The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly Wanted to Die

Big Red Bird had the potential to cultivate eight Heavenly Grottos, but with Earth Spirit Milk, success would be guaranteed.

The Treefolk genius was in much the same situation. If he obtained Earth Spirit Milk, eight Heavenly Grottos would be a sure thing.

Even the Nine-Headed Lion felt motivated. Earth Spirit Milk was a legendary treasure that could transform someone down to their very bones.

Just as Xiao Tian's Da Wa Body and Shi Hao set off again, Xiao Tian's Sixth Calabash Brother's Body encountered a butterfly.

After merging his three bodies into one and opening his twelfth Heavenly Grotto, Xiao Tian's Sixth Calabash Brother's Body had gone to find the Seven Deer-Chasing Sons.

Then he prepared to leave this region and head for the next.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Tian spotted a Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly along the way. She flew into a fractured gorge, its pitch-black depths seemingly bottomless and dangerous at a glance.

But since even the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly had entered, Xiao Tian's Sixth Calabash Brother's Body had all the more reason to dare.

Xiao Tian put the Seven Deer-Chasing Sons away again and slipped into the gorge behind the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly.

He arrived just in time to see the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly fighting a golden snake in the Spirit Transformation Realm. At first glance, he mistook it for a Teng Snake. In fact, it somewhat resembled a cobra from his previous life, though it was closer to the creature recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas · Food Records,

the tiaoyong, pronounced with a rising tone.

The "Eastern Mountains" section of the Classic of Mountains and Seas recorded: Mount Du also abounded in copper ore and jade. There was a creature resembling a yellow snake, with fish fins and a lustrous body. Whenever it appeared, drought was sure to follow.

The ten-meter-long golden snake had fishlike wings, also called dorsal fins, growing from its body and danced through the air. However, Xiao Tian could tell that it was not a Pure-Blooded Fierce Beast. Despite its Spirit Transformation Realm cultivation, the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly was forcing it back again and again.

He guessed it was a Primordial Remnant that had advanced to Spirit Transformation with eight Heavenly Grottos.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly had already opened nine Heavenly Grottos. As she danced through the air, a Seven-Star Begonia hovered beside her, its tender green branches and delicate pink blossoms exquisitely beautiful.

This was a treasure artifact refined from the most precious part of a plant-type fierce beast, much like the Primordial Treasure Bones nurtured by fierce beasts and demonic birds.

Empowered by this treasure artifact, seven golden stars fluttered through the air and landed on the remnant, reducing both its mobility and its offensive power.

The Seven-Star Begonia's petals bore seven tiny yellow spots, which were the source of its name. It was a terrifying poison-type treasure artifact.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly was over a meter long, with wings dappled in five colors. In flight, she shimmered with dazzling streams of light. The luminous powder on her wings was like countless spatial bombs, capable of breaking through the remnant's defenses.

Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterflies were powerful spatial-type Fierce Insects, their fearsome reputation rivaling that of the offspring of primordial fierce beasts.

After watching for a while, Xiao Tian had a flash of inspiration and simply slipped around the two combatants. You two keep fighting. I'll help you check what treasures are hidden here.

There's nothing here!

Entering the gorge's sheer cliff, Xiao Tian manifested a purple Dao pattern between his brows. His body had already plunged into the rock face.

The moment his Heavenly Eye opened, he saw a vast deposit of red copper ore, with red copper essence inside it. So that was what lay here. For cultivators, it was indeed useful for refining treasure artifacts, even for Array Formation Realm experts. To Xiao Tian, however, it was no great surprise.

Keep going deeper!

This is... Xiao Tian gazed at the fist-sized silver stone at the center of the red copper essence. It floated naturally in the air, its aura completely linked to the surrounding red copper essence.

It was void divine copper. A Shrouding the Heavens fanfiction he had read in his previous life had mentioned that the imperial weapon, the Void Mirror, was refined from this material.

So this mineral vein had formed because the power radiating from this piece of void divine copper had altered the nature of the surrounding rock. Over countless days and months, it had grown to its present size.

Through their mental link, Xiao Tian hurriedly called over his Seventh Brother's Clone, who had not yet left this region.

The artifact-refining materials here could be packed up and taken away directly. The most precious material, the void divine copper, could be refined straight away to expand the gourd's space.

He could collect the red copper essence and bring some back to the Xiao Family, then give some to the Deer-Chasing Academy. After all, in the absence of Primordial Treasure Bones, red copper essence was one of the finest materials for refining treasure artifacts.

He waited a day, and those two were still fighting!

When Seventh Brother's Clone arrived and collected the divine metal here along with the entire mineral vein, the cliff on the other side of the gorge instantly collapsed.

After Xiao Tian opened his twelfth Heavenly Grotto, the two spaces inside Seventh Brother's Clone's Treasure Gourd had expanded. The upper one now measured six hundred meters in diameter, while the lower one measured nine hundred meters in diameter, with a volume of 38,170.437 cubic meters.

How could the remnant and the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly fail to realize what had happened? They immediately went berserk.

While they had fought tooth and nail, someone had robbed their home.

Would Xiao Tian's Sixth Calabash Brother's Body and Seventh Brother's Clone fear them? A short while later, Seventh Brother's Clone casually collected the remnant as well, adding another delicacy to the menu.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly faced Sixth Calabash Brother's Body. In a contest of spatial abilities, she could do nothing against his innate divine power. In a clash of physical strength, he beat her until she nearly split into pieces. The battle ended almost as soon as it began. Sixth Calabash Brother's Body grabbed her wings and placed her on his shoulder.

As for the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly, she no longer wanted to live. Life held nothing for her. She had never imagined that entering with such lofty ambitions would lead to this crushing blow. She had been utterly overwhelmed.

"What a pity. Even roasted, a butterfly wouldn't yield more than a few ounces of meat. There's a little on the back and a bit on the legs, but the rest is completely inedible."

Xiao Tian sighed to himself.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly could not help shuddering. This bastard even eats butterflies? And from the way he talks, he sounds very experienced!

"From now on, stick with me. I'll take you along to feast on the finest food and drink. Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterflies are pretty rare. It would be a shame to eat you."

Xiao Tian continued.

"What's so great about void divine copper? When I find immortal gold someday, I'll give you a piece. Have some ambition."

Seeing tears of either gratitude or grief and indignation in the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly's eyes after his persuasion, Xiao Tian struck while the iron was hot.

He remembered that Shi Hao had dangled grand promises before the Nine-Headed Lion in just this way.

"How about I give you a name? Let's call you Butterfree."

Xiao Tian added.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly immediately shook her head and spoke for the first time. "My name is Liuli."

"Huh? You're actually a female butterfly. Come to think of it, how do you tell male and female butterflies apart?"

Xiao Tian asked curiously.

"If you ask another question, I'll kill myself right here."

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly spoke in utter grief and indignation.

"All right, don't get worked up. As long as you're alive, there's hope. Only by bravely living on can you see tomorrow's sun. Look how blue the sky is, how big the sun is. How could you bear to end everything with death?

"Your parents brought you into this world and raised you. Think how hard that was. A miserable life is better than a glorious death."

Xiao Tian hurriedly comforted her.

Kids these days were simply too impulsive. Having never endured life's brutal beatings and tempering, they threatened to kill themselves at the slightest provocation, treating their lives as worthless.

"Here, drink some Earth Spirit Milk and nourish yourself. Once you've recovered, follow your master-that's me-and we'll build something big and strong. You scout out Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and I'll snatch them. Together, we'll eat White Tigers and slaughter Golden-Winged Great Pengs. I've heard that when insects like you eat the birds that are your natural predators, your bloodlines might transform. Maybe you could even open ten Heavenly Grottos."

Xiao Tian hurriedly continued dangling grand promises before her.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly gazed at the half-jin of Earth Spirit Milk Xiao Tian offered her. After sniffing it lightly and glancing at him, she dispensed with politeness, extended her coiled proboscis into the jade jar, and began drinking.

"This is my spare milk jar. I drank beast milk until I was eight. You and I are sharing our blessings now, with no distinction between us."

Xiao Tian added.

At his words, the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly trembled slightly. She stared blankly at the sky and silently continued drinking the Earth Spirit Milk. It really was delicious.

Honestly, she looked a little like a haughty girl rolling her eyes while drinking milk tea.

Three days later!

"You're saying there's a stretch of ruins in the Hundred Broken Mountains filled with treasure artifacts? Swords, cauldrons, spears, shields, divine rings, bells, drums, and so on, all flying around freely, having long since developed spiritual awareness?

"Every time the Hundred Broken Mountains Range opens, people go there to seize treasures. Any one of those treasures rivals an Array Formation Realm treasure artifact, and some are even more precious than artifacts refined by Venerables, worthy of being called divine weapons."

Xiao Tian's Sixth Calabash Brother's Body looked at the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly in surprise and asked, despite already knowing the answer.

After all, only by giving others room to shine could he make friends. The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly had spent three days sulking, but after following Xiao Tian and eating several meals of Primordial Remnant bird meat, her wounds had healed, and she had found hope for living again.

"Yes!"

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly guarded her words like gold.

"In that case, let's set off. How about giving me a ride?"

Xiao Tian said.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly said, "..."

She was only a little over a meter long. With that great hulking body of his, how could this fellow have the nerve to want to climb onto her back?

"I can hold on to one of your legs, and we can fly there together."

Xiao Tian said.

He would take it slowly. There were plenty of days ahead, and sooner or later, he would get to ride her. After all, thanks to their linked minds, Sixth Calabash Brother's clone could also use Da Wa's divine power.

As for the Seven Deer-Chasing Sons, they exchanged helpless glances before Xiao Tian put them away together again. This time, he tucked them directly into his sleeve.

His comprehension of spatial Treasure Arts was extraordinarily high. After following the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly and learning a little spatial Treasure Art from her, he had no trouble storing them in his sleeve, even if it lacked the power of a true Sleeve Universe.

The Seven Deer-Chasing Sons had no objections whatsoever. They could simply cultivate in seclusion with peace of mind.

After all, whenever Xiao Tian had something tasty to eat, he remembered to feed them a little too.

Their role, as they saw it, was not to hold him back. Their goal was to use the Earth Spirit Milk they carried to break through to eight Heavenly Grottos by the time they left the Hundred Broken Mountains. That would satisfy them.

Next, the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly carried Xiao Tian toward the ruins in the central region of the Hundred Broken Mountains.

As a result, all sorts of rumors spread through the Hundred Broken Mountains.

At first, it was, "The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly captured someone from the Human Race."

Later, it became, "The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly has developed a taste for human flesh and gone on a killing spree."

Despite this, no one from the Human Race came to stand up for Xiao Tian and rescue him.

Instead, wherever the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly passed, Human Race cultivators feared for their lives and fled with astonishing speed.

"You people of the Human Race really are interesting."

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly said.

"You don't understand. It's precisely because they're ignorant that there'll be surprises and shocks later.

"When they learn that I'm actually the one who subdued the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly, I'll stun everyone with a single cry."

Xiao Tian said calmly.

The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly said, "..."

She really wanted to throw this fellow down.

"Don't resent it. If you manage to subdue me someday, I can call you master too. Right now, you can't beat me, so you have to listen to me."

As though he knew what the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly was thinking, Xiao Tian immediately offered her a tiny ray of hope.

Life needed something to look forward to before one could find the drive to keep going.

(End of chapter)