Similarly, there stood a pair of colossal gates as tall as mountains. Yet these were golden instead of the bronze pair below, and the divine flame surrounding the stone guardian danced with an extraordinary brilliance.
“This isn’t just a being with newly ignited divine flame!” Shi Hao judged. It must be something much stronger.
Swiftly, he stretched forth a mighty hand and seized the girl—by now he’d already caught up to her, and had no intention of letting her escape. With her captured, he retreated at high speed, harboring deep caution toward the stone guardian.
Thankfully, they had spotted it from afar and hadn’t approached closely.
“Help! Oh mighty stone, quickly save this great immortal!” She kicked and bit Shi Hao like a little wild leopardess trying to escape, fiercely untamed.
At this moment, all of her former grace and celestial elegance had vanished. She resembled nothing so much as a little savage beast—though her beauty remained, fragile as a porcelain doll, she was nonetheless fierce and untamed.
Taken aback, Shi Hao radiated light from his palms, blocking her attempts at sound transmission to prevent alerting the stone guardian.
Of course, he also prepared for the worst—if the stone guardian gave chase, he would leap directly from this celestial path. Even if it meant death within the Netherworld Realm, he refused to be captured.
“This isn’t fair! As a prodigy, you ambush me, lacking any honor or dignity of a mighty warrior! If we truly battled, I’d reduce you to dust within three moves!” The little girl raged, struggling with ferocity, her loose golden gown making her appear oddly comical.
The gossamer veil covering her face had long fallen away, revealing a delicate visage. Though her body was small, it was obvious she would grow up into a divine beauty. Her anger creased her pretty nose as her large eyes glared at him.
“Accept your loss—you must keep your word,” Shi Hao smiled.
“You bone-overgrown savage beast! Face me fairly! I’ll finish you off in three moves! But if I lose, then I’ll accept the bet’s consequence!” The girl declared boastfully, brimming with confidence—whether genuinely believing so or merely trying to provoke Shi Hao, no one could tell.
Shi Hao wouldn’t be goaded into releasing her, instead chuckling, “You are indeed extraordinary. At the final moment, your forehead pulsed with light—even though you couldn’t unleash your abilities, you exuded an aura that made one’s heart quiver. Are you also a ‘prodigy’ bearing a world-shaking divine art?”
“Dare you fight me? I’ll defeat you with only one hand in three moves!” She snarled, her porcelain face full of challenge.
“You little brat, don’t think you can trick me with flattery—it won’t work!” Shi Hao playfully flicked her smooth forehead.
“Ouch! You brute, I won’t forgive you!” She cried out, holding her head and wailing, nearly in tears.
Shi Hao chuckled mischievously. This prodigy girl from the Xianyuan truly was unique—calmly regal when at ease, ruthless and swift in combat, yet now so straightforward, wild, and even nearly overwhelmed by pain.
Lifting her effortlessly, Shi Hao returned to the Bronze Magpie Altar, continually radiating light from his hands to seal her power.
“Brute, remember this! Remember my name—I am Feng Wu!” She shouted fiercely, her big eyes blazing furiously.
“And what would knowing my name do for you?” Shi Hao teased, pinching her delicate, upturned nose and tugging at it cruelly.
“I’ll eat you up!” she screeched hatefully.
Laughing heartily, Shi Hao then used his other hand to grab her slightly chubby, tender face, rubbing it repeatedly until it warped comically, provoking her into a furious rage.
“Just wait!” she cried out vengefully—and suddenly she transformed into a rain of dazzling light, vanishing instantly from Shi Hao’s grasp with a flash.
“What?” Shi Hao was stunned. He’d definitely sealed her—how could she still escape?
In his palm, she left behind a small, luminous sword just finger-length, gleaming and sentient, radiating colorful rays. Had she used secret techniques for soul liberation, sacrificing herself deliberately?
Shi Hao was astonished. Feng Wu really was decisive. But he also recalled—this was the Netherworld Realm; she could still bounce back alive in the real world.
“I’m so angry! I, Feng Wu, have been triumphant all my life without tasting such defeat. How dare you pull my nose and squeeze my face? We aren’t done yet!” Her enraged roar echoed from afar as the rain of light sped away like lightning. Vaguely, her figure reformed in the distance, glaring at him with her teeth bared.
Shi Hao was amazed. This girl was truly formidable—capable of manifesting even after soul-liberation. She sure held her grudges tightly. The mere tugging of her nose or squeezing of her face had been indelibly etched into her memory, while apparently forgetting the greater humiliation of having been captured.
Using the Kunpeng Technique, Shi Hao pursued, attempting to bind the rain of light. But it was too late—the ethereal light slipped through like nothingness, rapidly rushing into the golden gates.
“Brute, remember this! I, Feng Wu, have never suffered such a great defeat before! I swear I will turn you into a revolting, squishy crawling worm and devour you!” And with that, Feng Wu stormed away. Yet, the light could only maintain form for a short while before inevitably dissipating, returning her to the real world.
“Accept your loss willingly, or else, someday I shall visit you at the Xianyuan!” Shi Hao shouted. He dared not chase further, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the stone guardian, ready to flee at any moment.
Oddly enough, though the stone guardian’s divine flames blazed, it remained utterly still, sitting in meditative silence as if devoid of any life essence.
Beyond the golden gates lay a vast and mighty territory crowned with towering mountains. Divine waterfalls cascaded thousands of feet downward, mirroring reality itself within the illusory domain, suffused with celestial energy.
“Hey, did you all see that? That light seemed like Feng Wu from the Xianyuan, was she actually defeated here?!”
“Impossible! How formidable Feng Wu is—she’s invincible within this domain. Only yesterday, she slew a millennium-old ancient Jiao!”
At the foot of a mist-veiled sacred mountain, a group of young elites stood, gazing in disbelief at the rain of light.
“Yet I really saw her, and the voice was exactly the same!” One insisted firmly.
“This makes no sense. She’s from the Celestial Academy, having mastered the Celestial Light, impervious to all techniques. She’s been crushing all her rivals without ever losing.”
“Exactly! I’ve heard she even pursued the Elf Tribe’s ‘prodigy’ in several battles, causing them immense troubles.”
The young cultivators discussed, still somewhat disbelieving that it could have been Feng Wu, for hers was a legend of unmatched prowess.
Mentioning the goddess-like beauty sent waves of apprehension through the cultivators. She normally appeared dignified and graceful, yet once she fought, she was like an actual female dragon—wild, ruthless, and overwhelming all who opposed her.
“I heard she once confronted heaven-blessed progenies from various supreme races in her quest for a suitable mount. Had it not been for outside interference, she very nearly succeeded.”
“Is that true? Did she really do such things?”
“These are whispered secrets—some say she even ambushed the young master of the White Tiger Clan and confronted others…”
“Silence! Such tales must not be spoken lightly, or we may invite mortal peril!”
“This… truly is the Feng Wu of the Xianyuan—just as legendary, powerful beyond words. If anything, her deeds may exceed the myths surrounding her.”
Shi Hao watched for a long while, yet the stone guardian still did not move. Puzzled, he turned back to the Bronze Magpie Altar, transmitting his voice toward the two old men on the distant black mountain.
“Am I really supposed to charge into those golden gates?”
“Yes! You must charge through and fight. Only by doing so can you defy the heavens and obtain the Bronze Treasure Scripture,” Bird Elder nodded.
“You must be joking! You want me to fight a deity?” Shi Hao glared, even with all his confidence, he refused to undertake such recklessness.
“What?! Is there actually a divine guardian ahead?” Elder Jingbi was surprised and somewhat dazed.
“You two old hags! You must be deceiving me! Do you even know what’s behind those golden gates?!” Shi Hao raged.
“How can we not know? According to our memories, one must pass through those gates—but we didn’t expect it to be this dangerous,” Bird Elder explained.
Across the way, on the black mountain, the entire assembly of cultivators had already gathered, watching that previous battle and now filled with shock. Even someone as mighty as Xiao Shi had encountered opposition here—an impossibility.
The girl was undeniably formidable, matching him blow for blow with perfect balance.
Shi Hao remained silent, again approaching along the path toward the golden gates, observing closely. Seeing the stone guardian still showed zero signs of life, he couldn’t resist testing his hand.
He plucked a single strand of hair, infused it with divine power, and flung it. Though but a thread, at this moment it roared forward like a black lightning bolt, shrieking as it soared.
Pop!
As the strand neared the stone guardian, it exploded into dust, the divine power igniting into radiant light before vanishing into the void.
Shi Hao had nearly turned to flee, even willing to leap from the celestial stone road suspended within the void, yet he noticed—the stone guardian still hadn’t budged.
Pausing, he pondered, “Could this merely be a statue, like a divine artifact, tasked with guarding this place, yet not actively hostile?”
On the other side of the golden gates, after the young cultivators concluded their discussions, they couldn’t resist curiosity any longer. Following the path, they reached the great gates but hesitated there.
“What are you all doing here? Could you be trying to capture the descendant of a great beast at the Bronze Magpie Altar?” A passing cultivator asked curiously.
“How could that be? No descendant of any great beast has ascended in tens of thousands of years. We’re merely curious and wish to pay homage to ancient ruins,” one smiled.
“That doesn’t quite add up—the way you all look, I suspect another reason.”
“Might sound unbelievable, but I think I just saw Feng Wu from the Xianyuan rushing out from there,” someone murmured quietly.
“What?! Let’s go check it out!”
On the Bronze Magpie Altar, Shi Hao pondered the immobile guardian. Having tested it multiple times and seeing only passive dissipation of attacks, he calculated his chances of entering.
“Hey, more people have arrived!” Shi Hao exclaimed, raising his head to spot a group of newcomers.
“Heavens! That’s…!” As the group approached, they immediately recognized Shi Hao, pointing in astonishment.
“Could I be seeing things? After 30,000 years, has another descendant of a great beast truly climbed up here?! This will definitely cause a sensation!”
“Certainly, then our earlier observation wasn’t wrong—Feng Wu must have truly been here. This is a monumental, heaven-defying event! We must report immediately!”
Shi Hao smiled, his brilliant white teeth gleaming as he stepped forward to meet them.
At the same time, within the Celestial Academy, a golden-robed goddess awoke suddenly, her luminous silhouette radiant, her snow-white skin glowing with vitality, yet her mood one of fury.
“Oh, you’re awake, senior! But why are you so angry? Did something wound your essence?”
“Infuriating! He dared pull my nose and twist my cheeks! What if one day he really comes to the Xianyuan?!”
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