The Rain Clan Storm

After Yu Meng died, every last person in the Rain Clan's villa was slaughtered, leaving not a blade of grass standing.

Not long after Little Shi and the others departed, the lord of Chongyun City arrived with a large force of armored soldiers. The surging power of the formidable divine arts had alarmed nearly half the fortress.

As the lord of Chongyun City stepped over corpse after corpse and reached the depths of the manor, a bloodcurdling stench immediately hit him.

"The Second Ancestral Land of the Ancient Kingdom was actually bullied by a Rain Clan in-law. Unforgivable! Shameful!"

A row of scarlet characters, as if written in blood, crashed into his sight.

"It's over. A world-shaking storm is about to sweep through the Ancient Kingdom!"

The lord of Chongyun City's face turned deathly pale.

He knew this was beyond his power to handle. He had to report it to the Central Imperial Capital at once and ask the Human Emperor to deliver his supreme judgment. He had no idea how many powerful, influential giants would be knocked from their lofty perches and ground into dust in this storm.

"Seal off this place immediately! I'm going to activate the altar!"

The lord of Chongyun City shuddered at the thought. He roared an order, then spurred his mount—a vicious bird—back toward the city.

Several days later, news of the Second Ancestral Land's destruction reached the Imperial Capital. The row of scarlet characters spread rapidly through the major powers as well.

That day, who knew how many Shi Clan nobles flew into a rage?

No matter how poor and desolate the Second Ancestral Land was, it was still the place where the Shi Clan had risen again, and the resting place of many ancestors. No matter how overbearing the Rain Clan was, it was only one of the Ancient Kingdom's eight hundred noble houses. How dare they insult the imperial clan like this?

That very day, Shi Clan nobles went to the ancestral mausoleum to weep before the shrines.

On the same day, a large number of Shi Clan relatives hurried to the Central Heavenly Palace to ask the Human Emperor to uphold justice.

When the Rain Clan elders heard the news, they nearly fainted on the spot.

Those Shi Clan nobles meant to drive the Rain King Manor straight into its grave!

They had never intended to destroy the Second Ancestral Land. Who was framing the Rain King Manor? Framing loyal subjects? Who was it?!!

The Human Emperor, seated high in the Central Heavenly Palace, remained silent for a long time. He seemed just as shocked by the Rain Clan's wanton lawlessness. Before long, several swift and decisive imperial edicts were issued.

The Rain Prince's request to enter the palace and defend himself was rejected.

Three powerful nobles were ordered to immediately lead troops to seal off the Rain King Manor. Until the truth came to light, no one was allowed in or out. Violators would be executed without mercy.

Eight more nobles of imperial descent were dispatched to the Ancient Kingdom's Western Frontier to thoroughly investigate the destruction of the Second Ancestral Land. There was to be no delay.

As the investigation went deeper, the Rain Clan's actions in the Western Frontier were laid bare, past and present.

They had sent people to hunt down Shi Ziling and his wife for a hundred thousand li, spent ten years relentlessly bleeding the Second Ancestral Land dry, bribed and colluded with insiders and outsiders, deliberately cut off its supplies, plotted to kill the son of a Shi Clan imperial noble, and seized the ancestral lands' assets...

This string of secret crimes shocked the entire Stone Kingdom.

The great powers—including noble houses outside the Shi Clan—could hardly believe that while the Ancient Kingdom's strength was steadily rising and the Human Emperor shone like a blazing sun, suppressing all opposition, the Rain King Manor, no more than a noble house, had dared to commit such heinous crimes.

The Shi Clan, one of the main parties in the affair, had been slapped in the face again and again, left without a shred of dignity. In this mighty Ancient Kingdom, who was the master and who was the servant?

Countless imperial elders and ancient monsters who had long withdrawn from the world emerged from seclusion and jointly petitioned the Central Heavenly Palace, demanding that the Rain Clan be severely punished.

Amid the Shi Clan's furious uproar, the Human Emperor, head of the Shi Clan, did not appear. Only a few words came from within the Central Heavenly Palace: "I know."

Since the fewer the words, the greater the matter, many ancient monsters in the Imperial Capital immediately understood. The Rain Clan was as good as finished.

Sure enough, the very next day—

The Human Emperor decreed that the Rain Prince had forgotten the imperial grace and deceived his sovereign. He was to be stripped of his title and imprisoned at once, his fief reclaimed, and he was to be locked in the Central Heavenly Prison pending trial.

The War Prince, Ming Prince, and Peng Prince—three nobles of imperial descent—received the imperial decree and immediately led troops into the Rain King Manor, launching a bloody purge.

The Rain Clan elders, once so arrogant and untouchable, were dragged out like dead dogs and executed by military officers. The haughty heir was exiled a hundred thousand li, while the women and children in the manor...

Months later, an old Rain Clan elder offered the imperial family the ancient Rain God's inheritance and asked the Martial King Manor, their in-laws, to intercede. The ancient pure land of the Demon Spirit Lake also sent word, and only then did the Central Heavenly Palace finally relent.

But while the death penalty could be spared, punishment was unavoidable.

As head of the Rain Clan, the Rain Prince could not escape blame for failing to keep watch, even if he was not the chief culprit.

The Rain Prince was released from the Central Heavenly Prison, but stripped of his noble title and demoted to a marquis. His fief was cut by more than half, and from then on, the Rain King Manor became the Rain Marquis Mansion.

There was another rumor making the rounds: the old imperial noble in charge of the prisons was a man of fierce temperament. When he learned the Shi Clan had been humiliated, he had immediately castrated the Rain Prince in prison to vent his anger.

The Rain King Manor... no, the Rain Marquis Mansion, naturally denied this absurd claim in the strongest terms. It was all slander. Their lord's manhood was perfectly fine.

However, after the Human Emperor issued a reprimand to that old imperial noble and docked a month's pay, the great houses of the Imperial Capital began casting increasingly peculiar looks toward the Rain Marquis Mansion, exchanging glances that spoke volumes.

Of course, all that came later.

Little Shi had lingered for a short while in the Ancient Kingdom. After learning that the Human Emperor had ordered the Rain Prince stripped of his title and imprisoned, and that the Rain King Manor had been subjected to a bloody purge, he finally left, satisfied.

One great fire and a row of bloody words had dealt the Rain Clan a heavy blow. Not bad, not bad.

Deep in the Great Wilderness, Stone Village.

The transformed adult Azure Heaven Roc led its two offspring out of the village to welcome them, a sign that Little Shi and his party had made it home.

When the villagers heard that their kin from beyond the mountains had come to visit, all of Stone Village was thrown into an uproar.

Led by the old patriarch Shi Yunfeng, the villagers formed neat ranks and went out to greet them. Shi Jian'an and his grandson, who had endured a cold reception in the Stone Kingdom, were overwhelmed by the welcome.

Night fell.

To celebrate the return of their kin from the Stone Kingdom to their ancestral land, the villagers held a grand feast. The festivities were lively and boisterous.

Beside the bonfire, the old patriarch and Shi Jian'an, both elderly men, clasped arms and laughed as they caught each other up on the two Shi Clan branches and shared many secrets.

During the day, the village elders had used their treasured medicines to purge the Poison Flood Dragon's lingering venom from Shi Qingfeng's body and heal his limp.

Dazhuang, Ermeng, and Pihou, those little rascals, were dragging the still-timid Shi Qingfeng around the village, hunting down the ferocious beast cubs the villagers kept: Lightning Dog, Purple Cloud Marten, Silver Sky Wolf, Golden Ox...

At that moment, Shi Hao quietly made his way to the village entrance alone.

"What's wrong? Your kin from the outside world have returned to their ancestral land, but you don't seem happy?"

The Willow Deity, whose transformation had become increasingly astonishing, swayed gently in the breeze, sending a warm wind their way.

"Willow Deity, I think I'm sick. Something strange has happened to my body."

Shi Hao spoke hesitantly.

"Hehe, don't panic. I've looked down on the ages and witnessed countless strange and ominous things. What sort of transformation haven't I seen? Take your time and tell me."

The Willow Deity chuckled.

After hearing this, Shi Hao realized it made sense. The Willow Deity was a Supreme Giant; what grand scenes had they not witnessed? He immediately felt reassured.

The next moment, twelve Grotto-Heavens rumbled into view above his head.

Willow Deity: "???"