The Golden Cauldron vanished, crossing through the void.
Moonlight spilled down as the dark clouds gradually dispersed. Most of the falling meteors had vanished too, as the formation had been reclaimed by Yue Chan’s primary body.
It was already the latter half of the night, yet the imperial capital of Stone Country did not find peace. After such an enormous event—countless meteors raining from the heavens—the entire city had been shaken, giving rise to widespread panic.
“Heavenly Emperor!”
When Shi Hao descended from the skies, voices rose in exclamation from within the city. Many people gazed upward, watching the dissipating clouds and the return of the bright moon, while he radiated light, descending as a deity manifesting in the mortal world.
In an instant, cries thundered across the city, crowds shouting the words “Heavenly Emperor.” Many knew he had just gone forth to meet the enemy, scattering the dark clouds and restoring the serene, moonlit night. Such skill naturally amazed the common folk.
No one knew precisely how much time passed before the clamor gradually quieted. Shi Hao observed the dragon vitality surging ever stronger, flowing toward the imperial palace and converging upon him.
“Child, you’re injured?!” Qin Yi Ning rushed forward, anxiety apparent on her face as she expressed her deep concern.
“Mother, I’m fine, merely a minor wound. I’ll recover shortly,” Shi Hao answered. Shimmering lights rose from his body, a powerful, sacred blood coursing through him like thunder rolling deep within his form.
The cultivators inside the palace could all see how Shi Hao’s vital energy surged like rolling waves, enveloping his entire form in an extraordinary, thriving vitality.
Even Qin Hao was shaken. This “younger brother” had proved himself formidable.
Half a shi later, the thunder-like sound within Shi Hao’s body ceased, and the radiant glow around his form faded. His formidable aura became restrained once more.
“Peng Jiu, has the palace suffered any damage?” Shi Hao inquired.
“Protected by the formation, none of the palace structures were destroyed by the falling meteors, nor were there any casualties,” Peng Jiu replied.
The only complication had been the vast number of meteors descending and being destroyed by the formation. The debris and dust had fallen around the palace grounds, nearly burying the place.
Thankfully, Peng Jiu had already organized manpower to clean the area. The palace possessed mighty artifacts capable of holding mountains and rivers, enabling the cleanup to progress swiftly.
“My son has grown up!” Shi Zi Ling sighed.
Qin Yi Ning wore a delighted expression. Through their time together, although guilt lingered, there was no denying he was still her own child. She no longer felt constrained and reached out to gently tousle his hair.
Before long, the crowd dispersed.
The moonlight turned hazy, stars sprinkling the sky.
Inside a quiet chamber within the palace, Shi Hao sat cross-legged. He had quickly taken stock of his spoils from battle—several rune bones, rare and priceless treasures, though none contained any inheritance of sacred techniques.
“Ah!” Shi Hao was delighted. From among the treasures, he pulled out a silver feather, its glow pure white, like a flickering flame, entwined with mysterious glyphs.
“The Silver Phoenix Feather!”
After careful observation, Shi Hao reached this conclusion, recalling ancient records describing it in texts.
The gleaming silver feather gleamed like a dancing fire, radiating mighty divine energy. It was not, of course, a feather from the true phoenix of ancient times, but rather from a Silver Phoenix, a descendant, still born with primal authenticity.
With a gentle wave of this feather, a whistling sound issued forth—silver light danced, easily slicing through even gold and stone.
“The materials for the Five Birds Fan are nearly complete. I never expected to one day gather them all for its forging,” Shi Hao murmured softly.
He already held primal feathers from the Azure Phoenix, Vermilion Bird, and Golden-Winged Great Peng. With this Silver Phoenix feather, the ensemble was nearly complete.
The Five Birds Fan was legendary during the ancient eras, famed for its combat prowess. With a single wave, it could reduce mountains and rivers into dust and evaporate entire thousand-mile-long rivers into mist.
During the great ancient battle, certain artifacts shone across the ages, inscribed into historical records. The Five Birds Fan was counted among the most powerful magical artifacts.
Its greatest virtue lay in its ability, if properly refined, to manifest a small world of its own, generating endless divine power without demanding continuous expenditure of the wielder’s energy—an ability so miraculous it could be called Heaven-defying.
After storing the Silver Phoenix feather, Shi Hao no longer dwelled over the other precious treasures and magical artifacts.
A fragrant aroma reached his nose, and a small two-inch-high jade jar cracked open, tiny specks of purple radiance flowing outward.
Shi Hao’s heart stirred. He opened the jar nearly destroyed, revealing a pill the size of a thumb’s tip, glowing in radiant purple and golden lights, illuminating the secret chamber in resplendent brightness.
He lightly inhaled the pill’s fragrance. His blood surged again, the remnants of his wounds, not yet completely healed, suddenly turning for the better. This was truly astonishing.
“The Pill for Mending the Heavens!” Shi Hao murmured, recognizing its name.
There was no doubt this pill was invaluable, one of the most sacred treasures of the Pill Menders’ Sect. Forged primarily from sacred medicinal herbs, its rarity was easily imaginable.
This pill represented life itself. So long as one still had breath, swallowing it could reinvigorate the body, restoring vitality.
“An excellent treasure!” Shi Hao was pleased; the rewards gained from this battle exceeded his expectations.
He gathered all his spoils, retrieving the World Treasure Box, activating special glyphs to open it.
A radiant hole formed from the characters, and a graceful, ethereal figure swiftly emerged, light and elegant. Yet once she took in the scene before her, her body went stiff.
Yue Chan stood luminously, yet disappointment shadowed her eyes. Her beautiful gaze shimmered with rosy brilliance as she sighed quietly, murmuring, “Poor girl, she really wasn’t lucky.”
“You’re the one who wasn’t lucky!” Shi Hao sat cross-legged, making no move to rise.
“From now on, I’m truly at odds with her,” Yue Chan said, sitting down on a meditation cushion as though she weren’t a captive at all, her eyes sparkling.
“Self-delusion?” Shi Hao chuckled.
“You must understand, in that battle, she truly sought to kill me,” Yue Chan explained.
“And then you led me into her trap, allowing her to strike at me?” Shi Hao asked.
“I had no choice. Working with her could bring freedom. Success would have been better than remaining in your grasp, wouldn’t it?” Yue Chan remained calm, showing no sense of guilt.
She added with a strange gleam, “I thought she had succeeded. I assumed you had no way to survive. How did you manage to live?”
“Such a noble high priestess, if given a chance, would surely escape. Why would I ever trust you from the beginning?” Shi Hao scoffed, surprised at her composure despite the confrontation.
“This time, I’ve truly parted ways with her. From now on, we will only meet as enemies. Only one of us will remain alive,” Yue Chan sighed.
Shi Hao remained silent, gazing at her in quiet contemplation.
Yue Chan continued, “What I say is true. She already knows about my marriage to you, yet failed to rescue me. From this day onward, to preserve her purity, she will strive to kill me without hesitation.”
“What a bother. Killing you seems to be exactly what she desires, enabling her to immediately form a new divine embryo in my hands. So what should I do with you?” Shi Hao mused, running a hand over his forehead.
“Cooperate with me, let’s together oppose her!” Yue Chan said bluntly.
“You may possess unparalleled beauty, but what good does that do? Now you’re already my prisoner. What qualifies you to collaborate with me?” Shi Hao smiled, his tone still laced with coldness.
At the mention of her beauty, Yue Chan flushed, recalling their previous intimate moments. Her teeth gritted in silence, even her snowy white neck turning pink. That disastrous wedding night still unsettled her. Now again, it seemed she could not escape.
“Listen, if you want revenge on me, better keep it to yourself. Grinding your teeth in front of me isn’t wise,” Shi Hao teased.
Yue Chan remained silent, her head lowered in thought for a long time. The redness faded from her face, and her composure returned as she lifted her eyes.
“Bring me a rune brush. We will cooperate,” Yue Chan said.
“Mm?” Shi Hao was surprised.
In the end, Yue Chan took up the brush and actually inscribed an ancient scripture. Each character radiated light, containing an innate divinity—not because she poured her divine power into them, but because the rune’s profound meaning was too terrifying.
“This is how we shall cooperate. Give me a quiet period, and don’t… disturb me,” Yue Chan said, her face flushing again.
“The Phoenix Soaring Through the Nine Heavens,” Shi Hao’s heart jumped. It was a divine art. As those runes entered his vision, they transformed as though into a flaming true phoenix, spreading wings and soaring into the heavens.
“This is one of the variations of the Sacred Phoenix’s Treasure Art, an ability of immense might!” Yue Chan explained.
Whether regarding the True Dragon or the Holy Phoenix, their full Treasure Arts were matchless, unparalleled. Even a fraction of these techniques could astound the world.
“My talent is extraordinary. With just this one skill, I expect to master it quickly. Once I’ve perfected it, I can come bother you again?” Shi Hao said with a smile.
“Then I shall teach you the second, third—and even the final form of the Sacred Phoenix Treasure Art, one I myself have never completed,” Yue Chan said.
“The final form?” Shi Hao was deeply moved.
“It was long since lost. This is merely later generations’ interpretation and supplementation, extremely difficult to cultivate,” Yue Chan responded candidly.
Shi Hao was naturally not satisfied. “But what if I manage to master the Sacred Phoenix Treasure Art?”
“Then I shall teach you other Treasure Arts, eventually even the Mending the Heavens Art,” Yue Chan said resolutely.
“You’d be this generous to me?” Shi Hao asked curiously.
“If you can master it, what difference does it make if I am married to you as well,” Yue Chan said calmly, her jade-like face softly smiling.
“Fine!” Shi Hao agreed. Yet inside, he thought uneasily—the immortal techniques practiced by the celestial maiden of the Pill Sect posed issues, splitting into two independent beings. How could they remain unified in purpose?
“Would you like to divide yourself into a primary and secondary body, generating two mighty divine embryos, obtaining an immortal body?” Yue Chan asked with a charming smile.
“Not interested!” Shi Hao shook his head firmly, rejecting the idea.
From that day onward, Shi Hao began cultivating the first stage of the Sacred Phoenix Treasure Art, deeply absorbed, unable to detach from it.
Meanwhile, outside the palace, the world had already erupted in commotion. The grand deeds of Shi Hao toppling the Immortal Old Mountain finally reached the Wilderness Domain, triggering major upheavals.
At the same time, news of Yue Chan’s night raid on the Stone Country palace spread, refuting the rumor of her capture and imprisonment by Shi Hao. Upon hearing this, Shi Hao laughed out loud, while Yue Chan’s secondary body remained silent.
A few days later, Xiao Ta returned, causing Shi Hao intense curiosity. Eagerly breaking through his cultivation barrier, Shi Hao met and conversed with it.
Unfortunately, Xiao Ta showed no inclination to satisfy his curiosity about “the old friend” and offered no response, no matter how much Shi Hao pressed.
“I may have to depart soon. Afterward, everything will depend on you,” Xiao Ta finally said after a long silence.
“Xiao Ta, you…” Shi Hao felt tremendous shock.
Two days later, Liu Shen reappeared within the Central Celestial Palace.
“I am leaving,” were the first words Liu Shen spoke upon reappearing, stunning Shi Hao and wrenching his heart, as though saying “must you really leave?”
“Return to the Stone Village first,” Liu Shen said, explaining that he would reveal their current village’s location.
Silently, Shi Hao invited his parents, then took the captured Yue Chan and naturally, Xiao Ta along, and returned toward the Stone Village.
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