The white tiger let out a curious "Meow?"
The fiery phoenix chirped uncertainly, "Chirp, chirp…"
The turtle gave a confused "Uh… woof?"
These mighty spirit beasts all tried their best to appear harmless, leaving Shi Batian a bit baffled.
A tiger imitating a cat's meow, a phoenix doing bird calls, and a turtle… barking like a dog? What on earth was going on here?
Despite their odd behavior, these thousand-year soul beasts all knelt obediently.
Shi Batian frowned, trying to shoo them away, but to no avail.
"Are you not leaving? You want to stay with me?" he asked skeptically.
They all nodded vigorously. Of course, staying was their only hope—leaving meant death.
Shi Batian chuckled to himself. He didn't fully understand the situation, but he guessed it had something to do with his sons. If this was their decision, he wouldn't argue.
So, a few more "guests" moved into his small cabin: the toothless tiger, the scorched-winged phoenix, and the half-shelled turtle.
…
Life at Shi Batian's home became noticeably livelier.
What's more, these "guests" didn't need orders—each took on chores more diligently than Shi Batian himself.
The turtle tilled the soil for the gourd vine, the white tiger watered it, and the phoenix cleared pests and fertilized the ground.
Thanks to their help, Shi Batian's workload was greatly reduced. After a month of careful tending—watering and fertilizing—the gourd vine flourished, and Shi Batian himself had darkened under the sun, his muscles more defined. From the boyish, sunburnt youth, he was slowly transforming into a sturdier figure.
It had been over a month since he last saw Qian Renxue.
He thought of her with a bittersweet sigh, then looked up at the clear blue sky, wiping the sweat from his brow. The spirit beasts trailed behind him happily.
"Daddy… Daddy… thanks for working so hard."
"Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, Daddy!" the seven little gourds chimed in unison.
Shi Batian smiled hearing their chatter and went inside to rest.
"Unnoticed… Big Gourd is already so big?"
Shi Batian's eyes landed on the most prominent red gourd. It had clearly grown larger than the others, almost ripe.
"Big Gourd? Why aren't you talking…?"
Normally, Big Gourd was the chattiest. Why was he silent now?
"Daddy… Daddy, Big Brother says he's feeling a bit unwell today," the other gourds explained.
"But it's probably nothing serious… Daddy, don't worry. We'll take good care of Big Brother," the little purple gourd added with a gentle voice.
"Protect… protect Big Brother!"
Seeing the gourds so united, Shi Batian felt relieved and smiled warmly.
Night fell as usual. Shi Batian returned to his room to rest.
Deep into the night…
The red gourd—bigger than all the rest—began to sway violently on the vine.
The six smaller gourds cheered, their little voices buzzing with excitement as they communicated silently among themselves:
"Big Brother… Big Brother… you're finally coming out!"
"Yay! I wanna come out too! This gourd's too small! Daddy said the outside world is so fun, and there's lots of good food!"
"Eat, eat, eat… You guys only think about food? Didn't you forget the most important thing? We have to rescue Mom!"
"That's right… we must save beautiful Mom, so Daddy can be happy again!"
"Okay, let Big Brother go rescue beautiful Mom."
The gourds chatted happily—until the second eldest, the orange gourd, interrupted sternly:
"Enough noise! Big Brother's coming out now!"
Right after those words…
The once-clear sky darkened rapidly. Thick black clouds rolled in, weighing heavily on the valley.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky like a giant, shining axe cleaving the heavens in two.
Thunder crashed explosively, shaking the earth as a torrential downpour poured from the sky like countless water columns pouring down.
Rain hammered the cliff face, splashing up a thick white mist—like a landslide and earthquake combined, with fierce winds howling.
This terrifying spectacle instantly woke the spirit beasts in the valley.
They all lifted their heads, bewildered by the strange phenomenon.
At Heaven Dou City—
Dugu Bo stood atop a towering city wall, frowning deeply as he gazed toward Shi Batian's direction.
"Such a powerful energy fluctuation… Could a mighty beast king have appeared?"
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect—
Sword Douluo Chen Xin abruptly opened his eyes from meditation.
Sword Qi roared wildly through the chamber as he narrowed his eyes and murmured:
"Incredible power… what existence is about to be born? Could it be a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast undergoing tribulation? No, even that wouldn't emit such a mighty aura."
All around within nearly a thousand-mile radius, many Title Douluos sensed the disturbance with unease.
Back on the cliff—
Outside Shi Batian's hut, the white tiger, fiery phoenix, and ancient turtle trembled in fear at the terrifying scene.
"Holy crap… This has to be a heavenly tribulation, right? This is insane!"
"This tribulation for the gourds' birth is way stronger than a normal hundred-thousand-year spirit beast's. What the hell are these gourds?"
"God only knows… we better behave or get struck down."
Their previous rebellious thoughts instantly evaporated.
At that moment—
The green gourd vine suddenly emitted a radiant light.
A glowing green barrier rose around Shi Batian's hut, spanning thousands of meters, forcibly masking the energy within.
Then—
A bolt of purple lightning fiercely struck the red gourd, splitting its shell clean in two.
Boom!
The thunderclap jolted Shi Batian awake. Hearing the commotion, he rushed outside.
What he saw made his eyes burn with tears—
The red gourd was shattered in two.
"Big Gourd… Big Gourd, what happened?!"
Believing his eldest child was in danger, Shi Batian broke down, clutching the two halves of the red gourd and collapsing to the ground, tears streaming.
He had hardly ever cried in his life—yet now, he was utterly heartbroken.
"This is my first child… my Big Gourd!"
"Big Gourd!!!"
But then—
He suddenly felt a tickling sensation on his back, like someone was poking him.
"Daddy… Daddy, why are you crying?"
"Don't cry, don't cry… Big Gourd is right here."
_
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