Chapter 54

He saw a blurry scene, devoid of warmth, filled only with coldness. Though it was intermittent, it was heart-wrenching. He tried to see more clearly, but the mist surged, and everything disappeared.

At that time, he was too young to have a clear memory. This was just a deep imprint in his subconscious, surfacing due to emotional agitation.

“Don’t cry, child. Everyone in the village is your family. This is your home.” Shi Yunfeng wiped away the tears on his small face with his rough hands.

“Don’t cry, little one. We are all your brothers. Don’t think about unhappy things.” A group of children rushed over.

Xiaoshi Hao wiped away his tears and said, “Grandpa, please continue.”

“Nothing much happened after that. Your parents didn’t say much.” Shi Yunfeng recounted the past.

The couple took care of Shi Hao in the Stone Village for a few months. After confirming he could survive, they left. At that time, the weak little one was a year and a few months old, but he looked like a half-year-old child.

“They don’t want me anymore...” Xiaoshi Hao shed tears again, his big eyes filled with mist.

“No!” Shi Yunfeng shook his head and said, “They couldn’t bear to part with you, but they had to leave because they needed to find the sacred medicine to cure your injuries.”

Pihou scratched his head and whispered, “I was young then, but I still have some memories. That uncle was very heroic, though he looked a bit sickly. And that aunt was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“I remember it clearly. Little one lost his parents when he was half a year old, and they disappeared.” Shida Zhuang nodded.

Although several years had passed, the old tribal leader still vividly remembered the couple’s reluctance and sorrow when they left. “You are their only child. They said that even if they died, they couldn’t let you weaken.”

Tears kept streaming down Xiaoshi Hao’s eyes as he called out, “Father, Mother, where are you?”

The tribal leader recounted the events of the past, feeling much lighter. The couple was very powerful back then, but they didn’t mention much about the ancient kingdom, so many things were unclear.

The couple had to go to the most dangerous ancient lands to gather the sacred medicine, such as the ancient divine mountains, where true beasts might dwell. If they found it, it would certainly trigger a scramble among the ancient remnants.

“Can you help me, Willow God? Let me see what’s in my subconscious?” Xiaoshi Hao stood under the tree, speaking softly, filled with longing.

“I’m about to enter a deep sleep. Wait until you grow a bit more, and your blood energy is strong enough. In a year or two.” Surprisingly, the willow tree responded.

“Okay!” Xiaoshi Hao opened his eyes wide, full of hope, and clenched his small fists. He was no longer sad; he wanted to understand his condition and find out where his parents had gone. This was his simple goal.

The villagers found that this place was very suitable for living. There were no extremely ferocious beasts, and the distant forests were full of game. Although there were fierce birds and beasts, they were not too difficult to deal with.

The nearby lake was teeming with various fish, especially the precious dragon whisker fish, which was invaluable. Every villager smiled broadly, as even the direct descendants of the Purple Mountain lineage, the Lei Clan, and the Golden Wolf Tribe could not enjoy such luxurious daily meals of strength-enhancing exotic fish.

“We should go out and see what this place is like, how far it is from the original Cangmang Mountains, and how our original habitat is doing.” Shilin Hu said.

“Uncle, let me go. I’ll go with Aunt Qinglinshe to take a closer look.”

Amid the envious gazes of the other children, Xiaoshi Hao climbed onto Qinglinshe’s back. Her silver wings spread, and the wind howled as they soared into the clouds.

The fierce bird was extremely sensitive to direction. After circling in the sky, she quickly flew in one direction, like a silver lightning bolt, at incredible speed.

“Wow, what happened? Why are these mountains and rivers cracked?” Xiaoshi Hao was surprised. After flying a few hundred miles, he noticed the abnormality on the ground.

The earth was cracked, lifeless, and the mountains and rivers were completely destroyed, cut off from life.

As they delved deeper, he saw ruins and destroyed cities, turned into massive ruins, bloodstained but without any corpses.

After flying for thousands of miles, they didn’t see a single person, only remnants of blood. Many large tribes had been destroyed, turning this vast land into a dead zone.

“That’s a huge footprint!”

From the high sky, at the same height as the clouds, looking down, he could clearly see a huge footprint that had collapsed a mountain range, with many peaks shattered!

Xiaoshi Hao was stunned. What kind of enormous creature could have done this?

Continuing forward, they saw several deep chasms, vast and black. Upon closer inspection, they realized these were claw marks, left by some fierce bird.

“This fierce bird...” Xiaoshi Hao was dumbfounded.

Qinglinshe trembled, a soul-deep shudder, a reverence for the supreme beings. As a bird, the gap was truly immense.

Moving forward, they saw scorched earth for thousands of miles, a desolate wasteland where the entire landscape had been melted, charred.

“Could this be the result of Little Red being cornered?” Xiaoshi Hao muttered to himself.

Qinglinshe, with her high intelligence, circled these battlefields for a long time, sensing the supreme battle intent, especially the traces of avian battles, which were very helpful to her.

“Aunt Qing, in the future, when Ziyun, Dapeng, and the others can fly, I’ll accompany them to these places to gain insights.” Xiaoshi Hao said.

A long cry, Qinglinshe responded, appreciating Xiaoshi Hao’s intelligence and understanding.

Moving forward, they saw countless mountains collapsed, many of them flattened, a terrifying sight!

After half a day, Qinglinshe returned, to avoid any unexpected dangers, as the post-battle wasteland could still hide great peril.

They returned at sunset, the journey long, Qinglinshe having flown all day, even as a descendant of an ancient magical bird, she was somewhat tired.

“Ao... Aunt Qinglinshe is back!” The children shouted.

“Child, what did you discover? Where is this place, and how far is it from the Cangmang Mountains?” Shifei Jiao asked. A large crowd gathered, including several tribal elders, as the villagers were very concerned about this question.

“I don’t know how far it is from our original habitat, but I think it’s at least fifty thousand miles. The entire land has been destroyed, mountains and rivers collapsed...”

Xiaoshi Hao recounted everything he had seen, and everyone was shocked.

“It was truly a great disaster. No wonder Willow God took the Stone Village away!” The tribal leader sighed, knowing that without the willow tree, the Stone Village would have been completely destroyed, with no survivors. The惨烈景象足以说明一切。

In the following month, Xiaoshi Hao often went out with Qinglinshe, sometimes disappearing for many days, and finally clarified the situation.

“Grandpa, the thousands of miles of the Cangmang Mountains have completely collapsed. Our habitat is gone.” Xiaoshi Hao brought news that left everyone stunned.

Within a hundred thousand miles, all life was extinguished, even the fierce beasts and countless birds had disappeared, perhaps devoured by supreme beings.

A hundred thousand miles of territory had become a dead zone, with no living creatures left, all extinct!

“What a great calamity! The Lei Clan, Purple Mountain, Luofu Marsh, and the Golden Wolf Tribe, these were such powerful clans, with millions of people in the territories of their kings. They are all gone.” An elder sighed, deeply moved.

Although they had been enemies and had conflicts, in the face of such a disaster, those grievances were insignificant. The combined population of all the great clans was in the billions, all dead. This was a shocking catastrophe!

“Get stronger!”

“We need to get stronger to protect our home!”

The children shouted, the disaster shaking their young hearts, but also igniting their inner fighting spirit, all clamoring to become powerful.

“Yes, we need to start now, diligently practicing bone scripts. With a hundred thousand miles now a vacuum, we might be able to establish a kingdom.” The older children said.

“Your ambition is not small, but it’s very difficult. The ancient kingdoms have survived from ancient times to the present because ancient gods may still live, and they are powerful enough. A single general from an ancient kingdom could easily destroy the Golden Wolf Tribe, Luofu Marsh, and others. The terror of the ancient kingdoms, which have remained unextinguished from ancient times to now, is unimaginable!” The tribal leader sighed.

“No fear, we have Willow God. When we grow up, we will all be very strong. With Xiaoshi Hao’s talent, capable of battling a young true beast, can’t we establish a great kingdom in the future?” The children were不服气, all clenching their fists.

“Good, I look forward to your glory. According to the late elders, our clan was once very powerful, with ancient gods who could battle true ancient beasts. I hope you can recreate that glory and make our so-called ancestral land famous throughout this vast domain!” Shi Yunfeng said, patting the children’s heads to encourage them. Men should be strong and have lofty ideals.

In the days that followed, the children of the Stone Village worked hard, striving upward, diligently practicing bone scripts, and strengthening their blood energy, each growing as strong as fierce beasts.

This place was blessed, and besides the dragon whisker fish, the villagers discovered the dragon sinew snake. Although it was extremely fierce, it could be hunted. Its sinew was extremely valuable, and when boiled and consumed, it could significantly strengthen a person’s tendons and bones, a rare treasure.

Not only did the children grow quickly, but the adults also benefited greatly, becoming incredibly strong and full of energy.

Time passed quickly, and more than a year had gone by. If calculated by his original age, Xiaoshi Hao was a little over five years old, but if considering the months he had "lost" in his early years, he was six.

“I’m six years old now. I can lift a thirty-thousand-pound boulder. When will you wake up, Willow God?”

In front of the great willow tree, Xiaoshi Hao spoke softly. After more than a year, he had grown taller, his big eyes sparkling with wisdom, his skin fair and beautiful, becoming increasingly refined and elegant.

“Chirp chirp...”

Bird calls came from the sky. Ziyun, Dapeng, and Xiaoqing had not grown very fast, but their bodies were now four meters long, and they could spread their wings to soar into the sky, entering the clouds at incredible speed.

“Don’t rush, I’m coming. Let’s go to the battlefield ruins!” Shi Hao waved, then stomped his foot and leaped into the sky, landing steadily on Ziyun’s back.

“Whoo...”

The wind howled, and in an instant, they disappeared into the distance, heading toward the desolate land.

This was a shattered landscape, the earth cracked, mountains collapsed, desolate and silent.

“This time, we should change direction and go west.” After entering the battlefield, Shi Hao pointed to the western broken mountain range.

The wind howled as they moved at incredible speed, quickly reaching the collapsed mountain range, searching for the remaining battle marks.

“Chirp chirp...” Xiaoqing called, flying toward a huge basin, her body glowing with brilliant patterns, having mutated after consuming the blood of a suanni.

“Hmm, this isn’t a basin; it’s a huge lake that dried up during the great battle.” Xiaoshi Hao was surprised.

Suddenly, Ziyun called, indicating there was a living creature below.

The large bird with a faint golden glow dove down, circling the dried-up lake.

“What kind of creature is that?” Xiaoshi Hao was surprised.

At the bottom of the dried-up lake, a creature lay covered in dirt, motionless, as if sealed for many years. If not for its glowing eyes, one might have thought it was already dead.

“Wow, it’s a monkey, only a foot long, and... it has three heads and six arms?!” Shi Hao was astonished.