian was an extraordinary genius whom even the Willow Deity had praised many times. Besides, Xiao Tian was his big brother, and these old men had confined him here for helping Qingfeng.
There was also the fact that he really had brought great trouble upon Xiao Tian this time. He had never imagined that the ghost grandpa with a sword sticking out of his head would set his sights directly on Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian walked over, dusted him off, straightened his clothes, and pulled him firmly into his arms. He would not truly blame Shi Hao. The only thing to blame was his own excellence, which had caught the Ghost Master's eye.
"Little One, you've grown up."
Shi Hao had already opened six Heavenly Grottos now. He was outstanding.
So Xiao Tian needed to work hard too. Once he entered Crosscut Mountain and had enough cultivation resources, he would rapidly improve, sending his strength soaring and stepping into the Spirit Transformation Realm.
"You're that Bear Child!"
Elders Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun spoke in unison through gritted teeth, seething with resentment. Now they could confirm Shi Hao's identity.
Xiao Tian's identity could also be all but confirmed. He was the mysterious youth, "Big Brother of the Milk Baby," who had suppressed the high-spirited wielder of Double Pupils on his first visit to the Void God Realm and casually set two records unmatched before or since.
And this brat Shi Hao had entered the Void God Realm, punched through the starting passage, broken a record, and left behind the name "Loves Beast Milk Most."
So there was no question-it was this pair of brothers.
"Elders, my little brother doesn't know any better. Thank you for your hard work. On this trip into the Hundred Broken Mountains, I'll agree to one reasonably fair request from each of you. As long as it's within my power, I'll keep my word."
Xiao Tian stepped forward and spoke openly.
Shi Hao really had put these two elders through the wringer, leaving them battered and frazzled, repeatedly teetering on the edge of a breakdown. As the elder brother, he certainly had to help settle the matter. Anything that could be resolved with some cultivation resources was no problem at all.
Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun brightened at those words, but they did not rush to speak. They did need treasures from the Hundred Broken Mountains, but there was something they needed even more.
"We wouldn't truly hold a grudge against a child. After all, it wasn't a great disaster.
However, if possible, we'd like some of the Fountain of Youth from the Hundred Broken Mountains. It's very important to our Heaven Mending Pavilion."
"That's right. All we want is the Fountain of Youth. If you're capable of bringing some back without endangering yourself, nothing could be better."
Elders Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun exchanged a glance. No longer baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, they smiled at each other, then turned to Xiao Tian and spoke in turn.
Elder Tao Ye was very pleased. Among the younger generation of elders, Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun were orphans who had grown up in Heaven Mending Pavilion. They considered it their home and had a strong sense of duty.
"All right. It's a deal."
Xiao Tian agreed directly, without the slightest hesitation.
He certainly had no intention of passing up the Fountain of Youth.
Next, the four senior elders stepped forward as well and looked at Xiao Tian. "Were you that youth in the Void God Realm three years ago?"
"Don't ask. I won't admit to anything. But there's one thing you can rest assured of: since I've joined Heaven Mending Pavilion, I'm its disciple. In life, I belong to Heaven Mending Pavilion; in death, I'll be its ghost."
The words rolled smoothly off Xiao Tian's tongue.
Hmm! They had come out so smoothly. Had he said them somewhere before?
"Good. We can give you and Bear Child one spot each. There's only one condition: bring back some of the Fountain of Youth if you can."
Elder Tao Ye spoke.
"Rest assured, as long as you bring back the Fountain of Youth, you'll be great contributors to Heaven Mending Pavilion. You won't lack for the top-tier Treasure Arts you want."
Elder Liu, the guardian of the Scripture Repository, spoke as well.
"Rest assured, elders. As long as there's a chance, I, Li Xiaoyao, and Hao Tian will bring back the Fountain of Youth."
Xiao Tian spoke.
Hao Tian was the alias Little One used in Heaven Mending Pavilion, just like his own alias, Li Xiaoyao.
Afterward, the elders cautioned them about some details concerning the Hundred Broken Mountains. It was all based on their limited knowledge of the place; after all, they had never entered it themselves.
By the time Xiao Tian and Shi Hao left the ancient hall, it was broad daylight.
"Big Brother, I'll take you somewhere nice. It's amazing for cultivating during the day."
Along the way, Shi Hao pilfered some spirit herbs, then spoke happily.
"All right, let's go take a look together. Bring little Qingfeng too."
Xiao Tian did not refuse.
Along the way, Xiao Tian also picked a few spirit herbs and gave them to Shi Hao.
Spirit herbs a few hundred years old were no longer of much use to him.
He needed Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures over a thousand years old to attempt opening his eleventh Heavenly Grotto.
After picking up Qingfeng and Furball, they swaggered toward the Sacrificial Spirit's dwelling.
Heaven Mending Pavilion's senior elders all knew about this, but they were not worried. Even if these little fellows truly wanted to harm the Sacrificial Spirit, it would be impossible.
The Sacrificial Spirit was far too powerful. It had once been a god-level existence.
The place where the Sacrificial Spirit dwelled was an enormous, exceedingly ancient garden. Who knew how many years it had endured? Even the divine patterns it had once contained had been worn away. Weeds grew everywhere, and there were little bridges over flowing water, pavilions, terraces, and halls, all so dilapidated that they seemed liable to collapse at any moment.
"Big Brother, why is the place where the Sacrificial Spirit lives so run-down?"
Shi Hao asked in puzzlement.
"It's probably nostalgia. The Sacrificial Spirit is an elder who cherishes old attachments and doesn't want to change any of this."
Xiao Tian replied.
Farther ahead, everything was desolate. All the essence of heaven and earth had been drawn away by a demonic force, as though forcibly stripped from the surroundings.
"Come on. Carry little Qingfeng on your back and rush through this area. The Sacrificial Spirit is breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon. Protect him with runes."
Xiao Tian reminded him.
Shi Hao had been here once before and was quite experienced. Runes covered his body, forming a brilliant Azure Moon that enveloped him, Shi Qingfeng, and Furball, who was perched on Shi Qingfeng's head.
After traveling a little farther inward, they saw streams of starlight pouring down from the sky. The silver moon was enchanting, its radiance spilling like water over this courtyard that had weathered seas turning into mulberry fields.
"I've been here once. The courtyard has three sections. We're in the second now, and the Sacrificial Spirit is in the third."
Shi Hao reminded them.
(End of chapter)
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