Chapter 74

With a single arm, he could shake with the strength of forty to fifty thousand catties, and with both arms, it was eighty to ninety thousand catties of divine strength. This was just their guess, not a true understanding of the little one's capabilities. But even so, they were quite shocked, exclaiming and sighing in amazement.

"Eh..." The old woman frowned, feeling as if she had overlooked something. Silver runes flickered in her eyes, like a river of stars flickering in and out of existence.

Suddenly, she lifted her head, her eyes shooting out two beams of astonishing light, and said, "We've been deceived!"

"How were we deceived?" a young man beside her asked.

The old woman took out a piece of eggshell from her bosom, as smooth as jade, lustrous and glossy, with colorful patterns and a few rays of light. It was a piece of the eggshell from the ancient legacy species.

"Just now, I was negligent, but now I realize. That child and the little mountain beast on his shoulder had a familiar aura. At first, I thought they were just covered in a lot of beast blood, the stench of fierce birds and beasts. But now, after careful consideration and sensing, it should be the aura of an egg hatched by the descendants of the ancient divine bird."

Everyone was startled upon hearing this.

"Can't be, that child ate the egg of the descendant of the ancient divine king? That's astonishing!" A young man's mouth opened wide enough to swallow half a fist.

"A harmless little guy, yet he dared to go to the nest of the ancient legacy species to take an egg?"

Almost no one could believe it. After learning this, they all gasped. A mere child dared to venture deep into the nest of the ancient legacy species and accomplish such a shocking feat.

While they were shocked, they also felt a great sense of regret, finding it incredibly unfortunate. That was the egg of a divine bird's descendant. If hatched and raised, it could certainly reveal some secrets of the ancient divine king's treasure techniques.

Such a precious egg was eaten by that child and the mountain beast!

How wasteful! What kind of family could produce a child who would do such a thing?

"That's not right. Did that little mountain beast also eat the colorful egg? It must be extraordinary too," a middle-aged man in the group asked.

The others were stunned. An ordinary little mountain beast couldn't withstand the essence and spirit of the ancient legacy species; it would surely die from the impact.

"The fist-sized little beast... I vaguely saw its soles were red," another person said.

The old woman was moved, as if she had recalled something, and said, "Could it be the legendary Zhu Yan?"

According to legend, the birth of this fierce beast would inevitably bring great chaos, with wars breaking out everywhere, a sign of great calamity.

Everyone was stunned, encountering such a strange little guy, and they had all been deceived.

The leading woman in white chuckled, her black hair fluttering in the wind, her fair skin shimmering with a captivating glow, her eyes twinkling. "This child is not simple. Let's consider it a good deed."

"Hope he can enter the Bute Temple Pavilion, and don't let others snatch him away!"

Far away in the mountains, the little one was galloping on a horse, the unicorn turning into a silver light, crossing mountains and ridges, reaching its maximum speed. The forests on both sides rushed backward, and soon they were hundreds of miles away.

The fist-sized fur ball had fully revived, its gray-white fur shimmering, turning back to gold. Its dull, lifeless eyes suddenly lit up, full of mischief, jumping up and down on Little Shihao's shoulder.

The little one grabbed its tail, lifting it up, and said, "No more running around, no more causing trouble, you can only stay by my side!"

It had been twenty-one days since he left Stone Village. The long journey was more than halfway over, and he was less than ten thousand miles from the second ancestral land of the Stone Clan. In a few more days, he would arrive.

In the following days, the little one braved thorns and obstacles, advancing through the vast wilderness, encountering one batch after another of powerful beasts, and enduring dozens or even hundreds of bloody battles. Finally, he was about to reach the border of the Stone Kingdom.

A child, in a month, crossing endless mountains, battling numerous fierce birds and beasts, and charging through three hundred thousand miles, was an astonishing feat. If this news spread, it would certainly cause a huge stir, shocking even the ancient families with deep roots.

Even the most powerful ancient fierce beasts, like the Bì'ān and Píxiū, when training their young, wouldn't go through such trials. Such dangerous tests were easy to talk about but extremely perilous in practice, with a high risk of death.

Ordinary children, let alone traveling three hundred thousand miles alone, would be in danger even after traveling three hundred or three thousand miles, likely to be eaten by fierce beasts.

The western border was full of fierce beasts, with dense old forests everywhere, devoid of human habitation, and dangerous beasts and fierce birds everywhere, making it the most terrifying primitive land.

Even a group of adult experts traveling together would find it difficult to cross, always at risk of being eaten by ancient legacy species, leaving no bones behind.

The little one, with his sharp intuition, avoided many terrifying crises along the way but also faced many life-and-death tests. He suffered severe injuries multiple times but finally made it through.

He was just over seven years old and had accomplished such a feat!

If this news got out, it would certainly become explosive, shocking all directions and spreading everywhere. If a major force like the Zhulü Academy learned of it, they would certainly send experts to find him and make him a member of the academy.

Finally, he saw a village, riding the unicorn out of the vast wilderness.

He asked for directions and was stunned. The general direction was correct, but he had deviated by over twenty thousand miles.

"Hmm, I followed the path given by the Willow God, but still ended up with a deviation. I must have taken a wrong turn after falling into that black river," the little one scratched his head and set off again.

After breaking through the endless mountains, there were fewer fierce birds and beasts, making it relatively safer. Two days later, he arrived near a major town on the border of the Stone Kingdom.

The ancient kingdom was truly vast, ruling over a territory of hundreds of millions of miles. Just one of the powerful feudal lords' territories had hundreds of millions, or even over a billion people, with vast and boundless land.

Such a vast territory was naturally difficult to manage comprehensively, so a central giant city was built in each region to maintain control. If any unrest occurred in the region, the experts in the giant city would quickly mobilize to quell it with lightning speed.

In fact, the Stone Kingdom was at its peak, far from needing to quell unrest. In the past few hundred years, the human emperor's runes had reached the heavens, his divine might overwhelming, and the country's power had grown even stronger, with no one daring to rebel.

Only in the border regions might things be less stable, as other races occasionally attacked, plundering and devouring humans. But for the vast ancient kingdom, these small battles were insignificant.

Chongyun Town, which could also be called a city, had a population of eighty thousand and was a key town in the west, serving as a strategic pass under the central giant city of the region.

In the past hundred years, other races' experts had occasionally invaded, but no one had ever successfully broken through this town and entered the region in large numbers.

On the road, the little one met some people, mostly merchants who traveled in and out of the primitive forests, buying animal skins, medicinal herbs, and other items from distant tribes. Although the trips were dangerous, the profits were extremely high.

"Hmm, better to return early. I heard it's not peaceful recently. The Mu Clan in the vast wilderness has been planning to launch an attack. Moreover, it's rumored that a legacy species from the ancient times has just arrived in the deep mountains, and it will surely show its might to establish its dominance, likely causing chaos in Chongyun Town."

The little one listened carefully. He and his horse were naturally very noticeable, but no one on the road made things difficult for him. A child covered in blood, daring to travel alone, was definitely not simple. In fact, these people often ventured into the primitive forests and had seen much, believing that this was likely a young member of a powerful family, out for training.

"Oh no, it seems there's a small beast tide. Could it be that the ancient legacy species has started to establish its dominance early?"

"It's probably not. It's likely just a regular beast king. The number of beasts isn't that large. Let's escape quickly!"

As they approached, they could already see Chongyun Town, with its majestic city walls like a mountain range, built of "Vajra Rock," black and shiny like metal.

In front of the city, there was a group of fierce birds and beasts, a vast black mass. They didn't bypass the city but clearly intended to establish their dominance, roaring loudly, ready to attack the city, causing fear.

"Quickly hide, hoping the Great Sacrificial Spirit can slay all these fierce spirits!"

The group quickly fled, rushing away, not daring to enter the city at this time, fearing they would be targeted by the beast herd and suffer a terrible fate.

In the city, near the city gate, there was a mound of earth with a plant growing on it, about four to five zhang tall, clearly visible from outside the city, entirely dark green, with large leaves like fans.

This was the Sacrificial Spirit of Chongyun Town, a plant that even the locals couldn't name precisely, known as the Great Sacrificial Spirit or Great Chongyun.

It emitted a fragrant aroma, and among its large, dark green leaves, there were three extraordinary flowers, each as large as a millstone, with colorful petals shimmering with light. One was surrounded by red light, one was as white as jade, and one was enveloped in purple mist.

The beast herd clearly saw the people outside the city and immediately sent a group to charge over, roaring and rushing at high speed.

"Great Sacrificial Spirit, save us!" the group shouted.

The little one prepared for battle, but at that moment, a red light flashed, and the flower on the mound in the city, the one with the red light, bloomed, its petals no longer closed, emitting a shocking wave.

"Whoosh"

A red light shot out, circled once, and slashed through the area. The dozens of fierce birds and beasts rushing over were thrown into chaos, roaring continuously, blood splattering, suffering heavy casualties.

The little one's eyes shone with surprise, discovering that the red light was actually a flying sword, entirely red, as clear as fire jade.

"A flower containing a flying sword?"

In no time, the dozens of fierce beasts and strange birds were lying in pools of blood, either decapitated or cut in half, extremely brutal!

"Much stronger than the divine wolf in Beicun. Even Aunt Qinglinshe, before eating the Suanni's flesh, would be far inferior." The little one muttered, the red light was so swift, and in just a moment, these fierce creatures were subdued.

The light flashed, and the red sword flew back into the city.

The merchants collecting animal skins and medicinal herbs, all pale-faced, recovered and bowed to Chongyun Town, expressing their gratitude.

"Ah, it's the stamen of the flower, exactly like a flying sword." The little one was surprised. The flying sword was just a stamen, shaped like a sword, which flew back and inserted itself into the petals, emitting dazzling light, and then the flower closed again.

"Great Chongyun has guarded this place for hundreds of years, from a small town with less than a thousand people to a city with over eighty thousand residents, making great contributions."

"Great Chongyun, in terms of strength, could easily guard a giant city, not weaker than the Sacrificial Spirits of giant cities, but has always been unwilling to leave."

The people discussed, and the little one, hearing this, was amazed. This plant was indeed very powerful.

"This Sacrificial Spirit is extraordinary." In the city, a slightly plump middle-aged man muttered to himself. He had a pale face and no beard, with a sharp gaze.

"It's very strong. Such a Sacrificial Spirit is rare. Perhaps we should invite it to join our Yu Clan," a young man beside him suggested.

The slightly plump middle-aged man shook his head. "Forget it. It wouldn't be good if it got out. Let's focus on the main task. I wonder if Miss Xia Youyu has returned. I'm here to request that talisman."