ROAR!
Outside the ancient town, an angry roar echoed.
It was a giant Green Wolf, standing at a formidable two meters tall, its whole body a verdant hue. Its two razor-sharp fangs were quite long, and its eyes, which possessed a demonic allure, appeared particularly unnerving.
It approached from the distance.
Seated on the back of the Green Wolf was a young man, strikingly handsome with luxurious attire, clearly a scion of a great family.
It wasn't long before the Green Wolf stepped into the ancient town.
The young man on its back opened his eyes, a smirk curling the corners of his mouth. A Spiritual Beast? That's this young master's possession.
He was very confident, almost… arrogant.
In the ancient town, many Cultivators who saw him changed their expressions dramatically, hastily avoiding him, not daring to come close to this fellow.
He was Shi Yi, the youngest Prince of Stone Country.
Shi Yi had started cultivating at an early age. Leveraging the royal resources of Stone Country, he had stepped into the Breaking Sun realm when he was just in his teens.
Now, his cultivation stood firmly at the Condensed Soul Third Heaven, far ahead of many of his peers.
Not only that, the Green Wolf beneath him was a third-order Demon Beast. Its strength was equivalent to a Human Clan Cultivator of the third realm who possessed Destiny, making it powerful. Combined with his identity and origin, almost no one within the borders of Stone Country dared to provoke him.
However, the originally fierce Green Wolf, upon entering the ancient town, suddenly became anxious and uneasy. Its large body trembled, and its eyes reflected its fear.
It kept retreating as if it had sensed something, not daring to linger.
Shi Yi frowned. "Green Wolf, what are you doing?"
WHIMPER!
The Green Wolf growled lowly.
"You want to leave?" Shi Yi was surprised. "Are you scared?"
It was a third-order Demon Beast, so strong that even when facing the Grand State Master, it had never shown fear, always maintaining its imposing aura.
But now, it was actually afraid.
What could possibly be inside this tiny ancient town that made it so fearful?
Interesting!
Shi Yi quickly guessed the answer.
Demon Beasts are almost always ferocious, bloodthirsty creatures. Even when faced with a being stronger than themselves, a Demon Beast wouldn't easily submit.
But if it were a Spiritual Beast…
Spiritual Beasts are creatures born from the essence of heaven and earth, the crystallization of Creation, inherently containing the Great Tao. The birth of each Spiritual Beast is the result of years, even eons, of culmination.
Moreover, a Spiritual Beast's bloodline naturally suppresses Demon Beasts. This suppression is akin to how supreme beings, long accustomed to their lofty positions, look down upon the creatures beneath them.
This held true even if the rank of this Spiritual Beast wasn't high.
Shi Yi guessed that the Spiritual Beast spoken of from Salt Mountain must be hiding within this ancient town. Right?
He waved his hand grandly, signaling for the Green Wolf to retreat from the ancient town.
The ancient town wasn't large, and it was geographically isolated. If not for the news of the Spiritual Beast from Salt Mountain, it would never have attracted so many powerful individuals.
A walk around it would only take seven or eight minutes.
Shi Yi didn't notice anything amiss, but Chen Pingping caught his attention.
He strode over. "This Earth Chicken isn't bad."
The Earth Chicken rolled its eyes, cursing inwardly, You're the Earth Chicken! Your whole family are Earth Chickens! I am a descendant of the Ancient Phoenix!
「Deep within Salt Mountain.」
Chen Shixian, still searching for the Spiritual Beast, suddenly stopped. Her eyes, like rippling autumn waters, looked back.
Along the way, she had encountered many corpses of ferocious beasts; bloodied remains and scattered bones were everywhere.
She had initially thought it was the Spiritual Beast's slaughter and hadn't given it much thought. But… she seemed to have overlooked something. Yu Chang'an had mentioned that the Spiritual Beast emanated flames, clearly a fire-attribute Spiritual Beast.
Yet, none of the ferocious beast corpses showed any signs of burn marks.
"Senior Sister, what's wrong?" Yu Chang'an asked.
"In the area we just passed through, third-order ferocious beasts were everywhere, and there was no lack of fourth-order ones," Chen Shixian said, her eyes open. "And yet… that fellow's internal aura was faint, with no fluctuations from his Dantian at all."
Something was off.
A fellow without any discernible aura, yet he appeared unharmed in such a place.
This itself defied common sense.
A mortal?
Chen Shixian certainly didn't think so.
He had casually pointed in a direction, and they had pursued it for nearly an hour, yet they hadn't found even a trace of the Spiritual Beast.
Moreover, the rampaging ferocious beasts had all calmed down.
Could she assume the Spiritual Beast was no longer in Salt Mountain?
"Senior Sister, do you suspect that fellow from earlier was problematic?" Yu Chang'an asked, surprised.
"It's not suspicion." Chen Shixian turned around, silently adding to herself, He definitely has a problem.
Not long after, Chen Shixian and the others returned to the ancient town. They found Chen Pingping in an inn, along with Shi Yi, the youngest Prince of Stone Country.
She didn't act rashly.
Yu Chang'an, following behind her, felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing Chen Pingping again, as if he had met him somewhere before.
Shi Yi stared at the Earth Chicken, his heart uneasy for a long time.
No way, right? It can't be!
Is that the Spiritual Beast?
He could hardly believe his eyes. The Earth Chicken had just rolled its eyes, showing great intelligence, as if it were cursing him.
Besides a noble Spiritual Beast, what other creature could display such an expression? What kind of ordinary poultry could manage that?
At this moment, Chen Shixian spoke up, "This Earth Chicken isn't bad."
Only then did Shi Yi notice Chen Shixian—the sole Divine Body of Stone Country and the Grand State Master's beloved disciple. If nothing unexpected happened, she would inherit the position of the next Grand State Master.
Although affiliated with Stone Country, this Divine Body had never held the Stone Country's royal family in high regard.
Shi Yi had endured this for many years and had long wanted to teach her a lesson. Alas, he was no match for her in a fight!
"Yes!" Chen Pingping smiled. "I've raised it for many years. The meat is excellent, perfect for stewing."
"Name your price," Chen Shixian said directly.
"Although it's just poultry, it possesses intelligence. If you can convince it to go with you, then… it's yours, free of charge," Chen Pingping stated.
The Earth Chicken was instantly agitated.
I'm a Spiritual Beast, damn it! How dare you describe me as mere 'poultry' and even think of selling me? This Human Clan Cultivator is simply unreasonable!
Shi Yi, frowning as he sat to one side, recalled some rumors. It was said that the Divine Body, Chen Shixian, was cultivating a terrifying Tao.
If she were aided by a Spiritual Beast, her progress would surely be greatly accelerated.
At that point, could he still defeat the Divine Body?
"Fellow Taoist," Shi Yi spoke up, "I am a Prince of Stone Country. Would you be willing to sell this Earth Chicken to me?"
Chen Pingping feigned surprise. "You want to stew it too?"
This remark was aimed at the Earth Chicken, a clear threat, as if to say, See? So many people are eager to eat you! Only I don't want to eat you; I truly want to protect you. So, why not follow me?
He nonchalantly added, "It's not for sale. However, if Your Highness the Prince is truly interested, you could try persuading it."
Chen Shixian frowned. She immediately took out several Spirit Stones and said to the Earth Chicken, "I am the Divine Body, the Grand State Master's sole disciple. If you follow me, you can have all the Spirit Stones you want."
Seeing this, Shi Yi, refusing to be outdone, declared, "Don't listen to her nonsense! I, the Prince, am the wealthiest person in Stone Country. I have mountains of Spirit Stones, enough for you to feast on for centuries!"
HEH!
Chen Shixian glanced at him and added, "Besides Spirit Stones, I also have Spiritual Medicine."
"I have them too! Spirit Stones, Spiritual Medicine, Spirit Pills—you can have as much as you want!" Shi Yi had made up his mind. He absolutely could not let Chen Shixian obtain the Spiritual Beast.
The Cultivators in the inn were quite astonished, wondering if the Divine Body and the Prince had gone mad.
It's just an Earth Chicken, what's there to fight over?
Just then, a violent tremor suddenly came from the direction of Salt Mountain, accompanied by a booming sound. The entire mountain shook. Immediately after, a surge of flames erupted into the sky, and an overwhelming Demon Aura descended.
"It's the Spiritual Beast! The Spiritual Beast has appeared!" someone exclaimed.
Large numbers of Cultivators promptly rushed out, Chen Shixian and Shi Yi among them.