Leaving the Great Wilderness

Shi Hao learned from Grandpa Chief about a pitiful child suffering in his place at the Shi Clan's Second Ancestral Land. Back then, to protect him, his clansmen had given another child the alias Shi Hao and placed him in the Second Ancestral Land to draw the enemy's fire away from him.

Shi Hao felt deeply ashamed. No child should have suffered all those hardships in his place, so he decided to bring him back to Stone Village.

Shi Hao explained the situation to the Old Clan Chief and the Willow Deity. The Willow Deity transmitted a message: "Have Xiaoxiao go with you, so you can look out for each other."

The Willow Deity handed Shi Hao a willow twig and told him to keep it on him, saying this would be a trial in the Great Wilderness.

Jun Moxiao had wanted to venture out of the Great Wilderness anyway; otherwise, he would have no way to check in. So he set off with Shi Hao, riding Unicorn Horses toward the Shi Clan's Second Ancestral Land.

Looking at the fluffy Furball on Shi Hao's shoulder, Jun Moxiao said, "Shi Hao, do you know how big Furball used to be?"

Shi Hao said, "He was like this when I picked him up in Old Stone Village. A fat girl said he was called Zhu Yan, one of the Four Great Beast Venerables. I ran into Little Red too, a little bird that could breathe fire."

Jun Moxiao said, "That was the Fire Kingdom Sacrificial Spirit, the Vermilion Bird. Furball was badly injured, so he's shrunk now. He used to be dozens of meters tall."

Jun Moxiao added, "That fat girl you met was the Fire Kingdom Princess. What do you think? Want to carry her home to be your wife?"

Shi Hao said, "Xiaoxiao, how do you know so much? And how did you snatch the Mountain Treasure back then? Weren't you only in the Blood Moving Realm?"

Naturally, Jun Moxiao couldn't tell him about his mighty system, so he could only say, "The Willow Deity told me all this. With the Willow Deity's help, I learned a great divine ability: Summon Future Self! I summoned my future cultivation at the Divine Fire Realm to snatch the Mountain Treasure. Well? Impressive, right? Do you admire me?"

Shi Hao was stunned. Something like that was actually possible?

"That's incredible! You can already summon your future self at the Divine Fire Realm? That's unbelievable! Can I learn it?"

Jun Moxiao thought, Learn it, my ass! Is this even something you can learn? I don't even know how it works myself! The system gave it to me.

"I'm probably the only one who can learn this divine ability, and I can't teach it to you. Maybe you'll create an even stronger divine ability yourself someday."

Summon Future Self was a divine ability the system had given Jun Moxiao. He didn't even know how it worked, so he could only bluff his way past Shi Hao. The "He Transforms Freely" grand technique Shi Hao would create in the future was truly badass.

The two kept boasting and humming off-key tunes as their Unicorn Horses galloped along, giving Jun Moxiao the feeling of being in a horse race.

Along the way, they caught a Fierce Beast, a Fire Cloud Sparrow, in the forest and began roasting it!

Watching Shi Hao take out all kinds of seasonings, Jun Moxiao teased, "You really came prepared. You even brought seasonings! You'll eat your way wherever you go. You're going to eat all the Fierce Beasts!"

Recalling his earlier arduous training, Shi Hao said proudly, "When I was cultivating in the Blood Moving Realm, I caught Fierce Beasts in the Great Wilderness every day to fight them. Once I killed them, I roasted them right away. After eating them over and over, it became a habit. Their meat is a huge help with cultivation."

As the two were eating their roast meat, a White Tiger suddenly darted out. From the look of it, it wanted to make a meal of them!

Jun Moxiao said, "More food delivered right to our door. Shi Hao, are you taking this one, or am I?"

Shi Hao waved his fist. "I'll do it!"

With that, he instantly killed the White Tiger with a single Suanni Precious Technique. Shi Hao now had four cave heavens and was much stronger than in the original storyline. This White Tiger couldn't withstand his attack at all.

Jun Moxiao said, "Should we roast this White Tiger?"

"Does that even need asking? Of course we're eating it. I'm not full yet!"

Shi Hao was just about to get to work roasting the little tiger.

Suddenly, a voice as sweet as an oriole rang out. "Hey! That's my prey. Who said you could roast it?"

A girl emerged from the woods. She was exceptionally pretty, dressed in red and white, and looked about eleven or twelve. Around 1.6 meters tall, she was as adorable as a sprite.

Jun Moxiao looked her over and thought, Is this Huo Ling'er, the greatest love of the Desolate Heaven Emperor's life? She really is beautiful. She and Shi Hao make a good match.

Shi Hao looked at the girl and said, "I killed this Fierce Beast. How is it yours?"

Huo Ling'er pointed at a wound on the White Tiger. "Look. I wounded it earlier."

Huo Ling'er looked over Shi Hao's gear: a milk jar hanging from his waist and a little furry monkey on his shoulder. More importantly, she recognized that monkey. It was Zhu Yan.

Huo Ling'er immediately remembered the little brat she had met in a rundown village two years ago. Wasn't he the boy standing right before her?

Delighted, Huo Ling'er exclaimed, "You're that little brat?"

Shi Hao also found her somewhat familiar and asked curiously, "You're Fat Girl?"

Jun Moxiao was speechless. Shi Hao saw a girl and immediately called her Fat Girl. Still, that was part of his character. It could only be blamed on him never having met women outside Stone Village, where almost all the women looked like tough, burly tomboys.

"Shi Hao, you know each other?"

Huo Ling'er looked at Jun Moxiao, who was eating roast meat beside them. Hmm! This child is even younger than the little brat, and he's so handsome! She asked Shi Hao, "Who is he?"

"My name is Hao Tian. This is my brother since childhood, Jun Moxiao. He's two years younger than me. We grew up together in Stone Village."

"This is Fat Girl, whom I met in Old Stone Village before."

Shi Hao introduced Jun Moxiao and Huo Ling'er to each other. Apart from the women of Stone Village, Huo Ling'er was the first girl he had ever met.

Good grief! That way of addressing her really was something else.

Jun Moxiao greeted Huo Ling'er. "Hello, pretty big sister. My name is Jun Moxiao."

There was no helping it. He couldn't call her Fat Girl like Shi Hao did! Besides, he wasn't even six yet. Calling a beauty "pretty big sister" was perfectly reasonable.

Being called "pretty big sister" made Huo Ling'er laugh. She thought, This little boy is much cuter than that little brat.

Huo Ling'er introduced herself to Jun Moxiao as well. "My name is Huo Ling'er. I'm from the Fire Kingdom."

Shi Hao said, "Fat Girl, want some Fierce Beast meat? We caught this Fire Cloud Sparrow earlier. It tastes delicious."

Huo Ling'er was both annoyed and amused by Shi Hao calling her Fat Girl. She could only pick up some roast meat and bite into it fiercely. She was curious how two little brats only a few years old dared to travel through the Great Wilderness.

"Aren't you two little brats afraid of running into danger in the forests of the Great Wilderness?"

Shi Hao took the chance to show off, saying smugly, "We're training in the Great Wilderness. We're really strong! We eat every Fierce Beast we catch. What's there to fear?"

Once the three finished their roast meat, Huo Ling'er prepared to leave.

"I'm from the Fire Kingdom. If you ever come there, you can look me up!"

After Huo Ling'er left, Jun Moxiao teased Shi Hao. "What's wrong? Taken a fancy to her? Next time you meet, just carry her back to Stone Village to be your wife!"

Shi Hao hurriedly waved his hands. "No! Of course not."

Jun Moxiao checked what rewards he had received for checking in with Huo Ling'er.

System notification: Checked in with Huo Ling'er. Seal unlocked. Strength increased to six cave heavens. Obtained the Kun Peng Precious Technique and Three Thousand Ways of Formation.

These rewards were incredibly generous! The Kun Peng Precious Technique of the Ten Fiends, and Three Thousand Ways of Formation! He would be able to set up all kinds of formations in the future.

Jun Moxiao said, "Thank you, Meng Die!"

The two continued toward the Shi Clan's Second Ancestral Land on their Unicorn Horses, brimming with spirit, two boys swift and free as the wind.

On a rise not far from them, several beautiful women were watching Shi Hao and Jun Moxiao. The stunning woman leading them was surprised by the two little fellows' strength.

"These two boys are so young, yet so powerful. Let's see if we can recruit them into our Heaven Mending Pavilion."

Seeing the two galloping toward them, the woman instructed her companions, "Go! Test their strength."

Jun Moxiao and Shi Hao were racing their horses when several beauties suddenly descended from the sky. The stunning woman in the lead attacked Shi Hao directly.

Jun Moxiao stopped at once and called out, "Pretty big sisters, what are you doing? Are you trying to rob us?"

With a wave of his hand, Jun Moxiao neutralized the women's attacks, then forced them back with a single move.

Shi Hao also blocked the stunning woman's attack and caught her delicate hand. "Big sister, why are you attacking us?"

The woman's figure flickered, and she appeared several meters away from Shi Hao. It seemed that what he had caught was a spiritual body.

The woman said to Shi Hao, "Little brother, we mean no harm. We only wanted to test your strength."

"I thought you pretty big sisters were trying to rob us! You scared us to death."

Jun Moxiao knew these women were the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Senior Sister and her companions.

One of them was Xia Youyu. Clad in white, she had an exquisite face and the grace of a well-bred lady, with an ethereal air like an immortal maiden. She was the second beauty Jun Moxiao had seen since coming to this world, with the Willow Deity ranked first. Even so, Xia Youyu outclassed every A-list actress on Blue Star in his previous life.

Female cultivators were rarely ugly. At any rate, Jun Moxiao hadn't met an ugly one yet. Even the aunties in Stone Village were very good-looking; they simply worked all the time and didn't know much about dressing up, so they all looked like tough tomboys.

The woman walked toward the boys, her gentle smile like a lotus blooming, and spoke in a clear, tender voice.

"You're an amusing little fellow. My name is Xia Youyu, and I'm a disciple of the Heaven Mending Pavilion. We recruit all kinds of talented disciples. You two have excellent gifts, so you can come to our Heaven Mending Pavilion when the time comes."

After speaking, Xia Youyu handed Shi Hao a token and told him he could enter directly without taking an assessment, then departed with the other women.

Shi Hao said to Jun Moxiao, "That big sister was so beautiful. This Heaven Mending Pavilion sounds pretty good."

Jun Moxiao grinned mischievously. "She is beautiful. What, do you like her? Then go take a look. You'll be able to see your pretty big sister there."

Shi Hao retorted, "What do you mean, I've taken a fancy to her? Still, we should go have a look at the Heaven Mending Pavilion."

Standing a short distance away, Xia Youyu said to her companions, "Those two children are incredibly strong. I wonder which family raised them. I hope they come to the Heaven Mending Pavilion."

Jun Moxiao checked the system: "Checked in with Xia Youyu of the Heaven Mending Pavilion. Seal unlocked. Strength restored to seven cave heavens. Obtained one cubic meter of the Spring of Life."

Wow! The Spring of Life! That means Grandpa Chief should become about ten years younger if he drinks it. It should help the Willow Deity too. Hmm, it should also restore the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit.

Two months slowly passed. During that time, the two ate to their hearts' content, and Shi Hao's strength rose to five cave heavens.