Perfect World

Chapter 536: Chapter 536: Divine Village
 

“Help a friend with an advertisement ‘Mystic Divine Demon Glyph Slasher’—cultivating supreme divine skills, battling devil kings, defeating demon saints, and annihilating mystic gods.”

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A golden giant towered into the clouds, its body glistening as if cast from gold, possessing overwhelming divine power, wielding a black staff that swept across the universe.

With a whoosh, as the staff swept across, a mountain range lifted like it was made of paper, then caught fire and turned to ash.

This was a golden Divine Ape, distinguished by a pair of dragon horns on its head and red soles on its feet, standing tall and incredibly powerful.

On the other side, a fiery red bird, small but fierce, stirred up sky-high scarlet flames, threatening to burn the nine heavens, filling the sky with red.

Below, mountain ranges melted, magma rolled forming rivers, and merged into a bubbling, boiling lake of red.

A fierce battle raged between the ape and the bird.

Shi Hao was excited, recognizing them instantly. This wasn’t the first time he had witnessed such a battlefield; a similar scene had unfolded during the battle for mountain treasures earlier.

They were Hairy Ball and Little Red, clashing once again after many years.

Clearly, their battlefield was locked within an array, otherwise, the impact would have been more widespread. Additionally, the battlefield was strange; the destroyed mountains were slowly reforming, and the magma was gradually disappearing.

“Divine Demon Battlefield!” Yue Chan whispered, recognizing the rare magic artifact.

Their battlefield was a magic artifact, rare in the world, which the witch possessed. In the past, it had trapped Yue Chan in the Stone Capital, a valuable spatial magic artifact.

Zhuyan and the great red bird weren’t using it to fight directly but had turned it into an evolving battlefield of mountains and rivers. Otherwise, their destructive power would have been too alarming and endangered the great desolate area.

“Swoosh!”

Suddenly, Hairy Ball transformed into a Golden-Winged Peng and dove at Little Red Bird, its massive claws aiming to tear it apart.

Little Red’s feathers bristled, and with a buzz, it transformed into a sun, colliding with the Golden Peng. Although small in size, its aura was unparalleled!

“Boom!”

The fierce clash sent feathers flying; both were forced to retreat.

In the next moment, Little Red transformed into a human figure, covered entirely in scarlet armor and revealing only its eyes. It carried hundreds of scarlet Divine Swords on its back, with thousands more arrayed in the void around it, all flickering with light.

As the swords chimed into the heavens, when one sword was drawn, all the scarlet swords trembled together, forming a sea of scarlet light that surged forward in a unified slash.

Each sword was a symbol, forming an exceptional sword array that sealed Hairy Ball within it, filling the air with a murderous aura.

Hairy Ball howled, first transforming into a figure with three heads and six arms, bravely charging with increased fighting power, battling against the endless fiery red sword array; then it quickly shrank, turning into a golden War God. Its figure flickered, multiplying into thousands, charging through the array.

“Amazing!” Shi Hao exclaimed, both demonstrating unending divine skills and varied precious symbols, worth learning from.

Their power was undeniable, as both were wrapped in faint divine flames, indicating they were about to take a crucial step, a sign of the initial ignition of divine flames.

“Little brother, where have you been for so long? You’re finally back.” Light Wind was friendly, providing commentary for Shi Hao here. Hairy Ball had healed with the help of the Willow Deity, and before moving from Stone Village, the great red bird came back with Little Red.

As soon as Hairy Ball and the fiery red bird saw each other, they started fighting—a natural clash, though not fatally decisive, almost every few days a duel took place.

Lately, the people of Stone Village had grown accustomed to this, with Light Wind, Auntie Green Scaled Eagle, Shi Dazhuang, and Tiger often coming to watch and learn.

Shi Hao sighed softly. The Willow Deity was leaving, it healed Hairy Ball and baptized the Green Scaled Eagle’s family’s bodies, everything to help Stone Village protect itself.

“Awooo…” A long howl erupted, sounding like a wolf but also like a bird; a fiery red and imposing Ferocious Bird flew towards Shi Hao, yelling, “Would you dare to fight me?!”

It was over a hundred zhang long, dazzling with scarlet light and flames that seemed to burn the sky itself. Its dive was truly unparalleled in majesty.

Shi Hao smiled and extended a hand, which kept enlarging until it enveloped the Ferocious Bird, causing it to rapidly shrink until it was only about a foot long, flapping helplessly in his hand, unable to take off.

It revealed its true face—it was the Great Red Bird. Looking utterly deflated, it said, “Even after taking the Vermilion Bird as a master, I still can’t beat you…”

Everyone burst into laughter; just a moment ago, it had an air of invincibility, but now, it hung its head in despondence, a look of reluctance on its face.

“You’ve made progress; you’re much stronger than before,” Shi Hao said with a smile. Years ago, he had left the Great Red Bird in the ancestral lands of the Fire Nation under the tutelage of the fiery sparrow, and it truly had grown much stronger.

“Has Second Baldy not returned?” Shi Hao asked.

Light Wind shook its head; it had not come back since they parted years ago.

“Truly lacking in loyalty, abandoning his brother and running off alone,” the Great Red Bird grumbled.

Shi Hao sighed wordlessly; after all, Second Baldy, Kong Qiuji, was a supreme Venerable One. The days he spent in Stone Village being bossed around by the Great Red Bird were truly unfortunate.

It was clear enough to imagine; he had gone to the higher realms with that beloved friend of his, relying on the Array of the Celestials Clan.

Shi Hao sighed again, the people of the Fire Nation, the Celestials Clan, some old friends had all left, and the world seemed a bit colder.

“Chi!”

A golden light swooped over, and a little golden monkey about the height of a fist landed on the cliff, glaring sideways at Shi Hao with fiery golden eyes, its expression unfriendly.

Then, a small Red Bird, the size of a palm, also flew in wrapped in flames and landed on the mountain peak.

After their grand battle ended, the Divine Demon Battlefield was withdrawn.

“Hairy Ball, what’s that look? Don’t you recognize me?” Shi Hao spoke casually.

“What did you do when I lost my memory?” the golden little monkey demanded, its tiny crystalline horns now grown, emitting a soft halo of light.

“Those few years, well, I took great care of you, like when you stole the egg of the Five-colored Luan bird, I helped you roast it and we ate it together, or when you stole a Peacock egg and forced me to run with you from our pursuers, leaping into the Taiyin River to escape…”

“Stop talking!” Hairy Ball shouted, his face flushed from these memories; at this level, why was he still stealing eggs…

“It’s hilarious, a descendant of the Divine Ape turning out to be a little hairy thief,” the fiery sparrow by their side unsympathetically flapped its wings, shouting about the egg thief and laughing incessantly.

“Little Red, Hairy Ball, you—”

“Shut up!” the two yelled in unison, especially Hairy Ball, grinding his teeth in vexation; after being groggy for several years, why did he have to get such a lousy name?

Their lineage was remarkable, their years of cultivation not that long, but they were already on the verge of igniting divine flames. If their clans had survivors, they would certainly be terrifyingly powerful.

Particularly Hairy Ball, who shocked Yue Chan—how similar it looked to the one that had caused a huge disturbance in the Western Sect and fought against the Sixteen-foot Golden Body, also a special Zhuyan with Dragon Horns; could it be its descendant?

“Let’s go, back to the village!” Shi Hao called out, leading a cheerful and delighted group beginning their return.

Yue Chan and Qin Hao were deeply moved; was this really just a village? Whether it was the Array, Divine Medicine, or the presence of strong individuals, it was enough to stun the various major schools.

“This is a divine village,” Yue Chan whispered, absolutely justified to use this name with the presence of that willow tree.

“Hairy Ball, Little Red, help me catch a thief bird.”

They entered from the back of the village when they returned. Shi Hao looked at an ancient jujube tree, twisted like a horned dragon, that had a bird’s nest as big as a human head, and he couldn’t forget it. He had been trying to catch that Five-colored Sparrow since he was young, but had never succeeded.

“It’s very cunning. It ran away early and hasn’t appeared for a long time,” Light Wind said.

Shi Hao mumbled, feeling regret once again.

When Yue Chan learned from the monkeys and Er Meng that it was a sneaky little five-colored bird, the only thing that had ever made young Shi Hao cry a river without ever catching it, she couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the absurdity.

“Stop!” Shi Hao’s face flushed red, halting them. He did not want to bring up these old stories.

Qin Hao looked at this older brother with a strange expression.

Yue Chan pursed her lips, smiling slyly, her flawless face full of amusement—thinking how interesting this fierce guy was as a child, which didn’t quite match the image of the enemy she had in mind.

“Does he have any other embarrassing stories you can tell me?” At that moment, Qin Hao sounded like a teenager.

“Ask me; I know everything,” bragged one of the monkeys.

“Don’t say a word!” Shi Hao’s forehead creased heavily as he tried to stop them.

“Come on, tell me,” Yue Chan also chimed in, her radiant smile stunningly beautiful; no longer saintly, she urged the village youths to share their stories.

“Little Hao was hilarious; he didn’t wean until he was three…”

“No, wrong, at eight we still saw him secretly drinking.”

…

Qin Hao was taken aback. Yue Chan, forgetting her image, shook with laughter, bending over backward, her radiant face full of joy and gloating—was this the other side of the fearsome Little Stone?

Shi Hao was going mad, his old face bright red, unable to stop his childhood friends, he could only hold his head and run away, not listening or getting irritated.

“Little Hao, it’s nothing to worry about. Isn’t your sister-in-law here to rest? Laughing is beneficial,” Shi Dazhuang said.

“You guys should pick some plums for her; she’s been liking sour things recently,” Shi Hao said waving his hand as he clumsily escaped.

That moment, Yue Chan couldn’t laugh anymore and clenched her teeth in annoyance.

“Little Red, hairy ball, what exactly is the treasure from the mountain you two took?” Shi Hao asked, a question that had troubled him for years, always wanting to know.

“Why should I tell you?” Little Red glanced at him, expressing strong dissatisfaction with being called Little Red.

“Hairy ball, have you forgotten who took you to the Heaven Mending Pavilion to consume spiritual medicine, who took you to the Peng nest to see the sea…” Shi Hao shamelessly said.

Hairy ball hesitated, though resentful of the name, when it thought of all the past experiences shared with this young man, those emotions were sincere.

“It is a box carved from a Heavenly Bone, containing a supreme treasure, a technique of immense power—the kind that truly dominates the world,” hairy ball explained.

“Could it even surpass the ‘seventy-two transformations’ or the ‘Vermilion Bird Technique?'” Shi Hao was astonished.

“It’s different. This technique specifically controls divine skills. If mastered, it can combine various divine skills, integrating all kinds of precious techniques into one… unimaginable!” hairy ball explained.

“Do you know what taboo scriptures are? This is one of them!” the fiery red bird added.

“The bigwigs from the higher realms came down for it; this treasure is surely one of the items they sought!” hairy ball earnestly added.

Shi Hao was astonished, but… that supreme treasure carved from a Heavenly Bone was lost, and now its whereabouts were unknown.

“Originally, I obtained it, but unfortunately, my injuries were too severe, and I passed out at the bottom of the lake…” Hairy Ball mentioned, going crazy.

It was a night filled with laughter and joy, the moonlight was pristine, beside the sapphire-like small lake, campfires flickered, and men, women, old and young, sat around clusters of bonfires, laughing endlessly.

Golden roasted meats, the fragrant Little Devil Wine, children running about, and small creatures like the Lightning Dog and Purple-gold Rat followed merrily, creating a cozy scene.

Shi Hao brought back many gifts, various treasured artifacts, heaps of fine wines, and even pure-blooded creatures like the Blue Dragon, Nine-Headed Snake, and Purple-gold Ant, which were delicious and filled with vibrant spirit.

However, those venerable ferocious beasts from the human race could only have a little, needing to refine them as precious medicine, for the divine power contained within was too overwhelming for them.

Fortunately, there were many more rare breeds and other exquisite delicacies. Everyone gathered together, clinking glasses, with endless stories to tell.

Even some bare-bottomed kids quietly picked up a glass of wine, sipped it with a zing, and after being stopped by the adults, staggered around dizzily, looking adorably foolish.

During this process, Shi Hao gave away many items, making everyone, children and uncles alike, smile so broadly they could hardly close their mouths.

Especially the massive amount of Earthflame Liquid he brought back, which not only stunned the villagers but also left Yue Chan and Qin Hao flabbergasted. That was way too much.

In the late hours of the night, people eventually dispersed, most returned to the village, and some lay drunk on the grassy area by the lake, sound asleep.

Millions of stars twinkled, the moonlight hazy.

Under the village’s willow tree, Shi Hao sat cross-legged, talking with Little Pagoda and Willow Deity, filled with reluctance. Was it time to leave?

Especially for the Willow Deity, who was like a mentor and a friend to him, having grown up under its shade since childhood, he harbored deep emotions—would he never see it again?

Shi Hao murmured, conversing with them, feeling very downcast.

“The final deification battle of the eight regions, and then I must leave,” Willow Deity said calmly.

Little Pagoda made the same decision.

They both advised Shi Hao to go to the higher realms, stating the natural laws here were incomplete, the road had flaws, unsuitable for his growth.

“The higher realms, what’s special about them?”

“Is the firmness of the higher realms’ land special?” Little Pagoda said with a chuckle, seemingly joking.

“How vast is the higher realms, and how strong are the creatures there?” Shi Hao drank some Little Devil Wine, his face flushed, resembling a simple young man filled with longing for the unknown, eager to explore.

“To put it seriously, the higher realms are boundless, endless,” Willow Deity seriously replied, answering his question.

“Do you think people like the Western Sect Hierarch, Heaven Mending Sect’s master, and the Immortal Heavenly Venerate, those who have triggered great calamities, are very strong?” Little Pagoda asked.

“Very strong!” Shi Hao nodded.

“They can only explore less than ten percent of the higher realms. The mysterious and unknown regions, making up more than ninety percent, even they cannot step foot into,” Little Pagoda said.

“What?!” Shi Hao exclaimed, his drunkenness suddenly dissipated.

“Perhaps, I’ve traveled through the Primordial Gate and ultimately, the place I must go is the deepest part of the mysterious region?” Willow Deity whispered, not certain, just speculating.

Who can say for sure what will happen when that step is taken?

There are several paths, and this is one of them.

In the past, as giants die and sect leaders reach old age, some will venture into that boundless mysterious realm. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote and support at qidian.com. For mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)