Stealing Eggs (Seeking Recommendation Tickets, Collections)

"If Shi Hao grows up, do you really think he could kill a True Hou with his bare hands in a one-on-one fight, or take down a pure-blooded adult Suanni? Just one of those legendary Primordial Remnants appearing would be enough to easily wipe out a super-clan!"

A clan elder extinguished the heat in his heart, saying, "Having potential when young doesn't mean one can truly become a world-shaking powerhouse. You must know, many geniuses wither away in their youth."

The group fell silent, then nodded.

Shi Yunfeng frowned and said, "Truth be told, since Shi Hao was born in our village, he has some innate deficiencies and a lower starting point. We cannot provide him with the true blood of Primordial Remnants, nor the legendary Mountain Treasure or sacred medicines, as those great clans can."

Shi Linhu said, "It is fine while he is young, but if this continues, he will truly be unable to compare to the children of those great clans in the future."

Shi Yunfeng thought for a moment and said, "Generally, children with talent undergo their first important baptism at the age of five. They are sealed within a bronze cauldron and tempered with various sacred medicines and the true blood of Primordial Remnants!"

The others sighed. After all, this was just a village; how could it compare to those great clans? They simply could not find sacred medicines or the legendary true blood of Primordial Remnants.

"When we performed the five-year baptism for Shi Lin, it was only because we accidentally found some Bian true blood while hunting. Now, alas, we don't have that kind of luck!"

"We will do our best. We shall strive to kill some giant beasts, extract some precious blood, and slowly accumulate it to prepare for Little One's five-year baptism," a clan elder sighed.

Shi Linhu frowned, bringing up another issue: "If we want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those legendary, powerful children, besides building a solid foundation for the physical body, the cultivation heritage is also a major problem."

The clan leader, Shi Yunfeng, nodded and said, "I will find a way for this."

The group was stunned. They all knew that the clan leader had traveled far with some clansmen back in the day, entering many noble houses, and eventually brought back some Bone Scriptures at the cost of blood and lives. Could those really compare to the heritage of the super-clans?

Of the dozen brothers who shared life and death, only two returned covered in blood, and in the end, only the clan leader survived, though he was left with hidden injuries. He had never spoken in detail about what happened back then, and the villagers never pressed him.

What exactly happened that year? Clearly, there was another hidden story.

In the days that followed, the clan leader Shi Yunfeng was very busy every day, often decocting herbs. The furnace in the courtyard never went out, and the smell of medicine was pungent. "Grandpa Clan Leader, don't overwork yourself, please rest." Little Shi Hao had long eyelashes, prettier than a little girl, and he sensibly urged the old man to rest.

"It is no matter," Shi Yunfeng said with a smile, shaking his head.

The few clan elders and those in the know, like Shi Linhu, did not say much to Shi Hao. He did not know that Shi Yunfeng was preparing for his five-year "baptism."

Under the setting sun, the hunting party returned. Each person carried a wild beast on their shoulder; although some were injured, they were all laughing and talking.

The clan leader's stone courtyard was located at the edge of the village. Shi Hao was standing in front of the courtyard gate when he saw the group returning.

"Uncle, you're back." He tilted his small, fair, and tender face, his eyes clear and dark, greeting the group very politely.

"Come, these are your favorite berries, I picked them especially for you." Shi Linhu handed over a beast-skin parcel. When opened, it was filled with bright red, fragrant fruits, each one as round and lustrous as a red agate.

"Thank you, Uncle." Shi Hao blinked his large eyes and happily accepted them.

In the evening, the villagers sacrificed the beast carcasses before the Willow Tree. Once the ceremony was finished, several spiritual prey were moved into the clan leader's courtyard.

Not long after, the smell of blood spread through the stone courtyard. Several fierce beasts lay there, blood flowing from their bodies. The carcasses gradually shriveled, flashing with one rune after another, mysterious and eerie.

Those were Bone Texts, currently weaving through the blood like tiny streaks of lightning. Shi Yunfeng was casting a spell; he was using mysterious power to refine and extract the essence from the beast blood, harvesting "blood medicine." Through constant tempering, the beast blood became less and less. Each fierce beast eventually yielded only a single drop that fell into a jade jar. The blood beads were clear and translucent, shining like blood diamonds.

"According to the Bone Scriptures, if the sacred medicine and true blood are abundant and miraculous during the five-year baptism, the foundation laid will have far-reaching effects and determine future achievements," the clan leader Shi Yunfeng whispered.

He did not want to waste Shi Hao's talent. Although he already had a genius in Shi Lin, he did not want Little One to fall behind the geniuses of the super-clans, so he kept pondering how to accumulate the precious items needed for his "baptism."

"Better to have nothing than to settle for low quality; only high-quality true blood is useful for Little One. It is a pity that exotic species are so rare, and they are too powerful and difficult to deal with," he muttered to himself.

The primeval forest was dense, filled with heavy yin energy and poisonous insects. The roars of beasts were as dull as thunder, and the stench of Fierce Biao and Snake-Viper wafted through the air, chilling one to the bone. "Awoo..."

A thunderous roar erupted from the depths of the mountain range, causing rocks to tumble and echoes to rumble. Trees swayed violently, leaves flew in a frenzy, and large, fierce beasts were prowling in the distance.

The group of children turned pale. They had already traveled quite a distance from Stone Village, having snuck out without the adults' knowledge. They had entered the old forest, though fortunately, they had not yet reached the true habitat of the fierce beasts.

"Brother Shi Lin, the mountain forest is too dangerous. We are still young, we cannot go any further," a child said, trembling.

They had grown up guarding the primeval forest and naturally knew the dangers within. There were all kinds of fierce creatures; even their fathers had to be cautious when entering the forest, or they would lose their lives.

The group of children was young, numbering over a dozen in total. Leading them was the Stone Village genius, Shi Lin, who could now startle the wilderness with a single arrow. He looked at another boy and said, "Pi Hou, how much further?"

Pi Hou, whose name was Shi Zhonghou, was thin and gaunt but possessed immense strength and was very clever. He said, "I heard Uncle Linhu and the others say that the cliff is not very far from the village. It should be in this direction; we should be almost there."

"Little One, what do you think?" Shi Lin asked.

In the past, Shi Hao was just a tag-along behind the older children, but ever since he lifted the bronze cauldron, even the adults viewed him as a little monster, let alone the children. He had suddenly become one of the "core members" among them.

"It will be very dangerous if we keep going," Little Shi Hao said in a crisp voice, his black-and-white eyes darting around as he spoke the truth.

"But it really isn't far from here," Shi Lin said.

More than half of the children were moved, wanting to continue.

"If you all want to go, I will follow," Little Shi Hao said in his childish voice.

And so, the group of children set off again. After traveling another mile or so, the large trees became sparse, the vegetation thinned, and giant rocks gradually appeared, accompanied by a pervasive, fierce aura.

The mountain rocks were jagged; this was a vast stone forest, silent and still. Scattered on the ground were the remains of giant beasts, snow-white and startling.

Pi Hou looked around and whispered, "This is it. I heard Uncle Linhu and the others say that its nest is built on the cliff wall in the depths of the stone forest."

Shi Lin also lowered his voice, reminding all the children, "These beast bones were likely left behind when it ate fierce beasts. Although it shouldn't be in the nest at this time, we must still be careful. We must not be discovered, or we might lose our lives!"

The dozen children had all grown up in the Great Wilderness, and their alertness was extremely high. Like little mountain beasts, they swiftly and nimbly hid in the crevices of the stone forest to cover themselves. After observing for a moment and sniffing the wind, they nodded to each other and, agile as apes, charged toward the deepest part of the stone forest.

Along the way, they saw many skeletons, snow-white and enormous—some bird bones five or six meters long, and others, beast skulls the size of millstones. All were the result of fierce beasts and birds of prey being torn apart and eaten alive. The place was deathly still. "It really does live here. If it stays for a long time and breeds offspring, the people of our Stone Village will face a fatal threat whenever they enter the mountains!"

"Uncle Linhu and the others have been discussing this for days; they have long since observed its habits."

The children whispered as they sprinted, moving as fast as a dozen little whirlwinds into the depths of the stone forest.

A stone cliff stood before them. It was even quieter here, with not a blade of grass growing. At the very top of the cliff wall sat a massive nest, built from individual black wutong logs, giving off a very oppressive feeling.

The children hid far away in the crevices of the mountain rocks, watching carefully. The black nest was a full ten meters in diameter—truly massive—and it took no imagination to realize it belonged to a ferocious avian beast.

"It really is here!"

"That Green-Scaled Eagle has been circling for a long time. Now that it has built such a giant nest, could it be that it has already laid eggs, just as Uncle Lin Hu said?"

The eyes of the group of children shone brightly; this was the primary reason they had come!

This was a fierce and powerful exotic bird, possessing bloodline traits inherited from ancient demonic avians. It was incredibly difficult to deal with; ordinary wild beasts and predators would surely die if targeted by it, with no hope of escape.

"According to the observations of Uncle Lin Hu and the others, the male Green-Scaled Eagle hasn't appeared for several days. It might have met with an accident deep in the mountains and died. Every day at noon, the female bird goes out alone to hunt for food. If we want to get close, the opportunity is right before us," Pi Hou said.

The children clenched their fists, clearly nervous, yet their eyes held anticipation and excitement. Children raised in the mountains were all bold; otherwise, they wouldn't have taken it upon themselves to run to such a dangerous place.

"Everyone, hide in the rock crevices. I'll throw a stone to test it!" a dark-skinned boy named Shi Dazhuang said. During training in Stone Village, he had once single-handedly toppled a massive Reckless Bull and lifted a thousand-jin bronze cauldron, ranking only behind Shi Lin and Little One among the children.

With a "whoosh," a large stone flew through the air, landing on the pile of rubble in front of the cliff with a loud thud.

Everyone was startled, but fortunately, there was no movement from the cliff above.

"Dazhuang, don't be so reckless. Be more cautious."

"I was just testing if it was in the nest. It seems fine now, let's go!" Dazhuang said, preparing to charge forward.

"Wait a moment, Brother Dazhuang," little Shi Hao said. He grabbed a sizable rock and threw it with all his might. The stone whistled up the cliff, landing right near the Wu Nest with a loud crash.

A moment passed, but the cliff remained silent; the Green-Scaled Eagle did not appear.

"Go!"

The group of children rushed toward the cliff like a pack of beasts, shouting as they ran. Once they arrived, they divided their tasks in an orderly fashion: some stood on large boulders to keep watch on the sky, guarding against the sudden return of the fierce bird, while others prepared to climb the cliff.

"Brother Lin, you all wait here, I'll go up and take a look first," Shi Hao said. "You're still a toddler who hasn't been weaned yet, just watch from the side. We'll go," Shi Lin replied. The group of children laughed; Little One was still drinking beast milk, a fact they often teased him about.

"I eat meat already! I just drink that as water sometimes!" Little One huffed, wrinkling his nose and glaring with his jewel-like eyes in protest.

Of course, the little guy was smart; he knew the older children weren't truly mocking him, but rather trying to protect him by not letting him take the lead in such a dangerous situation.

"I'm faster than all of you, and I can run faster if there's danger," Little One said. Before they could stop him, he scrambled up the cliff like a little monkey, agile and swift.

"Don't let him take the risk, let's go too!" Shi Lin, Dazhuang, and Pi Hou followed immediately, climbing just as nimbly as apes.

The cliff face had many crevices that allowed the children to gain leverage as they climbed rapidly. Growing up in the mountains and living near the primeval forests, their climbing skills were naturally exceptional—hardly inferior to the Demon Apes of the mountain range.

"Whew... finally made it up!"

The cliff was three hundred meters high. After Little One reached the top, he waited a moment for the other three to emerge before they all walked toward the giant nest.

"What a huge bird's nest!" Pi Hou exclaimed.

Standing close by, the sight was truly shocking. The nest was ten meters long, built from black Wu wood, and occupied most of the cliff top—it was larger than the houses in Stone Village.

Beyond that, there were large bones scattered on the cliff, stained with blood. Each one was thicker and longer than a grown man, a truly hair-raising sight.

In particular, a beast skull the size of a millstone had several terrifying claw holes in it, still stained with dried blood, looking incredibly gruesome.

"This is the skeleton of a Dragon-Horned Elephant. How terrifying—a fierce bird actually eats giant elephants!" Shi Dazhuang said, shocked.

"Never mind that for now," Shi Lin said, climbing onto the black nest.

Upon reaching the nest, they were immediately hit by a chilling aura and the stench of blood. The edges of the nest were dark red; clearly, the Green-Scaled Eagle often fed there, and the long-term soaking of various beast blood had left the area saturated with a malevolent aura.

"The fierce bird isn't here!"

"Look, there are several eggs!"

The children exclaimed. They were bold enough to act on their own after overhearing the adults' conversation in the village, coming here specifically for the eggs of the fierce bird.

"Great! Let's move them quickly and take them back to the village to hatch. In the future, we'll have a powerful fierce bird to hunt beasts and bring back prey for us!" Pi Hou shouted in excitement.

The Wu Nest was lined with soft Golden Silk Grass and looked quite comfortable. Three eggs, crystalline like green jade, lay there quietly, marked with patterns and spots that shimmered with luster.

Each egg laid by this fierce bird was the size of a washbasin, translucent and bright, green like agate, with patterns that glowed brilliantly under the sunlight.