Giant Stone God's Blessing

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived; the sun had already dipped halfway below the horizon, and the sunset glow painted the vast blue sky in shades of crimson.

The hunters who had ventured out from the village had returned, and the youths who followed them to learn were showing off their prey to one another, drawing envious gazes from the children who were not yet old enough to join.

Just as the sun was about to vanish completely, the three strongest hunters of the village returned with a group of able-bodied men who had been cleaning up the battlefield, carrying dozens of Silver Wolves on their backs.

The men, women, and children of the entire tribe gave them a warm welcome. The women greeted their own men at the village entrance, relieved at their safe return, and took the prey from their hands to the largest wooden house in the village—the Ancestral Hall—to be butchered and stored.

The three men led the Silver Wolf King through the village, heading straight to the place where Qi Tian stood, and placed the beast before the humanoid Giant Stone God. They knelt on both knees to pray and worship.

"Jin Shi thanks the Giant Stone God for your protection."

"Iron Hand thanks the Giant Stone God for your protection."

"Mulberry Leaf thanks the Giant Stone God for your protection."

The three spoke in unison. Only then did Qi Tian learn that the man he had saved earlier was named Jin Shi, the one using the Ox Skull Gauntlet was Iron Hand, and the one wielding the tibia claws was Mulberry Leaf.

Following their lead, the men who had accompanied them also knelt one after another, chanting, "Thank you, Giant Stone God, for your protection."

As Qi Tian watched the crowd kneeling before him, he felt his consciousness grow by a sliver.

After his restful sleep, Qi Tian's consciousness had strengthened significantly, and his perception had sharpened; he could clearly sense the minute growth brought about by this act of worship.

At the same time, as they knelt, the golden Lotus Throne Buddha Statue within his sea of consciousness radiated waves of golden light once more, and the Sanskrit Phantom solidified a fraction faster.

The prayers and worship of these people can strengthen my consciousness, and they can accelerate the solidification of the Sanskrit Phantom in my sea of consciousness.

This discovery surprised Qi Tian, and his mood lifted considerably.

In his estimation, once the Sanskrit Phantom was fully solidified, it would signify the completion of the Buddha Karma Twin Bodies cultivation, and he might finally shed this stone body to return to a human form capable of free movement.

In high spirits, a whim struck Qi Tian, and he thought of the pool of liquefied golden liquid beneath the Sanskrit Phantom—a single drop of which contained immense energy.

The people of this village have been praying to me for more than a day or two. Perhaps I can bestow this golden liquid upon them. According to my perception, this liquid should be able to enhance their physical constitution.

I shall try it. If it truly works, I will surely reap even more devout prayers from them.

Immediately, he probed with his consciousness, and the peach—the size of a human head, left behind by the child who had come to pray earlier—slowly drifted upward, hovering at a height of two meters.

"Look, look! The peach is flying!"

"It's the Giant Stone God! The Giant Stone God has manifested!"

"Giant Stone God, protect us!"

Jin Shi, who was closest, was overjoyed. He was the only one in the entire village who had witnessed a manifestation of the Giant Stone God before. Seeing this miracle descend once more, he hurriedly continued to kowtow and worship.

Although the other tribesmen had never witnessed it, the area where the Giant Stone God resided was indeed avoided by fierce beasts, allowing their tribe to remain safe and easing their worries when they went out to hunt.

For a moment, the hunters behind them knelt and prayed incessantly, and the sound of "Thank you, Giant Stone God, for your protection" slowly spread throughout the entire tribal village.

The women and elders processing the prey in the village heard the prayers and could not help but feel puzzled. Although their hunting party prayed to the Giant Stone God every day, they had never sounded this fanatical.

Several elders signaled for the other women and children to stop their work and hurried toward the back of the village where the Giant Stone God stood.

At this moment, Qi Tian's consciousness guided a drop of golden liquid out of his sea of consciousness, causing it to hover above the kneeling crowd. A burst of golden light erupted, leaving all the hunters staring in awe.

When the old and weak who had rushed over saw this scene, they knelt at the edge of the village before even reaching the humanoid stone statue, chanting, "Giant Stone God, protect us," over and over.

As the golden liquid appeared, Qi Tian sensed the energy within it beginning to dissipate bit by bit. He hurriedly controlled the liquid to merge into the large peach, which then floated down into Jin Shi's hands.

"I have witnessed the battle between you three and the wolf pack. Your courage and strength have earned my recognition. This peach is my reward to you."

This time, Qi Tian's voice was not directed at any one individual but echoed throughout the entire village, audible to everyone who knelt before him.

In the crowd not far away, the child who had prayed to Qi Tian at noon felt a sense of familiarity as he watched the floating peach.

There was a peach grove near the village. Although the peaches looked similar, that was the very peach he had picked himself; it was the only one in the entire grove that had ripened early.

Seeing that peach now bestowed upon his father, the frail child could not help but tug at his mother, who was kneeling beside him.

"Mother, is that the peach I offered to the Giant Stone God at noon?"

Hearing her son's words, the woman hurriedly told the child to be quiet, continuing to chant, "Thank you, Giant Stone God, for your protection."

The frail child curled his lip at his mother's reaction.

As for Jin Shi and the other two kneeling before Qi Tian, seeing the large, golden-glowing peach in Jin Shi's hands, they knew it must be blessed by the Giant Stone God and was certainly no ordinary fruit.

"Thank you for the Giant Stone God's grace."

The three bowed to the Giant Stone God once more. Jin Shi then used a bit of force to divide the peach into three uneven portions, giving the slightly smaller ones to Iron Hand and Mulberry Leaf.

The two did not mind; this was a blessing from the Giant Stone God, and they were more than satisfied to receive it.

The three swallowed the fresh, golden-glowing peach flesh in two bites, leaving the others behind them filled with envy—that was, after all, a blessing from the Giant Stone God who protected them.

As soon as the peach flesh entered their stomachs, the three felt their bodies begin to heat up, and a massive surge of energy began to assault their flesh and internal organs.

The terrifying energy acted like rampant cancer cells, crazily devouring every cell within their bodies, and a pain akin to being sliced by a thousand knives flooded their minds.

"Ngh—ah!" The sudden, immense agony made the three of them let out muffled groans.

However, the three were men of extraordinary willpower; aside from those initial groans, they forced themselves to endure the rest in silence.

The people behind them, who had been watching with envy, saw the three men now writhing in agony on the grass, their teeth clenched so tightly that blood seeped from their gums and trickled down the corners of their lips.

Seeing such an anomaly, everyone could not help but feel worried, yet they dared not make a move.

As time ticked by, the three could no longer bear the pain and let out miserable howls, frightening everyone into an instinctive urge to rush forward and check on them.

The frail child at the back of the crowd, seeing his father wailing in agony on the grass, could not help but want to rush forward.