Chapter 9

The physical strength of snakes is often extremely powerful, and the White-Spotted Python is a unique species among snakes. A White-Spotted Python at the peak of the Shaman Realm has strength several times greater than a warrior at the tenth level of the Shaman Realm.

After swallowing an entire White-Spotted Python, Ji Hao stood in his courtyard, moved his body, and then let out a loud, wild roar to the sky.

His tendons and bones were like steel, his flesh like jade, and his blood boiled as a surge of immense strength surged through his limbs. Having just broken through to the fourth level of the Shaman Realm last night, the White-Spotted Python had added about four thousand stones of strength to Ji Hao.

"A single White-Spotted Python has a physical strength of about four hundred thousand stones!" Ji Hao moved freely, performing a set of boxing and kicking techniques in the courtyard as fast as a whirlwind, and smiled in satisfaction. If he could eat ten White-Spotted Pythons of this caliber in the coming days, the absolute strength gap with Ji Wu would no longer be a concern for him.

After finishing the set of boxing and kicking techniques, Ji Hao laughed loudly and whistled sharply in the direction of Jinwu Ridge.

The dan yuan cultivated from the Nine-Word True Scripture was continuous and unending, and the whistle sound drifted far with the wind, remaining condensed and undispersed. A crow's cry echoed from a giant green mulberry tree on Jinwu Ridge, and a giant crow, its body emitting a faint firelight, flew up into the sky. After a loop, it flew toward Ji Hao.

The giant crow's wings closed, transforming into a streak of light, and in a few breaths, it was above the small courtyard.

Ji Xia stood at the door of the wooden house, nodding respectfully to the giant crow: "Old Crow, Hao has been wandering around all day, causing you a lot of trouble."

The giant crow hovered above the courtyard, tilting its head and squinting at Ji Xia, cawing a few times. Ji Hao laughed, leaped up, and stood on the giant crow's head, laughing loudly: "Old Crow, today we're going somewhere far. Ha, do you remember the nest of Golden-Winged Bees we found a few days ago?"

A cry came, and the giant crow shot straight up into the sky, its wings spreading to transform into a hundred-zhang-long firelight that instantly disappeared into the high clouds.

Qing Fu slowly walked to the door, watching the direction the giant crow had disappeared, her long eyebrows tightly furrowed: "Jiang Yao can personally lower herself to attack Hao, Xia, they really mean to go to extremes."

Ji Xia nodded, mounted a fat bear, and left the courtyard. He said nothing, but a flame flickered on his head.

The fat bear bared its teeth and roared, drool hanging from its mouth, and ran out at full speed. Ji Xia whistled sharply, and from the nearby wooden houses, groups of burly warriors emerged, riding various war beasts and following closely behind him.

Qing Fu leaned against the door frame, frowning at the hole in the clouds left by the giant crow, and a wisp of dark green smoke flashed across her brow.

"Jiang Yao... huh?"

In the high sky, the giant crow cawed, flying southwest for a while. Suddenly, Ji Hao patted its head hard, and the giant crow's wings vibrated, stopping immediately. It spread its wings and hovered in mid-air, turning its head to look at Ji Hao with its crimson eyes, cawing in confusion.

"Old Crow! Old Crow! The rules of the ancestral spirits are there, you can't help me fight the Ji Shu family... But if I do it myself, you won't say anything no matter what you see, right?" Ji Hao laughed, gently stroking the giant crow's head.

The giant crow blinked, cawed loudly, and a cunning glint flashed in its eyes.

"That's good, that's good! What kind of relationship do we have? I was raised by you since I was a child. If someone bullies me, I can't just let them defecate and urinate on my head, can I?" Ji Hao stood up, looking back at Jinwu Ridge and muttering to himself: "I have a reputation for never letting an insult go unpunished, and I never delay in taking revenge. I can't lose this 'good reputation.'"

With a long howl, Ji Hao pointed in a direction, and the giant crow spread its wings, drawing a large arc in the air, suppressing its firelight, and silently flying in the direction Ji Hao pointed.

After a quarter of an hour, at a mountain peak hundreds of miles from Jinwu Ridge, the giant crow landed lightly. Ji Hao jumped down from the giant crow's head, pulled aside a patch of old vines on a cliff, and entered the dark cave behind the vines.

Behind the old vines was a cave about a hundred feet in diameter, with dozens of large earthen jars neatly arranged inside. All the jars were sealed tightly with clay. Ji Hao searched through the jars, finally selecting one and carefully carrying it.

After moving the jar out of the cave and covering the entrance with the old vines again, Ji Hao carried the jar and jumped onto the giant crow's head. The giant crow's wings vibrated, and it rose silently into the air, circling a few times before landing lightly in a small valley several mountains away.

The valley was clean, with white, smooth, oval stones of various sizes scattered everywhere.

Ji Hao walked familiarly to the largest oval stone in the center of the valley and kicked it hard.

The entire valley trembled slightly, accompanied by a dull 'rumbling' sound. The oval stone, over a dozen feet in diameter, slowly rose, and the surrounding oval stones began to gather around it. After a few breaths, a ten-foot-tall, entirely white stone giant stood before Ji Hao.

The stone giant's face was slightly rough but had clear features. He stared at Ji Hao with wide eyes, then his eyes darted to the large jar Ji Hao was carrying.

"Alcohol...! Good... alcohol! What... is it? Are you... asking me to... be a meat shield again?" The stone giant smacked his lips, shaking his head vigorously: "Last time... I almost got... killed by the Old Tree Ghost! Two jars... or I won't... be a meat shield!"

"Really? Old Stone, you've learned to haggle? Who taught you?" Ji Hao looked at the stone giant in surprise, handing him the jar: "Two jars, then. Drink one now, help me with something, and I'll give you the other one tomorrow."

The stone giant skillfully slapped the clay seal off the jar, revealing the clear yellow fruit wine with bits of fruit residue inside. He opened his mouth and drank the wine in one satisfying gulp, then shattered the jar with a slap, yawning contentedly.

"Alright... what is it?" The stone giant patted his chest hard, two ghastly white flames burning in his large eyes: "Are we going to steal... the Old Tree Ghost's branches? Or steal... the fierce woman's bird eggs? Or something... else?"

Ji Hao squinted, smiling dangerously: "Not those childish pranks. Someone is bullying me and wants to bully my father and mother too. I want to kill, and you help me block the blades. It's that simple."

Pausing, Ji Hao patted the stone giant's shoulder: "Old Stone, we need to find a couple more old friends to help. Is the fierce woman still in her lair these days?"

The giant crow, which was preening its feathers nearby, shivered and cawed.