Chapter 1546: Enclosing Land to Raise Each Family's Pigs, Quickly Grow Up Xu Xiaoshou

Zhou Tianshen is first on the Ancestral God List, with a full six Shen Zhi Ming Xing? Xu Xiaoshou's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

This was no different from Cheng Xingchu reviving the Sealed Saint Emperor and wiping out the five great Saint Emperor families entirely!

As for who Cheng Xingchu was...

Who even remembered?

It was just absurd, anyway!

But Xu Xiaoshou still remembered Zhou Tianshen—he was a companion from Tian Sang Ling Gong, a genius who had comprehended blade intent, and a madman who had severed one of his own arms to cultivate an evil technique.

"Could Zhou Tianshen really be that strong? Or is someone impersonating him?"

As that thought flashed through his mind, Xu Xiaoshou stared at the Ancestral God List in front of him and realized:

The names on the list weren't written by anyone; they were generated from the memories of the person viewing it or from the shared knowledge of everyone in the Ran Ming Yiji.

If he himself were on the list, others might see names like "Shou Ye," "Zhou Tianshen," or "Xiao Shi Tan Ji," but ultimately, it all referred to the same person: Xu Xiaoshou.

"Real names on the list?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt his head spin.

This tricky list had already nipped in the bud many of his wild ideas from his mind.

But didn't that also mean Zhou Tianshen was the real deal, the one from his own memories?

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and continued scanning down the list, growing more shocked with every line:

"One, Zhou Tianshen, six."

"Two, Yue Gong Li, five."

"Three, Huang Quan, three."

"Four, Bai Zhou, three."

"Five, Cen Qiaofu, two."

"Six, Nian, one."

"Seven, Sang Qiye, one."

That was it! The Ancestral God List ended there, just seven people!

Xu Xiaoshou looked up at the gray, overcast sky, finding it hard to believe.

If he remembered correctly, the Ran Ming Yiji was open to everyone from the five domains equally. Even with a high elimination rate, the daily active participants had to number in the several hundred thousand, if not millions, right?

After all this time, only seven people had obtained Shen Zhi Ming Xing?

And the gatekeeper of the Ancestral God List started at the level of the second-in-command among the Saint Slaves?

"What about Feng Yu Jin, Shen Yi, Wei An, Shui Gui?"

"Haven't they gotten any Shen Zhi Ming Xing?"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced back at the top of the list and felt another sting from "Zhou Tianshen, six."

The ones who should have gotten them hadn't, while the one who shouldn't have gotten a full haul—this was just asking for trouble!

"Hold on, trouble..."

Xu Xiaoshou narrowed his eyes, focusing his spiritual sense on the name "Zhou Tianshen."

Soon, as if guided, he sensed a faint beam of light appearing on the distant horizon, illuminating a certain location.

"Does this really show Zhou Tianshen's approximate position?"

"With six Shen Zhi Ming Xing on him, it's impossible no one's gone after them. Is some big shot raising him like a pig?"

Xu Xiaoshou pondered. Just look at the status of the others on the Ancestral God List.

There were heirs of Saint Emperor families, the chief of Yan Wang, the lord of Xu Yue Hui Gong...

What made Zhou Tianshen deserving of snagging six Shen Zhi Ming Xing?

Even if that hot potato landed in his own hands, Xu Xiaoshou would have to watch his back against all the major players, seeing enemies in every shadow...

"Uh."

At that thought, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood.

Either Zhou Tianshen had a major big shot by his side, forcing him to hold onto the Shen Zhi Ming Xing for some twisted form of real-name listing.

Or everyone was playing along, waiting for this pig to fatten up before slaughtering it.

After all, except for Zhou Tianshen, everyone else on the list was well-known and thoroughly understood.

If anyone accumulated too many Shen Zhi Ming Xing, they'd easily become a target for a group attack.

One-on-one, perhaps no one on the list would fear them.

But one against many? Even Huang Quan would have to think twice.

"Goodness, this is really something..."

Xu Xiaoshou scanned the Ancestral God List again and noticed another oddity.

The seven people on the list had a total of twenty-one Shen Zhi Ming Xing, which was more than eighteen.

"That means there are extras."

"Even now, there are Shen Zhi Ming Xing scattered out there, with no limit on numbers. Whoever gathers eighteen first takes the top prize?"

In that case, Zhou Tianshen, this big fat pig, definitely shouldn't be killed too early.

"If I were Yue Gong Li, I'd gather twelve Shen Zhi Ming Xing, then go after Zhou Tianshen and soar to new heights on the spot!"

"Of course, the others aren't fools. By the time I get close to twelve, someone would already be lying in wait for me near Zhou Tianshen..."

"But I'm not stupid either. I could just keep another pig nearby, hand off some Shen Zhi Ming Xing first, then slaughter Zhou Tianshen and deal with my own pig afterward..."

"But they can watch the Ancestral God List too. As soon as an unfamiliar name appears, they'd guess my plan..."

"I'd have to counter that..."

Was the Shen Zhi Legacy Site just a game of strategy?

In the end, everyone had a chance to gain and become a god or ancestor, except Zhou Tianshen, who was doomed to be eliminated?

—How pitiful for Zhou Tianshen!

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't even seen his old companion from Ling Gong yet, and he was already bursting with laughter.

He could almost picture it: the guy being chased all over by people from everywhere, somehow surviving, and mistakenly thinking he'd gotten stronger. What a comedy!

"You'll definitely make it to the late stages!"

As he muttered, Xu Xiaoshou reined in his smile and let his gaze fall on the sixth spot: "Six, Nian, one."

"Nian..."

All the other names were familiar.

This one stood out as strangely unfamiliar.

But it wasn't like he'd never heard of it.

In the intelligence jade slip from Xiang Yi at You Gui Ge back then, Xu Xiaoshou had seen this name:

"The new head of the Dark Department, Nian."

But this person was even more elusive than the previous one, Ye Xiao.

Apart from this name that could serve as a title, nothing was known about their gender, age, cultivation, or combat strength.

And upon careful recollection, this "Nian" had also joined the Tian Zu operation, but right up until the battle with Dao Qiong Cang ended and all six department heads had shown up, they never appeared.

"Nian..."

As far as he could remember, no one else had that name.

Given the characteristics of the Shen Zhi Legacy Site, this Nian had to be the same one from his memories.

Their presence on the Ancestral God List proved they were no weakling...

"Of course, it could also be someone raising a pig."

"Or maybe it's Yue Gong Li's own pig, prepared for a final counter."

Xu Xiaoshou focused his spiritual sense on the name "Nian," and soon, a vague beam of light descended from afar.

Interestingly, that light seemed to overlap with Zhou Tianshen's...

Again, Zhou Tianshen!

The storm center of the Shen Zhi Legacy Site—Zhou Tianshen?

"Is Nian about to start slaughtering the pig?" Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned strange, though he doubted it.

Anyone with half a brain, seeing those prominent names on the Ancestral God List, would know that whoever could kill Zhou Tianshen would be next in line to become the pig.

This person had obtained a Shen Zhi Ming Xing, so unless they'd gotten it and made the list the exact moment Xu Xiaoshou entered the site, they'd have to hold out for at least half a day. That meant they weren't stupid.

So, what were they doing near Zhou Tianshen?

Overthinking was pointless. After analyzing the situation, Xu Xiaoshou knew exactly what his next move should be.

Without a doubt, three words...

"Wow! Stop chasing me, you're all so annoying!"

Zhou Tianshen swung his blade, and golden light infused with saintly power transformed into a massive wave, shoving back the thousands of people behind him.

He was numb...

Looking at the thousands on the ground, thousands in the air, and who knew how many underground—dense as a swarm of locusts, more disgusting than anything—Zhou Tianshen was completely numb.

He hadn't had a phobia of crowds before, but after these past few days, he'd developed one, along with a severe case of annoyance—now he was sick of seeing people!

"Thud!"

A sword light came out of nowhere and struck his neck heavily.

Zhou Tianshen's head jerked to the side as he clutched the large sack tightly, his body flying backward.

In mid-air, purple fire, heavenly thunder, hidden needles, owl-headed weapons... countless elemental attacks and hidden strikes rained down.

Zhou Tianshen forcibly broke his momentum in the air, dodging left and right, but ended up taking every hit.

"Sigh."

After landing, all he could muster was a long sigh.

"Pfft..."

Zhou Tianshen was fine, but the various Zhan Dao and Tai Xu attackers who had ambushed him spat out blood, glaring with envy and hatred at that sack he refused to let go of.

The sack glowed brilliantly, clinking as it moved—it was the sack's energy that had protected Zhou Tianshen.

Everyone knew it contained six head-sized Shen Zhi Ming Xing, yet Zhou Tianshen acted like he was hiding it well. As he scrambled up from the ground in a mess, he still shouted with full vigor:

"The Shen Zhi Ming Xing aren't on me! I gave them to Shou Ye! You all dare mess with him?"

"He's a vicious Saint Slave, a ruthless powerhouse. You'd better not fall into his hands, or... or you won't get off easy!"

At first, some had teased Zhou Tianshen's childish threats.

Now, the pursuers were all silent, consumed by killing intent.

Clearly, to this crowd of middle-aged and elderly seekers, the kid's warnings were just a joke.

Shou Ye?

Whether it was his dad or his grandpa, it didn't matter. Even if the heavenly king himself showed up, they'd still go for it—that was "Shen Zhi Ming Xing"!

"But brothers, we can't even break through the Shen Zhi Ming Xing's defense. How do we kill this Zhou Tianshen?"

"Damn it, I've been in on this chase for three days, landed hits 465 times. If that were a Half-Saint, I'd have turned them into mincemeat by now, but every time, I'm just pushed back by the Shen Zhi Ming Xing's power..."

"And how is Zhou Tianshen improving so fast? I'm exhausted, but he's not only at Wang Zuo Dao Realm, he's even grasped saintly power?"

"You kidding? Look how this guy cultivates. He just hugs the Shen Zhi Ming Xing and chomps on them when he's tired or hungry—how could his cultivation not skyrocket?"

"Six Shen Zhi Ming Xing! This is like heaven force-feeding him. I'm so jealous!"

"Ah, Ran Ming, my god, is it really 'divine officials decree fate, all beings equal'? All I feel is thick sarcasm and malice!"

The pursuit legion grumbled endlessly.

Zhou Tianshen kept running while plugging his ears and burying his head in the sack to chew, sniff, and absorb wildly.

Any injuries on his body or deficiencies in his energy and spirit were quickly healed!

Shen Zhi Ming Xing were incredibly powerful.

They granted him an unbreakable safeguard, a blessing for those with great destiny, and surely a reward for persisting amid thousands of enemies!

But only Zhou Tianshen knew he'd already died once...

Four days ago, after negotiating a gentleman's agreement with the pursuit legion to rest for the night—no chasing, no running.

Zhou Tianshen had enjoyed a moment of peaceful bliss.

But just as he was in deep sleep, he was jolted awake, his neck bleeding "hiss," the sack slashed open, and one Shen Zhi Ming Xing stolen.

That was Zhou Tianshen's first "audience with the divine"!

He barely looked up, hadn't even cursed the attacker for breaking their agreement or demanded the Shen Zhi Ming Xing back...

His eyes were destroyed.

His knees were shattered.

His whole body nearly fell apart, turning to mush as he teetered on the brink of death, unable even to protect the Shen Zhi Ming Xing.

But in that instant, Zhou Tianshen realized how fragile a Half-Saint could be...

The attacker, a Half-Saint, grabbed what was now his Shen Zhi Ming Xing. Before he could speak or take more...

The world froze in an instant.

The Half-Saint turned "black," then the blackness faded, he became translucent, and finally shattered like ice— a mighty Half-Saint dead on the spot!

Zhou Tianshen was terrified, ready to throw away the Shen Zhi Ming Xing and offer them up with both hands to the mantis-hunting mantis's yellow sparrow.

It was a guy who looked like a woman.

Zhou Tianshen swore he was too pale, too effeminate, with skin so smooth, and eyes like a fox's—utterly unmanly.

Surprisingly, this effeminate yellow sparrow was a good person!

He killed the ambusher and only took one Shen Zhi Ming Xing for himself, calling it a "transaction."

But how could a Half-Saint's life equate to a Shen Zhi Ming Xing? So, the guy also gave him a fruit...

After eating it, Zhou Tianshen felt disoriented, a mix of discomfort and pleasure.

The next day, he woke up having broken through to Wang Zuo and mastered saintly power.

From then on, he used the Shen Zhi Ming Xing for defense and energy replenishment, and saintly power for attacks. Nine out of ten in the pursuit legion were no match for him!

Zhou Tianshen was grateful to that effeminate yellow sparrow.

He also noticed a strange phenomenon: after that day, no "overpowered" opponents appeared in the pursuit legion.

No Half-Saints.

No overly strong Tai Xu.

He'd even encountered a Zong Shi before, wielding a rusty iron sword that nearly broke through the Shen Zhi Ming Xing's defense—stronger than most Tai Xu...

But after that day, all such overpowered figures vanished, and his pursuers became a ragtag bunch.

They were strong, of course—who wasn't among the Tai Xu? Any one of them could be a great elder in his Pi Shou Zong.

But Zhou Tianshen always felt something was off...

This was the Ran Ming Yiji, not the old Tian Sang Ling Gong or Tian Sang Cheng.

At this level of pursuit, Zhou Tianshen felt like, as the sect master of Pi Shou Zong, he was being pitifully toyed with.

Exactly!

Zhou Tianshen wasn't stupid; he knew something was wrong.

As a Wang Zuo powerhouse capable of founding his own sect, how could he be some naive little rabbit?

The cunning Zhou Tianshen clearly understood he'd entered some kind of endless loop, a bizarre trap. Keep running, and it was a dead end.

He couldn't figure out where the strangeness lay or how he'd ultimately be killed, but he knew it was time to "break the game"!

How? His great elder wasn't around...

So, he had to do it himself as the sect master.

Zhou Tianshen racked his brains and could only think of one exhausting but necessary option:

This was the Ran Ming Yiji, the Shen Zhi Legacy Site, full of forbidden areas that even the one who set this up—the effeminate yellow sparrow—probably wouldn't dare enter carelessly.

Zhou Tianshen had been chased for days, running all over, so he counted as a veteran of the site.

He knew of one eerie place: as soon as you approached, people acted strangely, strangely...

He hadn't dared to enter when he passed by before.

Now, it seemed like the time his wise great elder had spoken of—"the moment when you have no choice."

"We're here..."

Gripping the sack tightly, he stopped abruptly.

A cloud of dust rose behind him as the pursuit legion slammed on the brakes.

Zhou Tianshen looked up. Ahead was a dark, foreboding black forest, with trees taller than pillars, so thick that ten people couldn't encircle one.

If the Shen Zhi Legacy Site was always overcast,

Then this black forest was twice as dark—pure night.

At the forest's edge, there was a stark line between gray and black.

In that line, lurking in the shadows of the giant trees, were many strangely, strangely acting people...

Zhou Tianshen narrowed his eyes.

Last time, he hadn't looked closely and had been scared off by the eerie atmosphere. This time, taking a good look, he saw they were all incredibly obese and bloated, with huge bellies.

They were clearly people from Sheng Shen Continent, dressed in its style, with cultivations to match, but their behavior was completely different.

They were too relaxed!

Normal people in the Ran Ming Yiji should be as frantic as the pursuit legion behind him.

But these fat folks were lounging around the forest's outer edge, strolling leisurely, cradling their big bellies, stroking them with blissful smiles on their faces, as if muttering to themselves.

Zhou Tianshen edged closer, not daring to cross that gray-black line, just wanting to hear what they were saying.

Whispers reached his ears, and his eyes widened little by little.

"Be good, baby, don't be naughty—kicking Daddy isn't cute." That was a man!

"Healthy, beautiful, growing strong—my little girl, you'll be an adorable darling." That was an old man, also a man!

"Sleep, sleep, A Yun bro, I knew you didn't die, never did—I'll bring you into the world!" That was a woman, but...

Zhou Tianshen listened for a while and felt his worldview shattering.

They were even more outrageous than Xu Xiaoshou!

This creepy place felt scarier than the effeminate yellow sparrow. Did he really have to go in...

"Zhou Tianshen, don't go in there—it's no good!"

Suddenly, a cry of alarm burst from the pursuit legion behind him.

Zhou Tianshen spun around. He didn't want to go in anymore. Death was better than giving birth in the Ran Ming Yiji.

If word got out, how would Pi Shou Zong recruit disciples? They only got two this year as it was...

"Thud!"

As he turned, an axe flew straight for his head.

Zhou Tianshen leaped into the air on the spot.

"Die!"

"The Shen Zhi Ming Xing are mine, ha ha ha!"

The world went quiet...

That instant in mid-air was stillness, eternal.

Zhou Tianshen's mind flashed through all the highlights of his life like a lantern, and finally, terror overflowed in his pupils.

Leaping wasn't scary.

Death wasn't scary.

But giving birth...

"Buzz!"

When he saw the ground's color shift from gray to black, Zhou Tianshen felt a warm current surge into his mind.

So warm...

I'm... changing strangely...

Zhou Tianshen crashed heavily under the shade of the giant trees in the black forest, his mind blank for a moment, then a sharp pain hit his abdomen.

"Ah."

"Ah!"

"Ah!!"

Zhou Tianshen's face flushed with eagerness and urgency. He shot up, hands on his belly.

His belly swelled at an alarming speed!

His abs ripped through his clothes!

His abs vanished!

"Ahhhh—"

Zhou Tianshen screamed in terror, shrieked in horror, then his eyes sharpened, and his expression turned serene.

He lowered his head, gently stroking his massive belly, a maternal bliss on his face, strolling as he murmured:

"Little Shou Shou, grow up quickly..."