Fierce Bird (Seeking Recommendation Tickets, Collections)

Shi Dazhuang, with his dark skin, giggled so hard he nearly drooled. He strode forward and said, "This is the biggest bird's nest I've ever raided. I've never seen eggs this big in my entire life." "Heh heh, that's right. Raiding a nest like this is the only way to feel a real sense of accomplishment." Pi Hou looked gaunt, and when he laughed, he really did look like a mountain monkey.

"So pretty!" Little One, Shi Hao, blinked his large eyes, his long lashes fluttering. Looking at the three moist and crystalline eggs of the fierce bird, shimmering with light, he couldn't help but feel delighted. Being the youngest, he was full of curiosity and longed to pick them up for a closer look.

Dazhuang approached, but the moment his hand touched a giant egg, he let out an "Ouch!" feeling his arm go numb as if he had been electrocuted.

"What happened?!" The children were all startled.

On the jade-like, crystalline shells, those spots and patterns were shining brilliantly, like stars twinkling; they were incredibly beautiful, with a mysterious power flowing through them.

"It's truly powerful. The Green-Scaled Eagle is a descendant of the ancient demonic birds. Even if its bloodline is no longer pure, there are still fragments of rune inheritance within its life imprint." Little One studied Bone Text every day, and now, seeing the clues, he blinked his large eyes and spoke in a crisp, precocious tone.

The children were both shocked and delighted. The more powerful the fierce bird, the rarer and more noble the bloodline of the hatched chick. In the future, it could guard the village and perhaps even rival the Sacrificial Spirit.

"It's just the spots on the shells glowing. Be careful not to touch those parts. Put them in the animal-hide bags; we need to leave immediately." Shi Lin was steady and urged the others. There was no time to waste—the Green-Scaled Eagle would be back soon!

Clearly, they had come prepared. Each of them carried an animal-hide bag. They quickly opened them and carefully placed the fierce bird's eggs inside. There were three basin-sized jade eggs in total, and aside from Little One, the other three each carried one on their back.

"Great! I can't believe we actually succeeded." Er Meng was overjoyed, laughing so hard that a snot bubble nearly popped out of his nose.

Pi Hou also grinned and said, "From now on, our Stone Village will have a powerful fierce bird as a guardian. The Chief and Uncle Lin Hu will definitely be impressed and look at us in a new light."

"Ouch!" Dazhuang stumbled and nearly fell, but Shi Lin caught him just in time.

The fierce bird's nest was lined with Golden Silk Grass, which was very soft, but hidden within were a few scales that shimmered with a cold, metallic luster. Shi Dazhuang hadn't been paying attention and stepped on one; it pierced through his shoe sole, drawing a bit of blood from his foot, though luckily it was only a scratch.

"What sharp scales!" Little One, Shi Hao, picked up a few of the green scales. Each was the size of an infant's palm, flickering with a cold light.

"These are the scales of a mature fierce bird. They really are extraordinary. I reckon even a broadsword weighing hundreds of pounds would struggle to cleave through them!" Pi Hou said.

The children didn't dare linger. Like geckos, they quickly descended along the cliff face and soon reached the ground. They wiped the sweat from their brows and let out a long sigh of relief.

"How was it? Did you have any luck?" A group of children gathered around them.

"We succeeded! We raided a whole nest of bird eggs, haha..." Er Meng laughed loudly.

The children opened the animal-hide bags to look inside. Seeing the basin-sized eggs, glowing with mysterious, shimmering light, they all gasped in amazement.

"That's amazing! We succeeded!"

"These are eggs laid by a powerful fierce bird. Our Stone Village will have a war bird that can take to the skies."

"Let's go!"

They were both happy and excited, leaping through the stone forest like a pack of mountain beasts. They moved with incredible speed and soon cleared the stone forest, escaping just before the Green-Scaled Eagle returned.

"This went really smoothly. I reckon that big bird is about to return to its nest, so let's hurry!" Shi Lin said.

The mountain forest was dense, with fallen leaves piled a foot thick, feeling soft underfoot. The trees were towering, blocking out the scorching sun, and ancient vines wound around the giant trees like Chi Dragons. In the distance, the roars of beasts echoed from time to time, shaking the mountains.

Fortunately, they weren't too far from Stone Village and were still in a relatively safe area, far from the range of the dangerous monsters that roamed the deep mountains.

"Almost there! Put in some effort—let's run all the way to the village in one go!"

Although the group of children was excited, they also felt a bit of anxiety. After all, that was a Green-Scaled Eagle—a creature that even the strongest men in the village feared. Yet, they had managed to swipe its entire clutch of eggs, which felt somewhat surreal.

Suddenly, a screech tore through the sky. It was piercing and sharp, possessing a terrifying penetrative power that made the children's eardrums ache.

"Oh no, that Green-Scaled Eagle is back! It must have discovered the three eggs are gone and is going berserk." A child screamed.

"Run!" Little Shi Hao's eyes were bright. Through the gaps in the giant tree branches, he saw a shadow circling in the sky, heading in their direction.

High above, a gale roared. A giant bird cast a massive shadow over the forest, diving at extreme speed. Its entire body flowed with a cold, green light, and its murderous aura was terrifying.

By now, the other children had also seen it. In the distance, a giant bird was swooping down toward the forest, moving with incredible speed, like a falling star—fierce and intimidating.

"Oh my mother! That's one huge bird! Run!"

The children cried out in fear. The bird was simply too large—seven or eight meters long, with a wingspan of fifteen meters. Its body was covered in green scales that shimmered with a cold, metallic luster, and its malevolent aura was suffocating!

The group of children scrambled away, relying on their familiarity with the forest to dive into the densest parts, trying to evade the scale-covered, cold-glinting predator.

"Boom!"

Dozens of towering trees were shattered by its iron wings. Branches and leaves flew everywhere, and debris rained down. It was as if it were forged from steel; its dive was unstoppable.

It was horrifying. The children screamed, their faces pale, as they fled at top speed.

The behemoth was terrifying. Its iron wings struck the sky, destroying everything in its path. Its scales shimmered with a chilling light, and a single dive devastated half the forest, sending wood and leaves flying.

It was too strong. Its body was incredibly hard, and its wings were like broadswords, capable of snapping a mountain peak in two; these trees couldn't stop it at all.

It resembled a giant eagle, but it had no feathers. Instead, it was covered in grim scales, as if cast from molten iron, radiating a shocking sense of power.

Its hooked beak was black, shiny, and sharp, over half a meter long, and still stained with the blood of a beast—it had clearly just returned from hunting. Its talons were even more intimidating, cold and sharp, nearly a meter long; they could easily tear a giant elephant apart.

On its head were some protrusions that looked like plumes, but they weren't feathers—they were thick, sharp bone spikes, like a row of horns, capable of easily slicing open the chest and abdomen of a large beast.

This was the Green-Scaled Eagle, covered in cold, green scales, its body brimming with infinite power. It seemed forged from steel, sweeping through the forest and treating the giant trees as if they were nothing.

"Boom!"

Amidst the rumbling, rows of towering trees snapped. Many were so thick that it would take over a dozen people to wrap their arms around them, yet the Green-Scaled Eagle dove straight through, its iron wings snapping every obstacle. The ground was littered with branches and leaves.

With a loud bang, a massive boulder blocking its path was shattered, sparks flying and rocks scattering. Many stones weighing hundreds of pounds were sent crashing in all directions, snapping more trees in a display of terrifying force.

All the children felt their hair stand on end. The Green-Scaled Eagle was too powerful; if not for that boulder, many of them might have been killed in that initial strike.

After destroying a vast stretch of the forest, the Green-Scaled Eagle soared back into the sky. It circled above, its hawk eyes sharp as lightning, coldly staring down at the fleeing children as it prepared to dive once more to hunt them.

"The village is just ahead, hurry!" the children shouted.

"It's too late, its speed is too great; we'll never make it back to the village," Pi Hou cried out, wincing in pain. A rock sent flying by the eagle's wake had grazed his arm, tearing a large patch of skin and leaving blood streaming down.

"There's a deep stone cave over here, let's go inside and hide!" Little One, Shi Hao, shouted to the group.

They scrambled through the mountain terrain, skirting around several boulders and diving into a thicket of giant vines. Little One slipped inside, and the other children followed suit without hesitation.

It was a damp stone cave hidden behind the vines, where the faint sound of water could be heard. The interior was dim and pitch-black. The cave was incredibly deep, and the group of children dared not linger, sprinting dozens of meters inside before finally stopping.

The darkness was filled with the sound of heavy, ragged breathing. Having run for several miles, the dozen or so children were exhausted. They had been terrified; the Green-Scaled Eagle was a creature of immense power, and if they had been caught, a single swipe of its claws would have turned them into a puddle of blood and shattered bone.

"Phew, that was close. We almost didn't make it!" Having survived the ordeal, they all collapsed onto the ground.

"The entrance isn't very large, so that fierce bird shouldn't be able to get in." Although the children relaxed, they did not let their guard down.

This experience had been perilous; they had nearly perished in the mountains, dying under the talons of a descendant of an ancient demonic bird. Now that they had calmed down slightly, a layer of cold sweat clung to their backs.

The cave was extremely deep and connected to an underground river. Cold wind whistled through, and the children looked at each other in distress, wondering how they would ever return to Stone Village. None of them dared to go back out.

"Wait, Little One, how did you know there was a cave here?" Once they regained their composure, the group remembered that it was Little One who had led them to safety at the critical moment.

"Iya!" Little One felt a bit embarrassed, twisting the corner of his shirt as he muttered, "I was chasing a crimson bird outside the village last time and almost got lost, so I stumbled upon this place."

The other children were speechless. Little One was perfect in every way, except for his boundless energy and intense curiosity. Even when he was younger, he had run out of the village several times chasing the village chief's Big Yellow Dog. That was to say nothing of now that he was older; once he gained more skill, he would relentlessly pursue anything strange or unusual until he figured it out.

"Hehe... still nursing at three, chasing birds, little Hao!" the older children teased.

Little One felt awkward, puffing out his cheeks as he retorted indignantly, "Don't laugh! It was a bird as red as blood, looking exactly like the Vermilion Bird described in the Bone Scripture."

"Pfft, forget about things that might not even exist in legends. Even a Fire Cloud Sparrow or its descendants could wipe out a super-tribe. If it were really a Vermilion Bird, do you think it would let you chase it? A single yawn could shatter the territory of a prince!"

"But it looked exactly like the one in the Bone Scripture—all red and beautiful," Little One argued. His small, fair hands were clenched tight, his flushed face filled with excitement, and his gem-like eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Thud!"

Suddenly, a dull, heavy sound startled all the children. They turned to look, and at the cave entrance, a cold, metallic light flickered. The head of the Green-Scaled Eagle appeared, its eyes chilling and terrifying as it stared at the children inside.

"Oh heavens, it's coming in!" The color drained from many of the children's faces, leaving them deathly pale.

"It's fine, the entrance is small, it can't get in!" Er Meng was truly fierce; as he spoke, he grabbed a rock the size of a washbasin and hurled it with all his might.

"Bang!"

With his thousand-jin strength, the rock moved with incredible speed and immense force, slamming directly into the Green-Scaled Eagle's head. Yet, there was only a shower of sparks and a metallic clang. The metallic green scales shimmered coldly, completely unharmed, while the rock shattered and fell to the ground.

Everyone gasped. This fierce bird had skin of bronze and bones of iron; it was too powerful, and the sight chilled their hearts.

"Pfft."

With a single swipe of its claw, it tore away hundreds of pounds of rock from the entrance, as easily as if it were digging into mud with sharp iron hooks.

The children stared in stunned silence. Could even the stone cave not stop it?

"Crackle!"

The sound of shattering rock echoed again. The Green-Scaled Eagle flapped its wings, which cut through the stone walls like blades. Huge boulders rumbled down as the massive creature forced its way inside.

"This is terrifying! Can it slice through this small mountain? If this keeps up, won't it actually collapse the cave and level this place?"

Pi Hou drew his bow and notched an arrow. It was a Dragon-Horned Hard Bow, crafted from the horns of a Dragon-Horned Elephant. Usually, only an adult could draw it, and it was considered the finest bow-making material in Stone Village.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow flew out with Extreme Speed, its momentum heavy and powerful. It streaked through the air like a shooting star, swift and fierce.

"Clang!"

However, to everyone's shock, the arrow struck the eagle's head and produced a shower of sparks without piercing it. Even such a powerful bow and sharp arrow were ineffective.

The group felt their hair stand on end. What could they do? If even a heavy bow couldn't hurt it, and they couldn't fight it at close range, they were trapped in a desperate situation.

"Iya, let me try."

Little One borrowed a heavy iron spear from one of the older boys, weighing forty or fifty jin. He ran a few steps, suddenly accelerated, and charged toward the cave entrance before hurling the spear with all his might. It shot through the air like a bolt of lightning, a cold light streaking toward the entrance.

Shi Hao could lift a thousand-jin bronze cauldron; his full-force throw possessed terrifying piercing power as it aimed for the Green-Scaled Eagle's eye. The iron spear whistled through the air, causing the very atmosphere to hum!

The Green-Scaled Eagle had been disdainfully hunting the children, but for the first time, a flicker of surprise appeared in its eyes. It quickly jerked its head aside, not daring to let the spear pierce its eye.

With a loud "clang," the iron spear, carrying immense force, struck the eagle's head. It sounded like two metal plates grinding together, sending sparks flying in a piercing, jarring screech.

In the end, the iron spear fell to the ground, but one of the shimmering scales near the corner of the fierce bird's eye had been knocked off, and a streak of blood oozed out, stark and visible.

A high-pitched avian cry erupted, sounding as if lightning had struck their very souls. It began as a grand roar before shifting into a sharp, dragon-like screech that was incredibly intimidating.

Several children were startled into stumbling backward, landing on their bottoms. They quickly covered their ears with their hands to protect them, fearing their eardrums might shatter.

The fierce bird had been injured by its own carelessness and was now enraged. Its hawk eyes, cold as blades, locked onto little Shi Hao. It swung its giant claws, frantically tearing at the cave walls and forcing its way inside with savage intensity.

Rocks tumbled down, ranging from tens to hundreds of jin, but under those sharp talons, they were as fragile as rotten wood. The cave was being widened, and the Green-Scaled Eagle shrieked in fury as it pushed inward.

"This is bad, the big bird has gone mad! Are we going to be crushed to death here by its claws?" Pi Hou and the others were terrified. The children felt a pang of regret; no wonder the adults had always been so cautious. This fierce bird was truly terrifying.

"We are very close to Stone Village. Grandfather Chief and the others will surely hear the commotion and come to support us," little Shi Hao said.

"That's right, let's attack with everything we've got! Provoke it, make it cause an even bigger scene so the Chief and the others will notice sooner!" Shi Lin shouted, grabbing a boulder and hurling it fiercely at the beast.

The bird's cry became even more terrifying, shaking the cave until dust rained down and stones tumbled; its massive, scale-covered body approached step by step, furiously carving into the rock walls.

A group of children used bows and arrows to target its eyes, while those with iron spears handed them to Shi Hao, Shi Lin, and Shi Dazhuang—the three with the greatest strength—to hurl them at the Green-Scaled Eagle's eyes.

Shi Lin picked up a sixty-jin long iron spear, and as he gripped it, a trace of Bone Text flowed through his palm, dancing along the black iron shaft until it finally reached the spearhead.

"This is... Bone Text!"

"Shi Lin, you actually learned Bone Text too!"

The children beside Shi Lin cried out in shock.

Shi Lin recalled:

In the stone house at the very center of Stone Village, the village chief Shi Yunfeng was teaching Shi Lin the power of Bone Text.

"Little Lin, I am about to carve a Bone Text into your body; you must endure it!"

"Alright!" Shi Lin's eyes were firm.

With that, the village chief Shi Yunfeng began.

He waved his hands, and a metallic-looking rune appeared from his palm. Then, under his control, the rune flowed toward Shi Lin.

"You must hold on!"

"Mm!" Shi Lin immediately closed his eyes.

Shi Yunfeng waved his hand, guiding the rune into Shi Lin's abdomen.

The rune radiated light, passing through the animal hide Shi Lin wore and sinking into his flesh and blood.

"Hm? Why doesn't it hurt?" Shi Lin only felt a bit of warm energy enter his lower abdomen, and then, nothing else happened.

"Little Lin, what do you feel?" Shi Yunfeng asked urgently, seeing no reaction from Shi Lin and fearing something had gone wrong.

"Grandpa Chief, I only felt a little bit of warmth, and then it was gone," Shi Lin opened his eyes and said honestly.

"Do you not feel any rejection from your body toward the rune?"

"No, the rune flowed into my body very smoothly, without any resistance at all," Shi Lin said, scratching his head.

"Not a single bit of rejection? Could it be that you are a natural-born cultivation talent!" Shi Yunfeng exclaimed in surprise.

"I suppose... so?" Shi Lin naturally understood what Shi Yunfeng meant.

So, he's saying I'm a cultivation prodigy! Shi Lin thought to himself.

"Child, let us try a few more times to see if you can integrate the runes just as smoothly every time," Shi Yunfeng said excitedly.

"Alright!"

Shi Yunfeng transmitted several more runes to Shi Lin, and each time was as smooth as the first.

"It seems that, just like Little One, you are a fine seedling for cultivating Bone Text! For our Stone Village to produce the two of you, it is truly the ancestors' blessing!"

The memory ended.

Shi Lin braced his legs and gripped the iron spear tightly; the tip radiated a faint divine glow.

"Whoosh!"

Shi Lin threw the iron spear with all his might. It pierced the air like a cloud-splitting arrow, moving with the speed and ferocity of a meteor as it struck toward the Green-Scaled Eagle's large eye.

The Green-Scaled Eagle quickly jerked its head, not daring to let the spear pierce its eye.

With a loud "clang," the iron spear, carrying astonishing force, struck the eagle's head at extreme speed. It sounded like two metal plates grinding together, sending sparks flying and producing an ear-piercing screech.

In the end, the iron spear fell to the ground, but three of the scales near the fierce bird's eye, which had been shimmering with cold light, were knocked off, and a streak of blood trickled out, looking very striking.

The wounded Green-Scaled Eagle was enraged. It furiously overturned boulders, which were as fragile as rotten wood beneath its sharp claws. The stone cave was being widened, and the Green-Scaled Eagle shrieked in fury, charging inward.

In this mountain forest, rocks flew and leaves danced wildly. To protect its vital eyes, the fierce bird retreated from the narrow cave several times, completely leveling the surrounding mountain terrain.