The Nine-Headed Lion had always admired the strong. Thick-skinned and simple-minded, he had little taste for scheming. Especially after witnessing Shi Hao open Nine Heavenly Grottos and seeing his extracted Supreme Bone undergo Nirvana, he had gained a profound appreciation for the Bear Child's potential.
He had eight heavenly grottos now and had struggled for ages without managing to break through to Nine Heavenly Grottos, yet that Bear Child had succeeded with ease. Even if Shi Hao achieved the legendary ten heavenly grottos in the future, he would believe it.
"So it really is you. Wonderful." Just then, a voice both familiar and unfamiliar rang out. It was chillingly sinister, and undisguised, icy killing intent swept toward Shi Hao.
The speaker was a bizarre snake five meters long and as thick as an adult's thigh. Its entire body was crimson, its scales like armor forged from phoenix blood red gold, radiant with scarlet light and glinting with a sinister chill. Below its head, it forked into two bodies, each with three legs, for six in total. Its legs resembled bird talons, their four toes gleaming gold and sharp as blades. Its four wings were likewise golden, every feather smooth and glossy. Its overall appearance was strange and savage.
It was the Feiyi. When Shi Hao had been strolling through Broken Void City, this Feiyi had opened its mouth to eat someone. Shi Hao had interrupted it, and it had held a grudge against him ever since.
"Caw, caw, caw-"
Just then, a fire crow appeared, its whole body glossy black, with black flames constantly burning over it. Most extraordinary of all, it had three legs.
"These Human Race geniuses are so arrogant. I think it's time to clear the field."
It had come with the Feiyi, and the pair certainly looked like partners in crime. The appearance of a Feiyi heralded a great drought, while that crow possessed Golden Crow blood and was no good bird either. It symbolized misfortune and death and could likewise bring about a great drought.
Xiao Tian's Da Wa Body exchanged a glance with Shi Hao. The next instant, Shi Hao pounced on the Feiyi, while Xiao Tian charged at the Three-Legged Fire Crow.
"Caw, caw, caw-"
Black feathers flew everywhere. Xiao Tian swept past, sending a bolt of golden lightning from his hand. Like a gigantic millstone, it smashed into the Three-Legged Fire Crow. In an instant, thunderous power surged, and black, fiery feathers scattered in all directions.
Thud!
Xiao Tian cracked the ground beneath his foot, crossed the distance in a single stride, and appeared above the Three-Legged Fire Crow's back. He stamped down. The three-meter-long crow screamed and plunged straight from the sky, breaking apart in an instant.
"These two Human Race geniuses are out of control! Attack together and show them that we other races call the shots in the Hundred Broken Mountains now!"
Just then, a big-headed member of the Three-Eyed Race bellowed.
No sooner had it spoken than the Five-Colored Luan Bird tried to charge out, only to be stopped by the Nine-Headed Lion. "Brother, listen to me. Our two clans have been friends for generations. I would never harm you, and I don't need you to stand up for me."
By the time he finished speaking, Xiao Tian had already killed the fire crow with a jab of his finger. He casually collected its corpse and sealed it in a cold jade medicine cauldron.
They had borrowed a piece of ten-thousand-year-old cold jade from a fierce beast's cave abode, and Xiao Tian had refined it into two cauldrons for storing ingredients.
Meanwhile!
On Shi Hao's side, he had pinned the Feiyi beneath his foot and cut off its head with the silver Broken Sword. He quickly took out an identical cold jade cauldron and sealed its corpse inside.
"I wonder if eating someone from the Three-Eyed Race would let me cultivate divine eyes."
Shi Hao shifted dozens of meters sideways, dodging the blue-haired Three-Eyed Race youth's attack, and spoke coldly.
Whoosh!
The next instant, a sheet of golden lightning appeared in his hand and blasted into that Three-Eyed Race genius, leaving him charred all over and half dead.
His younger twin brother's eyes nearly split with fury. He had never wanted to attack! His older brother had been far too rash!
Although both of them had cultivated eight heavenly grottoes, they were completely crushed when facing Shi Hao.
"Please spare my older brother. I'm willing to follow you."
The Three-Eyed Race youth spoke at once.
"No!
"But you can buy your lives with spirit herbs. Six each."
Xiao Tian spoke indifferently.
Things were not chaotic enough yet, and there were too many people watching. It was unwise to kill too many and form so many grudges that he would not even dare return to the Deer-Chasing Academy.
In the original story, Shi Hao had ended up in precisely that situation, forced to tag along with Huo Ling'er and seek the Fire Emperor's protection.
"Brother, let's share a meal. I have a Bi Fang leg here. We'd like a Feiyi gallbladder for my companion Big Green. He was injured just now."
Xiao Tian's Sixth Calabash Brother's Body walked over and spoke.
Xiao Tian's Da Wa Body began cooking the Feiyi and the Three-Legged Fire Crow on the spot.
Before his transmigration, nobody ate crow meat. In fact, crow meat itself was a medicinal ingredient that could nourish yin and replenish blood, kill parasites and treat consumption, soothe the liver and quell internal wind.
Xiao Tian perfectly combined the Three-Legged Fire Crow's black meat with the Feiyi's white flesh. Following a recipe from the Classic of Mountains and Seas · Food Records, he added some spirit herbs, two drops of taiyi true water, and two ladles of Earth Spirit Milk, turning it into Yin-Yang Dragon-Phoenix Tonic Soup.
Even the Bi Fang leg went into the mix, becoming the phoenix claw in the soup.
The Bi Fang watched everyone feast heartily on a dish containing one of its legs. Fortunately, Xiao Tian handed it a Feiyi gallbladder. It swallowed it in one bite with some disdain, only to find that it tasted rather good.
The next instant, scarlet light surged from within it. The Feiyi's gallbladder held an overwhelming abundance of vital energy, containing the essence of its body. The Bi Fang's still somewhat weakened body quickly regained its vigor and even gave off thunderous crackles, while bright yellow flames rose from it.
After all, snakes and birds were natural enemies, which gave this a special effect.
The big red bird was terribly envious, but Shi Hao handed it the other Feiyi gallbladder. "Eat up, Big Red. This will work even better for you."
The Fire Cloud Sparrow was deeply grateful and did not stand on ceremony, swallowing it straight away. "Ah, ah! This is incredible! I feel like I'll definitely open my eighth heavenly grotto after this meal!"
At first, it had felt a little uncomfortable about the bird meat in the soup.
Soon, however, it was eating with such abandon that it forgot everything else.
They were not its own kind anyway. Neither the Three-Legged Fire Crow nor the Bi Fang had the slightest connection to it, not even through their ancestors. It would be foolish not to eat, and once it started, it wanted more.
The snake soup was an even greater tonic for it.
The Bi Fang did not touch the soup. After all, it contained its own flesh, which still made it feel rather uncomfortable.
The Seven Deer-Chasing Sons and the Four Butian Sons held their jade cauldrons and quietly tucked into their meals. They exchanged glances, each seeing the bliss of a vacation in the others' eyes.
Every one of them felt that if they could not break through to eight heavenly grottoes on this trip, they deserved to be struck by heavenly lightning.
They had eaten delicacies they would never have dared imagine in their lives: all kinds of precious spirit herbs, Primordial Remnants, a leg from a pure-blooded fierce beast Bi Fang, and a Primordial Remnant Feiyi with fifty-percent bloodline purity. Xiao Tian had even added some Spirit Transformation Realm meat. To him, failing to draw out a dish's medicinal properties perfectly was an insult to his culinary skill.
Later, at some point, even the Bi Fang had taken up a Jade Cauldron and started gulping down meat and soup, consoling itself. "I can't let these fellows reap all the benefits. It's my flesh. I'm going to eat it back!"
The Bi Fang Divine Bird suddenly felt that this was not so bad either.
Xiao Tian and Shi Hao exchanged a glance. This was one damned ruthless bird!
Once the pot of Yin-Yang Dragon-Phoenix Tonic Soup was finished, many people rushed off to make their breakthroughs, especially the Fire Cloud Sparrow and the Tree Person. They had been building up their foundations for far too long.
This time, even the Nine-Headed Lion roared excitedly. His injuries had healed completely, and he was stronger than before.
Huo Ling'er, who had sneaked over at some point to freeload on the meat, was caught by Shi Hao. After he gave her a scolding, she agreed to have her imperial father back them up once they left the Hundred Broken Mountains.
It had to be said that Little One had finally grown up. He even knew to recruit outside support now.
He also knew that although they were enjoying their feast now, they would offend a great many old fellows once they got out.
"How is this possible? I feel like I'm about to break through."
Huo Ling'er spoke in disbelief.
Nine Heavenly Grottos—she really was about to break through.
Hahaha! Wouldn't she be invincible under heaven after this, able to fight the offspring of primordial fierce beasts with over sixty-percent bloodline purity? That's right, she would be Her Majesty the Empress of the Fire Kingdom in the future.
This was also one reason her father, the Fire Emperor, doted on her. He hoped she would achieve Nine Heavenly Grottos so that she could one day shoulder the Fire Kingdom's banner and protect its hundreds of millions of living beings.
After all, under normal circumstances in the Lower Realm, a Human Race genius who opened eight heavenly grottos had every chance of becoming a Venerable. Breaking through to Nine Heavenly Grottos even gave them a chance to become a god.
Then the Fire Kingdom could naturally flourish for tens of thousands of years.
Next, Shi Hao soothed the nearby Five-Colored Luan Bird, a Primordial Remnant that had nearly been eaten, along with the two Three-Eyed Race youths who believed they were about to be eaten, their faces bruised and swollen, their bodies charred, and their spirits wilted. He said things like they would never have become acquainted without a fight, and that if they contributed in the future, they could share in the soup.
Little One had grown up. He even knew how to eat one group, win over another, and make friends.
With a rumble, the big red bird squawked wildly in excitement. Its gains this time were enormous. The Feiyi meat, Three-Legged Fire Crow meat, and Bi Fang meat were all fire-attributed. It had practically been reborn. Its old feathers fell out and new ones grew in, redder, brighter, and dazzling to behold. Even its body had shrunk a little.
Even the Bi Fang, a pure-blooded fierce bird chick, had gained a great deal. Bright yellow flames burned continuously over its body, and its blue-green feathers had become glossier. Another color had appeared in its flames: blue-green within and yellow without.
Two-colored flames burned over its body, with blue-green cores and bright yellow outer layers. Nearby rocks and ground instantly vaporized, while the ground farther away turned into boiling magma that flowed in rolling streams.
"Haha! I feel like my bloodline has grown stronger again. If I could..."
The Bi Fang looked toward the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly. If it could eat that fellow, raising its current bloodline purity from eighty-five percent to ninety percent would be no problem at all.
After all, any Primordial Remnant with over fifty-percent bloodline purity could gild its own face and claim to be pure-blooded primordial offspring.
Meanwhile!
The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly had just eaten Bi Fang meat, fire crow meat, and everything else as well. At this moment, fine cracks appeared in the surrounding space, lending it even more of the legendary primordial demon butterfly's might-the power to tear apart the blue heavens with a single beat of its wings.
Clearly, the Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly had also become much stronger.
The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly was also thinking that if it ate this Bi Fang, it might directly open ten heavenly grottoes and reach the pinnacle of butterfly life.
As Xiao Tian and the others each reaped enormous gains, even the Seven Deer-Chasing Sons and the Four Butian Sons had eyes full of excitement. They truly had hope of opening eight heavenly grottoes and a chance to become Venerables in the future, reigning over the Great Wilderness.
Everyone had their own dreams and goals.
Xiao Tian and Shi Hao were no exception.
One wanted to open the Taiyin acupoint on his right side and attempt to break through to a thirteenth heavenly grotto.
Shi Hao wanted to open ten heavenly grottos. He had already opened Nine Heavenly Grottos very smoothly, and he had always been clear about his goals.
As for Xiao Tian's Seventh Brother's Clone, after capturing the Pu Demon Tree, he had immediately begun refining it with all his strength. Now vital energy surged through his body, and he felt that opening his thirteenth heavenly grotto at the Taiyin acupoint was not far off.
(End of chapter)
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