19: The tragic blue sky bull

Gu… Senior Gu!”

The Azure Python Ox lowered its head with difficulty, its voice choked with a sob.

“The meat today… can it be cut from a different spot? The hind leg I had cut last time hasn’t fully grown back yet…”

Gu Changge looked up at it, then patted its belly, producing a dull thud.

“Hmm, you’ve actually gotten a bit fatter. But I’m not here to cut meat today.”

Just as the Azure Python Ox let out a sigh of relief, it heard him continue: “The Canglan Snow Leopard I roasted yesterday tasted good, but it was missing some side dishes. The Blazing Spiritual Rice I told you to plant should be ripe by now, right?”

The Azure Python Ox: “…”

It raised its head indignantly, looking at the gentle, jade-like face before it, feeling its scalp tingle.

Back then, how majestic it was in the Canglan Mountain Range, an absolute overlord whose word was law, with millions of Yao Beasts under its command. How could it have ever suffered such humiliation?

Originally, it was lying leisurely in its Immortal Cave, munching on a thousand-year-old Spiritual Plant.

The next second—

“Moo?!”

Its vision blurred, and the entire Canglan Mountain Range was forcibly dragged away by an irresistible power!

When it opened its eyes again, it was already in an unfamiliar space.

Before it could react, a white-robed figure floated over, and with a gentle flick of a fingertip—

“Whoosh!”

A piece of crystal-clear meat was sliced off its Saint King Realm ox leg, which it had Cultivated for thousands of years.

“The meat quality is good,” Gu Changge commented.

Azure Sky Python Bull King: “???”

It roared in anger, its Saint King Realm aura erupting, its ox horns gleaming with brilliant divine light, vowing to crush this human who didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth!

However—

Gu Changge merely glanced at it indifferently.

“Boom!”

The Azure Sky Python Bull King was instantly suppressed, unable to move even a single ox hair.

“Don’t be nervous. Raising you is for sustainable development.”

Gu Changge smiled gently, casually sprinkling a drop of Water of Life, causing the part where its meat was cut to heal rapidly.

The Azure Sky Python Bull King was stunned.

It, a dignified Saint King, had actually become… a human’s meat reserve?

What made it even more distraught was—

A few days later, Gu Changge came again.

“Newly grown meat is tender.”

“Whoosh!”

Familiar pain, familiar operation.

The Azure Sky Python Bull King roared inwardly: “Devil! This person is a devil!”

What was even more infuriating was that not only had it become a mobile meat locker, but it also had to painstakingly plant that troublesome Blazing Spiritual Rice for him.

This Spiritual Rice was obtained by Gu Changge during a sign-in.

The grains were crimson like flames, each one enveloped in a rich Dao Rhyme.

The energy contained in this Spiritual Rice even had some effect on a Great Emperor’s Cultivation.

Gu Changge tasted it, found the flavor good, and kept some as seeds.

He himself was too lazy to tend to it, and seeing the Azure Sky Python Bull King grinding its teeth idly all day, he threw this task to it, treating it as a form of recycling.

This Spiritual Rice grew fast, but it was also incredibly delicate.

It needed to be watered three times a day with Innate Spiritual Spring water, and the amount of Spiritual Spring water had to be constantly adjusted according to its growth, otherwise, the grains it produced would lose their spirituality.

What made the ox even more distraught was that the energy contained in this Spiritual Rice was too overbearing. When it matured, it would attract Lightning Tribulations, and each time, it had to endure them with its ox horns, several times leaving its horns scorched black.

However, although this devil was overbearing, he wasn’t entirely harsh.

Each time the Spiritual Rice was harvested, he would always leave a small portion for it.

The Spiritual Rice’s energy was mellow and rich. It only dared to eat a little each time, and it could feel the spiritual power surging within its Physical Body, a hundred times more effective than gnawing on thousand-year-old Spiritual Plants.

Coupled with some spiritual items Gu Changge would throw to it to replenish its Physical Body after each meat-cutting session.

Gradually, its Cultivation actually advanced by leaps and bounds without it even realizing it.

When it was first captured, it was only in the Early Stage of the Saint King Realm. Now, it had steadily reached the Late Stage of the Saint King Realm, just one step away from the Great Saint Realm.

Its Physical Body was also nurtured to an incomparable strength by the lingering Dao Rhyme of the Spiritual Rice and various treasures.

But this kind of “blessing in disguise” felt humiliating no matter how it thought about it.

Who wants to rely on selling meat and farming to improve their Cultivation every day!

Being a Saint King like this was even worse than being an ordinary ox—at least an ordinary ox wouldn’t be forced to plant Spiritual Rice, nor would it have to worry about losing a piece of meat today or a leg tomorrow.

It would rather be a local tyrant in the Canglan Mountain Range, even if its Cultivation didn’t increase by a single iota for ten years!

“Oh, by the way, you mentioned last time that the Dragon to the east stole two of your eggs? Perfect, I’ll stew some Dragon soup tonight to nourish myself.”

He glanced at the Azure Python Ox, which was still indignantly pawing at the ground, and said casually.

“Don’t forget to have the Spiritual Rice ready tomorrow. If even one grain is missing, I’ll cut the meat from your front leg to make braised beef.”

“Moo—!”

The Azure Python Ox let out a sorrowful roar to the sky, its voice full of accusation, yet it dared not resist in the slightest.

Gu Changge no longer paid attention to this Azure Python Ox, which was full of inner drama, and turned to walk in another direction.

His Divine Sense swept over Xiao Ruobai, who was currently entangled in a fight with an Iron-Armored Rhinoceros in the Middle Stage of Core Formation, wielding his halberd with imposing vigor. Though there were still flaws, he was much more steady than he had been in the morning.

Before long, a sharp scream echoed through the valley, followed by sounds of frantic fleeing.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ruobai was engaged in a fierce battle in the mountain range.

He had just dealt with the Iron-Armored Rhinoceros and was wiping the blood from the tip of his halberd.

Suddenly, he heard a sorrowful roar from afar: “You are bullying Yao Beasts too much!”

The young man’s grip on his halberd tightened, always feeling that there were too many absurd things hidden in these Ten Thousand Mountains that he couldn’t comprehend.

He turned his head to look, only to see golden light soaring into the sky above the mountains in the northwest direction, like some powerful Yao Beast erupting with its aura.

But the light quickly dimmed as soon as it flared, as if something had forcibly pressed it back down, leaving only a few stifled grunts of indignation.

“Strange.”

Xiao Ruobai frowned, gripping his long halberd and continuing forward.

As night deepened, Xiao Ruobai finally gathered a hundred Yao Beasts at or above the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He walked back, dragging his weary body.

Passing by a Spiritual Field, he vaguely saw a giant azure-gold ox squatting in the field, busy, muttering to itself.

“Not a single grain can be missing… otherwise, the front leg will be cut… Devil…”

Xiao Ruobai: “???”

He paused, suddenly feeling that what Master had said about “raising some living creatures” might be different from what he understood.

How could these be living creatures? They were clearly… domesticated Yao Beasts?

Xiao Ruobai shook his head, suppressing this absurd thought, and quickened his pace towards the light gate.

He didn’t see that behind him, the giant azure-gold ox secretly raised its head, looking at his retreating figure with a sympathetic gaze.

It seemed to be saying: “Kid, work hard. When you become stronger, you might also be forced to plant Spiritual Rice…”

Xiao Ruobai frowned, gripping his long halberd and continuing forward.

Xiao Ruobai walked with heavy steps to the light gate. As soon as he stepped out of the light curtain, he saw Gu Changge squatting beside a bonfire.

He was rotating a green bamboo stick skewered with meat chunks in his hand. Oil splattered onto the fire, making a “sizzling” sound, and the rich aroma of roasted meat instantly wafted over.

Little Black Bird was perched on his shoulder, its head bobbing in rhythm with the rotating bamboo stick, its eyes fixed intently on the roasted meat, drool almost dripping into the fire.