Huo Ling'er's thoughts were practically written across her face.
Doubt. Nothing but doubt.
She questioned whether Shi Yi's so-called invincibility in the Heavenly Passage Realm was just hype—a shiny exterior with no substance, perhaps not even her match.
To this, Shi Yi remained calm, unshaken by external praise or personal setbacks. He felt no need to rush to prove himself. A true powerhouse doesn't get riled up by the doubts of the weak.
Lies don't hurt; the truth cuts like a blade.
True strength fears no skepticism.
Those with real confidence treat others' doubts as mere jests.
That said, Shi Yi had no intention of deliberately putting Huo Ling'er in her place. He explained, "I have a cousin who cultivates a unique technique called Scroll of a Lifetime, which lets her foresee the future. She sensed this is a trap set by someone with ill intentions, designed to lure me into rescuing him. That's why I sought the help of the Stone Nation and Fire Nation's Human Emperors."
Unless absolutely necessary, Shi Yi preferred not to reveal Liu Shen's existence. He wasn't sure if her frequent interventions might draw the attention of her enemies, but if possible, he'd rather avoid her needing to act.
After all, she had been betrayed and forced to descend to the Lower Realm's Eight Domains. If word got out that this ancestral sacrificial spirit was still alive, who knew if it would attract scrutiny from the Upper Realm—or even the Immortal Domain?
"Oh, I see!" Huo Ling'er nodded thoughtfully.
Truthfully, she didn't care all that much whether Shi Yi was truly invincible in the Heavenly Passage Realm. She just disliked pretentious types. His explanation eased her doubts.
A few minutes passed.
"By the way, Shi Yi, why haven't you come to see me in two years?" Huo Ling'er suddenly asked, realizing something. She was his fiancée in name, yet he hadn't visited her even once. Did he think she was less than the Stone Nation's Sixteenth Princess?
"Why would I need to find you?" Shi Yi countered.
Why would he go to the Fire Nation to seek her out?
Wasn't spending time with Liu Shen far more pleasant?
Besides, if that Vermilion Bird hadn't practically forced his head to nod, did she think he'd have agreed to this engagement so easily?
"You agreed to this marriage yourself, and that's why my father betrothed me to you. Why do you think?" Huo Ling'er huffed, tapping Shi Yi's head in annoyance.
She got it now—Shi Yi hadn't given her a second thought. Sure, she hadn't exactly been pining for him these past two years either, but he couldn't just forget her entirely!
"It's not my fault—" Shi Yi began, but before he could finish, a small red bird landed on his head. Its round, ping-pong-ball-like body was adorable, but it stopped his words cold.
"Ling'er, I can vouch for him. He definitely nodded willingly back then," the little red bird chirped.
"Really?" Huo Ling'er's lips parted in surprise.
"Absolutely. He was thrilled at the time."
The bird bounced on Shi Yi's head, noticing the crimson feather it had left behind still there, which made it even more delighted.
"And in two years, you didn't even glance my way?" Huo Ling'er shot Shi Yi a look of disbelief.
"I—"
Shi Yi gave up trying to explain. Whatever. She was just a proud princess, wasn't she?
Who made my life so tough? Sometimes, you just have to compromise. So be it.
As Shi Yi lamented his fate, a crimson-gold beast, resembling a golden monkey, hopped onto his shoulder. Arms crossed, it spoke with an air of authority, "Zhu Que, stop slandering Shi Yi. It was you who forced his head to nod. You think he'd agree so casually otherwise?"
"Zhu Yan, don't talk nonsense. I'm not slandering him," the little red bird retorted, lounging on Shi Yi's head, ignoring the thick-skinned monkey.
Four years ago, it and Zhu Yan had fought for two years over a mountain treasure in the wilderness. But after witnessing Shi Yi break through to Ten Heavenly Passages, they lost interest in the fight. The Vermilion Bird gave up first, and the monkey-like Zhu Yan also abandoned the treasure.
A mountain treasure could be fought for later, but Ten Heavenly Passages? That was rare.
Perhaps the Upper Realm had its share of prodigies achieving Ten Heavenly Passages, but in the Lower Realm's Eight Domains, Shi Yi was one of a kind.
Maybe, just maybe, the fate of the Lower Realm—treated as a medicinal field by the Upper Realm—could be change through Shi Yi.
The Upper Realm had long viewed the Lower Realm as a garden, harvesting Venerables as "great medicine." No one had ever managed to change that. But to the Vermilion Bird and Zhu Yan, Shi Yi was their only hope.
If he rose to power, the Lower Realm's Eight Domains could break free of their shackles. When the Upper Realm came to harvest, they'd have to ask Shi Yi if he'd allow the Lower Realm to remain their garden.
To the Lower Realm's Eight Domains, the Upper Realm was darkness incarnate.
And Shi Yi was the one to lead them out of it. Otherwise, two of the wilderness's four great ferocious beasts—the Vermilion Bird and Zhu Yan—wouldn't so easily align with a human.
___
Three Days Later
Deep in the Wilderness, an Unnamed Mountain Peak
The wilderness stretched endlessly, billions of miles of rugged mountains layered without end. Countless ferocious beasts lurked within, exuding an aura of dark profundity.
Atop a cold, nameless peak, a boy of about ten stood, his clothes stained with blood. The treasure bone in his chest glowed faintly.
Hundreds of ferocious beasts surrounded him, their eyes glinting with malice, jaws gaping, ready to tear him apart.
Brother, Mother, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so willful. Maybe I really am a calamity star. These beasts aren't fighting each other—they're all crazed, hunting me down.
The boy clutched his chest. He could feel the bone there, cracked from relentless battle, on the verge of shattering completely.
He couldn't understand.
Why weren't these beasts fighting over the mountain treasure? Why were they all mindlessly attacking him, as if controlled, throwing away their lives to kill him?
_
In the Shadows
"Big Brother, we let those Spirit Transformation Realm humans escape on purpose. By now, he should know what's happening here. Does that kid not care about his family at all?"
"No way. If he doesn't come to the rescue, he'll be condemned by everyone. That's what humans call… morality. Moral blackmail, that's it."
"Hahaha! We have no morals. No one can blackmail us."
"After days of bloody fighting, this kid's about to break."
"What a weakling. Nothing like his brother. That one gets stronger the longer he fights, his vitality like a rainbow, unyielding. This one's already burning out."
"He's not entirely useless. That bone in his chest is something special. Without it, he'd have been devoured by now under this onslaught."
Three massive pure-blood ferocious beasts hid in the darkness, their icy gazes fixed on the boy battling the horde, looking at him as if he were already dead.
___
Half an Hour Later
The boy spat blood, collapsing to one knee, coughing violently. As the bone in his chest teetered on the edge of breaking, ten blazing suns suddenly rose, illuminating the despair and darkness in his heart.
"Beasts!" A furious shout echoed from the azure sky.
In the next moment—
A sea of thunder descended.
_
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