Chapter 126: The Rain Tribe

The Nine-Headed Lion was incredibly formidable, its entire body cast in gold, powerful and awe-inspiring. The golden mane was exceptionally brilliant, giving it an explosive sense of strength. Its eyes were cold, resembling an ancient deity descending upon the world, causing many creatures in the mountains to tremble in fear.

“Am I seeing things? Is that really the Nine-Headed Lion, the legendary relic species? Once fully grown, its power is said to be unsurpassable. How did it end up as a mount?”

“Is it really the Nine-Headed Lion? I once saw it from a distance, and a single roar shattered even a stone mountain. Such a majestic being, now subdued and made into a mount?”

The mountains were filled with astonishment. The Nine-Headed Lion, hailed as the king of the ancient relic species, had divine blood flowing through its veins and was renowned for its ancestral power, which had once been revered in the ancient era. Now, such a fearsome golden lion was subdued by a mere human youth and had become a mount—this was truly astonishing news.

Sitting atop the Nine-Headed Lion, Little One felt quite satisfied. As they traversed through the mountains and ventured through the wilderness, no creatures dared to challenge them. All were intimidated and filled with reverence.

Having such a mount was indeed majestic, shaking the entire mountain range. Wherever they went, many creatures fled in fear, trembling with trepidation.

“Little brother, you’re truly impressive. Just by moving through the mountains, you’ve caused all beasts to tremble and all birds to fear. Since we left this morning, we haven’t encountered a single soul daring enough to cause trouble,” Little One praised.

The Nine-Headed Lion felt like crying. As a mount, how could others not be afraid? In ancient times, only deities could have such powerful beings as their mounts. Who would dare challenge them?

Moreover, in ancient times, their ancestors, once evolved into pure-blooded ancient beasts, had slain gods. Such a fierce lineage—who would dare provoke them?

The Nine-Headed Lion felt disgruntled. Throughout their journey, it had frightened all directions, making other talented beings flee. But for it, it was not truly majestic, as it had become a mount.

After parting ways with the Fire Princess and the geniuses from the Supplementary Heaven Pavilion, Little One set out to find the Fountain of Eternal Life and seek other opportunities, leaving the area.

“That string of golden prayer beads is quite impressive. Each bead is like a small world, intimidating,” Little One commented, admiring the glittering bone beads.

The Nine-Headed Lion, proud and aloof, did not consider that the beads were crafted from the golden remains of a great predecessor, imbued with their lineage’s terrifying runic power. After being bestowed by the Nine-Spirit King, it treasured them as its life.

“Can I take a look?” Little One asked with a somewhat shy smile, extending his hand to examine them.

“No,” the Nine-Headed Lion’s mane bristled, its golden fur standing on end, and its eyes widened in refusal.

It knew that if it gave them away, it would be like giving meat to a dog—this sworn brother was too ruthless and would certainly not return them.

“Little brother, you should be magnanimous. Only by being generous can you achieve great success and rule the world. It’s just a string of beads; looking at them won’t cost you anything. You’re being too petty,” Little One complained.

“If they end up in your hands, how could I ever get them back? They’ll be yours for sure,” the Nine-Headed Lion retorted, determined not to part with them.

Little One shook his head. “Forget it. It’s just a string of beads. Look at how nervous you are. Later, I’ll give you a hundred or eighty strings, so much that you’ll want to vomit every time you see beads. By the way, let me see the golden swords made from those nine fangs. That should be alright, right?”

“No,” the Nine-Headed Lion resolutely refused, insisting it would not lend them out.

“Little brother, this is where you’re wrong. It’s just a piece of treasure. I can’t even look at it? How petty can you be? As a lion, you should be magnanimous,” Little One admonished.

The Nine-Headed Lion ignored him, muttering to itself. The thought of giving away a treasure was too much; it preferred to be a bit stingy.

Throughout the journey, Little One persistently and earnestly advised the Nine-Headed Lion to be generous and not to be so petty, as this would help achieve great accomplishments. However, all his attempts to borrow the treasures failed.

Finally, he raised his voice, “Will you lend them to me or not?”

“No.”

“Then don’t blame me if I have to take them by force,” Little One threatened.

“These two treasures have become a part of my bones. If you push me further, I might as well self-destruct,” the Nine-Headed Lion counter-threatened.

“A stingy lion,” Little One fumed.

“Awwooo!” The Nine-Headed Lion howled in anguish, “You want a piece of my golden mane? Is that being stingy? Try taking more of my fur, and I’ll fight you!”

“If you won’t give me the treasures, how about some golden fur? We could weave it into a vest—it seems quite good.”

“I’ll fight you!”

On their journey, they often rushed and argued, never having a moment of peace.

Ahead, the mist grew denser, marking the end of this area. There was a glowing passage leading to another region.

“Whoosh.”

Little One raised his hand, using the gleaming bone mirror to shine a light. The distant mountains trembled, lightning flashed, startling a group of creatures, including some very powerful ones.

The Nine-Headed Lion raised its head, its golden light dazzling. It strode forward and asked, “Have there been any unusual occurrences here recently?”

As they were about to leave this area and enter an unfamiliar environment, they casually inquired but received news that made their hearts skip a beat.

“There are some human experts coming and going, seemingly waiting for someone. There’s something arranged on the other end of the passage,” a fierce bird transmitted the message.

“An ambush?” the Nine-Headed Lion was alarmed.

“Little brother, human experts are definitely coming for you. They want to capture ancient relic species like you because you’re a treasure. When the time comes, you must give it your all. I’ll support you from the side,” Little One said with righteous resolve.

If the Nine-Headed Lion did not know him, it would have been quite moved. But after these days of interaction, it felt that this fellow could not be so benevolent. It hesitated, saying, “I’ve heard that many powerful human factions want to capture you. Could it be they’re coming for you?”

Little One solemnly refuted, “Even with internal strife, humans are not so cruel. Before entering, I heard that a faction wants to refine a six-turn elixir using the blood of six powerful ancient relic species. It’s rumored that the Nine-Headed Lion is a spiritual being, and you are clearly listed on that prescription. Even as a fellow human, I cannot stand by. I will help you this time. Let’s defeat them thoroughly.”

The Nine-Headed Lion gave him a sidelong glance, feeling somewhat skeptical. However, it couldn’t rest easy, as there had indeed been similar rumors before.

“Let’s go. We’ll take another passage and circle around to their rear. We’ll surround them in that region and deal with them decisively,” Little One decided.

There were two passages leading out of this area. They quickly changed direction and sped toward the other route.

The Nine-Headed Lion moved at incredible speed, a golden streak racing across the land, disturbing countless creatures.

In front of the other passage, the air was misty, and the light was scattered, resembling a marshland. There were no creatures around, as it was quite remote.

“Let’s go.”

Little One rode the Nine-Headed Lion, charging through the golden passage and crossing into a new region, leaving the original area behind.

Drizzling rain and swirling mist enveloped the surroundings.

As Little One and his companions entered, they felt the spiritual energy in this domain was incredibly rich, though the dampness was rather uncomfortable and unfamiliar.

After traveling several dozen miles, the rain continued, and the entire landscape was shrouded in mist. The land was covered with lakes and rivers, resembling a vast marshland.

“There’s a dragon in that river.”

Little One pointed to a large river, urging the golden lion to rush over and catch the dragon beast. However, as they approached, the green dragon swiftly fled.

Many creatures were alarmed by the sudden appearance of the youth riding the Nine-Headed Lion, feeling a mix of horror and awe. They all retreated, unwilling to provoke them.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, as the Nine-Headed Lion carrying Little One entered a mountainous area, symbols flashed, and divine lights interspersed, cutting towards them like sharp swords.

It was a calamity; symbols covered the area, and divine light blotted out the sky, submerging the place in terror.

“Roar!” The Nine-Headed Lion roared angrily.

Little One also howled towards the sky as they fought back with all their might.

They had walked into a formation, activating an ancient array that turned the area into a land of disaster. Divine lights swept through, flattening the mountains and forests.

“What a powerful array!”

They fought with all their strength, each summoning their treasures to break through, hoping to escape. Any delay could mean their demise.

“Whoosh!”

Little One’s golden dragon scissors glowed and cut through a stone mountain, breaking an important part of the formation. The Nine-Headed Lion also roared, spitting out a string of prayer beads that shattered a forest of stone, propelling them forward.

They broke through the formation, only to be met by even more dazzling light. Endless array patterns lit up again, submerging the area.

“There’s another layer of the formation.”

Both the rider and the mount were astonished, doing everything they could to break through, trying to escape.

“Boom!”

Symbols flashed, and the terrain shook again as another layer of patterns appeared, enveloping them.

“Damn, how many layers of formations are there?” The Nine-Headed Lion felt a chill in its heart, sensing impending danger.

As they fought, endless light illuminated the area. A total of five layers of killing arrays were activated, trapping them and aiming to annihilate them.

Had it been anyone else, they would likely have been turned into bloody mud and perished within these killing formations.

The sky was filled with divine light, symbols flashing and turning into light arrows, war spears, divine swords, and small axes, all striking violently and fearsomely.

Eventually, they managed to break free, with some blood stains and minor injuries.

“Who is ambushing us?” The Nine-Headed Lion roared angrily, having been hit by a symbol that caused blood to flow from its shoulder. Its golden light surged with genuine fury.

Little One held the bone mirror, staring into the distance where sounds of breaking through the air came from. The activation of the five killing arrays had alerted people from afar.

“What? The killing arrays have been breached?”

Ten people arrived, all remarkable young experts, their faces showing shock.

“The Nine-Headed Lion!” They exclaimed, seeing the figure and its mount emerging from the dust. Their eyes widened in disbelief.

Someone had subdued the Nine-Headed Lion, which left them all astounded. It was one of Shi Yi’s targets; he had intended to find several mounts.

However, the person on the back of the golden lion was certainly not Shi Yi but another youth, making them tremble with fear.

“It’s him!”

Upon closer inspection, they recognized Little One as the notorious troublemaker from the Void God Realm.

“Who are you, and why did you set up a formation to ambush us?” Little One’s voice was icy.

The drizzling rain fell on the ten individuals, causing them to radiate bursts of treasure light. Each of them exuded an aura of increased strength, their eyes cold but remaining silent.

The clouds and mist seemed to press down towards the ground, and the rain intensified. This wasn’t a natural phenomenon; it seemed to be because the ten people were standing here, causing the heavy rain.

Seeing this, Little One’s heart sank as he guessed their identities. It was said that the Rain Tribe’s divine power would significantly increase when bathing in heavy rain.

“Eight years ago, our tribe sent experts to intercept Shi Ziling and his wife. Although many strong individuals fell, they stained the Western Frontier with blood and suffered severe injuries. It is believed that it is hard for them to survive.”

One of them spoke, not revealing their group’s identity, only delivering this cryptic message before staring intently at Little One to gauge his reaction.

Little One remained expressionless, coldly observing them.

Clearly, these people were testing his identity. If he were the child from that time, he might be enraged because of this unresolved enmity.

Little One, born as a supreme being, had his supreme bone taken away by Shi Yi’s mother, who was from the Rain Tribe. The bloody act involved implanting it into her own child, Shi Yi.

In the end, they did not apologize or acknowledge their wrongs. Instead, they launched a massive manhunt over hundreds of thousands of miles to eliminate Shi Ziling and his wife.

Little One’s expression remained indifferent as he sat atop the Nine-Headed Lion, saying nothing, but he raised his hand with the treasure mirror.