The snail was enormous, as large as a small mountain, effortlessly carrying over twenty people as well as massive hunting spoils such as elephants, fierce tigers, and giant pythons.
Shi Hao was speechless. How could a snail grow so large? This Upper World was truly bizarre.
Its shell was hard and jet black, like polished jade, radiant with a translucent glow, and extremely durable. Right now, it crawled swiftly, faster than galloping horses.
Anyone who says snails are slow, Shi Hao would definitely fly into a rage.
All the hunters in this group shared the surname Zhu and came from Zhu Village, just returning from a successful hunting trip deep in the mountains, laden with spoils.
Soon, Shi Hao understood why they carried the surname Zhu—it was a homophonic adaptation derived from a guardian spirit known as a “Zhu.”
This village was massive, housing nearly a thousand families. At the village entrance stretched a titanic spiderweb, radiant with silver light, upon which sat a colossal spider as large as an elephant. The spider remained still, quietly cultivating upon its web.
The web connected to two stone mountains at the village head, forming a vast silver net spanning two miles in diameter. The silk was crystal clear, like a protective barrier guarding the village.
The massive spider’s entire body was silvery white and motionless; it remained on the web daily, absorbing the essence of sun and moon, cultivating itself.
Shi Hao’s heart stirred. This spider wasn’t weak—just a village guardian, and already at the Transfigured Soul stage! A truly astonishing existence.
Sensing something, the silver spider opened its eyes, casting a glance toward Shi Hao and emitting a brilliant glow before resuming its cultivation.
The hunting party arrived at the village head, selecting a colossal saber-toothed tiger from their prey and presenting it onto the two-mile-wide web.
Then, the giant snail carried everyone beneath the web and into Zhu Village. Behind them came the sound of chewing. The saber-toothed tiger had been swiftly devoured by the silver spider.
Before the village stood two low stone mountains. Beyond them, the terrain opened up into wide plains dotted with houses.
“Haha! Uncle Jiu, you returned early today! You beat the other hunting parties and even bagged a Dragon Pattern Elephant—what a bountiful catch!” someone greeted joyfully.
Clearly, the village hosted more than just one hunting team.
“Luck,” the elder sitting atop the snail chuckled. “The Dragon Pattern Elephant was injured and we just happened to catch it. We struck it down right there.”
“Who’s this? Why have you brought back an injured one?” Many villagers gathered around.
“I found and rescued him!” the youngest boy atop the snail exclaimed. His name was Zhu Jun, just eleven or twelve years old, still a child with a youthful face, visibly excited.
The villagers exchanged glances, staring curiously at Shi Hao.
“Serious injuries! Did he get rammed by a Pixiu? Looks like at least twenty of his bones are broken!”
These villagers often hunted in the mountains and occasionally suffered injuries themselves. A single glance at Shi Hao told them his injuries were grave. Truthfully, nearly every bone in his body had been shattered.
“Let the Third Elder see him.”
The so-called Third Elder was one of the oldest villagers, knowledgeable in medicine and healing. He was the go-to healer for injuries and held great respect.
At the village rear stood a quiet courtyard overlooking a muddy pond. This was the home of the elder.
Gravely wounded, Shi Hao weakly sat up to express his gratitude.
The elder had a head of white hair, a slightly hunched back, and a hoarse voice. “Young man, I don’t know who you are, but you feel extraordinary. I only hope your arrival brings no disturbance.”
Once the crowd thinned, Shi Hao politely declined treatment, saying he could heal himself and only wished to stay for a while.
The elder nodded, offering half of his courtyard.
“This world has three thousand provinces?” After settling in, Shi Hao heard this from a young villager and was momentarily stunned—this revelation was shocking.
To think, in the Lower World, he had heard that a single province of the Upper World was many times larger than the combined eight domains of the Lower World.
Three thousand provinces—what an unfathomably vast territory! And that was only the explored area. Adding in the boundless, uncharted wilderness, it would be unimaginable!
Of course, Shi Hao didn’t show his surprise in front of the villagers. He gathered this information through careful, indirect questioning.
“Three thousand provinces is just an ancient term. How many provinces truly exist, even we can’t say. Probably not even the great powers know for certain,” the Third Elder said.
Indeed, the Upper World was immense, its territories endless, without boundary. It was precisely because of this vastness that countless mighty beings could arise.
Shi Hao understood. If one province was many times larger than the Lower World’s eight realms, then one province could naturally give birth to extraordinary prodigies and terrifying talents.
In the following days, Shi Hao recovered his body and explored the Dao of this world, preparing to complete his own laws.
The most effective method was Nirvana—undergoing transformation to complete this process.
However, this transformation would be intensely painful, requiring him to break all his bones and undergo blood renewal, a dangerous process.
Still, he was well-prepared. He had mastered the Nirvana methods from the Immortal Mountain and the Vermilion Bird Nirvana from the Fire Kingdom, even the phoenix-related Nirvana techniques of the noble Red Phoenix clan.
“The broken bones are already reknit. Seems I’ll need to break them again when the time comes,” Shi Hao murmured softly.
The God-Stone had fallen into slumber, damaged from the Celestial Ascent Road explosion. It needed rest to heal slowly.
Days later, Shi Hao had deeply understood the laws of this world and was ready to complete his body’s laws and attempt Nirvana.
“Wuuu…”
Suddenly, a deep horn blew, echoing like a beast’s roar across the land, stirring the entire village.
Soon, youths and young adults were all fired up, rushing excitedly toward the village head.
Even the guardian spirit was stirred, opening its eyes upon its web, casting a silvery gaze over all.
“What’s happening?” Shi Hao approached the village head and asked someone nearby.
“The Great Hero Selection is beginning!” a boy shouted excitedly. His name was Zhu Jun—the one who had first discovered Shi Hao on the road days earlier.
A great battle? Shi Hao felt puzzled but couldn’t ask too directly.
No need—he didn’t have to ask. The youths were too excited to stop chattering.
This was a grand event, a tiered selection process from all regions, gathering countless mighty contenders like rivers converging into the sea, bringing together mighty warriors for fierce competition.
“What’s the point of this?” Shi Hao asked casually.
“It’s said to be a divine opportunity—an impossible blessing!” a group of youths’ faces flushed with excitement as they discussed eagerly.
From villages to cities, then to prefectures—this was a grand contest of genius, with the strongest warriors rising ever higher.
“Where does it end?”
“We don’t know. Legends say even the strongest among us only reached the Prefecture level, never qualifying to challenge higher.”
“It must eventually escalate to the Provincial War, or even further—the mythical Three Thousand Provinces War! That’s the ultimate dream!”
…
Shi Hao was deeply surprised. The scale was immense. What was its purpose? Truly a tiered selection like rivers flowing into the sea, every tributary eventually joining the ocean.
Infinite warriors, countless mighty beings, and peerless prodigies from every corner would collide in one grand showdown.
A single province exceeded the Lower World in size many times over, boundless and boundless. The people of Zhu Village could barely comprehend such distances. They hadn’t even ventured the full extent of a single prefecture.
In truth, even the great cities’ inheritances and renowned sects’ experts struggled to grasp the world beyond their province—it was far too distant.
To travel from one province to another, even an immortal might take countless lifetimes.
“What’s the purpose of this great contest? What kind of fortune awaits?” Shi Hao sought to know, but the villagers had no answers.
He regretted not thoroughly questioning the black turtle from the Upper World back in the Lower World.
Unfortunately, that Upper World turtle—Sanhei—had escaped during his battle with the Seven Divine Beings and hadn’t been seen since, seemingly uninterested in returning to the Upper World.
Shi Hao casually asked, “How often does this contest occur?”
“Uncertain,” came the reply. “Sometimes it’s held every thousand years, sometimes it’s said to be every ten thousand.”
Shi Hao’s heart pounded. If that was the case, truly a grand event! His younger brother, Yue Chan, the Demoness, and countless other prodigies and chosen elites would likely participate. This would be a grand collision of geniuses!
“I should first complete my own laws and undergo Nirvana,” Shi Hao returned to his quarters to prepare.
To undergo Nirvana required many preparations. Besides mastering the Nirvana techniques, he also planned to construct a Nirvana Pool to nourish his body, enhancing this transformation.
After all, breaking every bone in his body, renewing and replacing his blood, was a vital endeavor that couldn’t afford the slightest carelessness. Everything had to be perfected.
Shi Hao’s Ten Divine Caverns glowed, and a beast-hide pouch dropped from him. When opened, treasures shone bright with thick spiritual energy—within were numerous ancient medicinal herbs, rare minerals, and spirit insects.
These were treasures Shi Hao had brought from the Lower World to support his Nirvana transformation.
Before the Bronze Treasure Box shattered, he had stored all these treasures within his own divine caverns to prevent their loss. Now, they would play a crucial role.
With caution, he set up a formation behind Zhu Village and began constructing the Nirvana Pool, boiling various medicinal liquids to prepare his transformation.
Starlight Grass, Black Demon Lotus, Red Dragon Vine, Snow Jade Body—one by one, the spirit herbs were refined and cast into the pool, the liquid glowing brilliantly with divine energy.
Surrounding Shi Hao were over a hundred spirit herbs, including rare spirit insects like the Three-Legged Toad, Red Sky Centipede, and Spirit Blood Serpent, all floating in the Nirvana Pool, releasing their essence.
After a full day and night, Shi Hao completed the Nirvana Liquid.
Then, clenching his teeth, he deliberately shattered every bone in his body, enduring excruciating pain, releasing his essence-blood, and sat cross-legged within the Nirvana Pool, initiating the transformation!
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