Aberration

At the foot of Wu Mountain, within the Wu Mountain Tribe, nearly all the tribespeople had gathered in the center of the tribe, watching the Lasu undergoing Barbarian Awakening.

But at that very moment, the enormous Barbarian Statue floating in midair suddenly shuddered as though trembling, and a roar abruptly rose up. The sound came so suddenly that every tribesperson around them froze in shock.

Grandpa's eyes flashed. He strode forward several steps, but rather than looking at the Barbarian Statue, he immediately raised his head toward the sky. As he watched, a grave expression appeared in his eyes.

More and more tribespeople also noticed that something was wrong and raised their heads toward the heavens.

Streams of black mist appeared out of thin air in the sky, gathering madly from every direction. Before long, they formed a massive vortex. It covered more than half the sky above this place and shrouded all eight directions around Wu Mountain. Even from far away, one could see the strange change here.

After the vortex formed, it began to slowly turn, releasing thunderous rumbles that echoed in all directions. Countless arcs of electricity darted within it, lightning flashing amid the peals of thunder.

"Has the Barbarian Ancestor manifested?!" Someone among the Wu Mountain Tribe cried out. At once, the tribespeople fell to their knees, their faces filled with reverence and fear as they worshipped the sky.

The only ones still standing were Grandpa and several tribal leaders beside him. Aside from Grandpa, those burly leaders all wore frightened expressions.

The vortex in the sky spun faster and faster. Soon, a wild wind seemed to sweep across the earth, completely enveloping the area around Wu Mountain.

The Barbarian Statue floating in midair trembled even more violently, as though it could not withstand the vortex above.

At that same time, on the other side of Wu Mountain lay another tribe roughly the same size as the Wu Mountain Tribe. It was called the Black Mountain Tribe. At this moment, every tribesperson in Black Mountain was aghast. A ten-zhang-tall Barbarian Statue floated above their tribe.

That Barbarian Statue was pitch-black and bore no human shape at all. It resembled a lizard, trembling ceaselessly as though on the verge of collapse. Beneath it stood an old man in a coarse black hemp robe, gaunt as a skeleton, his expression gloomy as he pondered something unknown.

The same scene was unfolding simultaneously in every tribe near Wu Mountain, and even in tribes farther away.

No one knew what had happened or why the vortex had appeared. Even Grandpa of the Wu Mountain Tribe had forgotten about Su Ming, who had just entered the Barbarian Statue to pay his respects.

Inside the Wu Mountain Tribe's Barbarian Statue, the instant that faint glow flashed, it filled all the surrounding space, saturating the place in its eerie radiance. Staring wide-eyed, Su Ming saw the Barbarian Statue he had previously needed to worship shudder all over. It seemed to awaken from stillness and slumber, giving him the illusion that it possessed flesh and blood.

He could even see the once-ferocious Barbarian Statue trembling violently in the faint glow, as though unable to bear being enveloped by that light.

The Barbarian Statue was half man, half beast, gripping a giant dragon in its left hand and holding a long spear in its right. Yet amid its trembling, its primitive, savage aura changed, revealing a trace of terror that Su Ming could not tell was real or merely another illusion.

Su Ming's mind was blank. He had no idea what was happening or why this was happening. He simply stood there, stunned.

His entire body was likewise enveloped by the faint glow from the fragment around his neck, seeming to merge with the space around him. As that glow grew brighter and brighter, in only a few moments, the world within the Barbarian Statue had become completely shrouded in dim radiance.

Su Ming felt his mind boom, as though some barrier had been broken through by an invisible force. His body trembled, and a strange image appeared in his mind.

It was a vast, boundless land. He seemed to stand in midair, looking down. Before his eyes, nearly a million people densely filled the earth, stretching as far as the eye could see, as though there were no end to them.

"Where is this...?" Su Ming murmured. The sight shook his heart and left his mind empty.

The crowd was divided into two camps. All of them knelt on the ground, worshipping the heavens, while desolate drumbeats echoed through the world. They formed an indescribable tide of sound that seemed capable of stirring the soul, making everyone who heard it shudder inwardly.

In midair around Su Ming, he saw nearly a hundred enormous Barbarian Statues. Every one was different, radiating a primitive and savage aura. Their bodies seemed to possess flesh and blood, as though they were alive.

They too were kneeling on one knee, worshipping the sky!

Su Ming unconsciously raised his head. He saw...

At the highest reaches of the sky stood two figures who seemed to prop up heaven and earth. Their features could not be seen clearly, but with only one glance, Su Ming felt as though he had witnessed the might of the heavens, as though he had become an ant.

They were like true gods!

Of one of them, Su Ming could see only a head of long purple hair. The man raised his right hand and suddenly swept it toward the sky. Instantly, heaven and earth changed color. In the blink of an eye, the clear daylight became darkness, and countless stars began to glitter. With that man's wave, those stars seemed to be drawn in and pulled down from the sky, gathering beside the purple-haired man and forming a river of stars.

When the man pointed with his right hand, the river of stars gave off a heaven-shaking roar and charged toward the enemy before him. From afar, it looked as though heaven had collapsed and the starry river had crumbled, as if the power of the entire sky had descended upon one person.

Amid the roaring, the purple-haired man suddenly lowered his head. His gaze swept across the land and abruptly met Su Ming's eyes!

Su Ming's mind boomed. It felt as though a tremendous force had shoved his entire body, violently blasting him out of that seemingly illusory world.

Su Ming's body trembled, and darkness filled his vision. After a long, long time, when he finally regained his senses, he found himself still within the space inside the Barbarian Statue. There was no faint glow around him, as though everything had merely been an illusion.

Su Ming's breathing was ragged, and sweat drenched his entire body. He abruptly lowered his head to look at the fragment hanging from his neck. It was dark and dull, with no unusual quality apart from a faint warmth.

"Was it an illusion... or was it the memory of this Barbarian Statue... Was that just now... Pluck the Stars from Heaven, as described in the Beast Skin Book...?" Only after a long while did Su Ming completely emerge from that earlier vision. Confusion filled his eyes, and his mind was in chaos. After a moment of silence, he rose and bowed once more to the Barbarian Statue, preparing to leave.

But just as he began that bow, cracking sounds faintly came from ahead. A tiny crack appeared on the Barbarian Statue's face, and as Su Ming continued bowing, the crack showed signs of spreading.

It seemed unable to bear Su Ming's bow. If he completed the worship, it was as though the Barbarian Statue would collapse. This bizarre sight made Su Ming gasp. At this moment, he no longer harbored the slightest doubt about what had happened earlier. It absolutely had not been an illusion!

At the instant the Barbarian Statue cracked, murmuring voices seemed to echo in his mind. The whispering made wild joy appear in Su Ming's eyes. This voice was precisely what he had dreamed of obtaining—the cultivation method of a Barbarian Cultivator in the Blood Condensation Realm!

The art of Barbarian Cultivation could not be passed down by word of mouth. The only method was inheritance through a Barbarian Statue. The existence of a Barbarian Statue was of utmost importance to a tribe, for it concerned the tribe's survival and continuation.

When the murmuring voices vanished, Su Ming's body also vanished from the world inside the Barbarian Statue. He reappeared within the Wu Mountain Tribe. The instant he emerged, he saw all the tribespeople around him, including Grandpa, looking up at the sky. His heart stirred, and he followed their gazes.

The enormous vortex was still spinning, its dull hum echoing through the air.

"Su Ming, come to my side." Grandpa's voice rang out beside Su Ming's ear. Su Ming felt uneasy. He vaguely sensed that the anomaly in the sky was connected to the fragment around his neck, but he did not dare speak of it. Uneasily, he walked over to Grandpa and stood behind him.

Not long afterward, the strange phenomenon in the sky gradually faded, slowly returning to normal. No one asked Su Ming whether his worship had succeeded. After all, since no light had appeared, it meant failure.

Once the sky had fully returned to normal, the remaining Lasu continued their worship. When everything ended, two children had been found during this Barbarian Awakening to possess Barbarian Bodies that would manifest when they turned sixteen.

Grandpa took those two children away. They would become important members of the tribe and be taught some experience in Barbarian Cultivation.

As for the other Lasu, they dispersed with disappointment. Su Ming remained silent the entire way, but his heart pounded faster and faster. He wanted to tell Grandpa everything, yet he vaguely felt the matter was far too significant, especially since the Barbarian Statue had actually cracked.

Caught in hesitation, Su Ming headed toward his house.

Grandpa, dressed in a hemp robe, looked at Su Ming's retreating figure from afar, a trace of puzzlement appearing on his face.

Su Ming hurried back to his house and sat on the wooden bed. Lowering his head, he stared at the irregular black fragment resting against his chest, confusion in his eyes. After a while, he was about to remove the pendant from his neck, but hesitated. He rose and pushed a wooden frame against the door. That way, if anyone entered, he would have time to prepare.

After finishing this, he sat down again, took the stone fragment into his hand, and examined it carefully.

"What exactly is this stone fragment... Xiao Hong found it. The wind must have been very strong that day, blowing aside some rotten leaves and exposing it, allowing Xiao Hong to pick it up..." Su Ming's heart pounded faster. He vaguely felt that he had obtained some unknown treasure.

"Even the Barbarian Statue cracked before it... I wonder where Xiao Hong found it, and whether there are more..." Su Ming licked his lips, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"I originally had no Barbarian Body and could not obtain the inheritance of Barbarian Cultivation, but this thing has now given me a cultivation method!" Su Ming took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement as he focused all his attention on the stone fragment.

He did not know how much time passed. Before he knew it, drowsiness washed over him. Still clutching the fragment, he fell onto the wooden bed and drifted asleep.

The fragment gradually began to emit a faint, flickering glow.

(New book, please give it some love~~)