Chapter 186 - 178: Wasteland Soil Stele
While the people within the valley were still stunned, someone with sharp eyes suddenly shouted, "The Fire Phoenix Fruit is gone?" Indeed, as soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s attention refocused on the original Fire Phoenix fruit tree, but now that they looked again, where could there be even half a fruit on the bare tree.
At that moment, all hell broke loose. They had all been waiting patiently for so long, refraining from making a move just to wait for the Fire Phoenix Fruit to ripen, but to have waited so long only for this result made everyone who was still alive, or rather, anyone who still had combat power, go mad.
First, they had been attacked by an inexplicably strong person who had injured half of them, then another equally formidable monster-like individual had blocked that person, but in the end, they were thrown out by someone who looked like a mere child.
That would have been fine, after all, it wasn’t oneself who died, but with the Fire Phoenix Fruit disappearing at the last moment, everyone felt certain that someone must have taken advantage of the chaos to steal it.
With so many people around, it was impossible to know who stole it, but that person certainly hadn’t escaped yet; otherwise, their escape would have certainly triggered everyone to give chase. With that in mind, the only option was to slaughter everyone present, and then the Fire Phoenix Fruit would undoubtedly be one’s own.
This kind of thought instantaneously spread and turned into the only idea on everyone’s mind at the moment. If the crowd was still over three hundred, then even if the theft was discovered, no one would have dared to start a massacre. But now, with barely a hundred people and most of them injured, the opportunity seemed much greater.
While over a hundred people were caught in a frenzied battle within the valley, on the backside of a hillock twenty miles outside the valley, four men and a fox all appeared.
However, Sun Wukong and Flame God were lying on the ground, constantly groaning, while Xi Zhao sat beside them with a helpless look on his face, seemingly deep in thought. The little fox was drooling as it held three fruits in its tail, and as for Caomei, her eyebrows were furrowed in anger, but her delicate and cute face somehow failed to convey the anger, instead appearing incredibly adorable.
"I was just about to compliment you two. I thought you were deliberately transforming and fighting to attract their attention, but who knew you two were actually having a real fight, tsk tsk. Little Flame, not bad, fighting Wukong to a draw!"
"Not bad my foot, these two blockheads. If I hadn’t intervened, they probably would have perished together. And you, you foolish monkey, you had to get possessed at this time, you’re driving me mad!"
It turned out that just after Caomei and the little fox had left, Caomei suddenly felt waves of Demonic Qi and evil aura emanating from the valley. Her heart sank, knowing something was amiss. So she turned back to the valley, and upon entering, she saw the great battle between Sun Wukong and Flame God.
Initially, Caomei thought they were feigning the fight to draw attention, but soon realized they were actually fighting with their lives at stake. Without a second thought, she leaped in and tossed them out with one hand each.
After being flung by Caomei and then crashing to the ground from quite a distance, Sun Wukong’s consciousness suddenly became clear. However, it was mainly the World Suppressing Stele that seemed to be suppressed by some force, and the Three Thousand Barren Soil also disappeared. Even though he regained consciousness, his body was completely uncontrollable.
Turning his head and seeing Sun Wukong lying motionlessly on the ground, Flame God chuckled and said, "I’m a bit stronger than him; at least I can still move, haha. But don’t worry, I can’t die. It’s just that after being thrown by Caomei, it feels like my whole body is falling apart. I thought the most powerful amongst us was Brother Xi Zhao, but now it seems it’s Little Sister Caomei!"
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On hearing Flame God call her "Little Sister Caomei," Caomei glared at him, frightening Flame God into correcting himself hastily. "Flame God, the Fire Phoenix Fruit is quite useful to you, isn’t it?" Xi Zhao suddenly asked.
"Well, it’s not just useful; it’s more like this fruit exists solely for me. Heh heh, but it’s something we all obtained together. As for distribution, I’ll listen to whatever Brother Xi Zhao decides."
Having said this, Flame God was slowly able to sit up, but the first thing he did after sitting was to hurriedly take out various things from his Space Ring to appease Caomei. Originally, he thought she was just an ordinary young girl, but now Flame God didn’t dare to offend her.
Xi Zhao pondered for a moment and then turned an inquiring gaze to Sun Wukong. By that time, Sun Wukong’s condition had also improved. After taking out many Elixirs to restore Soul Power from his Space Ring and consuming them, he shook his head to indicate he had no objections.
At that moment, Sun Wukong couldn’t care less about the Fire Phoenix Fruit; his thoughts were entirely immersed in the enlightenment he gained during the brief period of possession.
Even though his consciousness had been in a state of Chaos during that short time of possession, now that he had regained clarity, he could vividly recall every sensation from that moment. The thrill of harvesting lives with ease, the power to use the forces of heaven and earth for oneself, and the ability to Devour and absorb — all of it was rolling clearly through Sun Wukong’s mind like a replay.
Seeing Sun Wukong shake his head, Xi Zhao knew he didn’t care about the few fruits. Then he inquired Caomei, who by then had her hands full of various snacks and a satisfied smile on her face, apparently having fully forgiven Flame God. When Caomei saw Xi Zhao’s questioning gaze, she too shook her head.
"Although the Fire Phoenix Fruit is good, eating it will only add some fire effects to our Soul Power, which isn’t that useful. Flame God, these three fruits—one for you and two for the little fox—any objections?"
Before the Flame God could speak, the little fox cheered and swiftly handed over one fruit with its tail before gobbling it down. However, the little fox was also very sensible and passed the other two fruits to the Flame God while it was eating. Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Immediately, streams of gentle Fire Power flowed from the Flame God’s arm into the body of the little fox. The originally pained little fox due to the Fire Phoenix Fruit suddenly relaxed its brows and, feeling very comfortable, let out a few hums before falling asleep.
Seeing that the little fox was fine, the Flame God said to Xi Zhao, "These Fire Phoenix Fruits contain immense fire Creation Power. If it weren’t nurtured and purified with my Phoenix Fire, it might cause problems. But now it’s fine. Once she wakes up from this sleep, she will undergo a huge transformation.
Also, Brother Xi Zhao, I will fall into a deep sleep after consuming the fruit, and I hope you can protect me."
Xi Zhao nodded, indicating there was no problem. Then the Flame God quickly devoured the Fire Phoenix Fruit, and soon his body began to emanate strands of bright red flames. However, the flames weren’t scorching but rather very warm.
In the warmth of this firelight, Caomei also lay on the large, fluffy tail of the little fox and slowly fell asleep. And Xi Zhao, feeling the warmth of the firelight, was also very comfortable in his heart. Turning his head to look at the sleeping Caomei, Xi Zhao pondered. He seemed to be guessing the true identity of Caomei.
So strong, yet already dead, and still in the appearance of an eight or nine-year-old child. Very powerful, unafraid of the Flame God’s Phoenix Fire and Sun Wukong’s Desolate Sand, and very fond of the little fox—pondering over this, a figure gradually overlapped with Caomei!
Could it be her?
Thinking that Caomei might be that person, Xi Zhao’s face was full of surprise. But he quickly concealed it, shaking his head gently and sighing.
"Xi Zhao, can you tell me about this World Suppressing Stele of mine?" While Xi Zhao was deep in thought, Sun Wukong suddenly asked.
Having taken the recovery Elixir, Sun Wukong felt much better and was currently leaning against a rock wall, his face solemn.
"It seems you’ve also realized it. Ah, I really don’t know whether you obtaining this World Suppressing Stele is good or bad. Logically speaking, this Wasteland Soil Stele shouldn’t have appeared in your hands, yet in fact, it is in your possession and is connected to your heart and bloodline. This fate is indeed unfathomable!"
"Actually, I am also curious as to why it’s me. But let’s not talk about that for now. After I regained consciousness, I could clearly recall the situation when I was Possessed. It seems that a terrifying demon lives inside this World Suppressing Stele."
"Monkey, you know that this Wasteland Soil Stele is the original World Suppressing Stele of the Dominion of Soil of the Nine Great Divine Kingdoms, right? And afterward, the Dominion of Soil was destroyed by the joint forces of several other Great Divine Nations. The reason such a thing happened is that the Wasteland Soil Stele’s ability to absorb and Devour was too terrifying.
It not only absorbed and Devoured people from other countries, but eventually, even the beings of their own world were Devoured. To prevent this Wasteland Soil Stele from becoming a disaster, that’s why the other Great Divine Nations united to kill the Domain Lord of the Dominion of Soil, but the Stele’s whereabouts became unknown afterward.
Since no Devouring incidents occurred later, the Great Divine Nations only searched for this Heavenly Stele in secret!"
Having said all this in one breath, Xi Zhao seemed to fall into his own memories. For a moment, all was silent!
Where the Wasteland Soil emerges, desolation spreads, Devouring heaven and earth, no one to obstruct.
Whether it’s a demon or a god is yet to be determined, the Nine Steles gather, and the people weep.
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