Return (Seeking Recommendation Tickets, Collections)

"Heavens, to have so much prey—this is truly a rare and bountiful harvest!"

This hunt was a massive success. Dozens of grown men had returned with spoils, including the massive Dragon-Horned Elephant, the ox-like, single-legged Kui Beast, and the bucket-thick Flying Python with its pair of wings...

The elders in the village wore expressions of shock. These creatures were usually incredibly difficult to deal with, some even classified as ferocious beasts, yet today so many had been slaughtered, their bodies stained with blood. It was truly unexpected.

Take the Dragon-Horned Elephant, for instance; its hide was as tough as iron, difficult for even iron spears to pierce, and its pair of dragon horns were as sharp as diamond drills, capable of pulverizing boulders with ease. The Kui Beast's roar was like thunder; if one were too close, it could vibrate a person to death. As for the winged Flying Python, it was a predator of the mountains, capable of swooping down from a mountaintop to strike—utterly terrifying.

Among the prey were even more formidable creatures, such as the crimson, two-headed Fire Rhino and a Pixiu with impure bloodlines... These were genuine ferocious beasts. Normally, one should steer clear of them, yet they had been hunted today. It defied all logic!

"We were incredibly lucky this time. We returned fully loaded without a single injury," the hunting party leader, Shi Linhu, said with a hearty laugh as he explained to the village chief and the villagers. For the past few nights, super-sized beasts had been passing through the mountain range, causing the earth to shake and mountains to sway, trampling and injuring many mountain beasts. During the day, they had followed the trail and finished off many of the severely wounded, powerful creatures that the villagers would usually have to avoid.

"Some of the giant footprints in the mountains look like human feet, but they are truly too large—nearly a hundred meters long!"

"That big?!" The villagers gasped. This was truly shocking news.

Even the village elders couldn't help but gasp upon hearing this, becoming increasingly convinced that something extraordinary had occurred deep within the mountains, drawing in primordial remnants from the Great Wilderness.

Regardless, this was a bountiful harvest. The clansmen were filled with joy, and Stone Village was alive with the laughter of children, bathed in an atmosphere of happiness.

"Dad, you're back!" Shi Lin sprinted to Shi Linhu's side.

"Ah, good son!" Shi Linhu patted Shi Lin's head.

The village chief, Shi Yunfeng, led the crowd toward the Willow Tree. They carried the dozens of beast carcasses to the front and placed all the blood-stained, ferocious beasts onto a stone platform—evidently a large sacrificial altar.

The altar was built of massive stones and was quite spacious, constructed right next to the broken Old Willow Tree. At this moment, it was piled high with beasts, resembling a small mountain. Fresh, red beast blood stained the stone platform, flowing along the carvings on its surface. The vibrant red, combined with the coarse fur of the giant beasts, the cold, shimmering scales, and the hideous, massive horns, was a jarring sight, exuding a tragic and primordial aura.

Under the guidance of the old village chief, the men, women, and children of Stone Village prayed together, asking the Willow Tree for protection. This was a solemn sacrificial process, a customary practice performed every time they returned from a hunt.

The charred tree trunk remained as silent as ever, showing no reaction. Just like in the past, it did not "consume" the offerings, yet many villagers knew that it possessed a spirit!

Finally, the sacrifice concluded. People let out long sighs of relief, their faces brightening with joy once more as they began to move the carcasses to be bled and butchered.

"It's been many years, and the Sacrificial Spirit has never once touched an offering. Do we still need to perform this sacrifice every time?" a youth muttered softly.

"You brat, what are you spouting!" His father glared with eyes as wide as bells, raising a hand the size of a palm-leaf fan, ready to strike.

The old village chief waved his hand to stop him, saying softly, "The Sacrificial Spirit is the spirit we worship and provide for. What matters is a sincere heart. Only if we treat it with piety will it guard and bless our village."

The youth's face turned beet red, and he hurriedly said, "Chief, I don't lack sincerity, I just feel that the Sacrificial Spirit doesn't seem to need these offerings; it has never used them."

"It is the intent that counts," Shi Yunfeng said, patting his shoulder with a patient explanation.

Having been a human in his past life, Shi Lin naturally knew of the Willow Deity's power, so he remained respectful and reverent.

A Sacrificial Spirit, also known as a "Spirit of Sacrifice," is the shorthand for a tribe's "spirit of worship and sustenance." It guards the village and intimidates the ferocious beasts of the Great Wilderness.

The elders in the tribe still remembered that the Sacrificial Spirit from decades ago was not like this. It had been a strange stone; every time an offering was presented, it would lose more than half its essence, which the stone would absorb.

It wasn't until one night, deep in the darkness, that the Old Willow Tree arrived, and that strange stone chose to leave. Everything changed because of that.

Thinking back to that rainy night, the old village chief felt a bit dazed. He had been a youth then, having witnessed that shocking and terrifying scene with his own eyes.

On that night, lightning flashed and thunder roared, the rain pouring down in torrents. The storm was violent to the extreme; many mountains were collapsed by lightning, mountain floods surged like the sea, and ferocious beasts stampeded in tides—the scene was horrific. It was then that a towering Willow Tree appeared amidst the clouds, bathing in a sea of lightning, wreathed in bolts of lightning as thick as mountains. Thousands of willow branches transformed into blazing divine chains, piercing the entire firmament as if battling something.

In the end, the great Willow Tree snapped, its body charred black. It shrank to its current size, plummeted down, and took root in Stone Village. At the same time, the lightning vanished, and the torrential rain receded. That very night, the strange stone the village had been worshipping and providing for departed.

Every time he recalled it, the old village chief felt a tremor in his heart. The Old Willow Tree hadn't been transplanted from another large tribe or mountain range; it had descended from the heavens, damaged by an endless sea of thunder and lightning. Few in the village knew this.

For the first few decades, it remained completely charred, devoid of any vitality, as if it had truly died. It wasn't until ten years ago that it sprouted a single, tender green branch, and it had remained unchanged ever since.

"You brats, be careful. It's rare to harvest these ferocious beasts; their blood essence, tendons, and parts of their bones are incredibly precious. Don't let the essence go to waste," the old village chief said, snapping back to reality.

The young and strong men of the tribe wielded their silver knives, cutting into the giant beasts. From time to time, clanging sounds rang out and sparks flew; the skeletons of the giant beasts were shockingly hard.

Some had long prepared large pottery jars to collect the blood essence preserved in specific parts of the beasts' bodies. This was a top-tier medicinal supplement, extremely rare.

Among the pile of carcasses, the Pixiu was the most precious. Although it was merely a descendant and far inferior to the pure-blooded Pixiu royal family, it still contained a portion of true blood, making it incredibly valuable.

It had been over two years since they last captured a Pixiu. They were too ferocious and powerful; a single swipe of a claw could end a strong man's life. They were truly difficult to deal with, their viciousness staggering.

It could be said that the richness of this harvest was jaw-dropping.

"Hmm, the true blood preserved in the horns of this two-headed Fire Rhino is also incredibly potent, no worse than that Pixiu!" An elder personally wielded the knife, slicing through the flesh beneath the rhino's horns, which were as hard as metal, releasing a stream of true blood as red as fire.

Suddenly, the blood transformed into a ball of red light, and a palm-sized, two-headed Fire Rhino manifested, crimson all over, lifelike and roaring in anger.

"Good stuff! This true blood has immense medicinal properties, no worse than the Pixiu!" The elder wielding the knife laughed heartily, quickly using a pottery jar to collect the rhino blood and sealing the lid tightly. "Chief, the horns of this Dragon-Horned Elephant are also good things. It was already on its last breath when we found it, otherwise, we really couldn't have taken it down," a youth said.

Shi Yunfeng nodded and said, "Truly rare. The pair of dragon horns on its head have been growing for many years. Carefully chisel them off; they are rare medicinal treasures for strengthening bones."

"The tendon from the Kui Beast's single leg is so tough, even an axe can't cut through it."

"All good things. You brats, be careful! Don't waste the precious blood near the Flying Python's wings!"

The clansmen were joyful, all smiles.

Only the group of children shrank their necks and scurried away like smoke, for they knew that most of these so-called blood medicines and bone medicines would be used on them, and they were about to start "suffering" again.

Half an hour later, the "precious medicines" growing on the beasts had all been harvested. The village chief and several elders nodded in satisfaction, taking the pottery jars away to be processed.

"With so much prey, we'll pickle a portion, then smoke and roast the rest into dried meat," an experienced elder said.

With so many beasts piled up like a small mountain, the entire village couldn't finish them in many days. If they rotted, it would be a waste, which was absolutely unacceptable for villagers who were somewhat short on food.

The women of each household began to step forward to divide the meat, all wearing genuine smiles. They had been worried about their menfolk earlier, but now that they had returned safely with such a bountiful harvest, it was the greatest gift from the heavens.

Smoke curled from the chimneys of every home. Half an hour later, the fragrance of meat wafted through the air. The chunks of meat stewing in the iron pots of each household were nearly tender enough to fall apart, and the children had long since grown impatient. The beast meat roasting over the fires began to turn a golden, oily yellow, dripping fat that hissed as it hit the flames. The sturdy men couldn't hold back any longer, starting to tear into the meat, biting into it until their mouths were full of juices, their appetites fully awakened.

"Little one, this is Pixiu meat. Eat more and you'll grow great strength; it's a rare and precious delicacy."

"You brat, eat more of this. This is meat from a Double-Headed Rhino. Eating plenty will make your skin and bones as tough as iron blocks—don't bother with that useless Tree Pig meat."

Various fierce beasts had become the villagers' most sumptuous evening meal. The enticing aroma of meat drifted through the lanes, stirring appetites like a rising tide. Bursts of laughter rang out, and the entire village was filled with a festive atmosphere.

In the cruel Great Wilderness, where fierce birds and savage beasts roamed and lives were constantly under threat, the villagers' demands were simple: as long as there was food and they could eat their fill, they were content. The bonfires danced, and Stone Village was exceptionally lively; men and women, young and old, all wore smiles, the air filled with joyous laughter.

"Children, stop running around. Come over for your medicinal baths in a moment, then get a good night's sleep. I guarantee you'll be stronger than the fierce beasts in the future," an elder said with a smile.

"Awoo... no!" Hearing this, the group of children all shrieked and fled in a panic, hiding in every corner of the village.

"A bunch of silly brats, you truly don't know how lucky you are. That is rare medicinal tonic; if you can persist with these baths, your muscles and bones will rival those of giant beasts," the adults scolded, beginning to snatch up their own children like catching little chicks.

"It hurts! I don't want a medicinal bath; last time it felt like being sliced by knives."

"Papa, let go! I don't want to be boiled alive!"

The group of children resisted fiercely, but their small arms were no match for the adults' legs, and they were all dragged back.

In an open space in the village, eight large bronze cauldrons had already been set up. Beneath them, flames roared and the water inside boiled. Several elders tossed in stalks of medicinal herbs, occasionally adding foot-long centipedes or fist-sized spiders, turning the originally clear water pitch-black like ink—a terrifying sight.

The children's faces turned green at the sight, and they longed to escape immediately, but they were held firmly in place by the adults.

Following this, other tribesmen brought over dozens of clay jars. Several elders took them, carefully opened them, and poured the crimson liquid inside into the large bronze cauldrons, causing the black water to boil even more violently.

This was the precious true blood extracted from the bodies of the hunted fierce beasts. Whether for adults or children, it could strengthen the physique. Coupled with ancient recipes mastered by the villagers and combined with various herbs, the effects of the true blood were even better.

In addition to the true blood, the elders also had people laboriously crush the wing bones of the Flying Python and the leg bones of the Kui Beast, tossing those into the boiling water as well.

When the fires were extinguished and the water in the cauldrons stopped boiling, the temperature dropping slightly, the sounds of shrieking and "splash, splash" rang out as the first batch of children were tossed in, two or three to a cauldron.

"It hurts! This water is going to boil us alive!"

"Help! My body feels like it's being flayed by knives, my skin and flesh are splitting open!"

They bared their teeth and grimaced, clawing and kicking as they struggled to climb out, only to be pushed back down, their screams echoing incessantly.

In this manner, dozens of children were tossed in batch by batch. Most wailed loudly and struggled constantly; only seven or eight children fared slightly better. Although they were drenched in sweat from the pain, they endured without a sound. Shi Lin was one of them.

As for Little One, he could not escape either. Furthermore, he received special treatment, being tossed alone into a Black Cauldron. It contained only a little clear water, with everything else being true blood from fierce beasts, crushed bones, and the like.

The villagers did not find this inappropriate, nor did they feel it was showing favoritism, because their own children could not withstand such intensity—they were already crying their hearts out in the ordinary medicinal cauldrons, while Little One could handle it.