The Willow Tree Had Become a Spirit

One day passed.

"Hadn't the True Blood Baptism ended long ago? Why was Yi'er still meditating?"

"Yi'er had probably comprehended some Treasure Technique. Don't disturb him."

Three days passed.

"This Treasure Technique is very powerful. With Yi'er's talent and the aid of his Double Pupils, he still hadn't finished comprehending it after three days."

"I remember that the pure-blooded ferocious beast true blood left behind by the Old Ancestor was Qilin True Blood. Could Yi'er have comprehended the Qilin Treasure Technique?"

Seven days passed.

"Yi'er truly deserves to be a Sage Reincarnation. At only six years old, he could meditate for so long. It seemed he had at least comprehended an incomplete Qilin Treasure Technique."

"Old Ninth, you and Old Thirteenth should send Yi'er to the First Ancestral Land now. If he woke up, he probably wouldn't be willing to go suffer. That would be troublesome."

The Old Ancestors of Martial King Manor were all Venerable Realm experts, Human Supremes. Unless the Human Emperor wielded the Imperial Dragon Qi of Stone Kingdom, they could basically be called invincible in the mortal world.

Especially Shi Hao's grandfather, Shi Zhongtian. Known as the Great Demon King, he had once been able to fight the Human Emperor, who possessed Imperial Dragon Qi, to a standstill at the peak of his power.

That was also why Shi Zhongtian had dared to enter the incomparably bloody Battlefield of Hundred Clans and fight for a portion of pure-blooded ferocious beast true blood for his own grandson, Shi Hao.

Otherwise,

entering the Battlefield of Hundred Clans would only mean delivering oneself as blood food to Ancient Descendants and Pure-Blooded Lifeforms, filling their bellies.

The Battlefield of Hundred Clans was a dangerous Forbidden Ground that only Human Supremes, those of the Venerable Realm, dared to enter.

Without some ability and something to rely on, Shi Zhongtian would not have dared to rashly set foot upon the bloody Battlefield of Hundred Clans.

Half a month later.

Great Wilderness, the Shi Clan's First Ancestral Land, Stone Village.

Stone Village lay within the Vast Mountain Range. Towering mountains stretched endlessly around it, and among their peaks and valleys, Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts roamed while Ancient Descendants appeared from time to time. It was the most primitive and boundless forbidden land for living beings.

It was midnight. The night was deep and pitch-black, yet the Vast Mountain Range was far from peaceful. Ferocious beasts roared, shaking the mountains and rivers. All the trees trembled, and leaves fell in rustling showers.

Countless grotesque and savage figures darted through the dark mountains. At almost every moment, slaughter was taking place within this Vast Mountain Range.

If someone stood at the highest point of the Vast Mountain Range and looked toward a slightly level area in the east, they would discover a faint, flickering glow.

That intermittent glow was hidden beneath the endless dark canopy of night and amid the countless mountains, like a feeble candle flame wavering as though it could go out at any moment.

This was the light emitted by the sacrificial spirit. It was impossible to survive in the dangerous Great Wilderness without a sacrificial spirit.

People needed the protection of a sacrificial spirit, while sacrificial spirits needed people's offerings. Both sides had their own interests to pursue.

A sacrificial spirit could be a plant, an animal, or even a stone. As long as it possessed sufficient strength and protected a group of living beings, it could become a sacrificial spirit.

But this was, after all, the Great Wilderness, where countless Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts ran rampant and Ancient Descendants often appeared. Those truly qualified to become sacrificial spirits were ultimately few.

Yet Stone Village had such a sacrificial spirit, and it had protected the village for many years.

Stone Village had faced the crisis of annihilation many times, and this sacrificial spirit had resolved them all.

Following that faint, flickering light and gradually approaching Stone Village, one could see a massive half-section of dead wood at the very center of the village. Its trunk was five or six meters in diameter.

The dead wood was charred black throughout. Other than half its main trunk, only a single frail branch remained, yet it radiated vitality, its leaves crystalline like green jade.

Those emerald leaves emitted a gentle radiance that continuously spread outward, directly enveloping all of Stone Village like an inverted bowl.

Obviously.

This half-section of dead wood was a willow tree.

And a willow tree that had been struck by lightning.

Many years ago, this willow tree had been struck by lightning that reached the heavens. Its enormous canopy and flourishing vitality had been destroyed. Now, only a stump eight or nine meters tall remained above the ground, astonishingly thick.

That sole willow branch was like a divine chain of green clouds, its aura spreading as it enveloped and protected the entire village. It made this settlement hazy and indistinct, like an immortal realm, appearing mysterious amid the Great Wilderness.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

A gust of wild wind swept through. A massive dark cloud crossed the sky, covering the entire night and blocking the only trace of starlight. The Vast Mountain Range became even darker.

"Screech!"

An incomparably fierce bird cry came from the sky, piercing metal and shattering stone, enough to rupture one's eardrums. Looking closely, it was an unbelievably enormous bird that blotted out the heavens and covered the moon, its body stretching an unknown number of miles.

As it passed Stone Village, it looked down. Its two eyes were like two blood moons, brimming with monstrous savagery. It stared at the willow tree for a moment, and a humanlike trace of wariness flashed through its gaze before it finally flew toward the deepest part of the mountain range.

After that enormous Ferocious Bird passed by,

Stone Village remained peaceful for a long while.

Not until the latter half of the night did the earth begin to tremble. A vague figure approached from afar, standing as tall as the surrounding mountains.

A terrifying aura spread out. The mountains and valleys fell deathly silent, and ferocious birds and beasts all lay low, not daring to make the slightest sound.

It drew near. This was a terrifying humanoid creature, walking upright and unimaginably huge. It stood shoulder to shoulder with mountains, hairless from head to toe, its entire body covered in golden scales that gleamed like gold.

This terrifying humanoid creature had no facial features. Between its brows was only a single blood-red vertical eye. Each opening and closing of that eye was like a golden bolt of lightning flashing past, seizing the soul. Its blood energy was as vast as the sea, and it resembled a god or demon.

As it passed by, it too lowered its head like the enormous Ferocious Bird and glanced at the willow tree in the center of Stone Village. At that moment, it unexpectedly detected two auras that made it wary.

It covertly glanced at the two Venerable Realm old men hidden around Stone Village. After pausing briefly, it quickly departed. Its footsteps made the towering mountains rumble, and the peaks shook violently.

The entire night was restless.

Fortunately, the villagers of Stone Village had long grown used to it. No matter how the world turned upside down outside Stone Village at night, it had nothing to do with them. As long as they did not leave the village, they were safe.

At dawn, the rising sun emerged.

Pale golden sunlight fell upon their bodies, filling them with warmth. The young and old of Stone Village came out of their homes one after another, ready to greet a new day.

At that moment.

Beside the willow tree in the center of Stone Village, Shi Yi, who had been sitting cross-legged within the Great Bronze Cauldron, gradually woke up. He had completely carved the incomplete Qilin Treasure Technique, the Kirin Steps, into his soul and had gained preliminary mastery over this Treasure Technique.

When he raised his head, Shi Yi saw a frail willow branch glowing with lustrous green light gently swaying in the wind. He paid it no mind, jumped straight out of the Great Bronze Cauldron, and in a daze untied his trousers beneath the trunk of a charred willow tree to relieve himself.

Before he had even finished emptying his bladder, a gleaming green willow branch descended from the sky and directly bound up this bold, shameless Shi Yi.

This willow tree had become a spirit?

Shi Yi rubbed his eyes and instinctively activated the Qilin Treasure Technique he had only recently learned, the Kirin Steps, kicking straight at the willow tree that had bound him.

Before the Kirin Steps could unleash its heaven-shaking power, the slender willow branch binding Shi Yi tightened fiercely. Almost instantly, the Kirin Steps Shi Yi had activated lost their effect.

"Do you believe I'll call someone—" Shi Yi was about to speak.

The next second.

Several more willow branches descended from the sky and struck Shi Yi across the buttocks.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!" Several crisp slaps rang out.

Shi Yi finally behaved himself.

"Senior, I was wrong!"