The fur pouch that had been given to the Furball had long been discarded and was of no use. It only carried a vine tied with eleven shimmering spirit herbs, having returned with a full stomach.
"Divine Being, you went out just once and came back with eleven spirit herbs?" The Big Red Bird's eyes nearly popped out in shock. This was extraordinary.
One should know that a spirit mountain can only produce one spirit herb at most. It was likely only in a place touched by phoenix blood that so many spirit mountains could be found.
The Little One grinned, his heart bleeding. The Furball had definitely caused quite a mess; what it brought back was evidently only a fraction, as most had already gone into its stomach.
"Wasting is shameful," he muttered.
The Furball, glowing with golden radiance, was thoroughly satisfied. Every time it burped, light would emanate from its mouth, and heaven knew how many spirit herbs it had spoiled.
At this point, everyone understood that the Falling Phoenix Ridge had probably been exhausted by it.
"What exactly is inside the Furball?" Qingfeng asked curiously.
Mentioning this made the Furball very excited. It waved its small paws and its big eyes widened, as if wanting to drag the Little One and the others to surround and capture that creature.
"What rare spirit creature is it?" The Little One understood its meaning but was unsure what to call that creature.
"How can we capture it?" Qingfeng asked.
The Furball gestured, indicating that the creature could move through heaven and earth and burrow into the ground. It had almost caught it but had let it escape.
"I have a premonition that we might have encountered something extraordinary, but how can we get our hands on it?" Er Tzu was also interested.
The spirit creature seemed to have no combat power but could traverse through soil and rocks, vanishing once it entered the ground.
Otherwise, how could so many experts from the Rain Clan fail repeatedly?
"Let me handle it; I'll guarantee its capture." The Little One had a small, transparent, and shiny stone about an inch long tangled in his hair. It was the God-Striking Stone.
The Little One was delighted upon hearing this and believed it would be up to the task.
Such divine stones had only appeared a few times since ancient times. They possessed divine power, could strike anything accurately, and even ancient sages longed for them to refine into treasures.
"Good, leave it to you. Take advantage of the chaos and go with the Furball to catch it and bring it back."
Inside Falling Phoenix Ridge, chaos erupted. Numerous experts were chasing and searching, even digging mountains, trying to pull out the creature that understood the art of earth manipulation.
The stubborn stone, naturally understanding the earth's methods, and the Furball proceeded stealthily to compete for it.
Soon, shouts and loud calls came from this spiritual land.
"What is that thing? How did it suddenly appear? It struck the spirit creature!"
"Hurry, block them! A golden mouse emerged from there; it dragged away a rare spirit creature."
"Not a golden mouse, but a small round monkey. Hey, that stone is running too—damn it, it’s flying and broke my bones!"
Panic spread among the Rain Clan as the precious spirit creature was taken. This was something the Rain King had specifically wanted to capture and submit. How could it be lost?
The Furball and the God-Striking Stone tumbled along, dragging a dazed spirit creature, and fled in disarray. When encountering a talisman array blocking their way, they simply cut through it with a broken sword and fled at high speed.
One was born a sly thief, and the other understood the earth’s methods. This vast mountain range could not stop them. They raced quickly, almost escaping.
"These spiritual soils are really good stuff!" The God-Striking Stone howled, its mouth wide open.
Red dust flew up like a mountain flood, almost burying it.
The Furball was not happy. The dust had dulled its golden fur and covered it in gray. It cut through the talisman array in front and ran away with the spirit creature, leaving the stubborn stone behind.
"The Furball is back. What did it bring out that's so extraordinary?" Qingfeng's eyes widened.
In the distance, a golden light flashed as the Furball rolled out of the grass, its nose wrinkled, coughing and spitting out smoke and dust, clearly displeased. It dragged a dazed spirit creature with its fat little paw.
The Big Red Bird and Er Tzu rushed over, both eager to grab their share of the rare spirit creature.
"This is the rare spirit creature the Rain Clan speaks of. There is only one in the palace, and it is rarely seen in hundreds of years," the Little One was somewhat dazed.
Qingfeng was also stunned, staring at the fat spirit creature on the ground, feeling somewhat confused. He looked at the Furball, wondering if it was just a filler.
"Hey, is this your relative?" Er Tzu nudged the Big Red Bird and asked quietly.
The Big Red Bird was furious and slapped him on the bald head, saying, "It looks exactly like you. Could it be your brother?"
The Furball, indignantly, gestured to tell them that this was a rare treasure with powerful spiritual energy inside. It ground its small, snow-white teeth, preparing to bite.
The Little One trusted its spiritual sense. This creature was most sensitive to various spirit herbs and divine objects, but this spirit creature did not seem right. He lifted it up, turned it around, and realized it was just a large wild chicken.
The chicken was about half a meter tall, fat and round, with soil-yellow feathers. If thrown into a pile of dirt, no one would pay it any attention. This was the so-called rare treasure? He scratched his head.
"Heaven, where did all the spirit herbs go? What a disaster."
At this moment, screams came from Falling Phoenix Ridge, urgent as if someone was being killed, causing chaos immediately.
"The spirit herb fields have been visited by someone. Damn it, all the herbs have been stolen. Hurry and chase them!"
"Isn’t it obvious? It must be that strange creature from earlier. Don’t let it escape. It not only destroyed our herb fields but also took the rare spirit treasure."
Inside Falling Phoenix Ridge, the Rain Clan was furious. This was a major catastrophe. They were so enraged they could almost vomit blood, all their efforts going to waste.
"Whoosh."
The strong wind blew, and all the blood-red precious soil in Falling Phoenix Ridge flew up, converging toward one direction, which seemed to form a vortex.
"What’s happening? Are they going to exterminate everything? Stealing the spirit herbs is one thing, but now they want to destroy this place?"
The Rain Clan members were terrified. The land here had been touched by phoenix blood. Although the essence had long since dissipated, it was still a treasure for planting herbs.
"Run, the Rain Clan will definitely go crazy," the Little One shouted, not bothering to wait for the God-Striking Stone. He grabbed the wild chicken and ran off.
The group followed him, all fleeing in haste.
"Wait for me!" Behind them, a plume of red earth smoke rose high. The God-Striking Stone stirred up chaos, swallowing the red earth essence, and started running too.
"Go!"
Once they gathered, they all climbed onto the Big Red Bird’s back. It spread its wings and flew away, disappearing in the mountains in the blink of an eye.
The Rain Clan went mad. The spirit herbs were stolen, the rare spirit creature taken, and the precious land destroyed. Their hearts were bleeding, and one could only imagine how furious the higher-ups would be upon learning of this.
Their eyes were red as they chased, storming into the mountains and forests, searching everywhere.
Unfortunately, not even a trace was seen because the Big Red Bird was too fast. After practicing the Divine Roc's Secret Art, its red feathers had been infused with some golden color, granting it incredible speed.
Two hours later, they landed far from that area and appeared in a hilly region.
"The dirt chicken is awake," Qingfeng said softly.
Throughout, the Little One had been holding onto it, afraid it might escape, as according to the Furball's gestures, it could burrow into the ground and vanish.
"It's fine, with me here, it won’t be able to run away. Just smash it out," the God-Striking Stone said confidently.
The dirt chicken, quite nervous, showed fear with its small, darting eyes.
"It's just a chicken. How could it be a rare treasure?" The Little One was puzzled, seeing nothing special about it.
The dirt chicken quickly nodded in agreement, signaling that it should be released as it was of no use.
The Little One was immediately delighted. The dirt chicken could not understand human language, but it was evidently a spiritual creature. He threatened, "Since it’s so ordinary, we might as well make chicken soup tonight and stew it."
Immediately, the dirt chicken began to struggle violently, clucking incessantly, clearly terrified.
"I just remembered, this must be the Eight-Treasure Chicken," Er Tzu suddenly spoke, revealing an incredibly excited expression, saliva immediately dripping.
"What’s the Eight-Treasure Chicken? It sounds a bit familiar," the Little One scratched his head.
"The Eight-Treasure from ancient times, one of the eight rare delicacies even deities would drool over. This is one of them." Er Tzu’s eyes gleamed green as he lunged toward it, eager to devour it.
The Big Red Bird gave him a slap on the head, saying, "Brother, I haven’t eaten yet. Let the junior stand aside."
The Little One then realized its immense value.
The Eight-Treasure Chicken was renowned as a divine delicacy, so delicious that even deities would drool. Its meat was rare and exquisite, and it was a must-have dish at divine feasts during ancient times.
Moreover, it contained spiritual blood, a great tonic surpassing many spirit herbs, and was considered a rare spiritual item, only below sacred medicines.
Furthermore, it laid an egg every half month, which had potent medicinal properties comparable to spirit herbs. While deities might not find it special, it was extremely valuable for various human sects.
"A hen that lays spiritual herbs?" The Big Red Bird exclaimed.
Upon learning its significance, the Little One’s eyes widened in amazement. This was indeed a rare spiritual being that could not be exchanged even for mountains of gold.
Seeing the Furball grinding its snow-white teeth and Er Tzu leaning forward, he immediately slapped them both aside, glaring, "Don’t even think about it. Whoever eats the Eight-Treasure Chicken, I’ll eat them first."
"This is an ancient Eight-Treasure, a delicacy that even deities desire. You don’t want to taste it? At least try a bit of its spiritual blood," Er Tzu tempted.
"No, I want to take it back to Stone Village, raise it so it can lay eggs for the villagers every day," the Little One resisted temptation. Although he was eager to eat it, he feared harming the Eight-Treasure Chicken’s vitality and forced himself to endure.
Even in ancient times, Eight-Treasure Chickens were rare. Otherwise, why would they be among the Eight-Treasures? Nowadays, finding one was rare even after hundreds of years.
Currently, only one was kept in the imperial palace of the Stone Kingdom.
"Is it a hen?" The Little One considered a serious question.
"Yes, that’s right," the Big Red Bird nodded.
"That’s good. It can be raised in Stone Village, and every half month, we’ll get an egg comparable to a spirit herb. This is fantastic," the Little One was thrilled.
Qingfeng was also delighted. This way, the children of Stone Village, as well as Uncle and the elder of the clan, would have the chance to frequently enjoy spirit herbs.
Taking advantage of their unguarded moment, the Eight-Treasure Chicken tried to escape but was immediately held down by the Little One. It was then that he noticed its mysterious aspect, surrounded by a faint yellowish aura, able to communicate with the earth, nearly disappearing into it.
"Great, it’s really the Eight-Treasure Chicken. There’s no mistake. This is worth more than finding hundreds of spirit herbs. It’s a rare divine treasure."
While the Little One and Qingfeng cheered, the people of Falling Phoenix Ridge were nearly going mad, filled with fear. Losing such an important and rare spiritual item might result in the Rain King killing them all.
"Let’s go back to Stone Village. We’ll find some special spiritual insects and venomous snakes to shorten its egg-laying cycle, so we might even get spiritual eggs every day."
Having obtained this rare spiritual being, the Little One and his group no longer dared to delay. They rushed back at top speed, eager to return to Stone Village and avoid any mishaps.
A few days later, news reached the imperial capital of the Stone Kingdom. In the Rain Clan’s residence, an ancient hall echoed a cold voice: "Useless."
Just two words, but they terrified the entire clan, causing a great upheaval. Everyone was trembling with fear.
The Rain Clan learned about the incident and was furious. Falling Phoenix Ridge was destroyed, all the spirit herbs were lost, the red earth had lost its spiritual essence, and worst of all, they had missed the Eight-Treasure Chicken. Even the grand royal family only had one.
"The Rain King needs the ancient blood of the Eight-Treasure Chicken. You worthless bunch actually let it escape."
Soon, this news spread and shocked the imperial capital. Everyone was astonished to learn that a second Eight-Treasure Chicken had appeared.
This caused a sensation, but none of it concerned the Little One and his group.
They were on the Big Red Bird’s back, heading west, eventually arriving at the borders of the Stone Kingdom and entering the vast wasteland of three hundred thousand miles.
The mountains were filled with fierce beasts and terrifying birds of prey, but the Big Red Bird, also an ancient species, was not to be underestimated. Although still young, it was highly skilled at escaping.
Throughout the journey, they faced many dangers but ultimately made it through the endless mountains. Despite several close encounters with fierce ancient species, they managed to evade them.
"Wow, this is the Taiyin River. I’ll come here often to refine my body. I practice fire path techniques, and this kind of tempering is just what I need," the Big Red Bird marveled.
In the wasteland, a black river surged, stretching countless miles and crossing endless mountain ranges.
Years ago, when the Furball stole the Divine Peacock’s sacred egg, the Little One, Furball, and Unicorn were forced to leap into this river to escape.
"Let’s go, hurry back to Stone Village."
They traveled at high speed, crossing many mountain ranges and engaging in numerous battles. They were finally close to their destination.
"Finally back," the Little One said excitedly. The mountains and rivers ahead were familiar, having once carried enormous stones for training in these areas.
"We’re back," Qingfeng shouted, tears of joy streaming down his face.
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