Crossing the Great Wilderness

Time flew by, and the years passed like a flowing stream.

Two years had gone by. Stone Village, this ancient ancestral land, had finally begun to shed its immaturity, reclaiming a trace of the might it had possessed in the Primordial Era and growing ever more imposing.

"You're going on a journey?"

In the ancient courtyard, the charred willow tree had shed most of its old bark. More willow branches were budding, brimming with life.

"Yes, Willow Deity."

"I've been stuck in the Cave Heaven Realm for two years, unable to open a tenth cave heaven. Stillness is no better than motion. Since my cultivation has temporarily stalled, I might as well set it aside and go out for a walk."

"Once I've seen the vast Great Wilderness stretching ten thousand li, I might make an unexpected discovery. I must open a tenth cave heaven. If I enter Spirit Transformation with only nine, my path will surely remain incomplete."

The boy looked seven or eight years old, with delicate features, yet his bearing was remarkably steady.

"In the Primordial Era, heavenly-rank ferocious beasts like the True Hou and Pixiu would temper their young by sending them alone into the perilous Great Wilderness to travel a hundred thousand li."

"It's good for you to go out and see the world, to witness the cultivation methods beyond these lands and consolidate your Dao Fruit."

Willow Deity agreed. "Do you have a destination in mind?"

"I do. Shi Hao plans to visit the Second Ancestral Land."

"I've heard there's a child there who shares my name and is suffering in my place. I want to bring him back to the village, and see for myself what sort of people the other branch of the clan, beyond the mountain, really are."

Since the Stone Clan Holy Emperor had deliberately severed the ties between the Ancient Kingdom and the ancestral land, later generations, seeking their roots, had designated the first land touched by the Stone Clan's ancestors—the Ancient Kingdom's Western Frontier—as the Second Ancestral Land, where they held regular rites.

But the borderlands were harsh and barren, with few people. The Second Ancestral Land had gradually become a place where the Stone Kingdom's imperial clan exiled its disgraced kin, all of them old, weak, sick, or disabled.

Back then, after Shi Ziling and his wife had caused an uproar at Martial King Manor over Shi Hao, powerful clan elders had exiled them to the Second Ancestral Land to atone for their crimes. They had stayed there briefly.

"That will do. Remember to bid the clan elders farewell."

Willow Deity spoke briefly, then said no more.

Shi Hao nodded lightly and turned toward the village.

Deep in the ancient courtyard, an old man, his whole body gleaming with golden light, abruptly opened his eyes. Countless Bone Texts interwove in his pupils, faintly forming an inverted cross surging with battle intent.

He was in the Inscription Realm—a powerful human king, no less.

"Little Stone, what brings you here?"

The old clan chief, Shi Yunfeng, rose to his feet. Now and then, a series of sharp crackles rang through his body. Little Shi wasn't the only one who had advanced over the past two years.

As Shi Hao grew older, the villagers gradually stopped calling him by his childhood nickname, "Little One," out of consideration for his pride. Instead, they affectionately called him "Little Stone."

"Grandpa Clan Chief, I want to travel to the Ancient Kingdom's Western Frontier and bring back another version of me."

Shi Hao entered at an unhurried pace and stated his purpose directly.

Ever since the old clan chief had learned from Willow Deity that Little Shi's memories had "already awakened," he had waited for an opportunity to tell him the whole truth about what had happened back then.

"You're going to the Second Ancestral Land?"

The old clan chief paused, then quickly recovered. His expression gradually grew complicated. "After your Supreme Bone was stolen, your parents took you to the Second Ancestral Land to seek help. But there was nothing there but a bunch of old, weak, sick, and disabled people. With no other choice, they continued deeper into the Great Wilderness."

"Following a fragmentary ancient map, they found the village and entrusted you to us. But our village had already fallen into decline and was powerless to help. They could only go to the Primordial Divine Mountain, where pure-blooded Golden Winged Rocs and True Hous dwelled, to seek a sacred medicine and beg for that sliver of hope."

Little Shi listened calmly, neither rushing nor fretting.

Shi Ziling and his wife were now far away in the Mystic Domain, at Mount Immortal, the home of his mother Qin Yining's clan. Another child was by their side, and they had abundant cultivation resources. Though their freedom was restricted and they couldn't leave, their lives were still relatively peaceful.

The pure-blooded creatures dwelling on the Primordial Divine Mountain wouldn't dare lay a hand on them.

"When your family of three reached the Second Ancestral Land, four or five great-uncles from your branch of the clan, all closely related to you, were still alive. Six or seven years have passed since then. Who knows how many of them are still alive now?"

"The borderlands are bitterly cold, and those exiled there were all guilty of grave offenses. Cut off from their supplies, they must be in a difficult situation. When you arrive, if any of our clan elders are still alive, remember to bring them back to the village, too."

At that, the old clan chief gave Little Shi's shoulder a firm pat and said gravely, "We'll take in the clan members that branch doesn't want. We'll raise the ones they won't."

"Yes. I'll bring every last one of them back to the village."

At that moment, Shi Hao felt as though an inexplicable current had coursed through him, leaving his whole body tingling. His blood surged, and he answered loudly, his heart ablaze.

Shi Hao left, departing the village alone.

The adult Azure Heaven Roc was at a critical stage of transformation from the Inscription Realm to the Array Formation King level. It had fallen into a long slumber, and no one knew when it would awaken.

The three young Azure Heaven Rocs had grown up, and were now strange beasts of the Cave Heaven Realm.

But since Shi Hao intended to roam the Great Wilderness and temper himself, he naturally wasn't going to ride an Azure Heaven Roc over the three hundred thousand li of wilderness. Instead, he set off on his own two bare feet.

Ferocious primordial beasts roamed the Great Wilderness, and danger lurked everywhere.

Alone, Shi Hao ventured thirty thousand li into the Great Wilderness, repeatedly putting himself in danger. After experiencing more than a hundred bloody battles and slaying one ferocious beast after another, he finally neared the Ancient Kingdom's frontier in the third month after leaving the village.

At dawn, mist drifted through the air. All living things were still asleep.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp burst of wind suddenly tore through the air. A delicate-looking boy of seven or eight streaked through the dense forest of towering ancient trees, skimming close to the ground and cleaving through the wind and waves. A pair of scarlet Vermilion Bird wings spread from his back.

He clutched a five-colored precious egg radiating a rich, shimmering glow, glancing back now and then as though some terrifying creature were chasing him.

The millstone-sized five-colored precious egg was dazzlingly bright, covered in mysterious patterns, and wreathed in radiant clouds that shot into the sky. It was clearly no ordinary treasure.

"Boom!"

At the same time, five-colored divine light suddenly erupted from deep within the mountain ranges. A colossal Five-Colored Peacock threw back its head and cried out furiously before leaping from its nest atop a peak and charging straight at the delicate-looking boy.

"Heh, only just noticed? This descendant of the primordial divine bird, the Peacock King, doesn't seem too bright. If I swallow this five-colored divine egg, I should be able to open my tenth cave heaven, right? Not bad, not bad."

Feeling the vast vitality behind him, as boundless as the sea, Shi Hao hugged the five-colored precious egg tight and licked his lips with a wicked grin.

Then he gave his Vermilion Bird wings a fierce flap and accelerated toward the horizon.

Half an hour later.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Five-colored divine light crashed down like a raging tide. Wherever its radiance swept, forests and boulders were shaved flat. The mountains trembled, and the earth groaned.

"Damn it, you're still chasing me? I only stole one of your eggs. You can lay another."

Amid the attacks filling the sky, a fiery red figure teetered on the brink of disaster, dodging the wash of five-colored divine light by the narrowest margins each time.

"Roar!"

The next moment, an enraged bird's cry erupted into a roar. Killing intent surged like a tidal wave, and the mountain range shook as the Five-Colored Peacock sped after him.