Soon, Lin Zihan covered her face with her hands and fled Ji Mo’s courtyard like a bolt of lightning.
She wore Ji Mo’s jacket, clutched a box of ointment he had gifted her, and sped towards the direction of the Burning Heaven Sect.
“How could Senior say such things? I’m still an unmarried maiden.”
The usually carefree Lin Zihan displayed a rare girlish shyness. The thought of Ji Mo’s earlier words made her cheeks burn.
Inside the house.
Ji Mo held a fiery red bead, the size of a longan, his awkward chuckle not yet faded.
He thought, books were all lies.
What nonsense about a maiden having nothing to repay but herself, begging the young master not to dislike her…
Such plotlines could never happen in reality.
Lin Zihan had simply taken off her clothes to retrieve a precious item she kept close to her body, to gift it to him.
That treasure was the bead Ji Mo held in his hand.
The Heaven Burning Sect’s treasured artifact, the Li Fire Pearl!
“Alas, just a broken glass bead, hidden so deeply, it made me misunderstand.”
Ji Mo played with it for a moment, finding it not as good as the marbles he casually made for amusement. He tossed it aside.
The sun set, and night fell.
After dinner, Ji Mo practiced calligraphy for a while and went to bed early.
Once he fell asleep, the pond that had been silent all day began to boil.
Dragonfish leaped out of the water, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. Dragon energy coiled around them, their fins slowly evolving into dragon claws.
By the pond, the lush green old willow tree swayed without wind. Its myriad hanging silk threads emanated green mist, within which law runes danced, creating an astonishing spectacle.
The fruits and vegetables in the garden exuded pure wood essence, already considered tangible spiritual treasures of heaven and earth.
A plump little green caterpillar lay lazily on a cabbage leaf, its entire body crystal clear, shimmering with nine-colored auspicious light that then slowly vanished.
In the blacksmith’s shed to the right of the courtyard, ordinary farm tools gleamed with flowing light, emitting powerful auras.
The ordinary courtyard of the day finally revealed its extraordinary side.
But all of this was masked by a mysterious power, rendering it impossible for outsiders to detect.
As the night deepened.
A strange wind suddenly gusted, and terrifying demonic energy ravaged the land.
In the southern sky, a colossal entity blotted out the sun, its shadow engulfing a vast mountain range.
“Vile Sky-Swallowing Python, to dare ambush me while I’m breaking through! One day, I will reclaim Tongtian Mountain Range and tear you, this long worm, to shreds.”
The shadow roared, and a large amount of blood rained down from beneath its wings, staining entire forests red.
Various demonic beasts underground trembled, their auras suppressed, daring not to make the slightest sound.
They feared being spotted by the demon emperor, the Sky-Swallowing Roc, who had failed in his bid for supremacy over Tongtian Mountain Range, and being devoured in one gulp.
“What do I see, Dragonfish!”
The Sky-Swallowing Roc’s eyes scanned the land, searching for a suitable secluded spot to heal. It inadvertently spotted the Dragonfish absorbing moonlight.
Instantly, its eyes glowed green.
“Fortune! Indeed, surviving a great disaster brings future blessings. I never expected this barren land to birth dragon species.”
By devouring these Dragonfish, not only would its injuries heal instantly and its strength increase significantly, but it might even awaken its phoenix bloodline.
The Sky-Swallowing Roc didn’t hesitate and dived towards the pond.
Within a radius of ten thousand miles, it was an invincible existence, naturally acting without restraint and fear.
“No, the five elements generate each other, yin and yang complement each other, this is…”
“Tai Chi Formless Array!”
As it approached the courtyard, the Sky-Swallowing Roc finally sensed something amiss, its expression changing drastically.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Five divine lights shot up into the sky, interweaving into a celestial net that instantly bound it.
Its demonic power was sealed, its innate primordial bloodline suppressed. The Roc’s massive body was continuously compressed and shrunk, before it plunged headfirst into the pond.
The Dragonfish in the pond seemed to see a feast descending from the sky, pouncing on the Roc and tearing at it with their mouths.
Instantly, the water churned, and feathers scattered.
Struggling to climb out of the pond, the Roc had lost more than half of the black feathers on its body.
If not for its tough hide and protective divine abilities, and the fact that the Dragonfish had not yet fully matured, it would have been gnawed to death.
“Someone’s stealing fish?”
Ji Mo was awakened by the commotion in the pond, thinking a thief had broken into his home. He quickly got out of bed, grabbed a broom, and rushed out.
The Sky-Swallowing Roc looked at its half-bare body, filled with indignation.
A tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs! If not for the suppression of the Tai Chi Formless Array, how could it be so disheveled?
Its face contorted with ferocity as it roared, “Just you wait! Once I recover my strength, I will devour you all.”
The Dragonfish in the pond panicked and instantly submerged to the bottom.
“Ha, scared, aren’t you?”
The Sky-Swallowing Roc was smug. It was said that dragons were the most unruly, but it seemed they were all the same.
Little did it know, a dark figure was stealthily approaching from behind.
The Dragonfish were not afraid of the Sky-Swallowing Roc, but of the formidable individual who could stew big fish in a pot.
*Slap!*
Ji Mo swung the broom, raining blows upon the Sky-Swallowing Roc.
“You bald black chicken, how dare you come and steal my fish!”
What?
Bald black chicken?
I am the dignified Demon Emperor, the supreme overlord of Tongtian Mountain Range! How dare you, mere ant, insult me so!
“I will tear you to shreds!”
The Sky-Swallowing Roc’s seven orifices were filled with rage. It discovered that a mortal not only insulted it with words but also beat its noble body, making it cry out in fury.
However.
A terrifying thing happened. The Sky-Swallowing Roc found itself completely unable to resist.
The broom in the mortal’s hand contained a mystical power. Each swing seemed to seal a space, rendering it immobile.
The Sky-Swallowing Roc let out a pained cry, its demonic body covered in bloody marks, quickly becoming bruised and battered.
“This stewed black chicken is very nutritious. If I beat it to death, it won’t taste as good.”
Ji Mo ultimately did not deliver a fatal blow, staring at the Sky-Swallowing Roc and licking his lips, his gluttonous nature fully exposed.
But soon, he showed a look of disdain.
This black chicken wasn’t fat at all, and its feathers were sparse. He wondered if it was sick.
At this moment, the Sky-Swallowing Roc’s mind went blank. What did it just hear?
This person wanted to eat it, and even make it into soup?
It collapsed onto the ground.
Beside it, the plump little green caterpillar, which had been watching the show with relish on a cabbage leaf, was picked up by two fingers, flicked onto the ground, and crushed under a foot.
“Strange, why are there always insects in the vegetable patch? It seems raising a chicken to catch insects wouldn’t be bad.”
Ji Mo suddenly had an idea. He poked the Sky-Swallowing Roc’s bare belly with the broom, “Little Black, I’ll spare your life as a chicken today. From now on, you’ll be responsible for clearing the insects from the vegetable patch.”
“Work hard, and you’ll never worry about food or drink. If you don’t do well,” Ji Mo paused, “boiled or braised, that will be your fate.”
“Cluck, cluck, cluck…”
The Sky-Swallowing Roc was terrified. How could it dare to resist? It wisely nodded repeatedly, even starting to mimic a chicken’s cluck.
As the saying goes, if you keep the green hills, you’ll never run out of firewood. It would endure this humiliation for now, and once its strength recovered, it would find an opportunity for revenge.
Ji Mo nodded with satisfaction, dropped the broom, and turned to leave.
But then he thought about it, turned back again, grabbed the Sky-Swallowing Roc, and in a flash, plucked all the feathers from its wings.
This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about this black chicken flying over the courtyard wall to escape.
With a smile on his face, Ji Mo clapped his hands and contentedly went back to sleep.
The Sky-Swallowing Roc felt a chill all over its body, filled with shame and fury. “How will I face anyone from now on? A demon can be killed, but not insulted! This is an irreconcilable feud!”
But after a moment, the grief and indignation on its face faded, replaced by shock.
“Such dense spiritual energy! It’s dozens of times richer than my cave dwelling in Tongtian Mountain Range.”
“Could this willow tree be a先天灵根 (Xiantian Linggen - Innate Spiritual Root)? Each branch contains a type of heavenly law. If one were to meditate under this tree, there would be no inner demons, and all laws would be understood.”
“And these vegetables and fruits all over the courtyard are actually spiritual plants, it’s simply unbelievable.”
…
The Sky-Swallowing Roc exclaimed from time to time, feeling like a bumpkin entering the city, its horizons greatly expanded.
As a Demon Emperor, the overlord of Tongtian Mountain Range, it considered itself to have seen much of the world. Now, it finally understood what it meant to be ‘there are always heavens beyond heavens.’
“Haha, I am indeed the chosen demon, with heaven-defying luck!”
“For now, I shall feign obedience to that human. When the time comes, I will find an opportunity to destroy him and seize everything here. It’s just clearing small insects, which is nothing to me.”
The Sky-Swallowing Roc grinned widely, already envisioning its future grand plans.
“Who are you calling a small insect? Tsk tsk, bald chicken, are you looking for death?”
A sinister voice suddenly rang out, its terrifying aura pressing the Sky-Swallowing Roc to the ground.