Planting the Dao

Chapter 1: Planting the Dao

Deep in the Great Wilderness, Stone Village.

"Endless and supreme, the people were born in the beginning. The imperial order was first established, and human relations spread throughout the land. The five virtues cycled in succession, receiving the mandate and the talisman. The Great Dao..."

At the village entrance, beneath the enormous, charred Lightning-Struck Wood, the old village chief, Shi Yunfeng, sat cross-legged on a boulder, chanting leisurely.

His gaze was deep and weathered. It seemed to pierce endless mountain ranges and turn toward the vast world beyond the Great Wilderness.

He was planting the Dao. The old man was planting the Dao in the children of the village, striving to sow a seed of devotion to the Dao in the hearts of the next generation while they were still young.

Unfortunately, the children sitting below him didn't seem to understand his good intentions.

Born full of energy, they could barely sit obediently for half a quarter of an hour before they were scratching their heads and fidgeting. Some even started roughhousing right there on the spot.

"Heh, you little rascals..."

The old man gathered his thoughts and didn't get angry. Looking at the mischievous little monkeys gathered before him, he merely smiled helplessly, then rose from the boulder and strolled back into the village with his hands behind his back.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to gently pat one little child on the head.

The tiny figure had fair, tender skin and delicate features. His bright, inky-black eyes darted about, making him unbearably adorable, like an exquisitely crafted porcelain doll.

He was only one or two years old, making him look a little out of place among the six- and seven-year-olds, but he fit in well enough. The boys and girls always tried their best to act like older brothers and sisters as they looked after him.

Grandpa Village Chief patted my head three times. Could he mean I should come find him at the third watch tonight? Is he going to teach me the Supreme Heavenly Art?

The adorable, fair-skinned little child brightened at first, then immediately pulled a long face and murmured, "No, no, this isn't Journey to the West. This is Perfect World, where people charge upstream against the River of Time at the slightest disagreement and flip the table on you in an instant..."

That's right, Perfect World—the one said to be a Shrouding the Heavens all by itself.

"Little One, the beast milk is here! This is Hundred-Beast Milk, made by simmering Fire Rhino Milk, Snow Qilin Leopard Milk, Dragon-Horned Elephant Juice, and several other kinds of beast milk together. It's the most fragrant of them all."

Just then, a teasing shout came from the distance.

"Coming, coming~"

The little child, who had been frowning just a moment ago, instantly broke into a grin and happily ran over to take the clay pot. He gulped down the milk without pause.

"Ah, that's delicious!"

After a while, the little child raised his hand and wiped the milky-white residue from his mouth, exclaiming with delight.

His name was Shi Hao, also known as Little Shi, Desolate Heaven Emperor. He had once used the aliases Huang, Mo Xi, and Emperor.

What he'd been called on Earth didn't matter. From today onward, his name was Shi Hao—he'd almost said "Number Ten," bah! Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it.

That year, Little Shi was one and a half years old.

If he counted the year missing from his memories, he was probably two and a half.

That night, at the third watch.

"Little One, what are you doing?"

In bed, wrapped in his quilt, village chief Shi Yunfeng shakily sat up and stared in terror at the tiny figure that had come in through the broken window.

"Grandpa Village Chief, when you left this afternoon, you deliberately patted my head three times and gave me a meaningful smile. Didn't that mean I should come find you at the third watch?"

Little Shi sprang neatly to his feet and dusted off his clothes.

"I didn't. I never..."

Bleary-eyed, Shi Yunfeng clutched his quilt tighter. After doing his best to recall what had happened that day, he stubbornly, and futilely, tried to explain himself.

In this age, when people's hearts were no longer what they used to be, it seemed that only by wrapping himself tightly in his thin cotton quilt could the old man find a sliver of warmth and comfort.

"Ah, so that wasn't what you meant, Grandpa Village Chief. I thought you'd recognized my one-in-ten-thousand talent and planned to secretly teach me how to cultivate in the middle of the night."

Little Shi blinked his big eyes innocently, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Little One, could you please listen to fewer of those ridiculous stories and legends from now on? If everyone went around seeking a master and learning cultivation like you just did, those powerful cultivators would beat them to death."

Once he understood the reason, Shi Yunfeng could only laugh and cry at the same time. With an exasperated look, he gestured at Shi Hao, then got out of bed and said, "You want me to teach you Bone Text and cultivation, don't you?"

"There's no need to sneak over and learn in the middle of the night. I didn't teach you before because you were too unruly and couldn't sit still. Now that you've taken the initiative to pursue the Dao and devote yourself to cultivation, that's naturally a good thing."

"Starting tomorrow, I'll officially teach you how to cultivate."

When his eyes landed on the broken window, the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.

If he ever found out who had come up with this "seek a master and learn cultivation at the third watch" method, he, Shi Yunfeng, would split that person in two with a single palm.

Still, with his level of cultivation, guiding someone who had never practiced before onto the Great Dao was more than within his abilities.

Several decades ago, Shi Yunfeng had ventured into the Great Wilderness with more than a dozen companions his age from the village and joined a small sect. He had even cultivated to the Cave Heaven Realm.

But after a great upheaval, some of his fellow clansmen had died and others had been wounded. Only Shi Yunfeng and one other had managed to flee back, both gravely injured.

Not long afterward, the other man had also succumbed to his injuries.

Shi Yunfeng had survived, but his cultivation had fallen from the Cave Heaven Realm to the Blood Moving Realm, and his health had deteriorated as well. Even now, he still felt a dull ache in his chest.

But don't think a Blood Moving Realm cultivator was weak.

Across this Great Wilderness, only a tribe of a hundred thousand people might produce a single Blood Moving Realm cultivator. He, Shi Yunfeng, was currently the only one in Stone Village.

The other clansmen were brave too, but they knew only crude methods of manipulating their blood and energy, relying on brute strength to get by. They didn't understand Bone Text, and ultimately they were a cut below.

Enough of that.

"Good, Grandpa Village Chief. Then it's a promise."

Little Shi nodded firmly, overjoyed.

The first to take a step had the advantage at every turn. He didn't want to wait until he was four or five to officially begin cultivating.

Through the window, his gaze fell on the charred willow tree beside the village chief's courtyard.

Only one verdant willow branch swayed in the breeze atop its thick trunk, shedding faint glimmers of light and Divine Radiance. In this Great Wilderness, where primordial beasts roamed and great fiends ran rampant, it silently protected the ancient Stone Village, tranquil and serene.

Willow Deity, You won't awaken until two years from now, when those little monkeys go raiding the Green-Scaled Eagle's nest for eggs. It looks like those two bastards, Ao Sheng and Yuan Chu, dealt You some serious wounds.

Over these next two years, I have to hurry up and reach the Blood Moving Realm. That way, as soon as Willow Deity wakes up, I can get started on cultivating the Original True Interpretation.

"Sacrificial Spirit..."

Following Shi Hao's gaze, Shi Yunfeng also looked toward the willow tree at the village entrance, his thoughts drifting away.

Decades ago, on a stormy night, a Heaven-Reaching Willow Tree had appeared and disappeared amid the violent lightning domain above the Nine Heavens. Its countless crystalline willow branches danced through the sky like Order Divine Chains, seemingly battling some mysterious, unknown presence.

In the end... Hm?

"Little One, get down here! Use the front door!"

Shi Yunfeng caught sight of Shi Hao apparently preparing to climb back out through the window. He rubbed his aching brow and scolded him grumpily.