Cao Ya stroked his chin, then suddenly laughed and said:

"Then let's not confront each other head-on, let's launch a sneak attack."

He pondered for a moment and said:

"In this sea area, no matter what realm anyone enters, they are all at the Spirit Transformation Realm. Even though there are only two of us, we have never been afraid of anyone. We can ambush them, knock them out, steal their things, and run away."

Looking at Shi Hao, she smiled and said:

"You should be familiar with this, right?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Shi Hao's face, then his eyes widened, and he said:

"Sanren, don't smear my reputation."

Cao Ya laughed heartily; it was quite amusing to tease Shi Hao when he was a child.

Then, Cao Ya told Shi Hao to wait a little longer. Two days later, the last batch of pills was finished. He gave some to Shi Hao, and they each kept theirs safe. Then they left the small island, concealed their presence, and wandered the blue sea, specifically targeting powerful forces.

Soon, the name of the "Tall and Short Duo" spread across the sea, drawing curses from many creatures, especially those from powerful factions. On the contrary, Cao Ya and Shi Hao paid little attention to the rogue cultivators, as there was nothing worth fighting over. So the rogue cultivators gloated and spread rumors.

Finally, even the renowned Jiao Venerable of the sea was ambushed and struck on the back of the head by the Tall and Short Duo, leaving a huge bump on the back of his head.

On that day, the Dragon Venerable was furious, roaring across the sea and shattering the boundless clouds, but it was only a powerless rage.

Not only was the Jiao Venerable attacked, but even the Sea God Island was ambushed by the Tall and Short Duo. The descendants of the Sea God were furious, but all the creatures of the various races were struggling to suppress their laughter. The descendants of the Sea God were bruised and swollen. The once handsome young man was now a mess of eyes and nose.

"Tall and Short Demons, I will surely kill you!" the descendant of the sea god roared, brandishing his halberd. Golden waves surged, shattering a section of the sea, but the Tall and Short Demons had long since vanished.

Besides the Jiao Venerable and the Sea God Island, some experts from ancient sects and ancient sacred mountains were also knocked unconscious. Some didn't even know if it was the work of the Tall and Short Duo. They didn't see anything and were knocked unconscious with a single blow. When they woke up, all their treasures were gone, and their Qiankun bags were also lost.

During that period, everyone on the blue sea was on edge and extremely wary of each other.

On a deserted island, Cao Ya and Shi Hao divided the spoils. Shi Hao was very dissatisfied with the title of "Tall and Short Duo," because he could tell that the "Short Duo" was referring to him.

Cao Ya laughed heartily:

"Who told you to be only eleven or twelve years old? You're so young, your body isn't fully developed yet."

Shi Hao gritted his teeth and said:

"Hmph, those guys, I'll teach them a lesson."

After dividing the loot, the two kept quiet for a while. Just when everyone thought that the tall and short duo had made a fortune and run away from the blue sea, and were celebrating enthusiastically, the tall and short duo reappeared.

Cao Ya and Shi Hao covered their faces with divine veils, concealing their auras, or revealing different powers, and began to bang their heads against the sea again.

Suddenly, the atmosphere on the sea became tense again.

People speculate that the tall and short duo are Venerable Realm figures. Although their cultivation is suppressed here, they are still at the peak. Otherwise, how could they have managed to knock the Dragon Venerable's head off?

That's a true Venerable One. Even if he only displays the power of the Spirit Transformation Realm here, he's still invincible among those of the same realm.

Those powerful forces intended to unite and gather their strength to ambush and kill the Tall and Short Duo, but the Tall and Short Duo escaped and wreaked havoc, causing heavy casualties. Now, everyone is certain and confidently asserts that the Tall and Short Duo were definitely created by Venerable Realm cultivators in disguise.

They weren't entirely wrong, but they weren't entirely right either.

Cao Ya is at the Venerable Realm, but Shi Hao is not.

That's right, but not entirely.

Cao Ya and Shi Hao appeared and disappeared mysteriously in that sea area, occasionally stopping to divide the spoils and cultivate. After all, having obtained so many good things, it was only right to use them as soon as possible to improve their cultivation and strengthen their power.

They also knew that if the identities of the tall and short duo were exposed, they would inevitably face a massive manhunt.

Therefore, they do not take any actions that could expose them.

This frustrated those who had been spying on them. They all wanted to find out the true identities of the tall and short duo so they could ask the powerful forces for rewards and obtain precious techniques or rare treasures.

While Cao Ya in [Perfect World] was cultivating, refining pills, and disguising himself to launch sneak attacks with Shi Hao, Cao Ya in [The Legend of the Shepherd God], who entered the system space at the same time as him, was doing something else entirely.

******

******

The World of [The Shepherd's Tale].

As darkness receded and the sun rose, illuminating the ruins, the monsters in the darkness also retreated.

The village of the disabled and elderly.

The villagers here are all disabled, and Cao Ya is one of them. He lost his right arm and can only practice swordsmanship with his left hand.

However, more than a decade ago, the village of the disabled found Qin Mu, which finally brought a normal person to the village.

When Qin Mu was found, he had a jade pendant with the character "Qin" engraved on it, so the village chief named the baby Qin Mu, meaning a cowherd with the surname Qin.

Only Cao Ya knew that Qin was indeed Qin Mu's original surname.

But as Qin Mu grew up, the villagers of the Remnant Village began to plan to teach him martial arts techniques so that he could cultivate them.

However, before that, they still need to determine Qin Mu's spirit body.

In the world of [The Legend of the Shepherd God], the path of cultivation before becoming a god is divided into seven divine treasures: the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, the Five Luminaries Divine Treasure, the Six Harmonies Divine Treasure, the Seven Stars Divine Treasure, the Celestial and Human Divine Treasure, the Life and Death Divine Treasure, and finally, the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure.

In this era, the divine bridge for cultivators has been severed by the gods in heaven, preventing them from becoming gods.

Cao Ya's cultivation system in this world only goes up to the sixth divine treasure, the Life and Death Divine Treasure. He has always wanted to find another way to open up another divine treasure and continue the broken path.

The Seventh Divine Treasure can be the Divine Bridge Treasure, which has been severed by the gods in heaven, or other divine treasures. For example, in the original work, Qin Mu later opened the Seventh Divine Treasure, which included the Heavenly River Treasure and the Other Shore Treasure.

Now that Cao Ya possesses the power of other systems, some even surpassing the cultivation system of the [Shepherd's Chronicle] world, he is very confident and can slowly try, or even try to reconnect the severed path, linking to the divine bridge and divine treasure that were severed by the gods.

"Pharmacist, this matter is entrusted to you. You prepare the medicine," the village chief said in a deep voice.

Among the group of disabled people in the village, the village chief is the worst off, having lost both his hands and feet and needing to be carried on a stretcher.

Of course, this is a concealment. If the village chief wanted to, he could walk freely, but his heart was dead, so why not just be a useless person?

So Cao Ya never carried the village chief's stretcher; it was always others who carried it.

The pharmacist nodded. He was in a terrible state too; he had no face. The skin on his face seemed to have been cut off, along with his nose and half of his upper and lower lips. He was the ugliest and most terrifying person in the village.

In terms of medical skills, among the elderly and disabled in the village, the pharmacist is the foremost.

The task of preparing medicine for Qin Mu was naturally left to the pharmacist.

"Master Ma, the mute, the blind man, and Cao Ya, the task of finding the Four Spirits is entrusted to you," the village chief instructed.

He sighed:

"Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise—if Mu'er possesses any one of these four spiritual entities, her future will not be one of waiting to die alongside us useless people."

He then smiled again and said:

"We can't get the blood of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, but we can use some creatures as substitutes, such as the Azure Serpent, Iron-Bone Tiger, Thunder Bird, and Golden Tortoise, which can be good substitutes for the blood of the four spirits."

"When the time comes, refining a little bit of spiritual blood will be enough."