Chapter 704: What Is a Human Doing Here, Get Out

Roars echoed through the mountains!

Moments later, the Rending Sky Demon Lizard, unable to endure its injuries, let out several furious howls before fleeing.

Its body was so massive that even in retreat, the earth quaked like a small earthquake.

Wherever it passed, towering trees were instantly snapped apart.

Countless other beasts suffered calamity for no reason.

Beasts sat at home, only for death to descend from the sky.

In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

On the outskirts of the Mangcang Mountains—

Shi Tianhao was cautiously exploring the ancient forest when he heard the deafening roars.

What followed was a stampede of fleeing beasts.

Many among them were natural predators and prey, yet even so, they fled side by side.

Even a fool could see that something terrifying had erupted in the mountain depths.

Surely some great beast had surged out from within!

This thought had barely formed when he saw it—a colossal figure charging closer from afar.

Wherever it went, the earth shook, rivers split!

Shi Tianhao’s scalp went numb at the sight of the monstrous lizard. Any thought of further exploration vanished.

He plunged into the beast tide and ran for his life.

…

Elsewhere—

The Shrouding Sky Cloud Sparrow had crushed the Rending Sky Demon Lizard in battle, emerging nearly unscathed.

With the lizard no longer a threat, Shen Mo and the sparrow soon reached the beast’s lair.

The lair lay in ruins, riddled with deep pits and gouges.

Shen Mo swept his gaze across it, noticing massive hoofprints.

Nearby lakes had been trampled and now poured into the depressions, forming new lakes.

At the center of the lair yawned a vast pit, plunging deep into the earth.

“This should be the entrance to the underground cold pool.”

The Shrouding Sky Cloud Sparrow said evenly, “Go on inside. I’ll keep watch here.”

It hesitated, then plucked a feather from its wing and handed it to Shen Mo.

Though only a feather, it was as long as his entire arm.

“Brother Ox is likely restless now. If you barge in, he might attack.

Take this—it will keep you safe.”

Shen Mo accepted it at once.

It seemed the Shrouding Sky Cloud Sparrow and the Azure Sky Divine Ox had ties of old.

Indeed, Shi Tianhao’s fortune had revealed they were both spirit pets of the Desolate Sovereign.

The descent underground proved uneventful.

At ten thousand feet below, Shen Mo finally saw the colossal figure.

A giant ox covered in azure scales lay within the frigid pool.

A deep wound marred its body, within which burned a purple-black flame.

Like the tongue of a demon, it licked and devoured, gnawing at flesh and blood.

The ox gasped heavily, the flame-infested wound devouring its life force without pause, steadily corroding its mind.

Yet Shen Mo knew—this overlord of the Mangcang Mountains had never once submitted to the Filth Clan demons’ corruption.

Before its life ended, it had chosen to take its own, remaining true to the trust of the Desolate Sovereign.

“Hmph.”

“What is a human doing here? Get out!”

As Shen Mo took only a few steps, the Azure Sky Divine Ox growled, its voice filled with threat.

Shen Mo smiled, raising the feather. “Brother Ox, Sparrow Sister sent me.”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox sensed the familiar aura and relaxed slightly. “If it entrusted you with its feather, then it must trust you.”

“Do as you please. There are heavenly treasures here I have no need for—you may take them.”

The ox shook its massive head and sank deeper into its chilling bath.

Shen Mo obtained the Earth Mother Essence with ease.

This heavenly treasure lay just beneath the cold pool.

He smiled. “Brother Ox, I can help you purge the fire poison.”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox snorted disdainfully. “You, a mere Nirvana cultivator, can rid me of fire poison?”

“Leave quickly. My mood is foul. Do not bother me. If you anger me, even if you are close to it, I will kill you.”

Shen Mo did not waste words. He raised his hands and summoned flames.

In his left palm burned the Nine Nether Ice Flame!

In his right hand blazed the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Flame!

Sensing the sudden rise of those two eternal flames, the Azure Sky Divine Ox let out a bellow of shock.

Splash!

It rose abruptly.

Its massive eyes widened, staring fixedly at the flames in disbelief.

“It is! Truly!”

Hot breath gushed from its nostrils as it exclaimed.

From within the Nine Nether Ice Flame came a voice. “Hm? Is that little Ox?”

“It has been a long time. You have grown so large.”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox trembled with excitement. “You remember me! Brother Ice!”

The Nine Nether Ice Flame laughed heartily. “Of course I remember. Back then, you were just a calf the Desolate Sovereign picked up.”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox grew embarrassed, like a grown man suddenly meeting the auntie who once held him as a child.

Shen Mo was also stunned.

So the Nine Nether Ice Flame had long known the Azure Sky Divine Ox?

The ox called it Brother Ice.

He called the ox Brother Ox.

Yet he was the master of the Nine Nether Ice Flame.

Was this not a complete tangle of seniority?

The Azure Sky Divine Ox swallowed hard. “Brother Ice… are you now… subdued by this human cultivator?”

The Nine Nether Ice Flame smacked it across the face. “Which eye of yours saw me subdued? I simply found myself a long-term meal ticket!”

The Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Flame chuckled. “Exactly. Alone, I would never feast daily on such pure demon hearts.”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox broke into a cold sweat.

It did not know the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Flame, but it was familiar with the Nine Nether Ice Flame.

Back then, the Desolate Sovereign had formed an equal pact with it.

The only reason it had followed was to scavenge food.

And now, it was the same.

This proved the Nine Nether Ice Flame had never undergone reincarnation—its spirit had remained unchanged.

“With you here, the fire poison the Filth Clan demons left in me can surely be cured!”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox said excitedly.

“Rest easy, little Ox.”

The Nine Nether Ice Flame smiled with human-like expression.

At once, it leapt onto the Azure Sky Divine Ox’s body.

White-blue fire flared to life.

That maggot-like fire poison had no strength to resist, burned away to nothing.

In the blink of an eye, the Azure Sky Divine Ox no longer felt its strength draining.

The overwhelming resilience of a beast overlord’s body activated immediately.

Shen Mo could see tender red flesh sprouting like branches, swiftly weaving together.

In less than five hundred breaths, fur and azure scales regrew, covering its body once more.

“Thank you!”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox lowered its head solemnly toward Shen Mo.

“My words earlier were too harsh. Please forgive me.”

Shen Mo shook his head with a smile. “Brother Ox, no need to be so formal. From now on, we are all on the same side.”

The Azure Sky Divine Ox finally relaxed.

A moment later, as if recalling something, it spoke with gravity. “You possess both these eternal flames. Perhaps you can enter the old master’s cavern and obtain all of his remaining inheritance!”

“If you are willing, I can take you there!”

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