Heed the Divine Decree!

Outside Stone Village.

"This is bad, Old Thirteenth. Yi'er was sent away by that strange sacrificial spirit of Stone Village using some bizarre spatial power."

An Old Man with graying hair irritably tugged at his beard. Thin-built, he anxiously paced back and forth, like a dry bamboo pole hopping about.

"Yi'er is the future of Martial King Manor, and also the future ruler of the Wild Domain. Nothing can happen to him. We must hurry and find Yi'er."

This Old Man's hair was similarly graying, but his body was exceptionally round. His huge belly made him resemble a Maitreya Buddha, forming a stark contrast with the bamboo-pole-thin elder beside him.

Logically speaking,

as Human Supremes, the top combatants of the lower realm and Venerable Realm experts, there should not have been such a vast difference in their physiques. Their builds should have been proportionate.

The main reason was the cultivation methods they practiced. The traits of their techniques had shaped them into completely different people, leaving one thin and one fat.

Within Stone Kingdom,

their reputations did not compare to Old Fifteenth's—Shi Hao's biological grandfather, Shi Zhongtian. Even the Stone Country Human Emperor had to show three parts respect for the man known as the Great Demon King.

As Old Ninth and Old Thirteenth of Martial King Manor, although they too were Human Supremes and Venerable Realm experts, the two of them together could not defeat Shi Zhongtian alone.

But before Shi Zhongtian earned the title of Great Demon King,

they had once possessed a rather unremarkable pair of titles as well.

Fat Venerable and Skinny Venerable.

"How are we supposed to find him? That Willow Tree sacrificial spirit in Stone Village is a god. Even Yi'er calls it the Willow Deity. You know as well as I do that any sacrificial spirit daring to call itself a god is no ordinary existence. Besides, we have no idea where Yi'er is right now."

Old Thirteenth patted his round, bulging belly, feeling as though he had strength but nowhere to use it. He clearly wanted to do something, only to discover that there was nothing he could do.

He was one of Martial King Manor's current five great Old Ancestors, known as Fat Venerable. He possessed heavenborn divine strength, capable of lifting a thousand-meter mountain weighing hundreds of millions of tons with one hand.

"How could there be a god in the First Ancestral Land? A sacrificial spirit of that level!"

Hearing the word "god," Old Ninth calmed down as well. His bamboo-thin body seemed to lose all support as he collapsed onto the dust-covered ground.

He was one of Martial King Manor's current five great Old Ancestors, known as Skinny Venerable. He could swallow mountains, rivers, and all things; no matter how much he ate, he could never feel full or gain weight—a true monster.

Old Ninth and Old Thirteenth's concerns were not without reason.

The word "god" was not something just anyone dared to use carelessly.

Because it represented omnipotence and supreme authority!

In ancient times, the ancestors of humanity had Faith.

They were extremely particular about sacrifices, believing that gods had to exist and could be called upon in critical moments to protect them. That was also how sacrificial spirits came into being.

In truth,

after later generations investigated more deeply, they discovered that what those tribes worshipped had actually been exceptionally powerful creatures, such as True Hou, Qilin, and Pixiu with the purest bloodlines. All of them were Pure-Blooded Lifeforms—Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts.

In those distant days, the ancient human ancestors worshipped these Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts, making sacrifices and paying them reverence. They had indeed received their protection.

But as humanity grew increasingly powerful and ancient kingdoms emerged one after another, humanity's innate rebelliousness naturally exposed its ambition.

To grow stronger, humans began hunting Ancient Descendants, even the cubs of Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts, using their true blood to baptize their descendants.

Because of this,

most Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts and Ancient Descendants fell out with humanity completely. Many Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts whose young had been hunted by humans began slaughtering humans in revenge, devouring tens of millions at a time.

Yet these Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts were not true gods. The humans living in the Great Wilderness had discovered true gods. The gods behind the immortal great sects and longevity Dao Lineages that had passed down their lineages from the Upper Realm were the real gods.

Immortality Mountain, Heavenly God Mountain, Ancient God Mountain, Mending Heaven Pavilion, Intercepting Heaven Pavilion... Human forebears had been fortunate enough to witness the gods behind these immortal great sects and longevity Dao Lineages take action.

These gods

possessed the terrifying power to remake heaven and earth.

Thus, in Old Ninth and Old Thirteenth's view,

any existence daring to call itself a god had to possess heaven-defying strength, capable of destroying several ancient kingdoms with a single gesture.

The power and divine might of a god were beyond imagination. They were not something mortals like them could possibly resist.

A Human Supreme was ultimately only a Human Supreme, and mortals were merely mortals. They could never compare to deities.

Stone Village called this Willow Tree—its body broken and withered, blackened all over, nearly dead—the Willow Deity. And it itself did not seem to oppose that title at all.

The sacrificial spirit's lack of objection to being called a god already implied something. Anyone with a functioning brain understood what that meant.

Since ancient humanity had already fallen out with the Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts, many of the creatures now serving as humanity's sacrificial spirits were connected to the Upper Realm—in other words, connected to gods.

As descendants of Upper Realm gods, these sacrificial spirits were especially wary of such titles.

Unless they had Ignited the Divine Fire, they would never dare arrogantly call themselves gods. Their hierarchy was exceptionally strict.

Yet this nearly dead Willow Tree dared to accept such a title without objection. That proved its terrifying strength; it had most likely long since become heaven-defying and no longer cared about such rules.

Therefore, Stone Village's Willow Tree might be an ancient god, now in its twilight years, not yet dead but with few days left to live, who had come down from the Upper Realm specifically to retire in the lower realm.

That was Old Ninth and Old Thirteenth's guess.

But they did not dare say it aloud.

"There is no need to worry about Shi Yi. As a fledgling, he must eventually learn to fly on his own. He cannot live under your wings forever. At most one month, at least half a month, and he will return."

A divine thought transmission, impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or woman, suddenly rang in Old Ninth and Old Thirteenth's minds without warning. It frightened them so badly that they immediately knelt and bowed toward the Willow Tree in Stone Village.

"We heed the Divine Decree!"

Deep within the Vast Mountain Range of the Great Wilderness.

"Seems like it wasn't such a loss after all. The Willow Deity is truly beautiful!"

Shi Yi rubbed his chin, his eyes darting about. He deeply etched the fleeting image of the Willow Deity Dharma Body into his soul, lest he forget her as time passed.

It was not strange for him to act this way.

He had never been particularly interested in fighting and killing. If this world did not treat the weak as ants without great strength, he probably would not even endure the hardship of tempering his body in medicinal baths.

But now,

Shi Yi had found the motivation to endure hardship. After seeing the Willow Deity's true appearance, merely clinging to her thigh was no longer enough. He wanted to carry her home and make her his wife.

That goal seemed a little difficult. Still, no matter what, Shi Yi finally had something to strive for. His previous thoughts of lying flat and enjoying life gradually faded away.

Just as Shi Yi's gaze grew increasingly resolute, an ill-timed Prehistoric Ferocious Beast crept up behind him. It was a Striped Giant Tiger ten meters tall.

"Roar!" A tiger's roar rang out.

Before the roar had even faded, its savage, bloodthirsty jaws tore toward Shi Yi. The Striped Giant Tiger had caught the strange fragrance emanating from Shi Yi's flesh and blood.

It knew that if it ate Shi Yi, it might advance into a Desolate Variant. It might even awaken the faint Ancient Descendant bloodline within its body.

In the Great Wilderness, Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts, Desolate Variants, Ancient Descendants, and Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts stood in distinct ranks. The latter could easily slaughter the former even as mere cubs.

Unfortunately,

this Prehistoric Ferocious Beast had overthought things. Because Shi Yi did not kill much in ordinary times, it had underestimated him, believing him to be an easy target.

In reality, from the day he completed his baptism in the Blood Moving Realm, a casual swing of one arm had carried one hundred and eight thousand jin of force, comparable to the cub of the strongest Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beast.

Three years had now passed. He had entered the Celestial Passage Realm. Though his cultivation speed was not especially fast, he had still opened six Celestial Passages. This was far beyond what the tiger could provoke.

Sure enough,

when Shi Yi sensed the ten-meter Striped Giant Tiger appear behind him, he released the seal on his aura, instantly changing from the Blood Moving Realm to the Celestial Passage Realm.

"Rumble!" Heaven and earth trembled.

Six heavy, solid Celestial Passages, like volcanic craters, emerged behind him and began frantically drawing in the world's Divine Radiance, turning it into a crimson torrent that poured into Shi Yi's body.

A Celestial Passage was not merely a realm; it was also a method of cultivation.

A Celestial Passage could draw upon the essence of heaven and earth, thereby giving rise to the true meaning of runes, allowing one to understand this world's order and the changes in its laws, as though recreating a small world.

This was the Celestial Passage Realm: opening an immortal passage, a pure land, or even a world within or outside one's body to provide the body with energy and nourishment.

Successfully opening a Celestial Passage meant connecting to the great world outside, to the vast universe beyond, allowing one to refine the divine marrow of heaven and earth from boundless space.

While greatly amplifying the power of all Treasure Techniques, the endless, ceaseless divine marrow of heaven and earth flowing into the body could keep one's vitality eternally vigorous.

So long as one did not engage in an excessively brutal battle, it was practically impossible to exhaust one's physical strength.

There was no such thing as bodily fatigue. One would always remain at one's peak.

At the same time,

the Celestial Passages one opened also served as portable storage spaces, capable of holding all kinds of treasures. The Runic Bone Fragment recording the Original True Understanding was currently stored within Shi Yi's Celestial Passage space.

"A self-service barbecue? Brother Tiger, you're far too kind."

Shi Yi swiftly turned around and, with speed too fast to follow, avoided the Striped Giant Tiger's bite. It was not that he feared being bitten—it was mainly because he found the tiger's saliva disgusting.

Shi Yi gave a light leap and landed atop the ten-meter Striped Giant Tiger's head. Before it could react, he flicked its forehead, striking its skull.

"Crack!" The sound of a skull shattering rang out.

With a thud,

the ten-meter Striped Giant Tiger's enormous body crashed down. Terror and confusion still lingered in its huge tiger eyes.

It was terrified because Shi Yi had suddenly become so powerful when the aura it had sensed before had been so weak.

It was confused because it did not know how it had died. All it knew was that a crisp sound had come from its head before it lost consciousness.

"The head isn't tasty, the bloody smell is too strong. The organs are troublesome to deal with, and the hind leg meat is too tough. I'll just eat the forelegs today to fill my stomach."

Shi Yi muttered as he efficiently pulled a complete set of pots, bowls, ladles, and pans from his Celestial Passage, along with all kinds of seasonings and even plenty of firewood.

Not long afterward, he took out a sharp stone knife and, following the skinning and tendon-removing methods he had learned from Stone Village's hunting party, cleanly cut off both forelegs.

"More cumin, less chili... Sigh, I've ended up becoming like my little brother. I wonder how he's been doing in Martial King Manor after three years!"

The two skinned tiger forelegs, each over five meters long, sizzled as fat dripped from them. Their fragrance spread for hundreds of li, invisibly attracting countless Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts.

But after seeing the six Celestial Passages behind Shi Yi, each as dazzling as a blazing sun, those Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts only dared watch from afar. None dared approach him.

What if this savage human had not eaten his fill and decided to use them as an extra meal?