Sowing the Dao

Planting the Dao

Deep within the Great Wilderness, Stone Village.

"The ancient Tai Shang, the beginning of the people. The imperial foundation is established, the moral order laid out. The five virtues cycle in turn, receiving the mandate and the tally. The Great Dao..."

At the entrance of the village, beneath the charred and massive Lightning-Struck Wood, the old village chief Shi Yunfeng sat cross-legged on a large rock, chanting leisurely.

His gaze was profound and weathered, his vision seeming to pierce through endless mountain ranges, casting itself toward the vast world beyond the Great Wilderness.

Planting the Dao—the old man was planting the Dao for the children of the village, striving to sow a seed of the Dao within the hearts of the next generation from a young age.

It was a pity that the children sitting below did not seem to grasp the old man's good intentions.

Born with abundant energy, they hadn't even sat still on the ground for half a moment before they were scratching their ears and cheeks; some even began to bicker and play-fight on the spot.

"Hehe, you little ones..."

Withdrawing his thoughts, the old man did not get angry. Looking at the group of mischievous monkeys before him, he simply smiled helplessly, rose from the large rock, and walked leisurely toward the village with his hands behind his back.

As he left, he did not forget to pat the small head of one particular toddler.

That young figure had fair, tender skin and delicate features, with a pair of dark, bright eyes that darted around incessantly, looking adorable, much like an exquisitely crafted white porcelain doll.

At a year or two old, he seemed slightly out of place among a group of six or seven-year-olds, yet it was harmonious enough, as the boys and girls always tried their best to act like older siblings and look after him.

Grandpa Chief patted my head three times; could it be that he wants me to find him at the third watch tonight? To teach me supreme heavenly arts?

The adorable, fair-skinned little toddler was delighted at first, then immediately pulled a bitter face and muttered, "No, no, this isn't Journey to the West, but that Perfect World where people overturn the table at the slightest disagreement and charge up the River of Time..."

Yes, Perfect World, that Perfect World which is called one man's Shrouding the Heavens.

"Little One, the beast milk is here! This is Hundred-Beast Milk brewed from a mixture of Fire Rhino Milk, Snow Qilin Leopard Milk, Dragon-Horned Elephant Juice, and others. It's the most fragrant and mellow."

Just then, a voice filled with teasing came from afar.

"Coming, coming~"

The little toddler who had been sulking a second ago immediately beamed with joy. He ran over, took the pottery jar, and began to gulp it down incessantly.

"Phew, so delicious!"

After a while, the little toddler wiped the milky white stains from his lips with his small hand and sighed with great satisfaction.

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

What he was called on Earth didn't matter anymore. From today on, he was Shi Hao. Since he was here, he would settle down.

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

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

That night, at the third watch.

"Little One, what are you doing?"

On the bed, the village chief Shi Yunfeng, wrapped in his quilt, rose shakily, staring in horror at the small figure that had broken through the window.

"Grandpa Chief, when you left during the day, you specifically patted my head three times and gave me a meaningful smile. Isn't that telling me to come find you at the third watch?"

Little Shi climbed up from the floor with clean, agile movements and dusted off his clothes.

"I didn't, I have no such..."

The sleepy-eyed Shi Yunfeng wrapped his quilt tighter, struggling to recall the day's events before offering a stubborn and futile defense.

In this age where human hearts are not what they once were, it seemed that only by wrapping himself tightly in his thin cotton blanket could the old man find a shred of warmth and comfort.

"Ah, so that's not what you meant, Grandpa Chief. I thought you had seen my one-in-a-million talent and intended to teach me cultivation in secret at night."

Little Shi blinked his large, innocent eyes, looking quite disappointed.

"Little One, can you listen to fewer of those unreliable stories and legends in the future? If everyone tried to apprentice like you, they would have been beaten to death by powerful cultivators long ago."

Realizing the cause, Shi Yunfeng was left between laughter and tears. With a helpless expression, he pointed a finger at Shi Hao before getting out of bed. "Isn't it just Bone Text and cultivation you want to learn?"

"Why the need to sneak around in the dead of night? I didn't teach you all before because you were too mischievous and couldn't settle your hearts. Now that you can take the initiative to seek the Dao and focus on cultivation, that is naturally excellent."

"Starting tomorrow, I will officially teach you cultivation."

When his gaze swept over the broken window, the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.

If he ever found out who invented this "third-watch apprenticeship method," he, Shi Yunfeng, would surely strike them dead with a single palm.

However, with his cultivation base, guiding someone who didn't understand cultivation onto the Great Dao was more than enough.

Decades ago, Shi Yunfeng had ventured into the Great Wilderness with a dozen peers from the village to join a small sect, eventually reaching the Cave Heaven Realm.

But due to a great upheaval later on, most of his clansmen died or were injured; only Shi Yunfeng and one other, both severely wounded, managed to escape back.

Not long after, the other person also passed away from his injuries.

The surviving Shi Yunfeng not only saw his cultivation regress from the Cave Heaven Realm to the Blood Moving Realm, but his body was also far worse than before, and his chest still throbbed with pain to this day.

However, do not think that a Blood Moving Realm cultivator is weak.

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

Although the other clansmen are valiant, they only understand crude methods of utilizing blood energy, relying on brute force to get by. Without knowledge of Bone Text, they are ultimately inferior.

Enough of that, let us not speak of it.

"Alright, Grandpa Village Chief, it's a deal then."

Little Shi nodded heavily, filled with joy.

To be a step ahead is to be ahead in every step; he had no intention of waiting until he was four or five years old to officially embark on his cultivation.

His gaze passed through the window, resting upon the charred willow tree standing right next to the village chief's courtyard.

On its thick trunk, only a single verdant willow branch swayed in the wind, emitting faint specks of fluorescent light and divine radiance. In this Great Wilderness, where prehistoric beasts and terrifying monsters run rampant, it silently sheltered the ancient Stone Village, peaceful and serene.

Willow Deity—it was not until two years later, when Pihou and the others raided the Green-Scaled Eagle's nest, that it first awakened. It seems that the trauma inflicted upon it by those two scoundrels, Ao Sheng and Yuan Chu, was quite severe.

Over these next two years, I must seize the time to reach the Blood Moving Realm so that I can begin practicing the Original True Interpretation the moment the Willow Deity awakens.

"Sacrificial Spirit..."

Shi Yunfeng followed Shi Hao's gaze and saw the willow tree at the edge of the village as well, his thoughts drifting away.

Decades ago, on a stormy night, a towering willow tree had flickered in and out of existence within a violent lightning domain above the nine heavens. Its crystalline willow branches danced like chains of order, seemingly locked in battle with a mysterious, unknown entity.

In the end... hmm?

"Little One, get down from there and use the front door!"

Catching sight of Shi Hao out of the corner of his eye as he prepared to climb back through the window, Shi Yunfeng rubbed his throbbing temples and scolded him irritably.