"No reconciliation, only death?"
Shi Yi slowly opened his eyes, his concealed double pupils shimmering in his sockets.
Before the adult Pixiu could respond, Shi Yi raised his hand, unleashing the Suan Ni Precious Technique. A sea of thunder descended, bolts of lightning as thick as water barrels crashing toward the Pixiu with relentless force.
With thunder, shatter the darkness.
"It seems you've been in the Great Wilderness for a while, yet you know nothing. How pitiful!" the Pixiu sneered.
The lightning bolts, capable of instantly obliterating most prehistoric beasts and exotic creatures, were mere tickles to the Pixiu, posing no real threat. Still, the paralyzing and concussive effects of the lightning hindered its movements, leaving it unable to catch Shi Yi as he kited it with a storm of thunder.
"I don't understand what you mean. I've said it before—the Mountain Treasure is fated to be mine. No one can take it, not even you!"
Shi Yi couldn't use the Qilin Precious Technique again just yet—his body needed time to recover. Without the ceaseless vitality of Liu Shen's Technique, even he couldn't suppress the collapse threatening his overtaxed body under such excruciating pain, akin to being flayed alive.
But he had to admit, without Liu Shen's secret technique, he wouldn't have endured this torment or forcibly pushed his strength to its limits using external artifacts.
The reason was simple: without the ceaseless vitality of Liu Shen's Technique, such an extreme outburst would leave his body crippled, if not utterly ruined, with little hope of recovery.
Yet Liu Shen's Technique worked tirelessly to mend his injuries, like a gentle hand soothing every wound.
Still, even this vitality had its limits. Shi Yi had only recently begun practicing the technique, far from achieving feats like regenerating from a drop of blood. And the Liu Shen's Technique he cultivated was incomplete, much like his Kirin Precious Technique. It wasn't that Liu Shen withheld the full version—Shi Yi simply wasn't strong enough yet to cultivate it.
"Shi Yi, this isn't just about the Mountain Treasure," the Pixiu said, nimbly dodging the falling lightning bolts. Its form flickered like thunder and lightning, impossible to track, as it adapted to the rhythm of the strikes.
A few breaths later, the Pixiu seized an opportunity. Slipping behind Shi Yi, it swung a massive claw, striking his back and sending him plummeting from the sky.
Like a meteor or a falling boulder, Shi Yi crashed through a towering mountain range, his body embedding deep within the rock.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Peaks collapsed, and the earth quaked.
Thanks to the beast bone and hide vastly enhancing his physique, coupled with Liu Shen's ceaseless vitality repairing his body, Shi Yi avoided being smashed to death in a single blow.
But in the next instant, his ten blazing Heavenly Passages rose again, like ten scorching suns. The countless double pupils in the sky glowed brighter, locking onto the Pixiu.
Being stared at by myriad eyes—what kind of sensation was this?
The Pixiu couldn't quite describe it, only feeling a primal crisis brewing, as if its life hung by a thread. It knew it couldn't let those double pupils continue their gaze.
At that moment, blood trickled from the corners of Shi Yi's eyes, staining his cheeks crimson. The eerie red lent him a demonic, almost otherworldly aura, shrouded in mystery.
But this was merely a side effect of overusing his double pupils, his pupil power overdrawn.
Why did Shi Yi push his pupil power to such extremes? Certainly not for amusement.
He sought to discern the Pixiu's fatal weakness, to deliver a single, decisive blow.
"I can't see it. I can't see it. Its lifeline—I still can't see it. As expected, forcibly boosted strength is just strength. Without the insights of that realm, I'm not truly of that realm."
"It makes sense. A child wielding a gun may have the power to kill, but how can they compare to a seasoned special forces soldier, honed through countless trials? I can only ensure equality in raw power."
"In a real fight, my chances of winning are slim."
In Shi Yi's vision, the world was a tapestry of vibrant colors and countless lines—lines of karma, lines of fate, lines of life. Everything in existence had its thread.
Sever those lines, and you severed their essence.
Cut the karmic line, and karma ceased.
Cut the fated line, and destiny dissolved.
Likewise, cut the lifeline, and life ended.
"Shi Yi, you little brat, I don't know what you're scheming, but I won't let you keep staring!"
The Pixiu darted behind Shi Yi again, its gaping maw lunging to tear him apart, intent on biting him to death and swallowing him whole.
It no longer hoped to cripple Shi Yi, erase his memories, and make him its adopted son. One misstep, and it might die here.
"What a pity. If I had just a bit more time, I might've glimpsed your lifeline," Shi Yi sighed inwardly.
A lesson learned from a sting.
This time, Shi Yi wasn't caught off guard. With a flash of the Suan Ni Precious Technique, he stuffed a blazing blue lightning orb into the Pixiu's maw.
"Pah! Pah! Pah!"
The Pixiu spat out the orb, its four limbs stomping through the void as it chased Shi Yi once more.
Shi Yi didn't fear it. With a wave of his hand, another sea of thunder descended, lightning bolts bombarding the Pixiu.
He fled, it pursued.
He couldn't sprout wings to escape.
But Shi Yi had no intention of truly fleeing. With his ten Heavenly Passages constantly drawing in heaven-and-earth energy to replenish his reserves, and Liu Shen's ceaseless vitality sustaining him, he believed he could hold his own in a prolonged stalemate.
When it came to a war of attrition, he was fearless.
An opponent who can't kill me will only make me stronger.
Ten days and nights passed.
The region where the Mountain Treasure had emerged, spanning a hundred thousand li of the Great Wilderness, had been all but leveled by Shi Yi and the Pixiu's clash.
In the vast sky, endless thunderclouds lingered, occasionally unleashing bolts as thick as barrels.
Over these ten days, Shi Yi grew increasingly exhilarated, as if a dormant battle lust coursed through him, making him stronger with each clash.
From being thoroughly dominated at the start, he now held the upper hand, his mastery of power at least doubling.
The Pixiu, too, recognized Shi Yi's terrifying talent for growing stronger through combat. It marveled at his saintly double-pupil potential and began to consider retreating.
On this day, the Pixiu used its backward-curving horn to forcibly push Shi Yi back, then turned tail and fled as if its feet were oiled. The sight left Shi Yi stunned, baffled.
"Shi Yi, had I known your talent was this extraordinary, I wouldn't have harmed the innocent after avenging my son. But what's done is done, irreparable. If the chance arises, I'll personally visit the Martial King's Manor to pay my respects."
With those cryptic words, the Pixiu vanished into the horizon.
Clearly, it had abandoned its claim to the Mountain Treasure and the notion of eliminating Shi Yi as a threat.
"Visit the Martial King's Manor? How dare you? Do you think the Stone Emperor is a pushover?" Shi Yi muttered, perplexed.
The Martial King's Manor resided in the Stone Kingdom, an ancient nation revered by billions. The Human Emperor, wielding the dragon qi of the imperial path, could suppress any ferocious beast bold enough to set foot in the kingdom.
After pondering for a while and still finding no clarity, Shi Yi set aside the Pixiu's words. He turned toward the battlefield's center, flying slowly toward the towering white pillar of light.
The pillar pierced the heavens and earth.
Within it floated a black orb, etched with dense, strange runes.
_
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