"Don't rush yet, Fei Linhu, be patient and wait for the opportunity. Staying alive is what matters most; even though the true blood and Treasure Bone of the Suanni defy the heavens, one must still have the life to enjoy them."
Village Chief Shi Yunfeng rushed over with a few of Shi Village's top-tier, able-bodied combatants, gazing at the massive cave beneath the mountain in the distance. It was a giant cavern thirty meters high and over twenty meters wide, belonging to that old Suanni.
Boom!
Accompanied by a mountain-shaking rumble, the huge cave collapsed. Half of the entire towering mountain caved in, causing the earth to shake and rocks to pierce the sky in an instant.
"So quiet! I feel a heavy weight in the pit of my chest."
Little One Shi Hao's large eyes were bright and sparkling as he put on the airs of a little adult, speaking in a cute, milky voice.
"Haha, have you even been weaned yet?
Yet what you said is true; I feel it too."
Right at that moment, sitting on Shi Hao's shoulder and measuring only the size of a thumb, Xiao Tian crossed his arms and evaluated the situation very earnestly.
Xiao Tian had arrived long ago. The moment he came, he sensed something was amiss-it was far too quiet here, without the slightest sound, resembling a place of death.
He transformed into the size of an insect and scouted the surroundings, discovering that other cultivators were hiding nearby, along with terrifying savage behemoths eyeing the area.
The old Suanni had become a hot commodity. Not only had certain powerhouses among humans set their sights on it, but the savage behemoths within this savage forest were also creeping closer one by one.
"Hmph, I stopped drinking milk ages ago.
Who are you, and why are you so tiny?"
Shi Hao was struck right at his "weak spot" by Xiao Tian and spoke falsehoods with some embarrassment. The next moment, however, his eyes lit up as he asked in astonishment.
"I came to seek a partnership with you. I discovered that the old Suanni is feigning death, preparing to entrap and slaughter the enemies who came to plot against it, so you all had better be careful.
Furthermore, there are many people and savage beasts and giant birds hiding around us. People like your small group are simply not enough to look at.
The fierce beasts and giant birds that originally fled are also returning; this place is destined to become an extremely bloody slaughterhouse."
Xiao Tian calmly delivered these three crucial pieces of news concerning everyone's survival.
"Fall back, let's fall back first."
Village Chief Shi Yunfeng was also utterly terrified. He raised a hand and slowly retreated, saying, "How rare and precious is the remains of a Suanni? Not only do we want to obtain it, but others do as well. The fierce birds and beasts in the primeval forest are also lurking."
"Village Chief, I received news that the Suanni isn't dead. It's playing dead."
Shi Hao also chimed in hastily to remind him.
"Little One, who were you just talking to?"
Shi Yunfeng also hurried to ask.
"It's him."
Shi Hao pointed at the tiny figure that had already jumped into his palm and spoke.
"This? What is this?"
Even Shi Yunfeng, who considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, was left dumbfounded. What sort of race could this thumb-sized little person possibly be?
This place was also considered a part of Shi Village's hunting grounds. The villagers were familiar with the terrain and ran back swiftly, climbing a nearby high mountain to gaze into the distance and closely monitor the situation over there.
Xiao Tian's current cultivation was at the extreme boundary of the Blood Moving Realm. Utilizing his innate divine ability consumed very little energy now; as long as he didn't use it for combat, he could sustain it for a whole day.
Now transformed into a thumb-sized youth without clothes to wear, it was impossible for him to change back yet. Being small made it easy for him to be overlooked, and it would also be convenient for fighting shortly.
He wasn't trying to snatch the fortuitous opportunity from Shi Hao, but he also wanted to study the Suanni Precious Technique. After all, this was a legacy comparable in level to the Xiao Clan's Clan-Guarding Precious Technique, and furthermore, it was lightning magic.
His own Silver Mountain Sacrificial Spirit Art leaned toward the metal and earth attributes.
The Luan Bird Art leaned toward the wind attribute.
Based on the original storyline, he knew that the Suanni Art leaned toward the lightning attribute.
Meanwhile, the group of villagers from Shi Village surrounded Xiao Tian, staring at him intently. Every time they tried to grab Xiao Tian, he would easily dodge away.
A moment later he hopped onto Shi Hao's head, then he pulled on Shi Hao's ear to play on a swing, and then he leaped onto his shoulder.
"Stop messing around, the battle has begun."
Shi Yunfeng said with a solemn expression.
Everyone hurriedly followed Shi Yunfeng's line of sight and looked over. Shouts echoed from that patch of forest as three batches of people arrived from three separate directions. Belonging to different villages, they actually burst into disputes and started fighting among themselves first.
Truly utter fools.
"Awooo-"
Following closely behind, the fierce birds and beasts that arrived first could not resist the temptation either and made their move. Five fierce beasts appeared one after another, each reaching a shoulder height of five meters like moving massive houses, with snow-white tusks resembling sharp swords as they suddenly pounced toward that group of people. The infighting of these three factions actually caused them to be surrounded by savage beasts.
Their intelligence was truly inferior to that of savage beasts.
At the same time, long cries echoed from the air and fierce winds whipped up as several fierce birds flew over. The wingspan of each reached eleven or twelve meters as they swooped down. For a time, miserable shrieks rose one after another, flesh and blood splattered, and severed limbs and broken arms flew through the air.
"Did you see that? This is the consequence of acting without using your brains and blindly charging forward."
Xiao Tian jumped onto Shi Feijiao's shoulder and stared at him earnestly as he spoke.
Shi Feijiao blushed deeply; just now, he had been the most anxious and charged the fastest.
Xiao Tian felt profoundly grateful that he had loaded the Calabash Brothers' Da Wa Panel and fortunately hadn't loaded Da Wa's reckless personality, otherwise things would have been truly miserable.
"Aowr-"
From all directions of the savage forest, roars of beasts and cries of eagles echoed endlessly and intertwined. The savage beasts and various birds that had originally been scared off and fled due to the old Suanni nearing its death were now all returning. Their goal was uniform: who wouldn't want to obtain the flesh and blood of that old Suanni?
This was the rule of the primordial desolate forest. Here, the cubs of fierce beasts and raptors were born every day, and ferocious birds and beasts also died of old age every day.
Once dead, their carcasses would become a fine meal for other fierce birds and giant beasts.
Yet wanting to enjoy a fine meal was no easy task either; a batch of them had to fight and die first.
An even more brutal battle commenced. The three surviving factions fled for their lives desperately, but alas, whether they leaped into the trees or plunged into the water, they were swiftly and thoroughly devoured by the massive poisonous bugs lunging from the trees and the golden alligators and black giant pythons lurking in the water.
The people of Shi Village all wore solemn expressions, feeling no excessive grief for the dead because they were accustomed to life and death, even Little One Shi Hao included. Such was the survival law of the Great Wilderness, and what they felt most was lingering fear.
If they had been just a bit slower, they too would have followed in those people's footsteps.
"How terrifying. Fortunately the tribal chief spotted that something was wrong and we temporarily retreated, otherwise we'd most likely share their exact fate."
Shi Linhu felt a lingering fear as he discovered that his back was soaked with cold sweat.
"The little person was right about all of it. Does that mean the old Suanni really isn't dead, and it's preparing to drag a formidable enemy down with it right before it dies?"
Shi Hao spoke up.
"Please call me Xiao Tian, or Big Brother Xiao.
Milk-drinking tot."
Xiao Tian instantly said with a stern expression.
"You actually have a name."
Shi Hao said in astonishment.
"I won't tease you anymore. I am of the Human Race, the exact same kind of human as you. I turned into this because of a Treasure Art.
We've actually met before. Some of the useless savage beast carcasses I hunted and killed while training in the forest were all given to the Green-Scaled Eagle you folks raise."
Xiao Tian said very earnestly.
To make the upcoming battle convenient, he was unwilling to change back either; putting on clothes again was simply too troublesome.
His greatest dream right now was to acquire a battle suit that could freely adjust its size.
"Boom!"
A millstone-sized boulder flew over and smashed down not far from the crowd, interrupting everyone's train of thought. They all knew about Xiao Tian, this spendthrift.
"Bang!
Crack"
A giant tree three people could barely wrap their arms around was smashed apart and crashed down, sending up clouds of dust and scattering leaves and branches while emitting a dull thud.
"The battle is too intense; our spot isn't safe either."
Shi Feijiao shrank his neck and spoke.
The moment his voice trailed off, two roars akin to thunder rang out from the mountain. In an instant, sand and stones flew and fierce winds gusted as two colossal beasts appeared side by side. Each was seven or eight meters long with a shoulder height of over five meters, clad in a coat of brown fur that shone with an oily gloss like premium satin.
The two giant beasts, one male and one female, resembled tigers by seventy percent in body shape, possessing ferocious and terrifying appearances with wings sprouting from their ribs and roars like thunder that were deafening.
As the proverb says: when a tiger gives birth to three cubs, one is bound to be a biao. The biao is the most ferocious and vicious, capable of devouring tiger cubs.
I once heard hunters say: whenever a tiger leads three cubs across the water, it worries that if it crosses first, the cubs will be devoured by the biao.
The biao was a mutated fierce beast with a head resembling that of a saber-toothed tiger. As the pair appeared, they directly pounced toward the people of Shi Village.
"Shilin, A-Yun, watch out."
Shi Yunfeng said anxiously.
Seeing that the two were about to lose their lives in the biao's jaws, Xiao Tian made his move directly. With a wave of his arm, two azure moon discs flew past, arriving ahead of time despite being cast later, and slammed right into the glabella of the two fierce beasts.
Thud! Thud!
Such savage beasts hadn't even given birth to bone text yet. While they might cause trouble or even danger to ordinary Blood Moving Realm practitioners, in front of Xiao Tian, killing them was no different from an ordinary person stepping on two mice.
"Little milk-tot, do you understand now? If you had been able to strike decisively just now, perhaps you wouldn't have needed me to act.
If I hadn't made my move just now, your two uncles would already be dead.
Come here, pledge allegiance and become my disciple, and I will impart Treasure Arts to you and ferry you to immortality."
Xiao Tian leaped back onto Shi Hao's shoulder and assumed a solemn, dignified posture.
If-if he could drape a kasaya over himself and conjure a halo of light behind his head, perhaps the effect would be even better.
Naturally, avoiding nudity gave one more of the majesty of a powerhouse.
"I'm willing to acknowledge you as my big brother. Please teach me a Treasure Art."
Shi Hao's small face was filled with regret as his dark, glossy eyes gazed at Xiao Tian and he spoke with exceptional earnestness.
Shi Hao had been clever since childhood and was well-protected by the people of Shi Village. He knew very well that Xiao Tian hadn't been joking with him just then; if he had been able to act decisively, saving both of them might have been difficult, but saving one was entirely possible.
Fortunately, Xiao Tian was powerful enough, otherwise he would have witnessed two elders who were like family die miserably right before his eyes.
"Very well, I accept you as my younger brother."
Xiao Tian grew a little taller, patted Shi Hao's head, and hurriedly shrank down again-why did the people of Shi Village all love staring at his little treasure? He then said with utmost solemnity:
"The precious techniques I know can all be imparted to you, aside from my innate divine ability, which is no big deal. In the future, I can even provide the Xiao Clan with superior precious techniques and gather the Ten Fiends precious techniques together as our clan-guarding foundation; that isn't out of the question either."
"However, first we must join forces to snatch the Suanni Precious Technique. You must work hard; if you don't work hard, who will protect your loved ones?
You have this kind of talent, while they do not."
Xiao Tian continued.
"I understand, Big Brother."
Shi Hao nodded earnestly. Today's events allowed his young mind to undergo a growth spurt, stimulating his determination to grow stronger.
The signing documents have been mailed out; feel free to invest.
(End of chapter)
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