Precious Artifacts

The enormous tornado spiraled skyward with a sound like a string of explosions. Faintly, it seemed that flashes of swordlight were leaking from within.

Before long, the tornado, which had been pale blue just moments ago, had taken on a faint red hue. A petite figure flew out of it.

"You seek death? It's as easy as lifting a finger."

Bai Yixin struck what he considered a handsome pose and spoke coolly.

"Big brother!" Little One's face was pale with pain. Seeing Bai Yixin rescue him just in time once again, he cried out happily.

"Are you all right, Little One?" Bai Yixin saw mysterious Runes flowing across Little One's body. They quickly stopped the bleeding.

"I'm fine, but... Auntie Green-Scaled Eagle..." Little One was stricken with grief. His voice quavered, and tears welled in his eyes.

"She can hold on a little longer. Grandpa Chief and the others will be here any moment." Bai Yixin patted Little One's head, wiped the blood from his hand, and comforted him.

"Who are you?!" Bei Liqing, the Bei Village chief, had arrived late with reinforcements. Looking at the chunks of flesh scattered across the ground, he roared.

Bai Yixin shielded Little One behind him. With utter disdain on his face, he saw no need to answer and beckoned to the Bei Village newcomers with a finger.

"Kill him!" Bei Liqing's face turned livid. He had realized that the chunks of flesh around them might belong to his clansmen.

"Shoot them dead!"

The Bei Village chief, Bei Liqing, had a cold look in his eyes as he ordered everyone to loose their arrows and kill the two little brats.

Living in the Great Wilderness had made the Bei villagers astonishingly skilled archers. Sixty or seventy of them aimed at the same spot and fired together. Their arrows converged and flew as one, like a long dragon.

"Hmph!" Bai Yixin didn't underestimate them. His expression serious, he swung his short sword upward as howling winds rose around him.

In an instant, a torrent of wind surged from the flat ground into the clouds, forming a wall that stood firm against the sweeping hail of iron arrows.

No, it wasn't quite right to say he had blocked them. Bai Yixin had merely used the wind to change the arrows' direction, sending them skyward along the Wind Field.

"Bei Liqing, you shameless son of a dog! We spared you last time, yet you dare lay a hand on the children again!" a voice bellowed.

At the same time, arrows swarmed overhead like locusts, while spears rained down like meteors. Cries of agony rose in waves from the Bei Village side.

The people of Stone Village had arrived, led by the old chief, Shi Yunfeng. Every last one of them was blazing with anger as they continued to shoot.

The battle erupted in an instant. Shouts rang out everywhere as the two sides charged into one another and began a brutal fight.

"Little One, Little Bai, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Grandpa Chief! Hurry and save Auntie Green-Scaled Eagle!" Little One wiped away a tear, then shouted and charged toward the Bei Village fighters.

"I'm fine too, Grandpa Chief." Bai Yixin shook his head, then quietly vanished from sight.

"Let's see what other 'cuties' are lurking around to pull a sneaky one~"

Using the Breath Concealment Art, Bai Yixin crept stealthily through the branches and leaves, checking for any other sneak who might be hiding to ambush someone.

Suddenly, a brilliant cluster of light emerged from a thicket and shot toward Little One, engulfing the area around him. With a series of puffs, six or seven Stone Village villagers were pierced on the spot. They collapsed in pools of blood, writhing in pain.

"A precious artifact! Watch out!"

"So there really was another sneak!" With a casual slash, Bai Yixin sent a Wind Blade decapitating one of the Bei villagers, then coldly looked toward the vegetation.

A pale-faced youth had been lurking among the plants like a wolf, his expression icy. His name was Bei Feng, and he was a prodigy of the Bei Village. The shower of lights flew back to him, circling his wrist before transforming into a string of Beast Teeth, each one snow-white and lustrous, beautiful to behold.

"Whoosh!"

Bei Feng flicked his wrist. The sparkling white Beast Teeth became points of light, streaking across the sky like a meteor shower. They were dazzling and beautiful, yet radiated a terrifying aura. Their lethality was obvious without even putting them to the test.

Just then, a figure appeared silently behind Bei Feng.

"Got a moment, little brother? There are a few heart-to-heart things I'd like to discuss with you..."

As the first word fell, a snow-white blade emerged from Bei Feng's heart, stained red.

"Cough, cough... How could this be..." Bei Feng's face was full of shock. He hadn't sensed that anyone had crept up behind him.

"Buzz."

Without its owner to control it, the shower of lights reversed course and flew back, reforming into a Beast Tooth String on Bei Feng's limp, drooping wrist. Then it fell to the ground, each tooth clear and gleaming, dazzlingly beautiful.

"Cough, cough. This thing's too dangerous for you to handle. Let your big brother take it." Bai Yixin grinned as he picked up the glittering Beast Tooth String.

"So this is a precious artifact? What a treasure!" Bai Yixin played with it for a moment, then copied Bei Feng and put it around his wrist, rubbing it lightly.

The Beast Teeth detached one by one from the bracelet, transforming into dazzling points of light that formed a brilliant shower. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped a group of Bei villagers. They couldn't react in time as the teeth pierced through their bodies with ease.

Blood blossoms burst open as bones snapped and internal organs tore apart. The Bei villagers cried out in terror, utterly unable to withstand the precious artifact's assault.

"Wow, it's just like spraying bullets from a machine gun. It packs a punch! This feels great!" Bai Yixin's eyes lit up. Unable to put down his "Beast Tooth Machine Gun," he lifted it and swept it from side to side, firing in volleys until all forty-two Beast Teeth had flown back to him.

Watching their clansmen fall in droves, like wheat cut down in a field, blood blooming as they were struck, the Bei villagers broke. Even without their chief ordering a retreat, they wouldn't have stayed there; they fled for their lives.

"What's going on? The Sacrificial Spirit should have arrived. Why hasn't it appeared? Hurry and come save your people!" Bei Liqing cried out in panic. His heart filled with dread. How had they been routed so quickly? At this rate, the entire Bei Village would be wiped out in no time.

"Just what we need if the Sacrificial Spirit shows up! We'll kill it too! Lin Hu, Feijiao, are you ready? If the Bei Village's Sacrificial Spirit dares to appear, kill it!" Shi Yunfeng stopped tending to the Green-Scaled Eagle and stood up, shouting.

"Old Bei?" Bai Yixin's expression tightened. Watching the Bei villagers flee, he didn't pursue them.

By his usual standards, he would have wiped them out root and branch!

But Bai Yixin knew that Shi Yunfeng was trying to frighten that naturally suspicious Old Bei. Their group didn't actually have the strength to defeat him.

"Little One, come back! Don't chase them!" Bai Yixin shouted at Little One, then headed over to Shi Yunfeng.

"We should leave quickly too. The Bei Village's Sacrificial Spirit is naturally suspicious because of its race. When I said I would kill it, it may have grown wary, which is why it didn't show itself," Shi Yunfeng said quietly.

The old chief was bluffing. It seemed to have worked to some extent, leaving the Stone Village people speechless.

More than a hundred people sprang into action. They lifted the Green-Scaled Eagle, supported the wounded, and carried the gravely injured as they hurried to flee. They were all men raised in the Great Wilderness; so long as someone still drew breath, there was a chance of saving them. Shi Linhu led this group.

Shi Feijiao led the rest, tasked with carrying and guarding the Suanni, the Crimson Precious Horn, and the Demon Ape's arm. They were all excited, yet visibly tense. These were genuine supreme treasures!

"I have a chance to undergo a baptism too, right? Even though my bones are a year older, it might just be a little less effective."

Looking at the Suanni Precious Body, Bai Yixin thought of the ancient medicinal formula and medicine cauldron hidden in Stone Village. They could help cleanse and temper the body. Using them for a baptism would lay an excellent foundation; after being honed, one could even rival a pure-blooded vicious beast cub!