"Roar! Moo!"
Amid two strange beastly cries, a black, ferocious ape with a pair of enormous leathery wings swooped down from the sky. To the north, a towering crimson bull, more than ten zhang tall, came charging through the flames.
"The Devil Ape and the Separated Fire Bull Demon—they really did both come!"
As the people of Stone Village cried out in alarm, the two powerful Ancient Relics charged into the beast horde from the north and south, leaving a river of blood in their wake as their roars shook the heavens.
In an instant, the beasts quaked with terror. Some lay dead; the rest fled.
Just as the Devil Ape and the Separated Fire Bull Demon cautiously approached the beast corpses, preparing to make their final bid for the Suanni's Treasure Body, the Old Suanni—its entire body as if cast from gold—suddenly sprang up and launched a deadly ambush against its two old foes.
The Devil Ape had one of its arms torn off, while the Separated Fire Bull Demon had one horn snapped.
The two ambushed Ancient Relics let out a mournful cry in unison. Long cowed by the Old Suanni's might, neither dared look back to see what had happened. They turned and fled in a panic.
This Old Suanni had dominated the mountains and forests for centuries. Though its bloodline was not pure enough to make it a member of the Suanni royal clan, it had come very close to the pure-blooded creatures dwelling atop the Primordial Divine Mountain.
Yet, despite its successful ambush, the Old Suanni did not pursue its foes as everyone expected. It staggered violently, then crashed to the ground once more.
"Feigning death to take out its old foes was clever, but this Old Suanni is simply too old. It cannot escape its destined end. All right, it's time for us to move."
The clan chief, Shi Yunfeng, sighed softly and waved his hand. The villagers immediately sprang into action.
The able-bodied men of Stone Village stayed behind to guard the area, forbidding outsiders from approaching the Suanni's Treasure Body.
The Azure Heaven Roc went after the Devil Ape, while Shi Yunfeng and Shi Hao followed the Separated Fire Bull Demon, carrying the clan's two Ancestral Artifacts.
The two Ancient Relics, both in the early Inscription Realm, had suffered severe injuries and could only wield the strength of the Spirit Transformation Realm for a short time. The two groups from Stone Village were more than capable of dealing with them.
The Separated Fire Bull Demon's entire body was covered in hair as red as flame, bright as the richest crimson silk. Unfortunately, it had none of the majesty of an Ancient Relic now.
The enormous crimson bull, more than ten zhang tall, was covered in blood. One of the sharp horns on its massive head had been forcibly snapped off, and bright red blood kept spilling onto the ground. Only one lonely horn remained, pointing at the sky.
It fled in panic toward the depths of the mountains.
"Attack!"
The old man and the young boy who had been lying in wait sprang into action.
Shi Yunfeng took out a section of Crystal Beast Bone and quickly pressed it against the bone in his left arm. As countless runes interwove, a gigantic Suanni King materialized and roared.
Shi Hao pressed the bloodstained Ancient Beast Skin against his chest, summoning the phantom of a Golden Bian to fight. The two fierce beasts blocked the Separated Fire Bull Demon's escape, one in front and one behind.
Already terrified to the utmost by the Old Suanni that had feigned death, the Separated Fire Bull Demon saw a Suanni King radiating overwhelming power blocking its path. Thinking its old foe had caught up, its spirit nearly fled its body. It dared not resist and immediately turned to run again.
"Roar!"
The Golden Bian, formed by Shi Hao merging with the Ancestral Artifact, arrived just in time. It opened its maw and bit off the only remaining crimson horn of the Separated Fire Bull Demon.
"Moo!"
The Separated Fire Bull Demon's eyes turned blood-red from the pain. Just as it was about to retaliate in its frenzy, the Suanni King behind it struck.
Boom!
Dark clouds gathered across the Nine Heavens. A violent silver streak crashed down in a furious blast, thunder roaring as it struck the Separated Fire Bull Demon and badly wounded it in an instant.
The Suanni commanded clouds and mist and gave birth to lightning. It was a divine being of the thunderous path.
In the blink of an eye, the two great primordial beasts joined forces. With perfect coordination, they killed the already gravely wounded Separated Fire Bull Demon.
In truth, even after the Old Suanni had badly wounded it by feigning death, the Separated Fire Bull Demon might still have stood a chance against Shi Hao and Shi Yunfeng, who wielded Ancestral Artifacts.
Unfortunately, the Old Suanni had scared it out of its wits. When it saw the Suanni King Shi Yunfeng had transformed into, it foolishly abandoned all resistance and lost its only chance to escape.
The Golden Bian phantom dissipated. Shi Hao hurried forward to inspect the fearsome beast's corpse.
The primitive bones within an Ancient Relic were engraved with its clan's Precious Techniques and inheritance, as well as fragments of divinity left behind by its ancestral emperors in the Primordial Era.
Ordinarily, these powerful clans destroyed the bones within their bodies before death to keep their inheritance from leaking out. So even though humans had hunted many Ancient Relics, their chances of obtaining one of their supreme Precious Techniques remained exceedingly slim.
The bloodied Separated Fire Bull Demon collapsed silently to the ground. Between the thick hair on its brow lay a crimson bone, shattered beyond repair, as if silently mocking them.
"Damn it! I thought the village would gain another Precious Technique, but that Bull Demon destroyed its primitive bone!"
Little Shi pounded the ground, unwilling to accept it.
"All right, Little One. Primitive bones from Ancient Relics are rare to begin with, so don't let it bother you. Besides, its Treasure Body and all its True Blood are still here. We've still made a great haul."
Shi Yunfeng came over carrying the Ancestral Artifact, cheerfully consoling Little Shi.
After discussing it, grandfather and grandson joined forces to shoulder the enormous corpse of the Separated Fire Bull Demon. They hurried back to where the Old Suanni had fallen and rejoined the other villagers.
Able-bodied men from Stone Village surrounded the Suanni's Treasure Body in the ruined mountain ravine.
Not far away, the Azure Heaven Roc stood proudly, its bearing noble and striking. Now and then, it lowered its head to preen its deep teal, steel-like feathers. At its feet lay the corpse of a black, ferocious ape with gleaming fur, its skull shattered and brains scattered.
Everything before them spoke wordlessly of the Azure Heaven Roc's strength.
"The Azure Heaven Roc is back, and the Devil Ape has been killed!"
Shi Hao had just helped carry back the Separated Fire Bull Demon. He bounded over to the Ancient Demonic Bird and asked whether the Devil Ape's primitive bone had survived.
"Caw! Caw!"
The Azure Heaven Roc had been rather pleased with itself for returning before Shi Hao and Shi Yunfeng. Now it let out two awkward cries and hurriedly explained with a mental message.
As it turned out, the Azure Heaven Roc had never feared the Devil Ape when it was at full strength, let alone after it had been badly wounded.
After toying with it for a while, the Azure Heaven Roc pecked its head to pieces and ended the fight cleanly. Well, the Devil Ape's primitive bone had been destroyed too.
"Another Precious Technique has left the village..."
Shi Hao pursed his lips when he heard the explanation, looking utterly aggrieved.
Why did every other protagonist get treasures and gear from killing monsters, while he got nothing? Could he be one of those legendary unlucky types?
"Heh, Little One, don't be in such a hurry. The Old Suanni died before it could destroy the primitive bone within its body. We're sure to get the Suanni Precious Technique."
A clan elder who had stayed behind beamed as he spoke.
"All right, hurry and take everything we've gained back to the village, before anything unexpected happens."
At the old clan chief's command, the villagers immediately set to work with enthusiasm.
Earlier, several hundred strange beasts from the Great Wilderness had rushed out of the depths of the mountains and fought like mad over the Suanni's Treasure Body. The Devil Ape and the Separated Fire Bull Demon had burst into the fray and killed most of them. Those beasts were the real prize.
With three complete Treasure Bodies from Ancient Relics, along with the corpses of over a hundred strange beasts from the Great Wilderness, Stone Village had truly made a great haul this time!
PS1: What a mess. My book debuted on Chuangshi, yet Qidian was the first to hit 300 favorites. Let me make a sad face.
PS2: Also, the contract I mailed yesterday made it to Shanghai today. That was fast. A thumbs-up for that.
My signing status was just updated, and I'm the first one to send a tip. O(∩_∩)O hahaha~
Before you continue