The Great Wilderness was endless and boundless, home to countless living creatures—toxic snakes and crawling vermin, ancient relic species, prehistoric beings...
An unworldly little mountain village stood here. Its houses were all built from stone. Men and women, young and old, worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, living peaceful, contented lives.
An ancient, weathered sacrificial altar stood at the village entrance. Fresh blood still flowed across it, only just dried.
Long ago, when the Willow Deity fell into the Desolate Region, she had taken root here. Before and after every hunt, the villagers would worship her.
Seeing it again now immediately stirred memories long buried in the Willow Deity's heart.
She had remained hidden in Shi Village for only a few decades. Within her incomparably long life, Shi Village had been nothing more than a fleeting stop, one among countless stations.
Yet those brief few decades had left her with the deepest memories.
Who could have imagined that such a tiny Shi Village would produce two Immortal Emperors and one Quasi-Immortal Emperor?
The moment they neared Shi Village, someone recognized them.
"You are... Brother Wu, Lord Willow Deity." A middle-aged man spoke up.
The instant his face came into view, a familiar name surfaced in Wu Xuantian and the Willow Deity's minds—Shi Linhu.
This rugged man clad in beast hides was none other than Shi Village's former hunting party leader, Shi Linhu.
More than a million years had passed, yet this man was still alive. He had already reached the Void Dao Realm. Judging by the immense potential latent within him, Shi Linhu clearly was not particularly devoted to cultivation. Otherwise, after so many years, he would never have remained merely at the Void Dao Realm.
"What? Brother Wu and Lord Willow Deity have returned?"
Shi Linhu's shout was