272: First time praying

“Gulp…”

Xu Sanyan secretly swallowed, “May I ask, Clan Chief, if other races all have companion Spirit Beasts, wouldn’t the Bear Clan and Eagle Clan have an even greater advantage?”

Ever since he learned that this Old Woman might have experienced seven blessings, his tone became even more respectful.

Of course, this was by no means bullying the weak and fearing the strong; rather, he respected the elderly and cherished the young, and naturally showed more respect to elders.

The Old Woman shook her head, “Only the Dog Clan has companion partners. Heaven is fair; it gave the Bear Clan great strength, the Snake Clan agile bodies, the Eagle Clan keen senses, and the Stone Clan hard bodies, so it compensated the Dog Clan with powerful partners.”

Xu Sanyan looked at the Seven-Headed Dog’s enormous body and silently nodded in agreement.

It seemed that the individual strength of other races actually surpassed that of the Dog Clan.

Xun An Cai had previously said that Dog Clan members were more balanced in all aspects; although they weren't as strong as the Bear Clan, they were faster than them.

Although they weren't as agile as the Snake Clan, they were stronger than them.

But the true situation was not like that; strength couldn't be compared in this way.

If it were a true life-and-death struggle, without considering factors of combat skills, in a pure Physical Body fight, the gap in strength and speed would be very difficult to compensate for from other aspects.

If it were to be more intuitive, with data as an embodiment, suppose the Bear Clan’s strength was ten and speed was five, totaling fifteen.

Then the Dog Clan would have strength seven and speed six, totaling thirteen.

It seemed that their speed slightly exceeded the Bear Clan’s, but the huge strength gap was still difficult to bridge.

The Snake Clan was similar.

Xu Sanyan secretly pondered, if that was the case, would it be more beneficial for him if he found a way to obtain the Bear Clan’s blessing?

After thinking about it, he still shook his head. Blessings were very precious and not so easy to obtain.

He was able to obtain the Dog Clan’s blessing entirely because the Dog Clan had a request of him. If he went to other races, he might not have this condition.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; only what is in hand is truly one’s own!

Moreover, no one said that after obtaining the Dog Clan’s blessing, one couldn’t obtain the Bear Clan’s blessing. This Secret Realm was in his hands, and sooner or later, he would squeeze out all its value!

Xu Sanyan asked his last question, and also the one he cared about most, “If I accept the dog god’s blessing, will I also become a Dog Clan member?”

The Old Woman smiled and shook her head, “Dog Clan members are connected by Bloodline, not by power. Accepting the dog god’s blessing will have no effect on you; it will merely use the dog god’s power to strengthen your Physical Body.”

Xu Sanyan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He felt that being a Human Race was quite good, and he didn't really want to be a dog.

“Any more questions? If not, let’s begin.”

The Old Woman pulled two irregular, crystalline stones from her sleeve. These should be the earth vein stones, which were the dog god's remains.

Xu Sanyan nodded, “No more questions.”

“Mm, come with me.” The Old Woman leaned on her staff and walked up Yinghun Mountain.

The Middle-aged Woman and the Seven-Headed Dog did not follow, remaining in place to wait.

The Old Woman’s steps were faltering, seemingly weak, but she was, after all, a powerful individual who had experienced seven blessings. A mere small mountain was like flat ground to her.

Upon reaching the summit, Xu Sanyan realized there was another setup.

At the summit was a small open area, with a half-human-height stone platform in the center. On the platform, a statue with a human body and a dog head was enshrined. This should be the so-called dog god.

Both the stone platform and the statue were extremely crude, yet after countless years of wind and rain, they still stood there.

The Old Woman approached the statue, casually stuck her staff into the ground, and slowly knelt down, prostrating herself with an extremely devout expression.

Xu Sanyan did not believe in the dog god, so he did not kneel. Moreover, at best, it was just a mere demon; was it worth him kneeling?

He would only kneel in one situation in his life, and that was when he needed to change positions, like last night.

The Old Woman did not force him to kneel. She clasped her hands together, holding the two earth vein stones, and softly chanted something.

A moment later, the earth vein stones emitted a faint glow, suddenly condensing into a line and shooting into the dog god statue. The statue immediately emitted a hazy halo.

Xu Sanyan stared intently, only to see the statue’s eyes suddenly light up. Although it was just a stone carving, at that instant, it seemed to come alive!

Light flowed within those eyes, and Xu Sanyan frowned tightly. He felt…

That statue seemed to be looking at him!

A wave of pressure suddenly rose in Xu Sanyan’s heart.

At this moment, the Old Woman’s lips moved, as if she was saying something, but no sound came out, making the scene inexplicably eerie.

Swish—

Suddenly, the light from the stone carving’s eyes shot onto Xu Sanyan’s body, instantly drilling inside and wildly surging.

In an instant, intense pain swept through his entire body, as if his bones were being crushed and re-glued, and his muscles were tearing with faint muffled thuds.

That energy simultaneously tore his body apart and healed him, not even sparing his internal organs.

“Ah~!!”

Xu Sanyan could no longer suppress this intense pain and let out a tragic scream.

This pain was no less than, and even surpassed, the previous refinement of the Nether Phoenix!

“Ah!!”

Swept by this intense pain, he was momentarily unable to think of anything else, his mind blank as he collapsed to the ground.

The Old Woman continued to pray without looking back, seemingly not hearing Xu Sanyan’s screams. Only the earth vein stones in her hands gradually turned grayish-white, their jade-like quality disappearing.

The halo on the dog god stone carving was also slowly dissipating, seemingly unable to last much longer.

Xu Sanyan’s screams echoed on Yinghun Mountain. The Middle-aged Woman and the Seven-Headed Dog at the foot of the mountain were long accustomed to it; every blessing was a dual torment of mind and body.

How could great power be so easily obtained?

After an unknown period, the screams stopped, and the stone carving returned to its original appearance.

Xu Sanyan lay weakly on the ground, his eyes vacant as he stared at the sky, looking like a broken doll.

His long robe was already soaked with sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water. He tried to get up, but he couldn't even move a finger.

The Old Woman propped herself up with her staff and walked over to Xu Sanyan. At this moment, her benevolent smile seemed so hypocritical to him.

“Don’t be afraid, this is a normal reaction; everyone is the same. Rest well at home these next few days, try not to engage in strenuous exercise, and wait for your body to recover naturally. The second blessing will begin in five days.”

As the Old Woman instructed, she single-handedly dragged Xu Sanyan down the mountain.

Xu Sanyan’s face was pale, his originally handsome features now appeared somewhat distorted, not yet fully recovered.

After the Old Woman brought him down the mountain, she handed him over to the Middle-aged Woman, “Take him back.”

“Yes.” The Middle-aged Woman carried Xu Sanyan towards Xun An Cai’s house.

The Old Woman leaned on her staff with one hand and stroked the Seven-Headed Dog with the other, quietly watching the two walk away.

“Woof~”

The Seven-Headed Dog let out a low bark, seemingly saying something.

The Old Woman looked up at the sky and sighed, “The outside world isn’t as good as you imagine.”